My students

On the Friday before Thanksgiving, my students and I had a small party to celebrate giving thanks. It was a wonderful time! We all brought food to share and said what we were thankful for. It was a lot of fun and I cant wait to have another party! These are some pictures from the party.










I am so thankful for all of my family and friends all over the world! Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays everyone!!! Love you all!

October!

October has flown by! It seemed like I was just excited about it coming here and now it has already passed. It has been an up and down month. While things are continuing at site, there have been a few out of site activities that have made this month a lot of fun.

The first was initiatives meeting in Yerevan. A lot of PCVs get together in Yerevan and talk about their secondary projects that are connected to the various initiatives. It is really interesting to hear what others have done in their site and what they are looking to do in the coming months. There are a few really cool ideas coming up and I am excited to be a part of it.

It is also a good time to meet up with other PCVs and relax and enjoy Yerevan. It was perfect outdoor weather and the outdoor cafes of Yerevan were still open! It was also a good time to meet and interact with the new group. Even though I worked with the EEs during the summer, I really didnt get to interact with them in a non-work environment. It is nice to get to know the group that will be here when we leave, holding the PC fort down! They are a good group, different from the 17s, but fun!


The last week of October is usually Fall Break, which means one week off from school. Since I work at the culture house, technically clubs would still happen. However, a lot of my students use this time to travel to other regions and spend time with family. So clubs were canceled for the week and I had the opportunity to work at a short Green Camp in a friend's village. We had a camp there during the summer but this camp was for the younger kids, around 8,9, and 10 years old. They were adorable and a lot of fun, although slightly crazy! We stayed at his house with his host family during the camp. His host family is amazing and so warm and welcoming! The host kids there are great and full of energy. I will never forget those kids because they are so understanding and enthusiastic about PC volunteers.







































Other exciting October news:
The seasons, it is a-changing! Fall is here and winter will quickly come! On the way to green camps I had some of the prettiest views of the color change! The trees were beautiful and incredibly bright! It was amazing and one of the things I will miss! That was about the third week of October when I saw the trees. However, Halloween had snow storms in some areas of Armenia. My site, of course, is free from snow still but that might not last long. They are predicting a colder winter than last year. Who exactly 'they' are, I am not sure of, but that is what they say!

After the green camp, I went walking with two other volunteers outside of Stepanavan and to Lori Berd, an old fortress. It was a beautiful day to walk and a really pretty site!

A good friends birthday! We celebrated in Yerevan and ended up having a cake fight! Always a good time!

My phone broke... :( So I have been using my counterpart's extra phone and my host sister is helping fix my phone, hopefully that will turn out good! I miss my phone.

That is it really, October, although great moments, was mostly relaxing and getting into the flow at site! I have taken to walking around my site a little bit. My village is pretty spread out and I have yet to visit all parts of it. It is something I look forward to doing over this next year.




November is going to be an exciting month! People are heading to my site to work on some EAI by-laws. EAI is the environmental initiative and it needs new by-laws! While this might not be the MOST exciting thing I have ever taken part in, having visitors on the moon will be a lot of fun! I hope to go hiking around one of those days, hopefully the weather will keep.

All Vol, which is the all volunteer conference, will be coming up! This is a great time to re-energize us for winter! I am looking forward to it! Also, during all-vol is the Thanksgiving Dinner, where I will be helping to cook!

Also, at site I might be having a Thanksgiving dinner with my students from the Culture House! Not sure about all of the details yet, but it should be a lot of fun!

And lastly, although I was not able to go south during October, I will be heading south after All Vol! I cant wait to get down there and visit other PCVs! Not sure how long I will be able to take, but I cant wait!

That is it! I have been missing family and America a lot this month! It is hard being away from home and so far from everything that I know and love. I miss you all and hope all is well with everyone!

Love you!

End of September

Well another month has came and has almost passed. Still have a few days though. This month has been great! Clubs have started and I love my students! They are so full of energy and enthusiasm! They have such a willingness to learn and deal with my struggling Armenian. My tenth form girls are so entertaining. They are so funny and I am so lucky to be working with them. This next year will be a lot of fun and it will be great to see how much they grow and learn!

The weather is changing now and it is weird that I am happy about it. Summer was great and I did not think it was that hot. But I am happy it is cooling down. Last winter, I realized that I am not the biggest fan of snow and cold. But I have come to realize that I really like fall. The leaves will begin to change color, although I really only get to see that when I visit other volunteer's sites. The weather is not so stifling. People are outside more and a bit more active than during the summer. They are also busy with canning and preparing for the winter ahead. These are some of the reasons I like fall. Although to be honest, I think the main reason may be because I get to wear scarves! Especially now that I have like 5 new scarves (from my vacation), with the changing weather I finally get to wear them! Exciting!

Although this last month has been quite entertaining: a new nephew, climbing Aragats, the start of clubs, and more, I am ready for October. October will be initiatives meeting, another green camp, Halloween, Fall Break, and hopefully a visit to the south. I have a feeling October will fly by, similar to my total time here.

Aragats!

