Emily Haas' Armenian Experience

Going through some stories

2011-10-24T11:48:00.004+05:00

Sorting through my photos, finally.

And realizing that there are a lot I never thought to put on my blog.

Tznund

2011-08-06T00:06:00.003+05:00

I took this photo forever ago at a birthday party, the little girl turned one year old that day. I'm always amused at the scene after dinner. Loud duduk heavy music lifts everyone from their elbow-to-elbow packed benches to dance arms raised and with light feet.

Proshaberd

2011-08-05T01:43:00.003+05:00

Its been entirely too long since I've mad any attempt at posting to my blog, so here's a photo from almost 3 months ago! This is Arman, he drove my mom and Herik up the mountain to see Spitakavor and Proshaberd while Zach, Krista and I hiked. We had just finished a nice visit with the shepherd family I always visit when I hike to Spitakavor, met some interesting people enjoying a khorovats and some wine at the church then made our way up to Proshaberd. Its a fortress that crowns a rocky peak near Spitakavor. I have been up to the church many times but had never made it to the fortress. Herik was so happy that for the first time in her life she was able to see Spitakavor that she just had to climb the steep cindercone up to the fortress. It was quite a feat, given she was wearing fur lined heeled winter boots that weren't even zipped up! It was a great day, and one I'm sure to never forget.

Rafik

2011-05-31T13:34:00.003+05:00

On the walk down to Sur Kamurj, I've met Rafik several times. The first time he invited me in and offered me some fresh picked watermelon and a nice conversation. Everytime I pass now, he greets me and asks me to come sit and talk with him.

Spain: Sangria, Smiles and Sunshine

2011-04-12T10:37:00.009+05:00

The sweet villa we stayed at in Montcada i Reixac, just outside of Barcelona. We would often spend the morning sipping coffee poolside and many an evening sipping sangria.

Gaudi's residence in Parc Guell.

We took the train out to a nice little city on the beach and on the way back were "caught" by the train officials saying we needed to pay 25 Euros for the return trip or get off at the next stop. We apparently were supposed to buy a different ticket to get out there, but when we got on the train with no trouble, we thought nothing of it. We got off, waited and hour, then got back on another train and made it home with no further problems.

Wandering in the streets of Sitges, looking for a nice place to sip some sangria.

Croquettes, the best potato based food on earth.

Sangria de cava and tapas in Sitges.

Downtown Sitges.

We spent the day in the sun in Sitges. We forgot towels, so we laid on newspapers. Then we walked around the city with newsprint all over our bodies. Then we drank sangria.

Iberian ham, the smells wafts through the city, tempting you to find its source.

We were mesmerized by the amount of meats and cheeses in the market.

And the seafood!

We did get lost quite a few times trying to navigate the metro under Barcelona, but at least we were on time!

We ate all you can eat sushi on a conveyor belt a few times. Probably a good 6 months worth of salmon, tuna and avocado were consumed.

The Mediterranean in Barcelona.

Parc Citaduela provided us with some nice grassy hills to lay on under the sun.

Inside the Sagrada Familia.

Spring has sprung in Barcelona.

Fried calarari rings tapas and sangria!

Sampling a piece of piggy that had only been fed acorns its whole life. It was delicious!

Snow sun mud rain

2011-03-08T12:09:00.002+04:00

The weather can't make up its mind.

Noravank

2011-02-28T16:52:00.004+04:00

I was looking through all my photos today trying to pick out a few to send along to PC for the 50th Anniversary celebration and came across this one from February last year.

Paige's Armenian Experience

2011-02-24T12:17:00.003+04:00

My good friend and former site mate, Paige Prince, produced this audio slideshow about her experience in Armenia. Most of the photos are from Paige and a few of them are mine.

Enjoy!

Shame on me, or this one's for you Tim

2011-02-21T16:29:00.003+04:00

Thanks for the subtle hint at the need for a new post, Tim. I have to admit, I had been staring at the button in my browser that says "My Blog" for a long time and ignoring it. This winter has been colder and wetter than last, encouraging me to stay inside at my "hibernation station" hugging my heater, reading, drinking my body weight in tea and pondering my next six months in Armenia. I will say I have been in a sort of funk, probably related to the fact I have to face my future soon and my current projects are still in the after-new-years hiatus, so the thought of going out and taking pictures really hasn't been all that appealing (I know it should be, right?). However, something that seems to always bring me out of a funk is to get creative and cook up meals that take hours to adapt to Armenian ingredients, go out in the mud and ice and find said ingredients (and visit my favorite shop owners) and then cook. This weeks adventure was in soba noodles!

In true Armenian kitchen MacGyver style, I made my own buckwheat flour in my little coffee grinder.

Then I hung the left over noodles over my grungy little dish rack to dry.

I'll try not to be such a stranger any more. New posts to come soon, I PROMISE!

For the love of Niva

2010-12-13T15:55:00.005+04:00

Mr. Vartan and his lovely Lada Niva. He loves them just as much as I do.

Nov. 30

2010-12-12T01:21:00.001+04:00

Nov. 29

2010-12-10T10:46:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : Black shiny pointy shoes, a must for every Armenian man.

Right - Paige : I wake up in the morning to bright beautiful sunshine streaming across the floor, and there is always something to admire in the kitchen or just the room. Light inspires, it changes moods, it brightens days. Someone left these boots out from the night before, they were gleaming red and our dog, Gracie, seemed to be noticing.

Nov 28

2010-12-10T10:37:00.002+04:00

Left - Emily : Danny has been working on remodeling the bathrooms at his school in the village Verin Getashen near Lake Sevan. While visiting some of his neighbors they were all joking that they'll always remember Danny after he leaves when they use the bathroom.

Right - Paige : My roommate Jess, after a long night of doing Jess things (dancing, Whole Foods checking, bike riding, quinoa cooking) brushing her teeth to mark an end to the day.

Nov 27

2010-12-05T20:42:00.002+04:00

Left - Emily : While walking around, I spotted one bright spot of color in a scene full of dull grey and brown, Sona and her brother Garik playing outside.

Right - Paige : Fall light, there is nothing like it. A house that sits on the east side, who knows who lives here; I pretty much just adored the colors and random port-a-potty sitting in the yard.

Nov 26

2010-12-05T20:24:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : The walk to "Sur Kamurj" in Yeghegnadzor, a mandatory visit for those new to the area.

Right : Paige : My Pops, reading the newspaper. Don't we all need a picture of our Dad's doing this?

Nov. 25

2010-11-29T10:22:00.002+04:00

Left - Emily : Pies for my second Thanksgiving spent away from my family. Though we may live in Armenia, no trimmings were spared, stuffing, twice-baked potatoes, carrot souffle and many more.

Right - Paige : Sitting in a hot tub with my sister, at the golf course my parent's live on. There was also a group of Muslim girls on a break from school taking advantage of the same warm, bubbly water.

Nov 24

2010-11-25T10:53:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : This year I will be spending my second Thanksgiving away from home with some good friends in Shaghat, a village in Syunik marz. We went for a nice walk in the mountains yesterday around sunset. After heading back our little gaggle of Americans drew a lot of attention in a village of only a few hundred people.

Right - Paige : Driving to my parent's house for Thanksgiving. Dark Texas roads, solitude at last.

Nov 23

2010-11-24T11:05:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : Inside "Gitelik Hamalsaran" or "The University of Knowledge" in Yeghegnadzor.

Right - Paige : You are always being watched by "Juan in the Water" (the name I have given this painting) when you eat at Taqueria Jaliscos #2 on Cesar Chavez Street in Austin, TX. I didn't mind the first time, I actually drove back there just to take his picture.

Nov 22

2010-11-23T12:40:00.002+04:00

Left - Emily : This time of year the sun sets right as people are getting off work and picking up groceries before heading home. I was caught today by the nice fading light the movement of people and cars around the city and the chance encounters with friends in the street.

Right - Paige : Dogs are so prevalent in the world, some places as animals that roam around practically unnoticed by people and other places like members of the family. Their characters are easily personified, which is why I like reading 'The Adventures of Hank the Cowdog' books which are made for kids, but driven to make us all laugh. I was watching my friend Nadia's dog tonight while they were cooking dinner; watching him wait, watch, wait, hope, watch.

Nov 21

2010-11-22T13:44:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : For the last year I have been working with a few other PCVs making a movie for the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps. This weekend Zoe came up from Goris and with the help of Meag we busted out a 3.5 minute clip to show the other volunteers at the upcoming All-Vol conference. We spent three nights awake until 3 a.m. slamming coffee munching on popcorn and chocolate and joking about our volunteer experience.

Right - Paige : This little monkey was only 25 cents at a thrift store sale today. He was just sitting there on the ground waiting for the right kid to take him. My childhood doll was "Kimmie", and I cut her hair so many times that she was bald when I stopped carrying her around. Bald, sporting ratty oversized t-shirts but well loved.

Nov 20

2010-11-21T11:41:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : Lately I have busy working with some ladies in Vayots Dzor trying to help them market and sell their beautiful crafts. I became associated with Tim Straight of Homeland Handicrafts, who has been helping these women get started by supplying them with material and thread for embroidery and a network in which to sell their goods. Meag and I have been working on designs and finally I was able to pay them for their first completed piece and give them more projects to work on. It has been an exciting and very rewarding experience.

Right - Paige : I met Gayane at the Armenian Dance Party/Fundraising Dinner tonight at a church here in Austin. She talked my head off. She grew up in Tbilisi, Georgia, and speaks Georgian as well as Armenian (which is extremely rare). She feels a big part of herself is actually Georgian although she is Armenian, and we had a really interesting conversation about her life here, her feelings about her identity through her ethnic upbringing, and her bleach blonde hair. When she left she wanted a picture of the two of us as well as my phone number. I'm sure I'll hear from her soon, at least I hope so. It felt great to be there.

