See you next Sunday!
I want to try something a little different this week and spice this up a bit. I'm a little tired of writing and I'm sure you're tired of reading. So on Monday, I walked around with a camera all day and captured a "typical" day for me here. Enjoy! The next two blog posts will be posted from two different countries as I take a much needed vacation and get a change of scenery! I'm trading trees and mountains for some sand and surf and I can't wait!!
See you next Sunday!
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To begin, I have to apologize for the lack of photos in this post. I took many photos on my birthday and since then but the flash I use to transfer photos from my camera's SD card to my computer has gone kaput and is now residing in electronics heaven. I cannot purchase a new converter until I get paid on Wednesday so until then my photos are being held captive by my camera. Oh well!
It's a real shame too because while the the photos of my birthday party didn't turn out wonderfully, they captured a day filled with funny memories. On Wednesday I'll probably edit this post to include photos so check back next week! I also want to make a short note on the status of my Facebook account. It is currently disabled and will be for some time. I did it for many reasons that I won't bother you with but if you do want to get in contact with me and don't have my e-mail, just send me a quick note in the contact form in the tabs above and we can e-mail back and forth. Sorry for the hassle! Now, onto the actual post: My 25th birthday was this past Monday and it was an absolutely wonderful day. I woke up bright and early to Mr. Davit's increasingly loud screaming but took the opportunity to do some morning yoga and take a shower. Showers are quite a treat these days since water has been scarce. It's not that we ever had good showers (we bucket bathe) but there's something about getting clean in the morning that just starts your days off right! I had a quiet breakfast with the girls and we played a few games of Uno. After Uno we all went into my room and got out all the makeup I own (which is surprisingly a lot!) The girls did their own make up, which I corrected later and we spent hours picking out clothes to wear for the party that night. The girls chose a white dress for me and cute outfits for themselves. We still had a few hours until the party started at six so I retreated to my room to watch a few episodes of Orange is the New Black on my computer. I didn't get more than 5 minutes into the episode when Louiza, who has been adorably clingy since I got back from Yerevan, sat down next to me and quizzed me about the show. After telling her she couldn't watch it because of the very adult content she still wouldn't leave. So I turned on Pocohantas, a far more age appropriate movie. Now I've tried to watch movies with Louiza before, none have held her interest for more than 15-20 minutes mostly because my movies are in English and my paraphrasing translations of what's going on is horribly inadequate. However, Pocohantas grabbed her interest and held on! She watched the entire movie and got this huge smile on her face when she could tell they were building up to a song. It was so cute! When it was over she just said over and over again "Very good movie! Very good movie! Pocohantas was so smart and pretty" So I thought I'd blow her mind and tell her that Pocohantas was a real girl but instead of being a girl power moment I quickly lost control of the situation. This is how it went: Me: "You know Pocohantas was a real girl. She was maybe 13 or 14 when she met John Smith." Louiza: *gasp* "Did she look like that?" Me: "Probably similar. Was she pretty?" Louiza: "Very. All the Indians are very pretty. If Pocohantas is real are the indians real too?" Me: "Yes. They were. They lived in America first but when John Smith and his friends began to come from Europe the Indians went away and now there are mostly new Americans living there." Louiza: "But what happened to the Indians?" Me: *getting nervous* "Well, there was a lot of fighting. Pocohantas was able to stop this one fight but there were a lot of others and they died or got very sick." Louiza: *now furrowing her brow* "But why?" Me: "Because the new Americans wanted to live there and they weren't very nice to the Indians" Louiza: "Are you a new American?" Me: "Um… I suppose so, yes. My family came from Europe." Louiza: "So when they came to America, they killed Indians?" Me: "No. Well, I don't know, but no." Louiza: "But someone killed them all." Me: "….yes" Louiza: "Have you killed an Indian?" Me: "NO!! This happened a long time ago. I didn't kill any of them!" Louiza: "Did your Dad?" Me: "No!" Louiza: "Did your grandpa?" Me: "No!" Louiza: "But they're still dead. Dead people don't come back, you know." Me: "I know. We didn't kill any indians. I promise." Louiza: "Well the Americans killed them. And they're dead. And Pocohantas is dead. That movie is very sad. She was very nice to the new Americans." She then stormed off in tears and sulked until the guests began to arrive for dinner. By