I climbed Aragats! All the way to the top! Of the Southern Point anyway. Almost 4000 meters high. We started at the lake and that is about half way up there, I think. Haven't really been able to find info on it.

Another volunteer's NGO, the YIC, organized the trip. We started in Gyumri and then drove to the lake. It is a Youth Organization that is Awesome! They are a great group of people; full of energy and fun! It started early and we got there around 11:00. We ate a little snack, played a get-to-know-you game and then headed up. There were a couple of groups climbing that day, September 21st, which is also Armenian Independence Day! It was really cool, there was a Scout group that climbed as well.

We started the hike at 11:30 and stopped periodically to catch our breath, allow people to catch up, and take pictures of the view. It is kind of funny, I was NOT prepared for this hike at all. It was a last minute decision and I didnt really understand the concept of higher altitude= cooler weather. And I only had flip-flops with me, so the other volunteer allowed me to borrow a pair of shoes. I also did not bring my camera, so no pictures. Sad. But it was a memory I will not forget.

It was such a fun day! It took a while to get up there, about 4 hours or so. A little longer than most people, but we were a slower group. It starts off pretty level with a slight incline. Then it turns kind of rocky but still is a slight incline. The closer to the top the steeper the incline, but it was never like we had to climb, we didnt need any special gear. Although, I could have used a jacket at some point. It gets cold up there! I guess you can leave Florida but Florida mentality can never leave you...

Climbing down was almost harder than going up. Its not that easy climbing down rocks that move. But we made it. Because I was wearing Amanda's shoes, which were a little small, I now have blisters on my feet. But it was so worth it. The view at the top was spectacular. The panorama was really cool, although it was a little hazy. The crater was nothing like I expected it and there wasnt that much ice/snow at the top but it was really cool.

All in all, an amazing day! One thing checked off of the Armenia Bucket List. I can now say that I have climbed the highest mountain in Armenia... Pretty, pretty, pretty cool. Here are 2 pictures that I stole from another volunteer:

09/08/10

Good date.

He is adorable and I am ecstatic. And that is all I can say!

I miss home and I miss my family. C'est la vie.

UF graduate in the Peace Corps killed in Lesotho

(This article is from the Gainesville Sun. This type of thing can happen anywhere, abroad and in America. My heart and thoughts are with his family, friends, and other volunteers in Lesotho.)

By Kimberly C. Moore
Staff writer

Published: Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 8:37 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, September 5, 2010 at 8:37 p.m.

The United States Peace Corps announced over the weekend that University of Florida graduate and Peace Corps volunteer Tom Maresco was shot and killed in an apparent robbery attempt in the small African nation of Lesotho on Friday night.

“Tom was an exceptional volunteer, leader, teacher and coach — he was an integral part of his host community where he shared his passion for teaching, music and sports,” said Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams. “We are deeply saddened by this tragic event, and I ask that you keep Tom’s family and our volunteers and staff in Lesotho in your thoughts and prayers.”

According to the Peace Corps, Maresco was from Port St. Lucie. He was a secondary education teacher in the village of Katse. He arrived in Lesotho for Peace Corps service in November 2009 and served as a science teacher in the nation that is entirely surrounded by South Africa. He was an active member of his local community of Katse and coached youth in a number of sports, including basketball and swimming. Maresco became his district’s representative on the Peace Corps Lesotho HIV/AIDS committee and was committed to developing innovative ways to address HIV awareness and prevention among young people. He was scheduled to complete his Peace Corps service in January 2012.

According to CNN, Maresco was attending a farewell function at the Maseru Sun Cabanas Hotel in the nation’s capital. He and a female friend had left the hotel and decided to return on foot, even though their vehicles were waiting outside the hotel.

“We think they were observed leaving the hotel on foot and when they were returning, (an) assailant was waiting outside the hotel,” Inspector Lekhotla Mojete, of the Lesotho police, told CNN. “The stranger started making demands of them, which they didn’t fully understand and (the assailant) then shot the deceased.”

He said the woman accompanying Maresco rushed back into the hotel to get help, but police were unable to find the gunman when they arrived on scene.

CNN also reported that a description of the attacker was provided to law enforcement officials by the woman. No arrests have been made yet and an autopsy was scheduled.

University of Florida spokesman Steve Orlando said Maresco graduated in May 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in integrated biology and a minor in classical studies.

“It’s always awful when something like this happens, but it’s especially sad when it happens to someone who’s trying to do something good in the world and clearly Thomas was,” Orlando said.

On his blog, http://tmaresco.blogspot.com/, Maresco talked about his excitement at seeing South African President Jacob Zuma in his village last month and eating lunch within 3 feet of him.

“It was a surreal feeling because I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to get within 10 city blocks of President Obama,” Maresco wrote.

And in May, he wrote about coaching the kids in basketball.

“Playing with the kids is great and the exercise is an added bonus I suppose,” he wrote. “We make the most out of our practice facility, which is essentially a netball court. Think basketball without the dribbling and no backboards on the hoops. So my new pilgrimage has been to construct some new hoops for my Ballers, woot! I’ve made friends with the local welder who does work for the school and he has been great. ... He reminds me of my dad.”

