First Week in Armenia

Monday, June 8, 2009

Our first three days in Armenia were spent in a hotel in a resort area north of the capital, Yerevan. These days were our introduction to what the next 12 weeks are going to be like. We had sessions on safety and security, health, core and sector tech, cross-cultural concerns, and of course language. We also had some free time to get to know one another. On Wednesday we were introduced to our host families and went home with them, after a short welcoming ceremony. The 47 of us were divided up into 6 villages around the main town of Charentsavan.

I am in Karashamb, a village of about 200 families, with a very nice host family, which consists of grandparents, son and daughter-in-law and a granddaughter and grandson. All 8 of us volunteers in Karashamb are in the teaching program, called TEFL. While technically there are only 6 in my host family, there always seems to be visitors in and out of the house, some of whom stay overnight. I feel right at home here. The house is large, with 4 bedrooms upstairs, plus a kitchen, bathroom and sitting area. On the main floor there is another bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom and large pantry. It is a very nice and comfortable.

My family raises chickens, pigs, and cows. I have already learned to milk a cow! They also have a large vegetable garden and fruit trees. I imagine in the summer there will be a constant supply of fresh vegetables and fruits. Apricots are a big fruit here, and there is always apricot jam on the table, plus apricot juice and compote. Thank goodness I like apricots.

The women here work very hard. They make all the bread and lavash (a flat bread), plus the jam, compote, cheese, milk, and butter. Gareen, the daughter-in-law, is teaching me little by little how to make different things. The other day I learned how they make their cheese, which was a surprisingly simple process.

The food has been very good. Besides salad, there’s a lot of potato dishes and some meat. I’m not even sure what meat I’ve been eating, but it tastes good and so far I haven’t had any ill effects from it.

We have language lessons everyday for 4 hours. It’s a bit intense, but I know it’s the best way to learn. I’m beginning to understand more of what my family is saying, and we do less charades when trying to communicate. Thankfully the two children have learned some English in school, so they help me a lot. I am so glad that I started to learn the language before coming here, otherwise I would feel totally overwhelmed. It is very tiring trying to understand a foreign language all the time. I probably spend about 4 to 5 hours a day studying. Thankfully I only have to be at an advanced beginner level in order to be sworn in, which will happen August 13. In speaking to some of the volunteers who have been here for a year or more, they didn’t really speak the language until Nov. or so. And, once we leave the training village, we can get a tutor, which I will definitely get.

Today I met with the person who is in charge of placing us in the village/town where we’ll be for the next two years. I had heard that they usually place older volunteers in the larger towns or cities, but I really like being in a small village, so I told her that I feel very safe here and would like to be in a small village or town. I won’t know until two weeks from now where I’ll be, but I think she understood my reasoning.

Tomorrow we are all meeting in Charentsavan for a large group session. It’ll be nice to see everyone and find out how they are all doing. Some of the PC volunteers from a village next to us came over last week and we had an impromptu dance party at Kyle’s house. It was fun and my host family has invited them over for this Wednesday. Last Saturday we also went to another village to celebrate one of the volunteer’s birthday. Getting there was an adventure, since some of the host families had volunteered to drive us. They have small cars here and we fit 14 of us, plus the driver and one other passenger in three cars. It was a little cramped, but we got there and had a lot of fun. Traveling here in Armenia is always an adventure, since not a lot of people have cars, and those who do teMonday, June 8, 2009

Our first three days in Armenia were spent in a hotel in a resort area north of the capital, Yerevan. These days were our introduction to what the next 12 weeks are going to be like. We had sessions on safety and security, health, core and sector tech, cross-cultural concerns, and of course language. We also had some free time to get to know one another. On Wednesday we were introduced to our host families and went home with them, after a short welcoming ceremony. The 47 of us were divided up into 6 villages around the main town of Charentsavan.

I am in Karashamb, a village of about 200 families, with a very nice host family, which consists of grandparents, son and daughter-in-law and a granddaughter and grandson. All 8 of us volunteers in Karashamb are in the teaching program, called TEFL. While technically there are only 6 in my host family, there always seems to be visitors in and out of the house, some of whom stay overnight. I feel right at home here. The house is large, with 4 bedrooms upstairs, plus a kitchen, bathroom and sitting area. On the main floor there is another bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom and large pantry. It is a very nice and comfortable.

My family raises chickens, pigs, and cows. I have already learned to milk a cow! They also have a large vegetable garden and fruit trees. I imagine in the summer there will be a constant supply of fresh vegetables and fruits. Apricots are a big fruit here, and there is always apricot jam on the table, plus apricot juice and compote. Thank goodness I like apricots.

The women here work very hard. They make all the bread and lavash (a flat bread), plus the jam, compote, cheese, milk, and butter. Gareen, the daughter-in-law, is teaching me little by little how to make different things. The other day I learned how they make their cheese, which was a surprisingly simple process.

The food has been very good. Besides salad, there’s a lot of potato dishes and some meat. I’m not even sure what meat I’ve been eating, but it tastes good and so far I haven’t had any ill effects from it.

We have language lessons everyday for 4 hours. It’s a bit intense, but I know it’s the best way to learn. I’m beginning to understand more of what my family is saying, and we do less charades when trying to communicate. Thankfully the two children have learned some English in school, so they help me a lot. I am so glad that I started to learn the language before coming here, otherwise I would feel totally overwhelmed. It is very tiring trying to understand a foreign language all the time. I probably spend about 4 to 5 hours a day studying. Thankfully I only have to be at an advanced beginner level in order to be sworn in, which will happen August 13. In speaking to some of the volunteers who have been here for a year or more, they didn’t really speak the language until Nov. or so. And, once we leave the training village, we can get a tutor, which I will definitely get.

Today I met with the person who is in charge of placing us in the village/town where we’ll be for the next two years. I had heard that they usually place older volunteers in the larger towns or cities, but I really like being in a small village, so I told her that I feel very safe here and would like to be in a small village or town. I won’t know until two weeks from now where I’ll be, but I think she understood my reasoning.

Tomorrow we are all meeting in Charentsavan for a large group session. It’ll be nice to see everyone and find out how they are all doing. Some of the PC volunteers from a village next to us came over last week and we had an impromptu dance party at Kyle’s house. It was fun and my host family has invited them over for this Wednesday. Last Saturday we also went to another village to celebrate one of the volunteer’s birthday. Getting there was an adventure, since some of the host families had volunteered to drive us. They have small cars here and we fit 14 of us, plus the driver and one other passenger in three cars. It was a little cramped, but we got there and to jam in as many people as possible.