Well, Border to Border 2014 has come to an end. This is the fourth year of 14 PCVs splitting into two groups and heading toward the borders. One group goes north, one goes south. Then then walk toward the middle while teaching in small villages along the way about health topics. You probably already know all this because I’ve been so excited about this trip since I found out I was going to be a walker for the south team. It certainly wasn’t what I expected but we’ll go into all that detail in a bit. I was e-mailed and told that many of you were reading the group blog but because of our lackluster access to internet, it’s sporadic and we were often too tired to write anything once we did get to a computer. So on here I’ll try to chronicle the best I can, the story of B2B South Team.
Before I start with the fun stuff, let me introduce you to the team.
Before I start with the fun stuff, let me introduce you to the team.
You know enough about my bio, but I taught nutrition. I began with a discussion of why nutrition is important and what makes a healthy food (hint, food with vitamins!) then we talked about the food groups; fruit, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy. Then we’d take photos of food and match them to their group on the food chart. With larger groups we’d put the food groups around the room and make them run to the corner that had the correct label for their food. Then we talked about water. How much water is enough per day? What is being dehydrated like? Etc.
Melissa is my best Peace Corps friend and it was so wonderful having her along on this trip. She’s 22, from Washington State and taught hygiene. Her lesson covered how and how long to brush your teeth (SO important here), how long to properly washes your hands and the concept of spreading germs. Her lesson was always a hit and I could often hear the kids laughing from the other room. |
We all had team teachers and Scott and I were paired together (they must know I work well with Scotts.) This Scott is 25, from Boston and was in my training village of Karashamb way back when we started this crazy adventure. He taught about alcohol awareness, which was hilarious especially when we were teaching groups of kindergarteners. He talked about the effects of drinking too much alcohol and did some games that showed how your body can’t react quickly when drinking alcohol.
Cyndi is 24 and is also from Washington. She taught about the environment and really lived up to her lesson. She was always encouraging us along the way to pick up our trash. She gave out reusable bags to the kids and had them do a matching game with trash and how long it takes to decompose. She also discussed recycling and reusing ideas. |
Adam is 26 and is from Ohio. He’s an A20 who extended his contract another year so while he came in 2012, he’ll be staying until after our A21 group leaves. He taught about respect. This lesson brought up treating people and animals nicely and how it impacts everyone’s well being. He had a stick that he used to demonstrate how animals don’t like it when you hit them and because his Armenian is the best out of our group, the kids loved interacting with him and he got some really incredible discussions going. Adam also walked B2B 2013 with the North Team so when he walked into Yeghegnadzor he got the bragging rights that he had walked the entirety of Armenia.
Rosie is a 23 year old, New Jersey native and was also a fellow Karashambite. She taught about anti-smoking and had a really amazing demonstration with a plastic bottle that showed how much smoke gets into your lungs with one cigarette. She poked a hole in the top of a coke bottle and she put a cigarette in the hole. Then she constricted the bottle as if “smoking” the cigarette. The bottle would fill up with smoke and the kids could see how much smoke entered the body. She’d then discuss the effects of smoking on your lungs, mouth, skin and the aging process. |
So that’s the team… now the story!
We started June 1st in Meghri. Meghri is as far south you can get in Armenia without being in Iran. In fact, for our first 5k we had to take a taxi because it would have brought us too close to the border with Iran for Peace Corps’ peace of mind. Our spirits were high and we were so excited to go. We had a warm welcome at Lehvas’ school and stumbled over our lessons. By the end of it, we were all able to do our lessons 100% in Armenian but that first day it was rough.
“Nutrition…. Important…. Don’t die….”
I’m sure it sounded something like that. But we took off right after taking this photo and walked in a group so pumped about what was up ahead.
I’m sure it sounded something like that. But we took off right after taking this photo and walked in a group so pumped about what was up ahead.
Well… as you probably already know, Iran and the surrounding area has a reputation for being insanely hot and this area certainly lived up to the expectation. We were drenched in sweat and guzzling water before our first break. It was around this time that I began to think, “what did I get myself into?” But then we got some cloud cover. It wasn’t so bad… but then came rain. We gathered as a group and found a small area underneath some trees. Just as we began to laugh about the rain, the clouds began raining gumball sized hail down on us! The trees were little cover and we were getting pelted hard on the feet, on the back, on our arms. Once one of us got hit in the back of the next Adam and Rosie ran off to find better shelter, since our trees clearly weren’t cutting it.
