I've been here for about 13 days and already it seems like months have passed by. Let me try to break it down for you as best as i can from the day i left Philadelphia.
May 27th - 30th
Had orientation session and ice breakers with other volunteers with whom i will be spending the next two years of my life. I am excited about our group as we are all completely different and each bring something to the table. Everyone here seems to be very qualified in one field or another. I haven't met anyone yet that i think i will butt heads with and that's great because i have met everyone. Most of us range between lower 20's to about mid 30's but we do have a few more mature women who are wonderful by the way(Especially Sue who I adore because she keeps it real :D) The first two nights i spent in Philadelphia were great because Latoya came to see me and even treated me to last expensive American meal hahaha. Good times. I'm glad that the last face i saw was a close friend,and more so, one I knew from Trinidad. The last day in Phil was spent packing and once that was done we were all put on the PC bus headed towards JFK. I spent the ride talking mostly with Danny and Mike who are becoming good friends. Once we got to the airport we were a few hours early , so we decided to play frisbee. . .yes in the airport , where else?!
Austria
We left JFK for Austria where we had a 16 hr layover. luckily enough PC provided us with day rooms across the street from the airport. Most of us dropped our stuff , took a quick nap and then headed out for some food and exploration. The group i roamed with saw some fantastic churches. As soon as i figure out how to load pictures i'll set them up. I know some of you will enjoy the architecture.
June 1 - June 4th
The first few days in armenia were spent at the Hotel Academik. There really is no way to describe the rustic beauty of the setting. When my new friends and i were not stuck in intense language, safety and security, orientation or ice- breaking classes we were out hiking. the people here are polite and excited to have us here. I hope we are up to par for all that we need to do. It was also here that we were introduced to some Armenian dishes. No matter what the meal, there is always lavash on the the table which is the equivalent of roti skins or flat bread. There is also loleek (tomatoes), varunk ( cucumber) and lots of khunzor and banan ( apple and bananas) . Vodka too is a big thing here. Every two or three days i have to turn it down at my family's table by saying " che che chica ray lee" ( no no i can't do that).
The DAY I MET MY HOST FAMILY
The last day at our hotel was stressful for me. Moving to another country was never a problem. Moving to another country that is mostly homogeneous in ethnicity, does not speak english and then forcefully integrating into a family is a whole new story altogether. There was a big cultural session on this day. We were all separated into the villages that we would be staying at and then taken out to meet our families one group at a time. On our way out we had to dip a piece of 'hats' ( bread) into some salt and eat it as a symbol of accepting there hospitality. I was then escorted by my LCF (language coordination facilitator to meet my host dad ( whose name or village i can't mention b/c of PC security regulations) Anyways my host dad never even looked at me. He pretty much shook my hand, walked away and left me with my new 12 yr old host brother. GREAT!! just peachy!! I didn't know enough Armenia to speak to my host dad AND he hates me!!! I can't wait for the next 2 yrs (borderline crazy laughter) I was pretty close to tears, no kidding. BUT ... i was wrong!! when i got home he explained in baby armenian words ( the kind they use to speak to the cows here) that I was now his daughter especially since he has only had sons (3) .Apparently it was a cultural trust issue with him not warming up to me immediately. He is actually wonderful :D OTher than that , i have a tateek ( grandmother), papeek (grandfather) and 2 yerkbuy ( brothers) . The oldest brother is off in the army for 2 years since all men here have to go to the army once they are 18.
later that night we sat down to a lavish dinner, where there was alot of smiling and laughing. I bet I was such an amusement to the family with my few Hayeren ( armenian) phrases and my charade like attempts to communicate. All in all I've no complaints because Armenia is it's own little paradise and it's my home now for a while to come.
Cheers :)
P.S. Miss you mummy!!
