I celebrated my anniversary in Armenia this past weekend. It's hard to believe how time has flown by! It was fun to reflect on everything that has happened in the past year and what the possibilities are for my second. I spent the day itself clearing my room of all the bugs that have taken up residence and cleaning out spilled soy sauce from my hiking bag. I then went to the funeral of my friend's father. I met her outside of my house one day and she said that her brother had followed me home while I was walking one day and she wanted to get to know me to practice her English. Once I got over the very creepy way it happened, we began hanging out and I can't say how nice it has been to have a friend to speak English too. The death of her father was quite unexpected but I was grateful to be welcomed into their home to mourn with them. It was a moment when it really hit me how integrated they're allowing me to be…
Integration is something all Peace Corps Volunteers aim for. We all want to be viewed as apart of the community and trusted. While we'll never get there 100%, moments like getting invited to important events is a big step for us. While I certainly wish it hadn't been a funeral, I was appreciative. Now that the weather is nicer, the men are out and on the prowl. I've mostly managed to avoid the daily harassment many volunteers have faced. I joke that it is because I tower over all the men here and they're afraid of me. However one day last week, one man was particularly bold. He was the first man I had seen here that was taller than me and he must have thought that, and me being an American woman was an invitation for him to ask for "relations" while following me on the street, while making vulgar hand motions to specify exactly what he wanted from me. But because of the friendships I have established here, I was able to get help from my friend, Anush, who works at the store near my house. Together we were able to resolve the problem. Even Christine, at 7 1/2 months pregnant has made it clear she's willing to join a beat down to protect me. I feel safe, protected and looked out for here. I have friends who make these rainy days bright and a site mate I'm getting closer to.
And to think, last year at this time I didn't know any of this existed. We got off the plane, horribly jet lagged from almost 2 full days of traveling and was forced to stay up and sit through culture and safety sessions. I didn't know what city I was in, let alone that there was a place called Noyemberyan. At this time last year I had just mastered saying hello (barev) but not even thank you (schnorhagalutsion) or goodbye (hajokhutsion) and now I'm ranked as Intermediate Mid in my language skills and live with my host family who I communicate with only in Armenian (with the occasional, "this is a plate!" "this is a cucumber!" lesson). While the newness and feeling of adventure has worn off already and has faded into the mundane and routine, I'm still very happy. Even on the bad days, I'm still happy I'm here. As I wrote on Facebook, "It's not always easy or fun, but even on the worst days, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."
When I am feeling particularly adventurous I've been reaching out in the kitchen. In America we totally take for granted instant gratification when it comes to food. You want Italian food? There's 4 resturaunts within 20 minutes that can serve good italian. You want Chinese food? Just call and someone will deliver it! Here, it's more like you try to fight the craving for weeks before you finally give in and then spend an entire weekend hunting down the ingredients that have been scattered through every store in town. Then you bring it home, realize you have zero idea what to do and end up making some mutant version of what you really wanted. A recent attempt at Fried Rice and Teryaki chicken was literally thrown out the window by Louiza. The pizza we made the following night was more edible. I enjoyed it because it was American style pizza, but the girls and Christine didn't like it too much. (There was no mayonnaise or ketchup on it.)
Integration is something all Peace Corps Volunteers aim for. We all want to be viewed as apart of the community and trusted. While we'll never get there 100%, moments like getting invited to important events is a big step for us. While I certainly wish it hadn't been a funeral, I was appreciative. Now that the weather is nicer, the men are out and on the prowl. I've mostly managed to avoid the daily harassment many volunteers have faced. I joke that it is because I tower over all the men here and they're afraid of me. However one day last week, one man was particularly bold. He was the first man I had seen here that was taller than me and he must have thought that, and me being an American woman was an invitation for him to ask for "relations" while following me on the street, while making vulgar hand motions to specify exactly what he wanted from me. But because of the friendships I have established here, I was able to get help from my friend, Anush, who works at the store near my house. Together we were able to resolve the problem. Even Christine, at 7 1/2 months pregnant has made it clear she's willing to join a beat down to protect me. I feel safe, protected and looked out for here. I have friends who make these rainy days bright and a site mate I'm getting closer to.
And to think, last year at this time I didn't know any of this existed. We got off the plane, horribly jet lagged from almost 2 full days of traveling and was forced to stay up and sit through culture and safety sessions. I didn't know what city I was in, let alone that there was a place called Noyemberyan. At this time last year I had just mastered saying hello (barev) but not even thank you (schnorhagalutsion) or goodbye (hajokhutsion) and now I'm ranked as Intermediate Mid in my language skills and live with my host family who I communicate with only in Armenian (with the occasional, "this is a plate!" "this is a cucumber!" lesson). While the newness and feeling of adventure has worn off already and has faded into the mundane and routine, I'm still very happy. Even on the bad days, I'm still happy I'm here. As I wrote on Facebook, "It's not always easy or fun, but even on the worst days, there's nowhere else I'd rather be."
When I am feeling particularly adventurous I've been reaching out in the kitchen. In America we totally take for granted instant gratification when it comes to food. You want Italian food? There's 4 resturaunts within 20 minutes that can serve good italian. You want Chinese food? Just call and someone will deliver it! Here, it's more like you try to fight the craving for weeks before you finally give in and then spend an entire weekend hunting down the ingredients that have been scattered through every store in town. Then you bring it home, realize you have zero idea what to do and end up making some mutant version of what you really wanted. A recent attempt at Fried Rice and Teryaki chicken was literally thrown out the window by Louiza. The pizza we made the following night was more edible. I enjoyed it because it was American style pizza, but the girls and Christine didn't like it too much. (There was no mayonnaise or ketchup on it.)
More attempts will be made when I return but my kitchen adventures are currently on hold while I take on another adventure. Border to Border.
I've brought up Border to Border a few times on here, but this will be my last blog post until the first week of July because I head out first thing tomorrow morning to begin the trek to Meghri, on the Iranian border. I'll head to Yerevan tomorrow where I'll stay the night before joining up with Lissa and Adam, fellow walkers, and take the 8-9 hour taxi ride to Meghri. We'll stay there until Sunday. Sunday we'll put our packs on our backs and start walking north. We'll walk for 3 weeks, stopping in villages to do lessons in schools about health. I'll return June 24th or so with presumably a bad sunburn, blisters, new friends and a camera full of amazing photos.
Since I won't be bringing my computer, in fact- no one is bringing their computer, we're going to be all working on a group blog during the next three weeks: www.walkacrossarmenia.wordpress.com. The walker profiles are already up and we'll be posting photos, stories and everything else along with the north team during the time we're out. So until next time…
I've brought up Border to Border a few times on here, but this will be my last blog post until the first week of July because I head out first thing tomorrow morning to begin the trek to Meghri, on the Iranian border. I'll head to Yerevan tomorrow where I'll stay the night before joining up with Lissa and Adam, fellow walkers, and take the 8-9 hour taxi ride to Meghri. We'll stay there until Sunday. Sunday we'll put our packs on our backs and start walking north. We'll walk for 3 weeks, stopping in villages to do lessons in schools about health. I'll return June 24th or so with presumably a bad sunburn, blisters, new friends and a camera full of amazing photos.
Since I won't be bringing my computer, in fact- no one is bringing their computer, we're going to be all working on a group blog during the next three weeks: www.walkacrossarmenia.wordpress.com. The walker profiles are already up and we'll be posting photos, stories and everything else along with the north team during the time we're out. So until next time…