Nov 19

2010-11-20T12:42:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : Construction continues on the three houses just above mine, even late into the evening.

Right - Paige : Changing the sheets, cleaning the bathroom. Weekend work in America.

Nov 18

2010-11-20T12:37:00.001+04:00

Left - Emily : The stairways in the old soviet apartment buildings here are always a sight to see. The exposed and incredibly complicated electrical system, the usually constant smell of natural gas coming from some mystery pipe and the lack of lights in the evening are all things normal to this set of stairs.

Right - Paige : Its always is late in Texas, and sometimes just a few weeks long, but winter is almost here if you ask the trees.

Nov 17

2010-11-20T12:26:00.001+04:00

Left - Emily : Shady whispered dealings in an old dusty office. This woman has been doing the same job for 40 years, no wonder she knows how to work the system.

Right - Paige : A downtown church in Austin.

Nov 16

2010-11-18T09:52:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : Downtown big city Yeghegnadzor.

Right - Paige : I love lamp.

Nov 15

2010-11-16T15:40:00.003+04:00

Right - Emily : Zoya works in a small room just off the shortcut I take into town every day. She says she learned how to sew when she was 17 at classes she the cultural house in Yeghegnadzor over 30 years ago. She along with her soviet era sewing machine patch up dozens of articles of clothing a day.

Left - Paige : I need to read Ulysses. There's only so many hours in a day though.

Nov 14

2010-11-15T09:35:00.002+04:00

Left - Emily
Right - Paige

Nov 13

2010-11-14T10:42:00.004+04:00

Right - Emily : Artush is my landlord Samvel's son. Trying to be just like his handyman dad, Artush is always following Samvel around hammering nails, washing the car and shoveling piles of dirt.

Left - Paige : I never really liked palm trees. I thought they looked cheap, too much 80's nostalgia or somethting. But all it took was my friend Jon's love of them and his way of describing them as "silhouetted explosions in the sky" for me to think about it another way. I also saw some new Bruce Davidson work, he's specifically photographing these trees in black and white - and of course they are beautiful. I was walking around this evening and I thought I would try my own hand at foliage photography.

Nov 12

2010-11-13T17:26:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : The Lada, economy car of Armenia. This one even features a hot wire starter, two broken front seats and a slipping clutch.

Right - Paige : The weather today has been gray and rainy. It has the effect of making me feel pretty reflective, and even the blowing trash on the fence had some kind of beauty to it. Some days are for thinking anyway.

Nov 11

2010-11-12T10:56:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : My counterpart's mother, Gaya, always cracks me up when I go to visit them. I brought my camera along with me the other day, as I am working on this project, and started to take her picture. She obliged, then left the room for a few minutes and came back dressed in her finest clothes and asked me to take her "death picture." That is, when a person in the family dies, they place a photo in a black frame on the wall in remembrance. I couldn't get her to break out of a pose, nor to laugh so I kept telling her smile, don't stand so still don't stare at the camera but she wouldn't break, she would just give me a little slap on the face and smirk.

Right - Paige : Everyone brings their dog everywhere in Austin. Maybe if I still had a dog I'd do the same, but for now I just observe. I've been thinking about getting a puppy, but it just isn't the same. Old dogs, while stinky and blind, are still the best.

Nov 10

2010-11-12T09:56:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : Serian, the guard at the university, is one face I see almost every day. He sits in a small room with just a table, phone, chair and a small bed at the bottom of the stairs of Gitelik University, also the building that houses the NGO I am working for. Every morning before I head up the stairs we exchange a greeting and a wide smile with each other.

Right - Paige : The Broken Spoke, Ladies Night! There's always a good crowd at the Spoke on Wednesday nights, and it doesn't matter if you didn't bring anyone to dance with or if you don't know what you're doing on the dance floor. The circulation of people asking each other to dance is enough to make up for it. I always feel a slight return to my childhood when I am at a country western dance hall. Good honest people, good enough music.

Nov 9

2010-11-10T10:51:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : My neighbors operate a lavash bakery and I often go there in the winter time to hang out because the ladies are always good for a fun conversation and it is nice and warm in there. The process is fascinating to watch, obviously these women have had a lot of practice. They can roll out hundreds of perfectly sized, perfectly baked and perfectly delicious pieces in just a few hours. My favorite bread they make is called "bocon" they use the same dough as lavash but instead of rolling it out, they stretch it with their hands into a round and bake it a little longer. I always head home from here with a smile, a belly full of fresh bread and a few more pieces to eat later.

Right - Paige : I read a review of Dan's Hamburgers, "Dan's is like a second home to me. ... You can taste the history in the grease, and it tastes delicious." The history in the grease might be something worth trying to take a picture of? This is the best I think I'll do.

Nov 8

2010-11-09T10:16:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : This "golf ball" and abandoned hotel are at a high vantage point over Yeghgnadzor and can also be seen from the village Malishka. From this point you can also see all the abandoned Soviet factories that litter the south end of town. I've heard the golf ball was a weather station, but I also heard someone say it used to be a satellite monitoring device. Now on this lonely ridge all you can find are some broken beer bottles and evidence of once well maintained roads all while being harassed by a flock of crows.

Right - Paige : Laundry has become as easy as 123 again. My hand-washing days are over.I have no problem going to a laundry mat and plugging it with quarters and letting it do the work. Instead of half a day, it takes an hour and a half. These girls told me they were playing "bus" underneath the table while their Mom folded their clothes.

Nov 7

2010-11-08T10:02:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : One thing I love about walking around in the streets here is that around any corner you can find a small group of men sitting around, smoking cigarettes, playing nardi and joking with each other.

Right - Paige : My friend Kristi's adorable son, Cypress. I went to visit them this evening in Burnet, TX. Cypress loved playing hide and seek in his playhouse, and so did I. Days like this, I wish lasted a little longer.

Nov 6

2010-11-07T09:30:00.005+04:00

Left - Emily : My house sits right in the part of town that the sun hits just before it tucks itself under the mountain for the evening. This time of year, as the light spills across my once abundant garden, over the yellow crunchy leaves and right through my front door, is my favorite.

Right - Paige : My mailbox, at 1102 Mahan. The sun was setting quick as I was taking the picture, and it reminded me of watching sunsets while my Mother counted down from 10 until they were gone. I bought a new CD today, it's so good. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. "Home" is the best track on the record, and rightly so. As it goes..."Home is wherever I'm alone with you."

Nov. 5

2010-11-06T10:57:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : For the past month I have been helping Meag, my site mate, brew beer and finally tonight we bottled them. Sadly, in Armenia the only beer you can get tastes something like a wet dog that just got sprayed by a skunk. Needless to say, I am pretty excited to taste this beer in just 2 weeks!

Right - Paige : It is still a little dizzying for me to walk into a grocery store here in America. The pace is fast and there is an unspoken shouting of messages trying to get your attention. I wanted to capture that feeling with this picture. There is also a huge population of Latinos here, and "Gracias! " is just an example of how embedded the language is within our frame of normal everyday interactions.

Nov. 4

2010-11-05T15:24:00.001+04:00

Left - Emily : This hand gesture, accompanied with the sound "eeeeyaah," is one of the many things I have picked up in Armenia. I even find myself doing it to the ATM when it refuses to give me cash. I'm sure when I come back to America, this, along with many other odd things will, at least for a while, single me out as someone that spent the last 2+ years in a foreign culture.

Right - Paige : I haven't been bowling in a long time, but I have seen The Big Lebowski recently so it kind of felt like it hadn't been that long since I ran one in the gutter. My game has improved though, a double strike was witnessed and revered from my fellow bowlers tonight.

Nov. 3

2010-11-04T12:31:00.003+04:00

Left - Emily : Armen owns the store we foreigners like to call "Bah Vonts." Bah vonts in Armenian means "of course," and we call his store as such because anytime you ask if he has something in stock, he says "bah vonts," or something like "of course we have what you're asking for, what kind of store do you think I run?!" Armen also makes the best homemade wine you can buy. Every time I walk in the door he greets me with an ear to ear smile, throws in a reference to how we are "barekam" or relatives and asks if I want four liters of wine today or ten.

Right - Paige : A friendly reminder.

Nov. 2

2010-11-03T10:12:00.004+04:00

Left - Emily : Everyday on the walk into town I pass these tatiks sitting on their bench outside their homes. Satik, left, lives alone and after a year of saying hello to her every day she has just now started saying hello back. Emma, right, is notorious for cornering me on the street or in the store while munching on walnuts and telling me stories about her relatives that live all over the world. The two are always very curious about me, my activities and the numerous foreign guests I bring by their bench. This is the first time I've taken their portraits.

Right - Paige : I've known Glen since I was 8 years old when he worked for my Dad's construction business as a framer. He still frames houses, and he still calls me Paigey Waigey or most of the time just P-Wage. I go to his house in Austin about once a month and we'll cook dinner (and if it's not chicken then it's sausage), drink beer, and I'll listen to him tell me about something I should know that I don't know. He perpetually jokes with me that knowing Armenian is going to give me a leg up in the world. It's always a good conversation, despite his misunderstandings of my linguistic wealth and power.

Nov. 1

2010-11-02T11:20:00.005+04:00

Left - Emily : Catching a cold in Armenia, according to Armenians, can happen a lot of ways. As a result, most Armenians are very weary about getting cold themselves. Slippers and socks must be worn at all times, when sitting on cement you must put something under you for fear of becoming sterile and an open window in a house causing a draft could be one of the biggest contributing factors to colds in Armenia.

Right - Paige : It has been a really a busy Monday and time moves fast, especially in America. The light this man was working under with the dust and the leaves was the prettiest thing I saw all day while on my way to get groceries this evening.

