September 14, 2009
Site:
I have now been at my site for at least a month and so far it has been slow. I feel like I am hitting a language plateau, which is frustrating because this is when I need an explosion in language because I have begun teaching. I will describe my site, host family, and assignment later in this post. Right now I have some stories that I want to get down.
Spiders in the Outhouse
If you are friends with me on facebook, you have seen this story but I thought I would share it here in my blog. So for those of you who don’t know or haven’t heard, I am the owner of an outhouse*. My house in Aragats is a two-story house with all of the living happening on the second floor. So to get to my outhouse, you have to go down the stairs outside, down a path past the building where cows used to be, past the chicken coup, and you arrive at my outhouse. It is basically in the garden in the back yard. If any of you are familiar with my parent’s house in Bradenton, it would be like walking from the living room to the back gate where the park is but all outside! Not too bad, but still a walk that will be interesting in the winter with snow. I have a feeling I wont be using the bathroom much during the winter… he he.
So anyways, in one of my morning rushes to go to the bathroom, I walk out do my business and as I am standing up my head goes into a carefully crafted spider’s web. All I know is thank goodness I went to the bathroom before this happened, because it scared me. I run out of the house and leave the door open so I can look back at what exactly happened. In the corner is a spider obviously upset that I messed up its web. Understandably so, I know that it must have taken it a long time to make it. But the spider is black and white and its body is as fat as a nickel. And that was just its body; it was huge!
Now, I am stupidly scared of spiders. I have been scared of spiders probably my whole life, but it was heightened when in 7th grade I saw a movie about deadly spiders. The movie highlighted the lethalness of black widow spiders, which give me nightmares to this day. But to try and overcome my fears, I have compromised with the spider world. I will not kill spiders if they are outside unless they are threatening my life, and even then they have to be about to bite me while saying “I am going to kill you now.” Also, I try not to kill spiders and the only exceptions I have made are those that are found in my room. Even these can sometimes be lucky if it is during the day and I can capture and release them outside. And when I do relocate, I have horrible nightmares and fears that they will grow into giant man-eating spiders and avenge their relocation. Or if I do end up killing them, their family members will plan an attack while I sleep. It is very unrealistic, I understand, but still scares the crap out of me. Daddy long legs and sometimes tarantulas are the only spiders that I can handle and actually can say I don’t mind.
Keeping this compromise in mind, I was placed in a moral dilemma. This spider was technically outside, I can’t in any way claim that my outhouse is a building and therefore indoors. So technically, according to the compromise, I can’t kill this spider. And I really shouldn’t relocate it because it does help with the fly population that can be found in the outhouse. But it was so big and scary that I could potentially see it getting angry with me for messing up its web every time I stood up and then killing me. It was plausible. So I made a decision to get my host sister involved. She claims she is not that scared of spiders and can handle the situation. Next to my outhouse is a pile of sticks (wonder where the spiders came from?). She grabs one, wraps the web and spider around the stick and throws it down the hole!
Great, now this spider is not only upset that I ruined its web but also is now NOT dead in a pile of crap at the bottom of an outhouse hole. And now I can’t go to the bathroom at all because there is a spider just sitting, waiting, and planning revenge. I’m pretty sure it didn’t realize it was my host sister that actually did the relocation. But to be honest, I can understand why it would place the blame solely on me.
That day I went to school, taught, went to my neighbor’s house, and hung out. I went to the bathroom one other time that day and checked each corner and crevice before doing my business. Next day, I rushed out of the house and was out until the afternoon. But then it came time to face my fears. I walked to the shack and swung open the door. I had a feeling I was about to face death when I opened the door. And I did. But now instead of one set of eyes on me, there were two. Just like I knew would happen, it brought a friend. And in that single day, they procreated. They had an egg sack, which I can only assume to be the army they were raising up against me. They expanded their web to cover the entire top of the outhouse and seemed prepared to fight.
I had to. I had no other choice. I couldn’t relocate them again; they might have come back with other friends, bigger friends. I didn’t know what would have happened. I still feel bad about it but I had to. I went back to the stick pile, picked a sturdy stick and fought. I stood up for the right to use my outhouse without fear of death. I had to. I couldn’t involve anyone else in this decision; I had to fight this battle on my own. When it’s family members decide to avenge their deaths, I couldn’t have them attacking my host family members and friends. I had to do it alone.
