1. How to communicate in Azerbaijan?
Unfortunately, the best way to communicate in Azerbaijan is to speak Azerbaijani language. If you know Turkish you're home but if not you might have some problems. The situation is a little easier in the capital, Baku. You will find many people who speak Russian and most of the products in the stores are labeled in Russian. I must say without any knowledge of Russian I would face a lot of difficulties here. The second foreign language you might use is English although take into account people here speak Azerbaijani English so you really need to focus to understand what people mean. Even the poor level of English language among the people of Azerbaijan many foreigners communicate only in this language. They live in the center of course which makes their lives a little easier.
2. Do I like Baku?
The most common question asked by everybody I meet :) I do like Baku, I like it very much. Not because I fell in love with the city but because it's so different from what I'm used to. The reason I chose Azerbaijan was to experience something new and exciting and I have to tell you I certainly got what I expected! I like the culture shock, I like how people don't understand us, Europeans and how we don't understand them. I like how we learn how different things are important for us and for them. I like the small differences that make me appreciate everything I have back at home. I like seeing those differences yet I'm so happy I don't have to live here. Take note that I'm writing this from a girl's perspective and as a guy you might have a different impression.
The center of the city is beautiful and very European-like. All the governmental institutions, parks, etc. are stunning and extremely impressive. But this is the touristic Baku, not the real one. Not the real Azerbaijan.
3. What do I do except of studying?
Good question. There's not that much to do in Baku. If you don't travel outside of the city and don't live in the center you most likely will be bored. The locals often spend their free time in çai evis playing games, smoking water pipes and of course drinking tea. When I say locals I mean men - the only entertainment the women get here is.. shopping? Hard to say since you don't see women here that often. The center has much more to offer. Around Fountain Square, a main meeting point in the city, you will find a bunch of places you can go to in the evening. One that I'd recommend is the only, if I'm not mistaken, wine house in Baku, called Room. It offers a variety of wines from Spain, Italy and Azerbaijan and every Wednesday they organize Aperitivo Italiano with a free boufet. Needless to say THIS is a place you will find me most :)
4. How are the Azerbaijani people?
Well.. I cannot deny they are the most hospitable, sharing and curious people. For most of them that I've met I'm the first and only foreigner they see. Often it happens that we get invited to smebody's house for tea which here mean a few hor stay with talking, drinking tea, trying some local sweets and sometimes also food. Very often they want to help us if we have a problem, they reassure us that we can always call if anything happens. In general they are very, very nice.
But there's always another side of the coin:
The curiosity has no boundaries here which is best explained in this picture I found in the Internet:
Most of the people we meet at school are also very immature and a lot of times I feel like I'm in middle school again.
One other thing is something I have been predicting before I arrive here and that is the lack of indifference for their actions. Everything they do has a second meaning. Since we're European they see some advantages they can get from us and some of the people would never even talk to us unless they wanted something. That kind of attitute I can feel more and more the longer I stay here.
Girls should also be careful with Azerbaijani boys. It's better not to smile or even look at some of them because they might immediately think you're interested in them. And if they do they will not let you live. So one advice: don't ever give out your phone numbers!
5. How is your university's teaching level?
When it comes to my university I have really mixed feelings because the way the classes are supposed to be conducted and the tasks we're supposed to have are quite ambicious. Some of the teachers really try to differentiate the classes and make them more interesting. Every classroom has a projector and each time we follow everything on a multimedia presentation. The thing is, the presentatons are later sent to the students so nobody pays attention to what is going on in the class. The classes themselves look exactly like in high school with one difference: nobody ever takes notes. What's more, nobody even has a notebook. Or a pen. I relaly doubt they're trying to type everythign in their iPhones but what else whould they be doing? ;)
One advantage I have here is that for each class we have to write a paper - a thing that's so unlikely to happen at my university back home. I concider it as a nice feature for myself but the fact is, I don't learn much here.
6. Life expenses in Baku
Baku is a very expensive city. Long time ago I learnt not to calculate the currency change because multiplying everything by 4 each time would give me a headache :) Even though some prices are so high I always laugh when I go to the store. The most expensive thing here is the housing. The prizes are so high and even though we have to face all the problems with the apartment and the landlords it's ridiculous. But be prepared because even in the city center you will not escape the typical Azerbaijani issues; mostly connected to the heating (in the winter) and air conditioning (in the summer). One cheap thing you will find here is of course gas for about 0,4 AZN per liter (1 AZN ~ 1,075). That unfortunately doesn't mean you can get a really cheap cab here.. :( But the public transportation is quite ok and cheap, too. For a subway ride you have to pay 0,2 AZN each time you enter the metro (after purchaising a metro card for 2 AZN which is refoundable) with no difference if you change the trains. The cost of the bus is the same but beware of the huge traffic, especially in the rush hour which is hard to predict here. If you decide to drive a car yourself than you need to have some driving experience already and be very brave. There's no such thing as sticking to the right side of the road and believe me, no extra space will be left on the road. If there are any traffic rules, I have no idea. You will find some of the traffic signs but not many people pay attention to them. What matters here is the horn. If you're loud enough on the street and look at the ther drivers you might not get killed. But I cannot guarantee this.
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