December 27, 2009
Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all had a very blessed and joyful Christmas. While I wasn’t with my family, I thought of you all often throughout the day. Spending Christmas in a different culture has been very interesting. But first let me catch you up on what’s been going on here since I last wrote.
There was a lot of sickness, seasonal flu they called it, in November and early December. There were some reported cases of the H1N1 flu, mostly in the capital city. So, on Dec. 7th, the Minister of Education announced that all schools would be closed for 10 days, reopening Dec. 21. This meant that I basically had 10 days off. While it was nice to have some unexpected time off, that isn’t exactly why I joined the Peace Corps. However, I decided to use the time as best I could to plan for the next half year. I had found that not knowing the curriculum and not having had a chance to look at all the books being used was getting harder the more we got into the school year. So, I’ve been going through the books used in each form (grade), picking out the grammar being introduced and making up exercises and activities for it.
I’ve also had lots of time for crocheting. I am so thankful that I know how to crochet, for it has been a real time filler for me. So far I have made 6 afghans, a scarf, hat and a placemat. Four of the afghans were for other PCVs who had bought the yarn and I just supplied the labor. I have one more afghan to make for another PCV and then I’ll move onto something else. Luckily there are quite a few yarn stores in the town near me, and a great one in the capital city that I go into whenever I’m up there. I might even try to learn how to knit, since that’s more popular among volunteers so I’ll have access to more patterns.
Each day I tried to take a walk, sometimes down to the town, other days just around the village. The people in the village have gotten used to seeing me walking around. They don’t walk just for the sake of exercise, but in order to go some where. At first they couldn’t understand why I was just out walking, but now that just accept that that’s what I like to do. Besides good exercise, it’s a good way to meet some of the villagers.
One of the other PCVs, Shannon, moved into a new apartment last weekend, so we helped her move her stuff. It’s very interesting seeing the looks on people’s faces as we walked from one place to the other with all her stuff. We only had to make two trips, which was good because she moved into an apartment on the 5th floor, with no elevator.
I found out on Sat., Dec. 19, that the schools were not reopening until Jan. 11th, so I will have had 5 full weeks off. I was disappointed that schools were not reopening, since I came here to help in the schools, but I realize that for health reasons it’s better to keep them closed. So I have decided to take a road trip next week, with Shannon, to visit some of the other volunteers in the northern part of this country.
I used this past week to get ready for Christmas dinner and my overnight guests and to relax a little. It was strange not having any last minute Christmas shopping to do, or any crowds to hassle with. In Armenia they celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6th, but their really big celebration is on New Year’s Eve/Day. That is when they exchange presents and gather at people’s houses, and have fireworks. So their last minute shopping is happening now. They are also just putting up their decorations, when I know in the States some are already taking down their decorations.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day turned out really nice. 25 of us gathered at Barbara’s apartment for Christmas Eve dinner and then they all came up to my house for Christmas dinner. For most of the younger volunteers this was their first Christmas without any family, so it was good for them to be with the rest of us. I had 4 stay at my house and we sang Christmas carols Friday morning while we got everything ready. We had a grab bag so everyone got a gift and they could exchange among themselves if they wanted. Not too many did. While we didn’t have a lot of Christmas decorations, we did have some. Thanks to Jackie and Brendan, I had a stocking and a small Christmas tree, to which we added a reindeer. Actually the reindeer had started out as a paper maiche spider for Halloween, then was transformed into a turkey for Thanksgiving, and now is a reindeer. A little imagination and good old US ingenuity go a long way here.
In some ways for me it was like being with my family. Most of the younger volunteers are the ages of my own children and some of them even call me Mom. I enjoy being with them, as I enjoy being with my own children. Having them here definitely made it easier on me not to be with my family. The one thing I really missed, besides my family, was being able to go to Church. There are no Catholic Churches in Armenia, at least in the part where I am. So I have decided that next Christmas I will visit Georgia, where there are Catholic Churches.
As New Year approaches my wish for all of you is peace and happiness.