The countdown begins...4 months left of my Peace Corps service!

As crazy as it is, as of March 8th, I will only have 4 months left here in Armenia.  I will be ready to come home, ready to be with the people I miss and have access to the things I love about America.  But it's also a very strange feeling to know that there are only 4 months of this experience left, just as I really feel like I've started to get Armenia and how to be successful and how to live here.  My last Armenian winter is slowly coming to an end, so getting excited for Spring and the start of Summer here!  But more on that later:)

Since I last wrote, some really amazing things have happened.  To start, I got to spend 8 days in Ghana with a friend of mine, Gary, who is a Peace Corps volunteer serving in the central region.  After some difficulties securing my VISA and finding the yellow fever vaccine, I landed in Accra to warm weather, sunshine, and what ended up being one of the most amazing trips I've ever had (and one I am going to try to describe as much as I can:).  I wanted to take advantage of experiencing Ghana through the eyes of a Peace Corps volunteer so I could really see Ghana, or at least as much as I could in the short time we had.  Gary planned everything, so I just had to follow his lead, quite literally at times as the public transportation is incredibly challenging to navigate, and we did as much as I can possibly imagine could be fit into the time I was there. One thing that actually helped with all of the traveling we did, my luggage didn't show up until the day before I headed back to Armenia.  I can tell how much more laid back I've become since I've been a PCV and after living in Armenia because wearing the same clothes for the whole trip and not having my usual stuff wasn't a big deal, you don't really need much to get by:)  And I'm sure having my hiking bag would have made the already cramped public transportation a lot more difficult.  Among the first things I noticed about the incredible differences between Ghana and Armenia were the colors present everywhere, the clothing, the buildings, everywhere you looked it was colorful.  Living in Armenia, you get used to the majority of people wearing black and the dullness of many of the buildings here and the colors in Ghana totally energized me.  The first few days all I could say was how much I loved the country, so much so Gary asked if I just loved everything.  But it was just such a different world from what I have been living in for the last almost 2 years, that it really opened my eyes to the extremely different places we live in and how incredibly different our Peace Corps services are.  Another thing I absolutely loved was the music, it felt like it was everywhere.  You woke up in the morning and heard people singing and in many of the villages we passed, there were huge speakers and people dancing while they walked down the street.  Below is one of my favorite songs that I heard.

The first night, we stayed in Accra with a woman named Kate, she had been Gary's counterpart until she moved to Accra to be with her husband.  Many teachers in Ghana, once they graduate, are placed by the Ministry of Education in a school, most likely not one in their hometown and many are separated from their families as a result.  At times, these placements are up to 10 years before they can request to work at a school where their family is.  Kate had been living in Gary's village for the first few months of his service before she was able to be placed in Accra to be with her husband who is a nurse at one of the hospitals in the capital.  Kate is one of the most incredible women I have ever met, her energy, openness, and instant love for me is something I will always remember.  In Ghana, everyone refers to each other as their brother and sister and it is unclear who is actually related and who is not because this endearment for one another ends up being just as much if not more important than actual family ties.  Gary and I also stayed with Kate and her husband my last night in Ghana and she let me know that I would forever be her sister, something that will always be one of the most important things that happened to me during my trip.  During my second day, Gary and I went with Kate to sit in on her class for a little bit and meet the kids.  I haven't gotten the kind of positive attention we did that day in as long as I can remember, the kids were giggling, smiling, touching us, and so excited that we were there.  Their smiles were incredible and totally lit up the whole room.  Each school has a uniform, so all of the kids were dressed up in the same outfits, boys in shorts, girls in skirts.  I noticed that all of the girls had their hair cut very short and it turns out that is the current fashion.  The class was taught in English as that is the national language, but there is also the language for the different areas in which people live, many in Accra and Gary's village speak Twi and in many areas English is not spoken at all.  (I tried unsuccessfully to learn a little bit:)  At first, I had a hard time understanding the English as they have a very distinct accent, which made it interesting listening to the volunteers speak because they also use the accent to better understand each other, but after a few days it became a little easier to understand.

