Disclaimer.....since writing this my new site has been changed, but I do not have the time to elaborate now. I can tell you that I am now going to the town of Vayk, which is the south of the country near the city of yegheghnadzor. You can probably find that on a map. Check in next week for an accurate update,
So much has happened since my last post that I barely know where to begin, and yet I can hardly keep my eyes open long enough to type these few words. It is my goal to get this entry at least started so I can post it sometime in the next week or so. As you will soon find out, things are extraordinary busy and schedules and are a little out of the ordinary as well. But my brain gets ahead of my fingers…we will begin with those events which have already occurred (they are easier to write about, anyhow).
I think the rainy season is finally passing us by—it is still raining, but less frequently, and although it took almost 5 days, my clothes finally dried. Well, maybe dry isn’t quite the proper term, but they were enough less wet to iron, fold and put away. Almost everything in my room is damp enough that it feels wet when I put it on. But, my room is now up to a balmy 64 degrees, meaning I can sleep without wool socks and a sweatshirt. This is July after all. Can also now add to my list of accomplishments figuring out how to open the windows in my room, which has helped some with the humidity and cold.
Sunny weather also means hikes, and I finally got to go on a nice long sweaty one with four fellow trainees—we were gone about 5 hours and were able to follow a road up above the village into the mountains for some awesome views. It was so nice to finally get some real exercise again and to get my heart rate up! Our hike was in the shorter range, which we were nearly at the top of. Probably 8,000 feet or so. The taller range still has snow on it in patches and I still hope to get there before the end of PST. Which, by the way, is rapidly passing us by at this point. In fact, today (July 6) marks the middle—it is down hill from here! I am super psyched to finally have gotten some good exercise (and a sunburn, and blisters…) and the scenery was enough to make want me do the same hike every week. Rolling green mountains, grazing cattle, vibrant wildflowers, streams and waterfalls, and even forests. We will certainly all miss Margahovit when we move on. More on that subject in a bit…gonna try to keep this in chronological order here…
The day after our hike was July 4th, which we celebrated in style with a giant picnic for all the trainees and their host families in a nearby town called Steppanavan. Not only did we get to celebrate our American Holiday, but we got to share it with the Armenians, who in turned shared some of their customs and celebrations with us. It was quite a day! We took a bus to Steppanevan, which took almost two hours, mostly because busses in this country do not go fast and uphill at the same time. Also because busses run on Natural Gas instead of gasoline, and stopping at the “gas station” is a 30 minute process: everyone has to get off the bus, the old tanks (which are large red things on the roof) are taken off and new tanks are put on. Kind of cool, but not something to do when you are in a hurry. Not that hurry is really something that Armenians know about. Our journey also took a while due to the cows laying in the road. That’s right, just having a little np in the middle of the highway—a nap that not even busses can disturb.
Upon arriving at a clearing in the forest outside of Steppanavan, we played games and socialized while the fire pits for the horavats (barbecued meat) were prepared. Meat (mostly pork, but also some chicken) is cooked in big chunks on long metal skewers—about 3 feet long or so, over large pits of coal. This is a mans job. The women in turn prepare the rest of the meal—cut tomatoes and cucumbers, arrange fruit and cookie plates, etc., and set the “table,” a long piece of plastic for each village, lined with place settings and filled with food. It was quite a sight. While this was going on the kids and the volunteers played. One learning for the day was that Armenians do not have Frisbees. We taught the kids how to catch and throw them (after a lot of coaxing) and they enjoyed it, but I spent a lot of time chasing Frisbees down hills rather than catching them….what a cross-cultural exchange! And then, of course there was dancing, most of which occurred after lunch. Lunch? Dinner? Both? And the next meal too…..
The second learning for the day? Give me vodka at lunch, and I will dance. Not only that, but I will dance well, much to the Armenians delight. It is a good thing Armenian dancing isn’t too difficult, I have a feeling I will be doing a lot of it in the next two years. This was actually the first time I have had vodka with the Armenians, which I am a little surprised about, since it is basically the national drink. Almost more common than water, and cheaper than beer. I have been offered a few times previously, but this was the first time at a big party with toasts to the Americans, so I had to at least take some in my glass. I decided that I had set enough of a precedent in the earlier weeks here that a shot or two mixed with juice would be okay. It was, and they respected me when I said no more. My host family was just delighted that I was drinking and dancing…I am such a good Armenian!
Seven hours later we started back home, and when we were almost there when the Armenians had a proposal: “lets stop somewhere and eat the leftover food and dance!” To which the Americans responded: “Are you kidding? You want to eat and dance again? It is 9pm and we have donw nothing but eat all day.” Apparently these are silly considerations. Our LCF’s to the rescue…we did not stop, but had a second feast the following night at one of the trainees houses to eat the leftover meat. Which I am sure wasn’t refrigerated. I am so surprised that I am not sick yet…really. At least they heated it up again.
The fun and excitement of this week continued today with permanent site announcements! Perhaps you are as anxious to find out as I was until this morning…. Well, I’m not going to tell.
Okay, fine, you got me….I can’t not tell. (Drum roll please)
My new site will be a village called Yernjatap (yair-en-JA-top). Don’t worry, you won’t find it on any map, so don’t bother trying. Look instead for Aragatsotn Marz, (a marz is basically a state) North of Yerevan. Yernjatap is located near Aparan, which might be on the map if you can find a good one. If not, then the best I can tell you is that it is in the NorthEast section of the Marz. It is a small village, pop. 650 (compared to probably over 5,000 in Margahovit). It is also a brand new Peace Corps site, meaning that I will be the first PC Volunteer the villagers have ever seen, or probably heard of, and most likely the first American as well. This brings its blessings and challenges. I won’t have to deal with precedents set by earlier volunteers, which usually go one of two ways—either the saint whose reputation you can never live up to, or a volunteer who gave Americans a bad reputation that you can never live down. It also means that I will most likely spend a great deal of time in the coming months trying to explain who I am, what the PC is, and what I am doing in a small Armenian village for the next two years. Add to this the fact that I am an EE volunteer, and there is currently no EE program of any sort there in the schools, and the concept of ecology and environmental education is new to the country as a whole. Additionally, there is currently no foreign language being taught in the schools, which means two things: one, no English is spoken in the village (this includes my counterpart), and two, they will want me to teach English. Hello, secondary project.
My sense of the situation is that I will have a lot to do…eventually. First, I will have to endure a lot of coffee and chocolate, a lot of talking and not much doing, and a lot of trying to figure out how to say that I am from the Peace Corps and I will be teaching about the environment. Actually, I already know how to say that, it is more like trying to figure out how to say WHY I am doing that and why it is important. My actual job assignment entails working at the village school, which also serves a neighboring village, with the biology teacher (my counterpart). They are interested in starting an ecology club and I will probably eventually help with the science classes as well. Once I figure out the language, that is. I am also assigned to work with what seems to be a fairly successful NGO (non-governmental organization) called Armenian Forests, which is based in Yerevan. I do think that there are people with the NGO that speak English…this is good. My language skills are coming along, but I am by no means fluent and am pretty sure I won’t be in 5 more weeks. PC does allow us a tutoring allowance to continue our lessons while at site. I fully intend to take advantage of this, and it is a possibility at this point that my current teacher, Hasmik, may be able to be my tutor as well. I am very excited about that possibility as we are developing a nice friendship and her English is very very good. She is also an excellent teacher, and teaches English at one of the Universities in Yerevan during the year.
Fortunately, my site is close to Yerevan, and there is a daily shuttle from Yernjatap to Yerevan. This means I will have good access to goods (maybe even peanut butter!), I will be close to the PC office, and many volunteers come to Yerevan on the weekends, so I can see them as well. There is also an A12 who lives in Aparan, which is very close and also has a daily shuttle—I am sure we will become good friends! My village only has one phone—its in the post office—so internet in the village is out of the question, and phone won’t be much better. But again, Yerevan is probably the best place in the country for communication, so don’t you worry. And write lots of letters…there IS a post office.
On Tuesday we leave for Yerevan as a group to meet our counterparts at a conference in Yerevan and then travel to our sites for a three-day visit. This will give me a chance to meet (and evaluate) my 6-monh home-stay family and see what exactly I will be getting myself into. I should mention that Yernjatap is located in on the flanks of Mt. Aragats, the tallest peak currently residing in Armenian, and is a part of the marz that is highest in elevation. This means beautiful scenery, nice forests nearby (fast becoming a scarcity in Armenia right now) and cold winters with lots of snow. I am currently trying to figure out the best method of getting my hands on some snowshoes, I hear that I will need them! I am also curious of the heating methods used in the village. Central heating doesn’t really exist in this country, and the methods used range from wood stoves to gas to electricity to cattle dung. My impression is that each household usually uses a combination, because although most households are equipped with modern (well, relatively so) heating such as electricity or gas, the cost is prohibitive to using it regularly, or to heating the entire household. Time will tell….
Although I am a bit nervous about living with an Armenian family for six more months, I am also relieved to have the opportunity to learn things like how to survive the winter and what to cook when fresh fruits and vegetables are no longer an option. I understand this to include a lot of cabbage and potatoes! So, those of you who at home who are perpetuating the potato joke will have your redemption. I am learning to like cabbage. And mushrooms, they were he main course last night. I am also learning to eat things that I might never eat and the states and consider it a meal. What, you may ask? Well, hard boiled egg and butter sandwiches for one, perhaps I will enumerate further in a subsequent entry. Stay tuned.