the end of dinner I was back in her good graces but I was amazed that she was more intuitive than any American kid I've talked to about the Indians. It left me with a lack for words! A few times this week she's asked more questions about the Indians but they've been far less serious than the conversation we had after Pocohantas. After dinner she raided my jewelry box and closet, put on my sunglasses and iPod and danced around with Bella who was wearing my purse and some jewelry and said over and over "We are americans today!" Louiza made sure to specify that they were "old Americans" and not "new Americans" (Therefore having no role in killing indians). I could seriously just have a Bella and Louiza blog post. They're so funny. This week alone has brought so many Louiza stories I'll have to save for another time. My birthday dinner was fantastic. Three friends (Gohar, Eliza and Alina) came over and shared in the feast of dolma and balinchiks (this is where I'd post a photo if I had one!!). We talked about Indians some more and about the fighting with Azerbaijan. Bella said the sweetest thing I had heard in a long time. "I don't want there to be anymore fighting. If there is more fighting Peace Corps will say Emily needs to leave and I want her to stay." Through my tears of happiness, I felt so loved! When it came time for the toasts, Eliza stood up and said "I'm so happy I could celebrate your birthday with you this year. I came last year too and had so much fun. I am looking forward to next year's birthday." I got really quiet because next year, I'll be in America! I just got a look on my face and they all understood. Alina stood up and then said "To going to America next August and celebrating there!" That toast was met with many cheers! Overall, the day was a big contrast with last year's birthday. While we ate the exact same thing and I was in the exact same place it couldn't have been more different. Last year's birthday came just 10 days after I moved to Noyemberyan and hadn't built the bonds I had this year. I was very sad for much of the day. I didn't have the friends I have now. While my host family tried hard to make me feel included, I still felt isolated and was still adjusting to this new place. This year's birthday was overflowing with love and acceptance. My friends and host family gave me wonderful gifts and made my special day memorable and entertaining. I'm very lucky to be here and couldn't have chosen a better way to kick off my 25th year! I have spent the last 12 days waiting in Yerevan for the conditions on the border to calm down. So I'm very happy to say that I was able to return home yesterday and am savoring every minute of being here! That isn't to say that tensions have completely dissolved, they've just simmered to a safer level. That being said, my time in Yerevan wasn't all that bad. Of course I would have rather been wrapped up in my cozy, homemade bed surrounded by the people I love but it gave me a lot of time to think. I thought about this upcoming year and the quickly approaching end of my service. What do I want to do this year? What do I want to leave behind? As I sat in my new favorite cafe typing up a proposal request for window funds I got an e-mail from Focus on Children now congratulating Lusatsir Kindergarten on our accepted grant proposal! I spent over two months writing that grant with my organization so this was a major win! What this means is that Focus on Children Now will be giving the Noyemberyan kindergarten just over $400 to incorporate health curriculum into their regular schedule over the months of September and October. We'll also be able to purchase a fridge for the kindergarten's kitchen, allowing us to start feeding the kids fruit, vegetables and dairy. We're really excited! I also had some uninterrupted time to finish another project proposal for a job training program for women. I should find out by next Friday or so if that one is accepted. So far Year 2 is going well. It's amazing how seeing your hard work being recognized does wonders for you! I'm excited to return to work on Tuesday with renewed energy and get started on these projects! I can't wait! It wasn't all work though, especially since working here isn't easy under normal circumstances. It's incredibly difficult over the phone and internet. I visited multiple cafes around the city, visited some sights I hadn't been to before, saw friends I don't see often, spend some quality time with the new Peace Corps staff and got hooked on a new TV show. I also educated myself on this conflict. It's really hard to understand twenty years of hatred, racial slurs, and violence over a piece of land I've heard isn't that great between neighbors in a language I'm not fluent in. So I started reading a book called Black Garden and I highly recommend it. While I still don't completely understand the conflict, it explains the conflict very well. If anyone is interested in reading about it and has a tablet, e-reader or doesn't mind reading on the computer the file is below.
Below are also some photos of the things I saw in Yerevan. Until next week!