My sister Kate:)

We left Kate's class and started the journey to Hohoe,where we stayed for 2 nights.  Transportation takes quite a bit longer in Ghana than Armenia due to some incomplete roads, dirt roads, and other obstacles.  Most of the travel is done in a vehicle called a Tro, it is similar to the marshutni's we have in Armenia, but they are bigger and can hold more people.  Transportation is also quite a bit more expensive in Ghana than Armenia as the gas prices continue to go up.  Every stop the tro's make, you are surrounded by people trying to sell water satchels (about 10 cents a piece and you go through many of these throughout the day), and food, pretty convenient when you want a snack over a long journey. I got hooked on fried yams and a sauce called Pepe, it became my staple throughout my whole trip. Once we got to Hohoe, I got to experience my first Ghanian meal, banku, a dough type substance that you pick up with your hands and dip into a spicy soup.  Apparently, it was a rite of passage to eat this and I liked it so much, we got it our second night there:)

Banku

 Another huge difference between our two countries is people don't really start moving in Armenia until 9 or 10 am whereas in Ghana the day starts pretty much by the time the sun is up, 5:30 or 6am.  So after a long day of travelling, my usual bedtime of midnight quickly changed to me passing out way earlier than I'd like to admit.  The next day was one of our two touristy days,we started by heading to a monkey sanctuary, such a cool experience.  We were given bananas and our guide made really interesting noises to call the monkeys to us.  We gripped the bananas tightly and the monkeys jumped right up onto our arms.  First time I'd ever experienced anything like it and it was really fun.  Then we took a short hike to Wili Waterfalls and it was an absolutely stunning site.  Because I was wearing the only jeans I had, I didn't get to wade over to the wall, but Gary made it over to under the waterfall, which proved to be a little more challenging than it looked.





That night we headed to another PCV's site to cut our journey to Cape Coast in half.  We were treated to a delicious Mexican meal complete with guacamole, totally a treat since we can't get avocados in Armenia:)  The next morning we finished the trip to Cape Coast and I got to see the Atlantic Ocean from the other side and it was amazing.  We went on a tour of the Cape Coast Castle, one of the places where slaves were held for up to 3 months before they started the journey to the US.  It was one of the most powerful tours I have been on, at one point, they put us in one of the dungeons and turned the lights off to give us a slight glimpse into what the slaves had to experience.  We then grabbed a beer at a bar with the best view of the coast and topped the night off with a delicious dinner and a dip in the ocean. 

 I could have stayed in Cape Coast a bit longer, but we were on a time crunch and headed to Gary's village.  We spent the evening watching music videos with one of Gary's friends Henry and his wife and child and chatting with a guy they call Nana Chelsea, because of his love for the football club.  Nana is the word for Chief and it is a honor to be referred to as Nana.  The village has named Gary Nana Kwasi Ata, which includes the word for twin because he reminds them of their former Chief and this name shows the amount of love they have for him.  The next day, I was also introduced to the Queen Mother, who is the female head of the village, she was an incredibly sweet and sophisticated woman and it was really special for me to have had the chance to meet her.  Everyone in the village was so wonderful and wanted to say hello, so it took us quite a bit of time to walk from Gary's place to the cab since it was time to go.  Then came the end of my journey.  I experienced so  much more during this trip and am so grateful to have had the chance to go and to have such an incredible host:)  And, Gary plans to come to Armenia for a visit in May to experience another side of Peace Corps, so it's my turn to show him what life is like here!

Cape Coast

The second I landed back in Armenia, things were crazy.  A few days after I got back, the US Ambassador John Heffern came to Gavar to see the Rehabilitation in the Home Trainings, Good Hope NGO, and the Children Development and Rehabilitation Center of Gavar.  He came to better understand the work we were doing and to show his support to our parents, children, and staff.  It was one of the best days I have had in country and so important to our beneficiaries:)  What was really great, is the week after the visit, Candace Cable, an American Paralympian came to Armenia to show her support of people with disabilities and the Ambassador invited my counterpart Mariam and I to participate in many of the events Ms. Cable was holding.  It was such a special experience for both of us.

Ambassador John Heffern visits Gavar!

We also celebrated Peace Corps week with many of the friends we have made in Gavar.  They gave interviews about why working with Peace Corps has been important to them and also talked about what they want Americans to know about Armenia.  We are working on editing the film so I hope to share that with all of you soon.

Celebrating Peace Corps week!