I get off track….it remains difficult to live with a family and to adapt to cultural norms of being pampered and meddled with. Regardless, I have no choice, and I am learning more and more about the culture and ways to interact each day. Theoretically, it should be easier the next time around. It is still difficult to think that I have to go through the process again however—the awkward social moments, the feeling each other out for boundaries and limitations, the mutual learning about culture and expectations, the constant best behavior…it is all tiring. It is sort of like breaking up with somebody and then facing the prospect of starting a whole new relationship again: exciting, yet daunting. I also must consider the fact that I will be in this village for the next two years and the way I present myself and interact with my host family will affect my work potential infinitely. I have had some discussions with PC staff members about how to present myself as a young single woman in a new village. Their advice: make friends with the tateeks (grandmothers), all of them. Older women are very respected in this society, and if they all adopt me as their own, the village will do the same, even the young men. Once this has occurred I will be ready for business, but I need to be patient for this to happen.
Patience, a two year practice in patience. Armenian is a slow country, everything takes longer, and you have coffee before you do it anyhow. I am excited about the prospects of my site—it has many opportunities to pave my own road and truly make a difference, but I have to ride out the waves in the beginning in order to make space for this to happen.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Saturday, July 02, 2005
PST 5
Finally managed to get these posts up...I have been having trouble accessing my blog lately. So, two in one day--enjoy!
The clouds and rain continue to hover over margohovit, leaving us to wonder if the sun will ever come out…and will it ever get warm again or have we witnessed the only existing two days of summer and now it is back to winter? I sit in my bed under my covers with my winter hat on and gaze out my window at what used to be beautiful mountains. Now it is simply a cloud. Being in a valley whose elevation is around 7,000 feet, we often find ourselves in a cloud, and I am not talking about the mental state. This presents many problems beyond the obvious gloomy day syndrome. Perhaps the most pressing is that I am running out of clothes and can’t do my laundry (unless I like my clothes to smell like mildew….I like barf better). I have been waiting for three days now for the clouds to clear and the rain to go away so I can dry my clothes… still no luck.
We had hoped for a hike yesterday but the lack of any sort of view and village streets, which had turned into mushy manure filled rivers, deterred us. I did make it into to Vanadzor, and after another pot-hole dodging, cheek clinching, cow-herd swerving (we drove through three herds this time), down-pouring journey…I bought a hairdryer! Very exciting. Now I won’t catch a cold! It cost me 5000 drams (about 10 US dollars) which is pretty good for what I bought…but still five days salary at this point, or about two phone calls home. Regardless, it was a good purchase, and even more, it is symbolic that life here is becoming easier and more manageable. Just think of all that I had to do to find this hairdryer: get to Vanadzor (a dissertation in itself), find a store that sells hairdryers (not as easy as one might think), communicate to the clerk that I would like a hairdryer as everything is behind a counter and you have to ask for what you want, ask the clerk how much the hairdryer costs, and then actually pay for the thing. Practically an entire days work…but now I know where more stores are, and have a better idea of what I can buy and how to buy it.
I have had a few questions as to what a typical day is like, so I thought I would write a bit about my day. Today I woke up at 7:30 (all by myself today), got dressed—not a difficult task (would I like to where the black fleece or the green sweater? My only two options right now for days like this—thank god my wonderful mother is sending me more clothes!)., and headed upstairs for breakfast. A typical breakfast for me at this point is a hard-boiled egg, herbal tea with sugar and jam, bread and jam, and sometimes some cheese or potatoes or meat product. Yup, you guessed it….hot dogs! Today the pickings were a bit slim because my host parents had been at a wedding all weekend, so: processed ham slices, bread and prune jam (the jam here is whole fruit in a sugary sauce…so plums—pits and all—and sugar, basically), and of course tea and coffee. I left the house at 8:30 and walked to Eric’s house, where I had more coffee, fried potatoes and some sort of fish patty, although usually I only have coffee. Then Eric and I walked to school, which begins at 9:00. Today’s lesson was months, weather terms, seasons, ordinal numbers, favorites, and review of yesterday’s lesson. We had a break at 11:00—my mother always sends me with a small lunch for break, today was processed ham slices in a large piece of bread and three hard candies. After break we split into our tech sectors—our village has 6 EE volunteers and two TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language)—and we learned vocabulary specific to our sectors. So, environmental terms and the phrase “I am an environmental education volunteer, I work in the system of nature protection.” This may not seem too difficult until you see the word for environmental…banapahpahnutsyan. Yeah….
So, the whole phrase?
Yes banapahpahnutsyan kamavor em. Ashgatelu-em hamagarkuh banapahpahnutsyan.
Yup that’s right, now try writing it in Armenian…
At 1:30 class ends, and I walked back home. In the rain. It takes about 20 minutes if I don’t stop and Eric’s house for coffee. Second lunch is at 2:00. Today was fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, bread and apricot jam (same deal, whole apricots and lots of sugar….so much sugar it is crunchy, but very good ). This leads me to another accomplishment…eating fish without making a gigantic mess. Fish here is served with skin, tail, bones, fins, eyeballs…you should have seen me the first time I tried to eat it, I ended up with skin, fish, bones and other random pieces everywhere while my host family had a neat little pile of fish skeletons next to their plate, I think all of my fish bones ended up in my mouth. Not to worry, I have figured out how to get the fish off the bone and then to peel the skeleton (whole) off the rest of the fish. I am a pro.
After second lunch is nap time, it is too rainy to do anything else. Then a little reading. Required reading: Mango Elephants in the Sun, by Susana Herrera. A wonderful account of a peace corps volunteer’s service in Africa. Very different than my experience but still with similar undercurrents. I have also started to do some exercise in my bedroom, which makes me feel much better. Yoga today. Then I head upstairs to do my homework and to have afternoon coffee with my family. And four apricots (maybe not such a good idea, but I couldn’t help myself…they are so good). Did you know that you can break open the pit with a nut cracker and there is a seed inside that you can eat? Tastes kind of like a pumpkin seed with almond flavoring. Try it, you’ll like it.
Dinner follows afternoon coffee—I think you get the point with the food. There is lots of it, it all appears on the table at mealtimes, we eat said items until they are gone or the meal is over, and then we put them back in the cupboards for the next meal. Things we would refrigerate in the US live in cupboards here…or in a pot on the stove top, sometimes for days at a time. Fortunately that is usually lentils or potatoes…things have less of a chance of going bad. Eggs, fruit and veggies and yogurt go in the refrigerator. Cheese, bread, jam and certain vegetable items go in the cupboard. The translation for cupboard, by the way, literally means a place to put things, and also refers to bookcases, wardrobes, dressers and cabinets…very specific. After Dinner I am offered more coffee—at this point I start saying no in hoped of sleeping at a decent hour. The family usually moves to the living room where the television is on (really loud), they talk to each other (really loud…try shouting at the person sitting next to you on the couch, you’ll feel Armenian), and sometimes they study in the midst of this. My host mother is studying computers at the local university and my sister has summer reading to do.
Sometimes I sit upstairs with them and study—although it can be hard to concentrate at times (hard to imagine, I know)—sometimes I bring my computer up and type, but I have gotten so fed up with them reading over my shoulder and trying to sound out words As I type them that I have pretty much stopped taking the computer out of my room. Sometimes I hang out in my bedroom and work, but it is colder in my room and I feel guilty for not being with the family as much. My solution? My iPod, which the teens think is very cool, and helps me to block out the distractions…we’ll see how long it lasts.
Hope everyone is well in the US. Should be a busy few weeks here with lots to look forward to, including new site assignments and a trip to Yerevan! Lots of Love,
Jill
The clouds and rain continue to hover over margohovit, leaving us to wonder if the sun will ever come out…and will it ever get warm again or have we witnessed the only existing two days of summer and now it is back to winter? I sit in my bed under my covers with my winter hat on and gaze out my window at what used to be beautiful mountains. Now it is simply a cloud. Being in a valley whose elevation is around 7,000 feet, we often find ourselves in a cloud, and I am not talking about the mental state. This presents many problems beyond the obvious gloomy day syndrome. Perhaps the most pressing is that I am running out of clothes and can’t do my laundry (unless I like my clothes to smell like mildew….I like barf better). I have been waiting for three days now for the clouds to clear and the rain to go away so I can dry my clothes… still no luck.
We had hoped for a hike yesterday but the lack of any sort of view and village streets, which had turned into mushy manure filled rivers, deterred us. I did make it into to Vanadzor, and after another pot-hole dodging, cheek clinching, cow-herd swerving (we drove through three herds this time), down-pouring journey…I bought a hairdryer! Very exciting. Now I won’t catch a cold! It cost me 5000 drams (about 10 US dollars) which is pretty good for what I bought…but still five days salary at this point, or about two phone calls home. Regardless, it was a good purchase, and even more, it is symbolic that life here is becoming easier and more manageable. Just think of all that I had to do to find this hairdryer: get to Vanadzor (a dissertation in itself), find a store that sells hairdryers (not as easy as one might think), communicate to the clerk that I would like a hairdryer as everything is behind a counter and you have to ask for what you want, ask the clerk how much the hairdryer costs, and then actually pay for the thing. Practically an entire days work…but now I know where more stores are, and have a better idea of what I can buy and how to buy it.