Oct. 31

2010-11-01T12:52:00.008+04:00

These are the first photos in a series Paige and I are working on together. For every day of the month of November, we each will be taking a photograph and posting them side by side, one from America and one from Armenia. I will try to keep my blog updated daily, but the communication lines between America and Armenia can be difficult.

Enjoy! (Click on the image to see it larger)

Left - Emily : The first snow of the year on the mountains above Yeghegnadzor.

Right - Paige : This is my sister, taken at night at my Grandmother's house. We used to share a bed when we were little and always at least a room after sharing a bed. We are night and day in personality, but when we are both together like this, alone, we end up talking until the both of us eventually don't have to say anything about being too tired and then we turn over and fall asleep. It's also about the moment that we get before we turn off the lights, the half hour or so that magazines and books soothe us into a slumber and we think about all that is possible. The time that doesn't require our attention on something or someone, cherished like a sanctuary.

Areni Wine Festival

2010-10-21T13:31:00.004+05:00

Last weekend was the annual wine festival in the village of Areni, just 15 minutes down the road from Yeghegnadzor. The village also shares its name with the grape, a species endemic to Armenia. I shared the day with some of my closest friends. The sun was shining, we sipped on dry wine, enjoyed Khorovats, danced and laughed the day away. Sirum em Hayastan!

Makin Moonshine : Step 1

2010-10-15T13:45:00.004+05:00

As my little cottage is almost completely covered in grape vines and many a Khorovats I have enjoyed my landlord's homemade grape vodka, I have been interested in seeing the process of making the jet-fuel like drink.

After picking the grapes, both from our shared patio and some from a nearby village, Samvel let the grapes sit for several days in buckets. He says you must let them sit so the skins break easier when you crush them.

After loading small batches of grapes into a bucket

smash them until all individual fruits have burst.

This is the most time consuming step in the process.

I, of course, had to take a shot at smashing the grapes. Samvel, in true form, had to give me a hard time about how I was doing it all wrong. Its all fun and games.

Samvel and the bounty.

Pour the smashed grapes into another bucket, cover and allow to sit for several days. After this, majakh (new wine) is made. More photos and process to follow soon...

The Essentials

2010-10-14T15:18:00.005+05:00

A typical Armenian scene. Coffee, cigarettes, cell phone and a quick game of Nardi.

Herik and the fall harvest

2010-10-13T13:50:00.003+05:00

Lately the weather has been changing. I love the fall when the sun dips lower on the horizon, the air becomes crisp, the sky takes on an impossible shade of blue and the fruits of the summer's labor are all just at their peak. My landlady Herik everyday has been out in the garden gathering the last of the tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers and beans. The sound of the gas roaring on the patio and the large pot of water in a boil filled to the brim with jars upon jars of the fall bounty are music to my ears.

She always complains that the work is so hard, but I can see in her eyes that this time of year she, like me, treasures most. It is still sunny enough to sit out in the evenings and talk. There is still work to keep her busy and out of the house for most of the day, and the light is just perfect!

Though Herik is just a small woman I am constantly impressed at the amount of work she can do every day. When I am just getting up in the morning I can already hear the sweep of her broom on my doorstep and she is muttering to herself, "Emily, Emily, Emily, you keep you place so dirty."

Herik and Samvel were married later that most Armenian couples. Samvel had been married before and had two children from that marriage. Herik and Samvel were married when they were both 30 and had two more children, Artush and Geretsik. They met when they were both working in a textiles factory during soviet times. Herik said the first time she saw Samvel, she fell in love. I notice that these two are still very much in love. Whenever Samvel is working on something outside, Herik brings whatever she is working and will sit next to him. I appreciate their dedication to each other and the respect they have for each other.

Ellena!

2010-10-12T12:19:00.004+05:00

Just down the hill from my place is a tiny vegetable store. As I walk by every day the storekeeper calls out my name. But, instead of calling me Emily, which a lot of people seem to have trouble saying here, she calls "Ellena!!" I've told her I don't know how many times that's not my name, but now it is just a joke. But the bigger joke is on me. Its been a year now since I've lived on this road, and I still don't know her name! I'm not sure if she ever actually introduced herself to me, but now its just too late and embarrassing to ask!

When I first moved to this side of town her son Artur was running the shop. We would exchange hello's everyday, talk about something that happened that day and he'd give me the brotherly, "if anyone ever gives you any trouble you just tell me." Then her daughter was running the place for a while. Everyday she would ask me to give her English lessons. When she finally started coming to work in the store everyday, I really started to stop in more just for a rest and conversation. In the extreme heat of the summer I would walk in and sit on a bag of flour in the corner and we would talk about America and Armenia. There was always another tatik sitting in the shop and I would always get the usual run around. Are you married? Why aren't you married? Marry an Armenian man and stay in Armenia!

It takes a while to finally realize that people in your community know you. When I leave for a few days at a time, I always have to walk by this store. She always asks me where I am going and when I will be home. If by chance I don't see her one day the next I have to hear about how much she missed me. I'll always treasure the friendships I have made here. I think I might even ask her name today!

*Her name is Anahit. Nice to know you Anahit!

Women's Photo project to be shown in the U.S. Embasssy

2010-10-11T13:21:00.018+05:00

I am happy to announce that the Women in Armenia photo project will be housed in the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan from Oct. 18-22. Unfortunately, only U.S. Embassy employees can see the exhibit, but we are excited to have it shown there!

As for next year's Women's Day, I am already planning a new exhibition and hopefully a craft show as well.

Media Center on UM's Beyond our Borders Blog

2010-10-10T16:17:00.001+05:00

Thanks to my former professor, Clem, for asking me to write a small piece about my Media Center project. Check it out!

New friends and old

2010-09-29T14:37:00.004+05:00

Zaynik and her family live in a little domik just off the road to Spitakavor. When my dad and UBDJ were here we stopped off here for some hyurasirutyun and a nice conversation. While recently hiking on the same road with my new site mates Meag, Sebastian and Greg we stopped by again to say hello and for some more hospitality. Coincidentally, just as we arrived Zaynik was just cutting in to the new block of cheese she had made. Meag and I have been experimenting with a little cheese making, so it was quite a treat to taste some made by a master.

We took a break from the blazing sun under the umbrella they had set up. We talked again about their life in the mountains with their animals. They will be leaving their site in late October to return to the village and will again set up camp in the mountains in May. They remembered my dad and UBDJ visiting and asked about them. We finished up our coffees and plates of cheese, again kindly refused the offer to vodka shots and were on our way to the monastery.

After the last stretch of road to Spitakavor, we took a break under the newly constructed shelter to a small meal of cheese and tomatoes that our friends had just sent along with us. As we were about to leave, a Niva showed up and our friends exuberantly hopped out and invited us to join them on their Khorovats. We kindly obliged, ate, drank and sang. We then again said our goodbyes and headed down the canyon, a bit tipsy, on our way home.

Sona

2010-09-22T10:19:00.003+05:00

This is Sona Vanyan, a woman who was included in the Women's Month stories. This is a photo from June that I recently came across while backing up my photos. She is preparing her large plot just on the edge of Getap for planting tomatoes. I liked the contrast of what our bursting gardens look like now. I can't get enough of the sun-warmed, perfectly ripe red tomatoes. Juicy red and green peppers, roasted over a fire, lightly salted and rolled in lavash - these are some things I will always remember from Armenia.

Getting ready for the winter

2010-09-15T14:38:00.004+05:00

I have been canning like crazy lately. As the tomatoes, corn, eggplant and peppers in my garden have so beautifully been growing for the last several months, I have been plotting their fate in cute little glass jars with super tasty recipes. I've canned salsa, roasted red peppers, roasted eggplant and enough fresh tomatoes to keep away from an only potato diet this winter. My one free little cabinet is quickly filling up and its quite a challenge for me to not already open some of these delicious little jars!

Home!

2010-09-14T20:14:00.005+05:00

The other day, a bunch of volunteers from the new group came to Yeghegnadzor. We spent a hilarious and wild night camping down by the pointy bridge. After bragging to all the newbies that it NEVER rains in Vayots Dzor, I was awoken before the sun had rose by some very threatening thunder and lightning. I woke up to see what was the matter and was pleasantly surprised by the show Mamma Nature was putting on. Like I said, no rain in Vayots Dzor, but she sure is pretty!

Samvel

2010-09-10T15:08:00.004+05:00

Samvel is my landlord, and may as well be my father in Armenia. He calls me his daughter and even expects the same things from me he would his own daughter. Though I tried to explain in the beginning, and struggle to do so still, I am just your renter and you don't need to treat me like a daughter. Its up and down all the time. Sometimes we are arguing about something for days at a time and then for another period of time we get along like twins.

Samvel has quite the sense of humor, a bit harsh, but also playful. Sometimes I'm not sure if he is joking and other times I am joking right back at him. Though our relationship is hard to deal with at times, I really appreciate how this family has accepted me and looks after me. I feel very fortunate to share their "hayat."

Samvel is hard at work until nightfall every day building three new rooms for students. You can see at the bottom of the patio my little two bedroom grape vine covered home. I love living here!

Gone fishing

2010-09-09T10:14:00.015+05:00

The other day for my friend Karine's birthday I went to my neighbor's to buy some ishkhan, or trout. They have a series of large ponds that are fed by the river with varying sizes of fish. He dipped the net into the larger pond and in one fail swoop grabbed the six fish we later cooked for dinner. Although this time we just baked them with olive oil, fish khorovats is just about my favorite meal here.

Dartsel em tatik!

2010-09-08T16:47:00.002+05:00

I was cleaning some newly dropped walnuts to make pesto. I've seen tatiks all over Armenia with fingers just like these, and knew it was from walnuts. Thought I'd try it on for size. I kinda like it.

Oh, and you can see, barely, my garden in the background.

Miss Meag

2010-09-02T14:32:00.009+05:00

Its great to have a new site mate here in Yeghegnadzor. Its especially nice that Meag likes sangria and cooking just as much as I do!

