June 20, 2011

School finished on May 26th, and since they are going to have 12th grade next year, there was no Last Bell ceremonies. I selfishly wanted to have Last Bell, because I like the ceremony entailed and it would have given me a chance to see all the students at once and most of their parents. In fact, our school will not be having 12th grade, since none of our 11th graders are coming back. The boys will work their farms and the one girl will be going to the Technical School for nursing. The colleges and universities offered some big incentives to the students to enter this year and not do a 12th year. Otherwise they won’t have any new students for an entire year. Even though school is over, I still have some work to do, most notably with the on-line teacher training courses. We finally found a server that we can use and the first course should be up and running in September. In the meantime, we are trying to get as many course curriculum written during the summer as possible.

The weekend after school ended, we had a girls weekend at Sarah’s house. Sarah lives in a village a short distance from Yerevan. It’s very different from my village, first of all it’s completely flat and it’s much bigger. They have over 100 students in their school, compared to the 37 we had this year. There were 9 of us and it was fun to just sit around, compare notes, talk about our service and just relax. The one drawback to the weekend was that Sarah only has an outhouse. After having to use that for 2 days, I have a lot more respect for the volunteers who have had to use an outhouse for their whole service. Sarah lives in a typical Armenian compound. Her house, kitchen building and outhouse are all enclosed by a fence and a very imposing gate. The area between the house and the kitchen is where we spent most of our time. It’s a large patio that’s has a roof over it and was ample room for all of us. I was able to get up in the mornings and walk, which is a nice change from my mountainous village. We also had a spectacular view of Mt. Ararat.

The following weekend the 7 of us who were in the same training village our first summer here had a reunion there. We all stayed with our host families and had a big barbeque Saturday night. It was a good chance for us to be together and to say thank you and goodbye to our host families. That village and those families will always be very special for all of us. From the start they treated each of us like a family member and they were very pleased that we all came back. It was also the last time the 7 of us would be together, since Kyle left for America the following Saturday and 2 more of us leave next month.

Taguhie, my counterpart, is going to America tomorrow for 6 weeks. She has been chosen as one of 25 Armenian English teachers to take part in a special program at Indiana University. They will be studying with and learning about 25 Turkish English teachers. Since the two countries don’t have diplomatic relations and their borders closed, this is a big step in trying to get the people to get to know one another. I am very proud of Taguhie and know that she will get the most out of this opportunity. She has been a wonderful counterpart and friend to me for the past 2 years and I will miss her and only wish her the best.

For the next 4 weeks I plan on staying in my village. Of course I will have visitors every now and then and will proudly show off my village, which I think has the best view in all of Armenia. Next week we are having a “1948” weekend here. There are 4 of us who were born in 1948 and the other 3 are coming down to my house. Two of them have never been here before and so I’m excited to have them see my village, especially since they live in towns.

Only one more month to go and then I’m back home. That sounds so strange, since for the past 2 years this has been my home and I’ve gotten quite used to living here. For the next 4 weeks I will soak up as much of this life as I can, to get me ready for the whirlwind of activity that awaits my return: 3 family weddings, a daughter-in-law to be who I haven’t met yet, and a new granddaughter to meet. But I can’t wait!

In some ways, though, it’s scary thinking about returning to the States. I’m not sure what I’ll do next, how I’ll fill my time. While I will be leaving Armenia, hopefully I will have an ongoing relationship with this country and the wonderful people I have met. I also would like to stay a part of the Peace Corps, since I have inherited a new family within this organization and a host of friends. So, for me, this is not an ending, but just the beginning of a new and different way of looking at things and how I want to live my life.

May 13, 2011

Another month has come and gone, but it has been a busy month. Easter was very enjoyable, but a bit different. Barbara and I went to Good Friday services at the Church she usually goes to. It’s a Syrian rite Catholic Church, which is a bit different from the Roman rite. For Good Friday they sang the Stations of the Cross, and didn’t have a Communion Service. There was no Mass on Saturday, so we went Sunday morning. In a lot of ways this rite, and the Armenian Apostolic Church, is very much pre-Vatican II. The priest has his back to the people and at certain times during the Liturgy, a curtain is drawn across the altar. For Easter it was a high Mass, with most of it sung by the choir and the priests and deacons. It was about 2 hours long and unlike the Armenian services, everybody stayed for the whole Mass and there was very little moving about and talking. The Ordinary of the Diocese celebrated the Mass and afterwards everyone was invited to greet him in the rectory. We were pleasantly surprised that he spoke English.

After Mass we had been invited to the Mayor’s house where it’s a tradition for those invited to bring an empty pot and fill it with a soup made especially that day. Barbara and I brought a pot and met three other PCVs there and spent about 3 hours eating and talking with the Mayor’s family. Thankfully some other people came so we could graciously leave. However, the Mayor’s brother insisted that we meet him at the family restaurant in an hour. This restaurant is probably the best in Gyumri and has an outdoor, tropical theme to it. All in all it was a very nice day.

Tuesday and Wednesday of that week we had our Close of Service conference. At this conference we got all the paperwork we need to fill out in order to leave country. I think it may be harder to leave than it was to get in. There were also some workshops on readjusting to American culture, resume writing, interview skills, and post-Peace Corps jobs.

Monday night, since we had all arrived at the hotel by then, we had a bachelorette party for one of the young girls in our group who had recently gotten engaged. It was a surprise and a lot of fun. On Tuesday night the American Ambassador had a small reception for us at her house. She has been present at all our major conferences and tries to maintain contact with PC. She too will be leaving this summer. Since this is the last time we will all be together, we arranged to have a group picture taken on Wednesday. After another day of workshops, we went out to celebrate at a local karaoke club. I really enjoy spending time like that with my group, especially the young people. They are always so full of life and energy. While I didn’t get up and sing, I did dance.

One of the sites I wanted to see before leaving Armenia was the Genocide Memorial. So on Thursday, Barbara and I went up to see it. It’s a very impressive indoor/outdoor memorial to the thousands of Armenians killed in the early 20th Century by the Turks. There is a living flame in a semi-outdoor building, with memorial music playing at all times. Inside there is a museum depicting that period in Armenian history. It was a very moving visit.

Luckily on Friday I was still in Yerevan at the PC office and so I was able to see part of the royal wedding via computer. Some of the restaurants in Yerevan had wedding parties at lunch time, with big screen TVs on champagne. It was quite an event here, as I’m sure it was elsewhere.

The on-line courses are still in the planning stages, with the major hurdle still being getting a server to host the courses. On Friday, Gayane, my program manager, and I went to visit our latest prospective partner in this endeavor. This was some place. TUMO, the name of the organization will open in September and will be an enrichment after school site for children ages 12 to 18. It is all tech based and will be able to handle 1000 children at a time, all with their own computer stations and computers. They will be focusing on 4 major areas to start with, animation, web design, graphics, and music. It will be free, the students will have to apply and once accepted will be given points. They will lose points if they don’t come, if they don’t complete a project, etc. Once they lose all their points, they can’t come anymore. This is the brainchild of 4 American Armenians, who want to bring the Armenian youth up to date technologically with the rest of the world. They are creating this as they go along, with no other facility quite like it anywhere else. It was amazing to meet some of the people and listen to their ideas and plans for the future. I really hope this works out for us to partner with them, because I think we can help each other. I hope to visit the site once again before I leave country.

After 10 days, I was more than ready to return to my village. I’m not used to constantly being around people, and so I missed the quiet of my house and my village. I like being able to hear the birds in the morning instead of traffic, to be awaken by the roosters and cows, and seeing the mountains. I also missed going to school and interacting with the students and other faculty members. These people have become a part of my life and are very important to me and I want to spend as much time with them as possible while I’m still in country.

On May 9th Armenia celebrates Victory Day, commemorating the end of World War II. In the village cemetery, there is a memorial to all those from the village who were killed during the war. Out of 192 men who went to war, 81 were killed during the war. This year they had the ceremony outside, even though it was raining. A large majority of the villagers came to the cemetery for this ceremony. A veteran gave a short history of Armenia’s war efforts, then some of the students enacted a short skit, and then all the names of the war dead were read. It was amazing how quiet everyone was during the reading of the names. The families of the deceased had brought bouquets of flowers which they laid on the memorial near their names. Very close to this memorial are the burial plots of 4 villagers who were killed during the war between Armenia and Azerjaiban, and flowers were also put on these graves. There is a very real sense of respect and honor for the history of this country and for those who have given their lives for Armenian independence.

April 15, 2011

I hadn’t realized how long it had been since I put anything on my blog. It’s not that I haven’t been busy, it’s just that everything seems very normal now to me. I guess this is what happens during the second year, one becomes integrated into their site and takes everything as normal.

Actually March was very busy with some Peace Corps projects. For a number of years now there has been a Writing Olympics for the students in grades 6 through university. Up to this year, it was just the Caucaus-region former Soviet Union countries, specifically Georgia, Azerbajian and Armenia. This is an opportunity for the students to write creatively without worrying about spelling or grammar. In the schools here in Armenia, they are not taught creative writing at all, not even in Armenian. However, this year there were 12 countries participating from 3 different continents. Each grade is given 3 prompts to write on, with the students picking one. They have an hour to write on that topic and the more creative the better. In Armenia alone there were over 300 children who participated. In each grade the top three selections are sent to the international competition to be judged again against the other national winners. Five of my students participated, which I am very proud of even though none of them placed. This was the first year they participated and I’m hoping they participate again next year.

This year there will also be a National Poetry Festival. A former PCV started this in a northern region of the country about 3 years ago. This year more PCVs wanted to have one in their region culminating with a national festival. The students are given a list of poems to choose from and they must memorize it, and when reciting it give some meaning to it. Again this is open to students from 6th through 11th grades. While none of my students participated I was involved in the judging of our regional event. It’s amazing how well some of these students perform in what is for them a 3rd language. The National Festival is going to be May 8th and once again I will be a judge, which I’m looking forward to.

These two events and the Spelling Bee, which was in the Fall, are real incentives for the students to learn English. They give some of the students a chance to show off how well they are doing and to be creative as well. Since I have such a small student population, we can’t participate in all 3 events, but I was pleased that we were in the Spelling Bee and Writing Olympics.

On my many rides on the marchutni down to Kapan, the town below my village, I am always struck by a few things. First, it’s amazing to see and hear the people’s concern for one another. Since this is such a small village, everyone knows everyone else and their families. So conversations naturally involve what’s going on in their families. If someone has been ill and out of work for a while, there is real joy to see that person back. Secondly, along these same lines, this village takes it’s responsibility to it’s citizens very seriously, especially the children. It’s not unusual for a small child to get on the marchutni by himself either to go to school or to visit a grandparent. Someone on the marchutni will make sure that child is safe, has a seat and gets off at the right stop. It really does take a village to raise a child. And the marchutni drivers know their passengers. They know when to wait for someone and where each passenger is getting off. I really enjoy these rides and being involved in this part of village life.

One of the other unique things that happens here is how some merchants give change. Last week I had bought some cough drops at a pharmacy and didn’t have the exact change. I gave the woman 2000 dram and the price was 1680 dram. She gave me 300 dram and 2 bandaids for change. She didn’t have a 20 dram piece and I guess bandaids are 10 dram each. One other time when I was in the small store in my village I got a box of matches, which also must be worth about 50 dram. It’s a very interesting way to give change.

A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to visit two villages in the north-west part of Armenia. I took the train from Yerevan, which was a really good ride. I got to see a part of the country that I otherwise would not have seen. At the first village I was visiting a new PCV who was having a hard time integrating into his village and some difficulty with his counterpart. His village is probably 3 or 4 times the size of mine and his school has over 300 students. And his village is flat, not on the side of a mountain like mine. Some of the classes in his school have nearly as many students as my whole school, so it was a very different experience from what I’m used to, but I’m glad I went. After spending the day with him, we took off for the next village, where I was going to spend the night. We started out walking, since the next marchutni wasn’t for an hour or so. In a short time an army truck came by and actually stopped to give us a lift. I never realized how high off the ground those trucks are, but what I view I had from the front seat. Rane’s village was also much bigger than mine, with 2 schools in it. It was good to see where and how some of the other PCVs live and work. We had a wonderful dinner at her counterpart’s house. The next morning we took a marchutni back to Yerevan, and then I left the next day to return to my village.

I think the winter is finally over, although we had snow Thursday morning. However, the weather seems to be warming up and the trees have buds on them. As I walk around the village and down to Kapan, I see the families out in their fields getting the ground ready for planting. Since we didn’t have an early thaw followed by a frost, I think there should be plenty of fruit this year. Last year, because of a thaw in February followed by a return to freezing temperatures, most of the fruit trees didn’t produce any fruit. This winter was definitely colder and snowier than last year. I had been worried about having enough wood for my stove, but I actually have quite a bit left over. I still put my stove on at night, mainly to get the chill out of the house and also to cook on, but I will soon stop doing that. The wind seems to be getting warmer and the house is not as chilly any longer. Once I stop using my stove I can clean the house and the windows. Spring cleaning takes on a whole new meaning here.

It’s hard to believe that a week from Sunday is Easter. I’m going up to Gyumri for Easter to visit another PCV who lives there, and hopefully go to Church. The week after Easter we have our Close of Service Conference in Yerevan, so I’ll miss another week of school. There’s only about 4 more weeks of school after I come back, since the last day of school is the end of May. It’ll be hard to leave the school and say goodbye to the teachers and students. I have really enjoyed being at this school.

Three months from today I will be home and my adventure here in Armenia will be over. I am so thankful that I had this wonderful opportunity and all the great experiences. I will miss these people, my village and the school community.

February 25, 2011

The past two months have been relatively calm and enjoyable. This being my second year here, I feel much more comfortable and at home. February has been very cold and snowy. It seems as if every few days we have more snow. Living in a village only adds to the inconveniences that snow brings. Since most of the "walkways" are really just animal paths, needless to say they are not shoveled. The parts that don't get any sun at all become very icy and slippery. I have had to use my YakTraks a few times this winter. And there doesn't seem to be any end in sight to the snow and cold, since it's forecast that we will have snow most of next week. From the sounds of it I could have stayed in New York and had the same weather.

The other thing that I continue to notice is the rhythm and sounds of village life, even in the dead of winter. The most common sound is that of the men cutting wood for the stoves, for heat. Besides that, it is the quiet of the snow that I notice. It muffles the sounds of footsteps and even of the children yelling. Maybe I've just gotten used to them, but I don't even hear the cows, donkeys, or chickens as much lately.

Last week I went up to Yerevan for a Mentoring Workshop sponsored by the British Council. It was only a 2 day workshop, but since it takes me a full day to get there and then another day getting back, for me it was a week off of school. The workshop was very good and we're hoping to use some of it for the new volunteers this summer. Most of the programs in Peace Corps, especially here in Armenia, have an informal mentoring program among volunteers. The focus of this workshop was to set up mentoring relationships with our counterparts. I think it will be very helpful.

Spending a week in Yerevan is a bit expensive, but fun. There are a lot of restaurants there and of course there is a great yarn shop there. I've been in the yarn shop so often and buy so much yarn, that I now get a discount. In the middle of the week, there weren't any other volunteers in Yerevan besides the 4 of us attending the workshop. But on Friday others came in, so it was good to see them. I came back to my village Saturday to give myself Sunday to catch up on wash, etc. The ride back was a bit tricky and took 8 hours, instead of the usual 5 or 6. At one point the road (there is only one going north-south) had been closed for a while before we got to that point. After waiting for about 45 minutes, it was re-opened, but the police were monitoring how many cars went at any one time. This was being done at both ends of the 20 kilometer stretch. It wasn't that it was snowing, but there were white-out conditions because of the wind. I am glad that I don't plan on going back up to Yerevan until after the snow is all gone.

Some of what the Peace Corps teachers have established here are national and international competitions in spelling, writing and poetry. The Spelling Bee was held in November and right now is just held in the southern part of the country. The Poetry Festival/Competition this year will be a national competition with regional competitions held first. The entrants have to memorize an English poem and recite it. The Writing Olympics is an international competition with entrants from Armenia, Azerbjian, Georgia, Moldva, other Eurasian countries, and maybe even some African countries. It is based on creativity, not spelling or grammar. This is one of the few times these students get to be creative. It's a bit hard getting them to do that, since they are used to memorizing and giving back verbatum. However, my students have come a long way in the last few months and about 8 of them will enter. I really don't care how well they do, it's more the fact that they are willing to try and have increased their English ability.

As the winter drags on I am glad that I can crochet and have my computer on which I watch a lot of movies and play games. I can't imagine what being a Peace Corps volunteer was like 50 years ago without these amenities. I have watched more movies the past 20 months that I did the past 20 years.

January 14, 2011

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year celebration. My holidays were a bit different, but good and enjoyable. I spent Christmas in Gavar, a mid-sized town up north near Lake Sevan. Four volunteers live there and they had decided to host Christmas this year and invited 24 of us to join them. Between the 4 apartments they were able to put everyone up for the weekend. It was a bit tight, but that added to the fun. At the apartment where I was staying, there were 8 of us sleeping in one room, about a 10 by 15 foot room. So, once one person decided to go to bed, everyone went to bed and the same in the morning. Thankfully, we all got along and are used to sharing tight quarters. Both Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner were delicious, with a lot of shared memories of the holidays at home and the traditions we each have there. This year there were about 3 other large gatherings of PCVs around the country, which made it nice for the newer, younger volunteers who were spending their first Christmas away from home and family.

On Dec. 27th, my friend Pat and I left Yerevan for Tbilisi, Georgia, to spend the night there. Pat lives fairly close to Yerevan and we took a train into the city for a marchutney up to Tbilisi. The train ride was interesting. It wasn’t full, but farmers were bringing their crops to the shuka, so there were an assortment of vegetables and fruits. Some of the other passengers did some of their shopping on board and bought some fruit. Pat had never been in Tbilisi before, so it was fun to show her some of the city. The next afternoon we took a plane from Tbilisi to Istanbul, Turkey, and then to Cairo, Egypt. At the airport in Tbilisi we had met two other PCVs from Armenia, who were going to Turkey and were on the same flight as us. It’s always fun to be with other PCVs and share their adventures and stories.

We had arranged to stay at a hostel in Cairo, that was highly recommended by other PCVs who had stayed there in the summer. Someone from the hostel met us at the airport, at 3:30 in the morning and when we got to the hostel our room was ready. Since neither of us had slept on the planes, we took a short nap before heading out to explore Cairo. This was a “free” day, that is we had not tours scheduled, so we just walked around and surprisingly didn’t get lost, or at least we were able to get back to the hostel It was a day of sensory overload. We walked into small alleys that turned into mini-malls. There were rows upon rows of scarfs of every color imaginable. There were shop after shop of material for men’s suits. And of course there were food vendors of every kind. We wound our way over to the Nile, which was beautiful There were small boats for hire, with music and food. We went to go into the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, but it had already closed. Then we walked to the Abdeen Palace Museum, but that was also closed. On the way we found a yarn store and of course we both bought some Turkish yarn.

