Into the Wild... I now live alone

I now live alone. I have moved out of my host families’ house and have spread my wings into my own nest. It’s a good feeling. Nothing against my host family, but it can be difficult sometimes. They are great people, a lot of fun, and always someone to practice my crappy Armenian with. But the sense of freedom that I get with being able to eat when I want, shower when I want, and walk around in the nude is just delightful. I better cover up though; we are expecting snow this weekend. Im just hoping I am not snowed in. I am traveling to Ethiopia in about a week and a half. I am going for Christmas to see my brother Peter that lives their, and my brother Arthur is coming from DC with his wife Amy. I am really excited about it. I have 2 layovers in Germany, so that means the possibility of some western food and a good beer. It will be nice to get in touch with some family for a few days. I am hoping to also get in touch with some Peace Corps Ethiopia Volunteers. It will be interesting to compare their experience with mine. My brother Peter actually just swore in some new volunteers into Ethiopia about a week ago. So they are green and excited I bet.

I participated in my first Flash Mob as well this past week. It was World AIDS Day on Dec 1. So the HIV/AIDS PC Initiative planned a flash mob in Yerevan for it. It was the brain child of Kevin Crookshank, I helped cause my sister Amy has done them before. We had about 80 people show up, we froze for 1 minute in a very crowded place in the city, holding signs with information and statistics. I had the honor deciding what went on the signs. Mostly it was world and Armenian statistics on AIDS, but I also through in a couple that I came up. Given Armenia is a post soviet nation, this was my favorite: Condoms, effectively keeping sex safe since before Soviet Times. HA! Gets me every time.

I have just past the 6 month mark here in the Peace Corps. I think it’s a big milestone. They say if you can get through the first year, and in Armenia the first winter, then it’s a breeze after. Speaking of, we actually lost a volunteer this week. She was in her 60’s and having a hard time adjusting. Credit to her for sticking it out so long though. I really didn’t get to know her very well until this last week when I was helping her do something at a conference we had in Yerevan. Next thing I know, she is leaving. I wish her all the best though.

So speaking of being here 6 months. I think I am hitting a reflection point. I have been thinking a lot of what things I really want to do, have done, or haven’t done. I know that I haven’t been at my site long enough to make a big difference. But I think its important to look back and re-assess ever so often. As I think about things, I notice a contagious attitude that I have caught. I don’t know if its cause of some movies I have seen lately, or the people I have been hanging around, but I am really getting this attitude of the whole “being a world citizen” thing. That is to say, making a job out of traveling and finding new experiences. At least for now, I look back at what I was doing before I came. I worked at a Private Wealth Management Financial Firm, and I was working with everything that had to do with finances and office management. I think back about how I was so concerned, at the age of 23, at what mutual fund I was picking for my 401K. And I kind of chuckle at it. I think, wow, I was planning for 55 at 23. Not to say that is a bad idea, but I think a lot of people just plan for the future and accumulate, accumulate, accumulate. That is their goal, and that is their plan. But once they get to that point where they can spend what they have earned, or travel and see what they have wanted to see, 30 years has passed. And I think sometimes when you build things up for so long, there is no way they will meet your expectations. Some things you need to do now. Not later. This isn’t a testament to living in the here and now. Lets be smart about this. Im not saying planning is a bad thing, but action is just important. And I think some people forget that. Don’t get caught up in salary/accumulative/chain-of-command building lifestyle. Enjoy every essence of life, and don’t wait for it to be here. Cause its here now. You will never be as young as you are right now, and you can never have a re-do. Believe me, ive tried. Whether that is with people or decision. It wont always be easy, and sometimes the wrong path will be taken. That’s why it’s called a struggle; you’re supposed to sweat.

I think this is for those that are on the fence about making a decision or going a new place. Just do it. Maybe the younger crowd is who I am speaking to, but not completely. I just wonder how you can be so sure about who you are, what your doing, and why it was right…. If you haven’t seen everything that’s out there. So just keep looking….

"No quote this time, think of something clever yourself for once.... HA!"

My 1st Armenian Wedding.... Wait you Said I'm the Groom???

(me and 2 of my brother, Vahe and Smbat)


Ya, your read it right. Ok not actually, but their was an offer on the table. No mom i didnt take it. Basically my family is trying to get me to marry the bride's sister that i met at the wedding. Although she is 25 and it is Amot (shameful) if a man marries a woman older than him, that isnt stopping them though.

So the wedding was full of tradition, drinking, and lots of things i didnt understand. I had to have my tutor explain some of them to me.

Weird thing #1: First off we go to the Groom's house, shoot some homemade vodka, sing his praises, then we go outside and dance while his sisters dance with baskets over their heads, 6 in all. Each basket it to represent a fruitful life and is full of gifts... ok i understand that one.

(sisters of groom dancing with gift baskets for bride)

Weird thing #2: As we drove off to the the brides house where we present the gifts, buy off the family, and toast to her, the groom's mother threw water on the back of the car to represent good luck in buying his bride.... ya i dont have a photo of this one.

Weird thing #3: Ok so we are at the bride's house, and they give the bride gifts as she is sitting in chair and me and the groom are chillin out in the other room talking. Then, a young boy must replace her shoes with white boots and zip them up for her... this one was not explained to me, but i know it has something to do with them preparing her for her big day maybe....

(young boy putting the white boots on the bride)

Weird thing #4: This was kind of cool. After the groom comes in and gets the bride, we go into the family room and do some toasts. Then as we are leaving that some young boy has a decorated knife, and stabs the doorway. This is when the groom's best man gives him money and "buys" the right to take her to get married. And this is only supposed to happen once, but as we drove out of the village, children would hold ropes across the roadway and stop us until they threw out coins for them. This also happened at the church we went to and the apartment at the end.

(same young boy accepting money from the best man as "payment" to take the bride)

Weird thing #5: When entering the apartment after the church, they must break 2 plates on the door way. These, turns out, are them breaking any bad spirits that would start out with the marriage, ensuring a long happy couple...

Weird thing #6: Lavash, kind of like long thin pita bread, is draped across the bride and groom's shoulder as they enter the house. This is for good luck and prosperity.

Weird thing #7: There is no smiling by the bride or groom.Something about it being bad luck. So the entire day, the entire time, there is noooooo smiling. Basically it looks like neither of them wants to be there and this is an arrange marriage, which sometimes happens here as well....

And many more weird things that i still dont know what they mean. Although i didnt understand it, it was a greatttt time. Lots of dancing, announcements, toasts, singing, and god-awful homemade vodka. Which was around 70-75%, could take rust off an exhaust pipe i bet. It was a great experience to have, and i made a ton of friends. I also met the majority of my host moms side of the family and they all loved me and i loved them. So now i have people to visit when i go backdown to Goris.

Lastly, i also learned i have a food allergy. The morning after i was sitting with my host cousins daughter (who i loved and she cried when i left... she is 11), and i took a bite of a fruit i have never seen before. First bite nothing happened, but the 2nd time i got some of the outer skin with it, and BAM, it happened. My mouth went dry, my tongue started to swell, and i couldnt swallow and more-or-less chew. after about 15 sec, it went away. So i tested this theory again, about 4 sec after i took a bigger bite, this time it felt like my mouth was filled with pillows and nothing would move or moisten. I repeated this action a few times trying different parts of the fruit. All i need to do now is learn and remember the armenian word for it and to avoid it. Although my mini science project was kinda fun.

Also, here is a pic of who my family is dead set on making my future wife...

Video of me in Armenia!!

