Armenia: Poor and Unhappy... They said it, not me

I saw an interesting post by a friend on Facebook, and decided to do some research about the subject. This comes from www.worldvaluessurvey.org. The title of the article is, "Development, Freedom, and Rising Happiness: A Global Perspective (1981–2007)."

The article challenges the current idea about how happiness is believed to be at a set level and revolving around a set point, and that individuals or societies can not change this. However, this article goes on to argue that through such changes like democratization, economic development, and increased social tolerance have increased the extent to which people perceive that they have free choice, which in turn has led to higher levels of happiness around the world.

Because the happiness levels of given societies do not seem to change over time, the idea that economic development brings rising happiness has been widely rejected. Although richer nations show that they have a higher subjective well-being than poorer countries, these differences may reflect cultural differences in what happiness means.

"The people of high-income countries are much happier and are more satisfied with life than are the people of low-income countries, and the differences are substantial. In Denmark, 52% of the public indicated that they were highly satisfied with their lives (placing themselves at 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale), and 45% said they were very happy. In Armenia, only 5% were highly satisfied with their lives, and just 6% were very happy. In contrast to the small income-linked differences usually found within most countries, the cross-national differences are extremely large."

It goes on to explain that this survey was not allowed into the ex-communist societies until after the collapse, so the long-term data can not be taken.

"But let us note that Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine all have shown much lower levels of Subjective Well-Being than their economic levels would predict... ...We suspect that these low levels reflect the traumatic experiences linked with the collapse of communism."

I havent asked an Armenia if they are happy, specifically. But I have always stated that they will always give you an answer of hardship. Whenever I ask certain community members how things are going, they always answer with, "Its cold... We have no work... It was a bad year for fruit, last year was better..." or some type of answer always on the negative point of view. This is kind of disconcerting, even when I explain that I came here to help, and that I think there is opportunity to do many things here, they always tell me that there is no hope for Sisian.

I dont write this to show how negative Armenians are, or to express that I think this country is hopeless. I write it to show what we are up against. This is the statistic my friend posted:

According to World Values Surveys from 1995 to 2007, the 10 unhappiest places on Earth are:
1. Zimbabwe, 2. Armenia, 3. Moldova, 4. Belarus, 5. Ukraine, 6. Albania, 7. Iraq, 8. Bulgaria, 9. Georgia, 10. Russia.

Do you notice how many of them are CIS countries? (Commonwealth of Independent States) ...Google it...

People talk about other places in the world that need help, and ask me why I was sent to an area that in Peace Corps is coded as "The Caucus Region of Eastern Europe." They say, how lucky to have been sent somewhere so nice as that. One friend, that shall remain nameless, said she heard that Peace Corps Volunteers in this region live in condo's and have wireless internet, and what's so hard about that she asked. Well, 8 of the unhappiest countries are in Eastern Europe, and out of 4 countries within the Caucus Region, 3 of them are on this list as well. And by the way, we dont live in condo's, nor do we have wireless internet.

Peace Corps is different in every country. You learn that very quickly. We may not live as physically hard as those volunteers that are on the Serengeti, or live with the Masai Tribes in Africa. You can get used to crapping in a hole, or not showering for weeks, or not having electricity. And I will dare to say that 95% of Volunteers around the world do not fall into what the general public believes is the regular stereotype for a Peace Corps life. But we have much harder things than that.The hard part, for me at least, is being in a country that breeds a depressive mood, and shows no interest in why you are here, or in helping you, let alone themselves. Perseverance and Determination are what drives all volunteers, especially on the worst days.

Food for thought...

Coming this Spring..

So we have these things in Peace Corps called VRF. Volunteer Reporting Form. They are due every 3 months, and they are the worst things in the world. They take a long time to complete, are annoying, and very comprehensive. BUT, they also make you look forward to thing you will be doing soon. After I wrote this entry in the “Planned Activities” section. I am excited to read this and I thought I should share this with my avid readers (all 2 of you… mom and dad). Enjoy! Oh yeah, I will post the rest of trip to Ethiopia soon. And this is a picture of Me, Tylor, and Aaron on a walk in the snow. This is where Aaron and his wife Lauren live, Shaghat Village, enjoy...

I am currently planning a soccer tournament for my region for late March to early April. There is a lot of interest in playing soccer here, but only a select few participate in an organized fashion. So this will be a small-sided tourney, each team having 5 players: 4 playing and 1 sub. I am trying to partner with the Armenian Football Federation’s “Football in General Schools” program. This program has the same objective as mine basically. I also want to pair this with a Health Fair the same day or weekend, that way we can explain the importance of being active and being involved with sports. We will cover both the physical benefits, as well as the mental and behavioral benefits of participating in organized sports.

I am working with an individual that wants to start a organization with the idea of helping community members with disabilities know their rights, so they wont be taken advantage of. That will hopefully create a more transparent use of government funds in the area of disabled persons right and access.

