Let's just be honest here...

and say that this will probably be my last post from Armenia. 15 days left, and it is really much scarier then I ever thought it would be.

First, a quick recap of the last 2 months. MY PARENTS CAME TO VISIT!! Yup yup! It was amazing. Just how excited was I, you ask? Well, first let me describe the arrivals area of the Zvartnots airport. It is about the size of a small, mom-and-pop grocery story and is a big empty room with double doors connecting it to customs or whatever. Wrapping around these double doors are glass walls, where all of the waiting friends and family gather. As I stood there, smoshed against the glass, a small Armenian girl (no joke-she was probably two) was beside me with her grandmother. They were waiting for the girl's mother. The SECOND that the little girls mom walked through the doors and the little girl saw her through the glass, she bust out sobbing. Actually sobbing, I am talking full on screaming and crying and trying to run away from her grandmother towards the opening in the glass to meet her mom. I, being already close to tears and freaking out Armenians by bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet, promised myself I wouldn't do that when I saw my parents...let me tell you, it was a close call. I cried, they cried and I pushed through a bunch of Armenians and quite honestly stopped them right on that 'security line' to hug them about 5 times each. It was fantastic!

The trip only got better from there : ) We spent time in Dilijan with my host family, and despite being woken up WELL before I wanted to be to translate, it was great. I was really happy to finally have my two families meet. The parents were also able to meet the old host family in Karenis, where we were treated to a great day of khorovats down by the river. It was the typical village experience, and a highlight of their trip for sure. Mom got a kick out of finally meeting the kids that she always sent presents to (and who quite honestly kept me sane during the harder times) and dad loved the drinking, fun loving, and big family atmosphere of the khorovats itself. In Martuni they got a taste of the 'PCV' life, when they stayed with me at another volunteers apartment. I made dinner from scratch (lasagna, yum) and everyone had a good time just kicking around. Even though the volunteer we stayed with has an amazing apartment by our standards, mom and dad were kind of shocked with the living conditions. Pretty sure dad thought he might die, and mom just started cracking up laughing as she laid down to go to sleep...in a state of disbelief!

After 10 days (way too short a time) I had to put them back on the plane. It was sad. I might have cried. They did get to take a whole big suitcase back for me though, and experienced the Armenian bribery system first hand when they wanted to check a 3rd bag at the airport.

Since then, things have been winding down. I finally had a chance to go down south (way WAY down south) and visit another volunteer in Meghri, and we for sure took the opportunity to drive along the Iranian border for a few minutes. That was pretty cool, you could see a village on the other side..the difference in architecture was interesting! On the same trip I got to ride the WORLD'S LONGEST TRAMWAY..yup. Be jealous. The tramways is the easiest way to get to Tatev, one of the prettiest monasteries in Armenia.

Today was my big goodbye khorovats with all of the teachers from the art school. Let me tell you, it was an incredible time. We went a little ways down the road to this 'basetka' or gazebo. Of course, it wasn't just a gazebo, but a whole picnic area complete with covered tables and swing. One of the guys from school had traveled out in the morning to reserve it for us! Soon enough (there were about 10 women there) the tables were set and the men were cooking the meat (pork-yum!). One of the woman had brought her two little boys, and we entertained ourselves with the Armenian version of dodge ball (way better then the normal version, FYI)until everything was all cooked. Vodka flowed throughout the meal, and toasts were said to all of us, and our lives, and to my journey back to America. I must have reassured them 10 times that I would never forget them...even gave a toast that involved me remembering them always and keeping them in my heart. Dancing followed after dinner, and finally a group of us took a short hike up to Jutavank, a small monastery on the outskirts of Dilijan that I had never been to. I walked with another woman and two of the male teachers, I lead the way. One of the men kept telling the other one to get ahead of me, because in Armenia a man is always in the front and back. The other woman got a kick out of it when I 'clicked' my disapproval at him and told him that he was crazy. Finally, around 9 (after 8 hours in the woods) I took a taxi home with a few of the teachers...it was really sad to say goodbye, knowing that there were some people there that I will probably never see again.

I have to get used to that though, only 15 days left...I picked up what is proably the last batch of letters from Mem today (well, honestly, the neighbor picked them up and brought them to me)and tomorrow I leave for my last two nights of visiting my old host family in Karenis. That is going to suck. Bad. Then off to 4th of July in Sevan and one last Green Camp before I come home for a few days before saying goodbye to my host family here. Ugh, I can't even think about that.

My microphone is broken, so phone calls home are going to probably not happen, which is just as well...since I will be there soon enough and have to focus on everyone here...

