October 29, 2010
These past three weeks certainly seemed to have flown by, which I guess means that I’ve been happy and busy. School has settled into a nice routine, although at least once a week our schedule is changed, but I’ve come to expect that.
Two weeks ago I broke my glasses and the other pair has a scratch on one lens. In order to get new glasses I had to go up to Yerevan on a Thursday so they would be ready by Friday, since they don’t work on Saturdays. I have progressive lenses, which I really like and have gotten used to, but here in Armenia they are a problem. It seems that in the past few years, other PCVs have tried to get new progressive lenses, but none were happy with the outcome. Since the upper part of my lenses are for driving, which I’m not doing now, I agreed that I could do with just the lower part of the prescription, with the upper part just glass. It didn’t quite work out that way, they filled the whole lens with the reading prescription. So now I have 3 pair of glasses, each with their own special quirk, but I’m making it work since it’s for less than a year.
That weekend in Yerevan turned out to be unexpected good. I wasn’t sure what other PCVs would be in town, if any, so I was prepared to just see some of the cultural things. However, on Friday I was invited by my Program Manager to go with her on some site visits to the new PCVs. It was very interesting to see how some of the other TEFLs are doing, what their schools are like and their counterparts and how they work together, or not. Chad is an one of the largest villages in Armenia and some of his classes have almost as many students as my whole school. A very different situation, but also similar in a lot of respects. We observed two of his classes and then went to see the house he will be moving into. The next stop was at a university, where we again observed a PCV, Beckey and met with her counterpart as well as the president of the university, who also happens to be a Bishop. Beckey will also be working with the NIE (National Institute of Education) and doing teacher training so we visited there and then went to see the apartment she will be moving into. As I said, it was a very interesting day and one which again made me very thankful for both my counterpart and village.
As it turned out there were two other older PCVs in Yerevan that weekend also, so we spent Friday night and Saturday together. Friday night we had dinner at the interim Country Director’s house, along with two Fulbright Scholars. Diana, the CD, will be here only until the middle of December. She’s been in the Ukraine as a PCV and CD, as well as in Morocco and other countries. We had an interesting conversation with her and her husband, as well as a wonderful home-cooked meal.
The two Fulbright Scholars are both very interesting and knowledgeable women. Jane is an architect who is here for a year and teaching at one of the universities in Yerevan and doing some research in Gyumri. She has spent a lot of time in Yerevan, first with her husband when he was a visiting professor and then on several visits. She gave a talk Saturday, which we attended, on Community Planning and Design. It was very interesting to hear how cities and towns are responding to the community’s needs and cultural, and how that changes or influences their planning.
Ana, the other Fulbright Scholar, is a linguist and is teaching at one of the universities and will only be here until December. She is originally from Venezuela and was recently named one of the top 50 influential Hispanic-American women in America. Both of these women are very down to earth and a real joy to be with. Needless to say our conversations during the meals we shared were very stimulating. We hope to get together again before Ana leaves.
That Saturday was a big day in Yerevan. Grand Candy, an Armenian candy company, was celebrating being put in the Guinness Book of World Records for having made the world’s biggest candy bar. In the center of the city, Republic Square, they had a big stage set up, a ton of Grand Candy mini-vans, and a lot of security. At 6:30 the festivities began, with music and a video showing the candy bar in one piece and how it was cut. Then the side doors on the mini-vans opened and they gave out the candy. Of course it was a mad house with a ton of people. Try as we might, we couldn’t get close enough to get any candy. At about 10 PM they had fireworks, which could be seen all over the city.
Last weekend I was again in Yerevan and once again had an unexpectedly enjoyable time. I had gone up on Friday for a meeting and was leaving Sunday for Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Again there were a host of other PCVs in town, since it was the beginning of a week vacation for the schools. Saturday a few of us decided to just leisurely stroll around the city and do something culturally. We first went to the vernisage, which is like a big flea market. There were all sorts of beautiful paintings, some old jewelry and kitchen items, clothing, and other usual items found at flea markets. Then, we decided to go the National History Museum. We spent about an hour on just the first floor, after which we left since it was getting late. But it was just so nice to see and do something different.