Needless to say, the spiders are no longer with us. It was quick and hopefully painless. They did put up a fight and one died defending the nest, they were brave and I am sorry for what I have done.
Now it is a slow wait process to see what their family members decide to do…
*The term outhouse is used to describe an actual shack style outhouse with the moon on the door. It is a squatty-potty with a hole in the ground for you to do your business.
UNO
This game is great. It gets people of all ages to gather around a table and play a simple card game. It can bring out a range of emotions, from cutthroat competition to sidesplitting laughter to deadly silence. It can be played while having a deep conversation about family members to dancing and listening to Armenian/Russian pop music. It is completely versatile and allows a beginning Armenian speaker to teach a game to her family members.
This was the first time my brother actually played a game with me too! Very exciting! My brother is very shy around me and doesn’t talk to me much. I totally understand it and am very happy that I have a somewhat similar soul. But he is slowly opening up to me and talking to me sometimes. I really want to know the language more because I know he is funny. He likes to tell stories and always has good one-liners, I just don’t understand them.
Sad Pancake Story
So, I attempted to make pancakes and failed miserably. They had to be the worst pancakes I have ever made in my entire life. You know the first pancake that always fails; the entire batch was like that but worse. I think I used baking soda instead of baking powder, which might explain it. I also couldn’t use milk so they weren’t that rich. It was really sad. I wanted to cry. And those who know me well, know how much I love pancakes…
That is one of the frustrating things. I think I mentioned this in another post, but it is exactly like what my professor said: there is no middle ground of emotions. You either have an amazing day where you are on top of the world or it is one of the worst days of your life. Ok, so maybe that is an extreme dramatization but it is pretty accurate. It is like once you are in PC, you become bi-polar with your emotions. When I have a good day, I am on top of the world. My language is amazing, I am picking up words I didn’t even know I knew, I can have in-depth conversations with people, people understand me (!), and I am culturally appropriate at all times! But when I am having a not-so-good day, it is like nothing can go right. And you might be thinking, oh my maybe she is bi-polar, but a lot of others feel this way too. In America, I had average days, where things were just good or okay. But here, there are more extreme days than just average days. Weird. I bet PC volunteers would be good people to do psychological studies on.
Teaching
So my assignment is to work with my counterpart in school or after school and teach about environmental education. But for now, I am working in the English class with 3rd and 8th form. We shall see how this goes…
A Small Community
My first invitation to coffee was when I was just walking down the street. I was sad that I had to turn it down but my family was waiting for me. It was super exciting though because I was stopped and someone knew me! This really is a small town. I am finding out that people are still unsure of why I am here or what I am doing. I know that integration is a slow process so I am being patient. But it was still exciting that I was invited in for coffee!!! Although I don’t drink coffee, they usually will serve me tea.
The Best Shower Ever!
When I was here for site visit, they were putting in a shower. I think baths before the existence of this shower room were outside showers in the tub in my backyard or bucket baths in the kitchen. When I arrived at site, the shower room was still not complete. But they would work on it every couple of days at night. I wanted to help out but would probably have been in the way more than I would have been of use.
It was fun though while it was being built. My host mom, sister, and I would go down and sit outside, sometimes listening to music, while my host father, brother, sometimes uncle, and sometimes grandfather would work away installing the shower. It was fun especially when we would play music. We would dance around and my host father would sing away. They really like Akon’s song, Right Now (Na Na Na) and love singing it at the top of their lungs. My iPhone has that song on it, so we would all dance and sing to it over and over again. My dad would even dance around to it. Fun times.
These are some of the memories I will have for the rest of my life because it was so carefree and fun. Even though I can’t speak fluently or even enough to have an entirely deep conversation, my family and I connected to each other through music. Music is such a universal thing and can be so powerful. It makes me realize how important music is and how important it is to me. Music helps me escape when I am having a bad day, it can put me to sleep, and one song can have a million different memories tied to it (think Newsies soundtrack or N’SYNC). And now Akon’s music has a whole different meaning to me.
