il est temps de pratiquer mon francais...
se sont passees plusieurs choses dans la derneire semaine! samedi nous sommes allees a matenadaran - un musee et centre de recherche qui contient des vieux manuscrits et livres armeniens. TRES interessant! les couleurs sont encore vives et les pages sont faites de la peau de moutons.
samedi, j'ai aussi rencontre de la famille. lucy, c'est la cousine a mon grand-pere nubar (d'egypte) qui est decede il y a un mois (qu'il soit en paix). lucy a environ 95 ans, comme mon grand-pere, et se souvient de lui et de son frere edouard tres bien. mais elle fait de l'alzheimers. donc elle m'a demande pas moins de quarante fois qui je connaissais dans la famille. et quand je disais que j'etais la petite fille a nubar, elle avait toujours les larmes aux yeux. elle ressemble beaucoup a mon grand pere, d'une facon bizarre... ca m'a fait un coup, j'etais tres emotive.
sa fille, c'est lili. et son marie a elle c'est berdj. ils ont deux filles, zara (a los angeles) et... me souviens plus, a moscou. berdj etait le ministre de la culture avant de prendre sa retraite, et il ecrit des pieces. d'ailleurs, j'ai achete deux de ses pieces aujourd'hui. hate de lire ca!
samedi soir nous avons fete agop et vivien, deux armeniens de la france, qui viennent d'avoir 22 ans. on est alle dans un beau et bon resto a l'exterieur de yerevan, on a danse sur de la musique armenienne, on s'est bien marres!
dimanche, nous sommes alles a sevan et a dilijan. sevan est le plus grand lac en armenie. on a nage un peu, je me suis fait bien bronzer... :) c'est drole parce que l'eau est tellement calme, c'est presque une blague. mais les armeniens croient que le courant est fort et que c'est hyper dangereux. je disais a un gars qu'en egypte, le courant est tellement fort qu'il fait enfoncer ses orteils dans le sable pour ne pas se laisser emporter. et lui, qui n'a jamais ete en egypte, insistait qu'en egypte ce n'est pas dangereux, que c'est plus dangereux ici a sevan ou il n'y a meme pas de vagues... hehe :)
lundi etait probablement notre meilleure journee passee en tant que groupe. une quinzaine de nous avons loue trois voitures et sommes partis de yerevan, voir autre chose. nous sommes passes par bdjni, hrazdan, saghmosavank... pour finir a tsaghgadzor, ou nous avons pris un "ski lift" au sommet d'une montagne, et huit de nous sommes descendus a pied. a part une pente a jermuk, tsaghgadzor est la seule place en armenie ou l'on peut skier. on s'est promenes beaucoup en auto, on s'est vraiment amuses! l'armenie est vraiment un tres beau pays, je crois que je ne l'ai pas assez dit. we come from a beautiful country. parfois je me demande comment je survivrais en montagne, si physiquement je suis faite pour ca...
pour les voyages, il y a plusieurs changements. donc mon vol de prague a toronto est le 29 aout. j'arrives a toronto a 14h30 et j'espere rentrer tout de suite a montreal, quoique ma cousine insiste que je restes avec elle et sa famille une nuit, le temps de me reposer. je ne veux pas vraiment rester a toronto, je veux plutot finir avec.
pour la georgie, j'etais sensee partir avec krikor, un gars que j'avais rencontre deux trois fois que je trouvais bien interessant. en tout cas pour raccourcir la longue histoire, je ne voulais plus partir avec lui, je pars plutot avec mon ami chris, a qui je fais confiance, et avec qui j'etais sensee partir des le debut. nous passerons par tbilisi et par batumi. ensuite, je reviens a yerevan pour deux jours. l'un de ces deux jours j'irais a aragats avec mon ami matt, pour une randonee pedestre. apparement il fait tres froid la haut!
le 6 aout je quittes yerevan pour paris (avec un stop a prague). je veux aller faire un tour dans le sud avec nvart, une des filles de mon programme avec qui j'habites, puisque nous serons la en meme temps. je vais aussi passer tout plein de temps avec marie-eve evidemment, et j'etais sensee partir en espagne, la raison pour laquelle je reviens le 29. cependant je partais avec krikor et la ca ne me tente plus. anette, une autre amie de mon programme, sera la et j'irai surement la rejoindre avec matt.
donc c'est ca pour l'instant... tout va bien :)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
plux
coucou!
hmm.... what to say. i am leaving for georgia with my friend krikor next wednesday morning. we're going to take marshrutkas, which are little vans (or buses). they cost 100 dram which is about 30 cents. we'll be spending some time in tbilisi and batumi. i'll be leaving yerevan on the seventh, off to paris for about ten days, and then krikor and i will join up in spain. barcelona, ibiza and some islands south of ibiza. i can't wait!
