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 4th 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."
