Sunday, June 24, 2012

One Month Down


I know many of you are wondering “What the heck is Ashley doing in Armenia? I mean, it’s been nearly A MONTH and she's hardly posted ANYTHING.” Well dear readers, I do apologize for my lack of contact. Needless to say, I have been all kinds of busy trying to learn how I will navigate the next two years of my life. A life that is filled with a plethora of new faces, a new language, a new alphabet, new work, new expectations, new ideas of normalcy, and new meshes of emotions.

I moved in with my host family on May 29th and was greeted with open arms. The village has a total population of about 520 and everyone lives very close. My host mother and father are extremely kind people who always ensure that my comfort level is high and my belly is full. And just a couple of weeks ago, I was greeted with three new faces in my household: my host mother and father’s daughter-in-law and her two sons, aged 10 and 3; they will remain here for the summer. There is a large diaspora of Armenians living in Russia (and elsewhere) due to lack of work. My host mother and father’s son is a part of that, and he is staying in Russia to continue to work.

There is hardly a time where there is nothing going on at home; my mom is continuously working in the garden, milking the cow, making cheese or juices, cooking, or doing dishes….or having a little coffee break. My host father raises bees and up until about a week ago, we had 40 beehives in our front yard. However, every summer they get taken to orchards near Lake Sevan and remain there until fall. It is my understanding that these (I believe) apricot orchards are very rich in floral life, so the honey production is increased dramatically. My host father sells his honey all over, which has gone as far as France!

My host mom making strawberry juice while her great-nieces watch

Michael-jan raving about the excellent coffee (it really is the best coffee I've ever had!)

Bees!!


We also have a plethora of vegetation growing in our yard: cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, cherries, walnuts, beans, greens, and a variety of others. We also have a cow, about nine chickens, and four pigs. Needless to say, my host parents stay very busy ensuring all is well-kept.

While my host parents work on the farm and in the house, my daily life consists of waking up at about 7:15ish and having a hot shower (woo-hoo! I’m embracing this while I can) and a wonderful spread of food for breakfast. I’ve attempted to tell my host mom that I don’t need so much food for breakfast, but I always receive bread, butter, and fresh honey, cucumber tomato salad, fresh cheese, and some combination of meats, eggs, cream of wheat, and/or oatmeal. In addition, I have tea or hot cocoa. Then my host mother asks if I want coffee (which means coffee, chocolates, and any other fruit or pastries that are available). Usually, I don’t have enough time to enjoy this and head off to school.

There are three other PC Trainees in my language class. This class is held at the local school which is complete with seven rooms total, including the principal’s office.  We generally have class from 9AM-1PM six days per week. This means we’ve covered a LOT of information in a relatively short time period. My retention has been lacking in places, but overall I think I’m doing alright. After language, we all leave to our respective homes for lunch. Lunch is very much like breakfast but instead of the cream of wheats, eggs, and/or oatmeal, I get beans, potatoes, soup and/or cooked greens in addition to the standard table spread (bread, cheese, butter, honey, salad). After lunch, I usually have enough time to have coffee and sweets and engage (at some level) in conversation with whomever happens to be present; sometimes it’s just myself and my host mother, but other times neighbors visit and join in on coffee and conversation.

After lunch, all the trainees in my town travel to a nearby town where we meet up with others in my program (Community and Youth Development) for tech training. Each day, we have a different presenter provide us with information regarding governance and leadership, organizational management, or other information which may be useful to us once we move to site.

We then go back home for yet another meal and evenings are generally spent with family and friends, and for me, more studying and homework.

I’ve grown pretty accustomed to life here. We have a washing machine, so laundry is pretty easy, we have a toilet (which we have to bucket flush, but I’m not complaining), and like I said earlier, I have hot water for showers. My room is fantastic and complete with a comfortable bed, a coffee table and couch, and a vanity.

My bedroom

The main room in our home

The beautiful wood inlay floor


Tomorrow I learn where I will be placed for my permanent site. I am extremely anxious to learn about the town and organization that I will be spending the next two years of my life with. Thursday and Friday I will have the opportunity to meet my counterpart (the person whom I will be working with most closely throughout my service) and over the weekend, I will be in my new town with my new host family.


I know this post is extremely long, so kudos if you’ve got this far. I will definitely post again once I know a bit more about my assignment , site, and new host family. Shnorhakalutoon for reading and please stay tuned for more!