July 27, 2010
I have 16 days before I leave early morning from Gavar in August. The goodbyes won't be easy but I am trying right now to prepare as much as possible for the last week. I have finally pared everything down to three categories: baggage for home, home stuff that stays as gift to landlord, return items for PC. Next week is when the craziness begins. Just a glimpse: I say goodbye to my village family one night, my workplace is going on an excursion one day, and Arpine's father Gevorg said that he wants to set up "the long table" for a day long farewell party. Vay vay vay.
Then I will start out on a fantastic journey through western Turkey and Hungary (perhaps a few surrounding Balkan countries) before flying home.
The fruits of my work are already almost-ripening. Arpine is going to Georgia this week to give a 45 minute presentation in English, presenting our corruption center's reform work to 25 other centers from all three Caucuses countries. Not only am I proud of the development of her English skills, but also that this will be her first time leaving Armenia. She is young and headed on a wonderful path, and I am positive this is just the beginning.
Last week a few ladies and I hiked Aragats - the tallest mountain in Armenia. It was eerie, quiet, fresh, and another potential scene out of Lord of the Rings or some medieval novel. We saw an Egyptian Vulture, several hawks, and one type of eagle very close while up there. There were a few Yezdi camps living off of the summer land along the way to the base. The mountain itself is a volcano crater surrounded by four rugged peaks. We climbed the south peak (easiest, and once at the base of the peaks it really took only 3 hours to the top, 2 hours down). The land was greener than green (technicolor green?), purple and yellow wildflowers abound, freshly melting cold spring water (delicious and pure), the path itself to the top was relatively simple but once going up the hard part there was some technical work on unstable slabs rocks (which were beautiful - red and dark gray covered with neon green lichen). The rocks were strange to walk over, they sounded almost hollow inside. At the top there were kerns set up all over and we added to rocks to them. The sky was mostly overcast but the clouds broke up just enough for us to look over the cliff side into the volcano and at the foreboding cliff walls of the other peaks across the way.
Highly recommended to adventure travelers and PCVs. This is a breathtakingly beautiful mountain with great nature and a nice breath of fresh air from civilization.
This evening I had dinner with Diana, Tereza, Narine, Astgh, and Diana's mother. Diana's family lived in Latvia until she was 8 years old - they are an interesting bunch. Diana just returned from a scholarship exchange program in Latvia, and her English is really strong. Her house is decorated with posters of Russian boy bands! It is an interesting mix of posters and ethnic Armenian carpets on the wall and couches. Her mother made "sev toq" which means literally "black liver." First time I've had liver, it was delicious. I think the black part was that it was battered and fried in a pan. I have never had a dish like it in Armenia, and it was neither Armenian nor Latvian. Aside from this interesting meal, the company was fantastic, funny, unique, great conversation. I am going to miss these young women. Ah....
On my way home, the adorable neighbor kids (beautiful girls and boys between 8 and 14 years old) were on the sidewalk looking up at my fourth story window. They told me, your cat is sitting in the window! Sure enough, Edward was fearlessly lounging on a 1" wide window sill that is maybe 50 feet off the ground. The kids got a kick out of that. Then they all crowded around and asked me to speak to them in English, tell them about America, whether Gavar or Yerevan is better (of course I said Gavar which resulted in a round of applause), and give them secret handshakes. Then the ultimate invitation came - Vardavar (water day) is on Sunday. Which means total water chaos beginning at 9 AM. So I want to go get some water balloons and get these kidd-os. Otherwise it will be the good ol' bucket slosh.
And the summer is perfect here, in my town. Low 80s in the day, low 50s at night (opposed to Yerevan which is reaching 104 F multiple days in a row). Blue skies for the past two weeks. Who can complain with that?
Glad to say, I have come out of a funk from the past week and a half, filled with love for my fantastic friends here, not ready to say goodbye but so ready to return to America.
Alita's daughter Sirushik is visiting from Ossetia for the first time in 8 years, when she left Armenia with her husband. Her husband is also from our town but brought his mother and father with them to Ossetia, so he has no desire to ever return here again. Which I believe is the reason it has taken so long for Sirushik to reunite with her mother - and introduce her two daughters (7 and 5) to their grandmother for the first time. And, it costs them about $1200 round trip for the three. They will stay for two months.
I have seen an immense change come over the family. Everybody is smiling and much happier. I'm glad for them. I have visited them a few times to become acquainted with Sirushik. Today she started to feel extremely comfortable, enough to have a conversation about womens' roles in the homestead, dating, marriage, etc.
Eh. I got so angry from the things she told me. First, and this is all ready just a known fact to me, divorce is extremely unacceptable in my town - amote - shameful. And girls are expected to accept and marry the first male who shows interest in them. In this way (how I see it), they become imprisoned for the rest of their lives.
Sirushik told me that she wants to learn how to decorate cakes, make icing roses, etc. She wants to do this for work. But, her husband refuses to let her learn. He requires her to stay in their home. And, not only is the husband making the decisions for her, but so are his mother and father. She wanted to learn how to style hair. Another thing that her husband demands she does not learn to do.
Then she was telling me that her little sister, Arevik who lives in Gavar - I have mentioned her before, is living in the same situation. She has to ask her entire household - that is, her husband and his parents - whether or not she can visit her mother who lives 2 km up the road. And if she is on a visit, they may call her and demand her to come home immediately.
Freedom of choice to do what one wants for most women where I live is nonexistent. Divorce out of these situations is not an option. It is a form of imprisonment and perhaps mental abuse.