And now, I am just staying busy trying to get everything wrapped up before I leave in July.  My counterpart Mariam and I, from Good Hope, are working on a project to provide legal counseling to our NGO and we have a couple more months until our rehab in the homes project is complete, Diana and I are working on project proposals with the NGO's we work with in neighboring villages, and I am working with other members of the Gender Equality Training of Trainers steering committee on the upcoming conference which will include seminars on domestic violence, gender selective abortions, HIV and AIDS, contraception, gender issues in Armenia, and more.

And, in non-work related news, my plumbing has finally been fixed!  After three months of no water, dishes piling up, and many entertaining moments, I now have full access to water:)  So that's the latest from Gavar!  I am starting to work on my resume and looking at jobs so I will also keep you all posted on that!  Sending lots of love from Armenia!

Hoping this is the last of the snow!

Showers are overrated

So, since before the new year, my water pipes have been frozen meaning I have had no source of water for about 3 weeks.  I started to melt snow to use for my toilet and have been buying jugs of water from the local store to get by.  But, after three weeks, the dishes started to pile up and the snow started to melt, so I finally told my counterpart that I needed a plumber to come.  Frozen pipes are really common in Armenia and I have gone for some time without water, but after trying to heat my pipes with my small PC issued heater and a hair dryer to no avail, it was time to bring in an expert.  For three hours, the plumber, his son, and my director cut pipes until they finally got my toilet working and then they gave up, to be continued at another time, which was fine, the toilet was important.  The only pipe hooked up and working in my bathroom was the direct line to the toilet.  One morning, I was lying in bed and heard the gushing sound of water coming from my bathroom.  I ran from my room and discovered that the pipe had popped off the toilet and was flooding my bathroom, but I also realized that meant I now had a reliable source of water!  After spending two hours mopping, cleaning, and filling up every bucket, water jug, and plastic bottle I had accumulated over the last three weeks, I finally felt I had enough water to last for a while, so I turned off my water and started boiling water to clean the ridiculous pile of dishes that were starting to take over my kitchen and I was happy.  My apartment was finally starting to look clean and organized again, though my ability to take showers was and continues to be non-existent.  (thankfully Yerevan is only an hour and a half away and full of wonderful places with hot showers:) It's pretty cold so I haven't given into bucket baths just yet. Fast forward to yesterday morning..I went to the bathroom and in my slumber, forgot my pipe was broken, so I reached back and turned on the water.  The pressure from the water shooting out of the pipe was so strong it knocked me off the toilet and drenched me with freezing cold water.  Second time I flooded my bathroom this week, can't say this hasn't be an entertaining experience:) So that's a little taste of life in Armenia during winter.  

A lot of other things have happened since I last wrote so I will try to focus on the big things and sorry for slacking so much on this blog!  I celebrated my last birthday in Armenia and was treated to two cakes, one from the HIV and AIDS TOT participants I was with and one from the wonderful ladies at Envoy Hostel in Yerevan which is basically my second home.  Then, we held a Halloween party for the Caritas kids, the first of its kind for many of them an they had an absolute blast.  We played pin the mouth on the pumpkin, bobbing for pears( switching it up from apples), made masks for costumes, and had a dance party.  

I finally made the 8 hour trek to Meghri, located just about the Iranian border in Southern Armenia, to celebrate an amazing Thanksgiving weekend with some of my dearest friends here.  We had an delicious spread for dinner and a very classy masquerade cocktail hour.

We successfully completed our first two groups of trainings for our SPA grant and will be starting with the second group at the beginning of February.  The trainings have gone so well, that Ambassador John Heffern, the US Ambassador for Armenia, will coming to see our center, meet our parents, and learn more about the work we are doing in the middle of February.  This is really exciting for my NGO and for the people in my community and his support of our project will mean so much to our parents and kids!

The celebrations of Christmas and New Years were really amazing here and I am so glad I was here to ring in the New Year.  To get in the holiday spirit, some of the volunteers an I sang Christmas carols at the American Corners in Yerevan and had a blast doing it.  We handed out lyrics so everyone could sing along and one of the girls from Envoy sang a beautiful rendition of Hallelujah and led everyone in Armenian Christmas songs, it was a huge success.

Several volunteers were in country for New Years Eve, so we all went to dinner, to Republic Square for the countdown and lots of dancing, then a few of us went to Reincarnation a very popular Armenian reggae band, it was the best way to ring in 2014 in Armenia!