We made our own mozzarella cheese the other day and one of the best garlicy thin crust margarita pizzas I have ever had!

She also is a killer guitar player and is trying to teach my little neighbor Geretsik how to play. Maybe a futile effort as the little one is opposed to learning chords, but none the less we've been having a great time singing along!

Yeghegnadzor Media Center

2010-08-26T10:14:00.002+05:00

I wanted to say thank you to all of you who donated to my PCPP grant to buy equipment for the Yeghegnadzor Media Center! The grant was fully funded a few weeks ago and the money was just released, so I will be purchasing a computer, cameras, video camera and audio recording equipment soon!

Also, my counterpart and I have been meeting with the new governor of our region and we are fairly certain we will be getting a furnished room in the marzpet building with internet access and a budget to travel around to the villages to gather news. We have also been trying to secure money to hire a journalist from Yerevan to come to teach regular lessons.

The next step is to make an announcement and call for applicants. We are hoping to start with 10 - 15 people and then expand to our surrounding communities after the initial trainings.

Thank you again to all of you who have donated and made this project possible, I can't wait to get started!!

Sue Fullam

2010-08-25T13:40:00.005+05:00

Ms. Sue Fullam, Peace Corps Volunteer in Vachagan, Armenia, a small village just up the mountain from Kapan. Vachagan is a village of about 500 people and Sue teaches English there at the school. The school itself holds about 35 students. Vachagan is one of the last villages on the way up the slopes of Mount Khustup, the second tallest mountain in Armenia. The village landscape is so steep most houses are comfortable nested into the hillsides and there are shared garden spaces located in smaller, flatter ravines.

So, dad tried to get me a Niva

2010-08-24T11:32:00.003+05:00

Myrtle Beach Sun News
Aug 22 2010

Dodgy car should stay put in Armenia

Dear Tom and Ray: I just returned from visiting my daughter, who is a Peace Corps volunteer, in Yeghegnadzor, Armenia. Now, my daughter is an adventuresome gal, and she's become infatuated with the Lada Niva. It's a very small but particularly utilitarian 4-wheel-drive SUV. She's decided that to reward her for her service to humanity, I should procure one for her upon her return to the U.S. She's scheduled to come home about a year from now, which gives me some time to research this and find a viable reason for telling her it can't be done.

She would like for me to make contact with one of her Armenian friends, have him find and buy the vehicle on her behalf and ship it to the U.S. My alternative plan is for her to purchase the auto in Armenia, drive it across Europe and ship it across the pond once she reaches the Atlantic. Here's my question: What would I need to do to the Niva to have it pass U.S. import standards? Please help me out, guys. I'll have hell to pay if she's not greeted with the car, or at
least a convincing reason for my not having been successful. - Chuck

TOM: Well, your daughter obviously has bonded with the people of Armenia. That's wonderful. And she clearly wants to take a piece of her experience there home with her - she wants a keepsake.

RAY: But it would be easier, and cheaper, if she just married an Armenian and brought him home, Chuck. Because there's no way you're ever going to get a Lada approved for road use in the United States.

TOM: If a vehicle doesn't meet U.S. safety and environmental standards (and trust us, Chuck, this one doesn't), the U.S. Department of Transportation requires you to either upgrade it and make it comply, or destroy it. Guess which you're going to be forced to pick?

RAY: Unless you're the kind of guy who makes nuclear reactors out of balsawood in his spare time on weekends, you're not going to be able to upgrade this thing to meet U.S. code. Even car companies have a hard time doing it. For an individual, it's almost impossible.

TOM: Trust us, a wedding's going to be cheaper, Chuck.

Car Talk is a national column distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Got a question about cars? Ask at the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com or write to Car Talk Plaza, Box 3500 Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02238.

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/08/22/1644435/dodgy-car-should-stay-put-in-armenia.html

Daily routine

2010-08-16T10:52:00.006+05:00

This scene happens every day just as the sun is tucking itself to sleep behind the mountain in Yeghegnadzor. The cows that have spent the day up in the mountains or down in the river valley grazing for the day then head back home to be milked. I was amazed seeing this process for the first time. Families hire the shepard to take the cows out in the morning and tend to them all day. As the cows are headed home, they know exactly where their homes are located and turn down their respective driveways.

Charentsavan

2010-08-11T16:22:00.005+05:00

I ended up by myself the other night in the apartments that Peace Corps rented for volunteers helping out with sessions during Pre Service Training. I was to help with the bird watching trip to Lake Sevan the next day, and all the other volunteers were asked to leave the apartments as our Mid Service Conference would start the next day.

Of course, assuming there would be other people there, I brought no book, my Ipod had died on the drive there and I had run out of money on my phone.

Needless to say, I had to find some way to occupy myself, so I took some photos from the balcony of the apartment, bought a bottle of wine, Viva Cell card and called America.

Aragats Adventure

2010-07-28T15:30:00.008+05:00

Yar she blows. The south summit of Mt. Aragats, 4095 meters. The wide angle does her no justice.

Our little jeep track to the top was lined with wonderful purple and yellow flowers.

And alpine forget-me-nots!

Janet gets a little refreshment from the water that was 10 minutes ago an icefield just up the path.

Beautiful mountain stream!

So, I was totally unprepared for this climb. I had been away from site for a week and had only brought my chacos with me, and decided to do the hike anyway.

My good friend Nico.

Me and the ladies, enjoying the view.

And the sun finally came out to greet us!

Aragats is a large, wide and tall, extinct volcano. From every angle there are huge valleys running down the flanks of the mountain.

The rock lined path we followed along the way was at times hard to find, but lead us up a very mystical and beautiful path!

Chacos in the snow...

There were several boulder fields to cross. You could hear water running under the rocks and little rodents similar to Pika were daring out from under the rocks.

Almost to the top!!

And the clouds cleared just as we got to the summit.

There was a huge rock face right at the summit.

Here we are!

Chacos at the top!

Don't get too close!

Damn, were tough!

Gregory

2010-07-15T13:08:00.005+05:00

Here is Gregory, the new (and temporary) addition to the family. He was purchased as an addition to the table of my landlord's son's birthday celebration. However, his life was spared, maybe he needs to be fattened up more. So for now, we exchange baa's from across the yard.

Dad and Uncle Big Dave Jr. Do Armenia

2010-06-28T11:05:00.011+05:00

My dad and Uncle Big Dave Jr. came to visit me during the most beautiful season in Armenia. Just as the time was approaching for them to arrive, the green grass and colorful wildflowers were just at their peak. We had rain showers most evenings, but it made for nice clear air and great views. It had been one year since I had seen anyone in my family, so I was VERY excited for them to arrive.

They arrived in Yerevan at 5 a.m. and were ready to see the city as soon as possible. I took them for a little tour up the city, including the cascade and my favorite American style breakfast place where you can get lattes and bacon.

Then we took a taxi to Garni and Geghart. An ancient Roman temple and one of my most favorite churches in the country. The taxi ride was pleasant and of course, we had to run out of gas on the way back to the city.

The Geghart church was carved out of a cliff wall.

Dad and UBDj light their first of many candles in a church here.

The next day we took a masrutka to my site and we had to make the obligatory trip to Noravank, a church just 15 minutes away from Yeghegnadzor.

They both climbed the very steep steps up into the 2nd floor of the church.

The next day we went for a long hike up into the mountains surrounding Yeghegnadzor to Spitakavor, a monastery. There are several shepard settlements along the way, and when I was up there before (in the fall) they were uninhibited. Fortunately this time the families has just moved in a few days prior. This is Hayko, Vardges and Takuhi. They keep cows and bees just off the road to Spitakavor.

Just like you would expect from any incredibly hospitable Armenian, they laid out a whole table just for us. Fresh honey and yogurt, lavash, cucumbers and tomatos and offered us up some shots of vodka. We kindly munched on the treats, declined the vodka and continued along the way.

My favorite way to hike is to go up along the vehicle trail and to descend through the gorge. However, last time I was there the river was much lower and crossing it was no trouble. With the incessant rains and snowmelt, the river was a challenge to cross.

There are some really incredible wildflowers in bloom up there.

Dad and UBDJ brought some great gifts for my families and my neighbor kids had a great time learning how to throw the frisbee.

My landlords/next door neighbors gladly made a khorovats for their guests. UBDJ was fascinated by the tonir, a pit in the ground usually used to make lavash, and has decided to construct one at his home in Idaho. Samvel was happy to bring out his homemade grape vodka for us to "sample" and even gave Dave and Dad some to take back home.

Us at a small memorial in the gorge along the road to Tatev.

Dad checking out some of the engravings on the Khatchkars in Noratus along the shore of Lake Sevan.

Dad decided to buy some hand made hats from some of the very pushy tatiks. As soon as he brought out his wallet the ladies started yelling louder and pushing more of their crafts on him.

Lake Sevan

Dad up at Surpkhatch, a church just above Yeghegnadzor.

Samvel, my landlord and our chauffeur.

Our lovely Lada.

The typical traffic jam in these parts.

We went to visit my first host family in Karenis.

And then we took the midnight train to Georgia. The train crosses the border at about 3 a.m. so they wake you up in the middle of you less-than-pleasant sleep on the train to check you passport.

Georgian wine and cuisine is not so much different that Armenian, but a pleasant change. Needless to say, we indulged.

In Gori, the birthplace of Stalin.

In Uplistsikhe, (yeah, try pronouncing THAT!) an ancient cave city just outside of Gori.

We had a pretty spectacular weather display while we were there.

We returned from Georgia, spent one more night in Yerevan and then I sent the pair on their was back home. It was so nice to be able to share my life with them and to introduce them to my new home, friends and family.

A little help, please?