I have had a few questions as to what a typical day is like, so I thought I would write a bit about my day. Today I woke up at 7:30 (all by myself today), got dressed—not a difficult task (would I like to where the black fleece or the green sweater? My only two options right now for days like this—thank god my wonderful mother is sending me more clothes!)., and headed upstairs for breakfast. A typical breakfast for me at this point is a hard-boiled egg, herbal tea with sugar and jam, bread and jam, and sometimes some cheese or potatoes or meat product. Yup, you guessed it….hot dogs! Today the pickings were a bit slim because my host parents had been at a wedding all weekend, so: processed ham slices, bread and prune jam (the jam here is whole fruit in a sugary sauce…so plums—pits and all—and sugar, basically), and of course tea and coffee. I left the house at 8:30 and walked to Eric’s house, where I had more coffee, fried potatoes and some sort of fish patty, although usually I only have coffee. Then Eric and I walked to school, which begins at 9:00. Today’s lesson was months, weather terms, seasons, ordinal numbers, favorites, and review of yesterday’s lesson. We had a break at 11:00—my mother always sends me with a small lunch for break, today was processed ham slices in a large piece of bread and three hard candies. After break we split into our tech sectors—our village has 6 EE volunteers and two TEFL (Teaching English as a foreign language)—and we learned vocabulary specific to our sectors. So, environmental terms and the phrase “I am an environmental education volunteer, I work in the system of nature protection.” This may not seem too difficult until you see the word for environmental…banapahpahnutsyan. Yeah….
So, the whole phrase?
Yes banapahpahnutsyan kamavor em. Ashgatelu-em hamagarkuh banapahpahnutsyan.
Yup that’s right, now try writing it in Armenian…
At 1:30 class ends, and I walked back home. In the rain. It takes about 20 minutes if I don’t stop and Eric’s house for coffee. Second lunch is at 2:00. Today was fish, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, bread and apricot jam (same deal, whole apricots and lots of sugar….so much sugar it is crunchy, but very good ). This leads me to another accomplishment…eating fish without making a gigantic mess. Fish here is served with skin, tail, bones, fins, eyeballs…you should have seen me the first time I tried to eat it, I ended up with skin, fish, bones and other random pieces everywhere while my host family had a neat little pile of fish skeletons next to their plate, I think all of my fish bones ended up in my mouth. Not to worry, I have figured out how to get the fish off the bone and then to peel the skeleton (whole) off the rest of the fish. I am a pro.
After second lunch is nap time, it is too rainy to do anything else. Then a little reading. Required reading: Mango Elephants in the Sun, by Susana Herrera. A wonderful account of a peace corps volunteer’s service in Africa. Very different than my experience but still with similar undercurrents. I have also started to do some exercise in my bedroom, which makes me feel much better. Yoga today. Then I head upstairs to do my homework and to have afternoon coffee with my family. And four apricots (maybe not such a good idea, but I couldn’t help myself…they are so good). Did you know that you can break open the pit with a nut cracker and there is a seed inside that you can eat? Tastes kind of like a pumpkin seed with almond flavoring. Try it, you’ll like it.
Dinner follows afternoon coffee—I think you get the point with the food. There is lots of it, it all appears on the table at mealtimes, we eat said items until they are gone or the meal is over, and then we put them back in the cupboards for the next meal. Things we would refrigerate in the US live in cupboards here…or in a pot on the stove top, sometimes for days at a time. Fortunately that is usually lentils or potatoes…things have less of a chance of going bad. Eggs, fruit and veggies and yogurt go in the refrigerator. Cheese, bread, jam and certain vegetable items go in the cupboard. The translation for cupboard, by the way, literally means a place to put things, and also refers to bookcases, wardrobes, dressers and cabinets…very specific. After Dinner I am offered more coffee—at this point I start saying no in hoped of sleeping at a decent hour. The family usually moves to the living room where the television is on (really loud), they talk to each other (really loud…try shouting at the person sitting next to you on the couch, you’ll feel Armenian), and sometimes they study in the midst of this. My host mother is studying computers at the local university and my sister has summer reading to do.
Sometimes I sit upstairs with them and study—although it can be hard to concentrate at times (hard to imagine, I know)—sometimes I bring my computer up and type, but I have gotten so fed up with them reading over my shoulder and trying to sound out words As I type them that I have pretty much stopped taking the computer out of my room. Sometimes I hang out in my bedroom and work, but it is colder in my room and I feel guilty for not being with the family as much. My solution? My iPod, which the teens think is very cool, and helps me to block out the distractions…we’ll see how long it lasts.
Hope everyone is well in the US. Should be a busy few weeks here with lots to look forward to, including new site assignments and a trip to Yerevan! Lots of Love,
Jill
PST 4
6/25/05
Bari Yereko (Good Evening!)
Another cloudy day in the Margohovit valley—the mountains are almost completely obscured. It also happens to be my half birthday...a fact I have not shared with my host family. Although I now know the word for half (kyes) and for birthday (tnundi), I still lack enough language to sufficiently explain a half birthday…and why I would celebrate it. Better for them to just know that my birthday is December 25, which isn’t even Christmas in this country, and leave it at that. Christmas is still celebrated on January 6 in Armenia, which I am told was the original Christmas day and when the rest of the world changed to the 25th, Armenia remained the same. I am going to Vanadzor tomorrow evening with some other volunteers and we will celebrate by eating pizza…yum. And probably some ice cream (bachbarach) as well. It is the little things that make us happy.
I also plan to do some more hiking tomorrow as well, and am looking forward to it. I just wish these clouds would hurry up and spill their moisture so we have some chance of it being sunny tomorrow. It is almost July and I am still wearing my wool sweater (I stupidly only brought one, thinking I wouldn’t need many this summer) and my fleece jacket. It is warmer in Vanadzor, which is at a lower elevation, but still long-sleeve weather for the most part. I can only imagine what winter has in store for me. I won’t really have any idea until we get our permanent site assignments, which is actually coming up—two weeks from now, I think. Apparently, in this tiny country, I could find myself in Siberia or in the hot desert. As long as there are mountains near by….
My big accomplishment for the day was learning how to do some Armenian dancing. Fortunately for me it is not too difficult—you just kind of shuffle your feet and wave your hands around above your head. Okay, there is a little more to it than that, but if I can do it….
Seriously though, it was fun. My host parents and brother are at some big wedding that they decided not to take me to because it is far away and there will be a lot of people sleeping on the floor. No kidding, that’s what they said. I am actually a bit relieved—there are supposed to be 2-300 people there, which is a lot of people to stare at and feed the American. Instead, I am here with my sister, learning how to dance with her and her friends. Good company to be in the first time I make a fool out of myself. It also means that my weekend will be a bit quieter and more relaxed.
I spent some extra time with my LCF yesterday and had a nice conversation about America and Armenia, language classes and life with my host family. It was nice to have a real conversation with an Armenian, even if it was in English. I also learned the difficulty of describing the state of our country to a person who has lived in relative poverty their entire life, and yet has had enough access to the media to form stereotypes about Americans. I think I did a good job of describing some of the realties (we are not all rich, if we are poor it isn’t because we do drugs, there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, etc.) but I have to think if it was this difficult to describe to someone who is well-educated and speaks English very well, what is going to happen when I get to my site? I guess that is what continued language classes are for.
Recently (like yesterday) I arrived at the point where I can hold a short conversation (more than hello, how are you? I am good, thank you.). I can actually tell my family where I am going, when I will be back, etc. without having to act things out, draw pictures, get out the dictionary, call my LCF, and speak in crude one-word sentences. Now I can speak in crude short phrases, sometimes even complete sentences! Everything is still in present tense, but I know time descriptors enough to say things like “tomorrow I go to vanadzor” “in the morning I eat at 8” “tomorrow I walk in mountains with Americans at 10.” I also know the entire alphabet at this point and can read and write at probably a first grade level! See sam. See sam run. I don’t like hot dogs….. Its not pretty, but it is effective. And this is all about survival.
I also had my LCF come over yesterday and talked to my host mother about allowing me some more independence. Starting today, I will wake myself up, start my own shower, find the breakfast table (all by myself), pour my own tea, and serve my own breakfast. It will be a nice change from the pounding on my door minutes before my alarm goes off, and then, if I don’t open the door immediately continued pounding, or more recently, just simply walking in to my bedroom. The cultural norm here is to knock and walk in as opposed to knock and wait until someone opens the door as we might do in America. I think this will be nice change of pace for me—as most of you who know me are already aware, I am not a morning person. Imagine me trying to speak Armenian immediately after waking up to someone who is speaking rapidly and loudly and pushing me around the house showing me things like the breakfast table, the tea pot, and my lunch. I am a quick learner…I know where these things are.
I also know that she is merely being an Armenian Mother, which is why I rely on my LCF to explain things to her…and to do it nicely. She is a very busy woman, as she is also a student and so it was easy enough to say “you are very busy, I can do some of these things myself, I have been for years…” In Armenia I am still a child, especially because I am a woman. Women of my age are often still living with their families…or getting married and living with their families. It is uncommon for families to live as my host family does—with only the nuclear family in the household. The gender roles are very defined here, a fact that has taken some getting used to. The women do all of the cooking, cleaning, gardening, food preparation, and take care of the family. It is nearly unheard of for a man to cook, do laundry, or do much of anything around the home. My host sister waits on her father—brings him a glass of water and then brings it back to the kitchen, he picks his feet up in a chair and she brings him a footrest, she cleans and puts away his electric razor, etc. The men do work hard, simply elsewhere, and they perform very manly tasks. Car maintenance, farming, and earning money for the family. I think they also do all of the driving, I have yet to see a woman drive in this country. The boys are the only group that don’t seem to have many responsibilities. They play. That is about all I can figure.
These roles extend into volunteer life, although not entirely--it is accepted to some extent that we do things a bit differently as Americans. I think the married couples have the worst time with this one. For instance, it is expected that as female PCV’s that we do our own laundry, the men on the other hand are prohibited from doing their own laundry by their host mothers. This means that a fairly progressive married couple who has spent their time in the US sharing household tasks are now faced with a system where the woman does the laundry for both of them and the man sits back and watches. Of the married couple in our village, the husband actually snuck around trying to help his wife hang laundry on the line…and was caught, and reprimanded. Don’t you know? Men don’t do laundry.
