So imagine this… you’re 6 years old and a complete stranger who barely speaks your language comes to live in your house. Because that adult knows nothing, she believes everything you tell her! What do you do? You act super sweet, kind, helpful, use her for learning and occasionally use your power to mess with her.
This is my attempt to compile some of my favorite Louiza stories. I’ve had lots of roommates in my life, but none have come close to half as fun as Bella and Louiza have been. Bella is going to grow up to be that person all the boys adore and all the women are intimidated by. Like Midas, everything she touches turns to gold. She is so intelligent and put together, which is so surprising when you remember she’s only 12! She’s graceful, speaks 3 languages and has time management skills that would put any American to shame. She’s been a wonderful help to me during my time here and is just a wonderful person in general.
Then there’s Louiza.
This is my attempt to compile some of my favorite Louiza stories. I’ve had lots of roommates in my life, but none have come close to half as fun as Bella and Louiza have been. Bella is going to grow up to be that person all the boys adore and all the women are intimidated by. Like Midas, everything she touches turns to gold. She is so intelligent and put together, which is so surprising when you remember she’s only 12! She’s graceful, speaks 3 languages and has time management skills that would put any American to shame. She’s been a wonderful help to me during my time here and is just a wonderful person in general.
Then there’s Louiza.
“Louize” in Armenian means “light” and boy, is she ever. She is also my shadow. If I go to a party, Louiza tags along. If I want to sit silently in my room, she’s right there next to me pretending to be silent. If I go to the store for some raisins, she’s holding my hand walking with me. I don’t get much privacy, but that’s just fine with me. Like the true light she is, she brightens my day. Together with Bella, spending time with them has been one of the highlights of my Peace Corps service. They have brightened every rough day and when I look back on my service, undoubtedly the best part of it will be the time I spent with them.
Because Bella is active in basketball, piano, Russian and English lessons and is insanely popular, she’s frequently out of the house so I don’t spend a great deal of time with her one-on-one. Louiza however, a rambunctious 7 year old, has plenty of spare time and we end up spending most of it together.
Huna!
A few months ago I was showing her a photo online and she said “Huna!” I turned to her and said, “I don’t know that word. What does that mean?” “Oh, you don’t know it. It means amazing, neat, cool etc.” So I had learned a new word! Anytime something cool would come up I’d exclaim “Huna!” and get a punch of weird looks. Anytime I use new words, especially if they’re region specific dialect, I always get weird looks so I thought nothing of it and just smiled like an idiot.
One night we’re eating dinner together and Bella tells me that she got a 90% on her English assignment. “Good job! Huna!” I say. Bella and Christine just look at me like I have glitter falling out of my nose. “What??” “Huna,” I say with a little less confidence. “That’s not a word. It sounds like a word Louiza would make up,” Bella tells me. Confused, I turn to Louiza to see her red in the face, about to burst from laughter. That was the last time I took any language advice from her!!
Hondas
My first clear memory of Louiza was during my first week in Noyemberyan. It’s common in Armenian houses to have a TV set in the living room and to have it on every waking hour. So as we were eating dinner, the TV was on in the background. We were having a discussion about something and Louiza then starts hushing everyone at the table yelling “SOOS! HONDA!” A Honda commercial had come on and she knew every word. She watched intently and then when it ended, we were all allowed to go back to our conversation. “She really likes Hondas,” Carin said. That should have been my first memory that life with Louiza was going to be awesome!
“Lets be adults”
A few months ago Louiza approached me with the request, “Emily, can we be adults on Friday night?” Completely unsure what this meant, I clarified. Apparently it means we drink coffee and watch cartoons, because that is of course, all it takes to be an adult. So we made coffee and some popcorn and plugged in a Disney movie. Since the movies I have are all in English, I’m forced to translate the storyline so they fully understand. It’s exhausting but so fun and some of the translations I come up with make me laugh. To date we’ve watched Frozen (multiple times), Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin The Little Mermaid and Wreck it Ralph.
