Oh there is so much to say about Armenia!  I have read one book written by an Armenian American and now am reading the second book, the Burning Tigris.  The Burning Tigris is a New York Times Best Seller.  After reading almost two hundred pages of this book, I asked myself, why do we send missionaries all over the world to try to convert people who hate us, and we don't take care of our fellow Christians who have died in the name of Christ and are suffering terribly because of it? In the late 1800's and early 1900's, there was a genocide in Turkey against the Armenians because they were Christians.  They were also prosperous like the Jews in Germany.  The missionaries came from all over the world at that time and built schools for the Armenians and helped them so they were some of the best schools in Turkey.  The Turks didn't have schools that compared to them.  The Armenians were in Turkey because that land had once been theirs, and they have been there since Noah.  Ararat is their national symbol and it does not belong to them anymore.  During and after World War I, Turkey decided to ethnically cleanse Turkey and there were strong nationalists feelings.  They tortured and killed the Armenians in the most horrible ways including burning them while they were dancing, raping them until they died and taunting them.  They put dogs on horses and said, "Where is your Jesus now? Why doesn't he come down from heaven and help you?"  The Armenians were actually crucified like Christ.  They were deported from Turkey into Syria and left to die in the desert if they were not shot first. All of this is documented especially by the Ambassadors who were there are the time, like Henry Morgenthau.  And in the middle of all this in the late 1800's during the first massacre was Clara Barton.  I haven't heard this name in a long time.  This book is about the American response.  She led Americans in the struggle to help the Armenians and was 75 years old at the time.

At this time of the year when Christians are preparing for Christmas, please remember the oldest Christian country in the world who named Christianity their national religion in 300 A.D. and are descended from Noah, the Garden of Eden, and the people of Nineveh   And if your church sends Christmas boxes to poor children, remind them that Armenia is one of the poorest countries in the world and many of their relatives were Christian martyrs.  We should take care of our own and support our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In the meantime, I have been to Yerevan many, many times lately to take care of issues involving my permanent resident card. Things don't come easily in countries like this.  Yerevan is in the process of decorating for Christmas, and I can't wait to see the finished product! There are beautiful decorations everywhere!  People are preparing to celebrate Christmas and New Year's together for two weeks.  Their Christmas is on December 6.  They eat fish for Christmas and go to church like us.  I can't wait to see what it is like!

The water here seems to be less plentiful, and I find it necessary when there is a good trickle and hot water, to take a bath immediately and wash my hair less there be none later!  I still am having trouble with food, but it is getting less of a problem. I don't know what bothers my stomach, but I suspect some of it is the cheese.  I wondered why it tasted so strange.  Well I have never eaten sheep cheese!! It tastes straight off the sheep!  The Mormons told me about a store where I could buy Mozzarella and other cheeses like Gouda!  I just hope they're not trying to convert me too!

The weather is holding out here pretty well.  It is cold, about 32 or a little less from what I can figure out.  I have no weather report, and since it was supposed to rain yesterday and snow today, I guess it is not very accurate either.  I have warm boots and a nice warm coat that I brought from the U.S., North Face to be exact, 700 fill of down.  I've bought two pairs of fur lined boots since being here, totally necessary, and I find if my feet are warm all's right with the world.

I'm really looking forward to going to Italy December 26.  I'll spend ten days there and then return to Armenian and prepare to go to the conference in Ukraine with the other English Language Fellows and a Ukrainian university.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Please remember those less fortunate than yourselves!

November in Armenia

November 3, 2012

My, how time flies!  I’ve been so busy the last two weeks, that I haven’t had time to write hardly anyone.  This weekend I do have Sunday off, so I’m hoping to do some catching up.  Lesson plans take up quite a bit of time, because I’m always exploring some new way to teach something in English.  Like in my Linguistics class, they have asked to learn medical, law, and technology terms for their exams.  Fortunately for me when the law request came through, I had planned a mock trial to help them understand how democracy and the court system work in America.  The trial was about Curly Pig and how B.B. wolf tried to poach him.  I picked a story I knew everyone would be familiar with.  I found out in the meantime, that they do not have jury trials in Armenia.  All trials are by judges who are often corrupt and susceptible to bribes.  Although we used a script from the Illinois Court System website for teaching law, we added quite a few things like picking a jury and giving a sentence.  My best class had me bending over laughing by the time they were finished and the parts they wrote themselves were the best parts.  In jury selection they asked questions like: Do you like to eat pig?  No, I’m a vegetarian.  Do you think all wolves are scary?  No, I like all animals.  Have you heard about the wolves coming into the villages and eating animals?  Of course I have, but these stories are for children, and I am an adult! Is it true that you are the pig’s lover?  They were quite inventive and understood what questions and responses they should give in very little time.  By the time our trial was completed the students could identify all important vocabulary in English for trials and all were involved!

