old homes

Its been just over a year since we moved out of our old house in Silver Spring. In that year I've lived in five different houses in three states and two countries, yet Piping Rock remains my default answer when people ask where I'm from.

I took a bunch of pictures before I left, and while they may not be my best, they are definitely among my favorites. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeraybourne/sets/72157609078890740/

Traveling to Azerbaijan

Last Wednesday we headed out of Philadelphia on a fleet of buses to get to JFK. The buses were fairly snazzy and featured such luxuries as reclining seats, a bathroom and 20 televisions. That’s one TV for every two people! The bus also came stocked with plenty of Jurassic Park and Zoolander, but while we got through the latter, we were only halfway through the former when we got to New York and now I’ll never know what happened to those poor dinosaurs (no spoilers plz). My time at JFK was ok but the trip got increasingly nightmarish as it went on and I lost all sense of time. In flight movies included Night at the Museum II (thumbs up would watch again. Readers at Cherry Hill note that this movie would be a surefire hit) and every movie I saw this summer.

After getting to Azerbaijan we spent a week in a walled hotel for orientation week.

On Monday I moved in with my host family and they are amazing. I seriously live better here than I did in the U.S. in terms of amenities. More importantly everyone in the family is super laid back and friendly. My biggest problem at the moment is not getting homework done because I want to spend time with host brothers. Next weekend I’m heading up north for my site visit which is going to be awesome!

Will write again soon with more details on school etc.