BRO Camp

The slideshow I made for the certificate ceremony

I just finished a week at BRO camp and it is by far the best experience I have had since arriving in Armenia and I would count it among one of the best experiences I have ever had.  When I think back to what I wanted from my Peace Corps experience, this past week is exactly what I was looking for. I can't believe how quickly the time went by and am so grateful to have had such an unforgettable experience with some young men who I feel confident in saying, will be leaders here in Armenia.  After coming back from vacation, I was feeling excited about my next year, but this last week made me fall back in love with this country.

BRO stands for Boys Reaching Out and was a leadership development summer school conducted by the New Generation Humanitarian NGO in collaboration with the US Peace Corps Armenia with support from the Democracy Commission Small Grants program of the US Embassy in Yerevan, Armenia.  The goal of the camp is to foster leadership development skills among young men of Armenia by non-formal education methods.  When I applied to be a counselor for camp several months ago, I was excited about the opportunity to work with young men as I had never worked with this population before.  I expected it to be a good experience, but had no idea how incredible it would be.  Over the course of the week, we had several lessons on environment, health and nutrition, cultural identity, healthy relationships, gender, sexual health, human rights, a debate on what can be gained from volunteerism, lots of UNO games, the boys loved playing, though they were pretty flexible about the rules:) (side note, for anyone interested in sending me something, I would be more than happy to receive UNO games so I can hand them out to my Armenian friends, it's amazing how much they love to play), and so much more.  

We had a total of 21 boys from many different areas of Central and Northern Armenia, most of whom didn't know each other, but by the end of the week, the brotherhood and friendships which they had formed was really cool to watch.  During the lessons, we had a lot of group work and I was blown away with how dedicated and engaged the boys were with each activity we did.  They were open with their opinions about certain issues and topics, were supportive of each other, and I truly feel like this week made a significant difference in their lives.  But it wasn't only their lives that were affected, this week changed my Peace Corps experience and in talking with the other PCV's, it appears the same happened for them.  We also had a few Armenian counterpart counselors who were just as committed as we were and who I also believe gained more from this past week than any of us can put into words.

I have had my struggles with cultural differences here at times, but seeing these boys, getting to know them, seeing their leadership skills, witnessing the bonds they formed with each other and with us gave me such a different view of Armenia in a way that has changed the whole outlook I have for this country and its people.  It's not to say that I won't continue to have struggles here, but the Armenia high I am experiencing right now is something I want to remember when I am having a tough day or moment.  I laughed a lot, learned a lot, and was genuinely happy all week.  And beyond all of the significant moments that happened, it's the little ones that I appreciate the most, teaching the boys how to shuffle cards and seeing the excitement they had when they finally got it down, seeing more and more boys carrying around water bottles and drinking water all day long after their lesson on hydration, receiving flowers after morning exercise, how happy they were to share their opinion and be respected by everyone in the group, witnessing the boys really come out of their shells and seeing their confidence being raised throughout the week, listening to one of the boys and one of the Armenian counselors sing the whole bus ride back to Yerevan and getting the whole bus singing and clapping, not only knowing each of the boy's names but having had enough time with every one of them to know something special about each one, the pride they had when they received their certificates at the end of camp, how much they cheered each other on when their names were called to get their certificates, and the crazy amount of pictures taken and hugs received after the ceremony, and just how much I grew to care about all of them in such a short period of time.

I know I still have a year of my service left, but I think it's safe to say that this experience will be one of the defining projects of my Peace Corps service.  To me, what I got to be a part of this last week is what Peace Corps is all about and at this moment, I couldn't be more proud to be serving in Armenia.

the whole group after the certificate ceremony

Me and Narek, love this kid

My home group "freedom" Garik, Artor, Andre, and Daniel

All of the counselors

Officially in my 2nd year of Peace Corps!

We just finished our Mid-Service Training conference and together, with the other A-20's, I stepped into our 2nd year of Peace Corps.  After going home for a few weeks, I was able to take a break, reflect, and put my whole experience into a new perspective.  This has certainly been one of my toughest years, but also one of my best.  I have been challenged, celebrated successes, learned how to live in a new culture, one which felt really familiar when I first arrived but has proven to be wildly different from the one I grew up in, formed lifelong friendships, learned a lot about myself, and is nothing like what I expected.  As someone who has considered myself pretty open-minded and  go with the flow, I have learned that when living in a totally foreign place, many things which I thought I knew about myself have been challenged.  And after a lot of fighting back and pushing myself to integrate, learning to accept differences and embracing them in a way that is best for Armenia, I can say I am really pumped for my second year.  The work I have put in my counterparts has been amazing some days and incredibly difficult others, but turns out, it was all worth it and, at the end of the day,  building trust and focusing on the relationship is what is getting me further than trying to change things that may or may not want change.

Two of my counterparts, Gevorg and Diana, at MST

That being said, the last day of MST was dedicated to working with our counterparts, celebrating our accomplishments over the last year and planning for our last year together.  Over the course of the day, my energy and excitement for the coming year increased the more my counterparts and I planned.  Between the two NGO's and the orphanage, we have four major projects that I would love to be able to see through to the end.