Maresco added: “Everyday I feel more confident in the work I am achieving and the direction that my life is going in.”

Contact Moore at 374-5036 or Kimberly.moore@nytrng.com.


This article was found at:
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20100905/ARTICLES/100909709/-1/entertainment?p=1&tc=pg

Girls Leading Our World

GLOW girls leadership and empowerment project

www.globalgiving.org

Girls Leading Our World is a leadership program for young Armenian girls, ages 12-16 which includes residential summer school for 50 girls and a number of following up activities throughout the year.

If you are interested in donating, please go to the website above for more information.

Baby Showers?

Just had an incredibly interesting conversation with my counterpart about Armenian cultures and traditions. I think I wrote on this blog before that I will be an aunt soon! I am so excited and cant believe it... it's almost unreal!

We were talking about what happens when a baby is born and the way that it is celebrated. She was telling me that Armenians tend to be superstitious and don't celebrate until after the baby is born. After the baby is born they have a party to celebrate. I didn't get all of the details, but I thought it was interesting. I was telling her about how we have baby showers before the baby is born, usually a month or so before they come along. I also mentioned that it usually is just women who attend this shower. She thought that it was a little odd that men don't participate in the celebration.

It got me thinking about gender and culture. It is interesting that at the Armenian baby 'shower,' families show up and it would kind of be the equivalent to a birthday party for the new baby. Where as in America, we celebrate before the baby is even born and then it is mostly the women... hmmm... I think we should transfer over to the Armenian way of celebrating the birth of a baby!

Just a random thought...

Summer

So… it has been a while and I promised I would write, so here it is.

 

Green Camps

Green camp is an environmental leadership camp that allows children from different Armenian villages an opportunity to learn about the environment and develop their leadership skills. There were four day camps this summer in four different villages. I worked at two of the camps. They were awesome! The kids that attended the camps were from the village or surrounding villages. It is such a wonderful experience for them. There are not a lot of camp type programs for Armenian children to attend and summers are spent at their house or with relatives. In America, we are really fortunate to have so many different programs that kids can attend. Whether it is Scout camps, sports camps, music camps, summer school or other, our kids can stay pretty busy. Here it is not really the case, there are a limited number of camps. It was awesome being able to participate in some of them.

I also worked at an overnight camp and was able to bring 4 kids from my village to the camp. I also was fortunate enough to have my counterpart, Tamara, agree to help out at some of the camps with me! They would not have worked without her and I really appreciated her spirit and enthusiasm! We had a great time, even though some aspects of the camp were unnecessarily stressful, we had a great time! It will be something I never forget!

To learn more about this camp or to donate to the camps you can click on this link:

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=305-063

This is through a Peace Corps Partnership Program and depends on people like you to donate and support various projects.

 

New People, New People, New People!

A new group of about 55 people arrived in Armenia at the end of May, went through PST, and now are at their respective sites. It was such a weird experience going from the new kids to old kids. Right after my family left Armenia, I went to the A-18s site announcement ceremony. This is where they learn where they will be living for the next 2 years. Up to that point they have just been studying the language, learning sector specific information, and sitting through meetings about security, health, and PC policies. It was such a fun day because as 17s, we get to find out who our neighbors are and who will live near us for our next year. I, luckily now, have two neighbors! They live in the town east of me and I am excited!

 

Family! Friends! Turkey! And it's not Thanksgiving?!?

The best part of my summer was being able to take a vacation, travel around, but most importantly see my family!!! My mom and aunt met me in Turkey and spent two weeks traveling around! They came back to Armenia and spent almost a week seeing the different sites! It was such a wonderful experience being able to share a piece of my new life with them!

A few other volunteers and I went to Georgia to fly out of Tbilisi. We arrived in the morning and the flight was in the afternoon so we had a few hours to explore Tbilisi. We didn't do much exploring as much as we just went to a bath house, a few cafes, and a park to people watch. We took the afternoon flight to Istanbul, hectically met my friend Jake who flew in from Spain, and then hopped an overnight bus to Fethiye.

Before I met my mom and aunt in Istanbul, I went on a boat cruise through the Mediterranean… four days, three nights, sleeping on the dock under a blanket of stars. The cruise started in Fethiye and ended in Olympos. For the next two days, I kept feeling as though I was on a boat and rocking constantly… weird feeling. We spent the night in Olympos and then headed to Antalya the next day. Olympos was beautiful and a relaxed beach community. I really wish we could have stayed there longer; it was nice just hanging out. This vacation came at the best possible point during my service. It was the first time I had been out of Armenia and it had been a little more than a year.

After Olympos, we spent one night in Antalya. Antalya reminded me a lot of a Florida beach town, a relaxed atmosphere, interesting night life, and expansive. It was a lot more built up than I thought it would be but it was nice. We watched the US vs. England football match and met a couple of characters while we were out. The next day we had most of the morning to walk around before we had to catch our flight to Istanbul where I would be meeting my mom and aunt.