This is a video of me around the end of June during our teaching practicum for the Community Health Education Sector. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbLQxfFr9o8

My weekend tailgating in Armenia….

You heard it correctly. I tailgated in Armenia, in honor of the start of UCF football. So this weekend marked the first Saturday in September. And for the last 3 years, every Saturday in September, October, and November was one thing and one thing only. Football. And not just any football, college football. And not just any college. The University of Central Florida or UCF. The 3^rd largest Univ in the nation. That’s right people, eat it up. And I didn’t just do it for the fact of football, or for ritual of drinking with a guy named skinny Pete on Saturday’s. (and yes a guy named skinny Pete was their every Saturday actually) It was for the experience and the atmosphere. It was for the face paint, the same wig I wore to every game without washing for 3 years. The jerseys that say 24K even though he left 2 years ago (you get it if you’re a knight). It was for the fact that every girl looked gorgeous on game day, outside under a tent, wearing black and gold knee high socks and playing beer pong or flip cup and skimming beers of guys because they were hot. For that random game you got dragged into with people you don’t know and now you have to shotgun a beer then have a dizzy-bat relay race. (This is the point where my mom google’s what shot gunning a beer is… then emails me…) And for “that guy” that walks around with no shirt on and thinking he is the hottest thing since skin colored band-aide’s and carrying his own 6 pack in the cardboard box while his buddy is driving a cooler full of beer and running over empty beer cans, ya that’s right, a motorized cooler. It was for the feeling you get when you are walking to the stadium with 44,974 other people, and that sacred tradition of shaking your keys at opening kick-off.

This was the first time I have truly been homesick. Because I am thinking of every Saturday when me and the boys took a Moe’s tent, a grill, and tailgate in between the Psych building and the Alumni Center on top of the drain, same spot for 3 years. This is why I am homesick.

I had the privilege of obtaining a leadership position at UCF where I was the student ambassador to the UCF alumni association and the UCF community. So I was basically a walking billboard for the Univ. I learned to love every aspect of that school. I am confident that if you cut me now, I will bleed black and gold. So going to these games, seeing the students, the alumni, the boosters, it was my tiny version of heaven. I loved every minute of it, rain or shine.

So yesterday was the first game against South Dakota. We won, great start to the season. But I was I walking to a café to hang out with some other volunteers and have a beer, and definitely it was a hard walk. My first toast when I got to the café was to UCF football. But more importantly it was to my friends that I went to every game with. It was to everything I mentioned above, the atmosphere that I wasn’t going to have. I knew I would miss things when I joined the Peace Corps, but I never thought that Saturday tailgating at UCF would be atop the list 3 months in to service.

After my day with volunteers yesterday, I was walking home and I was listening to my ipod, and I was jamming to a little O.A.R., and a song came on called “I Feel Home,” I have attached the youtube link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSuaqVxFqq4 and some of the lines just made it all a little worse… and then better. The song says, and this is a couple random lines, “There are few things pure in the world anymore, and home is one of the few…I feel Home when im chillin outside with the people I know… in a thousand years and a thousand tears, I will find my original crew… I feel home, when I see the faces that know my own…” as you can imagine, it was like throwing gas on a fire. But it was good. It brought to light so many good memories, and times when I will never forget with the people I will never forget. Like the time me greg, skinny pete (told you he was real) and jenna drove to UMiami when UCF played them, and we had random people come ask us if this was the car they could do a beer bong off of….? Of course we answered. Or when me and adam went to the bowl game in Tampa, and we sat next to a federal judge and his drunk wife who offered her husbands services if we ever got into trouble. Or when we picked up 2 parents that were drinking on the side of the road during parents weekend and took them to campus so they could find their daughter.

But after thinking about this for a while, and listening to that song all the way to the end, I realized something. Even though im not with those guys, and we all live in different places now, they are always with me. Everywhere I go, every smile I have, is partly because of them. What I see with my own eyes is their lens to parts of the world they have never been to. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for these same people, and I know no matter when I am in the world, they are still my best friends. I could go months without talking to them, and the next time I speak with them, it’s like we just hung out yesterday, and we will be tomorrow. With so much going on in life, its memories like these that are important. The ones that make you forget about the rough situation of today, and troubles that may come tomorrow, but all you can think about are the memories of yesterday. And with going through so much with these individuals, I consider them family. Doesn’t matter what happens, they will be a part of everything from here on out.

So this rum drink I currently have in my hand, this one is for you Boys. Every member of the palace, every UCF game we went to, and every time I got you a gold parking pass. This is for every game we went to, and the ones I know we will go to in the future. This is for every argument over what time to go tailgate, and for the time I dragged all of you out in hurricane force winds to tailgate at the game. P4L

Alex

“Mr. UCF”

What do I want out of the Peace Corps?

Why did I join? Why have I decided to sacrifice 2 years of my life? What has driven me to pursue this? Why did I go through an 18-month application process? What drove me to quit my job, leave my friends, leave my family, end relationships, sell my car, get rid of most of my possessions, pack a bag, and move across the world to a place I don’t speak the language, understand the customs, or know exactly what im doing. The last few days have been a relentless mental search for this answer. Now I know maybe I should have decided this before I left Orlando, but that’s not how it happened. I did have reasons for all of it. And now that im here, have those reasons changed. Because wanting to do the Peace Corps and actually joining and going for 2 years are two very separate things, with two very separate motivations.

I think while applying, the reasons were to get an experience that you can’t really get anywhere else. I also didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, so why not? Maybe after the 2 years, there will be a giant blinking sign of where I am supposed to go and what I want to do. I was expecting that sign after college, didn’t happen. Now maybe it will happen after all this. But still, that doesn’t explain why I couldn’t just find a job I liked and stuck with it.

I went to 3 different colleges in 3 years. After high school, moved to NC, that first summer in college, moved to ATL, moved back to NC to a new city and new college, moved back to FL to Titusville first, after that moved to Orlando for school. So in 4 years the longest I was in one place was about 15 months. I think maybe I was feeling that urge to move again, do something, and go somewhere. So I applied my last semester in college. After I graduated college, I found an internship that turned into a full-time job. I stayed there while I was going through the rest of the application process. All this was setting up this large decision to join the Peace Corps.

I think the reasons as to why you join the Peace Corps and why you stay in the Peace Corps for the full two years differ. And they are different for everyone. Some are placed in a region or job that they can really make some difference in, some just think living in another country is enough, and not really accomplishing much is fine with them.

Now the reasons for why I want to be here are a mixture of a lot of things. I have always kind of looked for something. Maybe that’s why I changed schools so many times. I don’t really know what I am looking for, but I know I wasn’t gonna find it where I was. So I think part of me wanted to go look for it in a far away place. Not sure what that is, but its almost like there is something out there I am supposed to find, and im not gonna sit home and wait for it, im gonna go looking for it. Could be an ideal. Could be a person. Could be a cause. Could just be the experience of looking through my eyes in a new place. But whatever it is, that’s why I am here. I also want to see things no American has seen. I want to be the first draft of eyes to look upon something, and then refine and retune what it is for other eyes to see, or maybe read right here. I want to help and show a different way of doing things, but more so I want to be taught a different way of doing things.

Today marks 3 months into this 27-month journey in Armenia. I am still looking and searching for my place here, what I am going to do and how it can affect me. And I am writing about it in hopes to influence or inform one person.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Camping Day 2

I woke up exhausted, but straight away I brushed my teeth and I automatically felt a little better. I don’t know what it is about removing plaque from my mouth, but it helps remove my worried while fighting cavities. So the day started with the gas burners not working, so everyone got 2 pieces of candy, a short cake cookie, and a vanilla wafer… glad im here to help with health education.

