Imal es?

Imal es = How are you?...but only in Gavar, slowly learning the dialect here:)

Over the last two weeks, I have been to two birthday celebrations, learned how to “dance Armenian”, taken a marshutni ride with a hungry chicken pecking at my feet (I don’t know what it is with me and live chickens), started an English club, traveled to the three biggest cities in Armenia, sang Let It Be solo for most of the members of my NGO, explored an abandoned Soviet Camp, spent a weekend celebrating “site unlock” (we are required to stay at our site for the first month to help better with integration) dancing and  paddle  boating with my fellow A20’s, and met the newest member of my Armenian family in Argel and loved mostly every second.  I feel like I am finding my place here in Gavar and Armenia and I am really enjoying all of the new experiences and friendships that are a part of the process. 

I have been very lucky to be invited to several birthday celebrations since I’ve moved to Gavar and this last week I got to attend two for people I’ve met through working at VIA.  Birthdays are a bit different in Armenia in that the person’s whose birthday it is has to bring their own cake (in my experience, every single cake has a layer of bananas which I find completely random, but delicious at the same time), there is a lot of Armenian dancing, lots of toasts, a firecracker like candle for the cake, and, in some cases, karaoke.   Over the last two weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to witness and be a part of all of this and have been honored at how much the friends I’ve made in Gavar want me to be a part of their celebrations.  The first party I went to was for Sat, a girl who has been incredibly welcoming and helpful ever since my site visit back in July.  She is fluent in English and has basically been my personal translator and also been somewhat of an Armenian culture teacher for me.  She is also the reason I now know how to “dance Armenian” which I was thankful for as I will be expected to do this over and over again for the next two years.  One of Sat’s friends is also the 2^nd place arm wrestling champion in Armenia and I am pretty sure I am the only PCV in country who can say they’ve hung out with him…got a kick out of that.  There was also karaoke, my only participation in this was when we all serenaded Sat with Let It Be, which was pretty awesome as it is one of my favorite songs and all of the Armenians knew the words, which I did not expect.  The second birthday was for Narine, the girl who I go to the music school and gym with.  Narine’s birthday was extra special, not only because I got to spend the day with everyone from my NGO and was called a friend and part of the group by many, but also because I made my first toast in Armenian:  Shat shnorakalem vor ints lav demavorvestseenk.  (Thank you so much for the wonderful welcome) Khamoom enk mer ankerootstyoon knatsa. (Let us drink to our friendship)  They were just as excited about it as I was, so another memorable moment in the midst of many.

 

 Socializing and building good relationships with the people from VIA has really been beneficial for me both personally and professionally.  And getting the key to the office was certainly a sign of trust and acceptance from my director and counterpart.  Having the key to my office has meant that I’ve been able to research and prepare a needs assessment, start to put together workshops and trainings for the future and prepare a curriculum for the English club which I started last Tuesday.  I also had the really amazing opportunity to go on a road trip with my NGO to Gyumri (the second largest city in Armenia- sometimes called Father Armenia- Yerevan is referred to as Mother Armenia) to do a site visit with Gyumri’s World Vision office.  This gave me the chance to see the Child Sponsorship Program in action.  A lot of VIA’s time and resources are devoted to a Child Sponsorship program developed by World Vision which supports children from vulnerable families.  VIA has 13 social workers involved with this program in Gavar and several surrounding villages, supporting over 3,500 children.  The goal is to give the children access to events and resources to ensure that they are educated, healthy, and protected, and there is also a spiritual element as World Vision is a Christian organization.  This trip not only gave me the opportunity to better understand the sponsorship program and VIA’s role with World Vision, but also gave me plenty of time to bond with my VIA co-workers and the World Vision staff.  It was one of the best days I have had in country and not only strengthened my friendships but also showed me how much my colleagues are accepting of me and appreciate having me here, I can see how I am slowly earning their respect.  We laughed, we sang…I was cheered on to do a Let It Be solo…played games, talked about how important the kids they worked with were to them, and just really enjoyed each other’s company, certainly a day to remember.  Two of my sitemates, Amie and Brian, from my training village now live and work in Gyumri, so I got to meet up with them, which was really exciting even if it was only brief.  I really loved Gyumri and am looking forward to going up to explore it a little more with Amie and Brian.  I also realized that when Armenians travel, they take their time, stopping to rest, eat, explore, canoe(probably not a normal occurrence, but one of our stops just happened to have canoes to rent so clearly, they had to canoe), have coffee, and who knows what else.   What should have been a 2 ½ hour trip, took us over 4 hours, but it was a good reminder to just enjoy the moment, which I get better and better with every day.
 

 I am also starting to hang out with the other volunteers and am really happy that there is such a good group over here.  Last weekend, I spent some time in Vanadzor, the third largest city in Armenia, to celebrate Chilean Independence Day on one of the other volunteers’ behalf and explore Vandazor while the weather is still nice enough to do so.  On Sunday, a few of us went for a stroll to an abandoned Soviet Camp and it was really quite amazing to see.  It was also really nice to spend some time with other Americans.  I love the friends I’ve made in Gavar, but with the language barrier, it is hard to be completely myself or for them to really know me at this point, so it is nice to be able to just be me around other Americans, which is certainly and will continue to be refreshing on occasion.  We are lucky to be in such a small country (Armenia is about the size of Maryland) because the opportunity to travel and see most of the country and each other is certainly possible.  And I learned this weekend how easy it is to get around (though I do occasionally miss driving) so that is an added bonus.