Because we flew in domestic and my mom and aunt flew in International, we had to meet them at the International arrival section. It was just like in the movies, or in Love Actually, where they show that montage of people meetings friends or families at the airport. We had to go through security to get into the international arrival section and I was worried we would miss them or it would take forever to locate them. One friend sat with the bags, another went to check the arrival schedule and I camped out with all of the people holding name cards. My plan was to remain calm and just walk up and hug them when I saw them. Or I was going to play a practical joke and walk up, say hi, and just shake hands. Then I saw them… I, embarrassingly, could not contain my excitement. I squealed and ran up to them, gave them a big hug, and may or may not have had tears in my eyes…

After making the introductions, we all headed to the hostel. The hostel was gorgeous and I would definitely recommend it for anyone. It is in a pretty sweet location, relaxing, and has really interesting people that work there. It is called Cheers Hostel and their website is: http://www.cheershostel.com/

For the next couple of days, we explored Istanbul, met up with other PCVs that were also on vacation, and shopped, ate baklava, shopped, ate baklava and shopped. PS I love scarves and Turkey is a horrible place to have that kind of addiction. I also did something horrible… I ate at McDonald's, Little Caesars' and drank at Starbucks. Please don't judge, but all of it was delicious. And now that I have had my McDonald's fix I can go another year or more…

After Istanbul, we took an overnight bus to Cappadocia and spent two days seeing the sights there. I usually am not a big fan of tour groups and buses but it was necessary to see all of the places we wanted to see in the area. We only had two full days there and one night. We stayed in an awesome cave hostel that was also really nice. While there we had some of the best food I have had in a while. They make this stew type dish in ceramic pots. It is incredibly flavorful and unique tasting! We had a great time there and relaxed a little after the hectic-ness of Istanbul.

We took the night bus back to Istanbul, had one more night in the hostel before flying back to Tbilisi. I was going to stay a couple of nights in Tbilisi with my family but it turned out to be better if I went back to Yerevan right away. I took my family to some of the sights in and around Yerevan, including the Cascades, Garni, Geghart, Khor Virap, Noravank, and Ichmiadzin (sp?). I took my mom to my village and introduced her to my wonderful counterpart Tamara and Tamara's family! It was really cool that my mom was able to spend time in my village, even though it was short and we weren't able to see everyone I wanted to…

During my mom and aunt's stay in Yerevan, the World Cup was playing. We developed a schedule that worked out well. Run around during the day, come back and watch a game, eat dinner during the 2 hour break, watch the last game until 1-2 in the am and then call it a night. Repeat on the next day! It was awesome! It was hard to say good-bye to my mom and aunt but it was amazing having them here! I had such a wonderful time and can't wait to see them again!

 

Mid-Service, that's right, HALF way mark…

Yeah, so I have been here a year, officially. And I, officially, have one year left. Yeah, so pretty much, I don't know where this last year went… Wait, what?!?! A YEAR! Oh my, this time thing is flying by… Our mid-service conference was pretty good. We were put up at a sweet hotel with sweet showers and nice, hard, beds. It was awesome. As tradition, we also played kickball and, of course, being 17s we kicked butt! Those poor 18s had no clue what happened or who we are. Last year, playing the 16s was fun but not really challenging. (Sorry guys, but it wasn't.) The 18s presented a slight challenge towards the end but we were never really scared. The 18s say we cheated and called a game too early, but all of those factors were beyond our control… we won, fair and square. But not to gloat too much, the purpose was to have fun… I know the 17s did! Ha!

But in all seriousness, it has been a year and it feels weird. People say that your 2^nd year is totally different than your 1^st and I know that will be the case. There are so many different factors going into my second year… no site mate, working at the culture house instead of school, projects, and grants set up… It definitely will be much busier this next year than it was last year. I feel I will blink and I will be writing about COS (close of service) conference. I can guarantee a freak-out session because then I will have to figure out my life for the next year anyways…

 

Job Description

This school year will be a lot different than it was last year. I will be starting working full time at the Cultural House in my village. I will be doing about 4-5 after school clubs. Most of them will be English teaching with EE topics woven in. I hope to have a creative writing club, an eco club, a volunteer club, and possibly 2 others. I really want to expand and have an adult English class but I am not sure how that will work. I also hope to write a grant to help renovate the cultural house.

 

After Peace Corps

With less than a year left, I am starting to think about what will happen next year. Who knows is the only answer I have for it… It is kind of stressful to think about the future and I am trying to live in the present. It is hard when all of your peers are applying to grad schools/ looking at jobs and I am just staring off into space. I know what I want to do: teach. I know where I want to teach: somewhere not in the US. I know when I want to start teaching: 2012/2013 school year. But between August 2011 and June-ish 2012, not a clue… I know I want to travel around: Turkey (again), India, Malaysia, Australia, Philippines, Thailand… For how long: longer than a month, less than a year. Ah! Growing up and making decisions is a lot harder than you would think… but at least I am fortunate enough to have these options open and family and friends that are supportive. Right?

 

So stay tuned to new posts… They should be coming a lot more often now that I have the internets!