Louiza’s favorite was The Little Mermaid and Bella’s favorite was Beauty and the Beast. Watching these movies with the girls is one of my favorite things to do with them because they’re seeing it for the first time. For example, when watching Beauty and the Beast, both of their jaws dropped at the “Be Our Guest” sequence. After “Under the Sea” in the Little Mermaid Louiza jumped up and started yelling “Again! Again!” It’s so incredible to watch them discover something I know so well for the first time. We’re going through the Harry Potter series now and we’re having SO much fun with that.
Sorry no!
In Armenia, children don’t begin to learn English until 3rd grade. When I arrived, Bella was beginning 6th grade and Louiza was beginning 1st grade. Bella had a good foundation and is now the best in her class (although that’s mostly on her own merit, not necessarily because I help her with her homework.) So Louiza knew no English. Throughout the months she picked up a few things like words of food or things Bella was studying but she learned a lot accidentally through me. Phrases like “Sorry,” “Oops,” “Ouch,” “It’s Ok,” and others naturally come out of my mouth whether I’m speaking English or Armenian. Around the same time, Louiza learned that I frighten really easily. So combining these two things she took it upon herself to scare me at every opportunity. She’d hide behind doors or sneak up behind me while I was alone. When I’d jump, yelp or just inhale sharply, she’d laugh hysterically and run off yelling “Sorry no! Sorry no! Sorry no!” (What she meant of course is “I am not sorry.”) Despite being frightened, her attempt at taunting me in English has never failed to make me laugh.
Lets run!
Early in the morning during the first week of December, Louiza came into my room. “Emily, what are you doing the morning of December 27th?” Ummm… that was several weeks away. “I don’t know, Louizajan. Nothing. Why?” “Because I want to run! Can you go running with me on December 27th?” “Ok?” Each Saturday leading up to December 27th she’d remind me. “2 weeks until we go running!” “1 week until we go running!!” (I have no idea why there was such a build up.) But finally the morning of December 27th came and I woke up earlier than usual to see her pacing outside my door. (My door is glass so I can easily see what’s going on outside in the living room.) I let her in and she says, “When can we go?” I explain to her that she needs comfortable clothes and good shoes. She comes back wearing this outfit.
Huna!
A few months ago I was showing her a photo online and she said “Huna!” I turned to her and said, “I don’t know that word. What does that mean?” “Oh, you don’t know it. It means amazing, neat, cool etc.” So I had learned a new word! Anytime something cool would come up I’d exclaim “Huna!” and get a punch of weird looks. Anytime I use new words, especially if they’re region specific dialect, I always get weird looks so I thought nothing of it and just smiled like an idiot.
One night we’re eating dinner together and Bella tells me that she got a 90% on her English assignment. “Good job! Huna!” I say. Bella and Christine just look at me like I have glitter falling out of my nose. “What??” “Huna,” I say with a little less confidence. “That’s not a word. It sounds like a word Louiza would make up,” Bella tells me. Confused, I turn to Louiza to see her red in the face, about to burst from laughter. That was the last time I took any language advice from her!!
Hondas
My first clear memory of Louiza was during my first week in Noyemberyan. It’s common in Armenian houses to have a TV set in the living room and to have it on every waking hour. So as we were eating dinner, the TV was on in the background. We were having a discussion about something and Louiza then starts hushing everyone at the table yelling “SOOS! HONDA!” A Honda commercial had come on and she knew every word. She watched intently and then when it ended, we were all allowed to go back to our conversation. “She really likes Hondas,” Carin said. That should have been my first memory that life with Louiza was going to be awesome!
“Lets be adults”
A few months ago Louiza approached me with the request, “Emily, can we be adults on Friday night?” Completely unsure what this meant, I clarified. Apparently it means we drink coffee and watch cartoons, because that is of course, all it takes to be an adult. So we made coffee and some popcorn and plugged in a Disney movie. Since the movies I have are all in English, I’m forced to translate the storyline so they fully understand. It’s exhausting but so fun and some of the translations I come up with make me laugh. To date we’ve watched Frozen (multiple times), Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin The Little Mermaid and Wreck it Ralph.
