From Yerevan and back was a total of about 15 hours of taxi, hitchhiking, and marshutni rides, but was completely worth it. It wasnt incredibly different from Armenia but it was different. There was a different feel to the area. It seemed less chaotic which is a weird feeling considering its recent history. I will not go in to its history or the current conflict because that is not the point of this blog. You can read a basic overview here. This blog is just to update my friends and family and those that happen upon it about my whereabouts and experiences along the way.
Before going to Karabagh, I headed down on Saturday to Goris to spend time with a friend before I left. The two guys I was traveling with and myself spent the night with our PCV friend that is a part of our group but has courageously decided to continue for a little longer. It was a very nice night of interesting conversation and good food. Thanks to him for his wonderful and gracious hospitality, even though he had his father visiting and very little notice!
The next morning, we packed up our few things and headed out to go to Stepanakert. We hitch-hiked there and it was my first experience with that and I loved it! Hopefully I will be able to do it again. It is just nice to experience people's trust and openness. It took us about 3 cars before we got to Stepanakert but each person we met was interesting and interested in us!
Stepanakert was a good town to walk around in and check out different areas. It was really hot and humid there so we were kinda slow doing things. We walked to the Tatik and Papik statue that is on a lot of the brochures or Armenia information. It was interesting to visit Karabagh because I have heard so much about it these last two years and it is such an important part of their foreign policy.
The next day we visited Shushi and saw more of the effects of the war. There were many bombed buildings throughout the city and while walking on the back roads, we saw a lot of the destruction. It was also interesting to see a few mosques and the old fort around the city. Also on a few buildings we would see Farsi writing. Farsi is a beautiful script and one I would love to learn.
While walking through the streets of Shushi, we met a few diaspora that were building a hotel there. I have very mixed feelings about diaspora. There have been a few that I have met that have realistic ideas of what Armenia needs and how to implement those needs efficiently and then there are some that throw money at the problem without actually fixing anything. I think this is a problem with international development in general and not just with diaspora, so please do not confuse my message. Building schools to say you built X amount of schools does not change anything for the children if you are not simultaneously teaching the instructors better classroom techniques. Its like giving resources to people without training them on how to use them. It might look good on paper and to donors but it doesnt actually change anything. Granted, there are lots of places that just need schools built, but Armenia has some infrastructure. True, it could be updated, but I think the focus should be on educator training. Again, this is just one opinion.
To move on from my soap box about international development... We only had two days in Karabagh and on the third we took the earliest marshutni they had back to Yerevan. That night we saw the newest volunteer group swear in and it was weird and satisfying to see a new group join the ranks of volunteer status. They were just like us two years ago, eager to get to work and nervous to leave their comfort nest. I felt like a weirdo being the only 17 that was not extending. It was like the high school graduate that still goes to the high school parties, creepy and incredibly out of place. Thank goodness I had friends in the 18 group!
This was my real last night in Armenia and I did it up right! I visited all of the people that I wanted to visit. I said my goodbyes to the remaining friends in country. The next morning, I packed and repacked my life and donated about half of my stuff to lighten my bag, repacked again, and jumped in a taxi with D and headed out for the train. We made it with 5 minutes to spare and said our final hajos to Hayastan.
It was a mixed feeling train ride and we were able to speak Armenian to an older couple who were pretty impressed about what we have tried to accomplish here. Writing this blog (now a week after the fact), I still dont feel as though I am done with Armenia. I guess that is how all Peace Corps volunteers feel. You can finish your service and say your goodbyes but it never really leaves you. A piece of my heart will always be in Armenia and I am okay with that.
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