24 February 2011

I know I promised an update like forever ago, so I apologize for the tardiness of these postings. I also do not have a lot of details about November and December because my calendar for those months are in America.

November:

Thanksgiving party, All-Vol Conference, and the ticket home. As you can see, the Thanksgiving party was a lot of fun. All-Vol was good as usual. And my mom decided to fly me home for Christmas!!!

December:

Finished up clubs before I went home for 2 weeks. Planned going home (or more like had my mom plan my schedule.. hehe.). Went home. I had a wonderful time at home and it was great to see most of my family.

My mom, like a pro, scheduled my weeks out so that I spent about a day with each of my family members. It was great because I was able to have quality time with each person. Before I went home, I received advice from other volunteers to write a to-do list. My to-do list was getting to the point of ridiculousness but I am happy to report that just about everything was accomplished (eat a great burger- thanks Nancy!, have delicious home cooked food- thanks Mom!, have shrimp- thanks Kamal! have some good mixed drinks- thanks and sorry Heather!, have delicious breakfast items- thanks Anita, see a bald eagle- thanks nature!, see the coast, buy a bunch of crap- Febre and so many other things...). There was a hiccup in the unlocking iPhone department, but I resolved that issue in Armenia.

One of the greatest things about going home was the realization that I miss home, I miss my family but I am really happy living abroad. And my family gave their blessing for my living decision. And they all gave it independently without coercion. They all said they understand what I want out of life and as long as I come home for Christmas or summers they will fully support what I decide. It is always nice to know that you have the support and love of your family and that is exactly what I received while I was home.

With that knowledge, the decision about where I would go, what I would do, and how I would live after PC has been overwhelming. If you know me at all, you know I like to have a direction of some sort. (I have had my life planned out since I was 8- go to college, get a degree, join PC- but it ended there and now I am left without a direction.) It does not have to be a concrete, non-negotiable decision, but a general direction was nice. I didnt have that before going home and I am still struggling to develop that after being back for two months. I know, ideally, where I would like my life to go but planning out a direction to go in that has soooo many unknowns is hard. And this is where January and February come in...

January:

Rang in the New Years with a great friend in Kapan, celebrated a little more all over the country, started back with clubs, had the winter sickness (nice cough, slight temp, stuffiness... all that jazz), canceled clubs due to cold weather and inability to feel my fingers, had the country director visit my site, and started up a new club for younger students.

February:

Went to a friend's site to celebrate Chinese New Year (read: made way too much delicious Chinese food and shared in the dragon dance), watched the Super Bowl at 3:30 in the morning and was subjected to the Black Eyed Peas horrid halftime show, had a girls weekend in the north with some of my favorite people, and continued my clubs when we could feel our fingers (still working on that though).

These last couple of months have dragged on and sped by at the same time. August is getting closer and closer and I keep having to focus myself in the present. After PC I know I will be traveling but every time I look at a map the direction changes. I know I will be going to India and Malaysia but how I get to India is another decision completely... Turkey (again), Bulgaria-Romania-Greece, the Stans, Turkey-Syria-Iran-the Stans??? Who knows and it doesnt help when I meet people who have just visited/lived/worked in those places and they tell me how awesome/beautiful/interesting/unique it is.

I do have some interesting upcoming events these next months. I will be writing a grant for the culture house, hopefully upgrading the culture house so that it is more functional, having my students participate in a couple national and global competitions, going to see an Armenia vs Russia football match, and continue to stare at a map until a direction becomes clear.

So keep tuned to see how this grant works out and who will qualify for the Euro 2012.