In the meantime I started an Action Research project with another colleague in the hopes of getting funds to buy materials and novels for our university.  I have three beginner classes of high school and college students who are being taught English through memorization of dialogs.  Ruzanna and I are starting an English Lab that we will use to teach our students and to give workshops on how we use these materials.  This includes graphic organizers the students are making, Word Walls, posters, etc.  It will be interesting to see the response from all.  We started with the students on Thursday and they were totally engaged in the project with the subject matter being on their level and they could finally understand what was going on.  I’m reading them a story and while reading, they fill in their graphic organizers for animals, family, holidays, colors, etc.  After they complete these, they will write about the story using the graphic organizers and the Word Wall.  They are having fun and learning.

I cannot teach English grammar here or punctuation, because their students have been trained using British grammar which would only confuse them.  I would also have to be an expert in teaching British grammar to explain the differences, and if they start using the American forms, they will fail because their teachers don’t understand the difference.  For example in America, we put a comma before a conjunction in a compound sentence.  In British grammar they don’t!  They also learn to pronounce words using diacritical marks like we used to see in old British dictionaries, but I don’t think are used in America now.  They are soooo complicated, and we often have discussions about how I pronounce things, but then part of this is because I’m from the South!  I have to be careful and pronounce the “th” in words like clothes.  The Kazakhs told me clothes had two syllables and we never agreed!

Today is my first workshop for Elementary teachers at the Armenian Teachers Ass.  It will be interesting to see how many come and how they will perceive this lesson on Brain Based Learning.  Everything here is about 25 to 50 years behind!

Okay for all you people totally bored with teaching.  This is an interesting country with many facets.  While riding to Yerevan we pass through the highest area of Armenia in the mountains where many Kurds live.  Our university’s director explained that these people combine paganism and Christianity and have some strange habits.   You can’t tell them from anyone else, but they live in a farming community.  The Armenians have been so discriminated against that the last thing they want to do is discriminate against another group.  They leave each other alone.

I went to the Armenian Church in the hopes of sitting and reading my Bible for an hour.  I don’t understand any of the service.  Much of the service looks similar to the Catholic service but there are some things quite different.  They make the sign of the cross with their opposite hand and touch the ground sometimes.  I don’t know what this means and no one can tell me.  As the priests walk around the altar sometimes covered with a curtain like the Holy of Holies, they shake large disk on poles that have beads on them and sound like rattles.  The priest wears a gold habit with a hat that looks similar to a crown. The other members on the altar wear black hoods that look similar to something the Klu Klux Klan would wear.  I know it sounds sacrilegious, but it’s the most similar thing I can think of. Every time they touched the ground I sat down only to find they were still standing.  I never got to read the Bible except for the 15 minute sermon of the 2 hour mass!

About three weeks ago I started taking Yoga.  I go two to three times a week and surprise to me, my instructor speaks English quite well.  He learned it in India where he was being trained as a Yoga instructor.  He teaches quite differently and is very good.  He’s also a very religious person and explained some things about Armenia to me.  He said no one understands the church service, because it is in old Armenian which no one speaks.  He said during the Soviet era many Armenians became atheists and don’t practice any religion any more. He also said that there are now many different sects or religions in Armenians which have taken more people from the church. While we were taking Yoga, he used his prayer beads, and I asked him about them.  I have been surprised to find that Greeks, Catholics, Armenians, and Muslims all use prayer beads, and they all look similar.  Georgiou is very interesting though because he can tell you when you use the right fingers; the finger is connected with your heart and helps you in many ways. I call him my Guru, which he likes.  I will take a picture later and send it.  He looks like someone the Beatles met while in India, rather wild looking! He also told me it was okay to sit and read the Bible or meditate and not get up and down.  I’m so relieved.  I will get more just reading!

