Paperwork to be done, but a brief note on the election.
While I spoke with many passionate followers of American politics in Russia, the few people I’ve interacted with so far in Baku seem to be unaware of Obama’s victory. I chatted with my airport taxi pickup for 30 minutes, and only after we reached my hotel did I realize that our conversation didn’t cover politics. Virtually every English speaker that I have met in my travels so far has mentioned the presidential race, and given that the driver’s brother lives in Florida, I was a bit surprised. Another woman, fluent in English, working for one of the largest oil companies in the world, didn’t know who had won when I asked her this morning. Interesting. I will continue to probe the locals to get an Azerbaijani perspective on America’s latest decision.