by the way, who is krikor? krikor was on the same flight as some of the people from our program coming to armenia. we then ran into him at vernissage, whch is a flea market, and we see each other about twice a week and socialize. he was teaching at AUA here, he was teaching ecology. he studies the evolution of plants, and insects, and things like that. he's very interesting, he knows a lot and it's great to hear him talk about this stuff. initially i was to go to georgia with people from birthright next friday. but they are dilly-dallying and i'm sick of waiting for a clear answer, and i don't feel like going with ten other people. it will be difficult travelling with all of them, so i think i'll meet up with them once we're there for some sight-seeing or something. anyway i can't wait!
i haven't really been up to much these past few days except for socializing. setta left yesterday morning and i miss her lots. c'est tout i guess...
i'm meeting our relatives, my grand-father's cousin, on saturday with isabelle. it should be quite interesting!
hmm.... what to say. i am leaving for georgia with my friend krikor next wednesday morning. we're going to take marshrutkas, which are little vans (or buses). they cost 100 dram which is about 30 cents. we'll be spending some time in tbilisi and batumi. i'll be leaving yerevan on the seventh, off to paris for about ten days, and then krikor and i will join up in spain. barcelona, ibiza and some islands south of ibiza. i can't wait!
by the way, who is krikor? krikor was on the same flight as some of the people from our program coming to armenia. we then ran into him at vernissage, whch is a flea market, and we see each other about twice a week and socialize. he was teaching at AUA here, he was teaching ecology. he studies the evolution of plants, and insects, and things like that. he's very interesting, he knows a lot and it's great to hear him talk about this stuff. initially i was to go to georgia with people from birthright next friday. but they are dilly-dallying and i'm sick of waiting for a clear answer, and i don't feel like going with ten other people. it will be difficult travelling with all of them, so i think i'll meet up with them once we're there for some sight-seeing or something. anyway i can't wait!
i haven't really been up to much these past few days except for socializing. setta left yesterday morning and i miss her lots. c'est tout i guess...
i'm meeting our relatives, my grand-father's cousin, on saturday with isabelle. it should be quite interesting!
Monday, July 21, 2008
elevators
a lot has happened i suppose in the past week. i was in the hospital because i was dehydrated, had an IV stuck in me and got all better. on friday, the group left for artsakh. it's about an eight hour ride. we stoped in gandzassar on the way there, and some other place, as well as shushi on the way back. i have to say artsakh is very beautiful. the mountains are so so so high, you feel like you can touch the moon. at night if you listen closely you can hear dogs barking from afar, they sound like wolves and it was very nice. the moon shines so brightly, i've never seen that before. it was also ara's birthday, and we celebrated with cake and champagne, and a drinking night and a huge pillow fight at the hotel nairi (we were pretty much the only ones there, and yes that is what it was called!).
we got back yesterday and went to a latino night at a hotel, i wish i knew they had a pool because people were dancing and swimming. i haven't been swimming yet, and i don't have a tan at all except for on my feet, and you can see the line of my flip-flops. ew. i barely went into the tv station last week, i don't really care to at all. i just have to go in to give the der hair his questions.. setta leaves on wednesday. :(
i had a bit of a breakdown yesterday. i think there have been too many ups and downs since i got here, and certain people in the group are so... such despicable people that i just don't see why i'd even talk to them at all at this point.
i'm going to be staying in france for two weeks i think. marie-eve is most likely not coming back to montreal ever. she's starting a life there for herself, and i am so happy for her. so i want to see her since i don't know when i'll see her next.
we got back yesterday and went to a latino night at a hotel, i wish i knew they had a pool because people were dancing and swimming. i haven't been swimming yet, and i don't have a tan at all except for on my feet, and you can see the line of my flip-flops. ew. i barely went into the tv station last week, i don't really care to at all. i just have to go in to give the der hair his questions.. setta leaves on wednesday. :(
i had a bit of a breakdown yesterday. i think there have been too many ups and downs since i got here, and certain people in the group are so... such despicable people that i just don't see why i'd even talk to them at all at this point.
i'm going to be staying in france for two weeks i think. marie-eve is most likely not coming back to montreal ever. she's starting a life there for herself, and i am so happy for her. so i want to see her since i don't know when i'll see her next.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
:(
.
a couple of us have fallen sick over the past few days, to the point of hospitalization. i myself went to the hospital today and they gave me an IV. i don't want you guys (particularly my family) to worry because i've got antibiotics and all that jazz. i was simply dehydrated from... well from going to the bathroom too often, and i had some taboule last night that i did not digest and vomitted nine hours later. but i am fine. i am resting lots, drinking lots of fluids, being taken care of.
