So after a week I took a shower and holy crap, its amazing how light you feel after taking a bath. I can feel my clothes everywhere... This I guess is what is meant by “I feel clean...” I feel like I was always clean in the States, but taking two showers a day, I guess you don’t really appreciate it as much.
This week was interesting. We had an AIDS meeting this past Monday. It started at 4 because the new group was going to a conference on grant writing. The meeting went well and we got some ideas going. As an aside, its hard to stay focused. One of my six sitemates is leaving early to go to grad school. He is leaving mid-May. That really puts things into perspective. It’s already February. Superbowl time. Geez. Anyway, soon thereafter, another one of my sitemates may leave. The point I am trying to make is the transition I am going through where I am really starting to think about my future. Im almost finished with my applications, but I still have a year free to do something before Med school starts. But what to do. Yeah, that is what I am thinking about. There are options, but I have to decide on which of the options will best suite me for the time I have available. So, due to the fact that I am starting to go through this transition, things like the AIDS Initiative are becoming less important. Well, not so much that, I am not as passionate about it as much as I was, I should say.
Anyway, I was late catching the bus coming back to my site after the meeting. I ended up staying the night in Yerevan. Bad move. The next morning, I woke up to a cover of white on the ground. I made my way to the bus station and waited on the bus for two hours. That was not fun. We finally left and we got outside of Yerevan. At this point it was 11:30, or noon. The road was closed. We turned around and came back. I didn’t really know what to do so I called Peace Corps. They were really helpful once they believed me that the road was closed and that I was making an actual effort to get home. Anyway, I ended up going to the other bus station and waiting for about an hour. At this point it was 3pm once the bus started to leave the station. It usually takes me a little less than 2 hours to get home, but this time it took me about three hours. I got home and got dropped off at the road because I don’t like to pay the 3 dollars to get home by taxi. So, I walked the two miles back to the house, in the 16 inches of snow... in my tennis shoes. It took me a while and I was exhausted and my pants were white up to my knees. It wasn’t 16 inches the whole way but 6 at the minimum height. It was fun. Not really. Grandma couldn’t believe that I walked home and kept saying the equivalent of “oh my... oh my...oh my...” Probably at the same time thinking... “what an idiot...”
School this week was great. We really got into the health lessons and I did some English lessons. I had a really good time at school and now, my last semester here, I feel like I am really doing something, and the kids are actually responsive when I tell them to be quiet. Its a different ballgame here. Its fun though, which is sad because that means the time will go even faster.
Other than that, nothing new has really happened this week. The snow is not melting but is just being blown around. I went out and took some pictures that you have probably already seen. After I took the pictures, I went to Vardan’s house and made eggrolls over there. They really liked them and they are ready for the next batch to be made. We talked about all kinds of stuff, light stuff this time.
This morning around 11, the power went out because of all the wind. It was actually really relaxing. I am reading “Silent Spring” right now. Its about pesticides and herbicides and the negative impacts those have on the environment. Arguably a book which really started the Environmental Movement in the 70’s. I got a good amount read. Grandma is funny because she comes in and sits down. If she has no work, she sits close to me and we talk. She doesn’t care a bit that I am reading or working or whatever... she just starts talking. I still catch myself being in awe that she had lived a life that she has. It is apparent that she is tired of being around. A bit depressing but she says she just has nothing to live for. Regardless of the fact that I keep telling her she will live until she is 129, she laughs but then gets right back into talking about her life and where it has taken her. In her opinion... nowhere. Its a bit disconcerting to hear this.
At the same time, it seems like my host brother is actually going to ship out next week. All the papers are in order and they expect him to be out of here by next Sunday. Sweet. We will see how that goes. I feel a bit bad when they ask me what kind of processes I have to go through to get into a country. I say “I buy a plane ticket and I go there.” They look at me as if I am supposed to keep talking. Its hard. It’s horrible that Armenians can’t just pack up and go somewhere. Anyway, Grandma apparently has to settle some things with real estate here before she can leave and doesn’t want to have to deal with all the snow, so she is going to stay until at least April she says, which actually means that she will probably leave a week before I do, in August.
Things have been going really well here. Nothing to complain about at all. Its cold outside but with this new wood burning stove, I have no problem staying warm. Its amazing the contract between this year and last year.
I guess that’s all the updating I have right now.
Ok, I tried twice to upload the pictures but they won't go so I will upload the pictures tomorrow... if I remember
Until next time...
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