We went to a small restaurant for lunch that was recommended by Pat’s daughter’s friend. They serve this koshari which is made of rice, small noodles, spaghetti, lentils, tomato sauce and fried onions. It was delicious. In fact we ate it a lot during our trip.

On the way back to the hostel we walked along this street that was jam-packed with people. I felt absolutely overwhelmed between the crowd and the cacophony of noise and aromas. I never imagined Cairo being so crowded. There is almost a constant honking of horns that mixes with the call to prayer and the call of the street vendors to possible customers. I am not used to such noise nor such crowds. I miss my village, but it’s wonderful to experience this culture.

Our next day was very full. It started off with both Pat and I confused as to which clocks/we had set back, since there is a 2 hour time difference between Egypt abd Armenia. We soon straightened that out and found out it was only 6:30 and not 8:30. That was good because we were being picked up at 8;45 for our first tour.

Ehab was our guide and Nor was our driver for the next two days. Ehab is an archaeology student, so he was a wonderful resource person and gave lots of background on all we saw. Our first stop was to Saqqara, where there are 2 pyramids and afuneral temple to Djedkare-Isesi. They are restoring the surface of the pyramids by hand – exactly as it was originally done. We watched as they rolled a wheelbarrow filled with a huge stone in it, up a makeshift ramp. They have been working on this pyramid for over 2 years and only a miniscule amount is finished. I think Ehab said it would take another 12 years to completely restore it.

We then went to Memphis, one of the former capitals of Egypt, where there is a colossus of Ramses II. The size of this colossus is staggering. There are also other statues there, set in an outdoor museum, including a sphinx. There are also a lot of carpet schools in Memphis, one of which we visited and were given a tour and education about. Most of are hand-made using either silk or wool, or a combination of the two. It is a cottage industry in Egypt with about 90% of all carpets made in the homes. We watched as several students worked on various carpets and two older people were working on looms.

Finally we were on our way to Giza and the great Pyramids. We had caught glimpses of them this morning on our way out of town, but to see them up close was breath taking. We decided to ride out to the pyramids on a camel and horse. I rode the camel out while Pat rode the horse and then we switched for the ride back. It was fantastic to see them rising out of the dunes coming from the desert side of them. We rode out to a mountain spot opposite the pyramids where the view was magnificent. We could see the 3 pyramids and the sphinx. It was like being in another world. At times I felt like I was trespassing into something sacred. We were truly on holy ground. There was so much to take in and when we got back to our hostel we were both physically and mentally exhausted.

Our next day was much lighter, only 2 main areas of Cairo to see. We started in Islamic Cairo at the citadel. This complex has 2 mosques, a military museum, and a police museum, which was closed. We first went into the Mosque of the Sultan al Nasir. It is an outdoor mosque, of medium size, but we still had to take our shoes off. This one is not ordinarily used for prayer. The mihrab stands out against the rough stone because it is a feast of gold and marble. (The mihra is a niche indicating the direction of Mecca)

The Mohammed Ali Mosque was in stark contrast to the other, it is made out of alabaster and glistens in the sun. It is an enclosed mosque with a huge courtyard that has a domed ablution fountain in the center. The inside of the mosque was beautiful with chandeliers, stained glass windows up high, and sayings from the Koran all around on the walls. There were 2 mihrabs, one of alabaster, set back, and the other of green and gold art nouveau. It is completely carpeted with the individual prayer spots marked off. To the right of the entrance is where Mohammed Ali is buried beneath a white marble cenotaph, which is behind a bronze grill. Even though there were a lot of tourist in the mosque, it ws very quiet inside. A real sense of holiness, prayerfulness pervaded the mosque.

The view from the citadel was great. It showed a real contrast --- old Egyptian houses and new high rises alongside each other. This contrast between old and new is prevalent throughout Cairo though – women in burqa’s using cell phones, donkey carts competing with Volvos on the streets. Before leaving the citadel we went through the military museum. I kept thinking that Kevin and Colin would have loved it. It is set in an old palace that has been wonderfully maintained and adds a certain stature to the exhibits.

Our next stop was in Coptic Cairo, which is a walled-in section of the city that has about 5 Coptic Churches and a synagogue. It was interesting to note the similarities in the 3 places of worship, knowing the similarities in their beliefs. We went into only 2 of the churches besides the synagogue. The mosaics in all the churches are really beautiful.

Since it was New Year’s Eve, we decided to go to a jazz club for dinner. However, the cover charge was a bit high, so we just went out to dinner at another restaurant. With the constant noise in the street on any given day, it was hard to tell if there was any additional honking for the New Year. The next morning we found out that for Egyptians, going to the movies is a big thing on New Year’s Eve.

Our train to Luxor didn’t leave until 8 PM Saturday, so after packing up everything we headed off to the Museum of Antiquities. This is a massive museum that probably takes weeks, if not months, to see everything. I bought a book about it, so we could plan our visit. Of course we wanted to see the King Tut exhibit and also some of the Middle Kingdom items. I remembered some of the King Tut items from when it was on tour. But it is breathtaking when it’s all together. It’s hard to comprehend that it was all found in the tomb and most of it in very good shape. The detail on some of the artifacts is astonishing. But after 3 hours we were on overload, so we left the museum.

One of the things that struck both Pat and I is the hospitality, friendliness, and graciousness of the Egyptian people. They are genuinely proud of their country and happy that people come to visit it. They do their best to help others and make the visit enjoyable. And they are interested in learning about us and our country. In the Military Museum a group of teenage Egyptian girls came up behind us. We stopped to let them pass, but they wanted to take pictures of us and them together. Then we mut up with them again outside and one started asking us questions, very politely. She wanted to know what we thought of Egypt, of her people and of Islam. It was a very interesting experience.

The overnight train to Luxor was very comfortable. Our compartment had a sink, some hangers, 2 seats, which converted into a bunk bed. We were served a decent supper and breakfast and got to Luxor at 6 AM where we were met by someone from the hotel. After a little nap, we again headed out to explore this city. It was fascinating, beautiful and intriguing. We walked along the Nile, then into the heart of the city, found the Souk (outdoor market) and walked the seemingly unending length of it. The sights, sounds, and smells reflect the lives of these people. The Souk had everything one could imagine – from food to clothing to souvenirs. Some fairly well organized stalls, and others just a mish mash of items. One end teeming with tourists and the further we walked into it the more it was mainly natives.

We toured two magnificent temples today. Each ancient temple is set up the same, with the holiest part in the middle. There are a series of outer courtyards with immense columns and hieroglyphics all over the walls, relating the story of the king or gods. Where these figures are still intack our guides would tell us the stories. There were even places they used color and it almost looked like tile. Both temples are pretty much in good condition, with restoration in progress. The big project in Luxor seems to be the “Avenue of ‘Sphinxes.” This will eventually be a 3 kilometer walkway connecting the two temples and lined on both sides with sphinxes. Since our tour didn’t start until 3 PM, by the time we got to the second temple it was dark. But the way they have positioned the lights it was beautiful to see.

On our second day in Luxor we were awakened at 5 AM by the call to prayer. It seems that our hotel is right next to a mosque. It wasn’t that bad since we had to get up early in order to leave for the West Bank today to see the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and a temple to Queen Hetshepsut.

The temple was our first stop, and again was just staggering to see and walk through. It was 3 stories, with each story set back a bit to allow for a terrace. This queens’ stepson didn’t like her so he had most of her images scratched out after her death and he became king. Then we went to the Valley of the Kings where most of the kings of ancient Egypt are buried. So far they have discovered 62 tombs. Some of these tombs are massive underground tunnels and chambers with the legend of the king depicted on the walls. Even the sides of the valley look like huge columns. We were able to go into 3 tombs. The first one was the longest and it was no easy feat walking back up from the tomb. These tombs were started as soon as the man became king so the legend could be depicted. Once the king died, the workers had only 70 day to complete the tomb. This was the amount of time the mummification process took. Once the king’s body was in the tomb, it was sealed. Again it was mind boggling to see the intricacies of the art work on the walls. The other 2 tombs were smaller, but just as elaborate.

The Valley of the Queens is a smaller valley, but the tombs are just as impressive. Again we went into 3 tombs, walking down along wooden walkways put up to protect the interior from all the usage. There was so much to see and it's all so impressive that I was again overloaded with all the sensory images and information. It was almost too much to take in.

After lunch we went on a felucca ride over to Banana Island. It would have been a beautiful sail, but there was absolutely no wind. So the 2 crew, young boys, rowed us over to the other side of the Nile and then took turns pulling us along the bank. Once we reached our destination, we had to walk about 100 yards through dried river bottom, then up the bank to the banana plantation. We had a short tour of the plantation, got to taste their very delicious bananas and then reversed our trek and had a beautiful sunset ride back to the east bank. Again there was no wind, but at least we were going with the current this time.

That night we took the overnight train back to Cairo and had a day and a half to just relax and once again enjoy the city. We walked around some more and discovered more interesting alleyways and shops of the city. It was a wonderful vacation, one that I will think about often.

I got back to my village on Saturday, Jan. 8, and we were having the first snowfall of the season. When I awoke on Sunday it was to a beautiful vista of a glistening white village. It snowed off and on for the next 3 days. My water was still running when I got home, but it stopped Sunday and has been more off then on since. Thanks goodness for the snow, which I can melt at night on my wood stove. I had this past week off, since my counterpart was away,, so I am looking forward to going back to school on Monday.

The new year started off with more good news from the home front – another engagement. I am happy for Kevin and Amanda and look forward to getting to know Amanda and her family.

December 9, 2010

Thanksgiving dinner turned out much better than I anticipated. Luckily the turkey just fit in my oven (which is more like a toaster-oven). I had bought a 7 kilo bird, about 15 pounds and after using wooden spoons to form a rack in my roasting pan, I was just able to squeeze the bird in. Just to be on the safe side, I put it in at 10 AM, not knowing exactly how long it would take. My oven is very old and cooks very slow. I didn’t realize it until I was ready to cook it, but the turkey had a pop-up timer in it. However, since I had to squeeze the wings down, one of them prevented the timer from popping up. It only took 6 ½ hours to cook and it was delicious. Once the turkey was done I was able to put the stuffing in, which I had made from scratch, since I couldn’t find Pepperidge Farm. We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, cauliflower, and carrots. The gravy also came out good, with no lumps. This was the first time in a long time that I made gravy from scratch.

There were 7 of us celebrating Thanksgiving together. Robin had brought bread, Bryan and Chris brought cheese and crackers, Sam brought wine, Paul brought fruit, and Shannon had made the carrot soufflé. We had a wonderful time talking about how we each celebrate the day at home and sharing funny stories. It was a good day, but I’m sure next year will be even better when I’m home.

That Saturday was another joyous day for the Fullam family. Brendan proposed to Jackie and she said yes. We are all very happy and excited for them. Now I have 3 weddings, my niece Heather is also engaged, and a new baby to go home to. It almost sounds like a movie, “Four Weddings and a Funeral.” There is much joy and excitement in our family.

We had our All-Volunteer Conference the next week. The new volunteers had to be there Saturday night and we had to be there Monday night. I went up Saturday in order to visit with my host family in Karashamb, my training village. I enjoy seeing them and spending time with them and this gave me a good opportunity to do so. I had to be in Yerevan on Monday in order to help with the cooking for Monday night and to do a workshop for the new volunteers.

Monday night we celebrated Thanksgiving with all 96 PCVs in country and about 20 Staff members and their families. We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rice, green beans, carrot soufflé, and we even had yams. And of course there were pies: apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue. Afterwards there was the annual talent show, which is a lot of fun. A good time was had by all.

The Conference was good, better than last year’s. On the second day, we split up into sectors and met with specialists in that field. For the TEFL sector, we met with some people from the National Institute of Ed., one of the author’s of the text books, a man from British Council and someone from an agency that accredits colleges and universities. We had a very good discussion with the NIE people, although they didn’t agree with all our ideas. And the author actually agreed to setting up a standing committee to work with her on revising the textbooks. We’re hoping to do the same with the other authors.

Since we were all together for World AIDS Day, a few of the PCVs had arranged for us to get t-shirts with an AIDS message on them and to participate in a flash mob event to mark the day. I had never heard of this before, but I was eager to do it. We walked from our hotel to the center of the city where we met up with some other groups. There is a pedestrian mall nearby and so we walked over to that and spread out up and down it. At a specified time someone blew a whistle, at which we all took off our coats, so everyone could see our t-shirts and then we struck poses for a minute. It was interesting to watch the faces on those walking by as they threaded their way through us and tried to figure out what was going on. Eventually they got it and stopped to read the signs that some were holding up. It was a very moving experience.

Friday night was probably the highlight of the week for me. A group of us had gotten tickets for a concert by Placido Domingo. The tickets were a bit expensive, but they were worth every dram we paid. The concert was in a huge sports and concert arena, that was packed. It started at 8:30 and didn’t end until after 11:00. He sang about every other song, with three other singers rotating in and out, and sometimes he sang a duet with one of them. The acoustics in the place were great. After three encore songs, a group of disabled singers came out onto the stage and they sang with him. It was very moving. They closed the concert with everyone singing the Armenian national anthem. I never thought that I would get a chance to hear Placido Domingo in person, especially in Armenia. One never knows what will happen in the Peace Corps.

We have been very lucky so far with the weather, it has been unseasonably warm. Most of November it was in the 60’s during the day and didn’t get much below 45 at night. Even now the days are fairly warm, about mid 50s, but the nights do get a bit colder, probably in the 30s. They keep saying that it will turn colder soon and we’ll have snow, but I’m enjoying this weather as long as it lasts and it’s helping to preserve my wood supply. I do have to light my wood stove at night, but I also cook on it and it helps to dry my laundry over night.

I can’t believe that we only have two more weeks of school before Christmas. I’ll be going up north to another volunteer’s house for Christmas and then I’m off to Egypt for a week or so. I hope everyone has a very blessed Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.

November 21, 2010

I started this month with having a problem with mice, not exactly my favorite animal. I wasn’t sure at first if I had mice, but I soon found their droppings on a regular basis in my kitchen. So I went to the store in my village and bought a mouse trap. Unfortunately the first night I didn’t set it properly and wound up feeding the mice instead of catching them. The next day the electrician was at my house checking on an outlet and he showed me how to set it. For the next few nights I was in business. But that also meant that I had to get the mice out of the trap in order to reuse them. Not wanting to do this, I would catch some of the older boys on their way to school in the mornings and have them get rid of the mice. I’m very thankful that everyone has to pass my house on their way to school. I can happily say that I’ve been mouse free for the past 2 weeks.

One of the other TEFL volunteers decided to have a day of teacher workshops in his city for all the English teachers in the surrounding area. About 6 of us volunteered to help him, and so the second weekend in Nov. I travelled up to Berd. This is a city in the northeast part of the country, that is a bit difficult to get to. After getting up to Yerevan, which is a 6 hour ride, I then had another 3 ½ hour taxi ride. However, it was well worth it and gave me an opportunity to see another part of this country and spend some time with other PCVs I don’t ordinarily see. Since I was supposed to get back to my village on Sunday, I left Berd Saturday afternoon and went with Pat to her site, which is just outside of Yerevan. Pat has this unbelievable apartment, which is not at all Peace Corps-like. When I called to make a reservation on the marchutney, I found out that I would have to wait until Monday morning. So I stayed an extra day which gave me a chance to see Artashat, Pat’s site, and spend time with Pat. Monday morning we walked out to the highway to flag down the marchutney. I found out that getting on enroute is not the best, since I didn’t exactly have a seat, but at least I got back to my site.

Not having a seat turned out not to be the worst part of my day. Upon getting back to my house, I couldn’t unlock the door. The key would only turn part of the way and then it got stuck in the lock. I called the local handy man, but he didn’t answer. I finally unlocked the door, but then it wouldn’t close. Sosa, the handy-man called me back and came over a bit later. He was able to fix the door, thank goodness.

We’ve been having an unseasonably warm November and dry as well. The foliage has been very muted at best and now all the trees are bare. During the height of the colors, I could look across the valley and the trees had a golden hue to them that gave them a softness. I’m hoping that the warm November means a warmer winter this year, although last winter wasn’t terribly cold. I have started using my wood stove at night just to get the chill out of the house. However, it is still comfortable in the mornings, so I don’t even have to use my heater.

This past Friday the school had a harvest celebration. All the students brought in some vegetables or fruits from their gardens. Each class was given a table to decorate and set up their display on, with some of the classes combining. It was amazing to see the creativity of some of the students, making faces on pumpkins and squash with other vegetables. A lot of the parents were also there, helping the younger students. Two of the older groups even had wine as part of their displays. I was part of the judging panel, along with the Russian teacher and science teacher. There were 8 categories and a different group won in each category, very democratic. After the judging everyone was invited to taste anything they wanted to. Of course as I went from table to table I kept getting food handed to me and went home with two big bags full of fresh produce.

We’ve been given Thanksgiving Day off this year and so I decided to host dinner for the volunteers in my area. I invited about 13 other PCVs, 7 of which will be coming. I even found a turkey for the meal, which was very lucky since they don’t have turkey here often. We will also celebrate Thanksgiving the following Monday when all of the PCVs in country will be together and we’ll have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for this year, as always. I have a wonderful, supportive family who I look forward to spending next Thanksgiving with. I will be going home to the wedding of Kerin and Chuck. And, Kate and Andrew are expecting their first child.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

October 29, 2010

These past three weeks certainly seemed to have flown by, which I guess means that I’ve been happy and busy. School has settled into a nice routine, although at least once a week our schedule is changed, but I’ve come to expect that.

Two weeks ago I broke my glasses and the other pair has a scratch on one lens. In order to get new glasses I had to go up to Yerevan on a Thursday so they would be ready by Friday, since they don’t work on Saturdays. I have progressive lenses, which I really like and have gotten used to, but here in Armenia they are a problem. It seems that in the past few years, other PCVs have tried to get new progressive lenses, but none were happy with the outcome. Since the upper part of my lenses are for driving, which I’m not doing now, I agreed that I could do with just the lower part of the prescription, with the upper part just glass. It didn’t quite work out that way, they filled the whole lens with the reading prescription. So now I have 3 pair of glasses, each with their own special quirk, but I’m making it work since it’s for less than a year.