Again had to keep post from 10-12, not bad. It was normal, captured 3 of the diversante’s, but let them go on account of they were there to fix the gas burners. We ate lunch and had a few competitions: Race’s, darts, arrubix cube, easy stuff.

Then the best part of my day started. I put a towel on the ground at the foot of my tent, laid on it under a tree in the shade, looked up at the clear blue sky and had ray charles remind me of why I love GA and being from the south. I played my favorite Neo-Soul mix and he is on it. It was a very good hour or so. Nothing like a lttle Ray Charles, Erykha Badu, Maxwell, & Anthony Hamilton couldn’t cure. Then I had a weird though…

After I ended a relationship to come to the PC, whenever I would talk to her, her last line was always, “I hope you find what your looking for.” And that statement was lingering in my head for some reason. What am I looking for? I have been contemplating that all day and will cont. to do so. I hope whatever it is, I do find it, cuz I feel I am looking for something, and its not a bad stomach virus, cuz I have already found that 3 times.

So we had a normal dinner, relaxing afternoon, then the Marleboro Man returned. If I have yet to talk about him, basically he is the camp leader that’s on a power trip and he makes everyone do pushups and sit-ups all day long. He just basically is always yelling at the kids to do insane things and hitting on the girls that do the cooking while ordering them to get him more coffee, all while wearing camo and a Marleboro cowboy hat. When he leaves camp, it is always on a horse, and always for some dramatic reason.

So the MM (marleboro man) is back, chaos has ensued, and im getting a little stressed again.

So the nights post went fine, nothing happened. However the rest of the night was interesting. The MM made everyone get in a line and he laid down next to the fire, and he made everyone line up and tell him a joke in fron of the whole group. If he liked it, you sat down. If he didn’t like it, 1 of 3 things would happen depending on how bad it was. 1- 20 pushups. 2- whip in the a@! with his wooden knumb-chucks. O ya, forgot to mention he carries them around his neck at all times. And 3- 20 sit-ups while he whacks u in the stomach with his knumb-chucks as you do them. And he wasn’t easy about it… to bad its not a year from now, where I will have the language ability to explain how ridiculous this is. But whatever. So after, it was about 10, they made everyone under 14 go to bed, and I had to get the fire started. That wasn’t that hard, and I had a good time doing it. After I got it started, the girls came out of their tent and sat around trying to talk to me and teach me some Armenian. The fire was great, relaxing, made me forget I was 10,000 miles away from home.

About midnight, the MM asked me to be post #3, I was reluctant because I was exhausted, and I knew this would be a 2 hour post. I did it though. Right then all the diversante’s decided to get loud and have some fun… at my post. So it was an eventful 2 hours, but I still didn’t want to stand there in the dark while being exhausted. I had to tell the I was tired and wanted to go to bed around 3, they were reluctant but they let me. We all woke up one time because the diversante’s attacked around 4:30, apparently we captured one, but they captured Artyum, god rest his soul.

Day two ended with a lot of yelling, no fireworks, a really good bonfire by me, and me still pondering that question.

“Somebody told me it was frightening how much topsoil we are losing each year, but I told that story around the campfire and nobody got scared.”

Camping Day 1: Diary of a mad white guy camping in Armenia…

Camping Day 1: Diary of a mad white guy camping in Armenia…

So we woke up at 6:45 because we had to leave for the sport complex at 7:40. I thought my sister was coming with, but as I waited and waited for her, I finally asked when she would be ready, and she informed me that she wouldn’t be coming with me. That’s ok though.

So I got to the complex and helped load up the van full of all the stuff. Then we had a little pep-talk that I completely understood… not really, then we set off to the camping site that was 16k away… and we were going by foot. If you do the math, which I did, it is about… 9.94 miles, approximately of course. It took us 3 and a half hours to walk there. Walking was myself, my counterpart (to who I will now refer to as CP), and 39 kids. Although it was a beautiful walk, it was still very long. We got to camp and all the tents were set up by about 4-5 of the older kids that came in a van. Then the camping got interesting very quickly…

We broke into 4 different tribes, and each tribe chief learned the rules of the game we will be playing for the next 4 days. I was told I will be the chief for the 2^nd tribe. I own the 2^nd group, they are my tribe, and I am their fearless, American, non-armenian speaking leader. First thing I asked them was if they wanted a team name, one kid yelled cheechu/vort, which is a kind of worm, so we were the worms. Great name guys…

Now the game. This is a serious game, and everyone bought into it, and I now understand why. First thing was they roped off a compound around where we were camping, and you could not leave the compound without approval. Approval came from the chief that was currently in charge of post duty. Starting at 6pm that evening, each team had a 2 hour post, and the chief would roam around and make sure everything was ok and tell kids, “yes u can leave and go to the bathroom.” Also in the compound, they placed an Armenian flag in the middle that would also be guarded during post. Post were stationed at 8 different places around the compound, and the 9^th post being the flag. We rotate post’s every 2 hours. EVERY 2 HOUR’S. So even from 2-4 in the morning we had post.

The reason we need guards around our campsite is because there are demon snathcers that come in the middle of the night and take people that are outside of the compound, they are called Diversante’s. I have no idea what that translates to. But they dress in all black, and if they take you, you are basically their slave and POW. They can even snatch a post or guard if they get close enough and can manage to do it. This game is to go on for 4 days, all day and all night, never stopping.

So my 1^st shift with my little villagers was from 6-8pm, not bad. Very easy. But that means my 2^nd shift will be from 2-4am… ya. So one thing I forgot to mention is that we have to get water out of a spout from the side of the road, about 150 yards away outside the compound, and with 35+ kids, water must be filled regularly.

Right after my shift, we ate dinner and I was exhausted from the walk and the long day, so we lit a bonfire, as did the DS’s (diversante’s) and they were trying to intimidate us with it. I wanted to rest so bad. But why rest when you can sneak behind enemy lines and put out their fire… im not sure really. So myself and 2 other village chiefs left the camp, dressed in all black, and went to go put out their fire in the cover of darkness, without using any lights. So we are sneaking around in the dark, I get stung by neddles probably 5 times, and we only use the moon to light where we walk. We climb a mountain, sprint around a historic church, and stomp out their fire, which is good fun. Then the guys im with want to find them and try and take one of the hostage… so we attempted to do so by looking and hiding in bushes for about 40 minutes, regretfully not finding any.

So we successfully sneak back to camp, and its 11pm, and I have shift at 2am. So I head to bed to get some shut eye. I am in a tent with another kid, but he doesn’t sleep until like 4 am, and that was in another tent, so im alone.

Even with ear plugs or an ipod, I did not sleep a wink. We had a bonfire going, 35+kids running around screaming, and the DS’s had fireworks and firecrackers they set off every 10 min and would throw them into camp. Im pretty sure at least 3 hit my tent. Needless to say, I was never even close to sleeping. So I get up around 1:20 so I can prepare for shift at 2. It looked like WWII outside. Things exploding, kids diving behind trees. Fires going. I had flash backs of firework wars at The Rojas’ house in Titusville, where I grew up. People wore all camo, repelled out of tress, and used mortar fireworks as hand grenades, it was amazing. If u know what im talking about, u know how ridiculous it is. Now imagine you cant speak the language and your in a foreign country… you actually kinda feel like your in a war haha.