I want to thank all of you for sharing these two years with me. Dealing with the good days (that hopefully far outnumbered) the bad days. Thanks especially to my mem, for those weekly letters that got me through a lot of those bad days; and my mom and dad for always being there to make me pull myself together (and sending me amazing packages); and Gramp and Gramp and Phyllis, for always making me smile when we were on the phone...and to all of you for the support you have given me just by reading my infrequent and usually scatterbrained ramblings.


I guess I will see you on the flipside.

Abridged Version: My Last 2 Months

I need to stop promising that I will get better at this writing more often thing, I have had 2 years to follow through and clearly that hasn't happened yet. Sorry.

So, the last two months:

In early April I finally had the chance again to perfect my ravioli and lasagna recipes. A few volunteers got together in Martuni, and I spent 3 or 4 hours in the kitchen grating cheese, mixing curds, chopping tomatoes, simmering sauce making dough and filling ravioli (special shout out to Nick and Kyle for helping me to roll out all of the dough!). Thankfully, the recipes for both are pretty similar, and use the same ingredients...so it didn't get too crazy. Armenians make a meat ravioli like dish called plimini, and so I used the form for those to make the raviolis. It is a honeycomb shape and you stretch dough over the form, spoon in the cheese/curd mixture, stretch more dough over the top and then use a rolling pin (or wine bottle) to fix the two pieces of dough together. Let me tell you, MUCH easier then wrapping the ravioli by hand! If I do say so myself, the dinner was a big success, and I will for sure be bringing the form home to America so I can continue making all of my favorites from scratch! Other food that I will try to never buy again? pie, pie crust, cookies, spaghetti sauce and pizza. I have also had pretty good luck here with chicken pot pie, curries, and and other baked goods.

This year the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps was celebrated all around the world. PC staff encouraged the PCVs in each marz (or region in Armenia)to prepare some type of event for the community. In Tavush, the best marz ever..BEAR MARZ!, we decided to have our event in Ijevan along with the poetry contest that was scheduled to happen there. The poetry contest happened along with contests all over Armenia (a PC project, I organized one in Dilijan for the next week but more about that later) and at ours 13 of the 14 PCVs in Ijevan came to help out. Just under 60 children participated in the recitation contest, and a lot of them brought along family and friends. There was a short speech in the beginning talking about the PC and some of the work they had done in Armenia, and then the real work started. As the different forms (grades) presented their poems, the majority of the volunteers manned different stations aimed at keeping parents and kids busy! There was snacks and an information booth, as well as a mini health lesson, an English activity, an couple of arts and crafts project and of course (my favorite) a sports/team building 'corner'. The kids and the PCVs had a fun time alike, and it was nice to see all of the volunteers and to work with them on such a successful day!

The week after the 50th anniversary celebration/poetry recitation contest in Ijevan, I hosted the Dilijan local poetry competition. 25 children from 3 of the secondary schools in town picked an English language poem to recite for the contest, and in the weeks before I went around to the schools, helping the children with pronunciation and understanding their poems. On the day of the competition 3 other PCVs came down to help me judge and to write certificates, I served as the partial MC (with questionable Armenian skills, of course). Despite a small scheduling conflict and having to start 30 minutes late, the contest went off without a hitch and the kids were all pretty happy. In May, the 6 winners from my contest will join other children from all over the country in Hrazdan for the national contest.

The 2nd week of March also included an impromptu trip down south to Syunik Marz. I went with 3 other volunteers from up north and had a 4 day, 3 nights, 5 village/town tour. I took and incredibly nauseating 5 hour marshutka ride down to Kapan and stayed with another PCV in the village of Davit Bek. That night included some shenanigans in the newly renovated (thanks to the PCV) school gym and a delicious chicken khoravats! The next day we took a not so disgusting ride up to Sisian and stayed in a village outside of that with another PCV. That night included some delicious pasta and a group effort to 'Walk off the Pounds' in a very small living room. Hilarity ensued and there are pictures of us all acting ridiculous somewhere. The next day we took another not so good ride (see a pattern? this is why the North is WAY better then the South) to Goris to stay with another PCV host. Highlights of Goris included exploring the old caves around the town. Before Soviet times, most of the Gorisites built their homes against the mountains, using caves carved into the rock as cold rooms or cellars and even sometimes housing. When the Soviets came, they built the road in the mountain valley, causing a relocation of the town (and houses, brick by brick) into the valley and out of the mountains. This means that there are tons of these old caves left to explore, and some are still used as storage or animal barns. I know barn isn't the word I am looking for here, but the right word just won't come to me. Closing off the trip that night, we made some awesome stew (thank you boys) and some tasty lemon squares (us ladies)...then the next morning we crawled hesitantly back into taxis for the long ride back up to Yerevan.