PCV New Years Dinner

Reincarnation

Fireworks in Republic Square

I also was here to celebrate Nor Tari.  Armenia's celebration of New Years or Nor Tari is the country's biggest celebration of the year.  For several days, family members, neighbors, and friends visit each other's homes and eat together, drink together, and celebrate the new year together.  After being at site for a little over a year, I have developed very strong relationships and friendships with many of the people in my community, so my site mates and I felt it was out turn to host a Nor Tari party with a little bit of an American twist.  We invited our counterparts and closest friends, made some of our favorite American dishes, created some of the cocktails which were popular in our home towns and created a playlist of music.  Many of our Armenian friends came over and the party turned out to be one of the most memorable experiences I have had in country so far.  Our Armenian friends tried the food and drinks, some of which they liked, others they tolerated for our enjoyment, we spent hours dancing, we Americans taught them the Electric Slide, did the limbo and the Macarena and our Armenian friends taught us some Armenian dance steps, we did some arts and crafts, and we all just laughed and fully enjoyed our afternoon together.  It was during this time that I realized how integrated into Gavar I had become, these people who I had been working alongside and getting to know over the last year and a half had truly become my friends.  It was at this party that I realized how little time I had left with them and that I truly had to take advantage of my remaining time in Armenia.  What made the party even more special and memorable is how many of my friends came up to me and thanked me for what they called an unforgettable afternoon. 

Then yesterday, the kids from Caritas and I celebrated International Day of Hugs.  I wasn't sure how our celebration of International Day of Hugs would go, especially after one of our kids immediately wiped out in a puddle and was covered in mud, but it was a huge success. Our kids ran up and hugged everyone they saw and I saw more people smile and heard more people laugh then I would have ever expected. Hug someone today, it's amazing what it can do for the soul:)

So that's a quick update of some of the things happening here in Armenia!  My big news is that I will be taking off for Ghana in a week!!  My friend Gary is a Peace Corps Volunteer there so I am going on vacation:)  I imagine it is going to be the trip of a lifetime so I will be sure to post pictures and stories from my trip when I get back.  Hope you all stay warm, sending love from Gavar!

View from my window the day we got 3 feet of snow!

Winter has shown up a little earlier this year…

In the middle of skyping with my friend Alli last night, I got a text from my site mate, snow had arrived in Gavar.  (Alli luckily kept it to herself that Baltimore was experiencing incredible pleasant, warm weather, but of course Dorrie later burst my bubble, I am sure giggling as she did.)  I quickly looked out of my window just as a car rolled past to see the snowflakes falling in the light coming from his headlights.  Snow actually fell in many parts of Armenia yesterday, quite a bit earlier than last year, which I fear means, winter is going to be a bit rougher this year than last.  This is the view I got to wake up to this morning, Baltimore friends and family, I know you are jealous as you experience your high 80 degree weather….

But I think I am ready, at least as ready as I can be.  I have more winter clothes than can fit in my wardrobe thanks to my obsessiveness with buying as many socks, Under Armor long sleeve shirts and pants, sweaters, gloves, hats and whatever else I could get my hands on as soon as I got my invitation informing me I was being sent to a ridiculously cold country.  I also spent this past weekend cleaning and winterizing my apartment to help block some of the cold.  I also am grateful for the amazing work that has been happening over the last several weeks and that promises to keep me busy for the next several months.  So, I definitely think I am in way better shape for winter this year than I was last.   That being said, I still had to throw on some reggae music this morning just to pretend I wasn’t going to have to inevitably put on the layers and face the cold weather waiting for me during my walk to Good Hope this morning.  It worked, my spirits are high and I can even appreciate that the snow covered mountains surrounding me are quite beautiful.

