I simply couldn't muster the energy last Sunday to wash my face before going to bed, let alone write a blog post about a week that was just impossible! So a full week later, I've recovered enough to write, just in time to go on a much needed vacation!
I've put a lot on my plate and have juggled it quite well. Even this past week I got everything accomplished that I needed to, things just started to creep up on me. Suddenly the Peer Support Network calls and messages started hitting me personally. The Volunteer Safety Council's movie script suddenly didn't seem as fun and I just stared at the screen while I was supposed to be editing. I was sleeping longer, eating less and taking requests from all directions without thinking about the time commitment. Last week I wrote two different curriculums for trainings at the YWCA to be carried out this week (Monday and Tuesday, both of which were a success so at least it wasn't a waste). I started reading more and studying less, making my tutor not too pleased. Either way, I was just dragging! I've been going at full speed since I arrived in Armenia (6 months now this week!!!! 21 to go!) so I needed a break. My vacation technically started yesterday morning but last week I just couldn't said so I ran to visit my friend, Lissa, for the weekend in Chambarak.
But it's never that easy, is it?
Early in the week, things started going wrong. The heat stopped working. I forgot my computer charger at work. The book club book was downright horrible. I ate a bad egg. A woman from my work died! Needless to say I wanted a more.The latter was enough for me to be like, I'm out of here! So Thursday morning I took off to Yerevan for a meeting and the bus broke down! I stayed an uneventful night in Yerevan before taking off to Chambarak the next morning, where things really started to fall apart.
I got to the bus stop way on the edge of Yerevan after fighting with a taxi driver to find that my bus had left without me! It was 3:45 and the bus was supposed to leave at 4! "Yes, but it was already full," said the kind old man who witnessed my despair. He then looked at me and said "You're having a bad day aren't you?" My frazzled hair, stomach making horrible noises, and near tear filled face must have given it away. He then pulled out his phone and made a call. When he hung up he said "They'll wait for you. They're a few miles away but take a taxi and they'll wait for you." led me to another taxi driver and told the man my situation. SCHNORHAKALEM! (I am grateful!) was all I could say as I got in the taxi and we sped off towards the waiting marshutni. The driver stopped next to the first marshutni we found at the side of the road, and he told me there was no charge for the ride. I paid him anyway because I was so thrilled and ran to the marshutni, flinging the door open.
There was not room for a kitten in that bus, let alone me! I counted. 32 people already were inside along with a massive roll of carpet. I just looked at it like "Oh, I'll never fit." But they all motioned for me to get in. I couldn't get any leverage with all my things so the old ladies and men started taking all my stuff and spreading it around. I stood in the doorway, with my back hunched over the carpet roll as we started to move. As I started to rationalize "I can do this for 2 hours, it's fine" Some of the ladies started scooting over on their bench. There were already 6 of them on it so they were only able to make about 6 inches of free space. I looked at it and them and one lady said "You're too fat to sit" ..........yup. Thanks. Thankfully we unloaded shortly after to get gas and reorganized. I paid the marshutni driver on the way back in (This is a clue! I still had my money and my purse to pay the driver.) Upon reorganizing the marshutni I actually got a real chair, put my purse on my lap and zoned out. Next thing I know, no purse. Gone. Ziltch. Purse chicka (no purse)! I was beyond upset. I met up with Melissa, canceled my cards and called our Safety Coordinator to report the theft. Since I had no money to get home, I was stranded in Chambarak.
I've put a lot on my plate and have juggled it quite well. Even this past week I got everything accomplished that I needed to, things just started to creep up on me. Suddenly the Peer Support Network calls and messages started hitting me personally. The Volunteer Safety Council's movie script suddenly didn't seem as fun and I just stared at the screen while I was supposed to be editing. I was sleeping longer, eating less and taking requests from all directions without thinking about the time commitment. Last week I wrote two different curriculums for trainings at the YWCA to be carried out this week (Monday and Tuesday, both of which were a success so at least it wasn't a waste). I started reading more and studying less, making my tutor not too pleased. Either way, I was just dragging! I've been going at full speed since I arrived in Armenia (6 months now this week!!!! 21 to go!) so I needed a break. My vacation technically started yesterday morning but last week I just couldn't said so I ran to visit my friend, Lissa, for the weekend in Chambarak.