That weekend in Yerevan turned out to be unexpected good. I wasn’t sure what other PCVs would be in town, if any, so I was prepared to just see some of the cultural things. However, on Friday I was invited by my Program Manager to go with her on some site visits to the new PCVs. It was very interesting to see how some of the other TEFLs are doing, what their schools are like and their counterparts and how they work together, or not. Chad is an one of the largest villages in Armenia and some of his classes have almost as many students as my whole school. A very different situation, but also similar in a lot of respects. We observed two of his classes and then went to see the house he will be moving into. The next stop was at a university, where we again observed a PCV, Beckey and met with her counterpart as well as the president of the university, who also happens to be a Bishop. Beckey will also be working with the NIE (National Institute of Education) and doing teacher training so we visited there and then went to see the apartment she will be moving into. As I said, it was a very interesting day and one which again made me very thankful for both my counterpart and village.

As it turned out there were two other older PCVs in Yerevan that weekend also, so we spent Friday night and Saturday together. Friday night we had dinner at the interim Country Director’s house, along with two Fulbright Scholars. Diana, the CD, will be here only until the middle of December. She’s been in the Ukraine as a PCV and CD, as well as in Morocco and other countries. We had an interesting conversation with her and her husband, as well as a wonderful home-cooked meal.

The two Fulbright Scholars are both very interesting and knowledgeable women. Jane is an architect who is here for a year and teaching at one of the universities in Yerevan and doing some research in Gyumri. She has spent a lot of time in Yerevan, first with her husband when he was a visiting professor and then on several visits. She gave a talk Saturday, which we attended, on Community Planning and Design. It was very interesting to hear how cities and towns are responding to the community’s needs and cultural, and how that changes or influences their planning.

Ana, the other Fulbright Scholar, is a linguist and is teaching at one of the universities and will only be here until December. She is originally from Venezuela and was recently named one of the top 50 influential Hispanic-American women in America. Both of these women are very down to earth and a real joy to be with. Needless to say our conversations during the meals we shared were very stimulating. We hope to get together again before Ana leaves.

That Saturday was a big day in Yerevan. Grand Candy, an Armenian candy company, was celebrating being put in the Guinness Book of World Records for having made the world’s biggest candy bar. In the center of the city, Republic Square, they had a big stage set up, a ton of Grand Candy mini-vans, and a lot of security. At 6:30 the festivities began, with music and a video showing the candy bar in one piece and how it was cut. Then the side doors on the mini-vans opened and they gave out the candy. Of course it was a mad house with a ton of people. Try as we might, we couldn’t get close enough to get any candy. At about 10 PM they had fireworks, which could be seen all over the city.

Last weekend I was again in Yerevan and once again had an unexpectedly enjoyable time. I had gone up on Friday for a meeting and was leaving Sunday for Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Again there were a host of other PCVs in town, since it was the beginning of a week vacation for the schools. Saturday a few of us decided to just leisurely stroll around the city and do something culturally. We first went to the vernisage, which is like a big flea market. There were all sorts of beautiful paintings, some old jewelry and kitchen items, clothing, and other usual items found at flea markets. Then, we decided to go the National History Museum. We spent about an hour on just the first floor, after which we left since it was getting late. But it was just so nice to see and do something different.

Lisa, another PCV, and I spent 3 days exploring Tbilisi, especially the old part of it. We stayed at a small hotel, which was charming and served a wonderful breakfast. Finding this hotel, the Georgian House, was an adventure in itself. We decided to walk from the center of the city, got a map and thought we knew where it was. However, after walking for about 45 minutes with our backpacks, we finally got a taxi. It seems that he didn’t know where the hotel was, so we drove across town to a Mariott, where he asked for directions, and then headed back to where we had been. It seems that we were almost right around the corner from the hotel when we got in the cab. But, we did get a scenic tour of the city out of it. From where the hotel was located, we were able to walk into town, so it was very convenient. When we got there Sunday we met up with Kyle, another PCV, and his parents, which was fun. They left Monday morning for Turkey. We met up with them again for dinner that night. There is a part of the old town that has meandering streets with lots of outdoor restaurants and cafes.

On Monday we walked up to an old fortress that overlooks the old town, and looks fascinating from street-level. It was a nice walk, although all uphill, with fantastic views of the city. It turns out that all that’s left of the fortress is the wall you can see from below. But there was a quaint little church up there too, so it wasn’t all for nothing. And we found the botanical gardens from our view up there, which we walked to next. For dinner we headed back to the area we had eaten the night before and tried a different place. We also found a café that served gelato and stopped there every night as well. They had some very unusual flavors: kiwi, caramel, grape, etc.

Tuesday we headed out to the Ethnographic Museum, which is in the outskirts of Tbilisi. They have houses from different eras of Georgian history, showing how the people lived, what they used for cooking, sleeping, their handicrafts, etc. It was a fascinating place to walk around and talk to the guides they had there. You could see how their building changed over time and how they kept up their crafts and handiwork. That night we went to the Turkish baths, which are sulfur baths and very hot. But it felt good after all the walking we had done to just sit and relax in the hot water. We had also visited many churches and a magnificent cathedral in Tbilisi. The churches are filled with icons, stained glass, candles and incense, and music, so all one’s senses are stirred upon entering. What I did find interesting, though, is that although these are tourist places, they are more places of worship and have no gift shops or literature for sale. I was disappointed because I did want to know what the icons were and from which century. I will have to do some research on this at a later date.

We had taken marshutneys both up to and back from Georgia, and these are really an adventure and a good way to learn about the culture. Lisa lives very near the border of Georgia, so she met me at the border and on the way down got off just after the border. On the way up, I sat with a young man who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco about 10 years ago. He was going to Tbilisi to visit one of his friends from that time. It was very interesting to hear about his service and that culture. And talking with someone always makes the ride go faster, especially on a 5 hour ride. On the way back, we made the mistake of getting in a marshutney that was also bringing fresh produce into Armenia. This became a factor when we got to the border, and it took us over 2 hours to cross. Some of the delay was because of a lot of traffic, but most was due to the fact that the produce had to be inspected. And, of course, we got there when the inspectors, all of them, were at lunch. When we finally got going again, and after Lisa had gotten off, it was near 5 PM.. One of the old men on the bus had brought some bread and a big chunk of cheese. He offered some to everyone, about 8 of us, and when he saw you finished the cheese or bread, he offered more. It was delicious and it turned out to be a good time. At another point we made a quick stop in a town, one of the other passengers got off and bought some fresh-baked bread and once again everyone was invited to partake. The Armenian sense of time is very different from the American. They don’t rush to get places, but rather enjoy the ride, talking with one another and sharing meals. It makes for a longer ride, but also a more enjoyable one.

This past month I also learned why most houses have gates to them. I have a gate leading up to the walkway to my house. One afternoon I forgot to close it. The next morning I had a few nice big presents from the cows that pass my house every day going back and forth to pasture. I now make sure that it is always closed.

October 4, 2010

School has been in session for just about a month and it feels as if we never left. This second year is so much easier than the first. For one thing, I know all the students by name as well as the faculty. I also know what is expected of me, the routine of the school and the curriculum. I can anticipate what’s coming up in the lessons and prepare for that. I also have my notes and lesson plans from last year. Of course, I continue to buy resource material to use, especially grammar exercise books. My counterpart loves when I go up to Yerevan since I always come back with new material.

I do have some new projects that I’ll be working on this year. The first one, which I’m really excited about, is putting together an on-line teacher training course. The British Council, which is the educational arm of the British Embassy here, put one out last year, which I took and was terribly disappointed with. So I talked to my Program Manager about it and she agreed that it’s worthwhile pursuing and she asked me to be the project coordinator. I have gathered a team of 6 other PCVs, including 2 IT people. We hope to have a pilot up and running by April. Most of the team consists of the new volunteers, since they will be the ones using it the most. Besides that, we will also put together a manual of all the teacher training courses that are being done in country now by the different PCVs. This will have a short summary of the course, who has taught it and other relevant information. Hopefully this will enable more PCVs to do training courses without having to reinvent the wheel.

I am also helping to re-organize the Peer Support Network here in Armenia. In the past it seems to have been a loosely connected support network. This year we hope to have a more formal group, including having some in-service training and other professional development meetings. There will be 6 of us on it for now, again heavily loaded with the newer volunteers. I’m hoping our first gathering/training will take place this month. In this area, at least, I’ll be able to use some of previous experience and background. Of course, both of these projects will mean frequent trips up to Yerevan at the beginning, but I think they are both worth it.

About 3 weeks ago I learned that the man who delivered my firewood last winter is moving to Russia at the end of this month. Luckily this is not my first winter here so I know about how much wood I’ll need. He has promised to try and have the 8 meters I want to me before he moves. Of course, then the problem became where to store it. Last winter he stored it and delivered it to me monthly. I have only so much storage space that is covered on my deck. So last week I had about 6 of the boys from school stack some of the wood in my basement. They will also bring it up during the winter as I need it. They love doing things for me and made a real contest out of it to see who could carry the most. I hope their enthusiasm doesn’t wear out!

I have noticed this year the rhythm of this village and the sights, sounds and smells that accompany each season. Since they are mainly subsistence farmers, they really do live off the land. For the past few weeks the village resounds with the buzz of saws cutting wood and the braying of the donkeys carrying the wood down from the hills and mountains. The women and children are busy gathering the crops of fall vegetables and then canning them or making jellies and compote. And even though we had an incredibly dry summer, the leaves are beginning to change colors, which only adds to the beauty of this village.

But my big news, which didn’t even happen here in Armenia, is that my youngest daughter, Kerin, got engaged last week to Chuck. I am very happy and excited about this. I had told my children that there were to be no weddings while I was gone, but engagements were fine. They hope to have an October wedding next year. It will make a nice symmetry to my Peace Corps service. My oldest daughter, Kristin, got married a few weeks before I left, and now Kerin will get married a few weeks after I get home.

September 5, 2010

I had to go back up to Yerevan two weeks ago so I decided to go up early and visit my host family from last summer. It was so relaxing and felt so good to be back there. The grandmother wasn’t home, but the two daughters-in-law, their children and one son were home. This was the first time I spent a few days there and didn’t have any studying to do so I was able to observe how the household works. Karine, the daughter-in-law who lives there full time, has taken over the chores that Ella, the grandmother, usually does, like milking the cows collecting the eggs, etc. Besides this, she still does all the cooking and baking. Narine, the other daughter-in-law who with her two children stay there for the summer, does all the cleaning up. It’s amazing to watch these two women work and be together. They are really good friends and it’s a joy to be with them. We spent most of Friday baking gatta, an Armenian pastry that is absolutely delicious. Everything is made from scratch so it takes a bit longer than it does at home. There is such a sense of community in that village, which is not as apparent in the village where I live now. Friday night we walked over to the daughter’s house and joined some other women sitting outside and having coffee. The kids kept coming in and out of the circle to say hello and ask how I was doing. Some of the nephews stayed over that night and then in the morning the women came to the house for coffee and say goodbye. I hope to visit them again a few more times before I leave country. I really do feel like a part of that family.

School finally started again on Wednesday, Sept. 1, the traditional opening day of school. They have a wonderful ceremony here called “First Bell.” All the students dress in black and white, generally new clothes bought for this occasion. They all gather outside where there is a short ceremony, honoring students’ for their work last year, welcoming the new first graders, and this year all the teachers had to take an oath about being prepared and present for classes. Then one of the older boys picks up one of the first graders, gives him a small bell, which he rings. He is carried into the school building where he rings the school bell. A lot of the parents and grandparents come to this and it’s really a nice way to start the school year, especially against the beautiful background here in Vachagan. This year we have 38 students in our school, down from 43 last year, and one grade actually has 6 students in it.

All the PCVs in the Kapan area gathered a few weekends ago for what’s called “warden’s weekend.” This is where we go over safety issues, like how to get to Yerevan in case of a national emergency, and set up a contact chain. This year there are 11 of us in this area, although 3 of them are south of us very close to the Iranian border. As I’ve mentioned to some of you, this year will be different since there are any other senior volunteers down by me. While I do enjoy being with the younger volunteers, it’s also nice every now and then to be with someone closer to my age. I’ll have to rely a lot on phone calls to the other senior PCVs in country.

Our Country Director’s term is up in October. Lee has been a wonderfully supportive CD and will be missed, especially by my group. She will be going to work in Afghanistan, of all places, with US AID. I was fortunate enough to be up in Yerevan this past weekend and was able to say goodbye to her in person. Our new CD will be a man, who will come in January. He is presently in Morocco and needs to finish up some work there first. So we will have an acting CD for a few months.

I went up to Yerevan for a Saturday meeting, but because of the distance and transportation I needed to leave here on Friday. That night there was a football (soccer) game between Armenia and Ireland. About 12 of us went and it was pretty good, especially since the Irish won. There were a lot of Irish fans who came to root on their team and most of them were staying at the hostel. This worked to my advantage Friday night as they put me in a private apartment, away from the wild Irishmen. Shannon was also able to stay with me in the apartment so we were able to get a good night’s sleep and then just laze around Saturday morning. Unfortunately, they moved me Saturday night into one of the larger rooms that normally sleeps 8, but last night had 10 in it. I think there was only one other woman in the hostel last night, and she was one of the Irish fans. Some of the Irish had actually missed their planes back to Ireland Saturday morning and couldn’t get another flight until Tuesday. I think they were drinking or something.

One of the young men in the room, not an Irishman, Josh is from Luxembourg just traveling around Armenia on his school holiday. He had arrived on Thursday and gone straight to Mt. Aragatz, the highest mountain in Armenia. I invited him to stay with me if he gets down this way. He was really interesting to talk to and I think he would like to hike Mt. Khustrup, which is the second highest mountain in Armenia and right near me.

All of the other volunteers who had been in Yerevan on Friday and Saturday, left Saturday to return to their villages/towns. Since I live so far, that wasn’t an option for me, so I had an evening in Yerevan by myself, which I completely enjoyed. The weather has been unseasonably hot, so I went to one of the outdoor cafes for dinner. It was relaxing to just sit and people watch. They have this wonderful play area for children of all ages right next to where I was, so I could watch the young children on the riding toys and in the inflatable houses, and also see the teenagers play ping pong. And since it was so nice out, there were tons of people enjoying it. I felt very comfortable there and very much at home.

My trip back down to Vachagan was very interesting. I had gotten up early to catch the marchutney, which leaves anywhere between 7 and 8:30 in the morning, depending on when it is full. I actually got to the bus area before the bus, but I wanted to get a good seat. There are usually 2 or 3 single seats, which I like the best. Anyway we left about 8:10 and besides the passengers, there was a lot of bags and baggage. I had put my backpack on the shelf above me so it won’t get stepped on or too squished. The road on the way out of Yerevan is lined on both sides with fruit and vegetable stands. Our driver kept slowing down whenever we approached one and at first I was getting annoyed. After all, I wanted to get home. However, I soon realized that the journey is as important, and can be fun, as the destination. So I began to relax and enter into the spirit of the trip. We stopped at one stand and some of the women got out and bought some vegetables and fruits. In fact one of them gave me some, since I hadn’t bought anything. After everyone got back on the bus, we started up again and soon found another stand to stop at. This time I did buy some eggplants and red peppers. By this time, there was so many bags, that we barely had floor space for our feet. And we had picked up an extra passenger who was sitting on a stool in the aisle. It was quite an accomplishment for some of the women to step over this stool and around all the bags. But everyone was enjoying themselves, and talking to one another, comparing what they bought and the prices they were able to get. I no longer cared about the time it was taking, but was enjoying being part of this group.

August 13, 2010

PST (pre-service training) is finally over for the new volunteers, the A18s. While at the beginning of the summer I hadn’t expected to spend as much time with them as I did, I’m glad I had the opportunity to do so. I was able to get to know most of them, especially the new TEFLs. I also got to know the training staff much better than last year. And of course being able to attend the tech sessions for the TEFLs I learned a lot too. There was a new TEFL tech trainer, Lilit, who brought a lot more content to the tech sessions than we had last year. She gave very useful handouts, which I was able to get as well. In a way, it was like a refresher course for me, one that re-energized me for the coming year.

On last Thursday, the A18s were sworn in. The ceremony was very similar to ours a year ago, but being on the other side was interesting. It was almost as if I was able to pay more attention than last year. I didn’t have to worry about walking up on the stage and trying not to fall. I didn’t have to worry about greeting the Ambassador afterwards. However, I still got emotional when they played our national anthem. It’s something about being in a foreign country and hearing “The Star Spangled Banner” that gets to me. I think it’s because it reminds me that I’m not home and I don’t hear it very often.

Anyway, 55 new volunteers have now joined us in Armenia. While the majority of them have been assigned to the same Marz I’m in, that doesn’t mean they are very close or that I’ll get to see them a lot. As I may have mentioned before, the roads in Armenia are not the best, nor is the public transportation. A village that is only 20 or 25 kilometers away may take over an hour to get to. We did get 4 new volunteers in the Kapan area, 2 of who actually live in Kapan. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any of the older volunteers. But I am excited about the new mix and the energy and creativity they bring with them.

Since Shannon and I were up in Charentsavan last week, we were offered a free ride back to Kapan with the new volunteers. As we soon learned, something always happens with anything free. While it normally takes about 6 hours or so to get here, on Friday it took 12 hours! Now some of that extra time was due to having to drop off volunteers along the way. However, that probably only accounted for an extra hour or so. The rest of the time was due to mechanical problems with the bus. As we kept telling ourselves, we’re in the Peace Corps and nothing is easy.

However, I am glad to be back in my village, in my house! I’ve been able to spend time getting ready for the coming school year. I hope to be more relaxed and engaged in the classes this year, since I know what to expect. I’ve been going through some of the books I have in order to prepare activities for the various forms. I also want to start a writing club this year and I’ve been gathering material to help with that. And I’ve been able to just relax and enjoy the magnificent scenery from my windows and porch, and do some reading. I’ve been walking almost every day, even though that is not a common practice here. But the villagers are used to me by now and return my greetings as I pass them. Occasionally one of them will stop me and ask how I’m doing or offer me some vegetables from their gardens to take home. They are truly a very generous and hospitable people.

July 26, Charentsavan.

I was able to get home for about 10 days the beginning of this month. I didn't realize how much I missed the sights, sounds, and smells of my village. Being in Vachagan really did feel like home, and it was good.

Since there aren't any screen doors in this county, I made a curtain for my door so I could have some air in my house. THis is what all the houses have. I'm glad I made it because it was very hot in Vachagan, over 90, and there isn't any airconditioning. Having my door open also let the people in the village know that I was home. It wasn't long before some of the school kids came to exchange books. They had taken some of the English readers I had at the end of the school year, and I had told them they could exchange them when I was in the village. It's nice to know that they are reading during the summer. Some of the teachers, who were still working, also called up to me as they passed my house.

While I was home, the trainees went on their site visits. There will be 2 trainees coming to Kapan, the town near me. One is a TEFL and will be working at the Teacher's House, a resource center for teachers, and a part of the National Institute for Education. It will be good to have a contact there so I hear about any workshops that are going on. I may also give a few workshops. THe other trainee is a business person and will be working with a non-profit organization. It doesn't quite make up for the 4 PCVs who are finishing up their service and will be returning to the States, but at least we have a few new people.