So, since I last wrote, the Resource Center has been cleaned, stocked, and made ready for our trainings and guests to the center.  In two weeks, I, along with my wonderful co-workers, installed furniture, equipment, decorated the playroom with sun catchers the children painted, stocked the library with books, and more.  I have been lucky that my counterparts have been 100% committed to this project from day one, but I was even more impressed with how involved the other volunteers of Good Hope and staff from CDRC have been in helping to get everything ready for our beneficiaries.  The specialists also took a lot of time and effort to prepare for their trainings and it has already paid off.  Last week, we had our first two trainings, one with parents who have children with physical disabilities, and one for parents who have children with mental disabilities, and the parents were engaged, supportive of one another, and already expressing their enthusiasm for the project.  The staff was also super supportive of one another, sitting in on each other’s trainings, helping to answer questions for the parents, and clearly showing their dedication to the trainings.  In addition, we were able to tell the parents that this project was made possible because of their input and the satisfaction my counterparts and the CDRC staff felt by being able to tell them this and follow through on their promise to further support the parents was pretty great to witness.  During our first trainings with the parents, we let them know that we want their further input on ways to continue to use the Resource Center to suit their needs and they have already started to share really awesome ideas with us.  

Getting the playroom ready

Our first visitor to the playroom

First Training

Our first training

I know it all has just begun, and I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but I am feeling pretty good about the direction this project is going and have confidence that this project and increased access to the Resource Center may prove to be sustainable well after I leave.  We also found out that the Director of Arbes will be coming to sit in on our training on Wednesday, which has gotten the staff very excited.  CDRC is under the umbrella of Arbes ( Arabkir is the main hospital, Arbes is responsible for children development and rehabilitation, kind of like Johns Hopkins is the main hospital and Kimmel is the Cancer Center) and Arbes is very interested, if our project is successful, to implement these trainings in all of the other CDRC’s throughout Armenia!

the library/computer room

Caritas kids trying on clothes from FCN

Things have also been going really well with Caritas.  Diana and I have started to change the way we are approaching our work with the NGO in Vardenis by putting together a more comprehensive plan and agendas for our meetings complete with expectations and deadlines.  We are also working on beneficiary questionnaires with them as well and have a meeting with them tomorrow to help them finalize the questionnaires and to create a timeline for project planning with the results received from the surveys.  And I am loving my time with the Caritas Little Prince program kids.  Last week, we received a generous donation of clothes from a California based aid organization called Focus on Children Now, who is committed to providing aid to children in Armenia.  (I was also selected to be on Focus on Children Now’s Small Grants Committee, a new initiative the organization started this year, focused on giving grants of $1,5000 quarterly (more if approved) to organizations with which PCV’s work.  There are four members of the committee, myself, another PCV, the Director of FCN, and a member of the board and former PC Armenia volunteer.  We spent several months putting together the guidelines, application, reporting documents, and more and have recently had a meeting and have selected our first grant!)  Tatev and I have also been working to schedule more activities and seminars for the kids and just last week had a successful World Animal Day celebration.  We did a presentation on the background of World Animal Day, relationships between people and animals, how to behave around dogs, and a story about an animal helped a human.  This story led into the children telling their own stories about positive interactions they have had with animals.  Then we surprised them by having one of the girls from the community bring her dog in, the kids loved it!  We have also started to plan future activities to include a celebration of World Food Day, where the kids will learn how to make dishes from a couple of different countries from around the world, a Halloween party, we are starting to work on their costumes this week, and a presentation and activity for the AIDS Day Pledge quilt, which we are going to do with both the kids and then their parents.

our little visitor during our World Animal Day Celebration

So needless to say, I have realized how true it is that your second year is so much better and more successful than your first!  On Thursday, I will be heading to Yerevan for an HIV/AIDS and Sexual and Reproductive Health TOT for a week, which I am very excited about as the misconceptions here about HIV/AIDS are pretty surprising.  And it also means I will get to celebrate my birthday with a delicious meal surrounded by several of my PCV friends, makes it a little easier to celebrate away from home J

some of my wonderful PCV friends:) Elisabeth and me

with David, Phi, Elisabeth, and Harry

saying farewell to John who has just finished his 3rd year in Armenia!

That’s the latest from Armenia, hope all is well at home and enjoy that sunshine and warm weather for me!

The cool weather has returned

Summer in Armenia has proven to go by way too quickly!  The leaves are starting to change and the weather is definitely cooler by the day here in Gavar.  The days of flip flops and t-shirts are quickly shifting to days of sweatshirts and socks, with an occasional warm day tossed in randomly.  But, as mom knows, that may not be a bad thing, as my flip flops are no longer what would be considered acceptable footwear. While, as I am sure no one is surprised to hear, I am not at all thrilled that winter is making her way, I am grateful for how busy summer here kept me and that I have a long list of things that should help me at least stay somewhat busy and sane during the upcoming months.