Two weeks ago we had our Broadway Night although it was at 2 p.m.  96 teachers and students came from two universities, and five high schools and colleges. Everyone really enjoyed it and had American punch for the first time also.  They were all involved in answering the questions on their programs and asked if we could have more events like this.  

Last week 25 of our students attended the Armenian Teachers Conference in Yerevan where I presented Games and Drama to teach English.  None of the ideas were new to me but helpful to others especially the students.  The teachers and students enjoyed the games and don’t do things like this here.  The game I used takes almost an hour and was based on an idea I found in a book that I expanded greatly on.  There was an online author there who asked if he could use my idea for his website.  I really should publish and get paid for these ideas!  After the conference Kristina who was my guest at the hotel, Alex, the Fellow from Gumyri and I, went to dinner at Dolmama’s.  It was quite good but also quite expensive.  We had a really good time and I’ve never seen Kristina smile so much.  After dinner we found a photo machine like you used to see all over America and took silly pictures.  The next day, Kristina and I visited the Armenian Genocide Museum.  It is amazing how much damage the Turks have done to people all over the world.  The Armenians have been persecuted more than most any Christians, because the live in the midst of Muslims.  It was once a large country and their symbol, Mount Ararat, can only be seen from Yerevan in the distance in Turkey.  They have almost no territory now or natural resources as most of it was given to Azerbaijan or Turkey when the Soviets were in power.

A word about the Armenian language, this is the most unusual language I have ever heard.  It is part of a language system which is called Indo-European which I am told no other language is part of.  It sounds like an old Biblical language and has sounds like those in Arabic or Hebrew.  Some words are from the Hebrew language like Shabat which is Saturday or Sabbath; I believe the same in Hebrew.  Other words come from old Sanskrit, and Aramaic.  It is very difficult to pronounce, and I was told the Armenians in America have a different dialect.  I found last night that I could learn Armenian on YouTube.  YouTube has been a life saver for me here.  I watch shows and all kinds of things on it.  I watch the news on my computer.  T.V. is really no use to me here because no stations are in English.  They are very unfamiliar with many things that are common knowledge in American like the Muppets, Sesame Street, the Three Stooges, so quite often they miss humor about things Americans would understand. 

They are basically grim people, and it is in their nature to be pessimistic and not smile.   This probably is a result of being persecuted, starved, killed, not having any jobs when they get a lot of education, having no hope for the future, and being poor.  What do you think?  Of course they think I’m quite curious!  When I enter the University, the custodians say, “Good Morning, I love you!”  My classmates at Yoga ask why I have such a young soul!  The ladies at the supermarket now wave and say, “hi” like many other familiar faces in town.  This is not something they are used to, and they giggle about it, but find it interesting and uplifting.  It hurts my heart to see people so downtrodden and not to be able to improve their situations, but I know smiles help and they appreciate it.  

It’s Saturday morning in Vanadzor and a beautiful day.  I’ve been sitting at my computer working on reports for the State Department and writing lesson plans next.  It’s quite quiet and peaceful.  My neighbors, as usual, are very quiet, and the only sound I hear is children playing on the playgrounds outside and distant construction.  Children play outside all of the time here, and it is so nice to hear their cheerful voices and seeing them with their friends!  They don’t have access to computer and video games like in the U.S. so they spend time outdoors and visiting friends.  It reminds me of growing up in Mobile, Alabama. 

Last week I went with Aleks of the U.S. Alumni Ass. to visit schools in Stepanavan and Alaverdi, two villages not far from her.  We were accompanied by a former Muskee Fellow who has returned to Armenia but now married to an Armenian American and will return to the U.S. as soon as possible.  We talked about attending the university in the U.S.  The high school students were very interested but of course have no funds to help them.  They could go to the U.S. as foreign exchange students.  On Saturday, we visited high school #5 here in Vanadzor.  It was quite interesting.  We are attended by Edmun who is a current and new Parliament member in Armenia from Vanadzor.  He was there speaking to the students, because he attended law school in the U.S. as a Humphrey Scholar in Human Rights.  He told me that he quit his job as a lawyer and is making 1/3 of what he was making before to represent the people of Vanadzor and guide Armenia to becoming a better democracy.  He was elected as an independent candidate, which is unheard of here!  The people of Vanadzor love him and trust him.  He is everywhere I go, and they believe will be the president of Armenia one day. 