A few weeks ago, my organization and I went on a picnic by Sevan. The young women (23 to 25 years old) had to ask permission from their fathers to join us. One of them was not allowed to come with us. To a harmless picnic by the lake with local development workers in the day light.
These are some of the gender situations that are quite oppressive. And, of course, make me thankful to be born as an American woman.
Tuesday morning, myself and 8 other volunteers woke up at 6:30 AM to set out for Mount Khustup (3200 m/10,500 ft above sea level) just outside of Kapan (900 m/2970 ft above sea level). This mountain is enchanting, and looks like it was the setting for Lord of the Rings.
We walked through the town and an outlying village before trekking through deciduous forest that really reminded me of the North Georgia mountains. I felt like I was home. The incline was really steep, and we hiked about 2000 meters of incline in 6 hours. Along the way, we found a few single-home settlements. The first one we came upon about 3 hours into the trip, and they invited us to their camp and offered us coffee and tan (sour yogurt/water drink). 
We met their horses and dogs. The dogs were very nicely groomed and an actual breed of some sort (most dogs we meet in Armenia are mangy muts). Very pleasant and peaceful mountain people.
After many heavy steps - especially towards the end - we reached the top where there were several small summer shacks for shepherds. We met a grandmother who invited us to stay overnight in one of them, which was really just a concrete box. This little settlement had about 10 horses, one of which would silently watch us from 50 feet away. The area was so green, forested, filled with wild flowers, and quiet. Very serene and clean. There was one empty mystery home that was very nice, decked out with running water, a good BBQ pit, a hot shower (as seen by the gas balloon hooked up to a shower-sized shack), and a great view. We watched a thunderstorm roll in, made khorovats, and rested our weary legs for the next day. 
The next morning we woke up to perfect clear skies, and a few of my friends and I had to leave early and quickly hike back down the mountain to catch transport to our sites in time. Traveling to that part of the country takes a good 8 hours minimum from where I live.
Best hike I have done so far, although my muscles are suffering for it (wobbling around the apartment all weekend). Still making plans for Mount Aragats in late July/early August.
Photos courtesy of the talented Emily Haas.
Visiting with my co-workers' families is always a very fulfilling experience. One of the reasons I like such visits is because the fathers will often give their passionate perspectives on the Soviet time period, where everybody was equal in income, equal in workloads, just equal. These perspectives I do not hear from the younger generation because the young'uns don't remember what it was like 20 years ago. But it is very hard to imagine the streets of my town bustling with people, carousels and cafes in open spaces, everything kept nicely. After 20 factories being shut down due to the collapse, and the city turning into a dead rural town, I completely sympathize with these men.
Tonight I had a great conversation with Astgh's father comparing cultural morals, capitalism, educational systems, respect, corruption. It was similar to conversations I have had with others before, but as my language improves (still) this conversation had a greater impact on my understanding. Unfortunately I leave with feelings of desperation and disbelief that this country can be fixed. I believe Yerevan can be and has all ready improved in these past two years, but the rural areas have a long way to go. In my area, much of this will require education reforms, major improvements in gender issues, teaching young boys to respect their elders. Etc.
Monday I went birdwatching with about 10 volunteers and a good friend, Manuk, in Armash (fishery with several ponds and a great amount of wildlife to go with it). We saw:
Marsh Harrier
Pygmy Cormorant
Roller
Cuckoo * has a cuckoo voice, very cute.
Jackdaw
Reedlings
Crested Grebe
Cormorant
Pochard
Night Heron
Glossy Ibis * personal favorite, iridescent
Black Winged Stilt
White Tailed Lapwing
Reed Warbler
Little Bittern
Green Warbler * super bright!
I have about 9 weeks left of service in Armenia. It shows in my clothing! I have yet another hole, this time in my favorite pair of jeans. I am becoming an expert patch-maker.
Arpine and I took her 10 year old sister, Narine, to museums and the Mexican restaurant in Yerevan yesterday. We visited Sergei Paradjanov's museum and the Cascade. At the Cascade, you take a series of escalators and elevators to visit various galleries until you reach the top of the museum, where you can go outside and overlook the city, with Ararat and Little Masis rising in the background. Beautiful view. Narine was terrified of stepping onto escalators and we had to coax her to get on all 8 of them to the top. We don't have any escalators in Gavar, so I guess she's not used to that movement.
Last week I helped one of my friends paint a river campsite owned by one of the Armenian bishops in Vayots Dzor. The river was icy and raging from snow melt. From 30 feet away you could feel its coolness.
I'm moving forward with the mural that we'll paint on the school wall next to the playground. It will have an anti-littering theme. We plan to do it July 9 through 13, when the new volunteers are on their site visits and can join us. I think my town is going to get two or three new PCVs. The only situation with the mural is that so far I've had to go to two different entities for approval - first the school director, then the mayor (who is all for it). I'm always told something new at the last minute though, and today I learned that in addition I need to ask the regional governor for approval (creating quite a slow process). Apparently the mayor and governor do not get along, so I'm hoping not to run into any problems - especially in the agreement signing process.
When I last visited the mayor, he showed me an article the regional paper wrote about the playground and was happy with how everything has turned out. Armenia's Minister of Sports and Recreation is visiting this Friday and the mayor's office asked me to join them in showing the minister our park.
I am enjoying black cherries (75 cents per pound), zucchini (10 cents per pound), and Iranian semuchka - sunflower seeds - that are 3 times the size of you're average sunflower seed and totally delicious.
