Balkans

Recently returned from the Balkans via train from Istanbul.

1. Istanbul, Turkey 2. Belgrade, Serbia 3. Sophia, Bulgaria

 

 

Potpourri Post

This couldn’t be a more haphazard entry – a birthday, Kalashnikovs and Japanese folk dancers.

Arrachin (“First”, in Armenian). Our NGO recently visited a nearby village to take some photos for the end-of-year album. Sounds somewhat normal. Students dressed in their best outfits, teachers making sure their hair is perfect, etc, etc. But see, keep in mind, this was once part of the staunch Soviet Union, so needless to say, some leftovers of that time period still remain in village classrooms. Among such topics as biology, mathematics, geography, there is also instruction on how to properly assemble a Kalashnikov. While strictly abiding by Peace Corps policy and not handling the fire arm for even a second, several others couldn’t resist the temptation to revisit their childhood, including my NGOs director, who oddly enough, never served in the Armenian military due to illness at the time. Note to the powers that be in Washington and Yerevan, I was never in any danger; this was a cross-culture exchange.

Yekrord (“Second”, in Armenian). Continuing along those same lines of cross-culture exchange, a much more artistic event took place in the nearby town where Japanese folk dancers visited and danced alongside Armenian folk dancers. The reception was held at a restaurant adjacent the university. Both repertoires were well received by the audience. You think that was interesting, imagine being our Japanese-American Peace Corps Volunteer who actually lives in that town.

Yerord (Good job, you can count, “Third” in Armenian). It was my first host father’s birthday last weekend, and without needing to express how I feel about them (see every other entry about them, there are several), the festivities did not disappoint. In conjunction with the birthday, his niece’s graduation from school to place, on the same day. It was great to see her and her family has well. Armenian graduation from school (our equivalent of high school) also consists for speeches, dancing, singing, and of course the after party. This trip also afforded me the opportunity to meet my first host brother’s fiancé and her family. I couldn’t be more happy for someone, she’s a beautiful lady and it was great to see Gohar (first host mom) running around the kitchen with her preparing for the party. (Photos of this coming soon, can’t remember where I put them.)

Year in Review

IT and Business Resource Center

Here are some photos we took during the first couple of weeks for the new office we opened with the USAID grant the NGO was awarded.

Small Update

Again, I want to emphasize that when there are large gaps between posts, that usually translates into me having been a productive member of society. I wish that were the case. Rather, I have been traveling throughout the southern part of the country with graduate students in search of an organization who could benefit from an ecotourism business plan as part of their capstone project for school. However, before their arrival from the states, our NGO did manage to squeeze (understatement) in a grant from USAID for a Business and IT Resource Center for the town’s unemployed, and is now conducting workshops on a weekly basis. Shit, what else. Our NGO has been helping prepare the photo albums for students in schools here and in the surrounding villages by taking the NGOs camera and photo printer and telling them to say “cheese” in Armenian.  Speaking of villages, were still crossing our fingers that the grant gets fully funded for an IT camp for 40 youth in villages in southern Armenia. That could be a good, but very crazy, crazy time. Yes, I realize that in a couple weeks it will be a year in this country. Has it gone by fast? Yes … at times. Regrets, none. A lot of us are now preparing for the poor saps coming in to replace the group before ours. I am planning on visiting my first host family before they do arrive as to best prepare them for what is sure to be a helluva lot better volunteer than myself, as you can tell from what has just been written. Maybe next year I’ll actually have something potentially significant to report.

Verchapes, gnacel em Gyumri!

Translation: Finally, I went to Gyumri! Why? Good question. Before coming to this country I was put in contact with a very talented pianist, and has now become a good friend, who is from Gyumri, [thanks Jeff and Natasha ] and at that time was studying at a university in New Hampshire. I ate, and of course, drank with her family, who turned out to be just as cool as she was. But there was more to this visit then just visiting an old friend. This town is a place that has seen it’s fair share of hardships, but maybe none so memorable as the 1988 earthquake. I was circumnavigated around the town by her father and was told about the history, and all that had happened to the town. See photos below.

However, despite it’s history, several incredible institutions are in place such as the GITC – Gyumri Information Technologies Center that, in my best highly sopisticated estimation, seem to be doing incredible things. That’s cool has hell to see.

St. Patty’s Day and a Bday

All in the same week. So, as you can imagine it has been absolutely productive here. Between everything being decorated green and somone turning the ripe ‘ol age of 27 (site mate), it has been more of a “cultural sharing” week if you will; which is actually part of the reason for being here – to learn, as well as share stuff about where we’re from. And we probably did disappoint. First, I had some neigbors over to celebrate in the goodness of being stubbornly proud of being 2% Irish. Second, my site mate had her host family and few other friends over for her bday. Pic below. PS, yes I did hear about the Gonzaga NCAA incident despite being several kilometers form Spokane. That might have been the happiest day of my life.

View from my window

Holy S%#^, I just wrote twice in less than a 24-hour period. And it occured to me, that my new abode had not been on display here since its inaugurational housewarming back in January, or was it December. Screw it, here is a view from the balcony and my director and I breaking it in properly. Cheers! However, the picture directly below is how I attempted to keep mildly warm during the winter. Seriously, it worked quite well, and I am now not wearing long underwear … some other volunteers can’t say the same. We have it good in my part of the country.

View from the North

There are several things I like about this place. [See pretty much every post written prior to this one] But one of those is that in such a small place, you can see crazily varying landscapes. Despite residing in the southern hemisphere of the country – that previously mentioned (or atleast I think I did, damnit it has been a long time!) IT networking and server training – was located in the north; which looked 100% different from the view out my balcony window. Yes, finally … again new photos are up.

So really, why am I writing this post? To make up for lost time? No. Probably because I finally got my camera back from having left it up north and it finally made its way down here after approximately one month. Also I have been indispose since coming back from a Project Design and Management Conference that allows us know to write a grant for our community. So that has pretty much taken up all my time for a while, plus writing a proposal for an IT Summer Camp for youth in the villages. “Togh Astavats lini mez het” (”God be with us”) as we basically beg for money from the U.S. Government … also know as grant-writing. Cheers!

Remembers those photos I promised?

Apparently I suck at getting photos up on this site. But that is not without good reason. After Prague and Vienna, it was the New Year here, and then recovery time, and then I spent a week in another site for an IT Training (which went really well by the way, thanks for asking) and then while the great CEO douchebags of the world were meeting in Davos for the World Economic Forum, we were in another ski resort at a Project Design & Management Workshop for those of us who work at the grassroots level. So there. Below are some photos from the Armenian New Year, and the Prague and Vienna ones are on the photostream. Hopefully this explains a little as to why my head and stomach were in so much pain. You may recognize the faces in some of those photos from previous posts, because who has two thumbs and the best family in Armenia … this guy. So it was without debate that the start to this New Year debacle only would take place in their home and village.