So at about 1:50, it starts raining, which is just super since I have a 2 hour shift in 10min. As you can tell by my writing, I am less than happy. So its 1:55 and im about to wake up my viallgers, and my CP tells me since I have a group that is 11-13 years old, they get to sleep, and I have to patrol with the older kids… yay. So I did my patrol for WWII and was exhausted the whole time. Everything went fine though.

The end of day 1 was rain, fireworks, more rain, lighting and fire, and more rain, and bed at 4am. Not bad though. Interesting to see how the next 3 days turn out, and if I can actually make it. This game is serious, and every kid is into it. All I can think of is my good buddy Manolo back in Orlando. This is what he is made for, and this would be the best 4 days of his life, maybe even better than his honeymoon… Sorry Ashley J

Day 2 comes early….

“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.”

- General George S. Patton

Same World different Country

Girls and clothes... that what this post is about.

My oldest brother that lives in my house went with his wife and 2 daughters to yerevan for the last 3 days for one thing... back to school shopping. Yep, they do it in armenia too. and its an even bigger deal.

I have to niece's, 7 and 9, and they were soooo excited to show me everything they got for their new start of school. it happens on September 1st. They showed me everything from the new underwear they got to every pen, marker, highlighter, and notebook they got. It was actually very exciting to see how excited they were about all of it. the youngest would light up anytime her mother would pull out a piece of clothing from the bag and it was her's, she would turn and smile from ear to ear, then ask me if it was beautiful. and of course it all was. by the way the majority of everything they got was pink.

and this wasnt just me in the room, then entire family stopped what they were doing and came to see the new clothes, it was a big deal. especially for mariam the 9 year old. They bought her what i would consider a prom dress. Every year when they start school the family throws a big party for them celebrating the start of the school year. Still not sure why only 1 girl got the dress, but maybe it was because she is the oldest. but it took me back when i made my mother take me to buy new clothes for school, me and my brothers made her buy some ridiculous stuff. It started with JNCO jeans, then went to nike and adidas everything, then A&F, Amer. Eagle, then in college i jumped to old navy and target, finally after college i had to buy grown up clothes at men's warehouse.

It was good to see the girls were excited to start school, as was the entire family. This showed me how armenian girls arent much different from american girls. They were soo excited about there new clothes, they are always getting dressed up just go to do the simplest of tasks like buy fruit, and everything they bought was pink, when getting ready we are always waiting on them... sounds about the same to me, and i think i may catch some flack for that last one. But hey, at least i got some socks out of the deal... even though they were made in Turkey haha

So i am going camping with my counterpart and 25 kids for the next 4 days, off in the woods. the kids were asked to bring supplies, i was slightly nervous when each one showed up at the pre-departure meeting with a half kilo of potatoes, abilly club and an axe. Sounds like good times to me. I also know that my counterpart is planning on some midnight war games with black masks and hoods, which also makes me slightly nervous. Given that i am supposed to watch after kids and keep them safe when i dont even speak the language, its ok though, yelling in any language gets your point across haha.

I think it will be fun and probably a long 4 days, but i am excited, and i should have some exciting stories for you when i return. Hopefully they dont involve either me accidentally axing a kid, a kid accidentally axing me, or me returning with 24 kids. Cross your fingers....

"Camping: The art of getting closer to nature while getting farther away from the nearest cold beverage, hot shower and flush toilet."

My new address..

send me stuff here!!! Por Favor!!

Alex Lord

6 Yeritasardakan Street

3501 Sisia, Armenia

Syunik Marz

Sisian Youth Day

I know this is my first blog in awhile, and alotttt has happened. But tonight it is only one subject.

Today was Sisian Youth Holiday. I had no idea until last night what has going on, or what was happening. Basically it is a government-organized holiday where all the youth in the town get together.

So it started off with us meeting in the central square at 8:45 in the morning, I wasn’t happy about that. But we all got a white shirt that had Sisian spray painted on the back. It looked like this ՍԻՍԻԱՆ. So after we all put the shirts on, they lined all about 200 of us to walk down the streets up to the church, and we had a priest dressed in all black that walked with us. Once we walked all the way up to the church, about 2-3 kilometers, we went inside, and the priest said a little something, I have no idea what, then we went outside. And this is where it gets interesting. We all grabbed a carnation, went around the corner to the graveyard, and we put the carnations on the graves of fallen soldiers from the Karabach War. Not only did we place them on the grave, we walked and people touched every single grave, there was about 40 of them. This was to show that remember every soldier that lived in Sisian and died in this was.

After we did that, our next location to walk was the ancient ruins to remember those that are their ancestors. This was no ordinary walk; it was about an hour walk in random fields and across mountaintops, 13 kilometers. It was a heck of a walk. But turns out we were walking to what Armenians call “The original Stonehenge.” This is something that is exactly like Stonehenge, but dated way before it. There is a debate on what it was used for, Archeoastronomists (ya didn’t know that was a profession) think that is was a constellation map, because every stone out of the 200 something stones have a hole in them each pointing out into a certain location in the sky. And other stones have sharp tops so you can correct each perfect line of other stones, basically to calibrate them. It was very interesting. Others belief it was an area for religious worship and burial because graves were found at the site as well. Either way it was something very cool to see.

After we were there and all took a giant photo, all 200 of us, we heading to the local tourist spot, it’s a waterfall. I went here about 3 days ago with an A-17 Bill and his counterpart. It was great; we had lunch, climbed the waterfall, and then climbed this giant rock. Shout out to Bill for showing a good time. Anyway, we were going to the same spot to spend the afternoon.

So we show up and we pull out some soccer balls, but all we play is volleyball with them, for hourssss. And hourssss. Even the priest got in on a few games, that was interesting to see, he was still in his garb and went with it like nothing changed. We were going to be served lunch their, and I saw what we were eating as soon as I arrived. The dead cow they were gutting right at the entrance, for everyone to watch, and smell. And as we played v-ball, you could here them chopping through the ribs with an axe, a rusty one at that. Since I got there and they were just skinning it, I knew it would be a very long time till we ate. So I went with my counterpart, Davit, and we walked up to the waterfall. It was gorgeous, again. We climbed to the top, I took some photos, saved a girl from falling in the water by accident, but it was only a 2-foot fall, no serious thing. Then we headed back, but we stopped along the way with some girls and were searching for apples in an apple orchard. We were starved, so we crossed a river and got soaking wet, just to find food. We found 3 apples for 7 people. I was the gentleman and gave mine up. However when I got back to where everyone was playing volleyball, my socks and shoes were soaked, I was sun burnt from being outside all day, and starving. So I decided to sit down, take my shoes and socks off, put them out in the sun and try and let them dry. And by now, you could have guessed it; the other 199 people were wondering who this foreigner was that was celebrating youth day in Sisian with them. So a few would leisurely come talk to me, or Davit would introduce me, and my other host brother Nairi was there as well, so I met some of his friends. And anyone that knew 2 words of English would come talk to me, I don’t mind it though, some volunteers get annoyed with. I figure I practice my Armenian on them; they can do the same with English.

So the time to eat had finally come. We left at 9am, walked 15k, and it was now 3, so everyone was starving. We literally ate an entire cow. That’s a lot of meat, with lavash, tomatoes, cucs, and cheese. And it was all gone. Not the best meat I have ever had, but at the time it was glorious. OOOO not to mention the homemade wine they had that 6L bottles. That stuff was great. Best wine I have had in Armenia. And I tried a little trick my cousin Michael taught me, she mixes fanta with wine, and I tried it today, not bad. I enjoyed it. So after lots of beef and lavash, and wine, the music started up, and we had people dancing out in the fields. I was able to hide for about 15 minutes, cause they always pull the American to dance. Always. It’s almost like a law in this country. So I got pulled in to dancing in a field with a bunch of Armenian women and one man, and once the American stated dancing the crowd gathered. I wasn’t doing anything spectacular, just the male role of Armenian dancing, which is not much. But everyone seemed to like it and be impressed, so I kept going.