After a pretty relaxing night in Yerevan, I woke up the next morning pretty stoked for the big Armenia-Russia soccer game that 40 of us PCVs had bought tickets for! Most of us had Armenian flag hats, compliments of a super knitter PCV, and I had made a scarf to go along with it. A Fulbright scholar that we know painted our faces with Armenian flags and we left on our way to the stadium, arriving about an hour and a half before game time. Oh my, was there craziness at the stadium. The crowd control was a little bogus (and dangerous) and more than once myself and another volunteer had to stop and talk to the policemen, asking them to let the rest of our group through the barriers. Our most common excuse was that they didn't speak English, and that we had to have them with us so we could translate. Then, when we finally worked our way through the crowds of big, drunk Russian men, we made it to our gate (about 20 of us in our one group) to find that it was closed. Another PCV and I worked our way through the angry, shouting men to the front of the gate to talk to the policemen guarding it. They told us that the gate was closed and wouldn't open again, at first telling us because they didn't want to let any more Russians in (we quickly pointed out that if we were Russia fans we wouldn't have the Armenian flag sported in so many ways and/or wouldn't be speaking only Armenian to them)and then later saying that we were too late (45 min before the game) and that the gates were closed for good. While the other PCV with me tried to call the football federation that had arranged our tickets, I decided to try to make friends with one of the policemen and convince him to let us in. After a lot of questions and pleading and playing the volunteer card (all in Armenian, mind you), and not a little bit of flirting and well practiced puppy dog eyes...45 minutes and a few phone calls to other officers later he finally was able to unlock the gate to let us all in! Victory! Sometimes it pays to be a girl ;)

The game was incredible, we were all so pumped up and Armenia (surprisingly) was able to hold their own. It was great to be a part of that, and more then a few Armenians were shocked to see a bunch of Americans cheering right along with them! Throats sore 1 1/2 hours later, the game ended in a tie, making this the furthest that Armenia has ever made it in the series (is it a series?)!! The Armenians left very, very happy. And the one lone section of Russians left with little fanfare. One more thing crossed off of my Armenia bucket list!

After all of the traveling, it was nice to have a solid week and a half in Dilijan. It still amazes me how much I miss my host family and sagging bed and ever-constant children when I am not there for a few days! My classes went really well, since most of my students are learning about animals, I made good use of the paper, stickers, string, and crayons I have to create 'animal books' with the kids. I had them talk about different biomes (desert, ocean, forest, rain forest,etc.) and we discussed what kinds of animals live where. After they had written out all of the vocab on the right pages, I gave them some cool fish and rain forest pop up stickers that my mom had sent (omg did that cause a mob) and let them go to town drawing all of the other animals. It was a pretty fantastic class, and it made me sad to think about leaving those kids in just 2 short months. They have lately been asking me when I am leaving, and whenever I tell them they ask when I will be back. It is hard to explain that it won't be very soon, and I have been promising to come back in 5 years to visit. Hopefully I will be able to make that happen, as all the kids have been telling me what class they will be in then and telling me to make sure I find them when I come back.

Today I came back from a weekend trip to Talin (in Aragatsevan Marz) to visit David, another PCV. This was the first time I visited him at his new site and also the first time that I have gone to see another volunteer still living with a host family. His family was amazing, and we stayed up pretty late playing Dorak (or 'stupid' in Russian) which is a card game that I am not a big fan of. It was still a good time though, with lots of laughs over some attempts (and some blatent)cheating and hissy fits by losing PCVs. Yesterday, we spend a good part of the day exploring a persian era fort (or 'berd' in Armenian). Our explorations (aided by David's host brother and some friends) had us crawling through stone tunnels and over some questionable stairs. It was pretty awesome. It also had me breaking out my teacher voice with the boys as they tested their rock climbing and jumping skills. On the walk home we stopped by a man made lake and laid in the sun relaxing for a bit, and later caught a ride back to David's house in time for some dolma for lunch. Yum!

Now, back in Dilijan until next Monday (when my COS, or Close of Service, conference starts..yikes!) I am looking forward to a paper crane folding event (to benefit those still suffering in Japan) with the local schools, and Easter lamb dinner with other volunteers, and finally..in 14 short days!...my mom and dad coming to visit!

And I am sure they will make sure I update my blog while they are here :)

Support my habit...pretty please?!?

The Winter that was slow to start is showing no signs of stopping. I am talking cold, ::brrrr:: cold!

What does that mean? I get an hour by my computer (tops!) before my frigid handsicles make it impossible for me to type. That is why 90% of my time (outside of classes) is spent within a 3 ft radius of my wood stove.