2010-06-25T23:40:00.002+05:00

Hey everyone,

So you may recall a post a while ago about a new website for the Yeghegnadzor Media Center. Since there is no media in the region I live in, my counter part and I are working to open a center to train people, of all ages, to be community based citizen journalists. BUT, we need your help. If you have a few extra dollars this month, please consider making a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation to our project.

You can donate here:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=305-062&

Thank you!

Khustup!

2010-06-25T17:33:00.007+05:00

9 PCVs set out from the steps of Joe's apartment to the steppes of Syunik marz to conquer Mt. Khustup, a 3210 meter (10,531 ft) beast.

We got our backpacks, or in Paul's case duffel bag, packed and were out the door by 7 a.m.
Nico and the mountain.

In just a few hours we had already made great progress from the valley floor, but this was just the beginning.

We stopped at a shepard's domik about halfway up the mountain. They made us fresh tan and entertained us.

Susa and her husband have been married and living the shepard lifestyle for 10 years. She is originally from Yerevan, but says she loves living the way she does.

The motley crew.

Our destination is just behind that hill.

Me and Sveta.

Sveta lives in a shack at the base of Khustup with her grandson, their cows and a very intimidating Rott/Lab mix guard dog. She spoke such thick barbar that it was really hard to understand her. I am sure she is full of wonderful stories!

Almost to our little domik!

We found a nice little shepards cabin to stay the night in.

And we enjoyed an incredible view and quite a display of nature's beautiful weather patterns.

There was a wonderful cabin just down the hill from ours. It has some amenities that PCVs don't even have. Running water with a sink, a flush toilet and a gas water heater. Too bad the door was locked, I can see some great Goldilocks and the 9 PCVs stories in the works...

Khustup in all her glory.

We made it all the way up from the valley waaaay down there!

The 9 of us and our humble abode.

Geretsik

2010-06-18T11:59:00.005+05:00

This is Geretsik. She is my landlord's daughter, 12-years-old and the most spunky little ball of energy. She always pokes her head in my door to see what crazy American food I may be cooking, to listen to some American music, or just to come snoop around my house to see what my life is all about.

She is incredibly girly at times, walking around in her mother's high heels that are much too large, wearing way too grown up make up and pretending to be a music teacher. Then at other times she is tearing around the yard trying to catch a hen.

She is a little daddy's girl, always curious about the remodeling he is doing in the building above their house and trying to help out in some way.

I can barely remember what it was like to be her age, and when I spend time with her I try to recall what it felt like.

Norik

2010-06-09T12:42:00.002+05:00

This is Norik. He owns a khanut (store) not too far from my house. Henni met him in the village Hermon a while ago, he is a German teacher there. We went to interview him as we wanted to include him in the (now failed) expanded version of our photo exhibit. "I'm not a proud man" he said when I was trying to take his photograph. He is currently working on a novel and read a few passages for us.

Khatchkars

2010-06-04T17:22:00.001+05:00

Check out a story I collaborated on with my friend Ashley, a Fullbright scholar living in Yerevan.

http://www.ianyanmag.com/?p=2703

Easter

2010-05-06T14:03:00.003+05:00

These photos were taken on Easter Day, April 4th. I've been a little lazy these days about editing my photos, so sorry they are a little late.

This is the service in Noravank. There were women and children standing to the sides of the priests singing. I'm always taken with the way singing sounds in churches here.

This is one of the two churches at Noravank. The graves on the floor are of previous priests, they are meant to be walked on to show their humbleness.

This little girl did not want to stand and listen to the service. Her mom was so embarrassed at the way she was acting. I knelt down next to her and we started talking.
The light in the churches here is perfect.

Henni, our friend Karine and me.

Again, the ladies all gussied up for the holiday.

This is Karine's nephew, Gorik. Him and his brother, Davo, are in one of the photos from our photo exhibition with their grandmother, Tamara. I came to their house to eat an Easter meal. Their food is always so delicious!

I was helping keep Gorik entertained while the women were preparing the food.

How can you resist such a face!

The table was beautifully decorated with dyed eggs, wheat grass and greens. We had fresh "banjar" vegetables picked from the mountains, home made wine, beet salad, and my new favorite thing ever, "chamichov pilaf" which is rice with dried fruits baked in a lavash crust.

Tbilisi, Georgia

2010-05-05T12:19:00.003+05:00

These photos are from my recent trip to Tbilisi, Georgia for a Social Media for Social Change conference. The conference was very interesting. I had forgotten what is was like to be surrounded by like-minded journalists. It was refreshing, but also a wake-up call. Man, has technology changed in the last year! One woman asked me to describe what I thought Media 2.0 was. I said, honestly, I've never even HEARD of web 2.0 and for the first 10 months of my service here I didn't even have real reliable access to the internet!!

I had been in Tbilisi once before when Henni and I traveled through on our way to and from Turkey. I came this time with a fellow PCV, Chris. He had never been to Tbilisi before, so I was the semi-tour guide. I brought us back to a restaurant that I remembered and we gorged ourselves on Lobiani, a round bread with red bean past inside, sooooo good!

We walked around everywhere in the city and got a pretty good grasp of the metro system. All the signs in the metro stations are in the Georgian alphabet (see Armenian alphabet thrown against the wall) and neither of us bothered to learn it before we came. Luckily, Chris is really good a gesturing. You should have seen him tell the waitress he wanted water with gas!

This is me and Chris. He's quite a character and I laughed a lot on this trip. We also got soaking wet more than a few times while walking in torrential downpours.

This is the coolest church sitting on a cliff above the river that runs through the middle of the city. There are churches just about every block and all the Georgians cross themselves when they pass by, even the taxi drivers while speeding down the narrow streets full of pedestrians.

Along the Tbilisi skyline you can see Mother Georgia. She has a twin that lives in Yerevan, Mother Armenia. Mother Georgia is holding a sword and a goblet of wine. Ohhh.... is Georgian wine good!

This is Sayat Nova's grave outside of the Armenian church. Sayat Nova is a very famous Armenian writer. After taking a few photos we walked into the church and greeted those inside in Armenian. They didn't think much at first and then we started up a conversation with them in Armenian. They were so impressed that these Americans in Georgia were speaking their mother tongue. We stayed for a while, lit some candles and went on our way.

2010-05-04T15:44:00.003+05:00

There was about a 2 hour break in the rain yesterday so I took a little stroll up in the fields behind my house. It is impossibly green here right now. Its amazing how quickly it has changed! I was looking through photos from less than a month ago and the blossoms were just beginning to bud on the trees here.

I had not yet had a chance to explore this side of the city. I moved in during the winter and because there are a lot or construction projects on this side of town, it was super muddy. In this area there are also a lot of abandonded buildings. Maybe this was a greenhouse?

This is a little section of town that I had never noticed before. It has its own separate road from Yegh that comes in at the top of the hill from the road to Yerevan. This is looking down to the Arpa river, where the pointy bridge is. The broken landscape here looks impressive in every season!

A perfect little patch of light shining down on a few cows and the lone herder.

Just a normal day...

2010-04-30T23:18:00.003+05:00

I went to visit my host mother, Ruzan, at her store today. She works at a place that is for the most part a butcher shop, but they also sell other food items and until recently were also selling gold jewelry. I once and a while stop by her store as it is on the way to the aftogayan where I catch mashrutkas to Yerevan. I came in and sat down while her and she boss, Armen, were grinding meat. I offered to put on some coffee for the three of us. While I was waiting for the little plita to heat up our teeny tiny cups of coffee, fresh meat was delivered to the store. I've never been too excited about buying meat in this country as you may see from the above photo. It usually sits around all day like this, sometimes on a piece of cardboard. Then, when you order it they chop it up on a large wooden block with an axe. My uncle is a butcher and I know how cutting meat is an art to be perfected. But here, you have to be careful when you eat meat because there are always shards of bone embedded in the flesh. Also, they aren't too concerned with sanitizing like we would with raw meat in America. They just wipe up the surface with a wet towel (no soap or bleach) and resume cutting on the same surface all day long, day after day.

This is an electric plita. Every store you walk into will have one of these hidden somewhere so the shop keepers can refuel with coffee periodically throughout the day.

Our mismatched cups and saucers waiting to be filled with the most tasty slow-cooked Armenian coffee. Armen was telling me that his coffee is so much tastier because it is prepared over low heat very slowly. mmm hmmm.

Later in the evening I returned home and told the events of my day to my landlady, Heriknaz. Their home is just a few meters from my front door. Its nice to be so close to a family, and also very amusing. Heriknaz is from the village Getap and, like many Armenians, has only traveled to a few places within the country. She is a very simple minded woman, but is always curious about what crazy American things I am up to at all times. He has asked me before if, when I had a horse, did I milk it? And, if I knew how to count Armenian money. 700 dram, do you know what 70o dram is?

Mersum em!

2010-04-29T21:20:00.003+05:00

This is taken from the ridge next to my new house. Lately there have been some beautiful low laying clouds covering the mountains and it has been raining like crazy. The semi-desert scrub has suddenly come to life and the mountains around here are just stunning covered in green! Click on the image to see it bigger.

This is a half-abandoned factory near my house.

Mud-puddle dodging. A fine art in these parts.

My teeny tiny neighbor Heriknaz. She sits on the steps and watches her husband, Samvel, remodel the structure by my house. By the end of the summer, there will be three more rooms, just like mine, that will house university students. Always a construction project going on here...

Yeghegnadzor Media Center

2010-04-29T10:39:00.002+05:00

Check out the new blog I created for the Yeghegnadzor Media Center that my counterpart and I will be opening soon: http://yeghmediacenter.wordpress.com/ . It is VERY basic right now, but as soon as we start lessons and get money to buy equipment, we'll be on the ground running very soon! It is written in Armenian, but there will be photos and videos to view as well. Enjoy!!

SunChild event at Tsitsernakaberd

2010-04-29T00:16:00.003+05:00

SunChild had all the clubs from the regions gather at Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan (genocide memorial and museum) this weekend to help recycle all the flowers that had been left there after the genocide remeberance day.