On Saturday night, I went to the town square and met my friend Kristina who is the head of the language department.  We went to a restaurant and had dessert and then walked back to the square for fireworks.  The following morning we left at 10:30 to go to Stephanavan for a fall festival.  It was really interesting.  It was at the end of a dirt and paved road, and there were many people there.  There was a stage there for introducing important people, and of course Edmun was there, many singers, many traditional dancers, and some hip hop also.  The villagers all had tables set up with their homemade food products: some with homemade sausages and soups also.  All of the food was free except for a few items to be sold like honey and jam.  The tables were decorated with carved fruit.  There were many varieties of dairy products: cheeses, butter and mansoun like yoghurt. Many types of bread were available and different varieties of fish. One lady demonstrated how to make string cheese.  Of course when they realized I was an American everyone offered me their food, and I was quite stuffed by time we made the table rounds.  The food was all very good, but I’ve had difficulty getting used to their cheese.  It is much stronger than the cheese we eat at home. 

After leaving the festival we drive to a nearby area called Dendropark which they call a botanical garden or arborarium.  It is an old Russian park and was probably quite nice at one time, but Armenians don’t have the kind of money to maintain things like this.  There were several cottages that must have belonged to caretakers.  There were many roses there and some other flowers, but the main attraction was the walkways beneath the beautiful evergreen trees and the pretty paths.  I kept thinking it didn’t compare to Callway Gardens!  There was a sanatorium nearby that people come to for their health, and I explained to Kristina if you told an American you were taking them here they would get quite upset, because it is too close to the word sanitarium which has a totally different meaning!  We decided we should visit the sanatorium in Vanadzor and find out what kind of facilities they have!

We were accompanied by about ten of our students from the linguistics class who paid to have a van for the day.  They also brought with them lots of food and after leaving the festival we drove to a campsite, and they made Kharovats out of chicken and pork, skewed potatoes, fresh vegetables, fruits, breads, pastries, candies, wine, and fruit juice.  The young girls here don’t have to be asked to help with preparation; they do it all themselves and Kristina and I watched and admired them.  After they finished eating they turned up the music behind the van, and danced traditional Armenian dances.  They are so much fun to watch and so enthusiastic about their culture. 

On Monday, my assistant, Ana, (Curt’s future wife!) and I planned for the event we will be celebrating next weekend.  We are having a Broadway night at the university and have invited two universities, several colleges and high schools to attend.  We’re having it at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, because some of the students live in villages and night time activities are difficult for them.  We have 110 seats and have many students planning to come.  We will show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a story they are all familiar with, serve refreshments, and give prizes to the students who can answer the questions on the programs first.  The students will wear formal attire.  It will be very interesting to see how all of this goes over!  The universities all donated money for decorating and refreshments, and we’re quite excited about it.

Today I have nothing else planned except enjoying my free time and catching up with paperwork.  I’ll go out in a little while and do some daily shopping and hope the water comes back on!  The washing machine and I are getting along very well now.  My oven is going great too.  I even found flour at the supermarket.  It was hard telling the girl what I wanted, because I couldn’t remember the Russian word for flour!  Now I know it’s myka, pronounced mooka.  I have learned a few Armenian words also: eeencha means what is it, ha ha – yes yes, cha – long a – no – ha eleya - of course, hotpots – street – shnorkakalootyoon – thank you.  It’s very difficult!  I’ll stick to learning more Russian!

Living in Vanadzor

It’s Saturday morning in Vanadzor and I am sitting at my computer looking over the upcoming week’s plans.  Finally after two weeks it looks as thought my schedule is coming together, so I can plan and think ahead.  My Turkish washing machine in my compact kitchen is going while I eat a breakfast of coffee and the most interesting bread from a delightful bread store purchased on the way back from Yerevan.

My Turkish washing machine is a subject all by itself!  My landlady, who speaks no English, had someone come with her to explain how it works, in Armenian mind you!  Okay, I was ready, then the first day I used “the Sultan” it refused to give me back my clothes, and I discovered it hadn’t even used the soap I had given it!  The next Saturday I was ready again, and yes finally it gave me my clothes back.  I discovered even though the Sultan is slow, it practically dries your clothes before returning them.  I also realized I needed to push yet another button to get it to use the soap.  Help me if I ever decide to use fabric softener!  So today we are doing a dark load, I set the temperature which actually has degrees on it, for the lowest setting and pushed one button for wash and another for soap.  Hopefully at some point today, it will let me hang my clothes on the clothesline.