The weekend after I returned to Charentsavan, we had our Mid-Service Conference. It was held at a sports complex that used to be used to train Olympic athletes. The facilities were great, as were the rooms. On Sunday night we had a kickball against the trainees, something that's a yearly event. My group won, which we also did last year, so we are undefeated. It was fun and a good way to mix with the trainees. For some reason both years I have been the coach of my team, so I don't have to play. The next night some of us went swimming. It felt so good to be swimming and the pool was clean, yet didn't have a chlorine smell.

Prior to going to MSC, we were all given a book, Strength Finders, and asked to do the online survey to find our strengthes. We then had a session on this which was very good. The idea is to work from your stengths and the book gave some tips on how to do this. There are about 30 strengths that they highlight and they give you your top 5. At the session, we met with the other PCVs who had the same strengths in the same order. Four out of the 5 of my top strengths were no surprise, but I'm still thinking about the 5th.

Another session that was good, was our sector session. We focused on the various challenges we have overcome in the past year in the classrooms. It was interesting to see how many of us had the same challenges, as well as some of the different one that had come up. We also talked about some challenges we hope to overcome this year. My biggest challenge is to get my counterpart to stop using so much Armenian in the classroom. This doesn't help the students with their speaking or listening. Another challenge is to get the students to do creative thinking and writing. I'm going to do a writing club after school this year to help with this.

THere is only another week and a half of training left, which means I get to go back to my village very soon. Most of the A16s have already left country, although a few are staying until Aug. 15. It's hard to believe that we will be the "seasoned" PCVs here in Armenia and only have a year left. I must be having fun because time is certainly flying.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Turkey was wonderful. Istanbul is a fascinating, weaving both modern and ancient cultures together in a wonderful fashion. It is also a very crowded city, with over 11 million people.

When we started out on June 13, we still hadn't firmed up all our travel plans, so at times it seemed like we were on the Amazing Race, trying to figure out how to get from one place to another within a certain amount of time. But in the end everything worked out and we got where we wanted to go. We took a marchutny from Gyrumi into Georgia, where we found a taxi that would take us across the border into Turkey. The hostel we planned on staying at in Kars, Turkey, was under renovation, so we had to find another one, which we did. We then flew to Istanbul Monday morning.

I'm glad we did so much travel by land, because the landscape in this part of the world is beautiful. Whereas parts of Armenia are mountainous, but rocky, and other parts are treeless, Georgia has a lot of fir trees and gentle hills and mountains. In Turkey we drove over and around mountains that are beautiful and still had snow on the tops.

One of the things that struck me once we were in Tureky was the presence of mosques in all the towns and villages. You could see the minarettes sticking up above all the other buildings. It reminded me of driving through New England, where each little town has a church in the town center and you can see the spire from the highway. The other striking thing about Turkey is the color of the houses and apartment buildings. Whereas in Armenia everything is cement grey, in Turkey there are pinks, blues, yellows, greens, and oranges. It was joyful looking and not depressing.

We passed some villages in Turkey where the houses had grass growing on their roofs. I imagine it helps to keep them cool in the summer and warm in winter. It just looks funny to see them cutting the grass on the roof.

The hostel we stayed at in Istanbul was located near most of the major tourist attractions: the Blue Mosque (so named for the thousands of blue tiles in the interior), the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace/Museum, Grand Bazaar, and lots more.

On Tuesday we went to the Grand Bazaar first thing in the morning. This is a huge shopping mecca that seems to go on for miles. It reminded me of a very upscale flea market, with stall after stall of clothes, jewelry, crafts, etc. You could spend days in it and still not see it all.

We wanted to go to the Topkapi Museum, but it's closed on Tuesdays so we went to the Hagia Sophia instead. This was originally a cathedral, but was then converted into a mosque and now is just a museum. But it was absolutely maagniicent. The high domed ceilings, with frescoes, or what's left of them, all around; over-sized pictures of how the art work used to look; and of course they have a minbar (where the Imam prays) and stained glass windows which now reflect Moselm tenants. It's really amazing the sense of history present in buildings like that, as well as a sense of peace.

We met another PCV and her mother and aunt for dinner that night. Istanbul is full of restaurants that have rooftop seating, with spectacular views of the city. We tried a different one every night.

On Wednesday we went to the Spice Bazaar, another interesting experience. There were a lot of spice and tea booths, as well as rugs, jewelry and clothes. I bought a green and lemon tea mix and a chicken spice, both of which I look forward to using when I get back to my house. It was interesting to haggle with them, which they expect, as well as to just smell all the different aromas. Right near this was the New Mosque, so named because it's just 800 years old. We had to take off our shoes and put on shawls to cover our heads in order to go in. When we wnet in it was during the noon prayer time, and they have a section just for visitors, so we were able to stay and watch. I was enthralled by how much ritual there is and how everyone moved as one.

After lunch we went to the Topkapi Museum. This is a huge place that has sultans' clothes displayed, with explanations as to when they were worn, how it was made and for who; as well as jewels and swords. In one room they had a display of Japanese art. Just walking around and going into the rooms and buildings gave us a sense of the granduer of it all. It was definitely a different time. We spent about 3 1/2 hours there and still didn't see it all.

On Thursday we firmed up our plans for getting to Selcuk. We had wanted to go by ferry and train, but they were both booked, so we went to Plan B and booked an overnight bus for Friday night. We then went through the Blue Mosque. The courtyard of this is resplendent with flowers: impatiens, begonias, roses. We again had to take off our shoes and put on scarfs before entering the mosque. We had met a man outside who became our guide and told us all about the mosque. He really was very helpful and helped us appreciate it much more. For instance he showed us a special place off to one side in the front that is reserved for dignitaries.

After taking us through the mosque he invited us for some apple tea at his shop. He and his nephew run a rug shop, of which there are probably a few hundred in Istanbul. While we drank the tea the nephew gave us a history lesson of the carpets and kilims, ,while spreading out before us a magnificent display of both. I found out that kilims are handmade of cotton, while carpets are handmade of wool or silk or a combination of both. I bought 2 small kilims, which I'll probably use as wall hangings.

That afternoon, Shannon and I took off for a walk through the non-tourist area. We wanted to get to the water, which we eventually did. However, before that we walked down some very interesting streets, which I'm sure most touists never see. They were narrow, winding alleys, with narrow tall houses/apartments. Yet still they were colorful and not as depressing as in Armenia. Kids were playing in the street, mothers were gathered on stoops or talking to one another through windows, and toddlers sat on windowsills protected by the guard rails. Very homey scenes indeed!

After much wandering we finally made our way to the road that runs along the shore. It was delightful and refreshing to walk along the water. We could see a whole bunch of freighters out at sea, as well as some sail boats and cruise ships. There were men and boys (no females) swimming. The boys had strung together empty water bottles, tied them around their waists or upper arms, and used the as life preservers. Very resourceful.

Friday was a very relaxing day, with no real sightseeing on our part. Shannon and I again set out on a walk. At one point Shannon went to use a portajohn by the boatyard. I got interested in watching the men haul out a boat and others were building wood boats and just lost track of time. It seems that Shannon had gotten locked in the portajohn and was yelling for me to get her out. The wind was blowing the wrong way so I couldn't hear her. Luckily some men on one of the boats finally heard her and let her out. I bought her a beer after that as a way of making up for it.

The overnight bus ride to Selcuk wasn't too bad. At one point we took a short ferry ride. It was very reminiscent of the Port Jeff ferry: cars and trucks lined up waiting to be loaded on. We were able to get off the bus and walk around for a bit and it was a clear, calm night. I forgot how much I miss being on the water.

The hostel we stayed at in Selcuk was absolute fantastic. It's called Atilla's Getaway. Atilla, the owner, is an Aussie, so there were lots of Aussie's staying there. There was a swimming pool, an outdoor bar, a pool table, and lots of lounge chairs. It was a wonderful place to end our vacation: very relaxing. If we had gone there first, I don't think I would have left to see Istanbul.

We went into Ephesus Sunday morning. I didn't realize how big Ephesus was, and how important it was at the time. It was amazing to think that we were walking down roads that Hadrian and Cleopatra walked on; that we were sitting in an ampitheater where Paul spoke and gladiators fought. They had audiotapes to help understand what all the buildings were and how the city had developed and the importance it was. We took about 3 hours going through it. That afternoon and most of the next two days were spent by the pool.

Monday night we took an overnight bus back to Istanbul and then boarded a bus for Tbilisi, Georgia and then a marchutney for Yerevan, Armenia. In all it was about 48 hours on buses. But the countryside was beautiful and we road along the Black Sea for a while. I'm glad we traveled the way we did, it added adventure to the trip.

While I definitely enjoyed the trip, it was good to come back to Armenia, to come back home (at least home for another year).

Saturday, June 12

I've been with the new trainees for this past week and it's nice to have this chance to get to know them. There are 58 of them spread out over 7 villages, mostly sorted according to the work they will be doing here. While I met with all of them on Wednesday for one session, I met with 4 of the villages on Thursday, two at a time. It's a bit different being the trainer rather than the trainee and I'm pleased with how much input into their training we've actually been allowed to give. But, as my program manager said, we're the ones in the field and we know what the new people really need to learn. I can really identify with them during this stage of their training: trying to acclimate to a new culture, living with a new family, learning a new language and learning about how to do their job in a different culture. But, as I keep telling them, it's worth all the hard work and frustrations.

The Peace Corps rents out a few apartments in Charentsavan, the main town which the villages surround. I stayed in one of them this past week, which was nice and I had the place to myself. The other volunteers working this week were all young men, who stayed at one of the other places. On Thursday night, instead of going out to eat, we met at their place and Bryan cooked for us. It was fun just sitting around and sharing some of our experiences during this past year and playing some games.

Tomorrow I'm off to Turkey, which I'm really excited about and looking forward to. We've been planning this for a few months, but typical Peace Corps style, our travel plans are still a bit up in the air with some gaps in getting from one place to another. I know it'll all work out and I'm really not worried about it. There are 4 of us going, 3 of us older and one of the tweeners, a 30+ volunteer. It should be fun. It seems odd to me that here I am in the Peace Corps and yet I get to travel to some amazing places.

June 2, 2010

It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been in Armenia for a year! This past weekend the new group of volunteers arrived. I went up on Friday to stay with my host family from last summer in Karashamb. They are such a wonderful family and they are getting a volunteer again this year. John, the son and father of the two young children, has been working in Russia since February. There is no work in or near Karashamb so he was offered this job through a friend of his. The house definitely has a different feeling to it without him. John is a fun-loving guy and loved to have all the other volunteers over. They wanted me to stay the whole weekend, but I had made arrangements to stay with another volunteer in Hrazdan for Saturday and Sunday nights. And I knew they would be busy getting things ready for their new volunteer. But it was nice to be back in that village and there were several other volunteers also staying with their host families.

The new trainees had arrived early Saturday morning and went right to where they were staying until Tuesday. They were all a bit tired, but we had a meet and greet in Bjini, a nearby village, at 3:30. There are 58 in this new group, ranging in age from 20 to 75. We kept the meet and greet short so we just had time to say hello and maybe talk to 2 or 3. We were supposed to meet them at the church in Bjini, but there was a wedding there so we went to a park, which probably turned out better. I remember our meet and greet from last year as if it were yesterday. It will be strange, but nice, to be the “seasoned” group here in Armenia.

The welcoming committee had arranged for a short gathering of the over 50 trainees and some of us for Sunday night. Five of us went to meet with them and it was nice to have a chance to get to know them. They asked us questions about how it is to be an older volunteer and what were our challenges. I just told them to make sure they mingle with the younger volunteers and not segregate themselves. The younger volunteers have a lot to teach us and when they feel comfortable with us, they also feel comfortable coming to us for advice. One of the most important parts of my service has been being with the younger volunteers. They asked us to come back for Monday night and so 3 of us did that.

On Monday I moved from Hrazdan to Charentsavan, the town where the training staff sets up offices and where the trainees come for their central days. The PC has rented a few apartments for PCVs, like myself, who will be helping out with the training. Danya was also staying there, so we went out for a nice supper and then went to the apartment. Danya decided to take a shower, since she doesn’t have one in her house. However, we couldn’t get the hot water to work in the bathroom, only in the kitchen. So she decided to use a pail to put hot water into a larger pail and use that in the tub. She filled the smaller pail and went to pour the water into the other pail, only to find out that the small pail had a hole in the side, near the bottom. And since the larger pail was on the other side of the kitchen, there was a trial of water across the kitchen floor. Then she proceeded to put more hot water into the pail with the hole. All this only to discover that the hot water was then working in the bathroom. It’s going to be an interesting summer.

Late Tuesday morning I got a ride back into Yerevan to the PC offices. I was surprised to find no other PCV in the IRC, so I was able to get some work done on the computer there. Brent, another PCV, soon arrived and so after a while we decided to get some lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon and part of the evening with this incredible young man. Brent is in the business sector and works at World Vision, an NGO that’s very active throughout Armenia. A few months ago he grought a group of young people to Kapan (ages 14 and 15) who led a workshop on AIDS. Before coming to PC, he had twice spent time in India at Mother Teresa’s hospital, he worked for a refugee resettlement program in Texas, he had spent 2 and ½ months in New Zealand as an intern, and he’s been to other places doing volunteer work. He cares deeply about people and being able to help them make a better life for themselves. All this and he’s only in his mid-twenties! We sat at two different outdoor cafes and talked about PC, our first year here and theology. And he enjoys having a good time and acting like a kid.

Tuesday was Children’s Day in Armenia. Yerevan had a lot of activities going on in conjunction with this. There were families walking about enjoying the beautiful weather and the carnival atmosphere. As Brent and I walked around he was given a balloon by a batman character. We were soon joined by another PCV who remarked that he looked like a big kid – sandals, rolled-up jeans, and a balloon, sort of Huck Finnish.

It’s people like Brent, and the Peace Corps is full of them, that really give me hope for the future. This is why I have so enjoyed getting to know these young people.

I finally returned to my house Wednesday afternoon. While it will be a short stay, I leave again for Charentsavan next Tuesday, it just feels so good to be home.

May 25, 2010

School is over for this year, the students just have state exams to take, so they will be in and out for the next 3 weeks. Unfortunately I missed the last week of school because I was up in Yerevan helping plan for the new volunteers who are coming this Saturday.

Shannon and I took a taxi up on Friday, May 14. We had a committee meeting first thing Saturday morning and then I left for Ijevan, where I attended environmental camp counselor training. There were about 20 of us, including some Armenians, who had volunteered to be counselor. Of course, the other trainees were somewhat younger than me. We were lucky that the training wasn’t two weeks earlier because there had been a landslide on the road to Ijevan, which meant that you could take one marshutney up to the landslide, climb over the mud and trees, and then get into another marshutney. I’m not sorry that I missed that experience. During the training we went through a lot of the activities that the children will be doing and the overall curriculum for the camps. There are going to be 5 green camps this year, unfortunately all of them are in the northern part of the country. The Americans all stayed at the house of one of the sponsors and founders of the green camps. I was promised a bed, but that didn’t work out so I slept on the floor with the other counselors. But we did have a horovatz, their version of a BBQ. I got back to Yerevan Sunday evening and spent the rest of the week at the hostel.

I had volunteered to help with the planning for the new volunteers’ training, which is what I wound up doing the rest of the week. When I left Vachagan on Friday, I thought I would only be in Yerevan until Tuesday or Wednesday. However, once I got to PC office, I was asked to become more involved. Luckily I had packed extra clothes

I didn’t have to be at any meetings until Monday afternoon, so Shannon and I did some shopping Monday morning, which turned out to be my only free time. There were 4 of us who were asked to help with redoing the cross-cultural training curriculum. And we only had 2 days within which to do this. This meant using a generic workbook that PC put together, sequencing the topics, and coming up with lesson plans for each of the 7 sessions.

After we finished with that, since we were all English teachers, we were asked to help the new tech trainer in our sector. This again coming up with a revised curriculum, suggesting volunteers who could do each session, and coming up with TDAs (trainee directed assignments) for some of the sessions. The TDAs are a new addition to the training so we had nothing to draw from. The practicum for the English teachers is a model school the last 2 weeks of training. I was asked to coordinate that, which I’m happy to do.

While I was looking forward to being a camp counselor, unfortunately I had to give that up. But luckily, the camp I was going to help out at had a lot of counselors, so Katie the PCV in charge was fine with me not doing it. I might try it next summer. So my summer will be busy and a lot of it will be spent in Charentsevan, but I am looking forward to it.

Even though we were terribly busy last week, we did manage to get in some culture events. Tuesday night we went to a dance performance at the Opera House. It was very similar to “River Dance,” with a lot of Armenian folk dances. Some of them remind me of Irish step dancing. The costumes and dances were really amazing. Then on Wednesday we went to an opera, “Anush.” This is the most well-known Armenian opera. The sets were spectacular and the singing was extraordinary. They had some programs in English so we had a general idea of what was happening. I’m going to get the schedule for performances at the Opera House, so when I’m in Yerevan I can take advantage of this. The tickets are very reasonable so there’s no reason not to go. Another highlight of my week in Yerevan was going to dinner with another volunteer, Barbara, to a wonderful little Italian restaurant. This place is very small, with only 5 tables. However, the food is exquisite. Barbara had been there before and had raved about the steak, so that’s what I ordered. I don’t usually order steak in an Italian restaurant, but I am so glad that I did. The steak was one of the best I’ve ever had, it practically melted in my mouth. They cooked it exactly the way I wanted it and it was cooked with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. I will definitely go to this place again.

As I said school is over and the last day was Saturday, which I was very glad to back for. They all it “Last Bell,” since it is the last time the 11th graders will be there. They had a graduation ceremony of sorts. The hall was decorated with streamers and balloons, and a small stage was set up at one end. The first graders marched in with the 11th graders and during the ceremony they exchanged gifts. There was a slide show, showing the 11th graders throughout their school years. The PE teacher had made up poems about all the faculty, including me, and the students took turns reading them and presenting flowers to the appropriate teacher. Afterwards they had a luncheon for the graduates and their families. A lot of othere villagers came to watch, besides the families. As I said, I was very glad I made it back in time.

I also realized that spending an entire week in the hostel is a bit much for me. While I enjoy being with the younger volunteers, I also need some quiet time, which is not available there. It was like living in a college dorm, a co-ed one at that. But the place is reasonable, clean and has nice hot showers. I also found out they have an iron and a hair dryer we can use. It’s the little things that make it worth it.

This weekend the new trainees come and I will be going back up north on Friday. Friday night I will be staying with my host family from last summer, who are just wonderful people. I was even able to call them by myself and make the arrangements, so I am making progress with this language. But I will have to bring my dictionary with me.

