The saddest part of any experience is saying goodbye. It was hard saying goodbye to my friends when i studied in Sweden and it was hard saying goodbye to my friends in Korea. You just never really know when you will see them again. I am fortunate to meet people that actually want to keep in touch though. My Spanish (Ares and Guillermo) and Italian friends (Marco and Massimo) that I met and lived with in Sweden still talk to me in a sort of regular basis. I haven’t really heard from Damien in a while but I know he is still doing his thing. (Maybe I should send him a message). Anyway, to make this relevant with what I have been talking about... My time in Solak is coming closer to a close and it seems that a day doesn’t go by that my mom here doesn’t remind me of it and how its going to be different. Everytime we had coffee, I have made it and the grandma and mother always say how they will miss how i make the coffee. Now you have to understand how this is because in Armenia, men don’t really make coffee. So its an extra special thing when I make it because Im a guy. Its hard to stop a routine and start a new one and it seems like that is what we are about to do.
Our community project went really well. It was on Sunday and it was supposed to start at 1 and go to 3. Well, people showed up at 12:50 and our translators weren’t there yet. We had booths set up to check sight, good nutrition, clean water, and a nurses station where they would answer questions and take your blood pressure. We also had an exercise station. Overall it was a success. We had over 50 people from the village show up. It was a greater turnout than we expected. People left around 2:15 so that was that. Not too bad. Mike and I made a powerpoint of the experience that we are going to show tomorrow at the central day because we were supposed to show how the central day went. This was on top of our practica. We only have one more practica to do. I am doing it with Lisa and we are doing it on dental hygiene. Should be pretty decent. I have been trying to not use the translators and the last few I haven’t needed a translator although it does take me a little longer to come up with what I need to say. But they are a lot of fun and I definitely feel that I have some sort of connection with the kids. Im really excited about my permanent site and what I have in store for me there. But now that I have gotten comfortable here with my family and friends, my routine, schooling, the teachers, now here i go to start over again.
Speaking of things coming to a close, my village may be writing a song to sing at the swearing in ceremony. We will see. One of my teachers gave me some Armenian guitar music to learn for the swearing in thing but we will see if i can get it together before then. There is still things to get down so...
I really want to take advantage of the time here with my American friends...
Lastly, I wanted to take about the language here. Call this an intro to Armenian 101. First off, lets talk about the word “I” which turns out to be “yes” in Armenian. Right, so this can become a bit confusing. Also the colloquial way to say “yes” in Armenian is to simply say “ha”... like you’re laughing. So when you get confused between your mind being in English and your mouth being in Armenian, you may think “yes” in your mind but saying “I” in Armenian, which would prompt the response from others, “I- what”. “what” being “inch” in Armenian. (Do you understand where Im going with this). So when someone says something funny and they laugh (ha ha ha ha), you may have to becareful at what you’re laughing at because you are really saying “yes yes yes yes.” But, for anyone that knows another language, these overlaps do happen (not in Korean but Im sure it does sometime, somewhere, in another language). Your mind just kind of thinks in the other language. It can be funny. (just be careful what you laugh at). So here is the first sentence that is good...
Yes oozoomem zangel Dan-a: I want to call (the) Dan.
Weird huh. Same word order and everything as English but like Spanish, there are different conjugations, which can be a blessing but more often than not... not.
I still play guitar a lot.
Um, I have my address to my new site. If you are interested, send me an email and I will send my information to you. Or, you can call my parents and ask them. (Mom and Dad, if my friends call asking for my address, make sure you know them... and be nice.)
Ok, that seems to be it. Things are definitely winding down. After Thursday, our practice will be over. We have a field trip on Saturday somewhere but our work is pretty much over. Next Friday, we will be in our permanent sites. AHHH. At this rate, this two year thing will be over in no time. Anyway, just wanted everyone to know that I miss them but my spirits are high and I can’t complain about anything... About ANYTHING. I love it here so rest assured that your son/ friend is doing really well and is making the best out of the opportunity.
Be well and until next time...
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