I was the only one who didn’t think to pack a rain jacket. That was probably because I don’t own one. I was the wettest out of the group and kept backing up into the trees in an attempt to shield myself from the cold rain and painful hail. I took a step back into the trees. Not good enough. Another step. Still not good enough. So I took another step. This time instead of my already weary feet feeling soft ground, it felt nothing. Unknowing to us, the trees shielded the road from a cliff. I went down quickly into the nothingness. Lissa heard my scream and lunged for my arm, which was more kindness than logic on her part since I pulled her right down with me. By the time Cyndi and Scott caught both of us, Lissa’s entire torso was off the cliff and I only had one leg and one arm on the ledge. Before I was even up to safety I began to laugh, because what else can you do in a situation like that??
Adam and Cyndi returned shortly after and said they had found an abandoned house that had a covered porch. We took off running with our bags to the house where we laughed about our near-death-experience in hour 4 of the trip, changed clothes and waited out the storm.
Adam and Cyndi returned shortly after and said they had found an abandoned house that had a covered porch. We took off running with our bags to the house where we laughed about our near-death-experience in hour 4 of the trip, changed clothes and waited out the storm.
Once the storm passed though… it made for a breathtaking sky.
That first day we walked only about 10 miles, but it was a difficult 10 miles. The entire thing was uphill! It was a harsh wake up to what I had gotten myself into. Once the rain clouds began to gather again, we quickly pitched tents and called it a night.
We woke up bright and early on day 2 (as one does when camping) and set to the task of airing out our wet clothes that had gotten soaked in the rainstorm that occurred while we slept. As we packed up the tents, a large truck drove by and went down the hill. But then it stopped, and began to slowly back up towards us. We began pumping Scott up, “He’s coming to talk to us. Talk to him Scott! Tell him we don’t need anything…” the man passed by us backwards and without saying a word held a bag of beers out the window. Rosie ran up, grabbed the beers, said thank you and the man drove away without a word. So to kick off day 2, we had beer at 8am!
We woke up bright and early on day 2 (as one does when camping) and set to the task of airing out our wet clothes that had gotten soaked in the rainstorm that occurred while we slept. As we packed up the tents, a large truck drove by and went down the hill. But then it stopped, and began to slowly back up towards us. We began pumping Scott up, “He’s coming to talk to us. Talk to him Scott! Tell him we don’t need anything…” the man passed by us backwards and without saying a word held a bag of beers out the window. Rosie ran up, grabbed the beers, said thank you and the man drove away without a word. So to kick off day 2, we had beer at 8am!
I had high hopes that day two would at least be a little easier, but as the sun rose higher in the sky my hopes were dashed. It was crazy hot and we had another day of all uphill walking. We walked for 3-4 hours before I had fallen significantly behind. Already by day two I was accustomed to being behind, but it does take a toll on the spirits. I stopped to take a water break and to talk to Lissa who was slightly in front of me when my phone rang. It was Adam.
Adam: “So we got to the top of the mountain.”
Me: “Ok. Lissa and I are pretty far behind so we’ll be up as soon as we can.”
Adam: “Don’t come up. Stay where you are. We went up the wrong mountain.”
When you’re tired and hot and sweaty and your feet begin to hurt it’s hard to keep a happy attitude but the “we’ve-been-walking-uphill-for-4-hours-in-the-wrong-direction” just hit me where it hurt! Lissa was in a lot of pain because of a previous hip injury so we made the mutual decision that B2B was about reaching your limit and we had reached ours. We were tired, in pain and struggling so we made the decision to go the next 8k by car. We told the driver to drop us off at the top of the right mountain but he just kept going and going uphill. Turns out we had decided to ride to the top of the highest mountain in all of Syunik Marz! Ultimately, we ended up going approximately 14k by car. Once we got to the top, it was windy, cold and stunningly beautiful.
Adam: “So we got to the top of the mountain.”
Me: “Ok. Lissa and I are pretty far behind so we’ll be up as soon as we can.”
Adam: “Don’t come up. Stay where you are. We went up the wrong mountain.”