Louiza’s favorite was The Little Mermaid and Bella’s favorite was Beauty and the Beast. Watching these movies with the girls is one of my favorite things to do with them because they’re seeing it for the first time. For example, when watching Beauty and the Beast, both of their jaws dropped at the “Be Our Guest” sequence. After “Under the Sea” in the Little Mermaid Louiza jumped up and started yelling “Again! Again!” It’s so incredible to watch them discover something I know so well for the first time. We’re going through the Harry Potter series now and we’re having SO much fun with that.
Sorry no!
In Armenia, children don’t begin to learn English until 3rd grade. When I arrived, Bella was beginning 6th grade and Louiza was beginning 1st grade. Bella had a good foundation and is now the best in her class (although that’s mostly on her own merit, not necessarily because I help her with her homework.) So Louiza knew no English. Throughout the months she picked up a few things like words of food or things Bella was studying but she learned a lot accidentally through me. Phrases like “Sorry,” “Oops,” “Ouch,” “It’s Ok,” and others naturally come out of my mouth whether I’m speaking English or Armenian. Around the same time, Louiza learned that I frighten really easily. So combining these two things she took it upon herself to scare me at every opportunity. She’d hide behind doors or sneak up behind me while I was alone. When I’d jump, yelp or just inhale sharply, she’d laugh hysterically and run off yelling “Sorry no! Sorry no! Sorry no!” (What she meant of course is “I am not sorry.”) Despite being frightened, her attempt at taunting me in English has never failed to make me laugh.
Lets run!
Early in the morning during the first week of December, Louiza came into my room. “Emily, what are you doing the morning of December 27th?” Ummm… that was several weeks away. “I don’t know, Louizajan. Nothing. Why?” “Because I want to run! Can you go running with me on December 27th?” “Ok?” Each Saturday leading up to December 27th she’d remind me. “2 weeks until we go running!” “1 week until we go running!!” (I have no idea why there was such a build up.) But finally the morning of December 27th came and I woke up earlier than usual to see her pacing outside my door. (My door is glass so I can easily see what’s going on outside in the living room.) I let her in and she says, “When can we go?” I explain to her that she needs comfortable clothes and good shoes. She comes back wearing this outfit.
I then asked if she was ready and she said no. Clearly, to go running properly we needed make up! So after at least an hour of prep time we were ready to go running. We took off and made it an entire half block before she had to stop and turn around.
An hour prep time for 20 seconds of running.
An hour prep time for 20 seconds of running.
Vacations
I have been on a few vacations during my time here. In the beginning she couldn’t have cared less where I was but now each night I spend in Yerevan must be accompanied with an explanation of where I’m going, why, and how long. Then there are tears, hugs and long long goodbyes.
Two notable examples (that I have documentation of) are when I went to Spain and Georgia. I was packing my things for Spain and she walked in cool as could be, picked up my hikers bag and said “I’m going to Spain, see you in 3 weeks! Oh you don’t have a ticket? Too bad, goodbye!” and walked out the door with my things. It was hilarious.
I have been on a few vacations during my time here. In the beginning she couldn’t have cared less where I was but now each night I spend in Yerevan must be accompanied with an explanation of where I’m going, why, and how long. Then there are tears, hugs and long long goodbyes.
Two notable examples (that I have documentation of) are when I went to Spain and Georgia. I was packing my things for Spain and she walked in cool as could be, picked up my hikers bag and said “I’m going to Spain, see you in 3 weeks! Oh you don’t have a ticket? Too bad, goodbye!” and walked out the door with my things. It was hilarious.
The second time was when I recently went to Georgia for New Years. She was helping me pack and then proceeded to climb inside my bag. “I fit! You can bring me too!” I almost did!
These are just stories of Louiza but there are so many unsaid. I haven’t even touched stories about Bella and Davit! I just chose to highlight Louiza since I spend the most time with her. These stories are just a sample of my daily life with these wonderful kids. Louiza jokes about hiding in my luggage when I return to America and honestly, if I had any belief that it was possible, I’d take them back to America with me in a heartbeat.