I ended my last blog post with the sentence, "The next few weeks will be busy but so fun." Little did I know what I was saying! The craziness started on Tuesday. We're working on a project to have job trainings for the currently unemployed people and are finalizing a project proposal to get funding for teachers and class supplies. I came home and cleaned my room because of a MASSIVE spider infestation. Because I'm "an American who has machines do my work" as Christine would say, she helped me clean my carpet in my room. I made a phone call and went into the kitchen to make dinner. Bella was watching TV and I asked her where Christine was. She said "She went to the store. She'll be back in a few minutes." Less than 2 minutes later Bella gets a call and starts screaming, "We have a baby brother!!! We have a baby brother!!!" She was in labor for 20 minutes!! When I got to talk to her she said "No, that's not right. It was 25 minutes." (She was also in her favorite pre-pregnancy black pants by Friday) Let it be known that this is now my expectation for babies. He's adorable. He's so chubby and tan! So Davit Asatryan is here! Before you ask, I don't have any photos. In Armenian culture non-family members cannot see the newborn baby for 40 days. I don't know why but my guess is that it has something to do with germs and giving the actual family space to bond with the little one. I asked Christine repeatedly if I needed to go but was told that I was crazy and could stay as long as I wanted. So I was really honored that they allowed me to see Davit on day 4. It was a huge gesture that told me what I already felt; that I truly was apart of their family. I didn't want to push it by taking a million photos. Carin, my host dad, is still in Russia so with Christine in the hospital is was up to me to make sure the other two kiddos made it through the night until they could be picked up by their grandpa. It was the first time they had slept alone and it took them all of 30 seconds to come knocking on my door telling me that they were afraid to sleep alone. So we had a nice sleepover in my bedroom. It was so cute. (Bella talks in her sleep!) The next morning I walked the girls to their grandpa's house and carried on about my business because we had SO much going on at work. For the past year we've been working on getting affiliated with the World YWCA. As of right now, we just call ourselves the YWCA but aren't official. So since I've been in Noyemberyan we have been getting all our ducks in a row to make things official. Being affiliated means we have a huge network of support, trainings, education, scholarships and resources available to us. It would boost our work and our efficiency. The ladies I work with have worked so hard for this and it all came to a head this weekend. Caterina Lemp and Arda Aghazarian came to visit us from Switzerland and Palestine. They stayed from the 31st of July to August 5th. They came to assess our organizational capacity and our readiness to be apart of the world movement. It was incredible to talk to these ladies who were not only personally kind and interesting but had so much information about the YWCA movement and impact on development around the world. It was inspiring and encouraging. This is something we will continue to work towards until October 2015 when the World Council votes on our membership but we feel that we got some really great comments and suggestions on how to make the YWCA of Armenia the best it can be. It wasn't all work though. Since they made it very clear that the World YWCA values diversity of it's members we made an attempt to show them the highlights of Armenian culture. The food is a given (the food is fantastic!) and dance is also a huge part of Armenian culture. Below is a video of one of our dance sessions with our members. Honestly, this happens at work quite often! I'm jumping around a little bit. I wasn't able to make the first day the ladies were here because I was in Pambak, Lori Marz giving a presentation about the Armenian AIDS Quilt. Every year Peace Corps Volunteers involved in the Gender Equality Committee put on TOBE camp. TOBE stands for Teaching Our Boys Excellence. The boys are selected from all around the country to participate. They attend camp for a week where they learn about various topics including health, which was where I come in. Many countries around the world have an AIDS quilt. Some have a square for every person in the country who has died of the virus as a visual representation of just how many people have died and others, like Armenia, use their quilt as a pledge to teach others and have a healthy low-risk lifestyle. The activity was a huge success and the boys loved it. After getting back from this event, I heard about some shootings in the Noyemberyan area. I didn't know details until I saw some news reports the next day. Fighting had reignited between Armenia and Azerbaijan. There's a long history of conflict between the two over the past 20 years and the ceasefire had been violated yet again. The US Embassy released a statement the following day restricting travel on the M16 highway between Idjivan and Noyemberyan. Our safety and security coordinator called me to ensure I had the information because I travel that road frequently and because things were getting tense in my area. About 10 minutes after hanging up with him I heard a very loud popping voice. It was followed by popping farther away. The unmistakable sound of machine guns went on for several minutes and was quite scary.
Surprisingly, I was able to fall asleep but was woken up by the sounds of chanting and drums. I didn't think much of it because I live on a busy road but after getting ready I walked outside to head to our meeting at the YWCA to find my street filled with soldiers holding their massive guns. Since there is a big Army base in Noyemberyan I'm used to seeing soldiers on the street, but this was very different. I immediately turned around and went inside. Bella was the only other one up so I asked her what was going on. I was really hoping it was a holiday or memorial or something but it wasn't… My host uncle came to walk me to work since I literally had to cross the Army barricades to get to work. He kept saying that it was good the army was mobilizing. They were strong and were going to fight the Azeris. He insisted this was good but I knew it was very very bad. All day long as I was in and out of meetings I heard rumors and stories about what was going on. Troops are being sent here. Tanks are here. ____ people have died. The war will start. I had no idea who to believe or what to believe but it was very frightening. In America I've been lucky enough to not have to deal with the imminent threat of war mere miles away or have soldiers marching outside my window. By the end of the day I had a call from Peace Corps asking me to come to Yerevan to wait out the violence. So here I am. Waiting. It's difficult and hard to talk about since I'd so much rather be home and be able to have completed the meetings I had committed to and we worked so hard for. My host family stayed in Noyemberyan with all my friends and I'm worried about them. The whole situation really sucks! Every day I hear rumors about what's going on and am getting such conflicting information from people on the street and even from the news. Yerevan is a very comfortable place to stay and Peace Corps has taken care of me so well but the feeling of not being home is getting to me. The presidents of both Armenia and Azerbaijan met today in Sochi, Russia to discuss terms of peace. If all goes well I hope to be home by Monday but as of right now I don't know if that's possible. Until then I wait… Thankfully I'm not alone. My good friend Kristen is also in Yerevan waiting this out since she lives along the border too. We've been spending the week together and she's been wonderful company and has been a calming presence with her positive attitude. So for now I'm just waiting for peace so I can carry about my life. We're all waiting and hoping and praying for peace here and everywhere. |
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