About a week and half after I had been at site, I had my first shower! Oh my, it felt good. Just like in the states, I set up my music and danced around. It was one of the best showers because it felt so good to shower after about 2 weeks without one! This shower is one of the few luxuries I have at my site, and with the almost constant water, I could have a shower every day if I wanted one.
Watching Football (Soccer)
My papik (grandfather) who lives across the street comes over and watches football with my dad. My uncle will sometimes come over and watch it as well. My grandfather used to play soccer for 15 years, I don’t know if it was professionally or when he played but he loves watching it. I love watching it with him because it is another way we can connect. He usually goes for Manchester United but I am not sure if he always supports that team or just when they play. And right now, I don’t really have a team that I specifically support so I am going along with Manchester United. Although, I saw the Arsenal (I think?) game where the coach was kicked off of the pitch. That was fun because my grandfather was really upset and yelling at the television. Funny!
It is also fun because it is the guy thing to do in the house. In the States, I watch football and am really missing my Gators play! And I have been keeping up somewhat with my boys through the internet but I haven’t been able to see any games. I have the option of listening to the games through this service that costs about 5000 dram, which roughly equals about 15 dollars a game. But I might only do that with more important games later in the season. So, for now I am replacing my football watching with watching soccer. And it is good because I love soccer. Not to mention, but soccer boys are so cute! He he! Maybe I will begin to pick a team and begin following them!
September 15, 2009
It is kind of funny right now; I am watching the men in my family cut limbs off a nut tree. It is my grandfather, my father, my brother, and my 4-year-old nephew. Just like American men and stereotypes of men working, they will work hard for about 5 minutes and then take a break and talk about what they accomplished. Actually, I just realized they are cutting down the whole thing. Why? I am not sure but he is going for the trunk. This is pretty sad. My father is cutting it with a chain saw while my brother, grandfather and nephew hold on to a rope that is wrapped around the tree. Success (I guess), it just came down. Apparently, it was getting too big and
Behind my house I have a garden that is full of vegetables right now. In the garden there is eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, lots and lots of peppers (I think they either are poblano or very similar to poblano peppers), herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley, and others), garlic, and onion. We also have a couple of small apple trees, a nut tree, apricot (still, even though one was cut down), a cherry tree, and some other things. We have a stalk of corn and I think my tatik said something about melons. Then behind my house there is a field that is connected to School Number One. A lot of the times there are soccer games being held there.
September 17, 2009
Right now, I am staring out at my mountain. I think I have found my thinking spot in my new site. I like this spot in my kitchen. It is close enough to hear what everyone is doing and feel apart of the family and it is has a great view. This is my new health spa spot, it is my new place to think and write. I never really realized how much I like to write. Getting my thoughts out and rereading them help me focus on what is important.
I wrote this after a conversation with another volunteer. I was telling him about what was happening and how I didn’t like not knowing something. He told me that I needed to live in the grey. So I wrote this paragraph, I thought it was funny and figured I would share. Enjoy my musings.
I like black and white. I do not like grey. Grey and I are not friends and might never be. I don’t like him and I am pretty sure he is not fond of me. Black and white make sense. They have reasons for what they do and explanations for why they are doing it. One is just bad and the other is just good, there aren’t any spaces in between. Both are clear-cut and one is opposite of the other. Again, both make sense. I like these areas. Grey leaves spaces for questions, with a lot of them being unanswered. I don’t like this. I don’t like my questions being unanswered. I want answers: I need answers. I like knowing. I don’t mind figuring things out but when I know they don’t have an answer or lead to a place of reality and grey area, I am unhappy. But I think living in reality and in the human world you have to live in the grey. While some people flourish here, I need to learn how to flourish in a world full of grey. So far I think I have done okay, but I can do better.
September 24, 2009
Yum! Yum! Food…
So I am assuming that some of you are wondering about what I eat. Well they aren’t starving me, that is for sure! Right now, there are a lot of fruit and vegetables available because it is the end of summer. I already said what we have in our garden, so that is about what we eat.
I will describe some of the food I have been served, as that is an accurate representation of what you would be served if you visited. These items are usually for guests and parties.