We plucked the petals off the flowers and laid them out on long strips of canvas in front of the memorial.

It was quite a beautiful and collective effort.

There were about 3-4 tons of flowers that had been placed there. Usually, every year the flowers are just thrown in the landfill. So SunChild suggested we have the children pluck off the petals and separate the plastic from the greens. We then collected all the stems and leaves and put them in a large compost pile. We were there all day and hardly even got half-way through the pile.

It was a great idea, but a huge effort!

Genocide Memorial Day

2010-04-24T12:35:00.002+05:00

Today, April 24th has been designated as the Armenian Genocide Memorial day. Last night, Jon Henni and I joined some students from the universities in Yeghegnadzor for a candle-lit march to the memorial up on a hill above the city.

The pastor said, Armenia may be small but our problems are large and we must all work together to solve them.

Opening day photos

2010-03-31T15:58:00.008+05:00

Paige and the photos. We were just a little excited to get the show on the road.

And here is me and the photos. All snazzed up!

The amazing Miss Henni, the organizer of the show.

The "We-are-women-hear-us-roar" crew.

Paige talking about some photos with Lee Lacy, Peace Corps Armenia Country Director, and Armen , PC Environmental Education Program Manager.

Sona and me. Sona showed up early to the exhibit, as she rode the marsrutka to get there. She was in the building before we showed up. We found her in the gallery reading her story and looking at her photos with tears in her eyes. This really cemented our feelings that this exhibition was a big deal and something Armenian women would never think to organize for themselves about themselves.

We had many guests from the Yeghegnadzor community. This man is from the governor's office. He said he was very impressed with all the women in the exhibit and he recognized almost everyone's faces. He even told some stories about some of the women he knew.

Anahit looking at her photos surrounded by some of her classmates.

Paige and Knarik. Knarik took the early mashrutka from Yelpin to Yeghegnadzor, about a 35 minute drive.

Knarik and her sister-in-law, Aygestan. Aygestan and her family were Paige's second host family in Vayk. Both women are featured in the exhibition.

Henni thanking our guests and explaining the premise of the project. About 50 people were crammed into the little gallery, but everyone was enjoying themselves. We baked American cookies and crackers with a goat cheese dip and served champagne to toast the women. Henni collected information from UN and Amnesty International's websites and had students from the university write up data and essays about the state of the women in Armenia. Many guests told us that they were happy to see the data, as it reminded them of why women are important and how they have been ignored.

Henni and Sona. Many of the women in the exhibition are from the village Getap, where Henni has a family that she visits several times a week. In Getap Henni has become a celebrity. Sona and her family are one of the many families Henni has become close with.

Meester Jon, Peace Corps volunteer, my site mate. The one and only.

My marz-mates. These are my Americans, and they will all be leaving me in August. Bah ho.

Some girls from my Eco Club.

The after party at my apartment.

Ruzan Khatchatryan

2010-03-30T10:01:00.001+05:00

Ruzan Khatchatryan, 55 years old

Mother of many and master of most, Ruzan Khatchatryan doesn’t spend much time sitting idle. The mother of two girls and one boy is also surrogate mother to seven Peace Corps Volunteers, one of whom is currently serving in Yeghegndadzor (Emily Haas), while the others have safely returned to America and call their Armenian mother occasionally. While she may recall with fondness the times she had spent with the Americans living with her in the past, it also brings back memories of what her house was like when it was full. Ruzan’s husband died just one year ago, her son is serving in the army in Sisian, her oldest daughter is married and lives in Russia and the other is married with two young children and rarely gets an opportunity to visit.

Ruzan works 12 hours a day, seven days a week in a khanut preparing kebabs, selling various sundries and most recently gold jewelry. Work, she said, is something that still keeps her going. While her children were studying in university, all of her children graduated with college degrees from universities in Yerevan, Ruzan kept a cow, her garden and the household. She worked from sunrise until sunset everyday and gave every thing she earned to her children so they could pay their tuition and afford to live in Yerevan. She is tremendously proud of what her children have accomplished and says that she has always held the future of her children as her highest priority.

Ruzan was born in the village of Agarakadzor and most of her family still lives there. While she is waiting for her son to return and for the pain of her recent loss to recede, she occupies her time by staying close to her loved ones and keeping close her sweet memories from the past.

Nunufar Karapetyan

2010-03-25T08:38:00.001+04:00

Nunufar Karapetyan, 31 years old

“Yes masnaget em! – I am a specialist!”

Nunufar is specialist in selling wine. Coming from Yerevan you can see the yellow parasol, the sign that says ice cream and her conspicuous red hair as one of the first points of sale on the right. Cars honk, people wave out of their window; Nunufar is known all over the road Yerevan- Yeghegnadzor. If you were wondering if ever cars stop on the road to buy something at Nunufar’s place, they definitely do. Maybe it is an ensemble of her tasty wine and her prepossessing character. Her cheerful laugh and her hospitality are remarkable. She serves her customers big glasses of wine, coffee, cookies and apples. Nunufar was selling wine in several markets in the area for 13 years before her family opened the place on the road. Now she has been selling there for five years and she seems to love her job. She works from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. every day and never takes a vacation. In her small selling house she has a stove to cook and a radio. She says that she could never leave her village, even though she is very interested in other cultures and languages. Maybe if she wouldn’t have this point of sale, maybe.

Nunufar speaks not only Armenian, she also remembers German and Russian that she learned in school. She learned Persian on her own and knows Turkish from the trips she went on with her father to Nachitshevan. When she was a little girl her father went hunting in the territory of Nachitshevan, which was easily accessible from the village Areni.
Nunufar is the oldest child in her family. Her brother died and her sister is married in Karabach. She is not married and stays with her parents. She never had the chance to study after school, but she studies herself languages and reads a lot about environmental issues.

Tamara Avetisyan

2010-03-24T08:25:00.001+04:00

Tamara Avetisyan, 55 years old

“We have children”

Tamara Avetisyan is the mother of four children, two girls, two boys and grandmother of four. She lives together with one of her daughters, her daughter-in-law and two of her grandchildren in the village Getap. If you ask her she would tell you that they have children, she takes care of her grandchildren like a mother day and night. Her daughter-in-law works as a doctor in the hospital, both of her sons live in Russia, as well as her husband. Tamara used to live in Karelia, Russia as well, but she came back to live with her grandchildren and her younger daughter. She is a mother and grandmother with passion. She would do everything for them. She tried to earn as much money as possible to help her children study; she worked as dancing teacher in Getap from 1972 to 1975, worked in the kindergarten from 1981 to 1994 and lived in Russia from 2001 to 2006.

What is it like to live in a house with only women?
It is not easy for them to go shopping or to visit friends without a car. The two boys ask for their father every day, every day they call their men in Russia or the men call them. Everybody hopes that they could come soon to visit them, but the flights are expensive and they work hard and don’t have vacation time.
New Year’s 2009: I visited them on New Year’s Eve. They were preparing cakes, salads and other very delicious dishes. Every ten minutes the phone was ringing, the father of the kids and the grandfather were calling to ask what they were doing now. On one hand, it was a sad New Year’s, and a very relaxed one on the other. Without men in the home you can do what you want, eat when you want and dance us much as you want.

Some voices in the village put pressure on Tamara, “Your husband has worked enough, why is he still in Russia? It’s time that he comes back and enjoys his pension.” But the father is like his wife; why sit when I can work and help my family?” The daughter explains to me,
Without work my father gets sick. He couldn’t find work here and was getting nervous. That’s why he went to Russia…. If I wanted I could study again and my father would pay for it. But I don’t want to take money from him. I would rather like that he takes the money for a ticket to come visit us.
Family comes before your own interests. For me that is a very impressive fact about Armenia.
When the grandchildren grow up and the youngest daughter marries, Tamara will join her husband in Russia.

Gohar Alexsanyan

2010-03-23T10:08:00.001+04:00

Gohar Alexsanyan, 44 years old

Gohar Alexsanyan is the epitome of a strong, determined and proud village woman. She is the mother of two girls and one boy. Along with all the responsibilities a woman takes on keeping a household, Gohar also keeps a barn full of pigs and cows, a coop full of hens and roosters and an enormous garden with fruit trees, vegetables and berry bushes. She wakes early in the morning to milk the cow, feed the pigs and let out the chickens. She then prepares breakfast for her children and husband before they head off to school and work.
In the summer time, Gohar spends the day harvesting fruits and vegetables and about once a week takes the yield to Yerevan to sell in the markets. She comes home late and prepares dinner for the family and once again milks the cow, feeds the pigs and puts up the chickens for the night.
Gohar is a lover of knowledge. She was studying at the university in Yerevan when she met her husband, quit her studies and got married. Soon thereafter, her first daughter, Anna, was born. Anna was just recently married this February 13th. Gohar is tremendously proud of her children and the happy prosperous life she and her family have led.

Gohar and her family have also hosted two Peace Corps trainees during the Pre-Service Training. The Americans lived with her family for two and a half months after first arriving in Armenia. When the trainees reach Armenia they only know a few words of the language, so the host family became an interactive classroom and provided a network to other villagers and other family members within the country. The family served as the first contact with Armenian culture and language.

2010-03-22T09:46:00.001+04:00

Knarick Avakyan

Knarick Avakyan is an English teacher in the village of Yelpin and is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. She is 47 years old, and she works hard every day teaching English at school and also after school private lessons. Knarick is always interested in connecting herself with the outside world and other people and she likes to read about world news. She always has a beautiful smile on her face despite how difficult it is sometimes to live in a village, work full-time and raise a family. She is married and has two children, Sophie and Tigran, whom she loves very much. She says that it is important to keep a sense of optimism and to believe in the future as a bright light to follow with a sense of happiness and purpose. When Knarick has free time, she likes baking sweets and taking care of her cats. She is proud to be Armenian, and holds up Armenian traditions by being hospitable and kind to her guests. You will never hear Knarick Avakyan saying bad things about people because she believes in finding the best in others. The secret of her happiness is her optimism.