other than that, things are good. last night was maria's last night, and we all went out to a resto. i had a lovely time (but got sick!), and maria was so depressed. one good thing is that we don't really have a curfew anymore. we do, but if we come in after that time then whatever might happen to us or our belongings is out of AGBU's responsibility. to be perfectly honest i think that's crap to free yourself of guilt like that, "i told you so," and i mean what responsibility would they have if anything did happen to me? besides paying for meds all they can do is call my parents and say "oh so sorry, your daughter's dead" or something.
one thing i'll be missing because i'm sick, and because we are going to artsakh this week-end, is the golden apricot, an independant film festival, and i'm pretty upset about that. there are some armenian movies i wouldn't see anywhere else but here and i'll be missing them. wah wah waaaaah! another thing, was the roundtable discussion i was supposed to give at the women's ressource center at 4pm today, and the french class i'm supposed to teach tomorrow. i figure that since my ticket will be left open for an extra week then i can give a class that week. because otherwise it's so pointless.
.
a couple of us have fallen sick over the past few days, to the point of hospitalization. i myself went to the hospital today and they gave me an IV. i don't want you guys (particularly my family) to worry because i've got antibiotics and all that jazz. i was simply dehydrated from... well from going to the bathroom too often, and i had some taboule last night that i did not digest and vomitted nine hours later. but i am fine. i am resting lots, drinking lots of fluids, being taken care of.
other than that, things are good. last night was maria's last night, and we all went out to a resto. i had a lovely time (but got sick!), and maria was so depressed. one good thing is that we don't really have a curfew anymore. we do, but if we come in after that time then whatever might happen to us or our belongings is out of AGBU's responsibility. to be perfectly honest i think that's crap to free yourself of guilt like that, "i told you so," and i mean what responsibility would they have if anything did happen to me? besides paying for meds all they can do is call my parents and say "oh so sorry, your daughter's dead" or something.
one thing i'll be missing because i'm sick, and because we are going to artsakh this week-end, is the golden apricot, an independant film festival, and i'm pretty upset about that. there are some armenian movies i wouldn't see anywhere else but here and i'll be missing them. wah wah waaaaah! another thing, was the roundtable discussion i was supposed to give at the women's ressource center at 4pm today, and the french class i'm supposed to teach tomorrow. i figure that since my ticket will be left open for an extra week then i can give a class that week. because otherwise it's so pointless.
.
Monday, July 14, 2008
one rohypnol on the rocks, please!
this week-end we went to ashtarak, oshakan, garni and geghard. we mainly just saw khatchkar's and visited churches. if there's one thing about armenia i love it's the suburbs/country. that makes it worthwhile. random people i meet keep asking me about what i think of yerevan and i feel very "meh" about it so far. but the countryside is breathtaking, and the people are something else. yesterday we got to talk to the organizers about what we think of the program. it took a while... i think we got through to them.
i've been getting a little bit more alone time, clearing my head out. it has done me good.
also, my plans have changed, again (i think - nothing is set in stone, ever). i might be going to georgia for a few days with some birthright people around the time i was supposed to leave yerevan. and i still plan on going to paris for a few days. i have no news from marie-eve for now since she's digging on an island so that, too, is still up in the air.
sinon... for once i'm not thinking too far ahead. i'm not even thinking at all of when i'll be coming back to montreal, i'm just letting things flow and that's kind of new for me. even thinking just a few weeks ahead instead of months is a big improvement. it's almost as though i've forgotten what's at home, what i'll have when i get back (including comms and all that jazz that i am so excited for), and it's not even because i've got so much here. it just feels better. jess, you should join me, fuck the mortgages and babies, we can do without, we should just think as far as the desert and balls of string and cut-offs.
pa, why not go out into the suburbs? van, thanks for taking care of bitch!
i've been getting a little bit more alone time, clearing my head out. it has done me good.
also, my plans have changed, again (i think - nothing is set in stone, ever). i might be going to georgia for a few days with some birthright people around the time i was supposed to leave yerevan. and i still plan on going to paris for a few days. i have no news from marie-eve for now since she's digging on an island so that, too, is still up in the air.
sinon... for once i'm not thinking too far ahead. i'm not even thinking at all of when i'll be coming back to montreal, i'm just letting things flow and that's kind of new for me. even thinking just a few weeks ahead instead of months is a big improvement. it's almost as though i've forgotten what's at home, what i'll have when i get back (including comms and all that jazz that i am so excited for), and it's not even because i've got so much here. it just feels better. jess, you should join me, fuck the mortgages and babies, we can do without, we should just think as far as the desert and balls of string and cut-offs.