Those who know me know that I can't just SIT there with nothing to do. So I read a little, and write lessons, and then spend most of my time working on whatever knitting/crocheting project is available to me.

I just learned to crochet (thanks to some awesome Tavush ladies) and am working on improving my skills (since I only mastered the granny square) so I can make two very important ladies in my life blankets for their little spoiled ones-to-be.

In the knitting world, I am working on a simple scarf for a certain someone who wanted specific colors...and then I am moving on. To what? cables. Yes, cables. They intimidate me, but I will conquer them. First, in a scarf (check out ravelry.com) and then in a hat. Bring it. I am ready...

Sooooo here is the begging part! I am in desperate need of:

Knitting needles..I have 4,6, and 8...and the 4 is dpns, the other two normal. If anyone has any circular needles sitting around (I need smaller ones, for hats and mittens, since the only size found here is sweater big) or any other normal needles sitting around it would be GREAT if you could get them to my mom.

Also, a row counter, and those nifty little stoppers you put on dpns so your stitches don't fall off constantly would be pretty great too : )

As for crocheting. I have nothing. I am borrowing a hook from a friend. So ANYTHING that you have lying around and don't use anymore would be SUHWEET!



and, since I have already lost all of my shame; some peanut butter, fruit snacks/fruit cups, and some graham crackers would be amazing.

PS...I pinkie swear promise this is my very last desperate/begging blog, ever.

like I said, long...

Since we got the longest and gnarliest ‘loose end’ out of the way first, there are just a few more. I have mentioned in a few posts already that the GAD (Gender and Development) Initiative has been working with Armenian Young Women Association (AWYA http://www.aywa.am/en/index) to plan a Woman’s Day Expo, which will happen (now really cross your fingers) on April 4th. What is Woman’s Day? You ask…well, it is what it sounds like. A day (or days, as there happens to be two in Armenia) that celebrates the amazingness and awesomeness and incredibleness of women. Can you see why I like it? On Woman’s Day(s) all the ladies get flowers from their families, or students, or friends. And there is usually some type of celebration with cake and wine and cognac. Last year, PCVs worked with AWYA to organize a poster and essay contest. The contest was open to anyone from 6th form to 1st year in University, girls and boys, and they had to create a poster or write an essay around the theme ‘Women in the Workforce’. This year, we are looking to build up the event even more. The poster/essay contest this year is ‘Women in Leadership’ (and you can bet my kids will be participating) and the winners of the contest will be invited to Yerevan for an award ceremony. The ceremony will take place in the middle of our planned expo. Hopefully, there will be different NGOs there, focusing on Woman’s health, domestic violence, education, etc. We will also have different dance groups and craft exhibitors (all women, of course) and will even have a ‘childran’s section’ where younger children can come and play games or do team building exercises. Quite frankly, I am pretty darn stoked for the whole thing! Right now, I am working as the coordinator between AYWA and the PCV team that is working on the whole organization aspect of the event. We will hopefully have a venue organized soon, and from there we can work on enlisting NGOs and crafters and dance groups for the event.
Of course, outside of these events, life in Dilijan continues on. Dilijan might be my LONGEST and thickest string. It is my home, my community. It still puts a smile on my face as I walk down the street and a bunch of boys from my classes yell ‘hello’ at me from across the river, or actually mean it instead of just being rude little brats. Or when girls that never spoke to me before will walk down the stairs with me and talk to me about class or what is going on. I can honestly say that I love them, and really, they love me. It never gets old to walk in the class and see the kids jump up in excitement as a big smile spreads across their face. My after school English Environmental club is going spectacularly well. I am alone in the classroom, and they listen. They legit listen. And when someone doesn’t, they self police and the ‘problem’ is told pretty quickly to cut it out. I love playing the games with them, watching them learn things without the standard screaming teacher, shaming, and rote memorization that happens in the normal lessons. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and I am going to make valentines with the kids in my normal lessons, and then on Tuesday during club we are going to make some pretty valentines to give to one another.
If that goes well, I am even going to bring the Valentine theme into my adult English class at the unemployment center. This class happens for 2 hours every Wednesday. There are 10 or 15 women at every class (plus one man) and they are great. They are totally enthusiastic for everything that we are doing, and love just talking to me. In fact, the only reason I know the class exists is that they sent their teacher looking for me, telling her that they want me to come and help with class. Last week, my third class with them, we worked on food words, and taking a page out of my own Armenian training, I had them prepare menus to share with the rest of the class. This week (if the Valentine thing doesn’t work out) I am going to have them write out recipes. That should be a good time. My other ‘adult’ class or ‘conversation club’ is still going just OK. It has gotten much better though. I have given them more dialogues, and they have stopped fighting me about reading Dr Suess’ The Lorax. A nice compromise, I think.
My new and exciting project, which I am SURE I mentioned before was the ‘Border 2 Border’ walk that I will be participating in during the ENTIRE month of June, or at least the great majority of it. For 20 days (or 23) two groups of PCVs will be walking the entire length of Armenia, one group (mine) starting in the south, and the other group from the north. We will meet in the middle, Martuni specifically. All along the way we will be stopping to teach healthy lifestyles classes for groups in the villages along the way, and in Martuni we will have a large ‘health’ celebration. Another PCV, well versed in the ways of long distance walking, has sent us all a training routine and we are just now beginning to cement our collaboration with the Red Cross and World Vision. This is going to be huge, a nationwide event that will hopefully draw attention to the need for change. Check out our blog (http://walkacrossarmenia.wordpress.com) or find us on Facebook. Oh, and if you have any connections at UA or Nike or Adidas or anyplace like that, let me know…appropriate clothing for this marathon walk is pretty scarce in Armenia.
In other exciting news, my parents are coming to visit! Yes, after months and months of harassing (and threatening) my father passport applications (well, application, we were just waiting on his) have been submitted and plane tickets have been bought! No going back now! I am very, very excited for them to come and see me. Quite frankly, going more than a year without hugging your parents (at any age, and you know this) is pretty depressing. I miss them. I am also really happy that my two lives will finally meet. I have always referred to my life here in Armenia as my ‘Peace Corps Life’ and my life back in America as ‘the real world’ and I am pretty stoked that those two worlds will soon be coming together. For two years now, Armenia has been my ‘home’, and I have ‘families’ here that I feel like some part of the real world needs to meet and see and experience, or it won’t be real. I have talked about and explained and taken pictures of my life here, but honestly I want someone from home to experience it. So when I continue (as I will for many years) to talk about the people and places here, they will know what or who I am talking about. When I speak of my host family, to my parents they won’t just be some abstract family in Armenia that fed me (or overfed me, rather) but will be legitimate, tangible people that my mother has hugged and my father has taken shots with.
Bah. I have talked too much, if I keep going with all of these thoughts and random things swirling around in my head I won’t have anything to tell you about next time I write (which will be soon, I pinky swear promise).