What this means for me is that I am expected to help out around the house—clear the table, help prepare food, do my laundry etc. I am glad about this, I don’t want to be waited on, that would impede on my independence even more. I am, however, a bit bothered by the fact that the only reason I have these expectations is because I am a woman. It is a double edged sword. But I am getting used to it. Armenians don’t seem to see any problems with the gender roles, but I think that between pop culture (my family has satellite television and gets more channels than I ever did in the states) and watching these Americans work in their country, they will begin to see that there are other ways. There are already large culture gaps between generations, which is similarly true of the US. For instance, there is no Armenian word for boyfriend, because it is not acceptable to have boyfriends in Armenia, yet teenagers date and the younger generation has words for boyfriend/girlfriend and know all about dating, etc.
Hadjok-Madjok (bye-bye) Bari Gishes (good night)!
Bari Yereko (Good Evening!)
Another cloudy day in the Margohovit valley—the mountains are almost completely obscured. It also happens to be my half birthday...a fact I have not shared with my host family. Although I now know the word for half (kyes) and for birthday (tnundi), I still lack enough language to sufficiently explain a half birthday…and why I would celebrate it. Better for them to just know that my birthday is December 25, which isn’t even Christmas in this country, and leave it at that. Christmas is still celebrated on January 6 in Armenia, which I am told was the original Christmas day and when the rest of the world changed to the 25th, Armenia remained the same. I am going to Vanadzor tomorrow evening with some other volunteers and we will celebrate by eating pizza…yum. And probably some ice cream (bachbarach) as well. It is the little things that make us happy.
I also plan to do some more hiking tomorrow as well, and am looking forward to it. I just wish these clouds would hurry up and spill their moisture so we have some chance of it being sunny tomorrow. It is almost July and I am still wearing my wool sweater (I stupidly only brought one, thinking I wouldn’t need many this summer) and my fleece jacket. It is warmer in Vanadzor, which is at a lower elevation, but still long-sleeve weather for the most part. I can only imagine what winter has in store for me. I won’t really have any idea until we get our permanent site assignments, which is actually coming up—two weeks from now, I think. Apparently, in this tiny country, I could find myself in Siberia or in the hot desert. As long as there are mountains near by….
My big accomplishment for the day was learning how to do some Armenian dancing. Fortunately for me it is not too difficult—you just kind of shuffle your feet and wave your hands around above your head. Okay, there is a little more to it than that, but if I can do it….
Seriously though, it was fun. My host parents and brother are at some big wedding that they decided not to take me to because it is far away and there will be a lot of people sleeping on the floor. No kidding, that’s what they said. I am actually a bit relieved—there are supposed to be 2-300 people there, which is a lot of people to stare at and feed the American. Instead, I am here with my sister, learning how to dance with her and her friends. Good company to be in the first time I make a fool out of myself. It also means that my weekend will be a bit quieter and more relaxed.
I spent some extra time with my LCF yesterday and had a nice conversation about America and Armenia, language classes and life with my host family. It was nice to have a real conversation with an Armenian, even if it was in English. I also learned the difficulty of describing the state of our country to a person who has lived in relative poverty their entire life, and yet has had enough access to the media to form stereotypes about Americans. I think I did a good job of describing some of the realties (we are not all rich, if we are poor it isn’t because we do drugs, there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, etc.) but I have to think if it was this difficult to describe to someone who is well-educated and speaks English very well, what is going to happen when I get to my site? I guess that is what continued language classes are for.
Recently (like yesterday) I arrived at the point where I can hold a short conversation (more than hello, how are you? I am good, thank you.). I can actually tell my family where I am going, when I will be back, etc. without having to act things out, draw pictures, get out the dictionary, call my LCF, and speak in crude one-word sentences. Now I can speak in crude short phrases, sometimes even complete sentences! Everything is still in present tense, but I know time descriptors enough to say things like “tomorrow I go to vanadzor” “in the morning I eat at 8” “tomorrow I walk in mountains with Americans at 10.” I also know the entire alphabet at this point and can read and write at probably a first grade level! See sam. See sam run. I don’t like hot dogs….. Its not pretty, but it is effective. And this is all about survival.
I also had my LCF come over yesterday and talked to my host mother about allowing me some more independence. Starting today, I will wake myself up, start my own shower, find the breakfast table (all by myself), pour my own tea, and serve my own breakfast. It will be a nice change from the pounding on my door minutes before my alarm goes off, and then, if I don’t open the door immediately continued pounding, or more recently, just simply walking in to my bedroom. The cultural norm here is to knock and walk in as opposed to knock and wait until someone opens the door as we might do in America. I think this will be nice change of pace for me—as most of you who know me are already aware, I am not a morning person. Imagine me trying to speak Armenian immediately after waking up to someone who is speaking rapidly and loudly and pushing me around the house showing me things like the breakfast table, the tea pot, and my lunch. I am a quick learner…I know where these things are.
I also know that she is merely being an Armenian Mother, which is why I rely on my LCF to explain things to her…and to do it nicely. She is a very busy woman, as she is also a student and so it was easy enough to say “you are very busy, I can do some of these things myself, I have been for years…” In Armenia I am still a child, especially because I am a woman. Women of my age are often still living with their families…or getting married and living with their families. It is uncommon for families to live as my host family does—with only the nuclear family in the household. The gender roles are very defined here, a fact that has taken some getting used to. The women do all of the cooking, cleaning, gardening, food preparation, and take care of the family. It is nearly unheard of for a man to cook, do laundry, or do much of anything around the home. My host sister waits on her father—brings him a glass of water and then brings it back to the kitchen, he picks his feet up in a chair and she brings him a footrest, she cleans and puts away his electric razor, etc. The men do work hard, simply elsewhere, and they perform very manly tasks. Car maintenance, farming, and earning money for the family. I think they also do all of the driving, I have yet to see a woman drive in this country. The boys are the only group that don’t seem to have many responsibilities. They play. That is about all I can figure.
These roles extend into volunteer life, although not entirely--it is accepted to some extent that we do things a bit differently as Americans. I think the married couples have the worst time with this one. For instance, it is expected that as female PCV’s that we do our own laundry, the men on the other hand are prohibited from doing their own laundry by their host mothers. This means that a fairly progressive married couple who has spent their time in the US sharing household tasks are now faced with a system where the woman does the laundry for both of them and the man sits back and watches. Of the married couple in our village, the husband actually snuck around trying to help his wife hang laundry on the line…and was caught, and reprimanded. Don’t you know? Men don’t do laundry.
What this means for me is that I am expected to help out around the house—clear the table, help prepare food, do my laundry etc. I am glad about this, I don’t want to be waited on, that would impede on my independence even more. I am, however, a bit bothered by the fact that the only reason I have these expectations is because I am a woman. It is a double edged sword. But I am getting used to it. Armenians don’t seem to see any problems with the gender roles, but I think that between pop culture (my family has satellite television and gets more channels than I ever did in the states) and watching these Americans work in their country, they will begin to see that there are other ways. There are already large culture gaps between generations, which is similarly true of the US. For instance, there is no Armenian word for boyfriend, because it is not acceptable to have boyfriends in Armenia, yet teenagers date and the younger generation has words for boyfriend/girlfriend and know all about dating, etc.
Hadjok-Madjok (bye-bye) Bari Gishes (good night)!
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
PST 3
Well, the challenges and the absurdities continue (I guess that goes without saying). I also continue to learn and grow each and every day. The excuse of “I’m full” has stopped working as well as it used to, but I had pretty good luck with “I’m not hungry” (sovats chem.) at dinner tonight. My family, mostly my mother, is actually becoming more pushy with food as times goes on. So, my new strategy? If I say no, no, no, and they still put food on my plate, then I’m not eating it. Seems simple, but me not eating a full feast at least three times a day means nothing less that that I don’t like the food. I am asked on a daily basis if I like the food, and if I like meat, to which the answer is always yes. I have even tried to get our LCF (Language and Cultural Facilitator) to help me make the point, but it falls on deaf ears. As my language abilities increase this becomes easier…in three months I will have this down!
I, by the way, have many abilities: I can wash my clothes (in barf, of course), wring out my clothes, hang my clothes on a line, type very fast (this continues to be a novelty), cut a tomato, drive a car (but only in the US…), and speak Armenian well (this of course, is a relative term). This, all according to mother, who likes to report to the rest of the village. I am becoming used to being the center of attention. We (amerikatsi) are better than television. Children in the village have learned that every day at school we get a break at 11:00, and they actually gather in the school yard to watch us eat our snacks. Here comes the 11:00 soap… One of my fellow trainees asked my the other day if I knew any good Armenian jokes, my response we “yeah, us.” And it is so true….