May 1, 2010

This past month was a very busy one. The online course I’ve been taking, while not what I had hoped it would be, does take up some time. We have 2 sections which we do each week consisting of a series of online activities, reflections, and a little reading. I had hoped for more new information or at least some more in-depth readings, but that has not proved to be the case. There are only 3 more weeks left. The real challenge for me has been getting online. The best days for me to access the internet at school are Tuesdays and Thursdays, since the computer teacher is not at school those days. Unfortunately, the past two weeks the internet has been down more than it’s been on. So I’ve had to go down to Kapan more often. I’ll be glad when it’s over.

I made my monthly trip up to Yerevan 2 weekends ago. Unfortunately, it had to be a very short trip – Friday going up and Saturday coming back down. But, there were a lot of other PCVs in Yerevan that weekend so it was good to see them. Most stay at the hostel where I do, which turns into a Peace Corps dorm of sorts on those weekends. The committee I’m on, volunteerism in Armenia, and the reason for going to Yerevan is making some good headway. We are hoping to have some workshops for adults this month, a sort of training, and then have them run the camps for the younger children and forums for the young adults. It’s hard to imagine people not understanding the concept of volunteerism and how it’s good for one’s town, region, country. I know it will be a slow process and will take years before this is nationally recognized as beneficial for all.

The trip back to Kapan that Saturday was probably the worst I’ve had to date. There were 6 of us so we had a minivan, which picked us up at 2pm. Normally we would have been back in Kapan by 7:00 or 7:30. However, our driver made 10 stops for various reasons – to buy mushrooms on the side of the road, to buy wine on the side of the road, to buy lavash, to buy car parts. We finally complained to him that we didn’t want to make any more stops, so then he started to drive really fast. The last part of our trip is going over 2 mountains, which consists of a lot of switch-backs. The tires on the van were squealing on the turns, which shows how fast he was going. We all so nervous, that we just started laughing to relieve the tension. The next day Barbara phoned the taxi company to complain about the driver. We did find out there is another taxi company that goes to Yerevan, which we will now start using. It’s bad enough to have to spend 5 ½ hours in a taxi, but I don’t’ want to have to worry about how safe the driver will be on top of it.

The reason we had to come back Saturday was to help with the regional spelling bee on Sunday. The region I live in has a yearly spelling bee and that Sunday was the final. About 5 years ago a Peace Corps volunteer started this and so we are very heavily involved in running it. Although next year we are going to hand over some of the responsibilities to the Armenian teachers. The spelling bee is open to students in grades 7 through 11. I was amazed at how well these young people could spell in English. For the 8th graders we had to go to the 10th grade words before we had a winner. And for the 11th graders, we almost ran out of words. These are some serious spellers.

This past week was very hectic, with a lot of unexpected events happening. On Tuesday we had a ‘consolidation’ which is a safety procedure for PCVs. When a consolidation is called, we are to go to our warden’s house as quickly as possible, bringing with us our backpacks filled with clothes, laptops, etc. These are called when there is a threat to our safety throughout the country. This was just a practice one, but we still had to do it. I had just gotten out of the shower when I got the call to go to Joe’s, in Kapan. So I spent the day in Kapan, since we weren’t given the all clear to go back to our sites until close to noon. A few volunteers from other regions were visiting in Kapan, so I got to see them and spend the day with them. That afternoon Brent, a volunteer from up north, was putting on a seminar about AIDs for 8th and 9th graders. He had brought down about 8 students who facilitated the seminar. Seven of my kids came down for it, so I met them when they got off the marshutney. It was a great seminar and I was very proud of my kids participated in it. The next day they couldn’t wait to tell the rests of the faculty about it.

When I got into school on Wednesday, I found out from my counterpart that there was going to be a series of English teacher meetings in Kapan that afternoon and the next two afternoons as well. This meant that we had to have our schedule changed so we could make the meetings. During the morning it started to snow in the village and did so off and on for the next day. When I woke up on Thursday I had no electricity! I went to school early that day because I knew they would have the wood-burning stoves on and I could get warm by them. And I thought this was Spring. The meetings were okay, nothing very interesting or new. But it is a way to get to know the other English teachers in this area. One of them asked about getting a volunteer for her school, which I hope comes about. She might be too late in asking for this year, but hopefully next year she’ll get one.

The weather has been very erratic. A few weeks ago it was in the 60s and then as I said we had snow two days this week. But it also has been very rainy, when it’s not snowing. This makes my walk to school very interesting. There’s this area, which I call the mud flats, that is always an adventure crossing through. Some of the students had put down some roof tiling, but with all the rain the tiles are now sinking. I’m never quite sure if my shoe is going to stay on my foot or get stuck in the mud. It was actually easier when it was frozen. With all the rain the water is again getting brown, not as bad as it was in March, but close. I make sure that my water filter is filled,, along with a bucket I have.

We found out this week that we will end school on May 22, which means we only have 3 more weeks of school left. Of course we have to make up the extra week we’re still missing from December. This means that we’ll have extra classes most days for the next 2 weeks. The Ministry of Education realized that if they kept school open later into May a lot of the students wouldn’t attend because they’d be helping on the family farm. Plus, these kids haven’t had any time off since January. So now I will seriously begin to plan my summer.

May 4, 2010

Another Peace Corps moment: my gas balloon ran out of gas Sunday night as I was cooking my dinner. Luckily I have a countertop electric oven, so I could finish cooking my dinner in that. I didn’t realize that’s what had happened at first, since I only got the balloon in February and I did a lot of cooking on my wood-burning stove. However, today the electrician/handyman finally came to my house and told me that’s what it was. I will now have to wait until Saturday until it will be filled. Someone in the village works down in Kapan where they fill these balloons. He will pick up my balloon either Thursday or Friday and then return it on Saturday. In the meantime, I will have to bake everything. I just won’t be able to have tea or coffee until then. But I may go to Kapan tomorrow and buy an electric kettle. I’m sure this won’t be the last time this happens and I might as well be prepared.

Today Armenians celebrate the end of WWII. It’s very different living in a country that was involved in the war on its own soil. Because this was the 65th anniversary of the end of the war, the celebration was a bit bigger. The school prepared a presentation, including honoring the 89 men who lost their lives in that war with a slide show that had a picture of each of the men. That’s a lot for such a small village. There are still 2 veterans who are alive and they were present tonight and received special recognition. The kids did a wonderful job with recitation of poems, dancing and some singing of national songs. I was very proud of them all and was glad to have been present during the presentation.

Two of the boys just came to my house to get my balloon. One of them is a 10th grade student, who wasn’t in school today. When I asked him where he was, he just said he’ll be in school tomorrow. But I told him he doesn’t have English tomorrow and missed it today. He said he’ll see me tomorrow. I really enjoy seeing the students out of the classroom and being able to talk to them, a little, a very little.

March 29, 2010

The past two weeks have been very busy and interesting. First, my counterpart and I were observed by the school director and one other teacher. I didn’t know they were coming, which was probably better, but my counterpart did, not that it would have made any difference in what we did. It was our 5th form class, which has 5 students in it. We did our usual routine, which helped relax the students, so we started out with 10 minutes of reading. Then we went to the curriculum and I must say the students were quite active in that lesson. During the debriefing, the school director asked why we have them read. My response was that reading helps build vocabulary and they seem to like it. I was a bit confused by the question, since I wasn’t sure if she was asking because she didn’t want us to do it anymore. For the most part they were pleased with the lesson and the way the two of us work together. I think they were also surprised by how much interaction I have with the students. The next day I read a report online that said that students who are learning a new language do much better if they have some reading time in that language. Needless to say I shared that with the school director. She actually is in favor of the reading, but was just interested as to why we were doing it.

I also met with the director of a youth center in Kapan who asked if I would do some English language classes there. It will be primarily for the staff, but will also be open to anyone else interested, between the ages of 18 and 30. It seems that in order for the people to take advantage of some European activities, they need to have a certain level of English proficiency. I will be starting those classes next Monday. It may work out that everyone will be in the same class with the same level of English. But I may have to split them into 2 groups, which I’ll do back to back. My hope is that we will get more English teachers from the new Peace Corps coming this year, and that one of them will take this over. I don’t relish the thought of coming down the mountain every week during the winter.

The weather up to that Thursday had been very nice, with temperatures getting up to the 50s. However on Thursday it started to snow. It snowed all day. By Friday morning we had about 18 inches of snow and it was still snowing. I was leaving on Saturday morning to go up to Yerevan in order to fly to Dubai on Sunday. The teachers from Kapan had to walk up to my village, since the taxis and marchutneys were not coming up the mountain. So I made arrangements to stay at Shannon’s on Friday night. After school, I called a taxi, but I had to walk down part of the mountain, since the taxis were still not able to get all the way up. I didn’t care what I had to do, but I was going on vacation!

It worked out well since Friday afternoon there was a writing Olympics in Kapan which I wound up helping to monitor and then judge. It’s amazing how well some of these kids write in what is basically a third language for them. They could choose from 3 topics and had one hour to write. There were a few who clearly had no idea what to do, but for the most part they were good. No one from my school participated, since the spelling bee had just happened, and we have a very limited pool from which to draw. Maybe next year.

The trip up to Yerevan Saturday morning was very interesting. We have to go over two mountains just outside of Kapan, with switch backs up and down. The side of the first mountain has a lot of shade covering the road, so it was a bit icy in parts. On one switch back going up the mountain, our van started to slide backwards. The driver got it to a point where it leveled off and was able to get up. It was slow going, but once we crossed the mountains, the roads were fine. The only trouble was that our van kept backfiring the whole trip!

Dubai is an extravagant place, to say the least. It was like going from one extreme to the other between Dubai and Vachagan. The highlight for me of course was seeing Kate and Andrew. Unfortunately though, they both had to work that week, but we would all have dinner together every night. For those of you who know them, their work schedules in Dubai are as bad as they were in London and New York, which meant we were going to dinner at 9 most nights.

The first two days we were there, Shannon and I took the bus tour around the city. It was interesting as we drove around to see the different dress styles on the women. Some were in the full burka, others had the long robes on and some just had the head covering. The same with the men. Some wear the traditional Arab long white robe and head covering, and others are in suits. They have two different routes, one more in the center of the city and the other around the outskirts. We went to a great underground museum which told about the history of Dubai and the people who settled it. We got off and walked around a “souk” which is their outdoor malls, and this one was specializing in gold. We also saw the indoor “ski resort” they have in one of their malls. Like I said, Dubai is extreme!

On Thursday, Andrew took off from work and we drove to Abu Dabbi to visit the huge mosque they have their. It’s one of the largest in the world. They give tours, which took about an hour and a half, and explain a lot about their religion and rituals. Shannon and I had to wear veils and a long black robe in order to go in. The former president of the UAE planned and paid for most of this mosque. He died in 2004 and they have a separate building where his tomb is and they read from the Koran 24/7, which they’ve been doing for the past 6 years. This is their way of showing their respect and love for this man. We also went to the Palace Hotel, which is huge. You know it’s something special when they bring bus tours to a hotel.

Friday came all too quickly and we had to come back to Armenia. After having walked around in sandals all week, it was hard to get back into winter clothes. But the snow had melted and it’s almost spring-like here most days. I still light my wood burning stove at night to get the chill out of my house, but it’s nice not to have to wear multiple layers whenever I go out.

April 6, 2010

A belated Happy Easter! I decided to stay in Kapan for Easter, mainly because I would have had to take more time off from school in order to go up to Gyumri to attend the Catholic Church there. A few of us decided to try the Armenian Apostolic Church for Easter services. They had a Saturday night Mass, which we went to because I had heard that the Sunday Mass was always crowded. It was very different from the Mass I’m used to, the priest has his back to the congregation, and of course it was all said in Armenian. It reminded me of pre-Vatican II Mass, specifically a high Mass since most of this one was sung. Next year I will go to Gyumri.

Sunday we all had dinner together at Barbara’s apartment. It’s always nice to be with the other Peace Corps volunteers, especially on holidays. Shannon and I showed them our pictures, Barbara had hidden Easter presents (she couldn’t find the plastic eggs) so we had an Easter hunt.

The men in the village have started to plant their produce. The fields are all nicely plowed and after school the boys go to help. I’m hoping to have a small garden in my yard. Yesterday as I was leaving to go to town, one of my neighbors was in my yard, with two of her cows. Occasionally she lets them into my yard to, as she says, help fertilize the yard. I don’t have a big yard but there was some uncut grass that the cows were busily eating. I hope once I have the garden in she stops bringing her cows around.

March 10, 2010

Armenia is an interesting when it comes to the holidays that they celebrate here. In January, we had Soldiers’ Day, which was a national holiday and so everyone was off. Last month, on Feb. 23, we celebrated Men’s Day, which was not a holiday. So to acknowledge it at school, we had our usual celebration of wine, candy and cakes at our longer break between classes. The school director also gave the three men on staff small gifts.

Luckily I’ve become familiar with how my counterpart runs her classes and we work very well together. Two weeks ago, she had to leave school in the morning due to a death in the family. Instead of cancelling the English classes for the day, I did them by myself. They actually went pretty well, mainly because the kids are used to me by now. With my limited vocabulary I was able to follow the lesson plans and get the main points across. I couldn’t do it all the time, but for one day it was fine.

In fact my speaking ability, while not stellar by any means, is getting better. I’m just a bit more confident now and not as hesitant to try. I can now call my hairdresser and make an appointment over the phone. The phone is hard because the line isn’t always clear, but I do my best. And I can order my own taxi, too. While these may seem like small things, with this language and my limited ability, they’re major steps.

The first week in March is Peace Corps Week. We were each encouraged to acknowledge this in some way at our sites. I decided, since I’m the first volunteer in my village, to have some of the other volunteers in the nearby town come up and speak about their jobs to the teachers and students. I invited an environmental educator and a business person. Unfortunately, at the last moment the environmental person couldn’t make it. However, I think it went very well. I had made a poster depicting the Peace Corps symbol and listed each of the sectors that Peace Corps works in. Andrea, the business volunteer, and I each spoke about our sectors and then about one of the other sectors as well. We also gave a general overview of what Peace Corps is all about, how long it’s been around and how long it’s been here in Armenia. We then opened it up for questions. The kids had some really good questions and overall were very attentive and well behaved. I had worn my Peace Corps pin all week and that drew a lot of attention and questions. The first day I think everyone in the school asked me about it. Next year is the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps, so we’ll plan something a bit bigger.

Last weekend we held a local spelling bee. Each of the schools around Kapan were invited to participate. A list of words for grades 7 through 11 were sent out in October and each school could send 2 per grade level. This was the first year that my school participated and we had 2 from both 8th and 9th grades. One of the 8th graders came in 4th, out of about 12. There will be a regional spelling bee next month, but only the top 2 from each grade go to that. Hopefully next year, we will do better. It’s good experience for the kids, to see how well some of their peers can spell. One of the volunteers,, Danya, from further south came up to help judge and she stayed with me for 2 nights. It was nice to spend time with her and I hope to visit her this spring and do some hiking down by her.

I will be taking an online course for the next 12 weeks. This is sponsored by the British Council, the educational arm of the British Embassy here. The course is for English as a foreign language teachers. I think it’s the first online course offered in Armenia. Since I have internet access at my school, I should be able to do most of the work there. If not, I’ll go down to Kapan and use the computers at Shannon’s office. My main interest in taking this course is to learn about new activities and tasks to use, as well as to interact with other English teachers I might not otherwise meet.

This past Monday, March 8, was International Woman’s Day, which is a national holiday here in Armenia. It was nice to have a 3 day weekend. On Tuesday we had our usual celebration at school: wine, cakes and pizza. They also celebrate Mother’s Day in May. Tuesday there was also a “party.” This is actually what they call their assemblies. This one was a competition of sorts between four sets of 2 students, a boy and girl in each pair. They had to recite a poem, do a dance number, make sentences out of scrambled words, make words out of a long Armenian word, have a fashion show (wearing clothes of the opposite sex), and make a salad. The fashion show was funny. Some of the boys had wigs on, heels, make-up, and earrings. They must have practiced walking in the heels because they did very well. The school director and two other teachers were the judges and a lot of the parents came to watch. I think this is one of the advantages of being in a small school. They can put on shows like this have most of the students participate.

The weather here has been constantly changing. Last week we had snow and cold weather. Over the weekend it was like Spring, with temperatures in the high 60s. In fact over the weekend, I really didn’t need to light my wood-burning stove. However, today it got cooler again and it feels like we might get more snow. I know I can’t complain, especially after reading about all the snow that some of you got this winter. However, your heating systems are a bit better than mine and so is the insulation in your houses, especially since there is no such thing as insulation here. But I know that the cold weather will soon be over and I made it through my first winter here. Things can only get better.out when I take a shower.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Last week we were at a “ski resort” learning how to write grants. They have a certain grant here that is only available through Peace Corps and needs a PCV in order to apply for it. Since I have never written a grant, I learnt a lot. We went up on Monday and the conference lasted until Friday morning. They broke us up into 7 groups, each group being led by a PCV and an interpreter for our counterparts. They were very long days, especially since I’m not used to sitting inside from 9to 5:30 every day. And I’m no sure I will ever write a grant while I’m here.

This resort is very nice and we were able to walk around the town at night. The last night we were there it snowed, and we found out the next morning it snowed in almost all of Armenia. Luckily I had planned on staying in the capital city of Yerevan for the weekend because the one road going south was closed. It did open on Saturday so people were able to get home then.

Unfortunately, two more of the group I trained with decided to go home. We all were, however, able to say goodbye to them in person. Victoria was in PC office on Monday when we arrived there, and Beth was there on Friday. I will miss them both, especially Beth who I had gotten to know a bit better than Victoria. They both gave the PC a good shot, 6 months at their sites, and realized that this was not for them. I admire them for at least trying it and being honest enough with themselves to make the decision to go home.

When I arrived home on Sunday, I found out that I didn’t have any water. My pipes froze, even though I had left the kitchen faucet running. So for the past two days, I have been melting ice on my wood-burning stove and then running it through my water filter. It’s a slow process, but at least there was the snow to melt so I wasn’t left completely without water. This is what I would call my first Peace Corps experience. Between my small school, wood-burning stove, and no water I keep thinking of the settlers in America who braved the frontier to help establish our country. I don’t know how they did it. I at least know that this is for a short period of time, and I keep reminding myself of that when things go wrong, or don’t go as I planned.

So I’m sitting here waiting for the snow to melt and for the water to get warm on my wood-burning stove so I can use it to wash out my clothes, by hand. Then I will put them on my drying rack in front of the stove to dry. Yet I’m also listening to music on my laptop. Talk about a mix of cultures!

It’s fairly easy here to be on a diet. Their normal plate size is our salad plate, so the portions are definitely smaller. And even if you back for seconds, it’s really only like our normal first portion. Of course during the winter no one looks like they’ve lost weight. We all wear multiple layers to keep warm. While I tend to stick with just 3 layers, some of the other volunteers wear up to 6 or 7 layers. They’ll really look like they lost weight come the spring!