When you’re tired and hot and sweaty and your feet begin to hurt it’s hard to keep a happy attitude but the “we’ve-been-walking-uphill-for-4-hours-in-the-wrong-direction” just hit me where it hurt! Lissa was in a lot of pain because of a previous hip injury so we made the mutual decision that B2B was about reaching your limit and we had reached ours. We were tired, in pain and struggling so we made the decision to go the next 8k by car. We told the driver to drop us off at the top of the right mountain but he just kept going and going uphill. Turns out we had decided to ride to the top of the highest mountain in all of Syunik Marz! Ultimately, we ended up going approximately 14k by car. Once we got to the top, it was windy, cold and stunningly beautiful.
Despite our disappointment in taxiing on only the second day, we really had a great day. We layed out our sleeping bags on the mountaintop and talked about everything from ex-boyfriends to traits of ourselves we got from our parents. Once it got too windy we attempted to set up a tent, only to realize we had no poles. (The poles had been left with the four who were braving the mountain on foot.) So we set it up anyway and used our legs and heads for poles.
After a few hours we were chatting and heard this loud screeching sound. It sounded like a yodel almost. Melissa stuck her head out of the tent and immediately put it back in. “There’s a half naked man out there flailing his arms, yodeling at us…” It took the man all of three minutes to climb up to where we were and say “Hello Friends! Are you in there?” And that’s how we met our new Belgian friends. The man who was quite strange, was apart of a duo bike riding from Belgium to India. They sat with us until the rest of our team arrived, tired and sweaty from a hard day’s work. The guys helped us set up camp and then left to carry on their journey.
It was disappointing that because of this day, I didn’t walk the entire way. I knew in this project those that didn’t walk 100% of the way were looked down on, but when it came down to it- I don’t care! That day was one of my favorites. I needed the car, and it was better for Melissa too instead of aggravating an existing injury. We did good! And we walked circles over the 14k stretch we didn’t.
We woke up the next morning engulfed in fog! We walked down the mountain (which is FAR easier than walking up, but worse on your feet) and were welcomed by the sight of Quadjaran, a small town that boasted a café with hot meals. After two days of eating lavash and sausage and snickers bars, hot food sounded remarkable. We found the café and ate salad and balinchiks while we charged our phones, ipods and spirits. We walked for 5-6 hours after we left the city and found a scerene camping spot just off the road. About an hour before we stopped walking, I slipped. Not much, but because we were walking on the road, there were parts where the road curves off into dirt. I slipped just enough to feel a sharp pain in my smallest toe on my left foot. My first thought was that I had ripped a hole in my sock and my toe had burst through, but after tearing off my shoe and sock I saw that everything was in tact. I had about 10 new blisters, but nothing else. I found out later that I had a stress fracture… Oh well. This wasn’t the only injury I’d get over the three week excursion but none were serious. All were uncomfortable but nothing that prevented me from walking.
That night we camped early, made a campfire and had some good B2B bonding. We played games, learned about each other’s pasts and even played a morbid game we dubbed “Peace Corps Hunger Games.” Basically, if we all had to fight to the death, who would live and who would go? I made it fairly far.
After a few hours we were chatting and heard this loud screeching sound. It sounded like a yodel almost. Melissa stuck her head out of the tent and immediately put it back in. “There’s a half naked man out there flailing his arms, yodeling at us…” It took the man all of three minutes to climb up to where we were and say “Hello Friends! Are you in there?” And that’s how we met our new Belgian friends. The man who was quite strange, was apart of a duo bike riding from Belgium to India. They sat with us until the rest of our team arrived, tired and sweaty from a hard day’s work. The guys helped us set up camp and then left to carry on their journey.
It was disappointing that because of this day, I didn’t walk the entire way. I knew in this project those that didn’t walk 100% of the way were looked down on, but when it came down to it- I don’t care! That day was one of my favorites. I needed the car, and it was better for Melissa too instead of aggravating an existing injury. We did good! And we walked circles over the 14k stretch we didn’t.
We woke up the next morning engulfed in fog! We walked down the mountain (which is FAR easier than walking up, but worse on your feet) and were welcomed by the sight of Quadjaran, a small town that boasted a café with hot meals. After two days of eating lavash and sausage and snickers bars, hot food sounded remarkable. We found the café and ate salad and balinchiks while we charged our phones, ipods and spirits. We walked for 5-6 hours after we left the city and found a scerene camping spot just off the road. About an hour before we stopped walking, I slipped. Not much, but because we were walking on the road, there were parts where the road curves off into dirt. I slipped just enough to feel a sharp pain in my smallest toe on my left foot. My first thought was that I had ripped a hole in my sock and my toe had burst through, but after tearing off my shoe and sock I saw that everything was in tact. I had about 10 new blisters, but nothing else. I found out later that I had a stress fracture… Oh well. This wasn’t the only injury I’d get over the three week excursion but none were serious. All were uncomfortable but nothing that prevented me from walking.
