The State of Emergency has been lifted here in Armenia, which means things are back to normal, right? Well, not quite. We had our safety and security meeting today, and we can now travel to Yerevan as we please, but we still have to be cautious as there are still police and military units on the streets ensuring no crowds are assembling. This has been aided by new legislation and rules, which can be best summed up in this lovely quote from our outgoing President:
Kocharian stated that the events of March 1-2 in Yerevan showed that “the bases of our statehood need more serious and stricter legislative protection,” adding that “Democracy needs to be protected from the tyranny of the mob.”
Aside from the tense political situation, life is going well here in Hayastan (you know that’s what they call Armenia here, right?). I have posted a bunch of pictures of the progress on the bathroom renovation, which is coming along well. They are almost usable, and are on schedule to be finished up (conveniently) by the end of the school year.
Yes, the construction is blocking the wheelchair ramp, and yes, I appreciate the irony of that 🙂 Development and changing ideas comes in baby steps sometimes! We did make some additional progress with our English clubs by introducing them to St. Patrick’s Day, complete with potato pancakes, apple sauce, Bailey’s/Jameson’s and Irish pub music. Afterwards they were speaking more openly, although they’re Irish jig dancing could use some work.
Next Sunday we’re taking possibly the biggest leap of faith of our students’ English language skill by hosting a spelling bee, which is part of a national contest organized by Peace Corps volunteers. I’m really excited about it and hope the kids will be in to it as well. It will be interesting, as they don’t even have spelling bees in their Armenian classes, and when they’re spelling they tend to say “rrr” and “www” instead of the “R” or “W”, so it will be interesting. The hardest part will probably be keeping their English teachers from mouthing the answers to them from the audience, to be honest. They’re really proud of their students!
Also, spring has really come full swing here, and it’s been t-shirt weather the past few weeks, which has provided some great hiking and outdoors time playing with the kids in my building. So, partly from the heat, and partly out of boredom, my site mate Alex and I decided to shave our heads the other day!
That picture also highlights the first time in my life I’ve had more facial hair then head hair. Anyway, I thought it was going to look worse, but I’ve always wanted to shave my head, and I figured Peace Corps was the ideal time for it, since everyone things I’m weird here, anyway. I doubt it will be a permanent fixture in my life, but it was worth it to impersonate my brother for a few minutes with a mo-hawk of my own:
I’m not sure Armenia is quite ready for the mo-hawk yet. Come to think of it, America (and my girlfriend, Sara) really isn’t, either. Better that it disappeared as quickly as appeared.
I’d like to preface this post with a note about the previous. Due to the delicate political situation in the country, and Peace Corps’ role as a non-politically affiliated organization, I was asked to password protect my last post about the situation in Yerevan, and any future posts about politics in the country. The password is, and always will be, my last name. However, if you would like a more accurate picture of the situation I recommend reading the US Embassy’s media reviews or other international sources.
So aside from that, life has been great. As I’ve continually griped about since returning from America, it’s been a horrible winter and an even worse adjustment. It was much easier coming in with low expectations than going to America, tasting the “good life” of hot showers, and then coming back to the coldest winter on record since the 70’s. Well, the skies have opened, and spring has arrived. Yesterday, at 10:55 AM, our water came back on after 67 days! It was nice to hear the buzz in town being about something happy. The weather has finally improved here, too, and today I joined my friends from the art school on a hike to a local monastery, Mshkavank. We have beautiful nature and it was nice to take a break and spend some time outdoors with friends. We brought bread, sausage, cheese, etc to make sandwiches, and it all felt very … normal. Until a couple of the girls walk away from the picnic table and start to build a fire. Confused, I asked what we were cooking, as I thought we were only having sandwiches. The answer: coffee, silly! No matter how far from home, the Armenians still find a way. Anyway, today I also celebrated my favorite day of the year: the first day you can wear a t-shirt and not freeze to death!
Things are going well in Noyemberyan. Construction on the bathroom project has been going well, as everything has been completely demolished (which they’re very good at – I hope they can build with such efficiency!). Here is a look at the rooms in their current state. Beautiful, eh?
This weekend we having the second annual English Writing Olympics, which is part of an inter-Caucasus competition. 7th-11th grade students will write creative compositions in English, which we’ll then judge and submit to the Armenian competition (those winners will go against the Georgian and Azeri entries). We are also hosting a spelling bee at the beginning of April, and next week is our big planning meeting for International Outreach Camp 2008.
Oh, and I saw what I would call a “defining moment” of my Peace Corps’ experience yesterday, at the community football field. Naturally, a cow was grazing in the middle, when a pack of stray dogs approached it. They started circling the cow, nipping at it, as it was clearly encroaching on their territory. The situation looked gruesome until 3 other cows approached and stampeded, scaring the dogs off. It felt like West Side Story meets the Peace Corps.
I want to let all of my international readers know that we are now accepting applications for International Outreach Camp (IOC) 2008, for both Armenia and Ukraine. As some of you know, I worked at the IOC camp last summer and had a wonderful time. I met many wonderful, talented, and motivated Armenian and international students, and together we learned a lot and had plenty of fun. This year I am on the core team to organize IOC Armenia 2008. This year we will have a great program, focusing on Civic Leadership, Country Studies (with a Model UN simulation), and Creative Skills.
We are currently accepting applications for international students age 17-22. You can be from any country (including the US), and we welcome anyone who wants to share their culture and learn more about others’ to apply. Here is the flier with more information:
If you are interested in applying, please visit the IOC website. You can also download the application, or read the informational brochure. I hope that some of you will consider, as it was a great experience for me last year, and I’m sure this year will be even better (plus the camp site is much nicer ;))!