Monday, February 22, 2010

The past two weeks seem to have just flown by. Having English club twice a week keeps me busy during the week and on the weekends it’s playing catch up with the housework. Two weekends ago I was snowed in up in my village. It had snowed during the week and then everything froze. The marshutnies were not coming up to the village and the taxis were only going half way up. Unfortunately it was another PC’s birthday, so I missed the celebrations. But it was nice for a change to just stay in my house, look out at the frozen landscape and keep warm by my stove. I got a lot of crocheting done and finished a book. I was also able to get a bit ahead with my lesson planning for my clubs and classes.

This past weekend I was once again up in Yerevan for a meeting for the volunteer initiative committee. There were a lot of other PC meetings going on as well so I got to see quite a few of the other volunteers, which is always nice. The down side is that the hostel was full and they were repairing the two upstairs bathrooms, so everyone had to use the downstairs one. I wound up taking my shower at midnight Saturday! The weather was incredibly warm, so it was nice to just walk around the city at night. Instead of going up on Saturday morning, Shannon and I went up Friday, so it was a bit more relaxing, and we came back down Sunday. The school faculty, especially my counterpart, are always happy to see me after my days off. I think they are afraid I’ll not come back one of these times.

Today I found out that my pen pal club received its first packet of letters from the Ukraine. Shannon picked up the package for me and I’ll get it this weekend. My students are still working on their first letters, but I hope to mail them on Saturday. It’s been a slow process getting this project off the ground, so I’m glad something has come of it. I only hope the students keep up their interest. I’m anxious to see how this goes.

The Armenian men take very good care of their cars. With the warm weather they are all out there washing their cars and trucks. On the drive up to my village we pass the local “car wash.” Actually there are two: one is a manmade lake they drive up to and bucket wash their cars. The other is a spring that runs down the side of the mountain and pools next to the road. They park next to it and use the water to wash their car.

Speaking of water, after my pipes unfroze I still could not use my shower. The water wasn’t going through the heater. Yesterday I finally saw the electrician (that’s what they call the plumber here) and asked him to look at it. After about a half hour, he discovered that the hose to the shower head was clogged, with dirt from the water. That’s how dirty the water is here and why we use a water filter for our drinking water. I’ll probably have to clear it out about every other month or so. I just won’t think about when I take a shower.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Today is Army Day in Armenia, a national holiday. However, they were having some activities at the local army base, so the schools were taking the boys to see that. It’s a way to get interest in the army as a career. There is mandatory two year army service for all boys once they turn 18. But it seems that less and less are making the army a career.

Well winter seems to have finally arrived in southern Armenia. This week has been cold and snowy. On Tuesday we had snow all morning, but then it rained for a while. However, it turned to snow agaityping this I’m sitting in my house with a hat on to help keep me warm. I haven’t lit my wood burning stove yet today and am relying on my fan for heat. My wood supply has run low and I’m not sure when I’ll be getting more. I haven’t seen my wood man in a few days, so I don’t want to take any chances of running out. I just bring the fan with me as I move from room to room. I’ll light my stove tonight. Since I didn’t make arrangements for the wood until the middle of November, I’m not sure how much I’ll actually get this winter. Rest assured that I will make arrangements for wood for next winter in plenty of time. I’ll also try to get a meter and a half for each month. I am a spoiled American used to a good heating system and it’s hard to get used to a chilly house. And I refuse to wear my coat in my house, the hat is one thing, but I draw the line at the coat. Besides this, my geyser, hot water heater, isn’t working either. It seems that in the cold the water pressure decreases and there isn’t enough pressure for the geyser to work. Oh well, I’m used to bucket baths anyway.

At school we have been having extra classes every day. Not only do we have to make up for the 3 weeks we missed in December, but my counterpart and I will be out all next week. We will be going to a conference on grant writing. Luckily the school is small and it’s fairly easy to change the schedule and make up the classes. In fact, it’s rare that the schedule isn’t changed at least once a week. With the snow on Wednesday, I had to go in early Thursday morning because the teachers who live down in the town (11 out of 14) were having a problem getting up the mountain. The buses weren’t running and they couldn’t find a taxi either. This also meant that some of our students couldn’t get to school. The teachers were finally able to get a ride most of the way up the mountain and classes were juggled to accommodate all. Flexibility is a needed asset here.

Our computer teacher is out on mandatory maternity leave since Dec. 1. We finally hired a part time replacement, who works Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This means that since she is trying to make up for the whole month of Dec., the three days she’s in the computers are never free. So my access to the internet is severely limited. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is generally at least one class using the computer/faculty room for a class. So for the next 2 months I will be lucky to get online once a week, unless I go to town on Saturdays and use the computers down there.

I finally started some clubs after school. I have one on Tuesday afternoons in which we are part of a pen pal program with other former Soviet Union countries that also have Peace Corps volunteers. Eleven of the students showed up for our first meeting and I think most of them will stick with it. We will be writing to students in Romania, Macedonia, and the Ukraine. There is also a project as part of this. Each group will put together a packet of information about their village/town and share it with the others. It’ll be a great learning experience for the students.

On Thursday afternoons I have a tutorial club for the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th graders. It’s kind of a wide range of students, but they all expressed an interest so I’ll see how it works. Yesterday I gave them a placement test of sorts to help me see what they’re having trouble with. I plan to use a lot of different approaches, including games, in order to keep their interest and make it enjoyable for them. Since I am doing these clubs by myself, I’m hoping that my Armenian will improve. I told the students that I will help them with their English and they need to help me with my Armenian. We’ll see how this works.

Thanks to some very generous family members I have started a library of sorts in our English room. I have received a lot of pre-readers and readers, as well as some picture dictionaries on various subjects. When we started back after the holidays, I decided that the upper grades would start journaling and the 4th and 5th graders would start reading at the beginning of each class. Both ideas have been very well received by the students, especially the reading. Most of the books, both school and reading, in Armenia are primarily text, with little or no pictures, and very small print. Once they saw the illustrations and size of the print in these new books, they were excited to read them. We give them at least 5 minutes at the beginning of class and sometimes we extend it because they are so engaged in their books. At the end of the club on Tuesday I mentioned to those students that they could also take the books. It’s like I’m giving them money or candy, they can’t have enough of it. Each of the older students took a book. I just told them that they had to return the book when their done with it.

The journaling is also going quite well. It was hard at first for them to just write, even though we supplied them with a topic. They’re just not used to thinking in English. But after a few classes, they are doing very well. I told them their journals will not be graded, but I will look at them every now and then to see how they’re doing and correct mistakes. Some of the students are so serious about it that they go home and continue writing. Of course some of the other teachers are complaining that all the students want to do is their English homework.

Friday, January 29, 2010

I had to get a new gas bubble for my stove. Somehow I broke the on/off nozzle, luckily in the on position so I could at least heat up the kettle in the morning for my tea/coffee. However, I was a little worried that some gas might be leaking. So someone from Peace Corps drove down to Vachagan today and switched the gas bubbles.

I also went to visit my wood man this afternoon and explained that I needed more wood. I also asked if he could deliver more at one time. I think he understood, I’ll soon find out. Just as I was leaving, his wife came out and invited me in for a cup of tea. She also admired my Yaktrax and asked if I had gotten them in Armenia. I explained, as best I could, that the Peace Corps handed them out to all the volunteers. They’ve really come in handy this week. I know that by visiting people I will have to speak Armenian more, so it’s good for me to do this. And I do enjoy getting to know my neighbors.

December 27, 2009

Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all had a very blessed and joyful Christmas. While I wasn’t with my family, I thought of you all often throughout the day. Spending Christmas in a different culture has been very interesting. But first let me catch you up on what’s been going on here since I last wrote.

There was a lot of sickness, seasonal flu they called it, in November and early December. There were some reported cases of the H1N1 flu, mostly in the capital city. So, on Dec. 7th, the Minister of Education announced that all schools would be closed for 10 days, reopening Dec. 21. This meant that I basically had 10 days off. While it was nice to have some unexpected time off, that isn’t exactly why I joined the Peace Corps. However, I decided to use the time as best I could to plan for the next half year. I had found that not knowing the curriculum and not having had a chance to look at all the books being used was getting harder the more we got into the school year. So, I’ve been going through the books used in each form (grade), picking out the grammar being introduced and making up exercises and activities for it.

I’ve also had lots of time for crocheting. I am so thankful that I know how to crochet, for it has been a real time filler for me. So far I have made 6 afghans, a scarf, hat and a placemat. Four of the afghans were for other PCVs who had bought the yarn and I just supplied the labor. I have one more afghan to make for another PCV and then I’ll move onto something else. Luckily there are quite a few yarn stores in the town near me, and a great one in the capital city that I go into whenever I’m up there. I might even try to learn how to knit, since that’s more popular among volunteers so I’ll have access to more patterns.

Each day I tried to take a walk, sometimes down to the town, other days just around the village. The people in the village have gotten used to seeing me walking around. They don’t walk just for the sake of exercise, but in order to go some where. At first they couldn’t understand why I was just out walking, but now they just accept that that’s what I like to do. Besides good exercise, it’s a good way to meet some of the villagers.

One of the other PCVs, Shannon, moved into a new apartment last weekend, so we helped her move her stuff. It’s very interesting seeing the looks on people’s faces as we walked from one place to the other with all her stuff. We only had to make two trips, which was good because she moved into an apartment on the 5th floor, with no elevator.

I found out on Sat., Dec. 19, that the schools were not reopening until Jan. 11th, so I will have had 5 full weeks off. I was disappointed that schools were not reopening, since I came here to help in the schools, but I realize that for health reasons it’s better to keep them closed. So I have decided to take a road trip next week, with Shannon, to visit some of the other volunteers in the northern part of this country.

I used this past week to get ready for Christmas dinner and my overnight guests and to relax a little. It was strange not having any last minute Christmas shopping to do, or any crowds to hassle with. In Armenia they celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6th, but their really big celebration is on New Year’s Eve/Day. That is when they exchange presents and gather at people’s houses, and have fireworks. So their last minute shopping is happening now. They are also just putting up their decorations, when I know in the States some are already taking down their decorations.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day turned out really nice. 25 of us gathered at Barbara’s apartment for Christmas Eve dinner and then they all came up to my house for Christmas dinner. For most of the younger volunteers this was their first Christmas without any family, so it was good for them to be with the rest of us. I had 4 stay at my house and we sang Christmas carols Friday morning while we got everything ready. We had a grab bag so everyone got a gift and they could exchange among themselves if they wanted. Not too many did. While we didn’t have a lot of Christmas decorations, we did have some. Thanks to Jackie and Brendan, I had a stocking and a small Christmas tree, to which we added a reindeer. Actually the reindeer had started out as a paper maiche spider for Halloween, then was transformed into a turkey for Thanksgiving, and now is a reindeer. A little imagination and good old US ingenuity go a long way here.

In some ways for me it was like being with my family. Most of the younger volunteers are the ages of my own children and some of them even call me Mom. I enjoy being with them, as I enjoy being with my own children. Having them here definitely made it easier on me not to be with my family. The one thing I really missed, besides my family, was being able to go to Church. There are no Catholic Churches in Armenia, at least in the part where I am. So I have decided that next Christmas I will visit Georgia or someplace where I know there are Catholic Churches.

As New Year approaches my wish for all of you is peace and happiness.

January 3, 2009

Happy New Year!! I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year’s celebration.

I’ve been on a road trip since last Monday, when Shannon and I left to head north. We had a meeting at PC Headquarters on Tuesday, Dec. 29 about volunteerism in Armenia. This initiative is new here and one that PC would very much like to see take hold. I’m on the planning committee for that and we hope to have some definite ideas and activities in place by April. The area I’m specifically involved in is camps for young people (ages 11 – 16) and Forums for young adults (18 – 25). It will be pretty intense for the next few months, but hopefully we will be successful. I’ll keep you posted. By being involved on the planning committee it will mean that I’ll be making regular trips to Yerevan.

In Yerevan I’ve been staying at a hostel, my first venture into hostels. This one is actually quite nice and very clean. They have a wonderful shower and computers that are online. And we get a breakfast each day. By staying in the hostel, I save about 1500 drams each night.

Tuesday afternoon after the meeting, we headed to Gyumri for a few days. We arranged to stay with another PCV, Staci, who we really just met when she came to my house for Christmas. Gyumri is a large city in the northwest part of Armenia. There was a major earthquake there in 1988, and some of the rumble is still visible. The earthquake destroyed a majority of the buildings in Gyumri and they put the displaced families in “temporary” housing – old railroad cars. They scattered these around the city, wherever they could find a flat, clean spot. There are still about 7,000 families living in this housing around the city. We walked around Gyumri quite a bit and it’s astonishing to see these “homes” right next to newer housing. In one of the city’s squares, there are 2 big churches, one of which was destroyed in the earthquake. The other was saved by the fact that it’s spires were built so as to absorb the shock and shoot off onto the ground. It’s amazing to see the remains of such destruction. Barbara, one of the PCVs stationed in Gyumri only since August, has done an incredible amount of research on the city and was very helpful on our walks. There is also somewhat of a walking tour, with explanations of the buildings and their history throughout the city. I hope to go back to Gyumri in the summer.

There is a wonderful fish restaurant in Gyumri where we ate Tuesday night. It’s called “The Fish House,” at least by the PCVs. It is attached to a fish hatchery and right on a river. The fish was delicious, as was the rest of the meal. There were 10 of us at dinner and we had a good time. On New Year’s Eve, we all, 14 of us, met at Amanda’s for dinner. She made a wonderful Greek chicken meal. Some of us, myself included, didn’t make it til midnight. But we were all together again the next day for dinner, which Staci and Barbara had made – ham, potatoes au gratin, garlic bread. It was nice to celebrate with the other PCVs. New Year’s is very big here, with most of the stores were closed and some will not open until tomorrow or even next week.

Saturday, Shannon and I left Gyumri and headed to Karashamb, the village I lived in during the summer, to visit my old host family. Of course the road network in Armenia is almost non-existent, so we had to come all the way back to Yerevan and then head to Karashamb. We wound up taking a taxi, because the marshutneys were all too crowded. We must have gotten the only taxi driver who didn’t know where Karashamb is. As it turned out, we met some of my family in a town before Karashamb, at a cousin’s house. One of the customs here surrounding New Year’s is that you visit your relatives and eat at each house. Each house has a table full of food: fresh ham, 3 or 4 vegetable salads, bread, small egg roll like things, nuts, pastry, fruit, and of course wine, vodka, and cognac. We wound up going to 3 houses and by that time I was stuffed. I was so glad we went, because it meant so much to that family. Some of the extended family had come to see me, and others called while we were there. They wanted us to stay the night, but I knew we would be putting someone out of their bed, so we declined. I will definitely go back to visit them this summer.

We got back to Yerevan and the hostel about 7:30 last night. It was nice to see all the lights and decorations in the city. These will stay up until sometime after Jan. 6th, their Christmas. Today as we walked around the city, we saw that most of the stores and even the restaurants are closed. Most will reopen tomorrow, but some take the whole week off. Tomorrow we head back to Kapan, to our own houses. It’s been nice to visit different areas and people, but it’ll be nice to be home again. Hopefully schools will reopen on Jan. 11th and I’ll get back to work.

January 8, 2010

Our trip back to Kapan was a bit nerve-wracking since they had had snow in some of the areas we had to drive through. The road in some places was icy and snowcovered. We passed one snow plow and a sander. Actually the sander consisted of 2 men in the back of a truck throwing shovels full of sand alternately on the road. But it worked and we made it safely back. I was glad to see that there wasn’t any snow on the 2 mountain roads just outside of Kapan, since they are a series of switch backs, which I’m not too sure I want to do on ice and snow.

This has been a very relaxing week, especially since a lot of the other PCVs are still away and a lot of the stores are closed. I spent most of the week either reading, crocheting, or doing jigsaw puzzles. We had snow most of Tuesday so it was a good day to stay inside. However, it has almost all melted since the weather got warmer again. This has been an unseasonably mild winter.

I’ve also had time to do some cooking, which is another adventure here. While their diet is not that spicy or that unlike our own, there are certain spices that they don’t have here, so I’ve had to improvise with some recipes. I did make applesauce the other day, which was really good with the French toast I made this morning. They don’t have syrup here, so I substituted the applesauce for it. They also don’t have tomato sauce or marinara sauce, but have tomato paste. So when I could still find fresh tomatoes and green peppers, I would add those to the paste, sometimes with carrots, and make a marinara sauce. However, I can no longer find either, so I’ll have to find another way to doctor up the tomato paste.

I spent most of today outdoors, since it was so nice out. This morning I broke apart one of the trees that my neighbor had taken down and laid outside my basement door. I’ll use the small pieces for kindling to start my wood stove. This afternoon I went for a hike and again foraged for kindling. It’s amazing the amount of wood that I use without even having it get too hot. My supply of fire wood had gotten pretty low, which has made me realize the value of forests and the value of rationing what I do have. And I’ve found that using different size kindling helps to start the fire. I am learning so much about fires and wood stoves! But it was a nice day and it was a good excuse to be outside. I’ll probably look for some more tomorrow, especially if it’s nice out again.

I have also realized these past few weeks that I had gotten used to being able to check my email on an almost daily basis. However not being in school and with most of the businesses closed in Kapan, I haven’t been online in over a week. It made me think of the Peace Corps volunteers who served before the advent of email and cell phones. My admiration for what they must have experienced, the loneliness and sense of isolation from family and friends, has grown considerably. When I came to Armenia in June, I didn’t expect to have such regular access to an online computer, but I quickly became spoiled and used to it. Some things we just take for granted as part of everyday life, when in reality they are anything but in a large part of the world.

December 27, 2009

Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all had a very blessed and joyful Christmas. While I wasn’t with my family, I thought of you all often throughout the day. Spending Christmas in a different culture has been very interesting. But first let me catch you up on what’s been going on here since I last wrote.

There was a lot of sickness, seasonal flu they called it, in November and early December. There were some reported cases of the H1N1 flu, mostly in the capital city. So, on Dec. 7th, the Minister of Education announced that all schools would be closed for 10 days, reopening Dec. 21. This meant that I basically had 10 days off. While it was nice to have some unexpected time off, that isn’t exactly why I joined the Peace Corps. However, I decided to use the time as best I could to plan for the next half year. I had found that not knowing the curriculum and not having had a chance to look at all the books being used was getting harder the more we got into the school year. So, I’ve been going through the books used in each form (grade), picking out the grammar being introduced and making up exercises and activities for it.