I have had the privilege of attending two parties in the last two days. Both for young men who are leaving to go into the army. The first was amazingly large. My first thought when I walked into the house was “is the whole village here?” The tables were literally piled with food and alcohol, there was loud music and lots of dancing. And I was ushered from table to table, where people largely talked about me, rather than to me, and in true Armenian form, piled my plate with food. At one point everyone within arms reach had given me a piece of bread (the stack was about a foot high—I do not exaggerate), and then a piece of cake was set on top. I ate the cake…I have had quite enough bread! The experience can pretty much be equivocated to my mother steering me around the room and saying “this is my American….this is my American….this is my American.” Strangely enough, it is starting to seem normal. At the second party I just sat back and listened to them talk about me. I don’t really understand anything except for my name….blah blah blah jill blah blah blah jill blah blah. Actually, it is more like Jeel, which I have gotten so used to hearing, I actually introduced myself as jeel the other day. “Yes Jeel nem.” (I am Jeel.) Oh yeah, I had discussions about tan with a few of you before leaving….tan is an Armenian drink that consists of yogurt, or matsun in Armenian, mixed with water and little salt. Well, I tried it last night. Only a little, which was good thing. I don’t think I will be having much more. The yogurt is not sweet and thicker than American yogurt. It is good with many things, but my favorite is the syrup from candied pears. Maybe if that was in the tan I would like it. I also learned that I am not a particularly big fan of sheep meat. Note to self…
I finally got a chance to do some hiking last week. We didn’t get far, and didn’t really get off the road, but we made it a ways up above the village and were rewarded with some great views. I have pictures but I don’t think I will be able to post them from Armenia—the internet connection is too slow. I plan to email a disk of pictures home after a while, and then maybe they can be disseminated from there. The plan is to actually get to the top of the ridge that runs behind the village, but we will need an entire day to do so. We are thinking possibly next Sunday, if the weather holds out. It is currently the rainy season, and storms nearly every day. Hard rain, hail, thunder and lightning are the norm. It is also the norm for the power to go out when it rains. At which point, everyone simply goes to bed. There is no questioning as to when it might be back, nobody calls the power company to report an outage, they just go to sleep. This is with the exception of my host mother, who I found cutting potatoes in the dark one evening during an outage. When there is work to be done….
I also thought I might comment on village wildlife in this entry. Well, domesticated wildlife anyway…Cows, pigs, horses, chickens, stray dogs…everywhere. There is no concept of private grazing land here. The livestock simply wanders around the villages and roads as they please, eating what they like. We have finally gotten to the point where we don’t giggle every time we hear a rooster crow during class, but I still find it amusing (and sometimes frightening) to see large livestock just hanging out by the side of the road, or in the road if that seems preeferable. We saw a cow walking down the sidewalk in Vanadzor on Saturday, which was pretty amusing, and then we learned how to drive a taxi through a heard of cattle who were chilling on the “highway”:
First, slow down as little as possible
Second get right on the cows hoofs (really, really close)
Third, honk and swerve until the cows either move out of the way, or you get around all of them.
Some things I am not sure I will ever get used to….
I, by the way, have many abilities: I can wash my clothes (in barf, of course), wring out my clothes, hang my clothes on a line, type very fast (this continues to be a novelty), cut a tomato, drive a car (but only in the US…), and speak Armenian well (this of course, is a relative term). This, all according to mother, who likes to report to the rest of the village. I am becoming used to being the center of attention. We (amerikatsi) are better than television. Children in the village have learned that every day at school we get a break at 11:00, and they actually gather in the school yard to watch us eat our snacks. Here comes the 11:00 soap… One of my fellow trainees asked my the other day if I knew any good Armenian jokes, my response we “yeah, us.” And it is so true….
I have had the privilege of attending two parties in the last two days. Both for young men who are leaving to go into the army. The first was amazingly large. My first thought when I walked into the house was “is the whole village here?” The tables were literally piled with food and alcohol, there was loud music and lots of dancing. And I was ushered from table to table, where people largely talked about me, rather than to me, and in true Armenian form, piled my plate with food. At one point everyone within arms reach had given me a piece of bread (the stack was about a foot high—I do not exaggerate), and then a piece of cake was set on top. I ate the cake…I have had quite enough bread! The experience can pretty much be equivocated to my mother steering me around the room and saying “this is my American….this is my American….this is my American.” Strangely enough, it is starting to seem normal. At the second party I just sat back and listened to them talk about me. I don’t really understand anything except for my name….blah blah blah jill blah blah blah jill blah blah. Actually, it is more like Jeel, which I have gotten so used to hearing, I actually introduced myself as jeel the other day. “Yes Jeel nem.” (I am Jeel.) Oh yeah, I had discussions about tan with a few of you before leaving….tan is an Armenian drink that consists of yogurt, or matsun in Armenian, mixed with water and little salt. Well, I tried it last night. Only a little, which was good thing. I don’t think I will be having much more. The yogurt is not sweet and thicker than American yogurt. It is good with many things, but my favorite is the syrup from candied pears. Maybe if that was in the tan I would like it. I also learned that I am not a particularly big fan of sheep meat. Note to self…
I finally got a chance to do some hiking last week. We didn’t get far, and didn’t really get off the road, but we made it a ways up above the village and were rewarded with some great views. I have pictures but I don’t think I will be able to post them from Armenia—the internet connection is too slow. I plan to email a disk of pictures home after a while, and then maybe they can be disseminated from there. The plan is to actually get to the top of the ridge that runs behind the village, but we will need an entire day to do so. We are thinking possibly next Sunday, if the weather holds out. It is currently the rainy season, and storms nearly every day. Hard rain, hail, thunder and lightning are the norm. It is also the norm for the power to go out when it rains. At which point, everyone simply goes to bed. There is no questioning as to when it might be back, nobody calls the power company to report an outage, they just go to sleep. This is with the exception of my host mother, who I found cutting potatoes in the dark one evening during an outage. When there is work to be done….
I also thought I might comment on village wildlife in this entry. Well, domesticated wildlife anyway…Cows, pigs, horses, chickens, stray dogs…everywhere. There is no concept of private grazing land here. The livestock simply wanders around the villages and roads as they please, eating what they like. We have finally gotten to the point where we don’t giggle every time we hear a rooster crow during class, but I still find it amusing (and sometimes frightening) to see large livestock just hanging out by the side of the road, or in the road if that seems preeferable. We saw a cow walking down the sidewalk in Vanadzor on Saturday, which was pretty amusing, and then we learned how to drive a taxi through a heard of cattle who were chilling on the “highway”:
First, slow down as little as possible
Second get right on the cows hoofs (really, really close)
Third, honk and swerve until the cows either move out of the way, or you get around all of them.
Some things I am not sure I will ever get used to….
Friday, June 17, 2005
PST 2 (pre-service training)
Hello again….we have traveled to Vanadzor again today to attend a lecture from an American professor on Armenian architecture, folklore and miracles….or something to that extent (I am writing this the night before and can’t remember the exact name). My brain is incredibly full. I learn one thing and forget another….
I think I can safely say that I have made it through my first bout of true “culture shock” at this point. And after learning more about culture shock today in training, I know that I am completely normal! That’s a first…. We are told there are four stages, the first being “initial euphoria” and the second being “irritation and frustration.” I haven’t made it to the latter two yet. We have spent the majority of this week being asked by various staff at different meetings, interviews and classes how we are doing…almost to the point of being obnoxious, it has been asked so may times. Are there problems? How are you feeling? Your host family is okay? And on and on…and the answer was always “I’m great, my host family is great, my site is great, Peace Corps is great!” Well, when I got home last night from vanadzor, things inexplicably stopped being great. I didn’t want to speak Armenian, I didn’t want to be on my best behavior, I didn’t want to be on display, I didn’t want my host mom to tell any more neighbors about how fast I can type (apparently a very impressive feat that everyone in the village now knows about…). I was just simply done with it all. So, at 8:30, I told them I was going to bed and sat in my room and typed, journaled and listened to music. I talk to my fellow trainees about it today, and yesterday seemed to be some sort of trigger for lots of us. Perhaps it was the break in our routine of living in the village and speaking Armenian (well, attempting to speak Armenia badly), to seeing all 45 members of our group and speaking English all day. Or maybe it was just time…who knows. Ironically, this happens to us after the PC staff are all done asking how we are feeling.
Regardless, today was much better. Still a center day, meaning we are all in Vanadzor. (the group has been split up into 6 different villages around the city, and consequently don’t see each other except for Wednesday and Thursday). But, full of good information and quality time with friends, And, I finally got to the internet! This was quite an accomplishment. On Wednesday I spent 45 minutes watching yahoo try to load (it never did) and then paid someone 200 drams to do so. Today, the first place I went wouldn’t let me use my memory stick, the second place couldn’t connect, and finally, the third place worked….like a charm. For those of you who are scoring at home, that is four attempts, a lot of walking, I don’t remember how many drams and endless amounts of frustration. However, the fruits of my labor are that I now know where to go first. The internet is going to be one of my challenges for the next 2 years, as it is consistently unreliable, and difficult to get to. Even now, it is an hour bus ride to Vanadzor, who knows how far it will be when I get my permanent site. For this reason, I am going to do my best to keep this site updated instead of trying to email everyone—I hope to get at least one post a week or every two weeks at the very least.
My host family is still trying to figure out this strange American who is living in their house. They are absolutely impressed by my computer, and all gather around whenever I get it out. My sister often looks over my shoulder and watches me type, which is a bit disconcerting and distracting, but she doesn’t know the language well enough to really read what I am writing. Still, the level of privacy I am used to as an American simply doesn’t exist in this country. My family does their best to accommodate my American customs, but I can tell it is strange for them. Alvart (Armenian for Rose), my mother, is very worried about me. I take showers in the morning and might catch a cold. I walk barefoot in the house, and might catch a cold. I sneezed once, do I have a cold? I don’t eat much, am I okay? My backpack is too heavy, I need more lunch, another cookie, more coffee, etc., etc. It is very strange and almost smothering at times, but also amusing. Our LCF’s do a good job of explaining that American customs are different…but still….