Green Camps

Three camps, all Armenian, and all fun! There are a total of five camps this summer, but I am only able to participate in three of them. So far, one has been completed and it was awesome! The kids were adorable and fun! I did a lot of the background work, kitchen work, prep work, and other organization stuff. But it was fun! I got to spend a week with other great volunteers!

I have two more camps in August and cant wait. I will be blogging more about it later. And now that I have a new computer (THANKS MAMA AND DAD!!!), and internet (THANKS E-LO!), I will be able to blog and email more, so look forward to that!

Love you all!

Summer

Summer is awesome! I have had such a great time these last few months!

In June, I went to Turkey with some of my fellow volunteers and then while I was there, I met up with my mama and aunt! I had such a great time, it was so relaxing. My mom and aunt came back to Armenia with me and we spent a week together traveling to different areas around Armenia.

I will be writing more, but just wanted to put up a short blog to let you know I am still alive.

Lots and lots...

October 2009- February 2010

Editors Note: This is a compilation of different posts that I have written over the last couple of months. Because of the holidays and the different times that I have written this, the post might jump around a bit. Sorry.

November 11, 2009 Note: Wow, I can’t believe it is already November, it seems as though time is flying by! These two years are going to fly by! Then again, it isn’t winter yet. But let me tell you, I am already colder than I have ever been. In my host family’s house, the only room that gets good sun is the kitchen and is on the exact opposite of my room. So my room never heats up with the sun and will not retain the warmth from the electric heaters… so it will be a cold winter for me.

But in other news, I looked at my new apartment! It belongs to my host uncle’s parents-in-law’s parents. Whew! They are in Russia and have been for the last ten years, I think. They won’t be coming back to Aragats any time soon, so they are allowing me to rent it, which I think is great! It is a huge apartment on the fifth floor. It is close to my site mate too, which will be nice when it gets darker earlier. I won’t have to walk home in the dark with the big scary dogs here.

Other Notes:

Lake Sevan

A group of us went to Lake Sevan as our first weekend out of site. When we first move to site, we are unable to leave our site for a month. This is to get us used to site and to get us involved in the community. Looking back (I am writing this about 3 months after the fact), it was smart of them to not allow us out of site for a month because it forces us to work on our language and adapting into the community. To be honest though because school is not in session, it was kind of boring just hanging out. When you enter PC, you can’t help it but you do have grandiose ideas about what you will be doing. Then you get to site and basically hang out for a month… not always what you thought.

Anyway, Sevan was really fun and a lot colder than I thought it would be. We rented a couple of cabins through another volunteer’s host family. We had a barbeque (horovats) and made delicious food. We had dance parties, played cards, laughed a LOT and generally enjoyed the lake. We went to an old monastery that was close to the cabins. It was really beautiful and we took some fun band photos! It was really cold though and gave us a small glimpse of what winter will be.

The cabins were nice and another PCV set it up but they weren’t what I was thinking when they said cabin. They are basically tin boxes with beds and a bathroom. But it was cheap enough and worked for what we wanted. I would totally go there again, but now I have to wait for warm weather…

Initiatives and Soccer Games

There are a couple of initiatives in PC. There is GAD, gender and development, EAI, environmental action initiative, PR, public relations and HIV/AIDS awareness. I am apart of the GAD and EAI initiative. We had our first meeting towards the end of September and got together to talk about projects that would be continuing and projects that they wanted to start on. There are some exciting things that may be happening and I am excited to be apart of it. It was also nice because I was able to see a bunch of volunteers that I had not seen in a while.

We also are only allowed 2 nights a month in Yerevan so I used my two nights for that weekend. It was nice being Yerevan because it is a big city that has a lot of European influences. It has outdoor cafes, during the summer, and lots of shops. It also has an outdoor market, the varnasage, where you can go and get some really cool souvenirs and household items. It is kind of like you leave Armenia and go into an up-and-coming European city.

The soccer game was a few weeks after the initiatives weekend but it was in Yerevan. Armenia versus Spain was the game and Armenia ended up losing 2-1 but it was a better game than expected. A few volunteers met up at an outdoor café before the game and just caught up on life. It is really nice and relaxing to hang out in the capital. There are also some places that remind me of places back in Gainesville.

Bird Week

Anyone who knows me knows how much I like to bird. Armenia is a great place to do bird watching because we have a lot of migratory birds. There are also a lot of different climates here so there are many different types of birds in a relatively small area. There are also a couple of different bird watching/protection programs that are happening in Armenia. One of them is an organization that sponsors annual bird watches.

For one of the annual bird watching events, I met up with my mentor PCV and another PCV and we went out at my mentor’s site to look for birds. She lives close to Gyumri and therefore there were a lot of raptor birds that we could see. Now, it has been debated whether or not I saw the bird, but I am pretty sure we saw an Imperial Eagle. This is very exciting for me but about two weeks after this sighting I went to a bird watching class.

At this bird watching class it was debated whether I really saw an Imperial Eagle or not. This saddens me a lot. The coolest bird I have seen in this country has a shadow of doubt cast over it. Therefore, I will continue looking for it and will see it again with someone who will identify it beyond doubt.