And it's a long one since it has been soooo long....

Holy moly. I have just about 5 months left in Armenia. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone by, especially when it seems to drag through the cold, cold winter months. I have begun the ‘wrap-up’ process of my service, searching for all those physical and emotional loose ends that need to be tied up nice and tight before I can begin to leave this place that has been my home for the last 2 years. I am happy, and sad, and nervous, and excited all at the same time, and all of the emotions swirling around are taking up WAY too much space in my head. Thankfully, I have a lot of ‘loose ends’ to keep me busy. Well, that and the new projects that I am involved in. Whoops.
Let’s start with all of those pretty little loose ends. My time here has come full circle, and I am working now on Green Camps (or Environmental Leadership Camps) 2011. While on one hand I am happy that at least year I won’t be just tossed head first into the deep end and forced to learn how to swim, I am also disappointed that a lot of what we worked so hard on and for last year never came about. I guess that is the nature of these projects. What is that saying? ‘Reach for the moon and you will land among the stars’. The PCPP grant that we worked on has fallen a little bit short, and so in the last few days another volunteer and I have been working to cut and adjust and wheedle every single thing that we can out of the money that we did receive. So far, it looks like we will be having 3 small-scale day camps in 3 different regions of Armenia (Tavush, Gheghardgunik, and Syunik if you want to check out a map). Which means about 120 Armenian children will be able to attend. We will have the same(ish) curriculum, which hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to go through and adjust to not only reflect the reviews from last year, but to also account for the fact that there will not be any ‘advanced environmental leadership’ camp this year. On the up side, we will be working very hard this year to increase the visibility and sustainability of the ‘Green Camp’ program. A group of us, as part of the newly established Camps Initiative (which I co-chair, proud moment right here mom and dad, wipe that tear from the corner of your eye) have developed a sustainability plan which will allow future volunteers working with NGOs to transfer skills in a way that is logical and sustainable for the NGO and local community. These skills include budget management, curriculum development, logistical support, and evaluation along with a few others. Hopefully, the step by step plan is also flexible and clear enough that it can be easily passed off between volunteers as old ones leave and new ones come. With this plan, and a new memorandum of agreement, we will be approaching new NGOs in different regions of Armenia, offering our assistance in the planning and implementation of a ‘Green Camp’ in their area. Cross your fingers for us! While I am not doing nearly as much work as I had to do last year, just hearing the words ‘Green Camp’ tend to push my mind into a state of anxiety and exhaustion…but I know that in the end the reward will be worth it. Even if I only go to one camp this year : )
Oh, and if by any chance you would still like to donate to the ‘Green Camp’ cause, you can learn more about the project here:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=305-063

Նոր Տարի Շնորհավոր!

