I just love talking to

I just love talking to people in places like this. It never fails that I learn so much about a place, and usually about me, too, in the process.

Today I was talking with one of the staff in the office here about Baku and Azerbaijan in general. They are facing a big refugee problem in Baku. As the only major city in the country, this is where everyone comes when you can’t keep ‘em down on the farm. Unfortunately, they come with no skills and with an attitude that since they are impoverished, they are entitled to things without being questioned. Now I know that this is a generalization, and that it isn’t true for everyone, but it is still an interesting insight.

70 years of communism, 3 generations, pretty much took any concept of initiative out of the society here. Azerbaijan has been independent for 10 years now, but things certainly don’t change overnight — and 10 years is virtually overnight in this case.