While we were in Washington, D.C. we were told to get to know our neighbors.  I have been trying to figure out how to do that, because none of them speak English.  Thursday an opportunity appeared.  My downstairs neighbor and her father were trying to rehang her outside clothesline attached to the window after having her windows replaced.  I stood by the window and handed them the wire while they were inside.  Then Ana’s 80+ dad decided he had to cut down the tree branches to make way for clothes, so I held the ladder so he wouldn’t fall.  He was climbing on the tops of garage roofs and cutting branches down; I was sure he was going to kill himself.  Finally the job was completed.  The neighbors thought we were all so funny because we couldn’t communicate, but it didn’t seem to hinder us much!  Now my neighbors all speak to me when they see me, but I have no idea what they are saying!

Last night I went to Sofy’s for dinner.  She is the head of the Foreign Language Department of the Pedagogical University.   She is only 30 years old and got her PhD at 24.  I met her granny who sat on the couch and knitted the whole time; she was really sweet, her sister Sona, and her Mom, who also teaches at the University.  Her mother prepared a wonderful dinner.  She made Armenian shuslik, which is what they call barbecue.  They were thick pork chops cooked over a wood grill with lavash, Armenian bread, and onions.  They were incredible!  She had a table full of wonderful food with salads, meats that were very spicy and tasty, and of course bread.  She served it with fruit juice, cognac, and wine.  The dinners are served here much the same as in Kazakhstan with lots of pickles, cheeses, and meats.  The Armenians use a lot more spices in their foods, and they are quite good. 

I finally got my schedule set up for school.  On Monday Ana and I work all day to prepare for workshops and activities for the Armenian English Teachers Association for the Lori District.  We’re having a lot of fun planning things, and I’m so glad we have the time to spend to get it done!  On Tuesday and Fridays I teach at the Pedagogical Institute to groups of third and fourth years students teaching writing, debate skills, and speaking and listening skills.  I also teach two high school classes that are in the adjoining building.  The students here are better in English grammar than the students in the U.S., because they learn English by the rules.  Their biggest concern is with speaking it and understanding spoken English from native English speakers.  They often learn it from their teachers here who don’t speak correctly, leaving out articles and using rather awkward words.  I have the best part of teaching, because it’s fun for me and for them.  We talk and learn about American culture and sometimes history.  On Wednesday and Thursdays, I go to the European Academy and teach one class of 4^th year linguistics students, a group of students studying tourism, and another high school class.  They are pretty much all concentrating on the same things except the Tourism group, which is studying what there is to see in America.

On Friday, I am traveling with Aleks who works for the U.S. Alumni Association to two villages.  He represents all of the Fulbrighters, Peace Corp, and English Language Fellows who are alumni of the program and plans events.  I am going to speak to high school students on what it’s like to go to college in America.  It will give me more of a chance to see Armenia also.

My apartment is very comfortable.  I have three rooms: a living room, bathroom, small compact kitchen, and a small bedroom. It has everything I need.  It’s on the third floor of the building which means it’s not too accessible from the street and not too many stairs to climb every day, just enough for exercise!  The hallways are lit with sensor bulbs so it’s not dark but the lights don’t stay on long enough!  My neighbors keep their hallways and doorsteps very clean, but there are some things about Eastern Europe I will never understand!  The outside of these old Soviet buildings look like slums.  They are pretty shabby!  The inside hallways are the same and you think nothing good could be behind these walls, but when you open the doors to the apartments, it’s quite another story.  They are quite pretty inside.  My neighbors have metal garages outside the building they keep their cars in, if they have cars, and they are locked.  Their cars are Mercedes!  I have never seen so many Mercedes, but Ana tells me they buy used ones, and they are only about $14,000 here. 