I am forming a partnership with the Civic Center of Sisian, in which I will hopefully help in their projects that extend out in to the surrounding villages. Their programs cover things like Human Rights Seminars, Health Assertiveness and Community Health Needs, Business Development, and free use of a lawyer for legal consultations.

I am trying to start a geography club at the local Community Center. This would be a club free to all that want to attend. We will speak in Armenian, but they will learn all book related knowledge in English. This is mainly to expand their scope of the world, as well as their English knowledge. It will start with local geography (rivers, mountains, hills, etc.) that way they can connect it to what they know. Then it will branch out into the Caucasus Region, then onto other continents. I also have access to Discovery Channel videos in Russian, which will let them see video’s of some of the places we will be learning about.

I am currently trying to get involved with a Sports School next door to my NGO, which has facilities to train athletes in soccer, basketball, and volleyball. I am trying to for a relationship with the Director so that he will let me use the facilities for local community games and sports clubs. I am toying with the idea of trying to start a few leagues for different sports.

We are currently in the process of planning a poetry contest for Sisian and the surrounding villages. This will be done with all other PCV’s in the area, including myself, and my NGO will sponsor the event. We will have children read, remember, then recite poems in English. They will be judged on many things: pronunciation, recitation, inflection, etc. This is to help let them practice their English, as well as learn how it may be correctly spoken.

I am currently working with a FLEX alumnus that lives in Sisian to write a grant for their FLEX alumni grant. With this grant, we plan to give heat to the local history museum, do small restorations, and provide a summer camp for kids that will take them out to historical sites around Sisian and they will do excavation. This is a brand new project that isn’t fully developed, but is becoming quite impressive in its initial stages.

My New Address!

Copy this over to a Word Document and Print it out and put on boxes or whatever your sending. All of it, it needs both the English and the Armenian. And don't trouble yourself with trying to write the armenian... lets just be serious now. Just Copy, Paste, Print, then Glue...Its the easiest way to do it!!!

Alex Lord 15 Sisakan Street Apartment 8 3501 Sisian, Armenia Syunik Marz

Հայաստան Սյռւնիքի Մարզ 3501 Սիսիան Սիսական փողոց 15/8 Ալեքս Լորդ

Ethiopia Part 1 - The Art of Travel

So I had a very interesting experience going from my small town in Armenia to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I left Dec 19^th, to make the 4-hour trip up to Yerevan, then planned on leaving the 20^th to go from Yerevan to Tbilisi, Georgia, and my flight was leaving on the 21^st at 3:30 am. My flight path was as follows: Tbilisi, Georgia-Munich, Germany, Munich-Frankfurt, and Frankfurt-Addis Ababa. So the trip up to Yerevan was interesting because I get on the Marshutni, public transport, and there is a woman from Addis Ababa on the van with me. I spent the 4-hour trip discussing the differences between the Armenia and Ethiopia, and what I have to do while in Addis. Her and her husband, who is from France, were very nice. In Yerevan we exchanged information and both promised to talk after the holidays. So in Yerevan I stayed with some friends that night, and planned to leave for Tbilisi the next day around noon. When I woke up I was explaining something about our PC ID’s and why they have our passport # on them when it hit me… I left my passport in Sisian, 4 hours away. I couldn’t believe I had done this, I made lists on what needed to be done and everything, but somehow Passport didn’t make it on any of those lists. So I called my site mate Ben, who went to my apartment, got my passport, and gave it to the marshutni driver to hand to me in Yerevan. Oddly enough, I was totally confident in my passport making in with no hiccups. Only problem was that the marshutni was leaving at 12:30pm, it takes on average 4 hours to get to Yerevan, and my marshutni to Tbilisi was leaving at 5pm, from a different Bus station. So giving everything went perfect, my passport would arrive at 4:30, and I had 30min to go half way across the city. To put my mind at ease, I went to the station where the marshutni was leaving from and negotiated a taxi that was going. This way, the taxi could wait for me if anything happened to the passport on the way from Sisian. It was a little more expensive, but I was also sharing it with 2 other people, and he agreed to take me all the way to the airport, which would save me money in the long run. Passport arrived a little before 4:30, I tipped the driver 1,000 dram (3$) and say he is a lifesaver. My Taxi picked me up and I was in Tbilisi and at the airport by midnight. Little did I know this was only the first of many problems and events for this trip.

