I don’t think my heartrate has gone below 100 since we’ve been here

Summation of our trip...



Everyone in Marrakech



The Marrakech sunset



Kamran tried pouring tea like the Moraccans and it got everywhere because they pour from about a foot above the cup. Kamran needed more practice...



At the Barcelona Soccer game

I headed to Yerevan on Thursday Feb. 24th because I had some meetings on Friday. Again, Elvira and Jason graciously let me stay at their place. It was a huge pain to carry all my stuff to Yerevan. I packed up my sleeping bag, some jackets, and other winter clothes I knew I wouldn’t need. Also some souvenirs that I wanted carried home. So Thursday, I just hung out and friday I had an AIDS meeting and afterwards went to Jason’s park to see what he was up to and get my rug. I also got Hector and Marissa’s rug. Around 6pm, we went back to Jason’s and he helped me pack my bags. We had to get all my winter gear, a -20F sleeping bag, a large carpet, some wooden items, and other miscellaneous things into a 6500 cubic inch bag and a smaller 35 liter bag.

Before I left the village, Varton’s wife wanted to send some jam home to my parents. I said that was fine as long as it was small. When I went over to their house to pick those things up, she had prepared 2 half gallon jars, and a bottle of pomegranate wine. I said there was no way that I could get that stuff home. She saw my bag, without the big winter jacket, and carpet, and wooden things in it and said there was plenty of room. One thing that I have learned to do here is just not argue with an Armenian. So I took the stuff and just gave it to Jason and Elvira. Sorry Mom and Dad, too many other things to bring home. You can enjoy the carpet.

So, Jason had a scale and we weighed everything. The bag came out to be about 28kg and the smaller bag came out to be 16kg. My checked baggage allowance was 23kg and carry on was 10kg. Each kg over was supposed to be 20euro each. Elvira said to just charm the lady to letting the weight limit pass.

That night was fun. Jason decided not to go out, so Chris and some of our other friends went out. My flight was at 5:20am and I needed to leave for the airport at 3:30am. I decided that it would be better for me to stay awake. I decided this when I saw the clock and it was already 1:30am. I hung out with my friends until about 2:30 am when we went back to Jason and Elvira’s house. All my things were packed and I made a bet that I could leave the house again at 3:25am without them knowing. I slept for about 30 minutes. I woke up and felt awful and just wanted to go back to bed. But, I put on all 44kg or 98 pounds on me and headed down the stairs to the cab. We got to the airport and I waited in line.

Because I didn’t have that much room, I had to wear a button-up, a sweater, a fleece, and my Antarctic jacket (the one with the fur lining). I looked ridiculous. Actually, in Armenia I didn’t look that bad because it was still cold, and in Vienna, where my layover was, it wasn’t weird there either. I got to the ticket counter and I put the 28kg bag on the scale. I pretended like my carry on was really light even though it was about 35 pounds. The lady asked me if I knew what the weight limit was and I said 23kg. She then asked me if I knew how heavy the bag was, and I said 28kg. Then I started speaking in Armenian and told her I was a volunteer in Armenia and I was trying to get my stuff back to the US. She looked at me but didn’t say anything, but then one of her colleagues came over and she asked him some questions. Basically, she didn’t know how to charge me, so she said not to worry about it. Sweet.

I made a B-line to security so she wouldn’t have time to change her mind. I got through and started taking off the layers of clothing I had. I slept the whole way to Vienna. In Vienna, I just walked around and looked at the planes and then continued onward to Barcelona.

I quickly went through Barcelona, got my bag and followed Kamran’s directions to the bus stop. It was easy enough. If you can imagine 50 degree weather, with a girl wearing an Antarctic jacket, with sweaters and stuff under that, sweating profusely, carrying an overly large backpack on the back and a smaller backpack on the front, trying to carry a camera case, that was me. It was awesome. I got to the bus station where Kamran said he would meet me at 1:45pm. As usual, he was late, and he met me at 2:15. Not too bad actually. In India, Mike and I ended up waiting for 90 minutes. I told Kamran, that when he comes to Armenia, don’t be surprised to wait 2 hours for lost time.

We went to Kamran’s flat and I unpacked some things. I heard the other guys walking from a mile away. Very loud. It was really nice seeing them. Actually it was weird because it didn’t seem like 2 years had passed by. After our greetings, they sat down and immediately fumbled with their smart phones. I started to laugh at this, now. I wanted McDonald’s, so we went there and grabbed something quick to eat. We then walked about Barcelona. It was a really nice day. I think we just ended up just walking around. We went back to the house and took naps since things don’t really start happening until 11:00 or so. Derek and TJ were really tired so they stayed at home and we went to a club.

We made a little snack and Alex bit into a hard piece of bread and broke off one of his teeth. His left front tooth was diminished into a little nub. He broke it before when we was 12 so it wasn't a huge deal, but we had to walk around with him. Made for good stories...