Everything here is soooo cheap!  My apartment is $200 a month.  A manicure is $2.00 unless you get gel which is $10.  Lunch is usually $2 unless you get a sandwich on the street, chabereky, which is 25 cents.  I started wondering why I was cooking.  My internet is $10, cable t.v. $10, utilizes maybe $50 a month until I turn the heat on.  Groceries are very cheap too and no preservatives.  I have to constantly remind myself not to buy too much and to use it quickly, and I’m so happy when my bread molds in three days now! Fresh vegetables are everywhere, but I wonder what we will eat in the winter.  There are no canned vegetables to speak of, everything available is in jars.  There is no frozen food except for a few meats.  It will be interesting to see what’s available.  People dry their own fruit here and do funny things with walnuts.

The people are very nice but I’ve gotten stranger looks here than in Kazakhstan.  Everywhere I go people stare, especially if I’m with someone, and they hear us speaking English.  They are curious.

I finally understand why they like Russia so much here.  After being victimized by the Turks and almost killed off, the Russians stepped in and saved them.  They didn’t mind becoming part of the Soviet Union, because otherwise they would have been dead. I’m reading a lot about the Armenian Genocide.  Because they are a landlocked country, they have no way to import goods except through Iran which is another country they are friendly with.  They told me I should go visit there; can you imagine?  It’s hard to explain to them why I can’t go there!  They also have parents and grandparents who wished they were still part of the Soviet Union, because their lives were better then, and they had more security.  I told them Americans don’t understand why anyone would want to be Communist, but then I guess we’ve never been hungry or had a future that was totally unpredictable!

I visited the new church and had an interesting conversation with the priest.  He said he spoke some English.  I asked him what time services are.  He didn’t understand, so I pointed to my Russian dictionary to the word Sunday, and he promptly told me, “Today is Monday!”  I motioned that he spoke in the pulpit on Sunday and what time: numbers 10, 11 and 12.  He pointed to 11, and I told him I would see him with my Bible later!  He smiled.  I also visited the Russian church and the lady who watches the church was very friendly.  She spoke Russian the whole time and noticed my Russian cross and ring and blessed me. 

My friend Kristina is a devout Christian here, and I think we may go to church together. I knew she was a Christian from the things she has in her apartment. She is a widow and has been for about 12 years.  Her husband was killed in a car accident when she was 23, had a five year old son and was pregnant.  It was very difficult for her.  She lived with her in-laws for many years and then moved into an apartment her grandparents left her.  When she did, her in-laws tried to take her son away from her.  She’s a great mother and dearly loves her son; he looks just like his father.  He’s very handsome and is 17 now.  She told me he sleeps with his Bible under his pillow. 

Most of the people here are not very religious just like in other former Communist countries, but they do seem more so than where I’ve been before.  I guess it will be interesting to see what happens during the holidays.  They don’t celebrate Christmas until

January and usually celebrate New Year’s and Christmas all together for several days.  They tell me it’s a lot of fun but too much food!

More later….

Arriving in Armenia

September 19, 2012

Abstract or Cliff Notes for my son, Curt: I am here.  I am fine.  I like it here; the only concerns are traffic and earthquakes!  It’s interesting.  The girls are pretty!

I’ve been in Armenia almost a week now.  I traveled by Air France and arrived in Yerevan without much sleep.  Even though the plane was comfortable it is difficult sleeping with so many people being close to you.  I’m always afraid that I will fall asleep in lean on someone’s shoulder on something.  It’s happened to me before; someone was sleeping on me.  Since the person next to me was an American surgeon and rather uptight, that probably wouldn’t have been the best thing in the world!  When I arrived in Paris I spent about four hours there reading and waiting for the next plane. 

I arrived in Yerevan that afternoon and was taken to my hotel by a scheduled travel agent.  He waited for about 15 minutes for two other people I had noticed on the plane that definitely looked American.  When I asked them what they were doing in Armenia, they looked at each other and didn’t respond.  I had not yet heard about the Libyan ambassador being killed so didn’t know why they might have been in this part of the world.  They looked to be connected to the armed forces, and now I can say they were probably Marines sent as extra guards for the Embassy.  I thanked them for being there in whatever capacity they were serving in. They talked of their experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq, said they had been to Armenia before and told me to watch out for the fresh vegetables that had made all their group sick on the last trip.  Later Hasmik from the Embassy told me she doubted it was the fresh fruit, but probably too much of the Russian Vodka!