That night we camped early, made a campfire and had some good B2B bonding. We played games, learned about each other’s pasts and even played a morbid game we dubbed “Peace Corps Hunger Games.” Basically, if we all had to fight to the death, who would live and who would go? I made it fairly far.
The next morning we made it to Kapan. It was a short walk and we made it to the center of the capital of Syunik Marz just in time for a delicious lunch of Pizza before getting some much needed showers and rest.
We stayed in Kapan for a total of four days. The first day we walked in, had lunch, and rested. The second day we walked to a nearby village of Siunik where we taught a… lets say “rambunctious” group of children.
The third day we taught in Kapan itself. It was a small group but because of the wonderful schools in Kapan and the wonderful English teachers (like volunteer Terrence) all of the kids understood our English/Armenian mix. By this time we were getting quite good at our lessons. After this lesson we had a spa day! It was absolutely wonderful. At night we’d play games, watch Law and Order and explore this huge city. I’ve always been a city person. It’s nice to be in nature, but the city is where I’m really happy. So naturally I loved being in Kapan.
Our last day in Kapan was a nice mixture of city and nature. We went on a picnic with the other volunteers in the area and spent the day playing word games, climbing trees, reading and attempting to even out our already bad tan lines.
Our last day in Kapan was a nice mixture of city and nature. We went on a picnic with the other volunteers in the area and spent the day playing word games, climbing trees, reading and attempting to even out our already bad tan lines.
We left bright and early the next day. It turned out to be an unforgettable day. While the walk was brutal and left us both bloodied and bruised, we had picked up an A20 volunteer who wanted to join us on the walk until Shinhuyar. Chris Boyle, always one of my favorite A20s injected some much needed morale into our walk. Always a positive energy, he was the perfect person to join us on this walk. We walked all day in brutal heat until storm clouds forced us, yet again to find a camping spot. Most of us crashed on the ground, elevating our tired and worn feet. Rosie went up ahead to see if there were any good looking places that could fit three tents. About 10 minutes later we hear her yell, “Hey guys. I found a spot!”
Us: “Is it good?” (We did not want to walk up more switchbacks)
Rosie: “Yeah”
Us: “Well, how good?!?”
Rosie: [totally deadpan] “Good.”
We get to the top of the ridge and are all literally breathless at the beauty of this camp spot. The photos do not do it justice.
Us: “Is it good?” (We did not want to walk up more switchbacks)
Rosie: “Yeah”
Us: “Well, how good?!?”
Rosie: [totally deadpan] “Good.”
We get to the top of the ridge and are all literally breathless at the beauty of this camp spot. The photos do not do it justice.
We didn’t realize we were in the middle of a farmers field, but we sure did when we were woken in the middle of the night by sheep, pigs and cows. In case you never have the pleasure of knowing, a cow exhaling right next to your head as you sleep is very scary! Chris got so scared he was convinced there were warthogs on the other side of the tent. Never mind the logic that there are no warthogs in Armenia, but it made for a good belly laugh!
The next day… yikes. I know each day I say “It was so hard! We walked for so long!” but this day- day 9 took the cake. We walked 18 miles across all terrain to get to Tatev (big famous church). This day was a test of all my willpower to finish this walk. It’s hard to describe the mental challenge this was. Physically, it was hard, but no matter how much it hurts your feet will continue to take steps. What doesn’t always work is your brain. You begin thinking “I can’t do this.” “This mountain is too big.” “This is too hard.” “Why am I doing this?” and it really impacts the walk! Lissa and I fell seriously behind the group and bonded while we were forced to take our time walking the long walk to Tatev. Looking back, I’ve blocked most of that day out, but while I was in it it was incredibly difficult. But we did it! I think more than the walk itself, I’m most proud that I completed this day. In a show of wonderful teamwork, when we finally did arrive (4 hours after Adam, Scott, Rosie, Cyndi and Chris) they had kebabs waiting for it.