Nor Tari Schnorhavor!
Happy New Year!


So, while I am way to full and tired to write an actual blog, I would like to share the fallowing with you. The following is conversation which happened just a few minutes ago around our kitchen table...but let me set the scene for you first.

This morning the entire family got up and traveled over to my host mother's village, where we visited her oldest brothers house for New Year's festivities (we had visited her other brother's house yesterday). We were all dressed to the 9's and had a lot of fun as 15 of us crammed around one small table that was chalk full of horavats (bbq meat), salad (not the leafy kind, the mayo kind), fruit, and pickled veggies...oOo..and of course alcohol. We spent 2 hours eating and toasting and drinking and repeating it all over and over and over again. Then we danced. Then drunk people slept and we were driven home. My host sister and I immediately fell asleep (this being around 5 sometime)and were woken by my host mother right before dinner.

Since the big dining room table is set for company (as it must be for 3 or 4 days after New Year) we ate in the kitchen. I in my rumpled pajamas, complete with still in place excessive eye make-up sat next to my host mother who was still dressed nicely. Next to her sat my host dad, still a little tipsy. My host sister Lilit was next. She skipped the pj's part though before her nap and sat in her skewed dress, with crazy hair (magically her make-up was still perfect though), and lastly my tatik was on the other side.

Dolma, 3 day old cold chicken (totally normal, and will be served for 2 more days at least), and two types of salad were on the table...and we had some soda too.


Angie (host mom): Ararat, take another dolma, this is all that is left and we need to finish it

Ararat (host dad): No, I am full, I don't want it

Angie: It is fine, just have one more

Katie: snickers softly, since this is a running them in the family

Tat: Katie is laughing (with a smirk on her own face)

Angie: Well, Katie needs to take one more too. This is all I boiled, we need to eat it!

Katie (incredulous with her eyes wide): BUT this is my third!!!

Angie: You just take one more, I will take one, Ararat will, and Lilit

Lilit (host sister, also incredulous): What? But I didn't laugh!!

Angie: There are only a few left, one for me, and Katie, and Ararat, and Lilit (As she scoops them onto each person's plate). Ha, finished!

Ararat: Angie, (pointing at the still half full bowl of salad on the table), finish that salad, we need the bowl

All: (smirk, since this is something said quite often in my family at meal times)

Angie: No, it is fine, we will finish it tomorrow morning




I love it. This is my life, made just a little more full and tired during the New Year!


Happy New Year to you all, I hope you have an amazing year filled with happiness and love, surrounded by friends and family!


and PS: I pinkie-swear promise when all the celebrating quiets down I will write a real blog.

Christmas in the Caucasus!

Oh my, oh my do I have a lot to tell you all about.

As you know, my November and early December were pretty crazy. I attended my second and last All Vol (All Volunteer Conference) in Yerevan during four days in November. All Vol is a conference that EVERY SINGLE Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia attends. While there are meetings and general programs, the most important part of the conference (for us Volunteers, of course) is getting together with friends that you never really get to see. We made (well, I set tables, other people cooked) a huge Thanksgiving dinner on the first night, for all of the PC volunteers and staff. It was amazing delicious this year! There were 27 pies! After dinner, there was a variety show. A few brave volunteers got up to sing and read poems and what have you. My favorite act was a compilation of popular songs, modified to be about our life here in Armenia. It was hilarious!

Another highlight of All Vol this year was the HIV/AIDS Day flash mob that almost all of the PCVs took part in. A couple of hardworking PCVs who head up the HIV/AIDS initiative organized the event. We all ordered HIV/AIDs awareness tee shirts, and on the last day of the conference walked together to the Opera in Yerevan. The opera is a pretty busy area of the city, with lots of people driving and walking through. Of course, we all had our tee shirts covered up while we met some Armenians (mostly students) who would join us as we walked toward another busy road. As we walked to this area, we straggled along, spreading the group out and trying to look as 'normal' as possible. When the first people reached the spot where we would 'mob', a whistle was blown and we all took off our coats (so people could see our shirts) and stood in a funny, eye catching pose until the whistle was blown a minute later. When that happened, we put back on our jackets and walked away in different directions like nothing strange had happened. It was pretty cool. We got A LOT of looks, which was the point, and while people stared, hopefully they got a chance to see the informative posters that some of the volunteers were holding. They were great..showing statistics about HIV/AIDS in Armenia (most people believe it doesn't exist here) and talking about condom use (most Armenian men think they are immune to disease...vodka kills everything, right?). After the mob, we all met up at a local club, yes, all 90 something volunteers..and had some pizza and hung out. It was an amazing experience, one I was glad to take part in.