Flying from Tbilisi to Munich was no problem, easy, maybe a 3-hour flight. Once I got into Munich the fun started. Right when I landed snow began to fall. And when I it was time to board my flight to Frankfurt, the airline closed the Frankfurt airport due to weather. Yes, I was one of the thousands of travelers stuck in airports during the 2010 holiday season. So as I was discussing options with the flight crew for Lufthansa, they informed me that even if the airport opened within the next 2 hours, I would still my flight fro Frankfurt-Addis because they were so backed up with other flights that needed to go out first. So I made decision, and told them to get me a train ticket within Germany from Munich-Frankfurt. My thought was, no matter when the airports opened up, if I am already in Frankfurt, I only need to catch one plane and not 2. The 2^nd being within Germany from Munich-Frankfurt. I thought it made more sense to wait in the airport that was taking me to my final destination. So they paid for a 4-hour train in Germany. Which turned out to be amazing. I had only spent one day in Germany back in 2007, and so I saw a new Germany, a beautiful, snow covered Germany. Once I got into Frankfurt, it was a Madhouse!!! Thousands of people just waiting in line, and sitting around, and laying on cots. So I found what line I needed to be in, and after about an hour of waiting, I got to a desk. This woman said my flight was already canceled and she only had one flight that she could put me on stand by for. So I took it. So I had about 11 hours to kill in the airport. So I walked around, ate some food, had a good German beer, and spoke with other travelers stuck in this Voyager’s Limbo. We shared experiences and laughed at how worked up people would get about airlines that were handing out free food, and they would get so mad if all they got for free was ham and not turkey. Its free food people, its much better than paying 10$ for McDonald’s. So anyway, I waited at the gate for my potential flight that was supposed to be leaving at 11pm. They announced there are 31 stand by passengers. I thought, “O Great, im spending the holidays in the Airport.” So as they are calling names and filling empty seats, people are waiting like it’s the Price Is Right and running to the gate when their name is called. They say, “We have only 2 seats left…. Mr. Lord and (don’t remember her name) Please come to the Front Desk.” BAM!! Im on the flight!!! Im excited cuz this means I may be finally able to get some sleep. I look at my check in Ticket and it says seat 1D, I think to myself, SWEEET, I get the Emergency Row with extra legroom. So im getting on the plane, talking to some little cutie that attends Boston College and is traveling to India to see her family, and I walk straight on and they say, “Your seat is to the left, very front row.” But everyone when they walk on the plane is taking a right… I think to myself, hmmm interesting. I part with the cute Bostonian girl and walk to the front row, find 1D and my jaw drops… I AM IN 1^ST CLASS! You betcha. I sit down and instantaneously a glass of champagne is handed to me. Did I mention the flight is 7.5 hours to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia? O Ya. I sat in the lap of luxury, and the complete opposite of everything meant to be Peace Corps.

So needless to say I didn’t mind having to wait 11 hours, and be on stand by for this trip. It was all worth it in the end… or so I thought.

I left the 30^th at 11am, and had the same flight path: Addis-Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Munich, and Munich-Tbilisi. Everything was on time and smooth on the first 2 flights. Then on the flight from Munich-Tbilisi, everything landed on me at once. Basically I had been traveling for around 22 hours, and this flight was a 3-hour flight leaving at 11pm, and arriving at 3:45am. So I planned to sleep the entire way. Fate had a different idea of what I would be doing. So I get on the flight, and am having a great conversation to the woman across the aisle about the state of Armenia as being a CIS country. CIS is the Commonwealth of Independent States, an Organization created for all post-Soviet Nations. It was very interesting because she has a Doctorate from Harvard, and when we talking about health initiatives in villages, she was so surprised to here what I thought about it and how to get it to work. She said she was going to re-design her entire project on Village Health Interface. So as we are having this discussion, 20 min into the flight, some parents with twins around the age of 5 start disciplining their kids. Which makes them cry, and they do not stop crying the ENTIRE flight. Its 1am, and it is as if I am in a day care that was just told Barney was canceled forever, they were soooooo loud. One of the starts crying heavily, and starts cough. And I look at the guy on my right and I say, “That kid sounds like he is going to puke he is crying so hard, the parents may want to…” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence when I turn around and in the seat behind me the kid starts puking everyyywherrrreeee. Luckily the kid missed me by about 4 inches. It was all over the aisle and the back of my seat. I almost puked from hearing, then seeing, then smelling it. Now comes the big finale. The Flight Attendant comes over with a flash light, looks at it and says, “Oh Dear, Im gonna need help with this.” Did she go get another flight attendant, no, did she ask the parents to help, no, what about the kid that puked, no… She asked me to help. I’ve dealt with puking children before, no problem, but after 24 hours of no sleep, I was not in the mood. But she was cute, and I have a soul, so I said yes I will help. I had to hold the flashlight and the trash bag while she rubbed disinfectant wipes on it. And I couldn’t just hold the light, I had to show her where to clean, so I had to actively look for puke for her to clean up. Once it was all done, the parents didn’t even apologize or say thank you, they just let the kids continue to cry. Now come the fruits of my labor. Since I helped clean it up, they gave me a free bottle of a Chilean 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Not an airplane version of a bottle, a real bottle, the whole thing. And in Armenia, the wine sucks, so I was ecstatic to get this bottle of wine. I drank it with my new friends I met at the Star Hostel in Tbilisi, Georgia (this is my plug for them, its by far the best hostel in Tbilisi). My new friends Tyler and Kat, and April from Hong Kong. Good people, Great times, and Good fun.

Soon to follow will be a post about my time in Ethiopia, look forward to that!!

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