This past Friday was Armenian Independence Day from the USSR, which meant we had off from work, so I took full advantage to go spend the day with my host family in Argel.  Arpi had baby Liova on Tuesday and my host father, Liova, who I had not met, was home for a break from working in Russia, so it was a really special visit.  It was such an awesome day, I was surprised at happy and at home I felt being with them and it was also really cool to see how far I have come since first moving to Argel.  My language has gotten better, the biggest parts of my transition are over, and I feel adjusted to life here in Armenia.  I am very happy in Gavar, but I think Argel will always feel like home and I hope to see my family there as much as possible over the next two years, especially to be able to watch Sylvie and Liova grow.  And, as promised, Soosana made my favorite meal, dolma and I was wildly excited to see the she now flavors the dolma’s with Old BayJ

 Today, I went to a couple of meetings in Yerevan to discuss the two initiatives which Peace Corps Armenia pursues, Gender Equality and HIV/AIDS.  At this point, I am going to try to be involved with both as much as possible, especially since VIA’s mission is basically to empower youth and the community to get involved and make a difference in Gavar and its surrounding communities.  The focus of the gender equality initiative is mostly empowering women and addressing domestic violence and the focus of the HIV/AIDS initiative is to increase the knowledge and access to information for the communities throughout Armenia.  At this point, I am on two committees for the HIV/AIDS initiative World AIDS day and new project ideas, so if anyone has success stories or ideas for either, please feel free to share with me!  I am also hoping to come up with a way to engage my NGO with Domestic Violence Awareness month which is October, a film screening at Gavar State University is a possibility.

 So that is the latest from Armenia.  I will be moving into an apartment on October 1 and am really excited.  Even though I will miss Alita and the company of my host family, I am ready to be on my own.  I should sign my lease next week, so will send my new address when I do.  Hope all is well back home and Go O’ and Ravens!!

Music to my ears!

I spent my morning at Gavar's Music School with one of the social workers from VIA, Narine.  (She's also the girl I go to the gym with) This morning was the most amazing I have had since I have been here.  I witnessed some incredibly talented women sing and play the piano.  And they were excited that I was American and could communicate with them in Armenian and that I was genuinely interested in listening to them perform, that I now have an open invitation to visit whenever I please...so I am going back Monday morning:)  I also let them know that my dad plays the trumpet and they have extended that invitation to my dad and whoever else comes to visit!  Dad, they were besides themselves that you played, they kept saying shat opres, which means very excellent kind of literally, but also means they were very pleased:) 

 

So, every day I am finding something else that I am excited to share with those who are coming to visit and to write about for those who are interested.  I was also given the key by my NGO two days ago and my director called me Laur-jan.  Jan is a huge sign of affection here so it was major progress. Jan basically means either my Lauren or Lauren dear and it is a really good thing when someone uses it:)  My relationship with my NGO grows by the day and I am really looking forward to working with them over the next 2 years.  And being able to come into the office, even if no one else is here, is really great.  It gives me the chance to have somewhat of a schedule which I like and also gives me the chance to chat with the social workers as they come in here and there to check-in and drop-off materials.  In fact, that is how I got to go to the musical school today.  I was in the office yesterday working and Narine came in to meet with one of the families she works with.  Had I not been here, I certainly would have missed the opportunity to hang out with her yesterday and to get the invitation to the school today.

 On Wednesday, the day I got the key, I met with several people from VIA to go over some things.  During that meeting with Rudek, Gegham, and Sat from VIA, we actually got a lot accomplished.  I was able to ask what they were looking for in a volunteer and we have come to the conclusion that for now, I will start to work on a capacity assessment tool, start to build workshops for such things as resume building, computer skills, health, etc, and I will also start working on lesson plans for an English Club, which will probably meet once/week and each week will have a theme, book reading, film viewing, overview of current events, etc.  Next week, there will also be a meeting with all of VIA,, Rudek, Gegham and all 13 social workers to discuss an annual plan which will certainly clear a lot of things up too.

Narine and I are headed back to the gym today for our 3:30 class and we are hoping to ask if we can start going everyday:)  The whole gym concept is very new here, so when I originally asked if I could go everyday I think they thought I was crazy, but now they seem to be warming up to the idea!  I am hoping to get a yes before it starts to get really cold, they have a treadmill and bike which will be great for cardio and also weight machines and a whole exercise class room (getting a little ahead of myself, but I have thought about proposing the idea of teaching a zumba class too!)

I have to say, everyday here Gavar feels more and more like home, I think this is the best possible placement for me.  And, while initially it was difficult not being around Americans, it's actually pretty tough at first not to have other Americans around, it has been a blessing in disguise for me.  My Armenian has gotten better, I am making friends, getting to know the culture, and falling in love with Gavar and its people more and more every day.  And the opportunities as a result of integrating are pretty amazing...sitting in at the music school this morning was truly one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.  One of the girls even got excited to perform Celine Dion for me and sang My Heart Will Go In, I was blown away with how good she was.

 

I have also been able to go to events, picnics, churches, try to play the accordian, and so much more thanks to the wonderfully kind and hospitable Armenians I have met in the short time I have lived in Gavar.  I think of how much I have already been exposed to here in less than a month and can't even imagine all of the exciting new experiences awaiting me in the future!

This weekend I am headed to Lake Sevan to spend the weekend with all of the other volunteers for our official site unlock.  We are put on site lock for the first month to help us with integration and such and now it totally makes sense.  While I am excited for this weekend and to see everyone, I am already a little sad to leave Gavar!  But, when I told my host mom Alita I wanted to bring something to share with everyone in Sevan, she got really excited and so for the last few days we have been making home-made pasta sauces, ketchup, and who knows what else.  She is turning me into quite the cook and I am loving spending the time in kitchen with her, even though the only extra apron she has is child size so everytime I put it on, I think of Tommy Boy...fat guy in a little coat...haha:)

So that is all for now, happy to report Gavar and I are getting along just fine, hope to write some more soon!