I’ve also had lots of time for crocheting. I am so thankful that I know how to crochet, for it has been a real time filler for me. So far I have made 6 afghans, a scarf, hat and a placemat. Four of the afghans were for other PCVs who had bought the yarn and I just supplied the labor. I have one more afghan to make for another PCV and then I’ll move onto something else. Luckily there are quite a few yarn stores in the town near me, and a great one in the capital city that I go into whenever I’m up there. I might even try to learn how to knit, since that’s more popular among volunteers so I’ll have access to more patterns.

Each day I tried to take a walk, sometimes down to the town, other days just around the village. The people in the village have gotten used to seeing me walking around. They don’t walk just for the sake of exercise, but in order to go some where. At first they couldn’t understand why I was just out walking, but now that just accept that that’s what I like to do. Besides good exercise, it’s a good way to meet some of the villagers.

One of the other PCVs, Shannon, moved into a new apartment last weekend, so we helped her move her stuff. It’s very interesting seeing the looks on people’s faces as we walked from one place to the other with all her stuff. We only had to make two trips, which was good because she moved into an apartment on the 5th floor, with no elevator.

I found out on Sat., Dec. 19, that the schools were not reopening until Jan. 11th, so I will have had 5 full weeks off. I was disappointed that schools were not reopening, since I came here to help in the schools, but I realize that for health reasons it’s better to keep them closed. So I have decided to take a road trip next week, with Shannon, to visit some of the other volunteers in the northern part of this country.

I used this past week to get ready for Christmas dinner and my overnight guests and to relax a little. It was strange not having any last minute Christmas shopping to do, or any crowds to hassle with. In Armenia they celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6th, but their really big celebration is on New Year’s Eve/Day. That is when they exchange presents and gather at people’s houses, and have fireworks. So their last minute shopping is happening now. They are also just putting up their decorations, when I know in the States some are already taking down their decorations.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day turned out really nice. 25 of us gathered at Barbara’s apartment for Christmas Eve dinner and then they all came up to my house for Christmas dinner. For most of the younger volunteers this was their first Christmas without any family, so it was good for them to be with the rest of us. I had 4 stay at my house and we sang Christmas carols Friday morning while we got everything ready. We had a grab bag so everyone got a gift and they could exchange among themselves if they wanted. Not too many did. While we didn’t have a lot of Christmas decorations, we did have some. Thanks to Jackie and Brendan, I had a stocking and a small Christmas tree, to which we added a reindeer. Actually the reindeer had started out as a paper maiche spider for Halloween, then was transformed into a turkey for Thanksgiving, and now is a reindeer. A little imagination and good old US ingenuity go a long way here.

In some ways for me it was like being with my family. Most of the younger volunteers are the ages of my own children and some of them even call me Mom. I enjoy being with them, as I enjoy being with my own children. Having them here definitely made it easier on me not to be with my family. The one thing I really missed, besides my family, was being able to go to Church. There are no Catholic Churches in Armenia, at least in the part where I am. So I have decided that next Christmas I will visit Georgia, where there are Catholic Churches.

As New Year approaches my wish for all of you is peace and happiness.

Friday, November 27, 2009

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all. This has been a busy two weeks for me. On Sunday, Nov. 15, I moved into my own house. I was fortunate to have the school director find this house for me and act as an intermediary with the landlord. The house has 2 bedrooms, a living room, eat in kitchen, and bathroom. For the winter I have closed off the 2 bedrooms, so I don’t have to heat them, and have set up myself in the living room. The house faces east, so I see the sunrise every morning. It’s wonderful!

Moving day was very interesting. My village doesn’t really have roads, so I had to take the path I usually take to school, which goes behind houses, up rock inclines, etc. Four other volunteers helped me move, which made it a lot easier, luckily one of them being a strong young man. I started to move some of the smaller boxes myself in the morning. On one trip one of my students came along on his donkey and took the boxes from me and he and his donkey followed me to my house. On the next trip, two other students came along and carried the boxes. The other volunteers came around noontime, and we were able to carry the rest in two trips. On the last trip, my young friend on the donkey came along again and once more carried the heavier boxes. It was quite a sight to see 5 Americans loaded down with stuff trudging along these paths, especially when the donkey joined us. Barbara had made soup and brought it with her, so we had lunch in my new abode, of course with a wine toast for good luck.

The only heat I had for the first few days were my electric heaters, which the Peace Corps provided, plus one that the owner had left. So that night I plugged in the owner’s heater and went to bed. Some time around 4 AM the heater blew a fuse so I woke up to no electricity! I thought the whole village was out, but I soon saw lights in the other houses, so I knew it was just me. Luckily the electrician was working in a neighbor’s house and soon discovered what had happened. He came to school to get me, and after a few minutes I had electricity, except in the one outlet, which also affected my refrigerator. That night I blew another outlet when I mistakenly plugged a heater into a surge protector which is also a converter. The electrician and I are becoming fast friends.

There was supposed to be a wood-burning stove in the basement of this house, but when I went to check it out, it wasn’t there. One of the advantages of living in a small village is that everyone knows what’s going on with everyone, so that afternoon my neighbor offered me his extra stove. My counterpart’s father installed the stove for me on Wednesday, which meant I was finally going to have heat. My counterpart had also arranged for another of my neighbors to deliver a meter of wood to me. That night I went to light the stove and discovered that I didn’t know how. Once again back to the electric heaters. When I saw my neighbor the next day he asked how the stove was and I told him I couldn’t light it. He came over and showed me how. Finally a working stove and a very warm house. He also brought over some Cognac, to welcome me as a neighbor, so I was warm inside and out.

The only thing that remains to be fixed in this house is the hot water heater. The old heater had been ruined a few years ago when the pipes froze and burst. I’m supposed to find out today what size geiser I need and then my friend the electrician will come and install that and fix the other two outlets. It’s been adventure moving and settling into my new house, but it’s worth it. Paraphrasing Hillary Clinton, it takes a village to train a Peace Corps Volunteer.

This past week we had an All Volunteer Conference in the capital city, Yerevan. There are currently 79 Peace Corps Volunteers in this country. My group went to Yerevan on Friday for 2 days of meetings and the other group joined us on Sunday. It was great to see all the PCVs I had trained with and catch up with them and compare notes on how we’re doing. Some of the meetings were specific to each sector, so for instance all the TEFLs met as a group and discussed our common problems ad frustrations. There was also a development fair, with representatives from different organizations active in this country. My only problem is that not a lot of organizations come down to where I am. But it’s nice to know they have a presence in the country and maybe if we keep pressuring them, they will eventually come down.

The highlight of the Conference was Tuesday night when we celebrated Thanksgiving with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. All of the volunteers participated in the preparations in one way or another. I was on the decorating committee, so we had a huge paper maiche turkey on the food table and small turkeys on every other table. We also made hats for everyone and placemats. The food was so good. We had 7 turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce, breads, a ton of different vegetables and of course pies. The night ended with a talent show that was a lot of fun. While I wasn’t with family and friends, I was with my new family and friends and all of you were remembered during our moment of silence. Yesterday at school, I brought in wine and chocolates to celebrate Thanksgiving with the staff (that’s how they celebrate things in my school). It was nice to be able to explain this holiday and share some of it with them. Last night 4 of us got together again for dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. I have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is the support of all my family and friends back home.

Friday, November 27, 2009

A belated Happy Thanksgiving to all. This has been a busy two weeks for me. On Sunday, Nov. 15, I moved into my own house. I was fortunate to have the school director find this house for me and act as an intermediary with the landlord. The house has 2 bedrooms, a living room, eat in kitchen, and bathroom. For the winter I have closed off the 2 bedrooms, so I don’t have to heat them, and have set up myself in the living room. The house faces east, so I see the sunrise every morning. It’s wonderful!

Moving day was very interesting. My village doesn’t really have roads, so I had to take the path I usually take to school, which goes behind houses, up rock inclines, etc. Four other volunteers helped me move, which made it a lot easier, luckily one of them being a strong young man. I started to move some of the smaller boxes myself in the morning. On one trip one of my students came along on his donkey and took the boxes from me and he and his donkey followed me to my house. On the next trip, two other students came along and carried the boxes. The other volunteers came around noontime, and we were able to carry the rest in two trips. On the last trip, my young friend on the donkey came along again and once more carried the heavier boxes. It was quite a sight to see 5 Americans loaded down with stuff trudging along these paths, especially when the donkey joined us. Barbara had made soup and brought it with her, so we had lunch in my new abode, of course with a wine toast for good luck.

The only heat I had for the first few days were my electric heaters, which the Peace Corps provided, plus one that the owner had left. So that night I plugged in the owner’s heater and went to bed. Some time around 4 AM the heater blew a fuse so I woke up to no electricity! I thought the whole village was out, but I soon saw lights in the other houses, so I knew it was just me. Luckily the electrician was working in a neighbor’s house and soon discovered what had happened. He came to school to get me, and after a few minutes I had electricity, except in the one outlet, which also affected my refrigerator. That night I blew another outlet when I mistakenly plugged a heater into a surge protector which is also a converter. The electrician and I are becoming fast friends.

There was supposed to be a wood-burning stove in the basement of this house, but when I went to check it out, it wasn’t there. One of the advantages of living in a small village is that everyone knows what’s going on with everyone, so that afternoon my neighbor offered me his extra stove. My counterpart’s father installed the stove for me on Wednesday, which meant I was finally going to have heat. My counterpart had also arranged for another of my neighbors to deliver a meter of wood to me. That night I went to light the stove and discovered that I didn’t know how. Once again back to the electric heaters. When I saw my neighbor the next day he asked how the stove was and I told him I couldn’t light it. He came over and showed me how. Finally a working stove and a very warm house. He also brought over some Cognac, to welcome me as a neighbor, so I was warm inside and out.

The only thing that remains to be fixed in this house is the hot water heater. The old heater had been ruined a few years ago when the pipes froze and burst. I’m supposed to find out today what size geiser I need and then my friend the electrician will come and install that and fix the other two outlets. It’s been adventure moving and settling into my new house, but it’s worth it. Paraphrasing Hillary Clinton, it takes a village to train a Peace Corps Volunteer.

This past week we had an All Volunteer Conference in the capital city, Yerevan. There are currently 79 Peace Corps Volunteers in this country. My group went to Yerevan on Friday for 2 days of meetings and the other group joined us on Sunday. It was great to see all the PCVs I had trained with and catch up with them and compare notes on how we’re doing. Some of the meetings were specific to each sector, so for instance all the TEFLs met as a group and discussed our common problems ad frustrations. There was also a development fair, with representatives from different organizations active in this country. My only problem is that not a lot of organizations come down to where I am. But it’s nice to know they have a presence in the country and maybe if we keep pressuring them, they will eventually come down.

The highlight of the Conference was Tuesday night when we celebrated Thanksgiving with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. All of the volunteers participated in the preparations in one way or another. I was on the decorating committee, so we had a huge paper maiche turkey on the food table and small turkeys on every other table. We also made hats for everyone and placemats. The food was so good. We had 7 turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce, breads, a ton of different vegetables and of course pies. The night ended with a talent show that was a lot of fun. While I wasn’t with family and friends, I was with my new family and friends and all of you were remembered during our moment of silence. Yesterday at school, I brought in wine and chocolates to celebrate Thanksgiving with the staff (that’s how they celebrate things in my school). It was nice to be able to explain this holiday and share some of it with them. Last night 4 of us got together again for dinner to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. I have a lot to be thankful for this year, not the least of which is the support of all my family and friends back home.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Today is the traditional Veterans’ Day and lately I’m always reminded of the trip to Washington,DC, with Colin when he won the Veterans’ Day poster contest. It was quite an experience to be part of the traditional ceremony at Arlington, and of course having breakfast at the White House was also awesome.

The weather here has turned colder. But I can’t complain as we had an incredibly warm October. We’ve been using the wood burning stove the last few nights. In fact for the past two nights I’ve been sitting by the stove and crocheting. Yesterday we didn’t have electricity from about 10:30 AM until 6:30 PM, so we all sat around the stove until the lights came on. I’ll have to make sure I have candles when I move. They don’t lose electricity a lot, but they are putting in new poles for the wires, so they shut it off occasionally. Just another reminder that I’m in the Peace Corps.

I will be moving this weekend into my own house. It’s a 2 bedroom house, but I’ll probably close off the bedrooms in the winter and use the living room, so I won’t have to heat the whole house. I’ll have a wood burning stove for heat, which will be an experience. But I’ll also have 2 electric heaters for help. The house is a lot closer to the school and will cut out the most “interesting” part of the walk to school. I have gotten used to my walk in the morning and afternoon, but I’ll find other times for walking. I’m especially glad to be moving before we have any snow. Some people have told me to expect to be snowed in a few times this winter. I can’t wait.

Next weekend all the PCVs in this country gather for a conference in the capital city. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the other new volunteers that I haven’t seen since coming to my site. It’ll also give me a chance to get some more yarn from this great yarn store I found on my last visit there. I want to stock up so I have something to do in case I do get snowed in.

The school here is still under the old Soviet style influence, which is rote memorization of the text, without any real comprehension. The students aren’t encouraged to use critical thinking or to think outside of the box. The teachers have very little in terms of outside materials or visual aids. It’s been interesting to watch their interest in the few things I’ve introduced here, like a graphic organization, Venn diagram, etc. And the students really get excited by them as well and look forward to their English lessons to see what new thing they’ll get. They only have English twice a week, and unfortunately none of their parents speak English so it’s not reinforced at home, so it’s a struggle for them, and us. But little by little they are beginning to use more English, at least in my class.

I have really been fortunate with my counterpart. Taguhie speaks very good English and is eager to try new approaches to teaching. We are very similar in our outlooks. She has also been a great help in arranging for my house, and in translating for me. I’m still struggling with the language, so I rely on her a lot.

This blog is being posted 2 days later because we haven't had electricity but there also wasn't any gas in the town for the cars or buses. Ah yes, life as a Peace Corps volunteer!!

Monday, October 26, 2009

We have been having incredibly nice and warm weather for October in Armenia. It’s been cool in the mornings, but by mid-afternoon, it generally gets up to about 70. I’m thankful that I don’t have to be at school first thing in the morning, so when I do leave it’s already starting to warm up. It’s also been good for drying the clothes, which have to be hung out because there are no dryers here.

This week we have off from school for Fall break. While I’m enjoying the teaching, it’ll be nice to have some time to regroup and get ready for the next two months until the Christmas break. On Saturday there is a conference in Yerevan for TEFLs, my friend Barbara and I will go up on Friday and return on Sunday. This will be only my second time up to Yerevan, and I’m looking forward to being able to walk around it for a while. It’s a really fascinating city, with the old and new mixed in with one another. There are a lot of traces of the Soviet era, yet also a lot of new building going on.

Yesterday I walked down to Kapan, which is about 5 ½ kilometers, all downhill. I really enjoy this walk, because you notice different things when walking and you have the time to take them in. Like on Sunday I was walking and all of a sudden I noticed these vibrant yellow and orange leaves on a tree growing out of rock. I’ve probably started on this walk about 10 times so far, but only walked the whole way about 3 or 4. The other times people who are driving down will stop and give me a ride. This is one of the things I like about it here, the hospitality of the people. They seldom pass by anyone without asking if they want a ride. I’ve tried to refuse a few times, but they are insistent. In a way, it’s a good way to meet the people, although most of them are not villagers, but rather visitors to the village.

The one thing I’ve noticed is that Armenians do not just walk for the pleasure of it, or for exercise. Whenever I go out for a walk, they always ask where I’m going. When I say I’m just walking, they look at me strangely, and ask why. When they walk, they have a destination in mind, a purpose. My host family is finally getting used to my just walking, and I think some of the other villagers are also. I’ve been taking my camera with me lately and have gotten some wonderful shots. One day, when I just started out, I saw 4 of the village youngsters playing in the village center and I took their picture. They then posed for me and of course wanted to see the pictures. They were all smiles and giggles.

There’s this older man in the village who is blind. He usually sits on the bench in the center and I pass him about 3 or 4 times a week. He always calls out hello and I answer him. Last week, I stopped and introduced myself to him and explained who I was and why I am in the village. He now calls me the English woman, because I said I was teaching English in the school.

October 13, 2009

One of the things I’ve noticed is the quiet of this mountainside village. Sure there are the sounds of the children playing and the occasional animal noises, but other than that there’s a stillness about it. There are no cars or trucks riding on the roads all day, no machinery noises, and no airplanes going overhead. It’s just peaceful. In some ways it’s a contrast to the ruggedness of the land, but even the ruggedness has a certain beauty about it.

The staff at the school where I’m working has really been wonderful and very patient with me as I try to learn their language. Since it’s such a small school it’s very easy to learn everybody’s name, which makes it a nice, close knit community. Most of the teachers are young, but there are a few my age. The other day we went out for a late lunch to celebrate “Teacher’s Day.” It was nice to see them in a different setting and see how well they really do get along. In some ways it was like being back home, sitting around eating, laughing, dancing and just enjoying each other’s company. Some things transcend all borders.

While I am lucky that my school has internet and so technically I can have access 5 days a week, there are many days when it is not working, or it is busy when I’m free. Actually not being able to get on the computer doesn’t bother me. It’s not that I don’t like hearing from people via email, because I do, but I didn’t expect to have daily access, so I’m not disappointed when I don’t. If it’s there’s a real need for me to use the internet I can always go to my counterpart’s house and use hers, or go down to town.

I do have a cell phone, but it doesn’t work in the house where I’m now staying. I have to go outside to use it, so I miss a lot of phone calls and test messages (which I don’t do anyway). However, when I move into my own house, I will be able to get phone service inside. But again, I didn’t come here expecting to use a phone a lot.

This past weekend two of the other PCVs came up to visit my village. I took them on my walk to school, that I do each day, which is quite unique. I mostly walk on paths behind houses or up rocky lanes, where I have to not only be careful about the rocks, but also look out for animal droppings. The good thing about it is that it helps me stay in shape. We then went for a walk up one of the hills up here and then walked down into town. They agreed that I have a beautiful village with magnificent vistas and now understand why I don’t leave my village often.

September 23, 2009

School has been in session for 3 weeks now and we finally have a set schedule. Well it’s set until something happens and it has to be changed. But at least my counterpart and I know what classes we are supposed to be teaching on the different days. She has planned out the year in each grade and then we adjust as we go along and see what we really do cover on any given day. My main input is with visual aids and activities, or I should say tasks. This is an area where the Armenian teachers are particularly weak. They are not taught about these things in their schooling or training. And it’s amazing to see how well the students react to something different. Most of their learning is done by rote memorization and copying from the books. We played a tic-tac-toe game with question words in the 5th form and the kids loved it. They had to say a question in English in order to get the square. It helped improve their English while having some fun. Of course now they want to play it every day.