I had to stop dancing for a moment though because I saw something that I had to get a picture of for my friend Katherine Defilipo. She is located in Sevan now and was in Fantan with me. She has odd fetishes, and I saw a 4 year old boy with a rattail that had to be at least 18 inches long, and a shaved head, walking behind his dad, and he had a cigarette in his mouth he was pretending to puff on every time hit father would smoke. It was amazing. Anyway. This was now about 5:15 and we are all exhausted, and sun burnt. But, the day isn’t over. Now we all travel back to the center of the city for a concert that is being held at 8 pm. So we get back to town around 6:15, and I head to my counterparts house for some tea and coffee. I end up falling asleep on the couch, and get woken up by his 7-year-old son Tigran when he licked my arm. Hope it tasted good.

So we head down to the square in front of the university, and it was like back home when the fair came to out local Catholic Church…. Everyone was there. The city stopped so this thing could happen. We listened to a few singers, then me, my host brother Nairi and his wife Anush, and my other brother’s wife Armineh went to a café to sit for a bit. They came to the conclusion that they need to find me an Armenian wife, so every girl that walked by they would ask me what I thought about her. It was funny, I said there homework over the next 2 years is to find the best candidate and I will see what I think…. Don’t worry mom, im not worried and you shouldn’t be either.

So I came home at the end of a very long day, took a shower, then me, momma, Nairi, Anush, and Armineh sat on the balcony and drank juice and tea and talked. I was teaching them the English version of a lot of worms. My host brother Nairi is a riot; he called his wife a smelly worm by the end of the conversation. He is always cracking jokes, I love it. So currently in my house there is 7 people, but wait, there’s more… (kind of like an infomercial). Just as I was walking inside, I heard a knock downstairs outside at the gate. So we go out there, and low and behold it is the 4^th brother I haven’t met, his wife, and 2 daughters. The daughters I have met and they are adorable, and my new brother, Sabat, and his wife Amelia, seem like they are great. And every brother in this family is built like a rock. All of them. Nairi, Vahay, Sabat, and Davit. So lets count it now… yep that makes 11 in house. And I love it… I have a big family at home, so it feels right at home for me.

So all in all, it was a long day. I got a serious cultural experience, and I met a lot of new people. I am happy about it. Including the mayor, who’s first question was when should we expect money coming into the city from me, but that’s ok. I told him when I am fluent in Armenian, so he offered to tutor me ha-ha. Always deflect those types of questions with humor, generally works. Saw three great sites around Sisian, integrated a little bit with the community, now instead being “that American,” I’m “that American that can play football pretty good, and dance really well.” We will see how far that takes me.

What I want you to get from this very lengthy post is that the community connection doesn’t just happen with the current community. The community includes those that have fallen, those that are young, those that are different, and those that have nothing in common except they are a youth in Sisian. Its great to se here that a 17-year-old boy shakes hands with an 11-year-old and asks him how his mother is doing. In the states, you don’t get those connections outside of age groups. Everyone shakes hands, young and old, I have seen a 12-year-old have a conversation with not just one, but groups of people in there late teens, just because they generally care about every person in the town, and keep these relationships for as long as they can. Take that to heart, and think about it. Just because someone is younger or older doesn’t mean you cant have some form of a relatioship with them. And I mean more than a 5 year gap. I like the idea of it.

By the way, my next post will be on how I have become a regular on Armenian television. Ya you heard me right… Fo Sho! Until next time. Minchev Vaghe

"We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race."

I do solemnly swear....

So today is the Peace Corps Armenia Swearing in service. Those of us that have been here for 10 weeks, and are still here, get to finally become PC Volunteers today. So in about an hour and a half, i will now be working as a representative of the US State Department. This is weird to think about since i left home about 11 weeks ago, quit my job, sold or gave away the majority of my possessions, left my friends, family, moved to a new country, learned a new language, lived with a host family, and lived off 3$ a day, only now to be officially a Peace Corps Volunteer. It has been a very difficult 10 weeks, and at times all i could think about was a cheezy gordita crunch from taco bell, but all the food wants aside, i am very happy to finally be in this position. I passed my 2 week teaching practicum, did well on my language proficiceny test (got a higher score than i needed), and showed the want and determination to be in this program for the next 2 years. So today is the day, that i swear to protect my country from all enemies, foreign and domestic, and commit to upholding the values stated by the Peace Corps, and will serve as am American in Armenia for 2 years. Wish me luck, hope i dont trip when i try and shake the hand of the madam ambassador...

It finally happened...

So we all hear stories of when a volunteer accidentally said the wrong Armenian word and something horrible has come out and you don’t know it, and everyone laughs, or cries. Well I was waiting for this to happen, and it finally did.

So for the last 2 weeks, we have had Armenian language in the morning, then in the afternoon for an hour we teach a health related lesson to the local students in our village. Basically everything has been crazy cause we don’t speak the languge very well, and we are trying to be creative, so we spend countless hours preparing, then to just barely get our point across, and we have the worst kids known to man, seriously they are crazy, but still a lot of fun. Whatever though, I signed up for it haha

So on Thursday I was teaching a course on nutrition and I made a little game, so as I was holding something up, I wanted them to look at it…..

Let me stop here and give you a small Armenian language lesson. So in Armenian, they have something called the imperative mood. In English, it may sound rude, but here it is used as a command and it is used a lot in the classroom. So to give you an example, if I wanted to tell the students to come, I would just say yekek, and I would be commanding them to come, so it would be like me just yelling, COME! And it can be used for anything, WRITE, GO, READ. So much for asking politely…

Anyway, so I was wanted my class to look at something, and I was trying to use the verb to see, tesnel, which conjugated in the imperative mood is TESEK. So as the class was getting louder and louder, I knew what to say, and I wanted them to listen and look, so I meant to say LESEK yev TESEK, LISTEN and LOOK.

However, here is the punch line. So instead of saying TESEK, I didn’t pronounce the first E, so I said TSEK. And I repeated it like 4 times, TSEK, TSEK, TSEK, TSEK. After which they all started to snicker, and so did my tech trainer who was observing me teach. I forgot to mention that I was teaching 13 and 14 year olds, the age where no one is immature at all… ya right.

So turns out that the word I was saying, TSEK, is the verb to fart…. Ya. So I was repeating it over and over again to some 14 year olds, fart fart fart. And I wasn’t just politely asking, remember I was using the imperative case. So I was commanding them, all, to fart, 4 times. Its like if some one from an authoritative position just started yelling at you to fart instantly. I didn’t know this of course, we don’t use the verb to fart in class, it isn’t on our list of important verbs to know, although it should be.

So after the class was over, I was given this information in my feedback discussion from my tech trainer, and we all had a good laugh about it.

So needless to say pronunciation of every letter in a word is now on my list of things to practice before my final language proficiency test which is on Monday. I don’t think the testers would appreciate it if I walked in and started commanding them to fart….

“Humor is merely tragedy standing on its head with its pants torn.”