But it's never that easy, is it?
Early in the week, things started going wrong. The heat stopped working. I forgot my computer charger at work. The book club book was downright horrible. I ate a bad egg. A woman from my work died! Needless to say I wanted a more.The latter was enough for me to be like, I'm out of here! So Thursday morning I took off to Yerevan for a meeting and the bus broke down! I stayed an uneventful night in Yerevan before taking off to Chambarak the next morning, where things really started to fall apart.
I got to the bus stop way on the edge of Yerevan after fighting with a taxi driver to find that my bus had left without me! It was 3:45 and the bus was supposed to leave at 4! "Yes, but it was already full," said the kind old man who witnessed my despair. He then looked at me and said "You're having a bad day aren't you?" My frazzled hair, stomach making horrible noises, and near tear filled face must have given it away. He then pulled out his phone and made a call. When he hung up he said "They'll wait for you. They're a few miles away but take a taxi and they'll wait for you." led me to another taxi driver and told the man my situation. SCHNORHAKALEM! (I am grateful!) was all I could say as I got in the taxi and we sped off towards the waiting marshutni. The driver stopped next to the first marshutni we found at the side of the road, and he told me there was no charge for the ride. I paid him anyway because I was so thrilled and ran to the marshutni, flinging the door open.
There was not room for a kitten in that bus, let alone me! I counted. 32 people already were inside along with a massive roll of carpet. I just looked at it like "Oh, I'll never fit." But they all motioned for me to get in. I couldn't get any leverage with all my things so the old ladies and men started taking all my stuff and spreading it around. I stood in the doorway, with my back hunched over the carpet roll as we started to move. As I started to rationalize "I can do this for 2 hours, it's fine" Some of the ladies started scooting over on their bench. There were already 6 of them on it so they were only able to make about 6 inches of free space. I looked at it and them and one lady said "You're too fat to sit" ..........yup. Thanks. Thankfully we unloaded shortly after to get gas and reorganized. I paid the marshutni driver on the way back in (This is a clue! I still had my money and my purse to pay the driver.) Upon reorganizing the marshutni I actually got a real chair, put my purse on my lap and zoned out. Next thing I know, no purse. Gone. Ziltch. Purse chicka (no purse)! I was beyond upset. I met up with Melissa, canceled my cards and called our Safety Coordinator to report the theft. Since I had no money to get home, I was stranded in Chambarak.
Being stranded in a small village with your best friend in the country isn't the worst situation in the world. We had fun! She got me hooked on Parks and Recreation, we ate delicious food and I got to meet all the people she had told me about for months. The best part about it was that we couldn't' get her wood stove to work, so there was no heat except for a little electric heater given to her by the Peace Corps office. Now... Chambarak is in THE coldest area of the country. So we plugged in the electric heater in her bedroom and camped out! The best part was that a lady called me to tell me she had my purse. So we went to meet her and of course there was no money left in it, but I got my important things back like my keys, account information for my internet and phone and birthday gifts I got from Lydia. Replacing the bank card has been just the worst experience ever..... So Lissa gave me money to get back home just in time for me to start work first thing bright and early on Monday. It was pedal-to-the-medal first thing because I had signed up to do two trainings. Monday's presentation was about Program Design and Management and Tuesday's was about Stress Management (which at that point, I needed more than they did!)