One of the problems with having so few students in the classes (there are only 2 3rd and 4th graders) is that we really have to plan a lot of activities. Two students don’t take as long to do things as 20 do. But we’ve gotten into a nice rhythm with both these classes. We use a lot of flash cards with the 3rd graders as they try to learn the English alphabet, which is the third alphabet they are learning. They start learning Russian in 2nd grade. It makes me feel really slow in learning Armenian as only my second language. But then again I am a bit older.

I’ve also begun to work with some of the students individually, during the classes. My counterpart will work with the ones who are on grade level and I’ll take the others. Most of the ones I’m working with just need a little incentive and individual attention. I’ll also be starting an English club after school next month. The plan is for it to be a drama club, with us putting on some small skits every now and then, in English. I think it will be a fun way for them to learn and practice their English. Hopefully they think so too.

I’m still hiking on the weekends with some of the other PCVs. Two weeks ago we went to Halidzor Fortress and Vahanvank Monastery, which are historical places near here. It was probably a 15-20 mile hike, but the weather was warm and it was a nice day. This past weekend we just walked around a local park. Monday was Armenian Independence Day, but they don’t celebrate it the way we do our Independence Day. It was basically just a day off, which was much appreciated. I also took an overnight trip to a nearby city to visit some other PCVs. It was fun to be with them and share some of our experiences.

We are now in our rainy season here. It has rained at least part of every day for the last week. Since there aren’t any clothes dryers here, this weather really puts a damper on doing laundry. I also don’t have a washing machine, so I do my wash by hand, which isn’t all that bad. Sometimes having it rain on the laundry helps rinse out some of the clothes. I’ve had some stuff hanging up for 3 days now. It takes some getting used to, but eventually I’ll learn how to time doing my wash so it will dry in a reasonable amount of time.

I occasionally will sit with my host family and watch TV, but since it’s in either Armenian or Russian it’s a bit frustrating. So I’ve been doing a lot of reading, about 12 books since the beginning of August. I’ve also been crocheting again. I’ve started an afghan for myself, which will help in the winter. I also have started a placemat, and will probably do a lot more during the winter. I do have some movies which I can play on my computer, which I’m saving for the winter.

Every morning I wake up to this incredible view of Mt. Hustrip. The other day there was a little bit of snow on the top, but it has since melted. The leaves are beginning to change and the colors are brilliant. Because of all the rain we’ve had, the colors are really vibrant. Last year it was a dryer fall, so there wasn’t a lot of color, so they tell me. But the scenery is magnificent and I’m grateful every day for it.

September 4, 2009

Today is the end of the first week of school. It’s been quite a week. School starts on September 1, with “First Bell.” There is a celebration attached to this, which took our school about an hour. They invite all the parents, one of the administrators from the Ministry of Education, a WWII Russian veteran, an active member of the military, and the former school director, who is about 95. They decorate the school with balloons and streamers, as well as the fence surrounding the playground area. Since I am new, they asked me to say a few words, in Armenian, as a way of introducing myself.

There are 11 forms (grades) in this school, but only about 45 students. So the classes are very small, in fact the 3rd form only has 2 students. A few of the classes have 5 students, but most have 3 or 4. It’s almost harder to teach a very small class because you have to have a lot of activities planned since it doesn’t take too long to go through the lessons.

My counterpart and I teach all the English language classes, usually 3 or 4 a day. Each form has English twice a week. I started right off teaching on Tuesday. They had doubled the first period because of the celebration, so I had one group and my counterpart took the other group. We were in the same room, so it was a bit confusing at times, but we worked it out. Taguhie, my counterpart, is a wonderful teacher and very easy to work with. School starts at 8:30, but most days we don’t have to be in until after 10. But that means that we generally have the last scheduled class as well, which gets out at 3:15. It’s not a bad schedule and will be especially nice in the colder weather, not to have to get out first thing in the morning. Most days we have at least one break between classes, which is when we will do our lesson planning for the next day or week. It’ll take a little time, but we will get into a routine pretty soon.

On the weekends I’ve been doing some hiking with some of the other PC volunteers in the area. Last Saturday morning we set off to see this bear that was made by one of the volunteers’ host grandfather. It’s on the outskirts of Kapan, sort of guarding the city. It has a key in it’s mouth that holds the secrets to the town. Tomorrow we are hiking to an old church up on one of the mountainsides. Besides the exercise, it’s nice getting together with this group and discussing our successes and struggles. I also try to walk most afternoons after school. It’s wonderful exercise, especially since it’s up and down hills. But the scenery is spectacular so it’s worth it.

August 27, 2009

I’ve been at my site for almost 2 weeks now and I’m beginning to feel settled in. The first week or so was hard. This new host family is very nice, but also different from the one I lived with before. They are much quieter and have much less activity in the house. But they are very welcoming and have tried to make me feel at home.

Also, for the first time since arriving in Armenia, I really had nothing to do these last 2 weeks. There were no language classes or tech classes to study for. There were no central days or competencies to fill out. So I had a lot of time on my hands with little to do. Luckily there are other volunteers near here so we got together a few times. I also went down to the main town a few times to use the internet and do some shopping. There’s an American Corner here which has free internet usage. This is a place sponsored by the US Embassy and besides 2 computers, there’s a library with English language books, some magazines and movies. It’s also a place where we can hold meetings or clubs if we need to. And I’ve read about 4 books in the last two weeks, something I hadn’t been able to do since coming here.

I finally found a yarn shop in one of their “department stores.” These are really like flea markets, but are inside and there are two in Kapan. The yarn is from Turkey and pretty good, but there weren’t a lot of colors to choose from. Hopefully the woman understood me and is ordering some more skeins of the same two colors I bought. I started an afghan, since I’m sure I will need it in the winter. I’ve found that Anna and I, the host mother here, have talked more since I’ve started crocheting. She knits but is interested in what I’m making. They don’t make afghans here, since they have these horse blankets, which are very warm. I’m doing a wave pattern, since it was the only one I could remember off the top of my head. But anyway, it’s become a good way to initiate conversation, which is what I needed to do to help improve my language skills.

I’ve gone into the school a few times so far and have met most of the teachers. They are very welcoming, as is the school director. My counterpart, Taguhie, is a wonderful young woman and very easy to work with. We started to do some of the lesson plans yesterday and will do some more today. The school system here is very erratic. They are in the process of changing the books they use, but the teachers don’t know which grades will be affected until the books come, which they haven’t. They also had to make temporary registers for their classes, as the new registers also haven’t arrived yet. But I admire the commitment of these teachers and their enthusiasm for their students. Of course the school here is very small, some of the grades only have 2 students!

I have also arranged for a tutor for myself to help me continue to learn the language. She’s one of the teachers and doesn’t speak English. This should be interesting, but I’m hopeful that it will work well. Anna, the tutor, teaches first grade so is used to starting with beginners. We’ll start next week after both our schedules have been set.

I continue to be amazed by the women of Armenia. Anna, my host mother, works almost all day long around the house. On Saturday I helped her make lavash, the national bread here. Then in the afternoon we went blackberry picking. She will make jam, compote and wine from these. On Monday, she and her husband went to a farm and picked eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes all day and came back with kilos of each. She will can some of the tomatoes and will store the rest. There is no washing machine here, so she does the wash by hand, almost every day. In getting ready for winter, the women take the stuffing out of the mattress and blankets and wash it. This stuffing is mostly sheep’s wool. They rinse it in tubs and then lay it out on the ground, where they beat it with sticks and separate it to air it out and help it dry. Depending on how many beds there are in the house, this could take a week or two.

I have learned a lot so far and know there is much still for me to learn. I only hope that at the end of my service it somehow works out to be an even trade, that I have taught them as much as I have learned.

School doesn’t start until Sept. 1, so I have 2 weeks to get settled and acquainted with this village and the nearby town. I walked into town on Saturday, it’s 5 ½ kilometers downhill, to meet some of the other PCVs who live nearby. It’ll be nice to get together with them during the year. Of course I took a taxi back up the mountain to get home.

August 17, 2009

Training is over and as of last Thursday, Aug. 13, I am officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. Last week seems like a blur of activity: our portfolio presentations on Monday, the language proficiency interview on Tuesday, the auction of stuff the A15s left for us on Wednesday, the swearing in on Thursday, and moving on Friday to our new sites. And now, it’s on to the work we came here to do.

The swearing in was very moving. The ceremony took about 2 hours, with plenty of media coverage. They played both countries’ anthems, and believe me it was good to hear ours. The US Ambassador to Armenia spoke to us and then administered the oath. It’s actually the same oath that State Department workers take. Kyle, who lived next me in our training village, was one of two new Volunteers to talk. He’s really an awesome speaker, even in Armenian. One of the training villages put on a short skit, which was hilarious. Some of us had formed a chorus and they sang an Armenian song and did an incredible job on it. After the ceremony there was a small reception for us and our host families. When the host families, we met with the A16s, those who have already been here for a year and then went out with them for a while to celebrate.

It was difficult the next morning leaving the family I’ve lived with for the past 12 weeks. They have always been very supportive and patient with me as I struggled with the language. There were 10 of us living in that house, so there was always something going on, or someone else visiting. In a way it reminded me of my house when all the kids were home. I will miss them, but I know I will see them again over the next two years.

The trip to my new village took about 8 hours, but that included stops to let off 4 other volunteers along the way. Of course we got lost quite a bit, as neither the driver nor us knew exactly where we were going. We had only been to our new sites once. But we all finally made it. My new host family is small, only 5 people, but again very nice and hospitable. I again gave the boys here Uno, which is a great ice breaker. We’ve have played at least 3 times every day since.

School doesn’t start until Sept. 1, so I have 2 weeks to get settled and acquainted with this village and the nearby town. I walked into town on Saturday, it’s 5 ½ kilometers downhill, to meet some of the other PCVs who live nearby. It’ll be nice to get together with them during the year. Of course I took a taxi back up the mountain to get home. Yesterday I went to dinner at my counterpart’s home and her sister is going to show me a shorter way to get into town. I may even be able to walk both ways.

I am school today meeting all the teachers. It will take a while to learn their names, especially most of them don't speak English. But they are all very nice and I look forward to working with them

August 10, 2009

Today was the end of our tech sessions, which is a relief. We presented our portfolios and had to hand in an electronic form of our presentation. Now I can concentrate on the language proficiency interview, which is tomorrow.

On Saturday we had a field trip to Garni, where there is an old pagan temple and a church nearby. The scenery was magnificent, almost overshadowing the buildings. It’s amazing to see these buildings that were built without today’s machinery. At the temple there was also a bath house, which had intricately designed mosaics in the floors.

Sunday afternoon I went into Yerevan, the capital city, with the two daughters-in-law who live in my house. One of them actually lives in Yerevan during the school year. We got off the bus right as it entered the city where there is a viewing area from which you can see the whole city. There are stairs that go down into the city. At regular intervals there are rest areas, that have gorgeous gardens and waterfalls in them. We had dinner at her mother’s house and then walked around the city. There is a lake in Yerevan, I think it’s manmade, and around that there’s some outdoor cafes and benches for sitting. Our final stop was Republic Square, which is a large gathering place in front of the Art Museum. There is a reflection pool in front of the museum which has fountains in it. At night, they play music over loudspeakers and the fountains have different lights in them and they synchronize the fountains spraying with the music. It was just beautiful. It reminded me of the fireworks they do in NY which are also synchronized with music. We sat at an outdoor café drinking beer while we watched the show. Since it was Sunday night, I was reminded of Music in the Park in Greensboro.

Sitting in that café last night, I couldn’t help but be amazed that I was actually in Armenia doing something as common as that. It is hard to forget that this is a very different place than America at times like that. I’m halfway around the world and yet I felt a very strong connection to my home city.

August 11, 2009

I passed my language proficiency interview today. What a relief. Not that I’m all that proficient in this language, but I can at least make myself understood for the most part. I can in to a store and buy what I need, I can call for a cab, and I can other things like that. I will definitely get a tutor when I get to my village because I really do want to be more proficient in Armenian. But for now I can breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy my accomplishment. Everyone felt the same way today.

August 12, 2009

This morning some of us volunteers from my village got up to watch the sunrise come over the mountain. It was absolutely beautiful. It was also a bit sad to realize that in 2 days we will be moving to our new sites and not be together. While we are all glad to have training behind us, it’s bitter sweet because we will be scattered over the country.

August 2, 2009

Yesterday the A16s (the group that has been here for a year) challenged us, the A17s,to a kickball game. The A16s are having their mid-service conference at a hotel not too far from our villages, so of course we accepted. About 25 out of the 45 of us went. We got to the field first and almost as soon as we did it started to drizzle. When the A16s arrived, after some general greetings and chit-chat, both groups gathered to plan our strategy. All of a sudden, the A16s stormed us with water balloons. The challenge was on! By the time we started to play it was raining, so the field was a bit slippery. I was chosen as coach and we won the coin toss ( which was actually a cell phone). The A16s scored first, in the second inning, but we soon overcame their one run. In the fourth inning the game was called because of rain (by that time a heavy rain, with thunder) and we won 5-1. It was a lot of fun, and of course we now have bragging rights.

That evening, the volunteers in my village gathered at our LCFs house to watch “Into the Wild.” It was a good movie, especially given what we’re doing and what we’ve each given up.

Today I went with Karena to visit her family in another town nearby. It was interesting to meet her family and spend the day there. Her brother is a stone cutter who does some beautiful work, especially on crosses. These crosses are a part of the national pride of Armenia and a real craft here. There’s a small chapel in the town that has one of his crosses in it. We walked there to see it and I’m glad we did. It was beautiful.

With just about a week left, I’ve started to organize my things for the upcoming move. It’s amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in such a short time. A lot of it is paperwork from the PC. But I’ve picked up some trinkets from different field trips we’ve gone on, as well. I image that two years from now it will be a real challenge to pack up.

August 4, 2009

This afternoon we went to an archaeological dig in our village. The mayor was instrumental in getting this dig started and he wanted us to see it before we leave for our permanent sites. It’s a burial ground from the Bronze Age, they think. They started the dig last year and have a 5 year plan. The tombs are circular and not very deep. They think that the bodies were cut up, before they were buried, which is why they are not deep. There is a big one, probably the chief’s and then a whole bunch of smaller ones around it. They are not sure if there was a village here, or if it was a gathering place of some sort. We may go back this weekend to actually do some work with them.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Yesterday we found out that 2 of us are leaving the Peace Corps. While we’ve only been together for 2 months, it’s amazing how close you can become in that short space of time. There has been a bond formed by all of us, even those we don’t know that well. We’ve been going through a tough, but amazing experience in our training, an experience that few others go through. So when 2 leave the group, it makes a difference.

Neither one of the two live in the same village as I do, nor are they in the same sector as I am. Yet I would see them on central days and occasionally talk to them. I do remember spending one evening with them having coffee at a house across the street from the hotel we first stayed at. None of us spoke Armenian at that point, but it was a good experience and one we laughed about later on.

In a way it was good that yesterday was a central day, so we were all together and found out together. We had the chance to say goodbye to them, and to process the whole thing. Some of course were closer to them than others, but it still has an impact on us all. For me, it made me re-think my decision to join the Peace Corps, and reaffirm my decision to stay in Armenia. I admire the two of them for having the courage, first of all to join the Peace Corps, and then to leave when they knew it wasn’t for them. While they are each going their separate ways, I think they will always be a part of us.

We’ve finished our second week of model school, which was another good, but challenging experience. Going from the oldest to the youngest students was a hard switch. While they understand some English, their speaking ability is much less. We were able to play some games with them to reinforce the lessons, which was fun. Next week we switch to the middle age group.

At this point there is also a lot of paperwork to finish up with. Most of it is to check that we’ve been trying to integrate into our communities and sectors. Some is to see if we’ve understood what we’ve been taught in our tech sessions. With lesson planning and language lessons, it’s just very time consuming to add one more thing to the mix. But it will get done.

We have our last language proficiency interview two days before swearing-in, which is on August 13. We are supposed to reach a certain level of proficiency, which I think I’m at. It definitely is harder to learn a language the older you are. My mouth just doesn’t want to move in certain ways to form certain sounds. Our language teachers are being very good about scheduling individual lessons to help us review what we each need. In a way I’ll be glad to get the LPI over with.

For those of you who I gave my address to, check with your post office for the proper way to write the address. Most times you use the correct form for the country from which you are sending it.

Welcome to my new blog site.

Water Day

I just survived my first Water Day today, July 19, 2009. This is a national holiday of sorts in Armenia, and I personally think other countries should adopt it. It is like a day long water fight and almost no one is exempt from this. They also throw the water at cars and buses.

In my village, at about 10 AM, a group of boys gathered at the corner by my house, with buckets and started throwing water at one another and every car that passed. They also threw at almost all the other people who braved going outside that day. I could safely watch from my balcony, and I thought I could play the tateek (grandmother) card. I think because I was brandishing two waterpistols, I was fair game. At one point there were probably 20 kids throwing water. They tried getting us on the balcony, but weren’t able to reach, although we had buckets and were able to get them. At one point I did venture out, but only to run across the street to the store, where I was safe. I only got a little wet on my run back.

At one point there was actually a water fight in my house! Later in the afternoon, the grandmother in my house started throwing water on those of us on the balcony. After that it was all out war on the balcony. Needless to say by the end of it, we were all soaked. It was a lot of fun.

My village also has the greatest taxi driver. Since we don’t have any other form of transportation to or from our village, we use the taxi about once a week. He has gotten to know all our names and he buys us things. Two weeks ago he was driving some of us into the city and he stopped and bought us all ice cream. Another time, he came to pick us up from another village and brought a bag full of apricots. And last week, he again stopped on the way into the city and bought us all ice cream. He’s just so nice. It’s another part of small village life that I like.

This past week, those of us who will be teaching English, have been involved in what they call “model school. “ They bring in children from the surrounding villages, between the ages of 9 and 16, and split them into 3 groups. There are 12 of us, and they have paired us up so we team teach. We teach each group 3 or 4 times. Kyle and I finished teaching the oldest group, 14-16 year olds, Wednesday and now have the youngest group, 9-11 year olds. We have to come up with our own lessons and hand in lesson plans. For the older group, we started out on personal adjectives, and had them fill in part of a character web on themselves. We then talked about 3 simple tenses (past, present and future) and had them fill in another part of the character web with their plans for the future. They then did a timeline of their life. The last day, they wrote a short autobiography. It really went pretty well, given their limited English and our very limited Armenian. Going from that group to the youngest group today proved a bit of a challenge. These children have limited English, if any, but are very eager to learn. They are full of energy and loved it when we played a game with them. We don’t meet with them for a few days, so we have some time to come up two more days of lessons.

These last 3 weeks of training are going to be super busy. Besides model school, we still have 3 hours of language lessons every morning and the homework that goes with it. And I still want to spend time with my host family. I’ll be glad when this part is over, but sad to leave this host family. They have truly made me feel a part of their family and I will miss them when I move.