• Home
• About
• Disclaimer

Brian’s Adventure in Hyastan

• Winters End?

  09Mar
  Categories: Armenia Comments: 0

  Hello Everyone,

   

  Well it is beginning to look a lot like Spring here, which is unusual since February and March are usually quite cold, at least the last two years they were.  We have had some very nice weather, mixed with a few snow storms, since the second week of February.  This nice weather meant about two weeks of very muddy roads I had to walk down to get to work but they are drying out now so I am happy.  We did have one little bit of excitement, a heavy rainstorm caused a tunnel that went under the main road out of town to collapse.  This required a quick repair job and left a pretty hefty dip in the road to navigate.  The police now have signs there limiting the speed and often sit and wait there giving tickets to anyone who doesn’t slow down enough.  I guess it is a “Dip Trap” J

   

  It has been a tough month at work.  During February the family member of four of my co-workers passed away.  Everyone has been sad and in mourning most of the month, including my director.  Her birthday was a few days before mine, we had planned to have a party to celebrate our birthdays, but that was put on hold for now. 

   

  Speaking of birthdays, I had a good time on mine.  I got a beautiful Nardi board from Zhanna.  Nardi is backgammon played really fast.  I think the rules are pretty much the same except they go around the board several times.  On the back of the board is a chess board so Zhanna and I play checkers.  The rules for checkers here are much different than in the USA which makes it a challenging game.  Zhanna wins when we play by the rules here and I win when we play by the US rules J.  I went to my NGO for a few hours that day and they had some wine and gave me a nice present.  It was really nice of them to remember and celebrate it with me with everything happening.  The night of my birthday Zhanna and I went to a very nice and expensive restaurant in Yerevan.  The food was great, really rich and a bit more than I could handle but a great time.  It was a great day and I owe it all to Zhanna. 

   

  Now I am working on things for the summer.  I and several other volunteers are organizing IT camps for several cities around the country.  This year we want to teach 12 to 16 year olds the basics of web design and photo editing.  We are developing a curriculum that will go for a week and at the end of which they will have created a web page about their community that contains text, pictures and links.  We are then going to put them up on the internet so they can show their friends and family.  We are working on a budget and will probably create two, one that is bare bones and covers basics (pens, note pads, refreshments, etc) and a second that would include a T-Shirt and cover transportation costs for student to get to the classes.  The camps will be held during the day and the students would go home in the evening.  If you are interested in helping out or know anyone who might be please let me know.   If there is an interest we can probably make it so that donations are tax deductible.

   

  We are also starting to gear up for the arrival of many new volunteers.  Rumors have it that the A-18 group will be bigger than the last few years.  That is good and exciting.  There is lots to do before they get here but I wont spoil any surprises for them.  Just to say we are all looking forward to meeting them and making them feel welcome in Armenia.  They will have a great time.  The coming of new volunteers means that I am almost done with my service.  I can’t believe that the time is almost at an end, it has flown by so quickly.  I have already been here 21 months.  In just a couple months we have our Close of Service conference then we will wrap up everything and start heading back home.  Some people may leave a little early for school or other things on their plate, I will probably be here until the end as I have a wedding to attend. 

   

  Well I guess that is enough for now.  Once I get internet back I will post this up.  I hope that the people reading it will send me comments.  It seems like the only comments I get on my blog are from people trying to sell cheap drugs or penis enlargement equipment, it would be nice to hear from someone real once in a while. 

   

  Take care

   

  Brian

• Super Bowl Monday

  08Feb
  Categories: Armenia Comments: 0

  This is the Saga of trying to watch the Super Bowl outside of the USA.  I have tried in many places and been successful in a few (China, South Africa) and failed in a few (Malaysia, Armenia?)  So here is the saga written over a week in Armenia, including some final comments as I tried to watch the game…

   

