Maggie's Journey to Armenia

Barev!

I am all (or almost) settled into my new site, Sevan. PST came and went faster than we imagined; I wonder how fast these next two years will go! The Swearing In Ceremony was exciting. We had two great speakers in our group, Katie and Austin and a wonderful Armenian solo sung by Joel. A large group sang a song or two in Armenian and then the infamous song, “Imagine.” We were sworn in by the US Ambassador to Armenia who took the time to meet most of us after the ceremony. After all the excitement, the A-17′s welcomed us and we all headed to a cafe in Charentsavan to celebrate.

It is hard to believe I can finally call myself a Peace Corps Volunteer. Four years ago I began to seriously consider this decision. Two years ago I made the decision to go through with it. Eight months ago I received my invitation and just over two months ago, I boarded an international flight for the second time in my life (for some of our group it’s the first time!). We have a great group of volunteers and I am excited to work with them. I also have a great site with seemingly plenty of opportunities; I can’t wait to begin!

I hope this blog provided you with some insight into our Pre-Service Training and our first experiences as Americans living in Armenia.  Perhaps, it allowed you to reminisce about your own time in Hayastan, I hope so!  I enjoyed sharing and let me know if you have any other questions, comments, advice, etc!

Barev!
Today I pack my bags from the small village of Fantan and look ahead to the next two years of my life. We are officially done with Peace Corps training. The summer flew by! Six days of language classes a week, a sports/activity day for the village children, a cross-cultural 4th of July party, a few Armenian style Birthday parties, and two weeks of health practicum teaching later, we are (supposedly) ready to become Peace Corps Volunteers.

Tomorrow, we will be sworn in to the Peace Corps by the US Ambassador to Armenia. Then, we say our goodbyes to host family and friends. It is a strange feeling knowing I will be leaving 6 Americans from my current village behind, some of them have been a true support when things get rough. School starts the first week of September so until then I will be working hard at building relationships in my new town of Sevan and trying to learn all the Armenian words for “Sit down, be quiet, listen, don’t cheat, etc.”

Barev!

The A-18′s are half way through Model School Practicum. I think I can speak on behalf of nearly everyone when I say, this been the most stressful part of Pre-Service Training. Our days look something like this:

9-12pm Language
2-4pm Model School
6-8pm Lesson Planning
*homework and meals in between

Model school is a great way to observe the Armenian school structure and how students learn (and behave) best. We have already had our fair share of trial and errors this week.

Although we cannot wait for these two weeks to be over, we know that means PST is coming to a close. It will sad to say goodbye to everything that has become comfort and familiarity in our Armenian experience thus far. We have so many questions about the unknown that the next few months will bring. Who will be our new (close by) support system? What are we supposed to do those first few weeks before school begins? What does our organization expect from us? How can we be teachers if we have barely grasped the Armenian language? We are aware that many people have walked in these shoes before and we are confident that everything will work itself out in the end.

-Maggie

This weekend I took a break from language classes, technical training, and cow stampedes to visit Sevan, Armenia. Come August, this will be my home for two years. There will be two other Peace Corps volunteers living in my town.

I will work at the largest school in Sevan, a 20 minute walk from my home, team teaching the National Healthy Lifestyles curriculum (for 8th and 9th graders), a Life Skills class (not really sure what that is), and Physical Education. It is hard enough for me to separate the Anahits from the Armiks so volunteering in a school with 750 students and 75 teachers should be interesting. My counterparts and school director had me in for coffee and seem really nice. If they learn to speak at my kindergarten Armenian level, then things might be perfect.

The family that I will be living with in Sevan (for at least the first 4 months) is completely different from my current village family. My host mother is Ukrainian and my father and brother will be working in Russia during the school year. I have a 25 year old sister who speaks English and an adorable 12 year old sister. I’m trading in farm animals for a potato farm (fine by me). The women of the family are great cooks. My host sister even mentioned getting spices in Yerevan so we can make some Mexican food together! I look forward to starting a semi-permanent life here soon.

Today I travel back to my training village, bringing my school director with me for her PC conference. The A-18s have four more weeks left of Pre-Service Training, including our two week Practicum School Model.

Barev,

We celebrated the fourth of July on Sunday with our host families. While planning the event, all of the mothers said that they do not eat beef at horovats. To our surprise, we didn’t have enough hamburgers; they loved them. There were all sorts of fun successes that day. My host sister couldn’t stop talking to her friends about ice cream floats the next day! It was great to celebrate but I was also a little nostalgic. I love (and now miss) fireworks!

Another exciting event since my last post is that we received our site announcements! I will be living with two other volunteers in Sevan. Although I hear the winters in Sevan are the most brutal, I am looking forward to this placement! I am a CHE volunteer and will be team teaching the National Healthy Lifestyle curriculum among other things.

This weekend, I came to Sevan to meet my new host family and co-workers. My family seems great, perhaps more “modern” than my current village family. My host sister speaks English which I fear will hinder my Armenian language training but I will want to work that much harder.