What I have learned since moving to Armenia: Part 1

Things I have learned in Armenia: Part 1

How to sheer sheep

How to bath and make tea with the same pot of hot water, simultaneously

How to brush, rinse, and wash my face in 4 oz of water

How to hide candy in any and all pockets discreetly so I don’t have to eat it when it is offered, which is every 4 minutes

How to make a potato in 3090948974 different ways that are edible

How to live off 3$ a day (still working on that one)

How to make it look like I have bathed, that one gets more fun after 6 days of no water

How to shower while standing in a bucket, and using a second bucket for washing, so I can conserve water and re-use it

How to some what effectively use a squat toilet

How to combat sweating by putting more clothes on….. odd theory

How to wear the same clothes for 4 days straight and still smell atleast moderately ok

How to protect my self from flies landing on my face during the night

How to protect my food from flies, that one is also a work in progress

How to navigate through cow, sheep, dog, and bird poo all at once while walking, day or night

How to use a squat toilet at 2am, in the rain, while I am sick, and feverish

How to go to the bathroom without having to leave my room at 2am, when its raining and I am sick, oh yeah, multiple methods

How to make Armenian coffee

How to become every kids best friend that is under the age of 16, just kick a soccer ball

How to say thank you 5 different ways in the same language

How to take away back pain, just whack yourself with stinging neddle plants

How to eat the same meal for 3 days, and always look excited about it

I learned that I don’t like eating goat heart and lung for breakfast, or at any meal for that matter

How to decapitate a goat, hang it by a tree, skin it, then eat it 4 hours later, i didn't actually do this, but was inadvertently a witness

That everything was actually invented in Armenia, whether you knew it or not, and every Armenian will tell you that

That my body can produce more sweat by sitting in a 90 minute marshutni (public, cramped, hot transport) ride that an entire 90 min soccer game in Florida during the summer heat

That hospitality for Armenians can happen at 7am or 11pm, you will always be invited in for coffee any day, any time, any weather condition

That Armenia is one of the most beautiful and interesting countries I have ever been too

This list will keep growing, part 2 will be here soon…

"Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken."

Kickball

This is a short post, I am hopefully going to do a better one sometime this week.

So yesterday we had an epic game of kickball. It was all the A-17 vs A-18. That is the current group that is in Armenia that is a year in, and everyone that is new. So we traveled to a local village that had an indoor facility where we could play. The A-17’s were talking smack all day, claiming to be undefeated since they won this game last year against the A-16’s.

Not sure why, but I just walked up and became the coach for the A-18’s. We went through the rules, and the game started. We didn’t do very well the first inning, it was 4-1 to the A-17’s. Over time though, we slowly regaining ground on them, and it was a very good game. Their was a few questionable calls by the ref, who was an A-17. Conveniently might I add. The ref was also the pitcher, kicker, and base coach. Ya, your seeing why they are undefeated. In the last inning we brought it back to 10-9, we were down by one. I was pitching, and got the third out by laying out in the air to catch a pop fly, which felt great when I landed on the gym floor beneath me. Not really. So then we had a great play, confidence was growing, game got tight, we were ready to kick and take the lead….. and perfectly they call the game saying the facility wanted us to go ahead and leave. Which is still questionable if you ask me. And now we are gonna have to wait till November to allvol conference to beat them in basketball. We will let them enjoy the little bit of victory for the time being….

Life is about Experiences, Don't Miss Any

Tonight I was up late watching the Germany Vs Spain world cup match. In Armenia it didn’t start till 11:30, so it didn’t end till around 1:30. Just before the game was over my host dad came home from a long trip out to another section of the country where he was selling Honey. He asked me to help him with something for 5 minutes before I went to bed, I agreed.

We were breaking down the back of his truck and I had to stand on top of our barn in the middle of the night waiting 25 minutes for him to loosen the bolts so he could hand me the planks of wood. I started to become frustrated, because I have language at 9 am, and this has been way passed 5 minutes.

After about 15 min of waiting, I started to walk around on the roof, and I just happened to look up. And what did I see? I saw a clear night sky, with every star imaginable shining and looking down at me. I stood in amazement, silently, just gauzing upward toward the heavens. It was quiet, dark, and unmistakably one of the best moments I have had since I have been in Armenia.

You could see every star that God has ever created, in every direction, they seemed endless. It was something I had never seen before. I mean sure, I have seen stars, but not in a sky that seemed to be showing them off to me. It was like I was being presented a gift, only for my eyes to see, and for me to share only with myself. I felt so infinitely small. They looked like little diamonds in the sky, and no I wont start singing a Beatles song.

But rather I would like to remind those that read this, take time out of each week to do something that just drops your jaw. Something that takes your breath away. These events are the ones that make you realize that, life is about experiences, and you only have one chance to get as many experiences as you can. Not only is it a big world, but that world is yours to discover. It is waiting for you. Whether it be a one day road trip through Washington state, or going to a festival and celebrating in a new country, or even teaching health in Armenia.

Few and far between come these moments when you realize that there is a bigger purpose, and that you can but only make a ripple in history, so how big do you want that ripple to be. I know that I wont change the world by teaching health in Armenia as a Peace Corps Volunteer. But I can affect all those that I meet and maybe change one small thing in their lives. And if you add every Peace Corps Volunteer, just in Armenia, and multiply it by how many lives they can affect in Armenia, then take those that were affected and spread the same change a little further, you get numbers that only a few in history have reached alone. And you get a ripple that went from a small village in Fantan, Armenia to a world wide effect. It happens everyday, you just don’t see it. Little ripples that combine with other little ripples, and that eventually become a big ripple, and creates change that took a small girl from a poor uneducated village, to Medical School, and returning to that village to educate, treat, and change that village. It is this affect we are trying to have on our small villages and students we teach. It is this effect that we sacrifice 2 years of our life for; not for the betterment of ourselves, but for the generational effect we could have on a village, town, or nation. This is why we do it, and for everyone at home still wondering why, now you know. So I dare you to do something that takes your breath away in the next 3 days. Something you have never done before, or something that gives you that feeling of escape I have been writing about.

The Peace Corps isn’t about finding myself out in the middle of an Armenian field, only to return home changed and a better individual. Will that happen, most likely, but not in a field, and not on purpose. It will happen through cold winters, struggling through conversations because we don’t speak the language very well, and giving in to letting go of the “I am from America and I need to fix everything” mentality. Let this experience, or whatever experience you are after, fix you. Let it get inside your soul, breath it deep into your lungs, and live in it as much as you can with your own eyes. No one can have that experience but you, so take it, make it yours, and don’t give it back. Keep it with you forever and let it change who you are deep inside of you. To me that is the true definition of fulfillment. And that is why we serve…..

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"

-Ghandi

Evolution of Dance

So one friday evening all the PCV's in Fantan were allowed to go to Yerevan with our Language teachers for an amazing experience. Were went to an outside traditional armenian dance class. There had to have been 300-400 people there, mostly around our age, just there to dance and have a good time. The teacher is a Armenian legend and brought his studio dancers with him. They were all dressed in the traditional wear and were great. We learned about 4 separate dances. They all basically require you to be in a line or a circle. And you move around in a circle. They were a lot of fun, and they have alot of fun while doing this.

They had one dance that is a Men Only Military Dance. It was great, i really wanna try and learn that while i am here. It is a lot of jumping and hand smacking. There is also a dance called "The Lord's Dance" which of course i am gonna learn also.

