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!