Volume I Number 10: October 28, 2004
Armenia Journal Entry #151: Moving Again, Hikes, Wood, String Cheese Incident!
Howdy,
It’s almost been 5 months since we left the states for Armenia. It’s hard to believe. At times, we think “Wow, this is really flying by” and then others times we think “Boy, this is going to be a long 2 years!” We’re just taking it one day at a time and relishing in the simple things that we find pleasure in. Once our time is up here, Armenia will have been our longest stay in one area since we met each other.
We are going to be moving in a few weeks. We have had some adjustment issues with our current host family and decided that it would be best for us to live with another family. The family is fine with it; at least that is what they are telling us. If you have any mail on the way then it should reach us before we move from our current home. We are still going to live in the same area but we may be in the village next to Sarahart. We enjoy the village life, which we had a chance to experience while living in Dilijan, and look forward to living in it again. We will pass on our new address and phone number once we are settled.
Last Saturday we did another wonderful hike in the mountains. The fall colors are in full bloom and provided for a wonderful backdrop during our hike. With the perfect weather and colors, we think it was our best hike yet. We encountered our usual barking dogs, though we did have one local protect us from his dogs. The dogs were big and we were grateful he was around. We enjoyed our lunch (Gouda cheese, sweet pepper and bread, wheat thins, grapes) on a mountain summit that overlooked the entire valley. The hike, though not strenuous, did have its consequences. Laura ended up with a migraine headache on the trip back to town and put her out for the rest of the day and my lower back has been bothering me since the hike.
On the hike, we saw many locals busily cutting, dragging, and collecting wood for the winter. It’s amazing to watch this process. While a couple people have large trucks and a chainsaw to cut wood, I’d say 98% of the wood collectors do not have these modern conveniences. The common axe will drop most small trees and/or large limbs. Dragging the wood one to four miles back to town is done by horse, mule, or securing a chain to the tree and dragging it yourself, as we saw two older male and female Armenians doing. Heating homes by wood is still the preferred method for the winter, though gas is available in a few buildings. To help conserve heat, our family puts plastic up around all the windows. We have already felt a difference in the apartment.
Last week I took my Environmental Clubs hiking. The children seemed to enjoy themselves as they ran around and explored the local landscape. We did a local flora identification game together. I had 10 natural objects (flowers, leaves, fruits) that were growing in the area where we were having the lesson. The objects were hidden under a handkerchief. I lifted the handkerchief to reveal the objects for 30 seconds, the children looked at the objects, then I would cover the objects again, and the children would begin to find the objects in the area. After 10 minutes, we would sit down and see what each child was able to find. We would identify each object by name and talk about where it was growing. I have to admit I didn’t know the name of all the local flowers but the children helped me and vice versa. I was surprised at how well the children were at remembering and locating the objects, a task that I am not sure I could have done so easily. On the hike back to the school, we collected a bunch of flowers and leaves for next week’s art project.
All week I pressed flowers and leaves. I’m sure we had over 100 in our room slowly drying out. For the club this week we had two activities. In the first activity, the children learned some new English nature vocabulary. I’d introduce the vocabulary words, and then I passed out some National Park books to each group of two or three children. I’d say the word and they would find a picture of the word. They really enjoyed the pictures of the National Parks. Laura and I brought National Park books for Yosemite, Zion, Lassen Volcanic, Hawaii Volcanoes, Acadia, Yellowstone and Death Valley. The second activity was an art project. We took the dried leaves and flowers and created pictures. Some of the children were rather uncreative, opting to draw pictures of cars, while others took the time to create some wonderful pictures. I hope to be able to display the pictures around the school in the near future. Currently, I am averaging about 10 students in each of the four clubs. From what I’m told, this is a high number for Environmental Education volunteers.
Short note from Laura:
English clubs are going strong! The number of students is still high and I am now asking students to go home if it is their first time or if they are too young. There have been several times during the last few weeks where I had 20 or more students excitedly talking to each other (in a language I cannot understand), yelling at their friends out the window, boys wrestling with each other and me praying that the director doesn’t walk into all the chaos. Oh yes, I substitute taught for almost two years and nothing compares to the chaos and misunderstandings I now face. I think the students like me or at least find me entertaining or they wouldn’t keep coming to my clubs. They certainly are not used to my teaching style. As an authority figure, it is not acceptable to teach the students as equals, both teacher and student, learning different skills at the same time. The students believe my job is to do all the educating while they sit and absorb this new language. While, I on the other hand I have quite a different approach. I often ask the students to work in pairs or small groups, encourage each student to participate, call equally on the brightest and slower learners, and expect them to be respectful. Discipline has become a focus in my lesson planning and teaching.