I might have a cold….. (not really, of course. For those of you who are concerned, I am completely healthy right now...although it is only a matter of time...we have been assured by the PC doctors)
The food continues to be wonderful, and ample. I counted 11 different items at the breakfast table the other day. Every meal (breakfast not withstanding) contains hats (Armenian bread), matszun (an Armenian version of yogurt, that is thicker than American yogurt and not sweet, but locally made and very good….and the root of a popular drink called tan, which I have yet to try), varung and lolik (cucumbers and tomatoes), and banij (cheese, also local). There is also usually some type of mis (meat), some more types of carbs, fruits, and vegetables. I have had marinated beet leaves—never seen them before now, marinated tree mushrooms, which are amazing, and fresh, local, strawberries, cherries, plums, apples, eggs, beef, chicken, etc. etc. Armenian coffee (similar to Turkish coffee) follows every meal, and often becomes a meal in itself as well. I have already had about a million cups of coffee and have only been here one week. Fortunately the cups are about shot glass size so I am not buzzing too badly. They also have a nice herbal tea, which they put fruit preserves in, as we might use honey—very good! (shat lav!). They make a fruit drink in a similar fashion—by dumping raspberry (or cherry) preserves in a pitcher and then adding water. I am learning how to communicate to my family that the food is very good, but I don’t want any more. In fact, I might be willing to say that THE most useful phrase I have learned since arriving is “gusht em” (I am full). Yesterday I even managed to tell my host mother that I only needed one sandwich to take to school…not two, both of which were about as big as my head….and three cookies. I haven’t had any more hotdogs (neproshik) lately, but I did have something that resembled spam for breakfast yesterday, and then a sandwich of fried spam and fired potatoes for lunch…mmmm. The joys of living in a foreign country…hmmm.
Well, language classes begin early in the morning, and I have to wake up in time to take a shower (after my moms starts the water for me), eat breakfast, walk to Eric’s house, decline a second breakfast and then continue the 20 minute walk to school. I have gained enough independence now that I walk by myself to eric’s, which is close and then we walk together the rest of way. This will be another point of adjustment for me as a woman in this country. I am so used to doing what I want, when I want, where I want, without having to find someone to accompany me. Fortunately, the men in our group seem to be very understanding and are willing to walk with us whenever necessary.
It was great to hear from all of you via email! Hadjokgutsuyn! (good bye!)
I think I can safely say that I have made it through my first bout of true “culture shock” at this point. And after learning more about culture shock today in training, I know that I am completely normal! That’s a first…. We are told there are four stages, the first being “initial euphoria” and the second being “irritation and frustration.” I haven’t made it to the latter two yet. We have spent the majority of this week being asked by various staff at different meetings, interviews and classes how we are doing…almost to the point of being obnoxious, it has been asked so may times. Are there problems? How are you feeling? Your host family is okay? And on and on…and the answer was always “I’m great, my host family is great, my site is great, Peace Corps is great!” Well, when I got home last night from vanadzor, things inexplicably stopped being great. I didn’t want to speak Armenian, I didn’t want to be on my best behavior, I didn’t want to be on display, I didn’t want my host mom to tell any more neighbors about how fast I can type (apparently a very impressive feat that everyone in the village now knows about…). I was just simply done with it all. So, at 8:30, I told them I was going to bed and sat in my room and typed, journaled and listened to music. I talk to my fellow trainees about it today, and yesterday seemed to be some sort of trigger for lots of us. Perhaps it was the break in our routine of living in the village and speaking Armenian (well, attempting to speak Armenia badly), to seeing all 45 members of our group and speaking English all day. Or maybe it was just time…who knows. Ironically, this happens to us after the PC staff are all done asking how we are feeling.
Regardless, today was much better. Still a center day, meaning we are all in Vanadzor. (the group has been split up into 6 different villages around the city, and consequently don’t see each other except for Wednesday and Thursday). But, full of good information and quality time with friends, And, I finally got to the internet! This was quite an accomplishment. On Wednesday I spent 45 minutes watching yahoo try to load (it never did) and then paid someone 200 drams to do so. Today, the first place I went wouldn’t let me use my memory stick, the second place couldn’t connect, and finally, the third place worked….like a charm. For those of you who are scoring at home, that is four attempts, a lot of walking, I don’t remember how many drams and endless amounts of frustration. However, the fruits of my labor are that I now know where to go first. The internet is going to be one of my challenges for the next 2 years, as it is consistently unreliable, and difficult to get to. Even now, it is an hour bus ride to Vanadzor, who knows how far it will be when I get my permanent site. For this reason, I am going to do my best to keep this site updated instead of trying to email everyone—I hope to get at least one post a week or every two weeks at the very least.
My host family is still trying to figure out this strange American who is living in their house. They are absolutely impressed by my computer, and all gather around whenever I get it out. My sister often looks over my shoulder and watches me type, which is a bit disconcerting and distracting, but she doesn’t know the language well enough to really read what I am writing. Still, the level of privacy I am used to as an American simply doesn’t exist in this country. My family does their best to accommodate my American customs, but I can tell it is strange for them. Alvart (Armenian for Rose), my mother, is very worried about me. I take showers in the morning and might catch a cold. I walk barefoot in the house, and might catch a cold. I sneezed once, do I have a cold? I don’t eat much, am I okay? My backpack is too heavy, I need more lunch, another cookie, more coffee, etc., etc. It is very strange and almost smothering at times, but also amusing. Our LCF’s do a good job of explaining that American customs are different…but still….
I might have a cold….. (not really, of course. For those of you who are concerned, I am completely healthy right now...although it is only a matter of time...we have been assured by the PC doctors)
The food continues to be wonderful, and ample. I counted 11 different items at the breakfast table the other day. Every meal (breakfast not withstanding) contains hats (Armenian bread), matszun (an Armenian version of yogurt, that is thicker than American yogurt and not sweet, but locally made and very good….and the root of a popular drink called tan, which I have yet to try), varung and lolik (cucumbers and tomatoes), and banij (cheese, also local). There is also usually some type of mis (meat), some more types of carbs, fruits, and vegetables. I have had marinated beet leaves—never seen them before now, marinated tree mushrooms, which are amazing, and fresh, local, strawberries, cherries, plums, apples, eggs, beef, chicken, etc. etc. Armenian coffee (similar to Turkish coffee) follows every meal, and often becomes a meal in itself as well. I have already had about a million cups of coffee and have only been here one week. Fortunately the cups are about shot glass size so I am not buzzing too badly. They also have a nice herbal tea, which they put fruit preserves in, as we might use honey—very good! (shat lav!). They make a fruit drink in a similar fashion—by dumping raspberry (or cherry) preserves in a pitcher and then adding water. I am learning how to communicate to my family that the food is very good, but I don’t want any more. In fact, I might be willing to say that THE most useful phrase I have learned since arriving is “gusht em” (I am full). Yesterday I even managed to tell my host mother that I only needed one sandwich to take to school…not two, both of which were about as big as my head….and three cookies. I haven’t had any more hotdogs (neproshik) lately, but I did have something that resembled spam for breakfast yesterday, and then a sandwich of fried spam and fired potatoes for lunch…mmmm. The joys of living in a foreign country…hmmm.
Well, language classes begin early in the morning, and I have to wake up in time to take a shower (after my moms starts the water for me), eat breakfast, walk to Eric’s house, decline a second breakfast and then continue the 20 minute walk to school. I have gained enough independence now that I walk by myself to eric’s, which is close and then we walk together the rest of way. This will be another point of adjustment for me as a woman in this country. I am so used to doing what I want, when I want, where I want, without having to find someone to accompany me. Fortunately, the men in our group seem to be very understanding and are willing to walk with us whenever necessary.
It was great to hear from all of you via email! Hadjokgutsuyn! (good bye!)
Thursday, June 16, 2005
PST 1
Barev Dzez! Bari Gulust Hayastan!
(Hello, welcome to Armenia)
Well I am exhausted but I have to get some of this down on paper before I forget all of the strange occurrences that last few days have held for me. After an uneventful flight we arrived at the Yerevan airport at 4:45 am local time and were greeted in the darkness by the country director and full time staff. We gathered our luggage---amazingly enough only two bags missing out of the 90+ that traveled with us and boarded what is quite possibly the nicest bus in all of Armenia. Even so, the small bathroom, located in the middle of the bus, was an adventure in itself….
Our first stop was Zvartnots, a historic temple shadowed by the gorgeous Mt. Ararat, the national symbol of Armenia, which happens to currently reside in Turkey. Waiting for us as we got off the bus was the remainder of PC staff as well as the vast majority of the current Peace Corps volunteers—both A11 and A12, cheering, waving signs and banners and welcoming us to this country. There were two men who were playing instruments that I still have yet to leanr the name of—very beautiful but eerie music. The whole event was quite overwhelming and enjoyable, and a wonderful start to our time here in Armenia. After coffee (the American kind) doughnuts, pictures and introduction we hopped back on our bus and headed to Vanadzor, our current home. Before moving in with host families we spent two days living at a “hotel,” which was really a pioneer camp (think soviet boy and girl scouts…but mandatory). The conditions brought on a bit of culture shock, which coupled with the Jet Lag (extreme Jet lag) was a bit trying at times. None-the-less, I had a great experience and made it through the few moments of anxiety and questioning of purpose with ease.
One of the first things we did after settling into our rooms and having a huge Armenian lunch—very good, was head into town to email or call family and friends to let them know we had arrived. The taxi ride was an adventure, maybe even an extreme sport. If nothing else, being a pedestrian in this country is an extreme sport, as pedestrians have no rights. People honk and keep driving, they drive in each others lanes, sometimes side by side, in the same lane. It is a bit disconcerting but I have found you get used to it… The instructions from peace corps staff and current volunteers were to keep going—they will swerve around you…unless you stop.
Back to the “hotel” where we found our showers without water, and then without hot water. I took the coldest shower I have ever, ever experienced. Refreshing. Bone chilling. The next day it better, thank God. Between the painfully tired state I was in, the lack of showers, and Turkish toilets (two ribbed foot steps without a hole between them and a trash can for you tp), I was about to break. I did my best to hold out until after dinner and then collapsed into my colorful bunk bed and slept like a rock.