The first is trainings for the parents of children who are patients at CDRC, a project I have previously mentioned.  My counterpart Gevorg and I are currently in the process of filling out an application for a SPA grant ( a grant sponsored by Peace Corps) and after putting in a lot of the leg work since February, I am feeling pretty confident that we will be able to see this project through.  Our plan right now is to have 4 phases of the trainings, which will be aimed at training the parents on how to continue rehabilitation treatment in the home.  The first phase will be dedicated to increasing the parents' knowledge about their child's disability as well as providing a parents support group of sorts, since the parents really don't have this resource yet.  The second phase will be hands on training with the guidance of a trainer on how to use certain games, books, resources, and more in the home.  For this phase, the children will not be present and will give parents the chance to familiarize themselves with the resources as well as to be comfortable with using them and understanding how they will further support the rehabilitation their child is already receiving.  The third phase is also hands on, but with their children, so the trainers can oversee the parents and help guide them.  For this part of the training, we will be installing a playroom in the Resource Center beforehand, which then can also be used by parents anytime CDRC is open.  The fourth phase will be follow-up either at the resource center or through home visits.  As this is a project which the parents and staff at CDRC have asked for, Gevorg and I really excited to see if finally coming to fruition.

The second project is also for CDRC and will be a transportation service for the parents and children to and from their villages to ease the financial strain they are currently facing trying to get their children to their appointments.  We currently have funding for everything but the van and have also received a commitment from the Director of CDRC that she will take care of the logistics of scheduling appointments so that children from the same villages will be seen on the same day.  Gevorg and I will be working on an online fundraising campaign for the van shortly.

The third project is for the two NGO's with which Diana and I work with in Vardenis and Chambarak.  We are going to start with helping them to put together a questionnaire for their beneficiaries to help identify their needs.  Afterwards, we are going to help them with project planning to address the needs and help with developing a fundraising plan to fundraise for their projects.  As leadership is a big problem for both of them, we are also going to work on HR focused trainings.

The last project is for the girls we work with at the orphanage.  After a year working with the girls, we have gained their trust and have grown to love them, but also have learned more about the reality of what direction their lives may take after they turn 18.  Armenia already has a serious problem with unemployment without adding on the fact that many of these girls do not have families or ways to support themselves after they leave.  So we are going to work on a professional development curriculum and focus on these trainings for the older girls.  In addition, we are already in discussions with organizations and individuals about possible programs/employment the girls can be involved with after they complete the professional development track.  One option at this point is a school for Executive Assistant Training.

While cultural adjustment continues to be tough for me, the work we have already put into these projects and the plans we have made for the future have given me new life here.  Everyday, I realize more and more how blessed I am to have such motivated and committed counterparts and I am really looking forward to seeing how all of this plays out.

Since I last wrote, one of my biggest projects to date is complete, Gavar's First Talent Show!  For the most part, it went off without a hitch.  The kids were amazing, both those who performed on stage and those who submitted artwork for the art exhibition.  The auditorium was packed with both kids and parents, who cheered on their peers as they sang, danced, played the drums, and recited poetry.  And, when my counterpart said thank you to me at the end, the kids in the audience started chanting my name.  It was a lot of work, I learned a lot about the realities of trying something new in Armenia, the challenges which are not only frustrating to me, but also to my counterpart, and also what it feels like when the people in my community are excited and supportive when something like the Talent Show is a success.  I am not sure if it will happen or not, but based upon the audience's reaction and what they said to us after the show, we have hopes of trying to do it next year, with a few minor changes.

The best part of having a successful talent show?  It helped me feel good about my work here and made me more ready to go home and be excited about coming back.  A few days after the show, I got to step foot back in America for the first time in over a year and that trip was no less than amazing.  I promised myself I wouldn't get caught up in culture shock and that I would enjoy every second I had and that's exactly what I did.  I got to spend time with so many people I love, got to stand next to one of my best friends as she married a wonderful man, got to hang with my dad in NYC, surprised mom with a birthday photo shoot, had Dorrie by my side most of the time I was home, had crab cakes, guacamole, Ben and Jerry's ice cream, bagels, good beer, caught an O's game, saw how much two of my favorite girls have grown, went camping and just enjoyed the country that my love has only grown for since I've been in Armenia.  While I was worried that going home my throw me off, it was actually the right decision and right time for me to make the trip.  I was able to be myself, not get stared at for not looking Armenian, could understand everything that people were saying, and just be happy.  It also gave me the motivation I needed to really embrace my second year here in a way I really needed.

And now that I'm back, I feel good.  I'm tired, haven't really been back to Gavar much yet because of how crazy summer is here.  Between site announcement, I have a new sitemate who will be moving to Gavar in August!, MST, the A19's heading back to America, and being a camp counselor starting tomorrow for a boy's leadership camp, I am running a little bit on fumes right now, but I am enjoying every second.  Now that the A19's are leaving, we are the old and experienced ones, which is actually a pretty great feeling.  We've been here long enough to find our way as much as we can, build relationships so we can understand the culture and how to be successful with work here, have learned to be okay with the things we may not like about this country, and have also realized the things we really love and are going to miss when it's our time to go.  And the reality that we only have a year left is also starting to set in, we have one year to get projects completed and to figure out what's next...something I am going to start working about after BRO camp is over.  For now, I am going to continue to enjoy the ride, get ready for my mom's visit in Sept! and just appreciate the pretty crazy opportunity I have had and continue to have living and working here in Armenia.

saying goodbye to two of my favorite A19's Kim and Brian

In order to remember everything that has happened over the last year, I put together a little slideshow, more for me to take a look back and see how much I really have done and experienced since I've gotten here, especially for the days when I forget, but hopefully some of you are able to enjoy it too:)

Until next time, hajoghgootyoon!  (goodbye or I wish you well:)