Alive and Well in Armenia

Finally…internet access. I haven’t had a chance to logon since we were in Philadelphia, three weeks ago…that’s hard to believe. The internet situation in Armenia is a little less developed than I anticipated, but I think once I figure it out, I’ll be able to update the blog more often. For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to set up my phone as a router for my laptop, but I haven’t been able to make it work quite yet. So, I broke down and went to an internet café in a nearby city, which is where I am now.

Anyway, we’re here! Nicole and I are living with a host family in a small village and it’s amazing. The landscape is dramatic, the people are wonderful, and the culture is fascinating. We’ve run into some small challenges, but nothing terrible. Our host family consists of a mom and dad, three sisters, and one brother. They are unbelievably hospitable, and they are very patient with us since we barely speak Armenian and they barely speak English. They’re doing a great job helping us acclimate. We couldn’t ask for anything more in a host family.

Since we landed in Armenia, we’ve been inundated with training. Language, safety, program information, health, culture, etc… It can be very tiring, but fascinating at the same time. We spent our first three days at a hostel/hotel in the mountains before moving in with our host family about two weeks ago. Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we’ll be sworn in as volunteers in mid-August and re-assigned to a different site that has yet to be determined. That will be the site where we will carry out our two years of service.

Well, I thought I’d just let everyone know what’s going on with us. I hope everyone is doing well.
Oh yeah…congratulations Matt…and…congratulations Dave and Dana!

-Andy

We're Officially Peace Corps Trainees

Today marks the beginning of our service with the Peace Corps. We reported to a staging event in Philadelphia this afternoon. Tomorrow, we fly to Vienna, and then on to Armenia. In the last few weeks we’ve been in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. So, in a way, it’s the end of one trip and the beginning of another.

I’ll try to post a quick entry when we get there.

Andy

Packing and Saying Goodbye

Since my last day at work on May 5, Nicole and I have been packing, moving, re-packing, storing, and organizing all of our stuff. It’s been difficult deciding what to do with it all. Some of it has been given away, some of it has been sold, some of it has been stored, and some of it will come with us to Armenia. It’s amazing to see how much stuff we’ve accumulated in just a two bedroom apartment…it kind of sneaks up on you.

One thing I was glad to be rid of was the volume of receipts, account statements, and other records that I’ve stored over the last few years. Realizing that I needed to go through them all before I leave, but reluctant to deal with it, I procrastinated to the last minute. Finally, I set aside some time to take care of it. Not far into the process, I recognized that I could probably spend days sorting through it all deciding what’s important, deciding what I need to keep and store. Then, sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by mounds of papers, I had an interesting thought…burn them all. And that’s what I did. I walked up on the hill to where my in-laws burn their papers with what felt like 50 pounds of documentation recording almost all my transactions over the last five years. Ten minutes later, I walked down with nothing. It was very liberating. It’s funny how people get attached to stuff like that. I spent so much time collecting and organizing those papers…it always felt like a burden. I guess it’s time to simplify things a bit...be kind of a minimalist.

We’ve also been traveling up and down the east coast visiting family before we leave. It’s been difficult saying goodbye to everyone, and a little draining running around like we have been, but we’re thankful to have the time to do it. It’s a little weird to think that we’re technically homeless and jobless right now. Well, I shouldn’t say that, everyone we’ve stayed with has been very generous. We haven’t felt homeless. It has been time very well spent.

Here are some pictures that we’ve taken over the last couple of weeks…


Packing and the last supper in our apartment:

Erasing our paper trail...we're off the grid now:

Goodbye to friends and family:

We've spent a lot of time with many great people over the last few weeks, saying our goodbyes. Thanks to everyone for all your support and kindness, we wouldn't be able to do this without you all.

With much love,

Andy & Nicole

Introduction

Nicole and I decided to start this blog as a way of recording our experiences in Armenia with the Peace Corps, and just as importantly, to communicate with friends and family while we are away. I’m not sure how much time we’ll have once we get there, or if we’ll have access to reliable internet, but we’ll do our best to post regular updates describing our travels and our personal observations. Here’s the information about our Peace Corps assignment:

Country: Armenia
Program: English Language Project (both of us)
Dates: June 2009 to Aug 2011 (God willing)

Here’s a map of the area since many people we talk to don’t really know quite where Armenia is:

Feel free to comment on any posts or send either of us an email. It will be great to hear from familiar people while we are in a foreign place. Thanks to everyone for all the support.

Andy