Dolma- mmmm… it is delicious! It can be either grape leaves or cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat that is mixed with spices and rice. They are rolled and then boiled. They can be served with matsun, which is similar to yogurt. Sometimes they mix the matsun with garlic and oh goodness, that is delicious!
Horovats- Some of you may have heard me talk of this. Basically it is a barbeque in the sense that the meat is grilled. They make a fire out of sticks, let them burn to coal and then roast chicken or pork over it. They also skewer tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes, peppers, and other veggies and roast them. They then put it all on lavash and you dig in. It is absolutely wonderful. The most seasoning they do for chicken is salt it. And for the pork, it all depends but mostly oil, salt, pepper, herbs, and onions.
Lavash- similar to tortillas or chapattis, just a flat bread that is served with every meal.
Soups- There is a soup that looks kinda orange and usually has cabbage in it. I forget what it is called now, but that is good and usually has some meat in it.
These are the more traditional foods.
For the rest of the time, there are different things. A lot of fried potatoes, sometimes rice, these Georgian ravioli type things, fried potatoes, salad (which just consists of sliced tomatoes and cucumber), soup, fried eggplant (which is delicious!), eggs, eggs fried with hotdogs, and other similar type meals. Food has been really good, no complaints so far. Bread is served with every meal and it is really good.
For the past couple of weeks we have had honey from my family’s orchard. That is exciting because I love honey! Yum Yum!
Gyumri!
This amazing place hosts some of my new best friends! And it is in my extended community so I can go there, not too often, but enough. Gyumri is host to a Russian military base so there are a bunch of military men running around. However, they all look to be at least 16 years old. But anyways, Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia. It is big enough to get semi-lost if you don’t know the place but not big enough that you feel overwhelmed.
There is a great group of volunteers around there so I get to hang out with other Americans on weekends if I wanted to. To get there I can take an old soviet train, a marshutney (which is like a 12 passenger van that they will squeeze anywhere from 20-28 people), or a taxi. The train, which goes from Yerevan to Gyumri and through my town is 500 dram and takes a slow but relaxing 2 hours. The marshutney is packed and takes 1200 dram and is about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The taxi is quicker but probably costs around 5000 dram. So my cheap option, obviously, is the train and I love taking it. I hope to get pictures of it but I don’t want to look like a tourist or more out of place than I already do.
About two weeks ago, I made my first solo ride to do some banking and Internet. I met up with another volunteer and had lunch. We went around and did some shopping. I bought shampoo and conditioner (I know, big spender) and then we went to an internet café to skype! This was nice and I hope to skype more! It is weird to talk and see people that are all the way around the country… Madness, I say, madness!
The second time I skyped, I went to a different internet café. That was interesting because half way through my conversation, they started building a swinging door in the internet place. Then a group of guys behind me kept staring at my conversation. Talk about not having privacy! But it was still wonderful to hear from my brother, sister-in-law, mom, and dad! Thanks for talking guys!!!
Even Sadder Pancake Story
So I asked my mom to send me maple syrup because you can’t get that here and because it is delicious. I wanted to retry my pancake abilities and impress my family with delicious maple syrup. But when the package came, apparently the bottle busted and cut the plastic bag that contained it. So needless to say impressively besides the book, DVDs, and recipe book, everything was covered in sticky goo. I wanted to cry because nothing was salvageable. (I say I wanted to cry, but I actually did. There were a couple of tears. You people know how much I love maple syrup…)
But anyways, picking up the package was interesting because they had no clue what the ooze coming out of it was. They thought it was muraba, which is a sweet sauce that they preserve with nuts. It is good, NOT MAPLE SYRUP good, but still good. Then they thought it was honey but that didn’t make sense because my host father is a beekeeper so why would someone send me honey. And since they don’t have maple syrup here, it was kind of hard to explain. I just said it was like honey.
October 5, 2009
Happy Pancake Story
So I made chocolate chip pancakes the other day with fake maple syrup that I bought at the SAS Supermarket (which is a market that has a lot of international food products, like Kraft Mac-N-Cheese and maple syrup). They were delicious and perfectly made. Yum! Yum!
Shout Outs:
Thanks to all of those who have sent packages, letters, and cards! I really appreciate getting mail. It is really fun to read about what you guys are up to! It is also a nice connection to home!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!
