Lu Out, Sterling In

Don Lu is finally out of here.  We knew he’d be leaving us soon, heading to his new post for the State Department, and that day has come.  Don Lu was the Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy here in Baku, and I’m pretty sure he was one of the nicest guys I’ve met.  And funny, too.  And he had a very firm handshake, of which I am envious.  For the past year, he’s been the acting ambassador, since we still don’t have one.  He was very welcoming to PCVs, as he, himself, was a PCV in West Africa 20-some odd years ago.  I think I first mentioned him here in this post about our Swear-In ceremony back in December.  At least from our Peace Corps perspective here, the new guy has some shoes to fill.  I was intrigued to find out that Adam Sterling speaks Azerbaijani, though:

Adam Sterling will replace Lu in this position. Sterling started work last week, the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan said. Prior to his appointment, Sterling worked in the U.S. Department of State, the White House and National Security Council as head of Central and Eastern Europe Department.

He also served in the U.S. embassies in Israel, Kazakhstan, Belgium and Peru. Sterling is a career American diplomat and speaks French, Spanish, Azerbaijani and Russian languages. He is married, and has two children.

People will be impressed, but the French and Spanish probably won’t get him very far here.