pa, why not go out into the suburbs? van, thanks for taking care of bitch!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
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zat eez ze numbah! that is what you have to dial out of canada to reach me. apparently it does not always connect, or it rings and i don't answer, but i don't have any missed calls from you people. so maybe you're lying.
a couple of us made a decision yesterday, sitting at a lovely cafe (i had a run-lemon-anice golden espresso!). we do not feel AGBU has planned enough trips for us, nor that they are interesting enough or organized properly. we are therefore all going to try to take half-days or full days off work (perhaps doing more work on a specific day) and visiting the suburbs of yerevan. initiatiiiiive!!
last night we had YP (young professionals, another program) over for a giant barbecue (or khorovatz as they call it here). lots of dancing ensued, and we all went for a walk afterward. i think looking for silence is a lost cause at this point. i wanted to go for that walk with one other person and all of a sudden everyone was in. which is fun.... but i can't hear myself think, ever.
some things i should mention i guess. there is a dog when we walk to our house who barks like mad, he is enclosed in a very weak fence, and i call him cujo because i think he will kill us one day. he is the most violent beast i have ever encountered. also, pomegranates (or nour) as a symbol are everywhere here. i actually haven't tasted them yet, but there are pomegranate trees as decoration in many places. i would have thought it would be the apricot, but nope. tis the pomegranate! did you know that there are ALWAYS 365 seeds in each pomegranate? very interesting!
the WRC is kicking it. adrina and i are preparing two round-table discussions: one on dating, and one on body image and health. i am also preparing a pamphlet on menstruation for saturday, when they have the sex-ed class, but unfortunately we won't be here. this is definitely a highlight for us both.
zat eez ze numbah! that is what you have to dial out of canada to reach me. apparently it does not always connect, or it rings and i don't answer, but i don't have any missed calls from you people. so maybe you're lying.
a couple of us made a decision yesterday, sitting at a lovely cafe (i had a run-lemon-anice golden espresso!). we do not feel AGBU has planned enough trips for us, nor that they are interesting enough or organized properly. we are therefore all going to try to take half-days or full days off work (perhaps doing more work on a specific day) and visiting the suburbs of yerevan. initiatiiiiive!!
last night we had YP (young professionals, another program) over for a giant barbecue (or khorovatz as they call it here). lots of dancing ensued, and we all went for a walk afterward. i think looking for silence is a lost cause at this point. i wanted to go for that walk with one other person and all of a sudden everyone was in. which is fun.... but i can't hear myself think, ever.
some things i should mention i guess. there is a dog when we walk to our house who barks like mad, he is enclosed in a very weak fence, and i call him cujo because i think he will kill us one day. he is the most violent beast i have ever encountered. also, pomegranates (or nour) as a symbol are everywhere here. i actually haven't tasted them yet, but there are pomegranate trees as decoration in many places. i would have thought it would be the apricot, but nope. tis the pomegranate! did you know that there are ALWAYS 365 seeds in each pomegranate? very interesting!
the WRC is kicking it. adrina and i are preparing two round-table discussions: one on dating, and one on body image and health. i am also preparing a pamphlet on menstruation for saturday, when they have the sex-ed class, but unfortunately we won't be here. this is definitely a highlight for us both.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
ah ah aaaah
vonts ek!
we had dance class last night. i always end up feeling like shit afterwards. not physically, but mentally. i just look at everyone else doing everything right, and then me being the only one not getting it, being taller than everyone, and it just makes me feel awkward.
basket-ball didn't work out last night, a couple of people couldn't make it. maria invited some of us over but by the time we were done with dinner, we had to be home in two hours' time... we made dinner at home last night. chicken nuggets and french fries. can you imagine how long it took to make though... like two hours. and annie, the first lady of the veeps, was doing everything and controlling everything. i can't stand this girl. she always barks orders at someone, anyone, no matter what the situation, and i always add "PLEASE" at the end of her sentences and she smiles at me but... why does she smile, why doesn't she just say please and thanks. she's a bit of a wench, this one.
then we played some games (most of us). one was writing down everyone's name on a piece of paper, and picking one and imitating the person who you picked. seta, the theater major, imitated me simply by taking her bra off. she said this would make us or break us, that she might make an enemy when she does this, but then she did and i recognized myself immediately. i thought it was hilarious. then we played one where one person asks three questions, everyone answers on one piece of paper, and then that person asking has to guess who answered what. we had a good time. i slept well.
tonight we've got a cooking class, tomorrow we've got ... i don't know what we've got.
we had dance class last night. i always end up feeling like shit afterwards. not physically, but mentally. i just look at everyone else doing everything right, and then me being the only one not getting it, being taller than everyone, and it just makes me feel awkward.