The HIV/AIDS problem here is actually a pretty interesting one. While awareness of the virus is for sure getting more attention, and slowly people are becoming more knowledgeable, I think a number of things make it hard to spread information and awareness in the country. The first is the taboo associated with all things sex related here. Women DO NOT have sex before marriage, end of story. Girl and boys are taught that it is SHAMEFUL to discuss any type of sex related topic. Unlike the US, there are NO sex-ed classes in schools to give the children here the basic facts they need to know to keep themselves safe and healthy, and from what I gather children are for sure not able to ask their parents any questions that they might have. Condoms are not widely used, and are usually deemed unnecessary. Teenage boys here actually call each other 'condom' as an insult.

Another problem is the gender role situation. I am hugely generalizing here, but it is not uncommon here for men to cheat on their wives (whether it be while they are away for months or years working in Russia, or even just visiting local prostitutes in their towns or villages). The men more likely then not do not use condoms, and then come back home to their wives. Wives in these situations have very few options, as divorce here is still a huge deal, and most often divorced women are unable to find a man willing to marry them in the future.

Thankfully, sex ed and health information is becoming less taboo here, especially in Yerevan, and hopefully the information will continue it's spread slowly out into the regions. Already, many NGOs and youth organizations are incorporating sex ed and HIV/AIDS into their programs, and example being the GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) camp that I was a counselor at last year. The camp organizers invited a doctor to come and speak to the girls about basic sexual education, and later left a long period of time for the counselors to answer questions for the girls, especially in the area of HIV/AIDS. I feel like Armenia is the US, 20 or so years ago...and hopefully when I come back and visit later in life, the population will be much more open and aware and informed about sexual health.

After All Vol, myself and a few other volunteers hung around to work with American Counsels in Yerevan to design and plan a mini Project Design and Management program for returned FLEX students. FLEX is a program that allows Armenian High School students (who have good grades and speak passable English) to travel to America to live and study for a year. When the students return, they are eligible to write and receive grants for projects in their areas, but sadly, much of the available money goes unused. This year, hopefully our 2 day mini program (probably happening the 2nd week of January) will teach them the skills they need to start writing projects that will improve their lives and the lives of those around them. I have worked with some FLEX alumni before, and have a lot of hope for awesome projects that will come out of our workshops.

As most of you know, after All Vol I went on VACATION! Yay! It was needed after a crazy couple of months, and I had a great time! Myself and another volunteer spent two days in Tbilisi, Georgia and then 5 days in Munich, Germany. It was incredible. I loved Tbilisi, it had little things that reminded me of Armenia (like an open market) but was so different. It was cleaner, bigger, and had a McDonalds. Yup. I ate there and it was delicious. I might have been a little ill after, but it was worth it. I really loved the architecture there as well, we visited one large church at sunset, and it was unbelievable gorgeous with lights hitting it just the right way. The art in the church was also very different then in Armenia, with paintings covered in gold except for at the faces of the various saints and members of the Holy Family. It was beautiful. The devotion of the people there was fascinating as well. Women are generally not allowed to enter the churches without their hair being covered, and candle lighting (like in Armenia) is the main activity. People will also pray in front of the portraits and icons of the saints. There are so many in the church, 100 or more, and you can see two or three people at a lot of them, praying as they touch the painting, and then leaning forward to kiss the piece before they leave. It was very calming and serene.

We also visited some fortress ruins in Tbilisi, which were right next to some Roman baths and an old mosque. It was a sweet little area. The fortress itself was cool. You have to walk up this steep, cobble stoned street to get there, and then follow these very unsafe paths to walk all around the fortress itself. Definitely not something that would be allowed in the states, but I loved it. The views were fantastic, and I loved walking around on something that people had been walking on for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. It was cool.