The next day… yikes. I know each day I say “It was so hard! We walked for so long!” but this day- day 9 took the cake. We walked 18 miles across all terrain to get to Tatev (big famous church). This day was a test of all my willpower to finish this walk. It’s hard to describe the mental challenge this was. Physically, it was hard, but no matter how much it hurts your feet will continue to take steps. What doesn’t always work is your brain. You begin thinking “I can’t do this.” “This mountain is too big.” “This is too hard.” “Why am I doing this?” and it really impacts the walk! Lissa and I fell seriously behind the group and bonded while we were forced to take our time walking the long walk to Tatev. Looking back, I’ve blocked most of that day out, but while I was in it it was incredibly difficult. But we did it! I think more than the walk itself, I’m most proud that I completed this day. In a show of wonderful teamwork, when we finally did arrive (4 hours after Adam, Scott, Rosie, Cyndi and Chris) they had kebabs waiting for it.
The next day was a breeze! We walked all of 3 miles and spent a few hours exploring Tatev. I had been to Tatev once before but it was nice to see it again without the snow. We had a few hours to burn there, so what else could we do but play sardines? After a long discussion about if it is sacreligious, we agreed that it would be too perfect to pass up. Armenian churches, while filled with history, are built like compounds to fend against invaders. There are hiding spots for days!
We had a great time and scared a few tourists who would turn around in a dark room to see 6 Americans huddled silently in a corner. I’m sure we were quite a site to see. After exploring literally every nook and cranny of Tatev, we loaded our things on the longest cable car in the world. Once we got to the other side we walked 1 mile to Shinhuyar where we’d be teaching the next day.
We stayed in Shinhuyar for two days. This was by far my favorite teaching place. Before we left the neighborhood we were staying in, we were greeted by children with flowers. They were so enthusiastic about our lessons and listened intently. Afterwords we played duck-duck-goose with them, before the rain inevitably came and washed our fun away.
The rain lasted most of the night and well into the next day. We weren’t able to leave until about 2pm and even after we did, we were caught in a major hailstorm.
The rain lasted most of the night and well into the next day. We weren’t able to leave until about 2pm and even after we did, we were caught in a major hailstorm.
Like the first hailstorm we were caught in the sky was beautiful afterwards and made for wonderful camping. Unfortunately this day I lost my pedometer so I wasn’t able to measure anymore how many steps or how many miles we went, but I did get some great photos this day.
We had stocked up for a long walk to Sisian without much food or water, but after a brief 45 minute walk we made it to Sisian! We moseyed our way in before staying for two days, teaching and resting our weary muscles. By this time we had really built up some endurance and were requiring less and less rest. But just because didn’t “need it” didn’t mean we didn’t want it!
The next few days kind of blend together in a haze of teaching small villages, walking up and walking down. When walking endurance walks like this, you get into a bit of a trance. You begin to walk, make the turns and avoid obstacles without even thinking. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism from the boredom of those long stretches or maybe it’s just your body soaking up the sun and conserving energy. Either way the days were manageable and even enjoyable.
The next few days kind of blend together in a haze of teaching small villages, walking up and walking down. When walking endurance walks like this, you get into a bit of a trance. You begin to walk, make the turns and avoid obstacles without even thinking. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism from the boredom of those long stretches or maybe it’s just your body soaking up the sun and conserving energy. Either way the days were manageable and even enjoyable.
My next solid memory is us trying to make it out of Syunik Marz and into Vayats Dzor. Marzes here are similar to states in America. Each of the 11 marzes have a capital and each report to the capital. The entrance to Vayats Dzor Marz is at the top of a mountain. I had mustered my energy, determined to make it to the top in good spirits and not hours behind. So I put on some ACDC on my iPod and I walked determinedly. After a while I heard a truck coming behind me, it was struggling to get up the hill. Once we were about neck and neck, I looked over and the truck driver looked over at me. He pointed to the top and revved his engine. I picked up my pace, determined to beat this hunk of metal and prove that “votkov” (walking on foot) was THE way to travel. It goes without saying that he beat me to the top by a good 20 minutes but we shared a fun head nod when we made it to the top and I had a good laugh about it over our break while eating cherries and apricots.
What we didn’t know was that this was literally the last camping spot for miles and miles. So we had to settle for the side of the mountain. It was windy and none of us slept well due to the noise, but it was better than nothing.