From the first day, I told the students that I would never yell at or hit them. In fact, my 7th grade students were dumbfounded about a week ago when I quietly told them if they don’t calm down I would leave. About five minutes later, I packed my backpack and said good-bye. I had to bite my lip to keep from smiling. They chased me down the stairs, outside the school and then waited on the steps for me to return. Brett told them later that I probably went home. The next week when I taught the class about half of the students didn’t come, the class went smooth and I got some beautiful flowers. I find myself very lucky that I have the power to walk out of the class or tell a student not to come again. In the everyday classroom, life for the teacher is much different. I am amazed by the lack of support teachers receive. In the states, common practices for disruptive students might include, sending students to the school nurse, counselor, principle, another teacher, or calling home, setting up meetings or failing a student. While all these approaches can provide positive results, the school I work at expects the teachers to control their own class. If a student misbehaves, it is the teacher’s responsibility to correct that behavior. No student fails. Discipline is handled in the classroom behind closed doors.
In the short time I have been a part of this new school system I have learned a great deal. I love working with the students and have invited a few over to our apartment for hot chocolate and American candy. I enjoy trying to get to know the students and sharing a bit of each others language in the process. I am learning how to manage my time and organize lessons with extreme clarity. I now have a real coffee break everyday with the teachers I work with. We drink coffee and eat candy on our breaks between classes. We talk about all the same things girls talk about everywhere. It is comforting. Thanks for reading.
-Laura
Tuesday night is movie night. Movie night was started 3 or 4 years ago by a volunteer. She would invite her Armenian friends to her house to watch movies in English. It was a fun way to learn English and see a movie. The tradition still continues at our friend Brian’s house. His home is the most convenient because he has a ridiculous amount of movies for us to choose from and is the only one with a VCR and TV. For Laura and me it is a nice relaxing evening after a busy Tuesday, the busiest day for us.
Apparently, I was wrong about the endangered species law in Armenia. Any species listed in the Red Book (the endangered species listing for each country) is protected under law. The Birds of Armenia, an organization helping me in the release of the bird, corrected me on this technicality. The organization has put together the most comprehensive listing of Armenian birds but does not have any legal authority in the protection of the birds. I took a few photos of the bird, sent them to the organization and they should be coming up to visit very soon. First thing they wanted to do was to involve the media. I thought it wasn’t a good idea since we haven’t even talked with the people who have the bird. On their visit, we will speak with the people and encourage them to release the bird. If that doesn’t happen then we will get the media involved. I’ll keep you posted.
Actually, we don’t have anything to say about the String Cheese Incident. We were just listening to them while typing this email. They’re a great band so check them out if you want.
**Junk Drawer Random Observations**
- We don’t have any streetlights in our town or most town and villages in Armenia.
- The ending -john after someone’s name is a sign of respect and endearment. For example, Laura-john or Brett-john.
- Pigskin isn’t very tasty.
- Halloween is illegal to celebrate in Armenian schools, as of last year.
- Bed sheets and underwear are regularly ironed.
- Some of the best sweets and cakes are made in Armenia.
- I think we say, “How are you?” and “I am good” at least 40 times a day, if not more.
- The hardest part of Peace Corps are the Peace Corps policies.
- The holidays are celebrated the entire first week of January. Christmas is celebrated on January 6.
- It is illegal to own a gun in Armenia, at least for the common person. Those that hunt can rent them from the local police and then return when the season is over.
Another volunteer called it quits. This volunteer was from the A11 group, the year before us. This makes our total 87. This volunteer did not want to quit but due to circumstances beyond his control he had to head back to the states.
The website has been down for a couple weeks and will be down for a few weeks more. The server is experiencing some technical difficulties and we hope will be up and running soon. Thanks for your patience.
Thanks again for of your wonderful emails. I think we’re slowing down on our response time due to increase in volume. We enjoy hearing from everyone. If you have or are sending mail, our latest package took 26 days. That is double the norm for our other mail. As the winter approaches it won’t get any quicker around here either. Our site mate said he had a package take six months. Ouch. We hope that doesn’t happen. Take care and be safe!
Love,
Brett and Laura