Volume I Number 7: September 16, 2004
FINDING OUR NICHE!
Hello Family and Friends,
Today is Day 6 without water to our apartment. A water pipe for the town broke and we are still waiting for it to be repaired. Our collection of water ran out a couple days ago and now family friends have been hauling over 5 gallon containers for us. The friends have a huge water reservoir. It’s time to really conserve, even though we thought we were doing well before. Our host mom tells us that last year the water was out for a month. Hmmm. I hope it doesn’t come to that but, hey, Peace Corps Hard Core. Eh?
Life has been going well for us. Even the water situation isn’t that bad. Everyone is use to it so we have no cause for alarm. The days are cooling off and rain is becoming more abundant. We are experiencing the beginning of what some are saying to be a long and cold winter. The rain is a relief because the humidity we had before was becoming unbearable. Some parts of the country have experienced snow but we shouldn’t expect that until November or December. We are beginning to get use to the ice boxes we live in, also known as our apartment. If it’s cold outside then it’s about the same or cooler inside. The cinder blocks just don’t seem to hold the heat very well. Go figure. Yesterday, the Peace Corps dropped off our electric heaters for the winter, but we may be using them sooner than later. We think that in November our host family brings in the wood stove.
Our host father just had some sort of groin surgery 2 days ago. He is laid up in bed enjoying his time watching television and having the occasional cigarette. Our host mom has been busy cleaning house, attending to his needs, and fighting a nasty cold. She got it when she went to stay with him at the hospital a couple nights ago. Anyways, with him being laid up, her being sick, our water not working, and people coming to visit him, it has been quite hectic around our small apartment. So far our health has been holding up. We have an interesting story about the surgery. The doctor who did the surgery lives in our apartment building. She did the surgery pro bono because she is a family friend. The hospital charged them for medicine but not for her services. We’ve never heard of such a thing from a doctor. We thought that it was a great gesture on her part and shows how the Armenians look out for each other. Also, we found it interesting that our host mom had to provide the blankets, pillows, food and drink for our host father while he stayed in the hospital. This is a pretty common practice in Armenian hospitals.
Brett has been able to find work at another school. After dealing with his old school for two weeks it became very clear that it was going to be very difficult to provide work for him. He was only being given about 30-40 minutes a week to teach Geography and Ecology. Now he is working at the same school as Laura but not with her. He is organizing and facilitating an after school Environmental Club. The club meets 4 days a week with two different age groups, each with 15 students. When the biology teacher needs assistant then he will help her with lessons. The school director has her act together and is making sure that the club is going to be organized. He starts on Monday with his first club meeting.
What are we eating these days? With our host mother cooking one meal a day we are left to our own devices to provide the other two meals. It actually has become a very easy task with the help of the Peace Corps Armenia Cookbook. The book is collection of recipes from past Volunteers. Ingredients are identified as readily available in Armenia, only available in Yerevan, or have to get from the USA. We have tried the Creamy Tomato Soup, Grilled Cheese, Stuffed Tomatoes, Stuffed Red Peppers, Spicy Cucumber Salad, Burritos, and Apple Crisp. The Apple Crisp was hit with the host family. They have never tried an Apple Crisp and we think we got them hooked. We have been able to locate some good European white cheese, Nutella (a morning staple), crackers, tasty tomato sauce and other foods that we find enjoyable. Due to our limited storage space we have enjoyed the daily shopping for our meals. We have found a set of ladies we purchase our produce from that always greet us with a smile and usually will throw in a couple free hot peppers or apples when we leave. We’re finally becoming regulars somewhere.
Laura’s language clubs have been taking off. Prior to coming to our town other Volunteers have said for her not to be disappointed if only 5 to 10 students show up for her clubs. It’s common for them not to be interested. The first week of school Laura and her counterpart went to all the classes to let the students know about the clubs and to bring a note from their parents saying they can participate. Within a week over 120 students had brought notes from a parent and 25 teachers had signed up. Wow! The school has 500 students and 30 teachers so she is teaching a pretty good percentage of the faculty and students. The clubs started this week and not only did the students who signed up show up but also many more. One club had over 30 when it was suppose to be 18. It has been nice to see such interest but it has been overwhelming developing lessons. She is teaching 10 clubs throughout the week, 1 hour each club, and each age group will meet once or twice a week after school. She is hoping that a few students will drop out to allow for a more manageable size, but until that happens she will continue teach those who want to learn.