But the bird watching class was awesome! It was a week long and at the American University in Yerevan. It was 9 to 5 everyday and was all about birds and how to identify them. That Saturday we had a trip out to the lake to see the different birds that we learned about. We saw a lot of cool water birds! It was an awesome week because I learned so much. I can now train my students about birding skills. Next year, there is an advanced bird watching training that I can attend!

List of what I have seen so far:
Great Crested Grebe
Squacco Heron
White Stork!!! (There are nests in my mentor’s site!)
Lammergeier (such a cool bird- saw it from a marshutney while driving from an EAI meeting to YVN)
Common Buzzard
Imperial Eagle (?!?!?)
Common Kestrel
Ruddy Shelduck
Armenian Gull
European Bee-eater (such a pretty bird)
European Roller
Eurasian Hoopoe
White Wagtail
Red-backed Shrike
Sedge Warbler
Blue Tit
European Goldfinch
Eurasian Jay
Magpies (ugh, pretty but my gosh they are everywhere)
Eurasian Jackdaw
Carrion Crow

This is a list of the species that I know for sure. I have probably seen twice as many but either haven’t gotten a for sure identification or have forgotten to write them down.

Halloween and Green Camps!

School had a break the week before Halloween, called the Fall Break. I did not find out about it until the 24th, the Saturday before the break but I was able to go to Artsvaberd, which is in the north by Berd. Other PCVs were having a Green Camp and I decided to go up and help out. So I took a 2-hour marshutney to Yerevan and then took a 4-hour taxi ride north. It was a long day of travel and driving through the mountains took forever. It was really foggy too and it was a lot of back and forth up and down the mountain! But we made it safely!

Green Camp was a lot of fun! We played games, hiked around, almost lost kids (we found them, they went to their house before everyone else), and generally had a lot of fun. I love camp and had so much fun playing with the kids. We sang Boom Chick A Boom in Armenian, which isn’t much different than in English. Other PCVs came up and we all stayed at a 16s house. It was really cold there because of how north it is, but it was gorgeous! That part of the country is mountainous and has a lot of trees. On one of the hikes you can see Azerbaijan, which was cool.

The kids were also awesome! They were excited to be there and seemed to enjoy the Americans. There was also this kid that I had a lot of fun playing around with. One time at snack, we had wafers. Here they are called wafflies. I thought the name was funny so I did a dance and sang “wafflies, wafflies,” basically just being silly. Well he thought it was hilarious and him and I would do the wafflies dance. The next day another kid came up to me and introduced himself. Then he said he is so-and-so’s little brother. But I didn’t know wafflies’ name so I didn’t know who he was talking about. Then he told me he is poker wafflies. Poker means little, so he was saying he was wafflies little brother. It was probably the most adorable thing I have ever witnessed! So for the rest of the camp, I called the older brother wafflies and the little brother poker wafflies. It was so funny; we would all do the wafflies dance.

Also during the camp, we got to go hiking. There is a statue close to Artsvabed that we had to climb a giant hill to get to. It was really cool and once we made it to the top, we got to see all around. It is beautiful in that part of the country. There are tall trees and green hills/mountains. It is the complete opposite of my site.

The camp was great because it reminded me why I am here, and that is to work with the kids of Armenia. This is a memory I will have forever!

While there, we also celebrated Halloween with other volunteers. This was fun and very American. We all dressed up and had a dance party. Good times!

The Dogs!

I am surprised I have not mentioned this in earlier posts, but there are lots and lots of dogs here. Some are domesticated (mostly in Yerevan or Gyumri), some belong to a family and are tied up outside of the house or left outside but fenced in, and then there are wild dogs that just roam around. And because there isn’t a trash system in place, there are dump sites where these dogs can be found. It is sad to see because they are so ragged and some looked like they had homes at some point.

Now, both the outside dogs that belong to a family and the wild dogs during winter get hungry. When they are hungry they can get kind of scary because they are more likely to charge you. I have yet to be attacked, but I have been charged. Especially at night, if you are walking through town, it is smart to carry a rock. I am not really scared but it is something that you have to think about. I am not sure what kind of dogs they are but they are huge. Also, a lot of times they have their ears clipped. I am not sure why. A lot of the dogs that are owned by someone work as herding dogs, they go out with the cows and sheep. I don’t know if there is really a threat of cows or sheep being attacked by anything. Armenia does have wolves, but there aren’t that many to be a threat, at least I don’t think… Something I should look up.

My Apartment

Anyways, to get back to my new apartment… it is huge! It is three bedrooms, a giant living room, a long kitchen with a gas stove (that is really all they have here), bathroom, balcony, electricity, no water, and no gas heat or heating system. Yay! It will be interesting to live in. It is on the fifth floor and when I want water, more than likely, I will have to get it from the well outside, which means trips up and down! Think of this, I have an indoor toilet but no water. So I have to pour water down the toilet to flush it. So I will have storage bins of water, which means even more trips up and down the stairs. Yay for exercise!

All-Vol!

