posted by Alina Jidkova on Travel

3 comments

 

The day after we came back home from Honduras, I was on the plane again. This time my destination was Baku, Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is the largest country in Caucasus region of Eurasia. And it used to be a part of Soviet Union. Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan. It’s a nice city with lots of history. Located on Caspian sea. Baku is a muslim country  with democratic views and its own language. Lots of people still speak Russian there. So communicating was not a problem for me.

Galina got in the main draw, so we had a couple of days to practice. Hot and humid weather didn’t let players “enjoy” their matches or practice. Even for me, coming from Florida it was hot. From noon to about five it felt like sauna outside. At some point, Galina’s energy drink melted. The small plastic bottle became a letter “C” after laying in the shade on Galina’s chair. So everyone was trying to practice early, go back to the hotel and wait the heat out. But for those who had to play a match in a heat? Prepare to suffer.

Hotel and club were nice. People were friendly and the food was great. We only had two incidents that occurred during our stay. One of them was with transportation drivers. Every day they complained about amount of people on the bus. Too many, too little. They never left on time and one day Galina and me were blamed for relationship between Russians and Azerbaijanians. The guy basically told us that we were racists and treat them like second class citizens. And all we did was sit on his bus going to the courts!

We were really upset by these comments. We’ve traveled all over the world and have respect for all the nations. Especially when we have nothing to do with politics between nations. Than someone told us not pay attention to this driver. He was just mad that female tennis players and female director were bossing him around. And as a muslim man with firm beliefs, he didn’t like that.

There was another time, when I encountered a man like that. I was sitting on the bleachers watching a match. My feet were slightly on the top of the chair in front of me. A young security guard came up to me and told me to sit straight. Put my legs down and cross them. I was surprised by his comment. Last time somebody told me how to sit, I was seven years old. And it was in communist school. But I listened and took my feet of the chair in front.

Than I stretched my legs down the stairs next to me. Because the space between the rows was small even for me. The guard came again and started threatening me. That he will kick me out and all that crap. I smiled and told him to mind his own business. I am a free woman and I sit as I please! It’s not like I am naked or trying to be! I guess in some muslim countries, women don’t have many rights. I am lucky to be free and do what I want. Go where I want, dress the way I want. Unfortunately some women can’t.

Galina did really well in Baku. She got to the semis in singles and finals in doubles. Scoring one of the best wins of her career against Pavluchenkova. For every match she played, I was equipped with a microphone, and all of her matches were shown on TV in other countries. Russia was one of them. Unfortunately some of the commentators didn’t recognize me. Even though they commentated my matches when I played. Hopefully they will do their job and research who Galina’s coach is.

Because of a very busy schedule and intense heat during the day, we never got to see anything in Baku. Even though it has an ancient history and a sea. Maybe next time I will have more time to visit a monument or ruins. The only fun thing we did, was the player party. It was organized on the last floor of the hotel. With a large terrace overlooking the city. Food was never ending and it reminded me of Russia. Every time I come back to Russia, my mother organizes the same table. The food is never ending and the selection is incredible. If you want to get to know Russians, eat with them. We have large stomachs and when we eat we show our large souls.