Right after my last writing, I had to go to Yerevan again to have a FLEX meeting. The meeting went well but I planned on actually starting the FLEX planning that day, Monday. That wasn’t the case. My counterpart said that she had to go back to work and that she wouldn’t be able to plan until a weekend. So, I was in Yerevan for no reason... or so I thought. Actually things worked out really well.
So Monday night I did some work at the office and started looking over my FLEX materials. It was pretty low key. Ashley took me to her Russian tutor’s house. She was awesome. She had a lot of spunk to her. They talked while I listened since it wasn’t really my place to say much. There was a pretty cool thing that we did. In Russia, before someone leaves for a long time, or forever, everyone sits down in silence for one minute, then the youngest gets up, then the next youngest, and so forth, until everyone is up. I love little things like that, little things that each culture has, the idiosyncrasies. I though this was a wonderful tradition to keep because it seems like when you are about to leave, you are always in a rush and you don’t really get to appreciate the little time you have together with the people you are with. This time gave me some time to think about my time in Armenia and my good friend Ashley who was leaving to go back to America.
Tuesday came and I did some little chores here and there trying to get my stuff finished. Tuesday was Ashley’s last day in Armenia so we did a bit of hanging out. She wanted to go to the Armenian Genocide Museum so we went out there. It was a beautiful place overlooking the city. It had a obelisk and a dome shaped structure which housed an eternal flame. It was very calming to walk through. Then we went to the museum. Without going into too much detail, it was an eye-opener. Being in this country, you hear about what happened quite frequently actually going there and looking at pictures and reading about it was something beyond what I imagined. It was a sure contrast from the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. There was a point that the Museum here was trying to make.
After the Museum, we went back to her place and hung out for a while. Mike came down from his camp for Ashley’s going away dinner. Mike and I went to the PC office and dropped somethings off and then went to the restaurant and waited for everyone else to show up. I wore the T-shirt that Laura B sent me, the one of the dinosaur wearing a top-hat, while riding a bicycle. It was a bit hit... no one took me serious. Anyway, we waited any everyone showed up. It was Mike, myself, six girls, and a mom. Ha ha. We had a good time talking with everyone and everyone was so nice. Ashley chose that restaurant because it was the first place she went to when she got to Armenia ten months ago. We stayed for a while and then went to an outdoor cafe to talk about what she was going to do when she got back to the states.
The next morning came. Everything in her Apartment was all packed up, cleaned and ready to go. Mike, Ashley, Cassie, and I woke up did some more cleaning, and then went to a cafe so that she could use the internet. We sat and talked for a while then called some taxi’s to come. We loaded all her, millions of bags, into the car and went to go to the airport. We got there and unloaded everything and got her checked in. Some of her friends surprised her. The same friends from the night before. It was weird saying good-bye to Ashley. She added some perspective to my first year here because she was an American but she wasn’t Peace Corps so she was someone that I could talk to without referring to Peace Corps, just to get away for a while. I will miss that.
I was telling Mike too, that it was weird going to the airport, checking in, and then not going anywhere. Honestly, it made me a little jealous that I wasn’t going to be at home in the states in 24 hours, that I had another year or more away from the States. It was a really funny feeling I had. I wasn’t necessarily sad, but I guess a little nostalgic, but then I realized there was still a lot that I needed to do here. That hit me later on, this is where I need to be for right now.
We took a taxi back with Ashley’s friends. We got to Yerevan and Mike and I got something to eat. I was planning to getting home early but then Susanna, my program manager called and I went to the office to have a meeting with her about how training was going. It was really interesting because in all our previous talks, I got to know her more, and vice versa. Very well worth it. For a time period of what will be 2 years, Im glad that I am starting to get to know my PM. Well, that meeting lasted about 4 hours...
but we got a lot done.
I left for my village. Holy crap. A normally 2 hour ride home turned into about 4 and a half hours and here’s why. I got to the bus stop around 6:30. Waited for the bus to leave at 7:30. It left and then we went to the other bus station to see if there were others to be picked up. Well, the man wasn’t there that called who reserved a spot on the bus, so instead of leaving, we waited another 30min for this man to show up. As an aside, one thing that I find really funny here is how mad people will get, but two seconds later, they will be buddies again. The driver was really irritated that he had to wait 30 minutes for this person, and definitely vocalized it. Then as soon as the person showed up, there were a couple words exchanged and then, that was the end of it. Interesting... Anyway, from there we drove to Sevan where we stopped to get gas. That took about 30 minutes. Then we drove down by the lake and it started raining super hard. We even got struck by lightning. This is the second time this has happened in my life and both times have been in Armenia. Anyway, the bus pulled over to wait for the rain to subside. Well the rain subsided, but the bus wouldn’t start up again. Ah crap. So we waited another 45 min for the bus to fix the problem.
That’s at least one good thing about the bus drivers, you will never be stranded anywhere because the drivers can fix anything. In the states, if a bus broke down, you are pretty much stuck and need to wait until another bus comes. Not here. The drivers here will McGyver anything. The driver grabbed a cup, a piece of gum, a toothpick, and a chair and managed to get the bus work. (for those people who are gullible, no, the driver didn’t really grab those materials...) Anyway, the bus started up again and off we were. I got to Martuni around 11:10ish. It was dark, raining, and a bit chilly, and there were no taxi’s. Great. As the bus stopped, a lady turned around and asked if I was Danny. I responded, then she asked me if I was going to my village, I said yes, and then she asked if I wanted to ride with her. I again said yes. While we were standing out in the rain, a red truck pulled up and gave us a ride. The man was super nice and said that anytime he sees Americans just standing on the side of the road he picks them up. He said it was the least he could do for what we were doing for his country. That was really nice of him to say that. Anyway, the lady turned out to be my tutor’s sister. I went over to her house and the grandma there talked with me about everything. So, since there was no taxi, I called Varton to come over and get me, he did. I got home around 11:40ish.
Before I left, the door handle broke. I didn’t think that Grandma was home, so I found an open window in the house. It is one of those windows about 5 feet off the group about a foot by a foot and a half wide. So, I considered my options and I hoisted myself up there and landed “softly” on the table on the other side. I got inside and there she was, grandma. I scared her. Ha. She now keeps all the windows closed. Ha ha. She asked how I got in and I told her and then proceeded to take the next five minutes to just laugh. Yup.
In the mornings after I wake up, I open my window to get some fresh air to my room. She was walking around outside and came up to my window, take-out-style, and told me in a joking way, “next time you are stuck outside, there is a doorbell, use it and I will come and open the door for you. Also, my bed is right next to the window, just knock on it, and I will let you in”. She got another laugh after that. Cool.
After that night, I relaxed the next day and laid low. That night and everyday since then, I have been working in the garden with Grandma. Its been fun and it feels really nice to actually do some physical work/exercise... but my hands hurt... and my back... and my legs.
Yesterday, Jon and Whitney got married. It was really hard for me being here knowing that my childhood friend was getting married back at home. It put me in a slump and last night I talked to grandma about it. She made me feel better about it. She said on a positive note, that I will be the only close friend to be asleep during the wedding. Maybe I misunderstood the translation... but I don’t think so. I got a laugh out of it. But I guess that is my claim to fame... that I was the only friend asleep during his wedding. Uh huh. Anyway, I at least got to talk to both Whitney and Jon which was nice before they got married. This is the third wedding that I have missed so as a note, you people out there, stop getting married until I get home...
Tomorrow, its back to Charentsavan to train the new group again. I have been gone more than I have been here. I don’t think I really like that, but I guess that’s just what I gots to do. I enjoy it though. I enjoy everything about being here.
Done and done,
Until next time...
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