Aygestan Hovhannisyan

2010-03-22T09:38:00.002+04:00

Aygestan Hovhannisyan

Aygestan Hovhannisyan has a very traditional Armenian woman’s life. She is married and has three grown children: two sons and one daughter. She takes care of the house by doing all the work that is usually done by women. When the majority of her house work is completed in the afternoons, she enjoys having her girlfriends over for coffee or visiting her neighbors to talk and laugh. She is a very strong woman with good values and is well respected in her community as a person who is honest and kind. Her husband works as an electrician at Vayk’s electrical facility and aside from his monthly wages they also have a greenhouse where they grow seasonal vegetables to sell. In the winter everyone in their family is working hard to clean and harvest “ganachi” and in the summer they sell tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. She is a very busy woman but always has time to sit with a friend and offer them coffee and fruit. She is the youngest child of five and is from the village of Khnzorut. She loves to plant many different varieties of flowers and it is easy to see that her name “Aygestan” suits her. Her father, almost 90-years-old, comes over to her house from time to time to get his hair cut by her and she is known as the family hairstylist. She is an excellent seamstress and is very creative in making small, useful things for her family. She is a wonderful woman and has a kind and happy husband as well as three very smart and respected grown children.

Sona Vanyan

2010-03-19T18:39:00.003+04:00

Sona Vanyan, 40 years old

When you enter the yard of Sona Vanyan, you can smell her profession: lavash, cheese, baklava and many other things appreciated by the whole village.

Sona works from sunrise till sunset. She bakes, cooks, milks the cows, cleans house and yard, she does everything. She has had a hard life, but she is strong, smiles and says, “We don’t live very well, we are not rich, but we thank God for everything we have every day.”

She was 21 when she married, together the couple had a one-year-old son and she was two months pregnant with her daughter. After only one year of marriage her husband died. All alone at 22, she had just moved from Yeghegnadzor into her husband’s house in the village Getap. Since then she lives with her parents-in-law and raises her children alone.
Now she is 40. Her son who is now 19, is serving in the army in Sisian. She shows his picture with pride. Her daughter studies in Getap school and helps her bake lavash when she comes home from school. People from the village bring her flour and she bakes for them the delicious bread. That’s how she earns money.

She sleeps with her daughter on one end of the room, her parents-in-law on the other, separated with just a curtain. The room is dining room, living room and bedroom in one. The woodstove gives it a nice atmosphere, from the TV sounds traditional Armenian music. She serves us all Armenian riches, wine, pasturma, salad, fresh lavash, cheese, meat and eggs, nuts, sujukh and coffee - everything homemade and all natural!
She tells us that she and her daughter were going to a wedding the next day far north of Yerevan. She is preparing all her specialties to make those people as happy as she made us.
We ask her when they will be coming back she answers, “It depends if we like it there or not.” Sona lives in the day…

Emma Yepremyan

2010-03-19T17:55:00.005+04:00

Emma Yepremyan, 73 years old

Emma is Sona Vanyan’s mother-in-law. When she tells us about her son’s death at the age of 30, she has still tears in her eyes, 18 years later.
She cannot see very well, she says, “The world is cloudy to me.”
With patience is she sitting on her bed and waiting until we have the right picture. She smiles and tells us openly about their life. She is originally from Getap village, married a man from the same village and has stayed there her whole life. Everybody in the village knows her and appreciates her open-minded, friendly character.

We ask her what was new and what she did during the day, she says, “What can I do? I just sit here.” She is the personification of quietness and enjoys having younger people around.
Later on she is standing in front of the mirror, watching herself and gazing out the window. After some minutes the others ask her what she was doing, knowing that Emma cannot see very well, “I’m just looking,” answers Emma sunken in her thoughts.

Nazik Harutsunyan

2010-03-18T09:46:00.003+04:00

Nazik Harutsunyan

Nazik Harutsunyan is a friendly neighbor to everyone living on Komissarneri Street in Vayk, and spends her days working in her garden, taking care of her home and her 14-year-old daughter Narine. She is always laughing and joking and her sense of personal happiness is easy to see. She was born in the village of Bartsruni to a large and loving family. She came to Vayk to live in the house that her uncle built about 15 years ago. She is a single mother, and does a fantastic job raising her daughter alone. When her mother became ill, Nazik cared for her all day, everyday for the last 10 months of her life up to moment she died. She remembers her mother’s life and carries on her mother’s way and traditions with respect and love. She works very hard to keep up all the work that it takes to run a house alone: cooking, cleaning, chopping wood, repairing broken machines and electrical outlets, harvesting and planting the garden, and teaching her daughter about what is important in life. She is a very exceptional woman and is recognized for her happy spirit and her lifestyle that is full of honor and dignity.

Alla

2010-03-17T15:57:00.000+04:00

Alla, 29 years old

You might know Alla in the region of Vayots Dzor. She is the regional officer of Viva Cell and has been working in the company for four years.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Management and is now studying her Master’s degree in Management and Economy in the field of network in Yerevan. She goes to Yerevan either once a week or she takes three weeks of vacation and studies the module in one session.
Her aim is to be kind to people, she wants to do the best for the people, especially in the countryside. Her openness and friendliness is appreciated by both Armenians and foreigners who come in the region. Alla has always had contact with the Peace Corps Volunteers and other foreigners. She tutored Armenian language to them and improved her own English by communicating with them.
She is very interested in other cultures and countries and she has traveled to other countries.
Besides her interests and career, Alla still finds the time for her 6-year-old son and her husband. She was married when she was 23.

Anahit Hachnasaryan

2010-03-16T09:06:00.003+04:00

Anahit Hachnasaryan, 20 years old

Anahit Hachnasaryan is student and mother. She studies English in the third course of “Gitelik” University. While she is studying, her mother or her mother-in-law are taking care of her 9-month-old son Artyom. When you see Anahit for the first time, you would not think that she has a baby. She is small, very thin and very young, but she is more quiet and mature than the other girls in her class.

Anahit is originally from Yeghegnadzor. Now she is living with her parents-in-law and her husband in the village Malishka. She moves between the two houses to organize day care for her son.
She got to know her husband when she was 18. After both his and her parents agreed, they decided to get married.

Armenuhi Muradyan and family

2010-03-14T14:49:00.003+04:00

Aghavne Khorenyan, 76 years old
Armenuhi Muradyan, 49 years old
Marine Hovhannisyan, 25 years old
Aghavne Khorenyan, 19 years old

When you follow the street up from the river in Getap village, at some point you will reach the house of the Khorenyan’s just underneath a huge rock. From afar you can hear the turkeys, which are running around in the backyard and perhaps the cry of their youngest grandchild. Laundry is blowing in the wind and smoke is coming out of the woodstove. If you enter the house during the day, you will not meet any men in the house. The head of the household died seven years ago and the son is working. All men of this family drive trucks all over Armenia. The father was a driver, as is the son, and if you ask them what the youngest will do later, they'll tell you that he is going to do the same job.

We met Aghavne in the mashrutka to Getap. She invited us to come to their house. When we entered, it was nice and warm. The great-grandmother and the eldest grandchild were lying in the bed and the others were immediately preparing coffee, apples, nuts and cookies for us.
Armenuhi tells us that they are six people living in the house; her mother-in-law Aghavne, her youngest daughter Aghavne, her son and her daughter-in-law Marine, along with their two children and herself. She has another daughter who is already married and lives with her husband's family. Although all the women are unemployed, they are busy taking care of the children, the house and the garden.
Armenuhi remembers some German she learned in school. She helps all members of her family learn German and remembers the time she was learning in school with a big smile on her face.

Areni wine sellers

2010-03-14T10:03:00.003+04:00

Tsorik Chatshatriyan, 38 years old
Siranush Soromonyan, 85 years old

Tsorik Chatshatriyan started selling wine on the road two years ago. We took her photo in December. It was a nice, sunny day and we went wine tasting in Areni village for our Christmas party. She served us different kinds of red wine and several fruit wines, her specialty, blackberry, pomegranate, raspberry…
Tsorik graduated from university in Yerevan, but never had the chance to work in her profession. Later she was working in finances. Then she moved with her family to a home next to the Yerevan road, and the mother of two girls and one boy decided to stay close and start selling wine there.

Behind her, next to the wall of their small selling place, Siranoush was sitting in the sun, Tsorik’s mother-in-law. Her eyes were closed, for her the time seemed to stand still.
Both women agreed that we could take their pictures, but they said, ”Menk sirun chenk!” We are not pretty. But we think they are and wanted to have them in our exhibition.

Anitchka Aleksanyan

2010-03-13T10:06:00.003+04:00

This is the first story in a series. This is the grandmother of the host family I lived with when I first arrived.

Anitchka Alexsanyan, 77 years old

While the Aleksanyan household may be in constant motion, one fixture is sure to stay calm and quiet observing the choreographed motion of a village household. Anitchka Alexsanyan was born in the village of Karenis (once called Gyumush) in Kotayk marz, and has remained there her whole life. She is the mother of three boys and one girl, all of whom still live in the village. Anitchka’s husband died several years ago, but she lives with her youngest son, his wife and their three children. The eldest daughter was just married this February 13th.

She is the local specialist in all sorts of holistic and herbal remedies; many villagers often come to her for treatments. She can often be found repairing bedclothes, preparing matsun and sour cream, or praying several times a day in front of the altar at the house. In the fall, the preparation of all dried fruits and nuts does not happen without first being inspected and approved by her.