basket-ball didn't work out last night, a couple of people couldn't make it. maria invited some of us over but by the time we were done with dinner, we had to be home in two hours' time... we made dinner at home last night. chicken nuggets and french fries. can you imagine how long it took to make though... like two hours. and annie, the first lady of the veeps, was doing everything and controlling everything. i can't stand this girl. she always barks orders at someone, anyone, no matter what the situation, and i always add "PLEASE" at the end of her sentences and she smiles at me but... why does she smile, why doesn't she just say please and thanks. she's a bit of a wench, this one.
then we played some games (most of us). one was writing down everyone's name on a piece of paper, and picking one and imitating the person who you picked. seta, the theater major, imitated me simply by taking her bra off. she said this would make us or break us, that she might make an enemy when she does this, but then she did and i recognized myself immediately. i thought it was hilarious. then we played one where one person asks three questions, everyone answers on one piece of paper, and then that person asking has to guess who answered what. we had a good time. i slept well.
tonight we've got a cooking class, tomorrow we've got ... i don't know what we've got.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
better
hey kids,
so i was not feeling too good yesterday but i'm much better now. i went in to work late this morning because we had breakfast with hasmik (the AGBU coordinator who got us our internships). anyway this is the one day i should have been in at nine, because they went out taking photos of yerevan and stuff. damn! anyway they do this every week. what i don't understand is why they did not tell me this earlier. so now i know, and i'll go with them sometime next week. otherwise there really isn't much for me to do. i asked the priest to bless the crosses i got for my family and he has to do it at etchmiadzin. also i asked if i could interview him concerning women's issues and he didn't quite like the idea, but i told him i'd give him the questions in advance and he agreed. i think he'll only answer if he "likes" the questions, though.
one thing i really like is the language classes. our teacher (whose name i forget) is extremely passionate about the armenian language. she is beautiful and hearing her speak is such a joy even if i don't understand everything. apparently for armenians here, our western armenian is the fancy one. to them it's as though we speak at a university/academic level all the time. anyway. i'm trying now to actually speak like them. and i'm less and less intimidated, i tell them when i don't understand. i don't pretend and smile because then i look stupid. i look stupid anyway, but you know what i mean!
last night after the language class, anette, narine and i met up with chris and agop, two guys from birthright, at chris's place. we made pasta and just had a good time. it was nice to get out of the house, see other people. tonight, we're playing basket-ball!! i cannot wait. the last time i played was over a year ago with walter, one on one, and before that... i don't even know. this should be very fun. apparently the guys get very physical and agressive when they play. agop is the tallest person you've ever seen so he'll kick ass. yesterday he said he'd kick my ass even if i'm on his team. he'll block my lay-ups and everything. so it should be interesting tonight!
so i was not feeling too good yesterday but i'm much better now. i went in to work late this morning because we had breakfast with hasmik (the AGBU coordinator who got us our internships). anyway this is the one day i should have been in at nine, because they went out taking photos of yerevan and stuff. damn! anyway they do this every week. what i don't understand is why they did not tell me this earlier. so now i know, and i'll go with them sometime next week. otherwise there really isn't much for me to do. i asked the priest to bless the crosses i got for my family and he has to do it at etchmiadzin. also i asked if i could interview him concerning women's issues and he didn't quite like the idea, but i told him i'd give him the questions in advance and he agreed. i think he'll only answer if he "likes" the questions, though.
one thing i really like is the language classes. our teacher (whose name i forget) is extremely passionate about the armenian language. she is beautiful and hearing her speak is such a joy even if i don't understand everything. apparently for armenians here, our western armenian is the fancy one. to them it's as though we speak at a university/academic level all the time. anyway. i'm trying now to actually speak like them. and i'm less and less intimidated, i tell them when i don't understand. i don't pretend and smile because then i look stupid. i look stupid anyway, but you know what i mean!
last night after the language class, anette, narine and i met up with chris and agop, two guys from birthright, at chris's place. we made pasta and just had a good time. it was nice to get out of the house, see other people. tonight, we're playing basket-ball!! i cannot wait. the last time i played was over a year ago with walter, one on one, and before that... i don't even know. this should be very fun. apparently the guys get very physical and agressive when they play. agop is the tallest person you've ever seen so he'll kick ass. yesterday he said he'd kick my ass even if i'm on his team. he'll block my lay-ups and everything. so it should be interesting tonight!