Since I last wrote, my life here has continued to be a mixture of excitement, disappointment, culturally challenging moments, success, and a roller coaster ride that I seem to have been on since I arrived and one that clearly is not going to end until I leave.  The biggest and best news I have to share, is we were awarded the grant that we at Good Hope NGO have worked so hard on!  From working on questionnaires starting back in February, to building a project based on beneficiary needs and requests, to spending a day at a toy store playing with and developing a list of appropriate toys and resources for rehabilitation treatment in the home, the 1.8 million dram that I found to be in my bank account this morning has made all of our work worth it.  Even more, the amount of dedication I have seen from my counterparts, the Director of Good Hope NGO, and the specialists who are developing and will be giving the trainings to the parents has impressed more than I thought possible.  From the second we found out we were being awarded the grant, my co-workers and I have been busy cleaning, moving furniture, dancing to the music I have insisted on keeping on as we have been completely changed the current layout of the resource center, building powerpoint presentations, taking pictures, and doing everything else you can think of to prepare for the opening of our new Resource Center and the Rehabilitation in the Home Training classes which will begin October 1st.  Despite the fact that some of the other projects which I had been working on have fallen through over the last couple of weeks, resulting in a lot of disappointment, the last two weeks preparing for our project have really lifted my spirits and given me something huge to look forward to over the next 6+ months.  Which has been really good for me as I  had to  drop mom off at the airport this past Saturday after an amazing and totally eventful two weeks together.

The day my counterpart and I sent in our completed SPA application 

Over the course of the two weeks mom and I spent together, I fell in love with Istanbul as mom fell in love with one of our tour guides, realized I have a terrifying fear of heights when climbing a mountain with a path the size of your foot with no guard rail protecting you from a fatal fall with one mis-step, jumped from the top of a boat into the Black Sea, turned mom into a fan of red wine, found ways to use a new word mom accidentally made up, monopulate (mix between monopolize and manipulate), tested moms intense fear of heights a few more times than I should have which resulted in me losing the "favorite daughter" title (Dorrie this little tid bit is just for your entertainment:), exposed my backside to an entire table of Armenian men only to be told by our waiter, who, in reaction to my apparent embarrassment, clearly displayed by ever increasing red face, came out with a red fan to cool me off and continued to do so for a solid two minutes, much to the enjoyment of my mother and the whole table of PCV's who came to join us for dinner, exposed mom to a true view of Armenia, complete with the realities of living in a patriarchal society, the lack of planning which occurs here, the deliciousness of grape leaf dolma, the way an Armenian family can fall in love with you during your first meeting, how Armenians celebrate and dance, the incredible friends I have, a glimpse into what life is really like over here, and so much more.  By the time I dropped mom off at the airport, I was exhausted, but so pumped about how incredible our trip together had been, it was so much more than either of us could have asked for and as mom said, an incredible memory to put down for our history together.  And in true McGovern/Engel fashion, in our rush to say goodbye, mom managed to dump out some of the items from her carry on causing me to chase down a bottle of yogurt as she ran the other direction after a bottle of diet coke, much to the delight of the other people in the airport, it's a wonder where I get some of my mannerisms ;) I think our trip together has made our relationship so much stronger, her understanding of my experience over here is so much greater and will make our conversations and understanding of each other so much more significant as a result.  Having mom here also made me realize how many things on my to do list that I need to get started on as I kept putting them off saying, I'll get to it when mom leaves:)

and by special request, our tour guide, who became known as Alfredo because mom and I both missed his name the one time he said it and Alfredo is what mom thought he said, pretty sure the only similarity between this and his actual name is that both started with an A.  Over the course of our 8 hour tour, mom somehow managed to point out every amazing feature this wonderful man had, starting with the pajama pants he picked to wear for the day

So, with a countdown of only ten/eleven months left here in Armenia, I am starting to look at that list of to do's and, along with continuing my work, I will start to check some of those things off.  Can't believe it is time to say that I have less than a year left in country, this experience has been not at all what I expected thus far, which I am oddly grateful for, and, as things have really started to pick up, I am eager for all that is to come, well besides winter, could do without that minor detail:)  As always, sending love to all back home and thanks again for all of your support!

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:)