This next day was…. Difficult. I try to highlight the positive aspects of Armenian culture on this blog since there are many many good things. However there are some things that are not so good. What I’m referring to here is that no doesn’t mean no. If someone offers you food and you say no, you’re not refusing, you’re saying you really want it but want to be polite and refuse. This goes for everything, including sex. A man propositions you, you say no. You aren’t saying no, you’re saying, “I’m a lady and you need to try harder.” You can see how dangerous this is. Especially as a foreign women, we’re already perceived as loose since our cultures don’t place such a high value on virginity. They are aware that many American, European, Russian, etc. women have sex. To many Armenian men, this means “They’ll have sex with me.”
I have had a few problems with this stereotype. This ranges from old men asking me questions about what happens in my bedroom in America to men approaching me on the street and flat out saying “You will have sex with me.” They would never ask a local girl these things because local girls are “good.” American girls are “bad.”
In Seravan, our next teaching spot, we came across a man who was quite aggressive despite my most serious objections. Adam and Scott had their hands full trying to protect us from the men in this village. It was a really awful day where we were on our guards all day. We agreed to leave the village and camp somewhere out of sight until we had to teach and then “Get the hell out” as we all so delicately put it. We stopped at the local store to pick up some food before heading into the mountains. I went in first. His daughter ran up to me and said “Are you American?” “Yes” “I’m coming to your lesson tomorrow!” This made all of us smile. The man stuck up a conversation with us and invited us to his house for coffee. We were cautious, but accepted since we had the feeling the one man was still searching for us and being inside would shield us from his view and his hands. So we went in and struck up a conversation. This man was genuinely excited to have us there and as time went on we realized he had no bad intentions with us. He just loved Americans! After some time more men came and began to give us a hard time, focusing their attention on Rosie. This man stood up, put his body between Rosie and the men and told them to get out of his house. Adam told him what we had been through that day and he offered to let us sleep right in his living room so we wouldn’t be bothered. We gladly accepted. Before turning in for the night, he asked to take a photo with me (his sister lives in Dallas so he took a special liking to me). We did on my camera. When I asked him why he wanted a photo with my camera he said, “Because in many years you’ll return to Armenia. You may forget many people, our food, our things. But you are important to me and I don’t want you to forget me. Now you have a photo, you will never forget your friend, Kamo.”
This next day was…. Difficult. I try to highlight the positive aspects of Armenian culture on this blog since there are many many good things. However there are some things that are not so good. What I’m referring to here is that no doesn’t mean no. If someone offers you food and you say no, you’re not refusing, you’re saying you really want it but want to be polite and refuse. This goes for everything, including sex. A man propositions you, you say no. You aren’t saying no, you’re saying, “I’m a lady and you need to try harder.” You can see how dangerous this is. Especially as a foreign women, we’re already perceived as loose since our cultures don’t place such a high value on virginity. They are aware that many American, European, Russian, etc. women have sex. To many Armenian men, this means “They’ll have sex with me.”
I have had a few problems with this stereotype. This ranges from old men asking me questions about what happens in my bedroom in America to men approaching me on the street and flat out saying “You will have sex with me.” They would never ask a local girl these things because local girls are “good.” American girls are “bad.”
In Seravan, our next teaching spot, we came across a man who was quite aggressive despite my most serious objections. Adam and Scott had their hands full trying to protect us from the men in this village. It was a really awful day where we were on our guards all day. We agreed to leave the village and camp somewhere out of sight until we had to teach and then “Get the hell out” as we all so delicately put it. We stopped at the local store to pick up some food before heading into the mountains. I went in first. His daughter ran up to me and said “Are you American?” “Yes” “I’m coming to your lesson tomorrow!” This made all of us smile. The man stuck up a conversation with us and invited us to his house for coffee. We were cautious, but accepted since we had the feeling the one man was still searching for us and being inside would shield us from his view and his hands. So we went in and struck up a conversation. This man was genuinely excited to have us there and as time went on we realized he had no bad intentions with us. He just loved Americans! After some time more men came and began to give us a hard time, focusing their attention on Rosie. This man stood up, put his body between Rosie and the men and told them to get out of his house. Adam told him what we had been through that day and he offered to let us sleep right in his living room so we wouldn’t be bothered. We gladly accepted. Before turning in for the night, he asked to take a photo with me (his sister lives in Dallas so he took a special liking to me). We did on my camera. When I asked him why he wanted a photo with my camera he said, “Because in many years you’ll return to Armenia. You may forget many people, our food, our things. But you are important to me and I don’t want you to forget me. Now you have a photo, you will never forget your friend, Kamo.”