Last Sunday, we had the wonderful pleasure of taking a 12 mile, 6 hour hike into the mountains while being rained on the entire time. It was one of those hikes where we thought about turning around sooner but, because of the beauty that we were surrounding by, we just couldn’t bare to leave it and go sit in our apartment. We got an early start and headed up the mountain just as the rain began to fall. A group of older men were standing in the back of a trailer being pulled by a tractor on its way up the mountain. It was an amusing site watching the men hold on as the tractor steadily made its way up the rough, rocky road. About 2 miles into the hike we came across a small house with a not so friendly dog. We grabbed a couple of rocks ready to throw in case it attacked. A young boy came out and calmed him while we passed. After passing, the boy went inside and the dog came after us. Of course we had thrown our rocks down and weren’t quite expecting it. We quickly grabbed a couple more rocks and raised them in the air. The dog backed off though he was pissed off. He eventually went back home but gave us a scare. Our hike took us through wide open meadows, a few homes, grazing cattle and horses, roaming pigs and chickens, and a bunch of mud.
After deciding to turn around rather then catch a cold we came across a run down barn. A women was stoking a warming fire and called to us to come on over and join her. We happily obliged since we were soaked from the rain and beginning to chill a bit. When we came inside we noticed a mule along with 3 adult pigs and 7 piglets all cramming together for warmth. A few minutes later her friend and her son joined us and added wood to the fire. Our conversation was minimal but we all tried to communicate who we were and where we were from. We shared salami and Jolly Ranchers while they shared cheese and bread. We set up a little picnic on the back of the mule that didn’t seem to mine. The women commented on how nice our hiking boots were. We looked at her shoes and noticed how the pair of very old Reeboks she was wearing were torn in many places and barely hanging together. She was drying them out by the fire. Her friend’s pair of shoes were in the same condition. We thanked her for the nice comment only wishing we could do something to help them out. After 30 minutes or so of drying our clothes and warming our bodies we said our goodbyes and headed back down the mountain. It was a wonderful cultural exchange that reminded us how fortunate we really are and how giving the Armenians are to us. The women, friend, and son, though they had little, offered their fire, shelter, companionship, and food. Though we may have more money and possessions, the Armenians constantly give us more then we could imagine. It’s humbling.
Music recommendation: Arhoolie American Music CD. It’s a collection of Zydeco musical artists that has been a real pleasure to listen to while in Armenia. If you are looking for something fun, upbeat, and different then check it out. We don’t think that you’ll be disappointed.
The third Volunteer from the A12 group left for America 2 days ago. It was sad to see him go because he was pretty nice guy who was easy to get along with. The longer we stay the more we will see others go. No one is required to stay if they want to go back to America for any reason. The A11 group has lost 10 or so since arriving in Armenia. The life of a Volunteer definitely isn’t easy but it does offer many rewards if you stick it out the two years. We remind ourselves to choose our battles wisely, take the good with the bad, and that in the end we will be better people because of this experience.
FYI about sending mail. The letters and packages that we have received here have been taking 10-12 days. That is really good. When your letters or packages arrive the post office calls us and we go there to pick them up.
Request in packages. If you happen to be sending a package can you please include magazines or something with photos? Any magazine will work, though something having to do with nature or the outdoors would work great for Brett. We ask because we have found that pictures in magazines provide great visual aides when we are teaching our lessons. We cut the magazines apart to prepare our lessons. The children may not always relate to our words but they can relate to the visual aides we use. It’s also nice to have new reading material since we’re averaging a book a week and will probably have read all of our books by December.
Here ís a cute story from Laura about a bathroom, a 4 year old girl and no mother around to help her. A few days ago the little four year old girl that we are living with, Seerosheek, came running into the apartment. She looked around for her mom and yelled “Mom” a few times. But her mom was next door at the neighbor’s (I found out later). Then as she hesitantly walked into the bathroom, she said hello to me. Brett and I knew she had to poop and also had seen that her mom wipes her after every poop. Great, I knew what was coming and sure enough about 3 minutes later Seerosheek starts yelling, MOM, MOM, MOM! over and over and over again. Then she starts crying. Oh, I didn’t want to wipe her butt, but what could I do? With Brett laughing I got up and knocked on the bathroom door, ìSeerosheek? Seerosheek? Do you want me to help you?î Well, of course she did, but she did not understand my Armenian. Oh dear! After a few minutes of yelling through the door at each other, I finally just went in. I did the job and she seemed okay with it all. Not one minute later, her mom and dad walked in the door. Seerosheek started crying again! I had no idea why. She was talking fast, grabbing her butt and crying all at the same time. Hello, I had just wiped her butt! What’s the problem? They go into the bathroom and re-wipe. Yes, re-wipe! I can’t even wipe a child’s butt these days! What is the world coming to?? Anyway, Brett got a kick out it and it gave us something to laugh about that evening.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading another email of our experiences in Armenia. We speak about each of you every week in some form or another and it brings a smile not only to our face but those we are speaking to. If you haven’t realized it, all of you are part of our support group while we are away from home. Your phone calls, letters and emails inform, inspire and entertain us. Without them this would not be possible. Thanks to everyone. We look forward to hearing from you.
Your family and friends,
Laura and Brett