One last Swami's sunset

Here is a picture of the sunset I watched Sunday night at Swami's. It was a good moment to reflect on the job I'm about to do.

One thing that has come to light is that the address to write to me during training has technically changed. It is this now:

PCT Michael Dolan
Peace Corps Azerbaijan
Sumgayit Şahari
Azerbaycan Pr. 15
Merkezi Poçt

This address will get mail more directly to me. Letters will be delivered to the city — Sumgayit — from which my training will be administered. The previous address — the one for Baku — is no longer valid. Anything sent there likely will get to me, but future items should be sent to the address listed above.

Also, 760-807-1367 is still an active number for emergencies only. And even then it should a text message rather than a call: $4.99/min for phone versus $.50 per text. I'll have an additional in-country cell phone once I am over there. However, e-mail, blog comments, and Facebook stuff is the best way to communicate with me.

Maps

Here are some good maps of Azerbaijan:

The Peace Corps Has Invited Me to Serve

The long fight is over. At least, it appears to be over. I have an invitation in my hand, offering a position to serve in the Peace Corps as a Secondary School English Teacher in the country of Azerbaijan. It is a job I knew I would be doing when I was finally invited, but the country is a proverbial "out of left field" selection.

Since finding out my assignment, I have been taking in a crash course in Azerbaijan and the Azeri culture. The State Department, CIA, and the Peace Corps all provide extensive dossiers on the country; yet there is a lot to learn about this country, culture, and language.

This post simply introduces my job. I leave on Sept. 23, 2010 and serve until Dec. 2, 2012. According to my Days Until iPhone app, I have 853 days ahead of me until the experience will be complete. That'll go by quicker than I probably can imagine. And I can't wait to get on the plane to Philadelphia for a couple of days of staging before flying on to Azerbaijan.

As I work through the invitation paperwork and toward staging, I will update the blog and hopefully have time to reflect on the process. It's been a long road with many intriguing twists, so it would be fun to share the highs and lows of what I went through.