And he’s right! I won’t forget him or his kindness to a bunch of smelly Americans searching for some shelter from the storm that was Seravan.
We taught at the school before heading to Vayk. Vayk wasn’t too far away, but it was a tiring day. The humidity that came with the heat and threat of rain eroded our energy and my choice of audiobook (1984) probably didn’t help matters much either. But we made it to Vayk around 6pm and settled into the lovely home of Ruth Welcher.
Ruth is one of my favorite volunteers here in Armenia. At the young age of 60 she left her husband at home to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. He supports her dream and while I’ve never met him, I can tell they’re still madly in love. She’s been a great support for my relationship with Scott and is nothing less than a shining light every time I see her. This time was no exception. When we arrived, she had prepared enough hamburgers, pizza, fries and salad to feed a small army (which we were.) It was much appreciated and we were all sent to bed showered, well fed and enlightened with good conversation.
We taught at the school before heading to Vayk. Vayk wasn’t too far away, but it was a tiring day. The humidity that came with the heat and threat of rain eroded our energy and my choice of audiobook (1984) probably didn’t help matters much either. But we made it to Vayk around 6pm and settled into the lovely home of Ruth Welcher.
Ruth is one of my favorite volunteers here in Armenia. At the young age of 60 she left her husband at home to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. He supports her dream and while I’ve never met him, I can tell they’re still madly in love. She’s been a great support for my relationship with Scott and is nothing less than a shining light every time I see her. This time was no exception. When we arrived, she had prepared enough hamburgers, pizza, fries and salad to feed a small army (which we were.) It was much appreciated and we were all sent to bed showered, well fed and enlightened with good conversation.
By the time we taught the next morning, we were becoming pros at our lessons. We had our vocabulary down, our timing down and everything was going swimmingly. At this point we were leaving each place with our heads held high knowing that we were really teaching these kids something. We were having conversations; engaging them. It felt good!
But we still had two more places to teach at. We left that afternoon and headed to Maliska, home of another volunteer. Thankfully the road was fairly flat and beautiful.
We picked up a german bicyclist on the way to Malishka and swapped travel stories as we went to bed. The next day we taught our second to last time in Malishka before making a delicious meal of cabbage hashbrowns. (Way better than they sound!)
Finally, day 21.
Finally, day 21.
We walked for a short while before getting to our final destination. As we walked, I thought a lot about the trip. My feet still ached with every step. My muscles pulled with the strain of carrying 39 lbs on my back for three weeks. My skin was all kinds of different colors. At various points over the past three weeks I had shed tears, blood and more pus that I want to admit to. It was exhausting, infuriating at times, the hardest thing I had ever done, but it was wonderful. I felt such pride walking into that town and seeing that finish line. It was hard, but I had done it! I had wanted to quit so many times, but I didn’t. I saw it through, despite the pain and exhaustion and occasional annoyance with my fellow walkers. But it was over and I was already nostalgic for the open road and the good weather days.
After one last teaching engagement with the north team, who had adventures of their own, we posed for one group photo and went our separate ways. It’s hard to wrap this up because I know when this blog post is over, it will be just a memory. But despite the hardships and strain, I have no doubt that when I look back on my Peace Corps service, I’ll think of this as one of the highlights. Those hot days and the foot pain will fade into oblivion and I’ll remember teaching the kids and the way they’d listen. I’ll remember walking with Melissa looking at mountains we were about to walk over. I’ll remember the campfires and inside jokes. Finally I’ll remember the beauty of this country. It’s something everyone should see at a slow pace from a beaten trail.
After one last teaching engagement with the north team, who had adventures of their own, we posed for one group photo and went our separate ways. It’s hard to wrap this up because I know when this blog post is over, it will be just a memory. But despite the hardships and strain, I have no doubt that when I look back on my Peace Corps service, I’ll think of this as one of the highlights. Those hot days and the foot pain will fade into oblivion and I’ll remember teaching the kids and the way they’d listen. I’ll remember walking with Melissa looking at mountains we were about to walk over. I’ll remember the campfires and inside jokes. Finally I’ll remember the beauty of this country. It’s something everyone should see at a slow pace from a beaten trail.