All-Vol is the All Volunteer Conference that happens towards the end of November. It is a time to come together and kind of refresh with everything. The new group goes for a couple of days more so they can talk about how things are going and have a couple of classes of language. It is fun time because everyone is together. We are put up in a nice hotel in Yerevan with hot water all of the time!

The conference is one of the times that all of the volunteers are together. It was nice because I met some PCVs that I had never met before, most of the people that I had never met before live way up north or in the south. I wish there were more opportunities that we could meet up though because it is good to hear from other volunteers what they are doing and success stories they have had.

Also the conference is scheduled around Thanksgiving and we always have a Thanksgiving dinner together. A group of volunteers work on cooking the dinner and then most of the staff and volunteers eat together. It was a really good time. We stood around the food, said a blessing, and gave thanks. The food was delicious; the cooks did an awesome job! It was wonderful because I was around so many people that were going through the same thing. It was funny too because during dinner my table shared stories of funny Thanksgiving moments or traditions that you do on Thanksgiving.

The conference was great because it was re-energizing. I was able to get ideas for teaching English and able to talk to other EEs about things they are doing in their classes. It was also good because we were able to talk about frustrations we might be having and it was good to know that others had similar frustrations. It felt good to be around so many people that were going through similar things and for the most part, it was really positive.

Side Note: Peace Corps Friend Groups

There are a couple of different groups in PC:

First, during staging in Philadelphia, you make a friend group. This usually consists of people you either met on the plane, at the airport, the first person you saw at the hotel, or the people you are rooming with.

Then you go to the hotel in Armenia. This is your second group of friends; again usually people who you happen to sit next to on the plane, traveled around in Vienna, or are rooming with. They usually consist of those in the first group and a few more. You are beginning to learn more about people’s personalities and are beginning to find similarities.

Next, you are assigned to your PST village. These, usually, become your closest friends because you live in the same site for 11 weeks. My village consisted of all EEs, so not only did we have language class but also we had sector classes together on central days. Also, those in your sector are in your friend group because you work on projects and go on field trips together.

Lastly, you say goodbye and go to your new sites. If you have a site mate or live close to other volunteers, these become your next group of friends. This group of friends also consists of the volunteers that are in your warden group. A warden group consists of those that live close and during an emergency will consolidate together.

There is also the difference between the north and south. The people in the south become closer because traveling north takes forever so they do not do it much. The same goes for those in the north.

These different groups are great and I am not complaining at all, I am just explaining how your friend group changes throughout your service. For sure, you will stay friends with everyone you have developed a relationship with throughout your service, you just get closer to the people that are close to you. It is interesting how your friend group changes and the dynamics in those groups.

My Boots

I always thought boots were stupid and more of a fashion statement than a practical type of shoe. I also lived in Florida where people would wear Uggs with mini skirts, so I have a slight bias against boots. But being here in Armenia, everyone has boots. And for a while, I resisted having a pair, insisting my Florida shoes would be fine… Um, no!

So I broke down and bought a pair of boots that I have yet to take off of my feet. They are a suede material that comes up mid calf. They are really warm because they are insulated. Right now, two months later, they aren’t the black color they were when I bought them, but they still do the trick. Next year, I assume I will have to buy a new pair because these wont last past this winter. I still wear two pair of socks under them but they are warm! My feet still freeze on the marshutneys but there is no stopping that.

UPDATE: As of February 6, 2010 my boots are out of commission. After the PDM conference, I was walking through Yerevan. It had snowed a LOT and it was melting on the roads. So I had to walk through some water, and while my boots are awesome, they are NOT waterproof. Basically the bottom of my boots came off and I can no longer wear them. Hopefully the weather warms up soon because I have been wearing tennis shoe-type shoes. Shoes and clothes do not last long here!

Pizza and a Movie in America

So for PST, we earned what was called Lee Cash. This was given out when we would do some things for PC, such as reflection journals or answer questions during central days. At the end of PST there is an auction where we use our Cash to bid on various items. They ranged from sleeping bags, cooking wear, trips with the director, movie nights, and other various things. Well, I won baking things and a pizza & movie night with Amy, the second in command.

So after All-Vol week, another PCV and I went to Amy and her husband’s house to have pizza and watch a movie! It was like a night in America! Their house is amazing and very similar to America. They were kind enough to let us spend the night and use their shower… oh my! The pizza was delicious and we had Italian sausage!

It was really fun to hang out with them because they served in PC Africa. They allowed us to look through their photo album from their service. It was interesting because some of their pictures look exactly like mine, in terms of times with other PCVs and what you take pictures of. It is interesting because even though we were in totally different countries, we have similar experiences.

I also had a conversation through Skype with a PCV in Cape Verde around January. We were talking about how we have felt during service and the different emotions you go through. Especially with going through PST, moving to site, living at site for a couple of months, working, speaking another language, missing home, talking to home, and everything else. Although our site and placements are very different, the emotions are the same. You are frustrated at some of the same things; you laugh at the same jokes… its crazy. There really is such a thing as the PC family.