Kamran had a friend that had a coupon or something for VIP seating and cheaper drinks or something, so we went to this bar. As we were walking there, there was a huge line of guys waiting outside. Alex made note of this. We talked to the bouncer and apparently there was a mess-up. Tonight was gay-night. The bouncer laughed and said “it is in your best interest to not go in there”. We laughed... at Kamran... and then walked back after stopping to eat at a shwarma place. The shwarma was good, but Alex got sick from it and threw up everywhere. Armenia has kept my stomach bullet-proof so there were no problems for me.

The next morning, I woke up early and walked around Barcelona. I got a subway sandwich and bought some razors since the ones in Armenia aren’t that great. After aimlessly walking in the streets, I went back to the flat. It was 11:30 or so and they were still asleep. So I woke them up and we continued walking around. We went to a nice payaya place and enjoyed the street performers playing. It was pretty cool. We continued walking around and did some shopping. Barcelona is beautiful. We walked on the boardwalk for quite a ways and took some pictures. That night we ate at a tapas bar. Really good. My favorite was bread, with brie, with honey drizzled over it. You should try to make some. I think I will try to make some when I get back to the States. They also have this drink “grapa” I don’t think that’s right, but its half light beer and half lemon fanta. If you have crappy beer, its a good way to make it better.

The next morning, we woke up decently early, got some breakfast and took the train to the airport. The flight was an easy hour to Madrid. Once there, we took the train to the city center. Kamran had rented out an apartment building for us, so it came out to be about 40 euro for three nights, each. Not too bad. Even better, we all had places to sleep, like on a bed. We went to see Kamran’s friend play at her violin recital. She had apparently studied at the music school at UNCG. Interesting.

The next morning, I woke up early again and walked around a bit. I went to starbucks, found some postcards and wrote them. Then I went back to the apartment and everyone was still sleeping, so I woke them up. We planned an itinerary. Kamran, TJ, and I walked to the Palace, then went to a mexican restaurant for lunch, and then went to some museums. Mainly just walking around in the city. At 3:30, we met up with the other guys at a metro stop and went into the Prado Museum. It was free at 6 so we got in line at 5:30 and were one of the first ones inside. It was pretty nice. Lots of focus on Christianity. We ate dinner at a restaurant called “Ginger Restaurant” and then went back to the apartment and just took it easy.

The next morning was a bit more inspiring. The guys got up a bit earlier. We all walked around for a bit and then went to the other side of the city to meet up with one of Kamran’s other fulbright friends. We went to a small, hole in the wall restaurant, and then the other guys wanted to go back by metro but Kamran, TJ, and I wanted to walk. So we walked back enjoying the sites. We went into some bars and cafes on the way and talked a bit. Eventually we made it back. We then went to meet some of Kamran’s other friends at a sandwich shop. Basically every sandwich was 1 euro. So we got lots and lots of sandwiches. We then went to a club to hang out. At 2:30am, Kamran and I walked back one of this female friends. After we dropped her off, we walked the 30 minutes back to the apartment. It was nice catching up with Kamran. We got back around 3:45 or 4am and then went to bed. We woke up the next morning and went to find some food. We cleaned up the apartment and checked out at 12. We then went way out of our way to find one of 4 taco bells in Spain. Im guessing you think I went to Spain just to eat American food. That is exactly what I did. I did have some of the Spanish cuisine, but most of that stuff is expensive and I needed a little taste of him. Taco Bell didn’t taste like Taco Bell at home. Disappointed, we left and got to the airport.

We booked on Ryan Air. This was the first time for me to fly Ryan Air and it was an experience. Basically, the tickets were only 27 euro each, but it is no frills at all. We all had carry-ons. There are no seat assignments so we had to run to get to the front of the stairway. Some people were elbowing. I was the first one on, and made my way to the exit row and blew up all my stuff over the seats. No really since Kamran was right behind me. We saved the entire exit row because it has a lot more leg room. Every 20 minutes or so, they make some kind of advertisement, so if you don’t have earphones it gets very irritating. I just put my earphones in and passed out all the way to Morocco.

Morocco was really cool. As soon as we landed, I just got this sense of magic or romance. I don’t know how to explain it. We got there at 6 right when the sun was going down and the orange and pinks of the sun on the architecture was really nice. I followed the directions Andrea gave me and went from the Airport to Jal eem Fna. I don’t think I spelled that right but it was a the square in the middle of Marrakech. There Andrea and Felice met up with us.

I am an A-17 volunteer and Andrea was an A-15 volunteer in Armenia and is doing 6 months in Morocco as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer. Its weird to think that I could have met her on top of the mountain the first day my group was in Armenia. The first day I was in Armenia, we met all the A-15 and A-16 volunteers on top of a mountain. It blows my mind a little bit. She was really cool and she immediately started speaking Armenian to me. That was cool. Felice was also cool. She spent her first term in Benin and then wanted to do a second term in Morocco. She just finished her first year in Morocco. They showed us to a place to eat dinner and then we went to a hookah bar to hang out.

