Berev Dzez!
I hope things are going well for everyone back home. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to post more often, but I only have Internet once or twice a week. I will do my best though!
Anyway, things in Armenia are great. We arrived here safely last Friday to a grandois welcome ceremony in Yerevan (the capital) and it has been non-stop ever since. We had an initial three days at training in a old camp in Vanadzor (in the mountains up north) which was very nice – indoor plumbing, etc 😉 Last Friday we moved in with our host families, and I am living in a village called Bazum, which has a population of about 1,200 people. I live with one woman, a 50 year old widow named Layly, and she is absolutely marvelous. Armenia is beautiful, the food is great, and the people are so incredibly nice. For those of you who want the short version, I’ll stop here, but if you want the full story, click this post’s title (Berev Dzez) or below to read the rest. If you’re not reading on – why not? you’ll miss the pictures! - but otherwise take care.
Just to let everybody know 🙂 – I’ll post more later. Miss you all!
We have successfully made it to Vienna! And they have free internet, so that’s even better. It’s been a great couple of days since I’ve written last – we all went out on Saturday night, including a visit to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaraunt, and more Saki bombs than anyone knew what to do with. It was a great time though.
Sunday myself and two other volunteers went to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where our Declaration of Independence and Consitution were signed. It was a very cool experience, and it was nice to be able to appreciate America’s history and culture before heading to Armenia – reminds you of your roots, ya know? After that, we had a long bus ride (3.5 hours) to JFK, and a longer flight (8.5 hours) to Vienna.
We had a 10 hour layover, so we decided to head into Vienna and check it out – it’s quite an amazing city. New pictures have been posted – check those out. Some of my favorites include the wienerschnitzel (mmm), the amazing churches, and of course all my new friends. Plus, Austrian beer is amazing! We also met a Uzbekistani family in the airport who just had a gold medal winning daughter in swimming, so that was kind of neat. They pointed out how small Armenia really was 😉
We are flying out in about an hour or so, and then the journey begins with an “initiation” taking place at sunrise. It should be really nice. After that we have four days in a dorm together, and then we move in with our first host families for the next seven weeks. I’m sure it will be an amazing time.
On a side note: Thank you to everyone who has sent emails, notes on my wall and especially Facebook messages. I miss everyone a lot, and I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. Take care, and I will write soon!
Today we finished our training in Philadelphia, and we ship out for Armenia around 3pm tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. While I was a little scared before the training began, I feel really confident considering our group, and I think we’re all going to be just fine the next few years. While I can’t say if all 51 of us will leave together in 26 months, I think everyone here’s heart is in the right place. It’s reassuring to be with 50 other people who think the same way you do and aren’t questioning your decisions. But thank you to everyone back home for all your support – I definetly appreciate it.
Today we talked about lots of PC policies, got to show off my acting abilities, and will soon enough be eating all the sushi I can eat (probably for a while)! I also ate lunch with a retired lady who was born in Thailand, so we talked about that, and she also gave me the inside scoop on oil companies (reminded me a lot of Thank You for Smoking). Tomorrow we’re going to check out the Liberty Bell and some Phili landmarks, so look for pictures of that eventually.
I’m not sure when I’ll be able to write again – we’ll have to see how good Armenian internet really is. If you don’t hear from me for a while, remember, NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS. I’ll close with a good quote we heard today, found on a tree in San Fransisco and somewhat encompasses what PC is all about, to me:
The meaning of life is to plant a tree that you will never expect to sit under its shade.