As of January 31, we will have been in Armenia for 8 months. Sometimes it seems like it’s been much longer, sometimes it seems like it’s been much shorter. Time passes by much the same here as it does anywhere else. Before you know it, days, weeks, and months have elapsed. I didn’t realize how long it’s been since I’d updated the blog until recently when I decided that I’d better write something before I start to forget much of what has happened. So, I guess this is kind of a summary entry, highlighting our last few months here. I’ve posted some pictures below, since I think they better describe our experience than my writing alone.
The first picture is a little old now. It’s from a soccer game that we went to back in the fall…Spain v. Armenia. I thought I’d include it because it was my first international soccer game, and because we had a great time. The game was a World Cup qualifier. Everyone expected that Spain would play its less known players since Armenia does not have a strong team, but to our surprise, we got to see some of the biggest names in soccer like Torres and Fabregas. Obviously Armenia lost the game, and almost every other game in their qualifying group. Needless to say, they will not be going to the World Cup.
Around the same time of year, Nicole and I were invited to help some friends pick and prepare grapes for making wine. We went to their house a few more times to see how the process is carried out. It was very interesting.
Since nearly two hundred kids were interested in attending our after school English clubs, we had to organize an interviewing/selection process. This picture was taken right before some of the interviews at Nicole’s school. It took us two weeks to select a total of 80 kids, 40 from my school and 40 from Nicole’s. It was a major headache, but it was also a good way to demonstrate fairness and objectivity, something that is not often practiced here. Now, we’ve got 4 English clubs that meet weekly after school, Monday through Thursday.
The next series of pictures were taken in Tbilisi, Georgia. We decided take a small vacation there since we had such a long winter break this year. The Ministry of Education cancelled school for three additional weeks due to outbreaks of seasonal flu and H1N1, giving us much more time off than usual.
- Nicole near the oldest church in the city…6th century.
- The sign for the KGB bar/nightclub…funny or terrifying? I’m not sure yet.
- Probably the highlight of our trip. This picture was taken in the Abanotubani region of Old Town Tbilisi. The dome-shaped structures are subterranean sulphur bath houses. Tbilisi has been famous for them since the city’s founding in the 5th century. The word Tbilisi actually means “warm spring”. For centuries, people have travelled to Tbilisi just to bath in the sulphur springs which are rumored to have healing properties. I don’t know about all that, but we did feel pretty good after spending some time here.
- Not much explanation needed. This is me reunited with western fast food…a picture that I would not have been proud of before moving to Armenia where no such things exist. McDonald’s never tasted so good…or maybe it was just some association with familiarity.
- The next two pictures were taken at Narikala Fortress, another highlight of the trip. Located in a strategic defensive position on a steep hill above the city, the fortress has been occupied by the Persians, the Arabs, the Turks, the Russians, and of course the Georgians. The earliest walls of the fortress date back to the 4th century. Unlike most western historical sites, you are free to fully explore the fortress without supervision…for better or for worse, the same is true for most sites in Armenia as well.
Overall, Tbilisi is an amazing city. Unlike Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, it has a very western feel to it. We spent a lot of our time in cafés that seemed much more like home than anything I’ve experienced in Armenia. It’s highly likely that we’ll be going back at some point during our service.
To keep busy over such a long break, Nicole spent a lot of time crocheting. She made a bunch of scarves to give as presents for the New Year. In the next picture, she is doing her best to perfect a recipe for baklava that our first host mother showed her. After several attempts over the holidays, she got very good at it.
I’m not sure why I included the following picture. I guess I was pretty proud of the massive frittata we made for about 10 other volunteers after our Christmas celebration. Since Armenians do not celebrate Christmas like we do, or on the same date, we travelled to another town where some friends decided to get together. The morning after our gathering, Nicole unexpectedly suggested to everyone that I prepare a breakfast/lunch…she’s so cute. The volunteer we were staying with had just moved into his house, so buying all the ingredients and putting the whole thing together was definitely interesting.
The next three pictures are kind of random. The first was taken on a hike that we recently went on. We are sitting on an unfinished gondola lift station overlooking our town. My guess is that it was a project begun during soviet times and never completed, abandoned and left to decay like many of the buildings and structures from that era. The next is of the church that I pass as I go to school every day, and the third was taken in the morning from the house where we are staying. If you cannot tell from the picture, it has become very cold here.
Other updates...hmmmm. Well, Nicole and I will be working on some secondary projects in the next few months that should be interesting. We are both trying to write grant applications for English language rooms in our respective schools, and we are trying to organize a regional poetry competition to be held sometime in the spring. Also, I may begin working with an environmental NGO to help secure funding for a series of educational camps that they organize over the summer. As for our primary work in the classroom, we have our successes and our setbacks. Sometimes I feel like I am making a difference, sometimes I just feel overrun by a bunch of out of control kids who don’t listen to anything I say. I will say however that I think my command of the language in the classroom has improved, which has helped out greatly, especially in our after school clubs. Socially, in a non-technical, less predictable setting, communication is still quite difficult for both of us.
Anyway, things are good overall. We were lucky to survive the near two-week long marathon of eating and drinking referred to as Armenian New Year, and now I feel like we are starting to become productive volunteers. New Year definitely deserves its own post.
As always, we miss you all very much. I hope that everyone is well and enjoying life. Please let us know how you are when you get the chance.
-Andy