The next day was full of language lessons, technical training and safety instruction. My brain is utterly full and I can sill barely carry on a conversation with a three year old. You think I am kidding? I actually had language lessons tonight at dinner from a three-year-old. Spoon, Fork, knife, plate, and various food items all courtesy of my new cousin, Arpi.
Anyhow, I am getting ahead of myself. The days flew by at our cozy little camp and before I knew it we were meeting our new host families, who will house, feed and take care of us for the next three months. Talk about nerves. After all the stories and warnings I was expecting quite the experience. Turns out my family is absolutely wonderful and doesn’t live up to many of the stereotypes of Armenian families. (they don’t smoke, they don’t drink excessively, there was no dancing, and only the nuclear family lives in the house, which is quite nice). They have their quirks of course, and I am still being made to eat about twice as much as I would normally in a given day, but the food is wonderful and it is all local, homegrown and handmade, so who is complaining? That is not to say I haven’t had my moments with food either. I think it is safe to say that before this morning I have never had a hot dog for breakfast, especially after having them for dinner and again for lunch, wrapped up in an extra large tortilla with summer sausage on the side. Fortunately for me, the amount of sausage and processed meats are only exceeded by the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are wonderful. Cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh fruit are in abundance right now and I am particularly enjoying them while they last. Tonight we had candied pears, which were amazing, so I suppose I things to look forward to in the winter months as well. As it turn out, people in this country buy something and eat it until it is gone. So I won’t be seeing hot dogs again for a while…on to something else.
So again, I am ahead of myself. I should talk a bit about my host family. I have a mom, dad, brother and sister. Dad (Ashok) is the principal of the school and thus the family seems to be fairly well off, especially for life in a village such as this. The name of my village is Margohovit, and it is the third largest village in Armenia. It is nestled in a beautiful valley between two large mountainous ridges, which I think are about 9-10,00 feet. The village itself is at least 7,000 feet, maybe 8,000, and I can certainly feel the altitude, both in physical exertion and dehydration. The scenery here is absolutely amazing. I wake up every morning and look out the window to see these lush green mountains, still snow-capped in June, and wonder if I am still dreaming.
My family has a two-story house, complete with indoor plumbing and a real sit-down toilet! I was very happy to discover this as my knees were already balking at the squatting from the Turkish toilets. I have been given quite a large room, with a big bed, and even bigger pillows, as well as a table to work at, a few chairs and some book shelves. I have finally been able to unpack and feel like I have a home! My room is quite cozy, although a bit cold, and is starting to feel like my own. My sister is wonderful and has been very helpful in my language lessons—teaching me how to write my letters and helping me with new words. I sometimes feel like I will never master this language with its foreign alphabet, and yet I am amazed at just how much I have learned in such a short amount of time. At this point we have probably covered half a college semesters worth of material in about 6 days (4 hours of lessons, plus homework and practice with my family). Yesterday we played table tennis, and I learned to count to 21 to keep score. My sister is a good match for me and we have a lot of fun. I can’t wait until my language is better and I can actually carry on a real conversation with these kind people. In the mean time I have perfected my acting, miming and gesturing skills, as well animal noises. I can’t wait to play charades when I get back to the states—I will be quite a match!! It is amazing much you can actually communicate with people without knowing their language.
My brother is 17 years old, and speaks the most English in the family, which is still fairly minimal. We have had a few conversations, but he is more interested in the male PCT that lives at his uncles house. Eric has been a constant source of comparison for me, which has been fairly funny and fortunately not too overbearing. I have gotten used to listening to what Eric can do and laughing at the irony of the situation. It is actually good that Armen is with Eric most of the time, as it is easy to rely on him for help in communicating, but better to try and figure it out on my own.
Anyway, I am trying to finish up this synopsis of what I have been up to so that tomorrow I can post it at an internet café when we go to Vanadzor. The village I live in is large, but it has no internet and the phones do not call out of the country, so my communication is limited to days in Vanadzor, of which we have two class days there (Wednesday and Thursdays), which will be jam-packed, with little time for personal items, and Sundays, which are off days. I have plans with several other volunteers to go to Vanadzor by bus or taxi this coming Sunday to hopefully do some shopping, emailing and calling to our families.
I have been extraordinarily busy lately between language lessons, sector (environmental education) assignments, and every day life. Two days ago my host mother taought me how to do my laundry by hand. I came here knowing that I take a lot of things for granted, but it has been interesting to see just how much. It took me over an hour to wash, rinse, wring and hang about 4 pairs of underwear, 4 pairs of socks, 2 t-shirts, one long-sleeve shirt and one pair of pants. It is quite a process, and then things take about 2 full days to dry. My favorite part of the laundry however is that the soap is called barf. You can have liquid barf, or powdered barf, and there is also scouring powder called extra powerful barf. I am laughing just thinking about it—I washed my clothes in barf…
The key to success here is having a good sense of humor, and I am laughing a lot! Both at my situation and at myself, especially in my language attempts. I have two wonderful language instructors:Hasmik and Anna, and we have been laughing a lot lately. At this point, and maybe for the next 27 months, I am a commodity to be paraded around, talked about, stared at and wondered about. Children stop everything to stare at us “Amerikatsi” as we walk by, and when we say hello “Barev Dzez”, they all giggle. People point at my blue eyes and tell me how pretty they are, and ask me to say things in their language. For the most part, I think people have no idea why these Americans are in Armenia, and especially why they are living in a village, and not in Yerevan. It is difficult for them to understand why would leave the comforts of the US to live in Armenia. And, I suppose it is difficult for many Americans to understand this as well. All I can say is that so far it has been a worthwhile experience. I am learning so much and it is wonderful to be a part of another culture. Peace Corps is taking very good care of us and seem to have our every need accounted for before it arises. We have plenty of money, more than enough food, and our families are extremely attentive. Too much so at times, but that will lessen as they feel we are prepared to live here. Right now, my host mother wakes me up in the morning, starts my shower (the water heater has to be lit each morning), makes my breakfast, packs my lunch, and then my host sister walks me to school. As of tomorrow, I will start walking by myself, which is quite an accomplishment. It is about a 20 minute walk (30 minutes, because we stop to have second breakfast at Eric’s families house on the way). Food is a very important part of society here, and people are always served food when they visit others, which is very often… I am eating about 7 meals a day right now! I am getting antsy to gain some more independence, and I know it will some with time. Until then I will appreciate the hospitality and care these people show towards me.
It is very difficult to even begin to describe the things that have happened in the past week. Hopefully this gives you some idea. I will attempt to continue to elaborate and appreciate from you all and miss you all very much! Hope all is well in the U.S. of A.
(Hello, welcome to Armenia)
Well I am exhausted but I have to get some of this down on paper before I forget all of the strange occurrences that last few days have held for me. After an uneventful flight we arrived at the Yerevan airport at 4:45 am local time and were greeted in the darkness by the country director and full time staff. We gathered our luggage---amazingly enough only two bags missing out of the 90+ that traveled with us and boarded what is quite possibly the nicest bus in all of Armenia. Even so, the small bathroom, located in the middle of the bus, was an adventure in itself….
Our first stop was Zvartnots, a historic temple shadowed by the gorgeous Mt. Ararat, the national symbol of Armenia, which happens to currently reside in Turkey. Waiting for us as we got off the bus was the remainder of PC staff as well as the vast majority of the current Peace Corps volunteers—both A11 and A12, cheering, waving signs and banners and welcoming us to this country. There were two men who were playing instruments that I still have yet to leanr the name of—very beautiful but eerie music. The whole event was quite overwhelming and enjoyable, and a wonderful start to our time here in Armenia. After coffee (the American kind) doughnuts, pictures and introduction we hopped back on our bus and headed to Vanadzor, our current home. Before moving in with host families we spent two days living at a “hotel,” which was really a pioneer camp (think soviet boy and girl scouts…but mandatory). The conditions brought on a bit of culture shock, which coupled with the Jet Lag (extreme Jet lag) was a bit trying at times. None-the-less, I had a great experience and made it through the few moments of anxiety and questioning of purpose with ease.
One of the first things we did after settling into our rooms and having a huge Armenian lunch—very good, was head into town to email or call family and friends to let them know we had arrived. The taxi ride was an adventure, maybe even an extreme sport. If nothing else, being a pedestrian in this country is an extreme sport, as pedestrians have no rights. People honk and keep driving, they drive in each others lanes, sometimes side by side, in the same lane. It is a bit disconcerting but I have found you get used to it… The instructions from peace corps staff and current volunteers were to keep going—they will swerve around you…unless you stop.
Back to the “hotel” where we found our showers without water, and then without hot water. I took the coldest shower I have ever, ever experienced. Refreshing. Bone chilling. The next day it better, thank God. Between the painfully tired state I was in, the lack of showers, and Turkish toilets (two ribbed foot steps without a hole between them and a trash can for you tp), I was about to break. I did my best to hold out until after dinner and then collapsed into my colorful bunk bed and slept like a rock.
The next day was full of language lessons, technical training and safety instruction. My brain is utterly full and I can sill barely carry on a conversation with a three year old. You think I am kidding? I actually had language lessons tonight at dinner from a three-year-old. Spoon, Fork, knife, plate, and various food items all courtesy of my new cousin, Arpi.