Monday, July 7, 2008
the constant in my life
i am disappointed with many things at the moment. i think the fact that i've been here for a week but feel as though it's been two is a strong indication of this.
i do not like my job at the television station. today i came in later because they had a meeting. you know armenian timing, obviously they were not done when i got there. i sat down for two and a half hours just going over the french class i am preparing for the WRC, and also read the pre-arrival packet for YSIP. the pre-arrival packet. that's how bored i was. i told them today i would come in less often and they didn't seem to care much. there is nothing for me to do there, ils ne delegueront certainement aucune taches, so the only reason i will stay there is to get an interview with the der hair for the WRC. at least that job is good.
i don't want to get into it, but i'm disappointed a bit in our group. children, is all i have to say for now.
i'm disappointed with the organization of certain things. yesterday we went to Holy See Etchmiadzin. this is like mecca for armenians. i know this is most definitely not the time to use the lord's name in vain but christ... we waited around for so long. after mass we were supposed to go to the museum. well we apparently missed our tour guide so we had to wait another hour in the insane heat (keep in mind, i'm wearing dressy pants and a too-decent top, because we're in church). when we finally get the tour, it's gorgeous but doesn't last long, a half hour tops. on our way out, we stop, but for no apparent reason. a couple of us just decide to go to the bus, because what's the point of simply waiting around for nothing, especially in that heat. i should also mention that i got my period while in church. uncomfortably much? so we decide to go back to the bus. we loudly, clearly say this to others. after waiting in the bus for a half hour i call one of the girls, and they're back in the museum. seeing more. what the fuck. nobody had told us, and more importantly nobody called us to tell us. i feel like everything we do is half-assed. we stand around making decisions for so long, most of the time for an hour. that is why i'm disappointed in the group. the past two days i've found myself making decisions for everyone along with anette because otherwise it's "ooooh i don't know......" and by the time we've decided it's almost not worth it. we have a fucking curfew, you know?? make the most of the goddamn time you have out. and what bothers me even more is that some people are happy that i'm making decisions. i don't like that at all... they shouldn't be happy that someone else is deciding for them.yeah so everything is going to be like this all the time. we were supposed to be home by two, but got home by 4. it disrupts everything.
and finally, i'm disappointed with myself. i suppose i shouldn't be because all of this is absolutely out of my hands and i'm doing the best i can. i don't think i have ever said that and meant it as much as i do now. but it's hard. i cannot stand being with not only 18 people all the time, but the same 18 people. i'm not used to this, i'm used to spending my days alone. and even when i try locking myself up in my room i hear everyone yelling around the house. je n'ai aucun moment de repit.
i'm also feeling a little guilty in terms of what i am feeling towards armenia. i thought i'd feel so much more emotional and understand my heritage a lot more, and instead, i'm just all the more confused. it really makes you question yourself when you don't feel all that emotional in etchmiadzin, and it's the holy grail. i have to admit that when the priest blessed me, i cried, but otherwise... i didn't feel much. and the place is beautiful. everyone knows i am far from religious and don't necessarily even believe in god. but this place represents so much of our history and i couldn't really feel anything, even though the choir singers had the sweetest voices i've ever heard in my entire life. i feel terrible.
the only way i can possibly imagine having a good time for the rest of the time i'm here is steering clear of everyone when we're not doing mandatory activities.
i feel like i am regressing.
i do not like my job at the television station. today i came in later because they had a meeting. you know armenian timing, obviously they were not done when i got there. i sat down for two and a half hours just going over the french class i am preparing for the WRC, and also read the pre-arrival packet for YSIP. the pre-arrival packet. that's how bored i was. i told them today i would come in less often and they didn't seem to care much. there is nothing for me to do there, ils ne delegueront certainement aucune taches, so the only reason i will stay there is to get an interview with the der hair for the WRC. at least that job is good.
i don't want to get into it, but i'm disappointed a bit in our group. children, is all i have to say for now.
i'm disappointed with the organization of certain things. yesterday we went to Holy See Etchmiadzin. this is like mecca for armenians. i know this is most definitely not the time to use the lord's name in vain but christ... we waited around for so long. after mass we were supposed to go to the museum. well we apparently missed our tour guide so we had to wait another hour in the insane heat (keep in mind, i'm wearing dressy pants and a too-decent top, because we're in church). when we finally get the tour, it's gorgeous but doesn't last long, a half hour tops. on our way out, we stop, but for no apparent reason. a couple of us just decide to go to the bus, because what's the point of simply waiting around for nothing, especially in that heat. i should also mention that i got my period while in church. uncomfortably much? so we decide to go back to the bus. we loudly, clearly say this to others. after waiting in the bus for a half hour i call one of the girls, and they're back in the museum. seeing more. what the fuck. nobody had told us, and more importantly nobody called us to tell us. i feel like everything we do is half-assed. we stand around making decisions for so long, most of the time for an hour. that is why i'm disappointed in the group. the past two days i've found myself making decisions for everyone along with anette because otherwise it's "ooooh i don't know......" and by the time we've decided it's almost not worth it. we have a fucking curfew, you know?? make the most of the goddamn time you have out. and what bothers me even more is that some people are happy that i'm making decisions. i don't like that at all... they shouldn't be happy that someone else is deciding for them.yeah so everything is going to be like this all the time. we were supposed to be home by two, but got home by 4. it disrupts everything.