  No, I did not mistype the title, it may be Super Bowl Sunday in America but in Armenia, it starts at 4:00 AM Monday morning.  I have been looking for a place that will be showing the game, and it is not an easy task.  There are very few sports bars in Yerevan (forget about anywhere else in the country, at least near me) and the ones I know don’t seem to want to be open at 4:00 AM.  I don’t know if there is a mandated closing time for bars in Armenia, I would really doubt it but anything is possible.  Most “bars” I have been informed by several Armenians are not really places you go to drink, because most people live with their parents until they are married, young couples go to “bars” to get to know each other better and have some private time.  So most bars wouldn’t be showing the game.  I got a rumor about a club that might be showing it and I will check that out, maybe as a last resort I will head to a betting shop, these are all around Armenia (we even how one in my town) and hope they are showing it.  I would really like to avoid that and find a place where Americans are gathered.  Last year the Marines at the Embassy hosted a party in the Marine House, but I hear they are not doing that this year, which leaves us high and dry.  I am not the only one looking, we have a number of American sports fans who want to watch the game.  It reminds me of the time I watched it in Shanghai at a bar on Monday morning.  Lots of Americans swigging beer at 7 in the morning dressed in football jerseys and cheering for which ever team they wanted to win.  The same thing in Africa when I was in the Transvaal during the game on a motorcycle tour.  Having watched in those exotic places how could I not catch the game at least once in Armenia?

   

  Today I searched the internet for anything that might mention the Super Bowl and Yerevan; I turned up a bunch of random sites that were completely unhelpful.  On digging through some of the sites I found someone who might have a clue and sent him an email, I am waiting for his reply.  In the mean time I asked Zhanna to call a couple places and see if they were showing it.  She could not reach the only Sports bar I know, they are not answering the phone.  She called the Marriott and asking her which teams were playing, to make sure they got the right game, they told her that I could rent a room there and watch it, she was pretty sure but not positive that it was available on their TV’s.  They also tried the sports bar and could not get through but said they would try again and call her back, I must compliment the Marriott on being very helpful.  I posted on Facebook that I am trying to find a place and got suggestions to try the Marriott and the Embassy, thanks…  It was also suggested that we get on a plane and go to Prague (I wish) and California to watch it at friends houses.  Thanks, but no dice. 

   

  So after much searching and even Zhanna calling around to places that might show it in Yerevan we found nothing.  I guess the timing and the fact that American football is not a watched sport here all means that no one in Armenia wants to take American’s money and show a great game.  That means that Brian will resort to trying to stream in on the computer.  It is times like this I wish my slingbox was still set up and working.  Oh well might as well wish for the moon.  So, I found Justin.tv which streams TV shows and I can kind of watch I on there.  The good streams are filling up and I get messages saying I need to purchase their premium service to keep watching so I have resorted to watching a bad stream that has an advertisement in the middle of it.  I can’t see much but I can at least listen to the commentary and see a little of the action.  I found some other sites that stream but they either want you to signup and pay or they want you to fill out questionnaires that will end up in a ton of spam at the minimum and probably getting viruses so I decided that I would take what I can get for free.  That leaves me sitting on my couch with head phones on listening to the half time show, I have not really seen much of the game but I did hear some of the second quarter.  I am really happy that the N.O. Saints got that field goal just before the half…

   

  … I just lost the internet connection again.  Talked to the provider in town and asked for a higher connection for tonight and he said he would try, the result is not really a fast connection but one that keeps dropping out…

   

  Anyway I was happy that the Saints were about to pull within 4 after losing the ball on the 4th down at their one. 

   

  The internet went out a couple more times in the second half and the place I was watching kept going out so I would see about 2 minutes of very choppy video followed by 5 minutes of trying to find another “channel” that had it because the one I was watching had frozen.  I am happy to say I got to see the interception and run back for the TD that sealed the game. 

   

  So, after everything I got to see a little bit of the Super Bowl and the wonderful win by New Orleans, who really deserved it.  Next year I expect I will be watching the game in HD on a big screen TV with lots of great food and friends with me.  It will be a completely different experience but I will look back on today fondly as what I went through to watch a game.  Hey, I am in the Peace Corps, life is not supposed to be easy and just getting to watch a football game “live” is something that I didn’t expect to happen.

   

  So I am off to bed now and will probably post this in the morning when I get up. 

   

  Cheers

   

  Brian

• Home for the Holidays…

  24Jan
  Categories: Armenia Comments: 0

  Just a quick note, I wrote this entry a few weeks ago.  Since then we got 4 days of rain that washed away most of the snow.  Now as I look out my window is it snowing like crazy.  We are having really strange weather this year. 