It was great to see the you g and old coming together. The young Armenians of 15-25 were there to learn their traditional dances, and be a part of something that their ancestors have been doing for thousands of years. Some of them even trace back to Pagan times in Armenia. This connection of National Identity and Ancestral Influences is really something to see in person. If you think about it, dance in America has evolved dramatically in the 234 years we have been a nation. WE have gone from traditional Manor House dancing, to Ballroom, Swing, Ballet, Lindy-hop, and now have such things as Clown and Krunk Dancing. However, this evolution of dance has not carried with it any historical dances that everyone knows. This is something we drop off and forget about. However, nations like Armenia not only still teach these dances, but they also still feel the connection with those individuals that created them. They dance them with National Pride and in an effort to remember those in Armenian history that danced them before and those that have fallen in the timeline. Every movement has meaning, every step has a precise reason, and every dance remembers the history of a nation. Simple things like this are a large part of the reason why Armenians, here and in Diaspora, look towards the future by looking in their past. They see the great nation that once was and believe one day the Armenia of History's Past will come to fruition again and blossom into the beautiful flower of old. And you can see that, not only in conversation but in speech, dance, work, and everyday life. Every moment for them is in remembrance of what once was and one day will be again. Maybe one day i can learn these dances well enough to bring them back to the states to show you the pride and history of a nation through dance. That is definately an easy task given how much my language teacher, Lala, dances. I hope one day you can see the Armenia of old through dance, it really is a site to see. Until Next Time...

"The truest expression of a people is in its dance and in its music. Bodies never lie." ~Agnes de Mille

Site Announcement!!

So today I got my final site announcement. This is the location of where I will be stationed after my 10 weeks of training, and where I will be working and living for the next 2 years, needless to say, we have all been on pins and needles on where we are going, and more importantly, who will be close to us. SOOO, on to the great news.

I will be placed in the most southern region called Syunik Marz, it a town called Sisian. This is a town of about 18,000 people, and is in a beautiful area. I am excited about it, and I am looking forward to this location. And yet it still gets better….

They told us that all of us CHE volunteers (community health education), that we would be placed in schools. So that is what I have been planning on hearing from them. HOWEVER, I have been posted in a Non-Governmental Organization called the Sport and Art Development Center. It is not a school. It is a training and education facility for sports. They mainly teach and train in boxing and kickboxing, however from what I can understand, they are looking to expand. And that’s where I come in. I will be helping in everyday office work, as well as planning and logistics for summer sports camps. We host and participate in sport competitions not only in the region, but also at the republic level, so we will be going around Armenia to different tournaments. THIS IS AMAZING NEWS FOR ME. My major in college was World Comparative Studies (international studies) and Sports and Fitness. And now I have been placed in a Sport Organization in an international setting. Sounds like I fell into something perfect for me!!!

I am very excited ready for the next step. Thank you to those of you that prayed for a good posting for me. I also have great volunteers around me, and have 2 in my same town, and about 6 within 15km in small villages close to my town. So tons of people to hang out with and share this experience with. I am completely happy and amazed at how great this has turned out. I hope you are as excited as I am and continue following my journey.

I have 2 posts coming soon. Ill give you a little taste of what they are about. The first is about the night all Fantan Americans went into Yerevan and learned traditional Armenian dances under the moonlight with a national professional dance teacher. And the other is my cultural trip to the Armenia Genocide museum. That post will be interesting since I have spent time in Turkey during a study abroad, and Turkey is the country that Armenia is trying to hold accountable as the perpetrators of the genocide. That one may take some time. Keep checking back and I will check updating you!!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Mark Twain

Naked Ginger Sheep

So last week I had the honor of becoming a man. It felt good. It even smelled good. I think my voice even got deeper.

I was on the top porch of my house, which has an amazing view of a local mountain or Sarr. And yes I will slowly initiate Armenian Words for you to learn as you read. So, back to my becoming a man. Anyway, I was up there looking at the beautiful view (geghetsik teseran), speaking with my mother in the US on the phone, when my host father walks out, puts a giant tarp down in the middle of are little area between the barn and the house, and walked back in to the barn for a bit longer. I kept on with my conversation like nothing was going on. Little did I know what was about to happen. The hair on my chest was perked and ready to grow. So when I saw my host father walk out, he was dragging/wrestling/forcing a sheep into the courtyard, he then plopped it down on its side, and pulled out what, as far as I could tell, something that resembled the hands of Edward scissor hands. I then said to my mother, “Mom I need to go, my host dad is either about to sheer a sheep, or kill one, either way I gotta go…” she was quite puzzled, but we ended the chat.

I then went down, and as I was hoping my host father was about to sheer a white, long-coated, smelly sheep. I knew right away this was going to be fun. I then smiled at him and nodded in approval. He nodded back. From what I understand this was him approving my move toward him and the sheep, and about me become a village man. I knew I was in once I got the nod of approval from him. So he handed me his extra set of big-boy sheers, and we went to work. Its kind of like cutting grass with scissors. You take your time, cutting one section at a time, and you don’t cut too close to the skin, but you get close enough that you don’t waste all the good stuff.

As you sheer, you roll it back like carpet, keeping it one big piece. O ya, this is all while you pin the sheep down your knees. Not forcefully or in a mean manner, but just so he doesn’t squirm and he cut himself on the sheers. I was very slow when I started, and my host father was like a Super Sheerer. If this was in the Olympics, he would most definitely represent Armenia. So after the first one, I was high on life and ready to go. So he had me drag/wrestle/force it back to the pen, and said, grab the karmir one. (Karmir is red). So I grabbed the ginger sheep, and had a good time showing him that I wasn’t taking no as an answer. So we struggled together all the way back to our barber station, cleaned and ready next for our patron. We repeated this process 3 times the first night, and 3 times the next night. The ginger sheep was a feisty one, he did not enjoy his yearly haircut, and really gave us a struggle for the entire time. He had a little fire in him….HA!

Anyway, I felt like me helping with this aspect of village life really showed them I wasn’t just some American there living on their land. I wanted to help in some way, and I think the only way I will be able to is if I join in random events like this. They wont let me have any part in the housework, barn work, or cooking. Although I think I have convinced my host mother to let me milk the cow. I will keep you updated on that one.

The 2^nd night, I invited some PCT’s (Peace Corps Trainees, that’s what they call us during training until we swear in as volunteers.) over to watch. Maggie, Katie, and Sam came over. My camera is broken, so thankfully Sam and Katie took photos of it, and as soon as I get those, they will be posted asap.

Things to get from this post:

1- Karmir = red

2- Sarr = mountain

3- Geghetsik Tesaran = beautiful view

4- There are such things as Ginger Sheep, and they are mean and feisty

5- I will soon be milking cows/goats,

So keep reading, I also have a great story of celebrating Founder’s Day in Fantan which we had just a bit ago. I hope you come back soon and keep reading my journey!