So this was the Program Design and Management Workshop (yes, it was meant to be this small)
So this was the Program Design and Management Workshop (yes, it was meant to be this small)
What the pictures show is my exercise in creating a Seasonal Calendar. Because town life stops at certain parts of the year, this is one of the things we can use for our programs. We also covered budgeting, priority matrixes and a few other tools I learned at the seminar in Tsaghadzor.
And the Stress Management Seminar:
And the Stress Management Seminar:
This one was unique. Turns out the ways Americans deal with stress is very different than the way Armenians deal with stress. What this meant was that my ways were hilarious and silly. This brought me more stress. However everyone involved left laughing so I suppose that's good, right? (Some of them did actually learn a few things. I overheard a conversation where one co-worker advised another to use one of my tips!)
Immediately after this seminar was English Club. I'm having a wonderful time here! Every month we focus on a topic or two to learn. All the women that attend speak English and just need to practice, or have a basic understanding of English and want to learn more vocabulary. So we play games mostly but they are so nice. It's hard doing lesson plans and creating tests, but I genuinely love English Club (and American Movie Nights!)
So this was the majority of my week. It was long and stressful and exhausting! BUT... Saturday I got to go to Yerevan (yes, I got car sick again) and hang with my PCV buddies and rest up until I fly to Ethiopia on Tuesday morning! The main joke at the hostel, book club, breakfast and at the library was the fact that I am now taking anti-Malaria pills. I took all my shots like a big girl and have upgraded to anti-malaria pills that I have to take for the next month. Apparently these pills have some unique side effects (none of which are listed online when I checked!). Some of the questions I've gotten are, "Has your personality changed yet?" "Are you having the best dreams?" "Have your lips changed colors?" and "what fun side effects have you had?" (I work with experienced travelers who have also taken anti-malaria pills before) So far I've had two side effects. 1. Acne (what every traveler wants) and 2. a constantly full bladder. Frankly, I'd rather have the fun dreams. Heck, if my personality changed a bit to make me cleaner and less neurotic that would be nice. I could really do without the acne and the constant bathroom breaks. But we'll see how this adventure progresses.....
Immediately after this seminar was English Club. I'm having a wonderful time here! Every month we focus on a topic or two to learn. All the women that attend speak English and just need to practice, or have a basic understanding of English and want to learn more vocabulary. So we play games mostly but they are so nice. It's hard doing lesson plans and creating tests, but I genuinely love English Club (and American Movie Nights!)
So this was the majority of my week. It was long and stressful and exhausting! BUT... Saturday I got to go to Yerevan (yes, I got car sick again) and hang with my PCV buddies and rest up until I fly to Ethiopia on Tuesday morning! The main joke at the hostel, book club, breakfast and at the library was the fact that I am now taking anti-Malaria pills. I took all my shots like a big girl and have upgraded to anti-malaria pills that I have to take for the next month. Apparently these pills have some unique side effects (none of which are listed online when I checked!). Some of the questions I've gotten are, "Has your personality changed yet?" "Are you having the best dreams?" "Have your lips changed colors?" and "what fun side effects have you had?" (I work with experienced travelers who have also taken anti-malaria pills before) So far I've had two side effects. 1. Acne (what every traveler wants) and 2. a constantly full bladder. Frankly, I'd rather have the fun dreams. Heck, if my personality changed a bit to make me cleaner and less neurotic that would be nice. I could really do without the acne and the constant bathroom breaks. But we'll see how this adventure progresses.....
I leave for Ethiopia first thing Tuesday morning (roughly 36 hours from now). I'll spend 6 days exploring the country and will come back Monday afternoon. I'll post when I get back and share my photos. While I've already traveled all around the country for work, this will be my first real vacation in Peace Corps! It will also be my first time in Africa! I'm also excited to say that this is my half-way point in a goal I have! When I turned 20 I made the goal to visit every continent (Antarctica included) before I turned 30. With this trip, I'll have been to four (North America, Europe twice, Asia and now Africa)! I'm beyond excited and can't wait to share my stories when I get back!!!