Women's Day Project Opening Day

2010-03-12T18:50:00.001+04:00

Today was the opening of Paige, Henni and my photo exhibiton. We photographed and interviewed 15 women in Armenia. We are displaying about 35 photographs in the Yeghegnadzor Social Center. For the rest of the month I will be posting one woman's photographs and stories so those who could not make it can see what work we have done.

The idea of the project was to show how hard the women in Armenia work and the important and overlooked role they hold in society. We spent a lot of time with each of the women we photographed and were constantly impressed by how kind and generous these women were. I hope you enjoy them!

Hykakan Harsanik

2010-03-03T23:42:00.001+04:00

My host dad, Nver and Anna my host sister and the lovely bride.

Anna and her niece, Annie.

Anna and I, she is only 1 day younger than I.

Some of the lovely food art. I think none of it was eaten.

Anna and the spread.

Emma, my other host sister getting all gussied up. Like me, she is not super girly and had to have other people do her makeup.

The beautiful bride!

Anna and her brother, Vachik. I had never met him before as he is serving in the Army.

My two host sisters, Emma and Anna.

Anna and my tatik, Antitchka.

Gohar, my host mom and her daughter. Gohar is an amazing woman. The night before the wedding there was still a huge amount of work to get done to prepare for the wedding. She put off going to the barn to milk the cows and feed the pigs for several hours. Finally when she went to the barn, she didn't return for several hours. It turns out, 10 piglets were born that night and she had to help birth them. She then came back and cooked dinner for everyone.

The groom's family came over the hill dancing and singing with a band to take the bride to the church.

The duduk!

All the women gathered in a room to congratulate Anna and to open the basket the groom's family brought. In the basket there were gloves, shoes and candy. The bride threw the candy around the room and single women were supposed to take a piece and place it under their pillow that night. They would then dream of the man they were supposed to marry. This message, however was not relayed to me and I gladly ate my candy. I was given another piece later, chocolate, and I put it in my pocket where it was forgotten and melted. Guess I'm not getting married any time soon.

The men giving toasts. Note the camera man on the right. Apparently, the wedding video is one of the most important things. The cameraman would actually stop the ceremony to change his battery or to get a better angle. It was all I could do to keep him out of my shots. If I ever saw a videographer/photographer act like this at my wedding I would be mortified!

Vachik had to guard the door and not allow the bride and groom to pass until the groom paid him.

The sacrificial chicken.

The groom, Mhoy, Anna and Emma.

Also another important aspect of the wedding. Everyone in the wedding party and all the guests drive around town and honk like crazy.

The wedding party entering the church.

No one sat down for the service. It only took about 5 minutes and everyone was crowded around the couple to see what was happening. On Feb. 13th, it is a very popular day to get married, so there were couples coming and going from the church every few minutes.

The bride and groom.

The gratuitous candle shot.

I love this little girl!

The love doves.

Her dove took off for a second then landed and pooped on her head. I told her it was good luck.

My first host family :)

And now the fun starts!

Light a fire...

dance around it a few times....

and then JUMP over it!

Host mother and brother.

Then we dance, dance, danced the night away.

My tatik giving a toast.

Then they got the tatiks to dance.

I had a great time at the wedding, got several marraige proposals and a song dedicated just to me. It was in French, but hey, they tried!

A walk to the Rhino Rock and the Pointy Bridge.

2010-03-03T21:29:00.004+04:00

Mmm... fresh meat at the butcher shop. Makes me want to go buy some cow, how about you?

Henni on the bridge with the Rhino rock in the back. I love to come down here around dusk when all of the sheppards are bringing their flock back from the mountains. Its quite a scene to see all the animals crossing the bridge. Unfortunatley, I go there without my camera sometimes.

Me, Bryan, Henni, Paige and Jon. Some of the best people in the world!

Paige, she's special.

Bryan

Paige and Henni down by the river.

Our famous pointy bridge. Come visit me and I'll take you there.

Cool kids.

Looking up toward Yeghegnadzor.

Henni is one cool cat.

I live in a pretty place!

Random meeting of an old, and very wise man from my city.

2010-03-03T21:17:00.004+04:00

This man came up to me, my counterpart and a student just after we finished a photo lesson.

We were taking photos of the horribly polluted the river that runs through Yeghegnadzor.

He was explaining to us how it used to look and all the fish and other things that used the river.

And I really liked his face.

So I couldn't stop taking his photos.

Sometimes you meet people and the stories they tell you can just blow you away.

It always interesting to hear how different Armenia was not all that long ago, and as soon as the Soviet Union fell, it all changed, QUICKLY.

This river is so choked with trash and polluted with animal feces I'm not sure much of anything could survive in there. I do see rats here regularly I guess.

This it the muddy ally behind my new house. That's my gate.

And the path to my house. My door is on the left.

Sundays with Artour

2010-03-03T21:08:00.004+04:00

On the weekends, teachers from Yerevan come to teach at the Getelik University in Yeghegnadzor. This means that they work 7 days a week. We have made really good friends with Artour, an art teacher. We usually all get together on Sunday, talk, sing and just enjoy each others company.

Some chocolate that my mom sent from America. Thanks mom!!

And the life saving French Press from my best friends at Two Tarts Bakery in Portland. I miss you guys like crazy!!

Drinking some home-made wine.

Artour.

Singing a traditional folk song.

Henni and Paige.

Jon, always deep in thought.

Getap

2010-03-03T20:50:00.005+04:00

Shantik, one of the cutest little boys around.

A little rascal.

A new house being built in Getap, with an incredible view! Looking across the river valley towar Yeghegnadzor.

Henni.

Shantik and Arevik.

Shantik went to the store to get some Jermuk for the ladies. he kindly brought the empty bottles back to the store, he just didn't pay for the ones he took. What a gentleman!

Henni and Arevik.

Best toy!

Yura trying to study his lessons.

Outdoor kitchen.

Sunburnt!

Turkey!

2010-01-23T16:06:00.009+04:00

Some houses for refugees of South Ossetia and Abkhazia outside of Tbilisi in Georgia.

Starbucks in Turkey! We had to go, I know, I know so bad!

On the look-out for Armenians just up the hill from the Spice Market. We never found any.

Henni and a man selling tea.

Spices! I had to buy some Garam Masala.

Looking across the Bosphoros from a ferry.

A beautiful mosque.

It was SO cold on the ferry, but the tea never ends.

One of the rooms in which we stayed in Seljuk.

A ruin outside of Efesous. We didn't actually go in to explore because it was too expensive. We walked around along the fence and saw a pretty good portion of the site.

Some stone houses in the village of Goreme in Cappadocia.

Bird houses in Pigeon Valley.

These caves were filled with trash. Bummer.

This village is full of INCREDIBLE cave hotels. A great place for a honeymoon!

Looking down into the White Valley.

Henni and I.

A stone home.

The view from the cafe.

Coffee in Cappadocia!

Getting lost somewhere in paradise.

We were supposed to be down on that trail.

Love Valley formations.

Love Valley.

The underground city.

A kitten I found down in the cave. I gave him a free tour of the place.

Wine tasting in Areni

2010-01-23T15:25:00.011+04:00

The typical display, home-made wine in Coke or water bottles, walnuts, some pickled vegetables, Sujuhk (walunts dipped in sticky sweet mixture, sort of looks like fly tape and oddly acts the same) and sometimes they have oghe, home-made vodka made from fruits.

My "taste buds" Henni and Paige.

The first taste. Armenians don't drink wine as much as westerners and they prefer sweet wine. So we have to ask for daghe, which means bitter, wine.

The first taste.

The things hanging are sujukh.

We got invited in to try some "hin gini" or old wine.

This is a barrel of "nor gini" or new wine.

She mixed a little old and new together. Not so great...

Cheers!

Inside the "cellar."

Typical day out on the town.

Asking for the driest wine she has.

The spread.

I moved in to take her picture and she said "yes siroun chem," or "I'm not beautiful," but I think she is and her wine was good too!

This woman seemed to be watching the whole operation, she wasn't too keen on having her picture taken, but I couldn't resist.

Shes happy that we liked her wine.

Getting silly!

The building says ice cream, but don't be fooled it really is the home of some of the best home-made wine in Areni. We were reccomened to her by some friends from Yeghegnadzor. They weren't quite sure what booth was hers, but they said we would be able to find her because of her bright red hair, and sure enough we could see her from a mile away.

The road to Yerevan.

Beautiful landscape in Areni.

Home-made goods, this one even has honey. People in Armenia are very proud of their honey.

Our wine goddess, Nunufar or Nune in short.

Trying some popok, or walnuts.

Some real Armenian hospitality.

She is a busy lady! Ever 5 minutes a car pulled up to buy some wine. I guess the word has spread.

The man on the left pulled up in a VERY nice SUV. Henni, Paige and I talked to him for a few minutes and then made up our minds to buy 3 litres of wine from her. He went to his car to put away his wine and walked back up to the table and laid down 10,000 dram (about 30 dollars.) We explained we were only buying 3,000 dram worth and he said fine, I'll get it for you and the rest is for our proprietor. What a guy!!

Yes masnaget em, I am a specialist.

Under the cup on the table you can see the 10,000 dram. She gave us 4 liters instead of 3.

The 5th liter.

Even more tasting. I think we bought some white wine from him. The sign says wine: sweet, dry, semi-sweet and vodka.

I think hes not so used to seeing women come around wine tasting.

Old wine.
Wines from different fruits, sour cherries, backberries, pomegranite, etc.

Henni and I.
The chicken sacrafice rock.

The village of Areni.

These taste buds are unrivaled!

Good times!

Henni.

Another view of Areni looking down the Arpa river valley. This river later forms the border between Armenia and Iran and Armenia and Turkey.

Just checking a few things before the journey.

The well constructed, perfectly safe bridge.

With a Paige sized hole in it.

Oh, life in the village.

A tough little bunch,

who look oddly similar.

Good friends.

More good friends.

It was a long day!