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

A Nation Within Words

So I have realized something this evening. I was debating on whether or not to blog and if anyone would care what I wanted to write about. And I thought about how this blog is my connection with a lot of people back in the US. However, I had a larger revelation. I realized this blog isn’t for me. Not at all. Quite different actually, this blog is for you. This blog is how you can see how life is in Armenia. That may be my life, that may be my Host families’ life. Or that even may be just the description of the landscape and their traditions. But for whatever reason this blog is meant to be a resource for everyone not in Armenia, to see what Armenia is like. And I hope you know I will try to do my best and show you the true side of a life in Armenia. With that I mind I will try to describe more things in full that way you get a full feel of the situation here. I hope you will take even a little bit away from this, and see that even though most of you reading this don’t know where Armenia is, Armenia knows where America is. And they have their own inclinations and ideas about Americans. Obviously one of my tasks here will be to show them what a true American is like, and not this fake, airbrushed version of what they see and think we are all. So I will do my part. All I ask is that you do your part. Look up Armenia. Take a moment to realize who they are and what they are all about. I will do my very best to put into words what I see and do, but that can only be a part of it. I ended my last post with a quote saying "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page", well I am here to at least give you a small caption on that page, or maybe a photograph that you can add to that page. Hopefully I can paint you a picture well enough that the scope of this nation and its people make you realize how great a small, landlocked, former-soviet nation can be. This is a country of tradition, belief, and they are a current state of transition. They are still trying to find their place in the region and in the world. With so many nations to learn about, why Armenia? Well being here 3 weeks, I can already tell you why. This country has some of the most stunning landscape, and if my picture loads, you can see that. The people will drop everything to help you, and wont even flinch to accommodate you. They invite you in to their homes every chance they have, and feel honored to have you at their house. They want you to learn about Armenia, but they also want you to learn about where they came from, which includes and long and dark history. But you cant know Armenia without knowing these things. And once you think you know about them, then you really see you will never understand what they have gone through. All you can do is observe from as a 3rd party participant. And it really is great to be in a country with so much history, because it draws you in, and you feel like with every story at each persons house you go to for coffee, you are walking in history daily. And you are constantly learning, questioning, and re-learning.
I hope that this blog is a informative, educational resource that whoever reads it can feel like they have experienced life in Armenia. Or that it may inspire you to even travel here one day. They say experience is the best teacher, and I cant teach you everything about this country, you have to experience it. Taste it, smell it, laugh in it, squat in it, speak in it, smile in it, play in it, and just feel it. Once you do that, then they will likely call you family. And no matter where you go in the world, you can always return to you Hayaren Entanik. (Armenian Family)

Hajotsutsun

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

New Friends, New Family - Staging May 26, 2010

Sorry this is so late. I just got internet! I will be posting a few over the next few days to catch up!!

We all arrived at the hotel to a giant line waiting to check everyone in. The awkward hello’s began right away. After a few minutes things became a little better, but it is still slightly awkward for the first few hours. We had the honor of having the Peace Corps Director come and speak with us, it was a pretty big deal cause he hardly ever makes it to a staging event. We went over rules and regs, and the formal stuff, signed my life away, and went out for my last meal in America. We went to an Italian restaurant I ordered the steak, and it was perfect for a last meal. Then we all went out to a local hangout in Georgetown called Rhino’s. I had been there the evening before with 5 other volunteers that arrived early as well and my brother Arthur and his wife Amy. Good place, plenty of room for us to hang out and really get to know each other.

The next morning was full of re-packing and getting ready for a long plane flight to Vienna, followed by a 14 hour layover, with another 4 hour flight, making us arrive in Yerevan, Armenia at 4:45 AM. Surprisingly I wasn’t that tired when I arrived. I think it was the excitement of my year and a half build up finally settling in that I was in Armenia. Right when we arrived we went to a historic site where we were going to watch the sun rise with Mt Ararat in the background. It was supposed to be epic, but it decided to rain that morning, and although we still went to the site, Mt Ararat was no where to be found. I will brief you on the importance of Armenia and Mt. Ararat in another post, but it is basically their version of Mecca. The First day in Armenia, we traveled to our hotel that we would be staying in for the next 3 days of PST, Pre-Service Training. It was pretty good, nothing fancy at all, but I didn’t sign up for the Fancy Hotel Corps, so it was above what I expected. The rest of the day was filled with micro-naps, getting paperwork, giving back paperwork, and so much information.

But it was good to know that everyone there was in the same shoes I was in. We each took a leap of faith in joining, and we left behind lives, jobs, friends, family, and relationships. Putting into terms of we are all equal in this way, helps you realize you aren’t the only one giving up something for this. But we all believe that our return on investment with this will easily be worth it. Taking this step in our lives will forever change it, for the better, no matter what happens. And I now know that I am better for having even met some of the other volunteers. This adventure is one that you can’t find anywhere, and the opportunity to join was a great honor, and a privilege. I am glad that I get to travel in this time of my life, and I think everyone should. Until next time…

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page."

Adventure, or No Adventure, That is the Question

In preparation for my entrance into Armenian life and exit from American life, I have been making plans to see family, getting rid of a lot of the clutter I own, and trying to set up as easy a transition as I can. As I was making my decision to leave, I spoke with my brother Peter, who works all over the world with the State Dept. of Foreign Service, and I asked him what made him leave the country and pursue a life abroad. I have always wanted to do this, but now that the opportunity is here, I look at my comfortable life here and think, Do I really wanna leave this... And as I think about that, I see that things change: People, places, friends, family, work, etc. They all change, whether I am in Armenia or here in Orlando, Fl. As I look at what relationships I have, questions about whether or not I should go, and if its the right decision, I stumbled upon this quote.

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."

- Andre Gide.

To me it means that if I want the kind of life that makes other people jealous, if I want the type of experiences people wish they had, if I want to see things that can't be seen in a book, then going to Armenia isn't a hard decision. I feel sometimes its easy to sit in my comfortable bed or couch, turn on the TV with a bazillion channels, drive up to Taco Bell at 2am for a cheesy gordita crunch and think, no I am comfortable here, no need to leave. But where is the mystery involved in that, where is the adrenaline, the wonder, amazement, astonishment, where is the part of you inside that screams out I AM ALIVE. I think its gets lost. I think it sits dormant deep within, cause just like you, its too comfortable to come out and see whats past the shore line. Whats even more frightening is the massive number of people that don't even realize there is a shoreline to go past. So yes, I am going to Armenia, and yes, i will be creating a life that some can only read about or dream about. But it doesn't mean we all aren't capable of doing it... all you have to do is leave the beach, head into the horizon, and not stop till you find what your looking for...

It's Official!

It is official. I will be serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Armenia as a Community Health Extension. Its kind of hard to believe that after a year and 3 months of applying, calling, waiting, and more waiting, I have finally been invited to serve. I called this past thursday and accepted my posting. So as of right now I leave on May 31 for the adventure of a lifetime. Hopefully it fulfills what I expect.

I will say that part of me is hesitant, leaving home, friends, family, certain people and relationships for 27 months to a country most dont even know where it is on a map. The language barrier wont be easy, but i guess that is why they say the PC is the "toughest job you will ever love." I do feel kind of lucky though, i read that in 2008 11,000 applied to the PC, and they only accepted 4,000. So given the recent "economic downturn," I am sure that application number jumped higher in the year I applied. Hopefully I can overcome the trials and challenges that each volunteer faces, I am sure I will be just fine though, Guess i will find out soon enough. My only problem now is figuring out how and when to quit my current job. I will keep you informed as what my next steps are as I get them. As of right now I know I have to get an H1N1 vaccination, submit forms for a special issued passport, and send my resume and an apsiration statement to my country of service. The work has already started...

Armenia!

So i heard from the PC yesterday. I received a large packet filled with information telling me i have been assigned to be a Community Health Volunteer in Armenia!!

So here is what i know so far. My departure date is May 31, 2010 to Philadelphia, where i will meet up with all the other newbies and we will have a one day orientation. Then we all fly out together on June 1st for the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia.

Once we arrive we go to a host family that we will be living with for the next 10-11 weeks. During these 10-11 weeks the entire group will have training in language, culture, safety, diversity, etc. and once we pass our language test, we will be sent out somewhere else in the country. I wont know my final posting site until then because it is determined upon need at that time. At the new site i will live with a family again for about a month, then i can either find my own place or stay with them if they like.

My official posting will last from August 13, 2010 - August 14, 2012.

Whewww!! After applying over a year ago i finally got in!

So, next steps:

I have 10 days to respond on whether i want the job or not. So keep me in your prayers as i consider what the best option is. I will keep you updated as much as possible.