Lisa, another PCV, and I spent 3 days exploring Tbilisi, especially the old part of it. We stayed at a small hotel, which was charming and served a wonderful breakfast. Finding this hotel, the Georgian House, was an adventure in itself. We decided to walk from the center of the city, got a map and thought we knew where it was. However, after walking for about 45 minutes with our backpacks, we finally got a taxi. It seems that he didn’t know where the hotel was, so we drove across town to a Mariott, where he asked for directions, and then headed back to where we had been. It seems that we were almost right around the corner from the hotel when we got in the cab. But, we did get a scenic tour of the city out of it. From where the hotel was located, we were able to walk into town, so it was very convenient. When we got there Sunday we met up with Kyle, another PCV, and his parents, which was fun. They left Monday morning for Turkey. We met up with them again for dinner that night. There is a part of the old town that has meandering streets with lots of outdoor restaurants and cafes.
On Monday we walked up to an old fortress that overlooks the old town, and looks fascinating from street-level. It was a nice walk, although all uphill, with fantastic views of the city. It turns out that all that’s left of the fortress is the wall you can see from below. But there was a quaint little church up there too, so it wasn’t all for nothing. And we found the botanical gardens from our view up there, which we walked to next. For dinner we headed back to the area we had eaten the night before and tried a different place. We also found a café that served gelato and stopped there every night as well. They had some very unusual flavors: kiwi, caramel, grape, etc.
Tuesday we headed out to the Ethnographic Museum, which is in the outskirts of Tbilisi. They have houses from different eras of Georgian history, showing how the people lived, what they used for cooking, sleeping, their handicrafts, etc. It was a fascinating place to walk around and talk to the guides they had there. You could see how their building changed over time and how they kept up their crafts and handiwork. That night we went to the Turkish baths, which are sulfur baths and very hot. But it felt good after all the walking we had done to just sit and relax in the hot water. We had also visited many churches and a magnificent cathedral in Tbilisi. The churches are filled with icons, stained glass, candles and incense, and music, so all one’s senses are stirred upon entering. What I did find interesting, though, is that although these are tourist places, they are more places of worship and have no gift shops or literature for sale. I was disappointed because I did want to know what the icons were and from which century. I will have to do some research on this at a later date.
We had taken marshutneys both up to and back from Georgia, and these are really an adventure and a good way to learn about the culture. Lisa lives very near the border of Georgia, so she met me at the border and on the way down got off just after the border. On the way up, I sat with a young man who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco about 10 years ago. He was going to Tbilisi to visit one of his friends from that time. It was very interesting to hear about his service and that culture. And talking with someone always makes the ride go faster, especially on a 5 hour ride. On the way back, we made the mistake of getting in a marshutney that was also bringing fresh produce into Armenia. This became a factor when we got to the border, and it took us over 2 hours to cross. Some of the delay was because of a lot of traffic, but most was due to the fact that the produce had to be inspected. And, of course, we got there when the inspectors, all of them, were at lunch. When we finally got going again, and after Lisa had gotten off, it was near 5 PM.. One of the old men on the bus had brought some bread and a big chunk of cheese. He offered some to everyone, about 8 of us, and when he saw you finished the cheese or bread, he offered more. It was delicious and it turned out to be a good time. At another point we made a quick stop in a town, one of the other passengers got off and bought some fresh-baked bread and once again everyone was invited to partake. The Armenian sense of time is very different from the American. They don’t rush to get places, but rather enjoy the ride, talking with one another and sharing meals. It makes for a longer ride, but also a more enjoyable one.
This past month I also learned why most houses have gates to them. I have a gate leading up to the walkway to my house. One afternoon I forgot to close it. The next morning I had a few nice big presents from the cows that pass my house every day going back and forth to pasture. I now make sure that it is always closed.