and finally, i'm disappointed with myself. i suppose i shouldn't be because all of this is absolutely out of my hands and i'm doing the best i can. i don't think i have ever said that and meant it as much as i do now. but it's hard. i cannot stand being with not only 18 people all the time, but the same 18 people. i'm not used to this, i'm used to spending my days alone. and even when i try locking myself up in my room i hear everyone yelling around the house. je n'ai aucun moment de repit.
i'm also feeling a little guilty in terms of what i am feeling towards armenia. i thought i'd feel so much more emotional and understand my heritage a lot more, and instead, i'm just all the more confused. it really makes you question yourself when you don't feel all that emotional in etchmiadzin, and it's the holy grail. i have to admit that when the priest blessed me, i cried, but otherwise... i didn't feel much. and the place is beautiful. everyone knows i am far from religious and don't necessarily even believe in god. but this place represents so much of our history and i couldn't really feel anything, even though the choir singers had the sweetest voices i've ever heard in my entire life. i feel terrible.
the only way i can possibly imagine having a good time for the rest of the time i'm here is steering clear of everyone when we're not doing mandatory activities.
i feel like i am regressing.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
i've got a phone!
alright, kids! i have a cell phone! i don't know what the area code is to dial out of whichever country you're i (probably 011 or 001) but here it is.
077-22-14-66
yay! so you can send me text messages telling me how much you miss me.
last night we met almost all of the birthright interns. last night the other nairi and i went out with them to eat, when all the other interns went to dance, and we had such a good time. however one person in our group is upset over this for no apparent reason and is acting like a child over it. i feel like we are outgrowing each other within less than a week because for some reason, we do everything together. and i tell them we shouldn't, that by the end of next week there will be tension but some are hard-headed, que veux-tu.... quand on est con!
anyway all this to say i kind of wish i was doing birthright. i have to leave now. bisouz. miss you all.
077-22-14-66
yay! so you can send me text messages telling me how much you miss me.
last night we met almost all of the birthright interns. last night the other nairi and i went out with them to eat, when all the other interns went to dance, and we had such a good time. however one person in our group is upset over this for no apparent reason and is acting like a child over it. i feel like we are outgrowing each other within less than a week because for some reason, we do everything together. and i tell them we shouldn't, that by the end of next week there will be tension but some are hard-headed, que veux-tu.... quand on est con!
anyway all this to say i kind of wish i was doing birthright. i have to leave now. bisouz. miss you all.
Friday, July 4, 2008
manuscript book
i should probably mention that there is a high chance i will not come back to montreal on the date i was supposed to. marie-eve is going to be in europe until the sixteenth of august, and i leave yerevan on the third to go to prague, and i might take a train/bus/cheap flight from there to someplace in france, where she is.
speaking of france, i have just et maria, who is basically neighbours with alec (my uncle). she is armenian-lebanese, living in the 11th arrondissement in paris. she is part of the armenia birthright program, which is similar to AGBU's Yerevan Summer Internship Program. The difference though is that they look for their own volunteer work, and they don't stay in one house. they stay with native armenians or rent an appartment, and they have a possibility to be reimbursed for their ticket or something, i think. also they don't have a fucking curfew, and their schedule is not as packed as ours, they can go off to gumri or kharabagh or wherever, whenever they want. i've met a few of the birthright volunteers through the women's ressource center. tonight we are all meeting up for a dance or something... kind of like high school, if you think of it.
papi, i read your e-mail about vartavants and vartavar, you're so funny. khentalen maradz eyi, penav nouyn pane che. but thanks for the reminder about vartavants :)
speaking of france, i have just et maria, who is basically neighbours with alec (my uncle). she is armenian-lebanese, living in the 11th arrondissement in paris. she is part of the armenia birthright program, which is similar to AGBU's Yerevan Summer Internship Program. The difference though is that they look for their own volunteer work, and they don't stay in one house. they stay with native armenians or rent an appartment, and they have a possibility to be reimbursed for their ticket or something, i think. also they don't have a fucking curfew, and their schedule is not as packed as ours, they can go off to gumri or kharabagh or wherever, whenever they want. i've met a few of the birthright volunteers through the women's ressource center. tonight we are all meeting up for a dance or something... kind of like high school, if you think of it.