Tomorrow, I meet my counterpart and school director. I guess I should get some rest….besides, all of the bugs are attracted to the light on my computer screen.

Bari Gisher!

Barev everyone!

The eight of us in my village have made ourselves an Armenian summer bucket list. I crossed off a few things last week.

1) Learn to milk a cow. I was so excited when my sister told me I could learn how to milk one. Then, I got up close and personal with the cow. Cows don’t take showers here. It is so much harder than it looks too! I was so happy to have tried it but am thankful it is not one of my daily chores. Then, a few days later, my sister had me milk it again. Afterwards, I restrained the goats and sheep (they don’t shower either) while she milked those.

2) Learn Armenian-style dance. Our LCST’s (Language, Culture, and Society Trainers) took us to Yerevan, the capital, on Friday night. We gathered with a couple hundred other Armenians and learned tradition Armenian dance…which is awesome. We had so much fun! Afterwards, we went to the Republic Square and watched the “dancing fountains” (like at the Belagio in Vegas…ok, like a step down from the Belagio Fountain).

3) Learn how to make coffee. Ok, I am not a coffee fan at all. In fact, I am a fully devoted Iced Grande Soy Chai fan to the core. Unfortunately, coffee is all I got…and it wins points with locals. I learned how to make coffee here and must be pretty good at it because my host father requests me make his 10pm cup nightly now.

In addition to these experiences, I have started a morning mostly walk/sometimes run routine here. I head a little ways out of town and on the way back have the glorious view of snowy Mount Aragot. It is such a great daily reminder that I am lucky to be here. Our language teacher is quick to remind us that Mt Aragot is the tallest Mountain in the “Republic of Armenia” but not in all of Armenia

***Fun Fact: Armenians must have a recessive red head gene because everyone once in awhile we see a red head. We have one red head boy in our village and three of us are red headed so I am happy that we upped the ratio.

P.S. RPCVS, we had our first trip and tour of the PC office in Yerevan and were able to see all of your photos on the wall.

Barev!
This past Sunday, my village had a holiday of sorts. The men woke up early to slaughter a family animal (usually a sheep) and the women prepared the house for family. We took my father’s marshutni to a church up the hill and lit candles in memory of family members. When we returned back to the house, I was greeted by twenty of my host extended family members. How overwhelming (and exciting).

This was my first, of I am sure many to come, celebrations here in Hayastan. I was able to see the toasting, the feasting, and even some dancing for the first time.

In addition to this village holiday, the World Cup started last week. This has been a way for me to bond with my host dad and brothers who are usually quiet around me. It also has been a great excuse for gathering with the other trainees and hear about life in other villages near Charentsevan. I thought life in the smallest (and newest PC village) would be rough, but I have had it easier than others. My host family remodeled a new bathroom when I arrived. On the other hand, we have not had any running water for the past week. I had my first bucket bath a few days ago and my first hand washed laundry experience today. Life sure is simple here. I am soaking it all in….now, if only that language would soak in as well!

-Maggie

Well, today is day two of my host family experience. I am living in a small village of 200-300 people in a “tun” with my host mother, father, sister, and her 3 sons. Although I can barely speak a lick of Armenian they know two vital things about me; I love cucumbers and ‘football’.

Although the language barrier can be tough, it proves for constant entertainment and fun new challenges. The people in the Republic of Armenia that I have met so far, are some of the most friendly and generous people that I have come across.

Armenia itself is breathtaking! Our first few days were spent in a hotel in a mountainous valley. Hikers and photographers would find Hayastan a worthwhile travel destination.

Our group of trainees, the A-18s, can barely believe we have only known each other for one week. Similar experiences and close proximity can do that to you I guess. Although I miss family and friends at home terribly, I look forward to making Armenia my new home for the next two years!

Barev!

As I finish up pizza with the family, noises of my one year old nephew and ‘Everbody Loves Raymond’ fill the background. Pizza, near-by family, and my favorite television shows are all things I KNOW I will yearn for in the coming two years.  However, I am confident there will be exciting new comforts in my new home, Hayastan (or at least I keep repeating this to myself).

Of course, I am not all confident about my choice of clicking ‘SUBMIT’ on my application 1.5 years ago.  Thankfully, to relieve some of my worries and answer the typical trainee questions, many current and returned Peace Corps Armenia volunteers have come out in masses on social networking sites to help out.  I am so grateful to enter into the Peace Corps during such a technologically advanced age!  I guess I really do need that 0 degree sleeping bag and my mystery novels to keep me company after my PST completion.

Right now, I will spend the last couple hours with my family and probably stay up all night thinking about what is to come.  I hope the future of this blog provides you with a look into Armenia as I experience it for myself.  If you have any requests or questions about this blog, Armenia, or my personal experience serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, be sure to let me know.

Maggie, A-18