After a short layover in Riga, Latvia we finally landed in Munich! It was COLD. The airport was huge though, and we were easily able to catch the train into the city. It was gorgeous. After the monotony of architecture in a post-soviet country, I walked around with my neck craned staring at all of the amazing buildings we passed. Of course, the famous Christmas Markets were set up and in full swing, and all of that added with the nearly constant light snowfall just instantly pushed me right into the Christmas spirit! Since we were there for only 5 days, we did not plan too many trips. We visited Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, on our second day there. It is kind of hard for me to describe how I felt while I was there, but it was intense and emotionally draining. We were able to walk along part of the route that the prisoners walked on their way to the camp, walked through the famous 'freedom through work' gate, and even walked through the 'cremation section' of the camp. That last part is what got me the most. Everything was well preserved and still in place. You could still read 'showers' above the door leading to the gas chamber and could walk right by the cremation ovens that were used. At one point you walk into a big, empty concrete room and as you read the signpost on the wall it informs you that you are standing in the 'body room' where hundreds of starved, emaciated bodies were found waiting for creation when the camp was liberated. After that last bit I was drained and ready to go, only to discover the museum set inside the large building that held the registration, showers, and kitchen areas of the camp. The museum was far more then I ever expected. It was put together and designed in a way that just drew you deeper and deeper in. The pictures and facts they display were nothing I had expected to ever see or hear. After reading (and seeing) information about the medical experiments that the prisoners were used for, I admitted defeat and just sat down. I could not emotionally handle anymore. We left in a sad and somber mood, and for the rest of my life I will not forget what I saw there.

Thankfully, the next day we joined a tour group to head to Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that Disney's Cinderella castle is modeled after. The castle was quite a trip. We took a two hour train ride out to the town, and then walked up a big hill to the castle itself. The views and scenery were amazing, and the snow, once again, set the mood. Here, try this out...walking in a lazy snow up this large hill, sneaking peeks of a huge and beautiful castle around corners and through the trees. It was pretty amazing, and definitely the mood lifter that was needed. At the top of the hill, near the castle, you could buy sausages and pretzels, hot chocolate and mulled wine as you waited for your tour time. It was a typical 'German' setting. I had some hot chocolate, yum :) The tour itself only lasts about 15 minutes, but it was incredible. The castle was unbelievably detailed and intricate. In the finished areas (yes, the king was murdered so they didn't finish it, more on that later) there was not a bare space to be found. Walls were painted with intricate scenes from fairy tales and operas, and furniture was carved in such detail it was hard to take in. The headboard and canopy of the king took 1 1/2 years for 60 woodworkers to finish. Yes, that detailed. The story now? It is a good one. King Ludwig was not loved by his dad, who might not even be his real dad (oh, my) and spent most of his youth bored and daydreaming. He admired and idolized an opera writer (don't remember the name)and designed the castle based on his operas. Problem was they had no money, and the young King was blowing through his family's wealth. The people in the regions loved him, because his castle projects (there were at least 3) were giving them jobs, but the rich elites and his family didn't like his ways and were not impressed with his money spending (on frivolous, intricate castles) skills. So, one day they had a doctor who had never met him declare him insane and unable to lead the country...and then arrested him. The next day him and the doctor went for a walk all alone and unguarded around a huge lake(suspicious??) and then were found dead. They were shot, but the official story is that they drowned, even though no water was found in their lungs. Work on the huge, intricate castles stopped immediately, and the Nueschwanstein castle was opened 6 weeks later as a museum. Oh, and the castle was never finished, 70% or something like that is still unfinished to this day.

The rest of our time in Munich was spent walking around, visiting Christmas Markets and shopping around for my ipod touch (which is fantastic by the way). It was an incredibly relaxing vacation (despite some money problems) and I really would like to go back to Munich one day. Sadly, I don't have pictures since my camera is still broken..but hopefully my friend will put them on Facebook soon.

Since returning to Armenia I have done no work, which means Nor Tari (New Years) is right around the corner. It is about this time every year that everything and everyone shuts down and stops work to get ready for the crazy holiday that is New Years. Christmas here is celebrated on January 6th, but because of Soviet Era restrictions, most of the Christmas celebrations and traditions were hoisted onto New Years, and have remained there ever since. Since I am experiencing my first New Year here, I am nervous, but know what to expect. Days and Days (usually the 1st through the 5th) of visiting friends, eating, and drinking and repeating all over again. My family has already started preparations. The tree (fake and tiny, pretty normal here) is decorated and beautiful, garland is draped over every available space, and lights are up on the wall and some houses. We have bells hanging over the door handles (my personal favorite, when I came home and found them I walked in and out of the door several times) and the host mom is browsing magazines for interesting and pretty dishes to prepare for her guests. Now, keep in mind visiting here is in no way shape or form like visiting in the states. People have open houses, really, and people drop in whenever they can between 8 in the morning and 11 at night. I feel tired just thinking about it, but can't help but get excited when my family asks for the hundredth time if I will really, REALLY be around for the holidays this year. It will be fun! and I can't wait to give out my presents and take pictures of the festivities!

Well, on that note I need to go finish up a gift for our American Christmas that is happening in Gavar (near Sevan) on the 24th and 25th this year. A bunch of volunteers are getting together there for our own little celebration, and I am very much looking forward to not being alone and lonely on our Christmas day.

Happy Holidays!