The hotel/hostel we were staying at was really cool. I wish I took pictures of that place. Anyway, it had a really nice terrace on the roof looking out over the whole city. I didn’t realize this until much later. The next morning, we met up with Andrea and Kamran and I went to eat breakfast with her. We had crepes with peach and peach cream inside. It was amazingly good, but too rich for me to get another one. Afterwards, Andrea went back home but met up with us later on. Kamran and I walked around a bit. That was really fun getting lost in the back alleys of the markets. We found a small food vendor off the beaten path and ate a beef sandwich of sorts. He went to prayer and I met up with the other guys. I bought some postcards and went back to the hotel to write them. At 2pm, Kamran was finished and we all met back at the hotel and then headed over to the post office. Afterwards, we went to a ruined palace and the spice market before going down an alley. The tea in Morocco is amazing. So good, so we wanted a tea fix. It was there where TJ said, “I don’t think my heartrate has gone below 100 since we’ve been here.” He was just a bit out of his comfort zone. The other funny part was seeing how many times those guys would try to see if they could find a wi-fi hot spot to get internet. Usually to no avail.

We found our way back and had some traditional Moroccan food on a rooftop restaurant. Alex knew french, or knew enough to get around and since the menus were in french, Derek asked Alex to translate. So Alex would read “salade traditionnelle” in a french accent and would translate this in an American accent as “traditional salad.” This actually went on for 5 different items, before I told Derek to just read what was written in reverse order in an American accent. We got a good laugh out of that one.

Around 7, we met with Andrea and her host sister and we walked around the market. She took us to some pretty cool places that we probably wouldn’t have found if we tried to go there alone. We to buy some last minute things and then went to the square to have something to eat. We sat next to the owners and they gave us a bunch of stuff which was really nice of them. We finished up with some tea and then walked Andrea and her host sister to the taxi stop. So, Andrea, if you ever read this, thank you so much for meeting us and showing us around. We had a really great time with you. She was wonderful.

We walked back to the hotel. I bought 6 cokes and we went to the terrace and just talked under the Moroccan night sky. It was really beautiful up there. Our flight was the following morning at 9:50. TJ was so paranoid, we got on the 6:15am bus and got to the airport at 6:45. I found a chair and went back to sleep until 8ish when we were able to check in. We checked in and went through security. We got on our flight and I again passed out the whole way back to Barcelona. We got on the train and rode back to Kamran’s house where we each took showers and relaxed a bit. While I was packing for the guys to take my things back, Kamran found us tickets to the Barcelona soccer game. One of the best soccer clubs in the world. We got something to eat and then left at 6:00 for the 8:00 game. We picked up our tickets from the window and went inside. The seats were scattered around, but I ended up sitting with TJ for the first half and with TJ and Kamran for the second half. The stadium holds 90,000 people and we were right behind one of the goals in what I thought were really good seats. It was surreal. Im not a huge soccer fan, but to be there was really cool.

After the game, we went back to the same Tapas bar to finish out the trip with a spanish meal. After eating, we went back to the house where I quickly fell asleep. The other guys stayed up to watch the UNC/Duke basketball game. They were up until about 4am. Their flight was at 10:30am. They woke up late, still had to pack, the Barcelona Marathon was going on, so the airport bus was relocated. Needless to say, they missed their flight. I didn’t know this until I got to Vienna and checked my email.

I hung out with Kamran for a while, got some lunch and then took the train to the airport. There I checked in. My luck wasn’t that great this time. I had my backpack on and the guy wanted to weigh my bag. This time the limit was 8kg and my bag was 12kg, but it had a computer in it and my jacket. I told the guy that I could take things out to make the weight under 8kg like my computer and my jacket. He said if I took everything out, then I would put everything back in. Then I told him that I get a carry on and a personal item such as my computer and since I am going to Vienna, I needed to carry my jacket with me. The argument was fruitless and he basically said if I wanted to get on the plane, I needed to check my bag. So, I carried my camera, jacket, computer, money, and sandwich with me through security. That was great. I strongly dislike that guy.

I got to Vienna and I was supposed to meet one of my friends there but she had an emergency to attend to so it was just me. I took the train into Vienna and found a place to eat. I watched another soccer game and then made it back to the airport. My flight left at 10:20 and got to Yerevan at 4:30am. I took my time getting through passport control and then I picked up my bags and went outside.

It was good to be back in Armenia. Its a good feeling when the taxi drivers haggle at you and try and charge you 6000 dram and you say “no, I live here. Ill give you 2000” in Armenian. So, I got a ride to the Peace Corps office and passed out on the couch for 6 hours before making my way back home. When I got home, Grandma came in right after me. Apparently my brother left two days previous, so its just back to me and Grandma. Thank God.

So, now that I took all my winter stuff home, it decided to snow, which is totally sweet.

Until next time...