Pardon me while I burst Pardon me while I burst A decade ago I never thought I would be Twenty-three on the verge of spontaneous combustion woe-is-me But I guess it comes with the territory An ominous landscape of never-ending calamity I need you to hear I need you to see That I have had all I can take And exploding seems like [...]

Everything breaks in this country. Everything. On our way to Charentsavan from our little village of Teghenik our taxi’s transmission went out. Going up hill in the pouring rain, I heard the transmission slip out of 3rd gear into 2nd and then out of 2nd into 1st and then into neutral. The taxi driver struggled with [...]

I love hiking and even more, I love going out with my dog.  Out here, I really, really miss my dog and I especially notice her absence when I go for walks because she’s normally right there next to me. So, when my Teghenik friends and I went hiking together with some Karashamb friends up [...]

My first encounter with animal abuse in this country was some time a couple of weeks ago. I was told they would be milking a cow at my friend’s house so I went to go help. But, when I got there, I discovered that by “milking” they actually meant “killing.” The cow was a milking [...]

Here is my list of shocking items to date. 1. The toilet paper. Here in Armenia, toilet paper is neither white nor soft. In fact, I am pretty sure it is a composite material made of both sandpaper and tree bark. 2. Toilet paper in the trashcan. I’m guessing that sending toilet paper down the john clogs the pipes, [...]

Actually… it’s my Placement Officer. My PO was calling to let me know she had news of a potential placement for me leaving two weeks earlier than my nomination. It turns out I had been nominated for Georgia, leaving in mid-June 2009 but they were requesting fewer volunteers than originally anticipated and the program filled before [...]