In all honesty, nothing really happened since the last time I wrote. Just been hanging out in the village really. Actually that’s not entirely true. I decided that I would try and get my bathroom grant finished before the September 1st deadline. So up until the 24th I was just in the village doing grant stuff. I got a spark under the village people and they started doing the work they should have done back in the spring when I asked them the first time. It has been frustrating to say the least.
So I have to dig percolation holes at the school to see how fast the water will drain into the ground. If the water drains quickly into the ground then I don’t need to build a large filter; if not, then I have to build a big one. And because I don’t know how much material to get, I can’t write my budget. It all depended on these holes. So, I finally got the director to dig three holes, each a meter deep. I poured the water in, and it stayed. Eight hours I came back and half the hole was filled with water. This wasn’t going to work. The school director said that the location was wrong, so we went to another location and dug another hole. Again to no avail. Then he said, “after a meter, the ground will take the water really well”. So we dug a meter hole. The water was poured, and the water sat.
At this point it was time for another idea. How about a two meter hole? Ok... So they brought in an excavator. It dug a nice 2 meter hole. I was told by several people that after 2 meters, surely the water would go quickly into the ground. Same story, different depth. The water wouldn’t go. A man came out, his name was Alpert. An older man, in his granddad years. He came out and stood next to me. Susanna, my program manager called. Alpert saw me pacing in the school yard for the twenty minutes I was on the phone. I had a look of concern, maybe even desperation for the water to go into the group. Alpert came up to me and grabbed my arm. He looked at me for a while, and we just stood there. He said that if the water doesn’t go, it doesn’t go. That the village knows what I am trying to do and they are grateful of that so for me not to worry. For me not to worry about what the village will think. He just didn’t want me to worry. Its one of those moments I won’t forget. Afterwards, we went to his house where we had some really good lamb meet.
Anyway while we were waiting for the water to go into the ground for the 2 meter hole, we stood there. Again my director was out there with me and he said “the polyclinic hole is about 3 and a half meters deep. After 3 meters, the water will go into the ground.” At this point I told him that he said that before we dug the one meter hole, and the two meter hole. But he got a larger excavator to come out. I was at a presentation in another city. He called me and said they dug a 3 meter deep, 5 meter wide by 5 meter wide hole. Wow. I asked him if the water went into the ground which he responded, “oh yes, it goes straight into the ground.” I was excited. I got home at about 8pm, went home, got my shovel and buckets and went back to the school. I jumped into the hole.
This was funny because a lot of the school neighbors saw the American disappear from sight. They all crowded around to watch me dig a hole. Then I filled up my bucket of water and poured it into the hole. And lo and behold... the water stayed. Didn’t move. I stared at it for a moment hoping that something would happen. Maybe a Moses moment when the waters would do something awesome to save the life of the project. That was not the case. After ten minutes of disappointment, I called my school director and asked why he thought the water went into the ground. He said the day before the water went straight into the ground. This is what I think happened. He either thought that I would take his word for it, or he throw a bucket full of water into a 25 meter squared hole and said the water, in that fashion went straight into the ground. Well, no kidding the water would go into the ground if it was just a bucket of water in that large an area of a place.
Ok, so the spectators helped me out of the hole and I talked with some of the neighbors who said that I needed to make a 5 meter hole. Um...
I went to the school today. The hole digging has been a series of 9 days. So today, I met with my school director who tried to convince me that the water would go into the ground. To stop the arguing, I said “I believe you, but I have to show this to my organization. They won’t take my word nor yours.” Yeah, so the grant has come to a stand still. The school director got aggravated and started to blame me for the failed project. I asked how he could blame me for anything when the soil won’t take the water. Its all quite comical.
We have another idea in mind but there is no way it can be done on September 1st. Maybe by the November 25th deadline.
Ill tell you what though, I have learned more about bathrooms and ways to remove waste than I think I will ever need to know. I have also built some really good relationships so either way, this project has done a lot for me personally... And I think I am losing my hair...
In addition to that, I went to Yerevan this past weekend to plan for the counterpart conference. That was fun. Well, tiring too. The counterpart conference will be in three weeks. Also, I was in town for an AIDS presentation. It was a busy week.
Megan and I went to Tsaghidzor to give an AIDS presentation to the LGBTQ community of Armenia. It was interesting. We had a good time. We got to stay the night up there. It was nice, except I had a crapload of work to do so I didn’t really do anything but stare at my computer. (Funny, that’s what Im doing now...) Anyway, that was fun. I think I got hit on by a gay guy. We were talking and all of a sudden he asked me if I was gay. Great. Next time Ill be sure to mention more things about hunting and drinking a beer and other “manly” stuff. Flattering? ok, maybe...
Wednesday school starts. Whoa. I remember a year ago when it all started. Friday we are going to Yerevan to watch the Ireland vs. Armenia Soccer game. Cool. Looking forward to that. Gonna try and lay low for a while.
The weather is starting to turn here. Not too long now before its potato harvesting season. Some bad news... Grandma, who we have come to love is going back to Minsk probably in November. More details to come on where Im going...
That is about it. Its nice sitting outside with the breeze...
Its interesting now hearing from people from the states. I mean those that were here and now are back. One particular person, Ashley was a fulbright scholar who hung out with a lot of volunteers. It was nice having her around and its weird without her here anymore. Of course, I have had my down days but here I can count the days on one hand that I was in a slump mainly because of a girl of some sorts.
I got an email from Ashley the other day and she explained how she saw the world in a different way. She said that everyday she has been happy being back in America because she realizes how lucky she is. I hope I always remember that. I don’t think its till you have those “out of the ordinary” experiences that you can really appreciate that. This experience has indeed changed my life. I already know that I see things in a different perspective. Talking with people back at home I think that different things are important now. Im really excited about getting home I am, but it really is going to be weird leaving here.
Walking down the street twice maybe three times a day to the school to test for my water thing, I noticed that I comfortably said hi to almost everyone. It doesn’t take me just 15 minutes to walk to school anymore, its more like thirty, sometimes longer because someone may stop me to see how things are going, what Im up to. Its a fantasy life here. I wish neighborhoods were like that in the States. Maybe some are, but I was not apart of that world when I was growing up. The lifestyle that I want to live back in the States, I know is not possible for our culture will not support it and that is sad. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope I’m wrong. I hope when I buy a house I can go and be close friends with my neighbors. I was fortunate to have Jon when I was growing up, but I hope for more in the future.
Its a dream here. I still wake up in the morning and take a moment to realize that I am in Armenia. Armenia. I hate to say it, but this month is almost already over. Im sure that the rest will follow the same way. Hopefully I’ll make the most of it.
Until next time...
Let's be neighbors one day.
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