Anyhow, I am getting ahead of myself. The days flew by at our cozy little camp and before I knew it we were meeting our new host families, who will house, feed and take care of us for the next three months. Talk about nerves. After all the stories and warnings I was expecting quite the experience. Turns out my family is absolutely wonderful and doesn’t live up to many of the stereotypes of Armenian families. (they don’t smoke, they don’t drink excessively, there was no dancing, and only the nuclear family lives in the house, which is quite nice). They have their quirks of course, and I am still being made to eat about twice as much as I would normally in a given day, but the food is wonderful and it is all local, homegrown and handmade, so who is complaining? That is not to say I haven’t had my moments with food either. I think it is safe to say that before this morning I have never had a hot dog for breakfast, especially after having them for dinner and again for lunch, wrapped up in an extra large tortilla with summer sausage on the side. Fortunately for me, the amount of sausage and processed meats are only exceeded by the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are wonderful. Cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh fruit are in abundance right now and I am particularly enjoying them while they last. Tonight we had candied pears, which were amazing, so I suppose I things to look forward to in the winter months as well. As it turn out, people in this country buy something and eat it until it is gone. So I won’t be seeing hot dogs again for a while…on to something else.
So again, I am ahead of myself. I should talk a bit about my host family. I have a mom, dad, brother and sister. Dad (Ashok) is the principal of the school and thus the family seems to be fairly well off, especially for life in a village such as this. The name of my village is Margohovit, and it is the third largest village in Armenia. It is nestled in a beautiful valley between two large mountainous ridges, which I think are about 9-10,00 feet. The village itself is at least 7,000 feet, maybe 8,000, and I can certainly feel the altitude, both in physical exertion and dehydration. The scenery here is absolutely amazing. I wake up every morning and look out the window to see these lush green mountains, still snow-capped in June, and wonder if I am still dreaming.
My family has a two-story house, complete with indoor plumbing and a real sit-down toilet! I was very happy to discover this as my knees were already balking at the squatting from the Turkish toilets. I have been given quite a large room, with a big bed, and even bigger pillows, as well as a table to work at, a few chairs and some book shelves. I have finally been able to unpack and feel like I have a home! My room is quite cozy, although a bit cold, and is starting to feel like my own. My sister is wonderful and has been very helpful in my language lessons—teaching me how to write my letters and helping me with new words. I sometimes feel like I will never master this language with its foreign alphabet, and yet I am amazed at just how much I have learned in such a short amount of time. At this point we have probably covered half a college semesters worth of material in about 6 days (4 hours of lessons, plus homework and practice with my family). Yesterday we played table tennis, and I learned to count to 21 to keep score. My sister is a good match for me and we have a lot of fun. I can’t wait until my language is better and I can actually carry on a real conversation with these kind people. In the mean time I have perfected my acting, miming and gesturing skills, as well animal noises. I can’t wait to play charades when I get back to the states—I will be quite a match!! It is amazing much you can actually communicate with people without knowing their language.
My brother is 17 years old, and speaks the most English in the family, which is still fairly minimal. We have had a few conversations, but he is more interested in the male PCT that lives at his uncles house. Eric has been a constant source of comparison for me, which has been fairly funny and fortunately not too overbearing. I have gotten used to listening to what Eric can do and laughing at the irony of the situation. It is actually good that Armen is with Eric most of the time, as it is easy to rely on him for help in communicating, but better to try and figure it out on my own.
Anyway, I am trying to finish up this synopsis of what I have been up to so that tomorrow I can post it at an internet café when we go to Vanadzor. The village I live in is large, but it has no internet and the phones do not call out of the country, so my communication is limited to days in Vanadzor, of which we have two class days there (Wednesday and Thursdays), which will be jam-packed, with little time for personal items, and Sundays, which are off days. I have plans with several other volunteers to go to Vanadzor by bus or taxi this coming Sunday to hopefully do some shopping, emailing and calling to our families.
I have been extraordinarily busy lately between language lessons, sector (environmental education) assignments, and every day life. Two days ago my host mother taought me how to do my laundry by hand. I came here knowing that I take a lot of things for granted, but it has been interesting to see just how much. It took me over an hour to wash, rinse, wring and hang about 4 pairs of underwear, 4 pairs of socks, 2 t-shirts, one long-sleeve shirt and one pair of pants. It is quite a process, and then things take about 2 full days to dry. My favorite part of the laundry however is that the soap is called barf. You can have liquid barf, or powdered barf, and there is also scouring powder called extra powerful barf. I am laughing just thinking about it—I washed my clothes in barf…
The key to success here is having a good sense of humor, and I am laughing a lot! Both at my situation and at myself, especially in my language attempts. I have two wonderful language instructors:Hasmik and Anna, and we have been laughing a lot lately. At this point, and maybe for the next 27 months, I am a commodity to be paraded around, talked about, stared at and wondered about. Children stop everything to stare at us “Amerikatsi” as we walk by, and when we say hello “Barev Dzez”, they all giggle. People point at my blue eyes and tell me how pretty they are, and ask me to say things in their language. For the most part, I think people have no idea why these Americans are in Armenia, and especially why they are living in a village, and not in Yerevan. It is difficult for them to understand why would leave the comforts of the US to live in Armenia. And, I suppose it is difficult for many Americans to understand this as well. All I can say is that so far it has been a worthwhile experience. I am learning so much and it is wonderful to be a part of another culture. Peace Corps is taking very good care of us and seem to have our every need accounted for before it arises. We have plenty of money, more than enough food, and our families are extremely attentive. Too much so at times, but that will lessen as they feel we are prepared to live here. Right now, my host mother wakes me up in the morning, starts my shower (the water heater has to be lit each morning), makes my breakfast, packs my lunch, and then my host sister walks me to school. As of tomorrow, I will start walking by myself, which is quite an accomplishment. It is about a 20 minute walk (30 minutes, because we stop to have second breakfast at Eric’s families house on the way). Food is a very important part of society here, and people are always served food when they visit others, which is very often… I am eating about 7 meals a day right now! I am getting antsy to gain some more independence, and I know it will some with time. Until then I will appreciate the hospitality and care these people show towards me.
It is very difficult to even begin to describe the things that have happened in the past week. Hopefully this gives you some idea. I will attempt to continue to elaborate and appreciate from you all and miss you all very much! Hope all is well in the U.S. of A.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
staging and Vienna
Well, staging is complete and we are collectively about 5 hours away from entering Armenia—the moment we have all been waiting for. The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity and a lack of sleep, but overall a great experience. A13 (our class) consists of 45 awesome individuals, with a diverse array of backgrounds, interests and skills. We have 23 males, 22 females, 6 married couples and a number of older volunteers who have already lent great wisdom and insight to our discussions and adventures. We also have a couple who is on their second tour of duty within the past 5 years, and a woman who is second generation peace corps—her daughter did it first.
Staging took place in Washington DC and consisted mainly of conceptual discussions about hopes, aspirations, fears and defining success (or a least beginning to). We talked at length about policy and procedure and had none of our questions about our actual experience answered. This was frustrating at times, but the CORE students could probably relate and perhaps this is poetic justice…
So far, I doing remarkably well with the uncertainty and just enjoying my time, soaking in my surroundings. We spent today in Vienna on our layover (we had 14 hours between flights). These was quite a bit of confusion surrounding our hotel rooms, but eventually things were sorted out and many of us were able to shower, sleep a little, eat a few great meals and see some sights before heading back to the airport to enjoy the free wireless.
We had even more adventures trying to navigate the city, especially since none of us spoke German, but all in all had success. WE met a nice man on the train who helped us with directions and train riding instructions, and found some nice restaurants to enjoy Viennese coffee, Weiner schnitzel, apple strudel, and gelato. What more could ask for? The whirlwind European tour also included a lot of walking to see the sites, an old cathedral and a trip back to the hotel via the wrong train. Well, at least we got to see the Ferris wheel while we waited at the next stop for the right train.
The sleep deprivation is beginning to take its toll and tonight’s red eye (two nights in a row now) won’t help much. We left Washington DC yesterday at 5pm and arrived in Vienna at 8am—I think I slept about 1 hour total on the way over. Then did our sightseeing and caught about 3+ hours of much needed sleep in the hotel. Now we are waiting for a 10pm flight, which arrive in Yerevan at 4:45am. Then on a bus to a welcome ceremony and then to our staging sight and then to start training. No rest for the weary!
So far I am really enjoying myself and can’t wait to see what’s to come!! Hope to hear from you all soon.
Jillisa
Staging took place in Washington DC and consisted mainly of conceptual discussions about hopes, aspirations, fears and defining success (or a least beginning to). We talked at length about policy and procedure and had none of our questions about our actual experience answered. This was frustrating at times, but the CORE students could probably relate and perhaps this is poetic justice…
So far, I doing remarkably well with the uncertainty and just enjoying my time, soaking in my surroundings. We spent today in Vienna on our layover (we had 14 hours between flights). These was quite a bit of confusion surrounding our hotel rooms, but eventually things were sorted out and many of us were able to shower, sleep a little, eat a few great meals and see some sights before heading back to the airport to enjoy the free wireless.
We had even more adventures trying to navigate the city, especially since none of us spoke German, but all in all had success. WE met a nice man on the train who helped us with directions and train riding instructions, and found some nice restaurants to enjoy Viennese coffee, Weiner schnitzel, apple strudel, and gelato. What more could ask for? The whirlwind European tour also included a lot of walking to see the sites, an old cathedral and a trip back to the hotel via the wrong train. Well, at least we got to see the Ferris wheel while we waited at the next stop for the right train.
The sleep deprivation is beginning to take its toll and tonight’s red eye (two nights in a row now) won’t help much. We left Washington DC yesterday at 5pm and arrived in Vienna at 8am—I think I slept about 1 hour total on the way over. Then did our sightseeing and caught about 3+ hours of much needed sleep in the hotel. Now we are waiting for a 10pm flight, which arrive in Yerevan at 4:45am. Then on a bus to a welcome ceremony and then to our staging sight and then to start training. No rest for the weary!
So far I am really enjoying myself and can’t wait to see what’s to come!! Hope to hear from you all soon.
Jillisa
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