On the way from the airport I saw buildings that were old and in disrepair and many casinos.  I was told by the Marines that the casinos were built by the Russian Mafia and Saudis who left after finishing their dirty work.  It always amazes me how poor people can go to casinos.  Approaching the center of the city, I saw areas that were quite beautiful made from odd colored blocks of orange and many flowers and wide streets.  The center of Yerevan is actually prettier than Sofia, Bulgaria and other Eastern European cities I have visited, but the outskirts are much more worn and in disrepair.  The people look very much like Bulgarian and Turkish people with dark hair and dark eyes and the ones that you see who look differently usually have some other background besides Armenian like Ukrainian. 

I was taken to my hotel, the Golden Tulip, which I believe is a European chain.  It looks similar to a Holiday Inn Garden Hotel with the whole middle being open and plants hanging down and glass elevators.  The hotel had all the expected amenities like a spa and restaurant, wifi, etc.  Several people worked at the front desk and every time you go in and out, a door man opens the door for you.  That seemed exceptionally nice for a moderately priced hotel, but then things in Armenia are cheap. 

The next day I purchased a new telephone and was taken to the Embassy for a briefing.  Upon entering the Embassy gates I turned over my phone, any liquids, flashlights etc. from my purse to the guard before entering and walked through a metal detector.  We then walked to the front door of the Embassy and went to the Marine station to receive an Embassy pass.  While standing there, the Ambassador walked through and my Embassy contact greeted him.  Hasmik said he was out and about Armenia quiet a lot and didn’t spend all of his time in the office. 

The Security Officer at the Embassy told me crime was quite low in Armenia and not to be afraid of that, but that traffic was a problem with riding in cars, buses, and crossing the street.  The drivers here are the most aggressive I’ve ever seen!  They play Russian roulette on the street passing cars!  I’m trying to avoid getting in anything that looks like an automobile!

The other concern he told me to be aware of was earthquakes.  Funny, while checking out the security concerns of coming here I looked at the political situation and the insect/disease problem; I never considered things like earthquakes.  So what do you do to prepare for an earthquake?  He told me to have close at hand a bag packed with a change of clothes and my passport. 

I also met with the Cultural Affairs Officer and was introduced to the Public Affairs Officer. They talked about Armenia, my job here and the relationships with the surrounding countries. 

I suppose you are aware that Armenia is surrounded by Georgia, Turkey, Iran, and Azerbaijan.  Of these countries, Turkey and Azerbaijan do not have a good relationship with Armenia.  With Turkey it’s because of the genocide of Armenians that happened in the early 1900’s.  I’ve purchased a book about this that I haven’t read yet. With Azerbaijan there is a land dispute of an area called Nagorno Karabakh which both countries think is theirs.   Armenia has a very good relationship with Georgia which is a transitioning country said to be the next Los Vegas of Eastern Europe because of its position on the Black Sea and the only open border with Armenia.  They also have a good relationship with Iran probably as a matter of necessity because all of their imports and exports go through Iran including their natural gas pipeline.  Armenia is a landlocked country and the only Christian country I this region except for Georgia.  They also have a good relationship with Russia as a country of the former Soviet Union with no animosities. 

I am now in Vanadzor and will write about that later so this doesn’t get too long.  It’s very pleasant and peaceful, and I am enjoying myself.  I need to study for my lessons now.

June 24, 2012 Arrival in Bosnia

Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina is a crossroads of many cultures.  In many countries in Eastern Europe, the influences of their past invasions are not felt as much as they are here.  Looking in the faces of passersby, you can see remnants of the Austria-Hungary invasion, people with strong jaws and bright blue eyes and children with blond hair.  Other residents resemble the Turks with olive skin and dark hair.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re Muslim, Croat, or Serb, you see this in all of its citizens.  Tiny streets made of cobblestone line the downtown area of Sarajevo with sections for all types of wares such as jewelry and metal ware.  Many shops sell items that look straight out of India and Turkey.  The Turkish influence is seen in street names, rugs, décor of restaurants and in the many souvenirs sold here.  Within the city lies the Olympic Stadium, which residents are proud to point out.  Another important tourist spot is where the Emperor Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot by a disgruntled Serb which eschewed in the First World War. 

 

The temperature is hot in the summer and most residents don’t have air conditioning, so they leave work early and stroll the downtown at night when the air cools off meeting friends and eating wonderful European ice cream.  Many, especially the young people, get together until quite late hours.  The outdoor coffee shops are decorated with wicker benches and tented coverings which spray a fine mist to cool you off while you enjoy being outside.