  On to the regularly scheduled post…

  Going back home for the holidays is both a blessing and a curse.  Don’t get me wrong I am not saying anything bad about home, let me explain.  It’s a blessing because seeing friends and family is really wonderful.  So is being able to go everywhere and speak English, I can’t tell you how much I can appreciate that now.  It is also great to have some home made cooking using different ingredients and spices that you get here in Armenia.  Though the food can be a curse as well as my stomach was not really ready to be hit with Chinese food the first night back, sushi for lunch the next day and then Mexican food the following day.  I loved it but my tummy had something to say about it that wasn’t pleasant.  I also loved the fact that I could drive my car anywhere I wanted at anytime without having to let someone know where I was going, how long I would be there, how I was traveling and what number I could be reached at.  Not to mention having to notify them by a certain time or I would be told I could not go and letting them know when I was back home.    I enjoyed the freedom of being responsible for myself.  Oh, I am going to enjoy that feeling so much when I am done with my service.   However, going home during service is also a curse.  People talk about the culture shock and I must say I experienced some of that.  How can you walk into a supermarket in America and not stop and marvel at how much food there is in so may varieties?  The biggest store in my town in Armenia would easily fit into the floral section of my local supermarket in California.  The biggest food store I have seen in Armenia has about ¼ of the things you find in the local Safeway back home.  So, you can imagine that when asked if I found what I needed I replied “that and so much more”, then had to explain to the clerk that I had forgotten what it was like shopping in America. 

  Aside from the culture shock the curse of traveling home during service is knowing that while you are enjoying everything so much, shortly you will have to get on a plane and go back.  In America. you can go out to eat a huge variety of foods, shop for anything you want, be warm while here it is not like that.  You are going to get on a plane and fly for a day or more to a place that is not as comfortable, does not have same options in eating or shopping, etc.  Sure you tell yourself “I am doing something good, and I am hopefully making a difference” then you pack your suitcases with as many luxury items as you can fit and head to the airport.  It would probably be easier to not go home during service at all, a great many volunteers don’t, but I promised I would come home for Christmas and I really wanted to see everyone.  Now I am sitting in my NGO in long underwear, layers of clothes topped off with a down jacket and North Face winter boots that said they are rated to -15 F.  I am freezing and can barely feel my toes.  I can see my breath and alternate between putting on gloves to warm up and taking them off to type.  Home seems like a distant memory.  I dream of the central heating and the fires in the fireplace as I huddle around my Peace Corps issued electric oil heater and bundle up under a couple blankets.  I know I am helping here and doing some good, though by no means am I making the difference or having the impact I thought I would before we all arrived.  That helps when the power goes out and I have to resort to reading my headlamp and hoping the power comes on before the temp drops too much. 

  I had a really good Christmas and New Year’s home and was very happy to see all my friends and spend time with my family.  I was able to relax a little bit, though all the volunteers that go home talk about how busy they are with meetings and gatherings.  The jet lag was just about over by the time I got back on the plane.  I am happy knowing that the next time I go to America it will be after my service is over and I can relax and not worry about trying to buy everything to take back, get my bags packed but keep them within the airline limits, and make sure what I took back stayed intact during the journey.  Also, I won’t have to worry about getting things for other volunteers and friends in Armenia that want American goods (especially computers) and want you to bring them back with you. 

  So now I am back in C-Town, the snow has been coming down for the last day non-stop.  The snow piling up all over town.  The tractors with the plow tries to keep the streets clean but is not doing a very good job.  I worry about the highway and other roads, drivers here don’t use chains and some of the tires are not the best so there is always a risk.  Half my apartment is comfortable, not warm but livable.  The other half, which includes the bathroom, shower and kitchen is pretty much freezing.  With the hole in my kitchen wall for the gas water heater vent it is impossible to keep that area warm so I just gave up and keep the door closed.  It works out pretty well until you have to use the bathroom, then it is a little chilly.  I also have the balcony closed off to provide a buffer between the outside windows and the living room.  I have my laundry drying on the balcony which takes forever since the room hovers just above freezing.  It could be worse, many of my neighbors have laundry hanging outside and it is frozen solid and has an inch or two of snow on top of it. 

  Cheers for now.

   

  Here are a few pictures from the window of my apartment…

   

  

  The beautiful snow in C-Town

   

  

  Keeping the streets clean