*Holidays*

It was kind of bitter sweet because Thanksgiving and Christmas are times that I go home (except for the one Thanksgiving I was in Germany) and spend time with family. This holiday season was very different because it didn’t really feel like the holidays. Right now I feel that Thanksgiving and Christmas won’t happen for a couple of years. It is a weird feeling.

But one really cool thing that happened to me is it snowed on Thanksgiving!

For Christmas, I made the long trip south to Kapan. A lot of people went to one of two places for Christmas. One of those places was Kapan and so there were a lot of volunteers there to celebrate the holidays. We did a gift exchange where people bought 5000-dram worth of household items and we had a grab bag type exchange. We were going to do a white elephant type of gift exchange but we ran out of time. We went to another volunteer’s house that lives right outside of Kapan. It was big enough to fit about 20ish people. We all brought dishes to pass and I made dip!

We had lots of good food and good times. I was able to call home which was nice because I was put on speakerphone and got to talk to family! I missed family a lot during the holidays but since if didn’t really feel like Christmas, I was okay.

-Move In Day-

Wow, I have a lot of crap. This is about the only thing I realized when I moved in. I also have been thinking a lot about the after-service trip that I will be taking. I plan on traveling through India and Southeast Asia. But I only want to take a backpack to travel through. So whatever I want to take from PC will have to fit in that backpack. And looking around my apartment, there is not much that I will be taking with me after my service. A lot of stuff I am hoping I will either pass on to the next group or will be leaving in country. I will probably send some stuff back to the states, but I don’t think I will have that much that I will need to send back. Interesting.

PCV Apartments

Ugh, talk about mini-America and jealousy. So there are two apartments that I have stayed in that I am extremely jealous of. My apartment doesn’t have running water or heat (besides my PC electric heaters), so any place that has water and heat will make me jealous. But there are really only two places that I am extremely jealous of. And as it happens, those are two people that I am extremely close to. So on one hand it is good because when I visit them, I basically go back to America. On the other hand though, it has the potential to cause a lot of jealousy problems… hehe. Both apartments are like mini-American apartments with running hot water and a nice form of heating. Both of those apartments are in larger cities though so it makes sense that they would have nicer apartments.

8 Months in Country

Wow, I cannot believe I have been here for that long… on one hand it feels as though time is flying by and it has only been a few months but then I feel as though I have been here for years. I think that is the general statement about PC: the days are long but the time is short. Some days can drag on but if you look back over the past week, it flew by. I think time has gone by so fast though because of the holidays, All-Vol, conferences, and school being out.

PDM

Project Design and Management conference is a requirement for A-17 PCVs that want to write a SPA grant. But beyond that it is a conference where you bring your counterpart to talk about how to design and manage projects. It is a great conference that teaches you start to finish how to create a project. It is five days long and in Tsaghadzor, which is a resort town.

It was a fun conference because I was able to spend time with my counterpart and really get to know her! She is awesome and I am excited to implement some of what we talked about during the conference into out town!

In Other News…

In other news, I am going to be an aunt! As exciting as this news is, I am a little sad I will miss a lot. I knew entering Peace Corps that this might happen so I mentally tried to prepare for it. But you can’t really prepare for this kind of news. I am so excited and I keep going back and forth between being scared of what type of aunt I will be to panicking that I now have to become responsible! Ah! And I cant wait because I know how awesome my brother and sis-in-law will be as parents, that this is such a blessing!

Bucket List:

Because I have so much time devoted to thinking, I have decided to create a bucket list of things that I want to do in my life. I added things that I knew I wanted out of life and have already accomplished, just because I wanted it to be a complete list. Some of these are borrowed from other people. It is something cool to do because it shows all of life’s possibilities!

Also, with this time, I have created my five-year plan. Hopefully, after PC I will travel through India and Southeast Asia, go home for a couple of months, and then take a job teaching in an international school or with the Department of Defense School System! Who knows!
• Get Masters Degree
• Peace Corps
• Backpack Europe
• Spend every birthday in new country (probably not possible every year- but something to strive towards)
• Swim in every ocean, yes even the Arctic, I am thinking off the north coast of Alaska?
• Visit every continent
• Visit Hawaii and Alaska
• Take an Alaskan cruise
• Sky dive and if I like it, get certified
• Get certified in diving
• Dive the Great Barrier Reef
• See a World Cup Football Match
• Go to an Olympic sport
• Learn Spanish fluently
• Travel to every country in Central America
• Write out a life Bird List
• Take a road trip from Florida to Alaska
• Macchu Picchu in Peru
• Ayers Rock
• Backpack India
• Teach in another country, not including PC
• Learn to appreciate wine
• Run with the bulls in Spain
• Participate in the tomato fight (Spain?)
• Go on an African safari
• Route 66
• Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and Mt Rushmore
• Get more tattoos!
• Whale watching
• Spend a month in the United Kingdom
• Travel around Greece
• Swim with Sharks off the coast of South Africa
• See Silverback Gorillas in the wild
• World Wildlife Fund trip
• Go to a Super Bowl game
• Be involved in Girl Scouts
• Never have regrets!