 

I arrived in Sarajevo on Friday and dined with a Cultural Affairs officer, Sunshine Ison from Kentucky and her husband.   We ate her favorite dish called, Klepe which was pasta swimming in a divine sauce that consisted of cheese and cream.  The next day I was given a tour of the old part of town and filled in about the history from another person from the Embassy, Elisabeta, who is from Korcula, Croatia, but has lived in Bosnia for many years.  She loves working for the Embassy, trying to bring the people of Bosnia together and truly believes that can be done through the teaching and training of English since the other cultures and languages divide Bosnia.  Bosnia is divided into separate districts called cantons and two regions: one in which the Bosniaks, Muslims, and Croats, Catholic, co-exist, and the other district is held by the Serbs who rarely leave or co-mingle with the first two groups.  The U.S. Embassy sincerely hopes that this seminar, now in its third year, will bring together teachers from all of these different factions in Bosnia to try to unit them in friendship and common good.  Sixteen or seventeen teachers from the Srpska territory, Serbs, had signed up to attend the seminar, but only one showed up and the remainder canceled at the last minute.  While the Embassy was disappointed, they hope that the one who did attend will spread the word about how worthwhile our conference is and encourage them to attend next year. 

 

I arrived in Tuzla, the designation for our conference yesterday afternoon and met with the medresa Director, Asmir Doric, and the other trainers, whom I had been corresponding with for the last two weeks.  Everyone was very friendly and helpful.  In attendance also was Dr. Loucas Petroniculos, the Fulbright Scholar, working here in Tuzla, Alma Doric, a former English Language Fellow, and her brother Almin, who is the current ELF in Kosovo.  The Muslim teachers at the medresa seem shyer than the other teachers but they are very friendly and kind towards us. 

 

Tuzla is about two and a half hours from Sarajevo.  The town was known for its salt mines in the past and its large lake in the city which is the destination of many people to cool off in the summer.  The lake is a natural salt lake.  Because of extensive mining in the past the city is caving in, in many parts because of the underground mines and experts from others countries are being called in to remedy the situation. 

 

Today we began our first day of sessions with opening ceremonies by the Mufti of this canton and the Political Affairs Officer of the Embassy, Thomas Mesa.  Mr. Mesa is Cuban born and came here when he was three years old.  His wife who he met on his first post in Chile is Chilean.  He told me she calls their children Cuchileas.  We had breakfast at the Medresa which serves only food prepared here for the students.  The Medresa is a Muslim high school which also houses students who come from out of town. 

 

Contrary to what many Americans think, these Muslim girls do their best to look pretty.  Although they wear scarves, longer sleeves, and longer skirts, their clothes are also stylish, colorful, and the girls wear make-up.  I asked Elisabeta why this is so, and she said different cultures have ideas about what is modest and in the Muslim culture covering your skin is considered modest.

 

My first workshop was on brain-based learning and was working with a group of eight  mostly high school teachers.  The second workshop was on performing skits and playing games with your students.  They said they have the same issues language teachers have in the U.S., their students learn to read, write, and the grammar of the second language, but cannot speak it, so we learned fun ways to encourage speaking in class. The third workshop was on writing as was the fourth workshop.

 

In the English Specialist program we are given $200 to buy books and materials for us to use in preparing for our workshops.  Since I didn’t need any materials, I purchased items like children’s books to bring with me to show the teachers.  Other items were sentence strip holders and sentence strips, the Writing Process to hang on the wall, blueprints on sheets of paper from the builders of our neighborhood for a game, teacher’s pointers, and writing materials.  The teachers here had never seen any of these things and were so curious about the things we use in America.  I’m leaving these to put in the America’s Corners Library for teachers here to check out.  They now have their own set of my favorite books, Henry and Mudge. 

 

To be Continued.

Off to Washington, D.C. for the second time.  What a wonderful feeling to go to another orientation in Washington with 147 wonderful people who are about to become ELFs all over the world.  I made a lot of new friends and received some very valuable information to help me get acquainted and settle down in my new country, Armenia.  I can't wait to leave and start my new job.  It's challenging and exciting.  Teaching students and teachers overseas is a wonderful and totally rewarding experience.  I feel very blessed to have been chosen to do this!!