papi, i read your e-mail about vartavants and vartavar, you're so funny. khentalen maradz eyi, penav nouyn pane che. but thanks for the reminder about vartavants :)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
"an umbrella!"
there is so much to say...
i guess i'll start with work. i'm working at shoghakat, a tv station, and also at the women's ressource center. shoghakat is actually a religious television station, financed by the etchmiadzin. i had absolutely no clue. so it's not really related to the media. apparently no other station wanted to take in a "non-armenian" and i can see why. the stations are definitely government-regulated. it's too bad, though... my first day at shoghakat i was shown around, and on the second day i was asked what i want to do. basically i think i'll just do some editing, because to be honest they haven't prepared any work for me. i actually felt as though they had no idea who i was when i got there, or what i was supposed to do. so i might do some editing...
i actually fell asleep on my second day. i went to the bathroom just to be able to sleep, and i fell asleep for 45 minutes in one of the control rooms. the night before i'd slept for about three hours. adrina and i went to bed but couldn't stop talking, and then at 4.30am jirair came in saying he had bed bugs and didn't know what to do. he slept on our couch, but then adrina and i got paranoid that there were bugs crawling all over us, so we got up and inspected our beds to make sure we were fine. i slept from five to eight.
ahem, back to work. the women's ressource center is amazing. i'm very impressed. adrina and i are both working here two or three times a week. she will be giving a dance/yoga class to women over 40, and i will be giving a french class. we're also going to be working on a magazine they have called feminist. i love this place. they are a lot more progressive than i expected, and in a country that won't even fund them. oddly enough they get fudning through norwegian and swedish companies who fetched them out! i'm going to be interviewing the der hair (priest) at shoghakat and probably the head director about women in the country and so on and so forth for the magazine. this should be really interesting, there is a lot to do here, unlike shoghakat.
so far we've had a traditional dance class (which is once a week), an armenian class (twice a week), and a history lecture. the language class was great - we are separated into two groups, one for retards and one for geniuses such as myself, and even the genius class is challenging. the history lecture was interesting, to say the least. armen ayvazyan is a well-known armenian historian and we got into a very heated discussion about what it takes to be armenian. he's got a bunch of criteria, and he doesn't have the balls to come out and say it out loud but basically 3/4 of our 18-person group is not armenian in his opinion. he's kind of offensive, arrogant, and attacking, and kept telling us we were wrong. we have another lecture in a few weeks. that should be damn interesting.
we've been going to restaurants but i'm sick of it because we always end up eating non-traditional food. so a couple of us have "complained." also, the traditional food here is not the same as what we have at home. what we eat at home is considered to be influenced by the turks. what they have here is influenced by the russians. so there's a lot of boring salads and coleslaw and chicken... coleslaw. in armenia. seriously. last night a couple of us went to shushi, a dance group, and it was cheesy so we left.
a lot of people have told me to stay away from the water, because i might get sick. however i've been drinking tap water and i'm fine, it actually tastes good. in fact, excuse me for being so graphic but it's the complete opposite of diarrhoea, and i'm not alone. i feel like i'm getting poisoned or something.
we've also been encountering problems with curfew. yes, we have curfew, midnight, because we are such a big group and they need to know where we are. if we're five minutes late they are supposed to close the gate and have us spend the night outside. so far this hasn't happened (although some have been late) and it's a source of conflict because we want a later curfew at least on friday and saturday.
enough about what we've been doing. about yerevan... i have to admit that i am not that impressed. despite the mountains and hills, the abundant greenery and the architecture composed of pink rock (which is typical armenian), there is something lacking. yerevan itself is not charming. i have not had an illuminating "oh my god my ancestors were here" moment, not yet at least. i'm actually really looking forward to getting out of yerevan. the way people dress here... it pains me to see it, and pains me even more to say it, but it's just not classy at all. the girls wear make-up and heels at all times and it just doesn't look good. the boys are guido's. the obvious explanation to me is that they had been so repressed by communism that they just went the other way completely. i don't even know if they think westerners dress like that, or what, but it's just not pleasant to see. i can't wait to get into the mountains and just elsewhere.
the first few days were much more intense. now everyone wants to have fun and recreate what we had so bad that it's just a dud. i haven't really spent a moment alone since i got here... i wonder when it'll get to me.
i guess i'll start with work. i'm working at shoghakat, a tv station, and also at the women's ressource center. shoghakat is actually a religious television station, financed by the etchmiadzin. i had absolutely no clue. so it's not really related to the media. apparently no other station wanted to take in a "non-armenian" and i can see why. the stations are definitely government-regulated. it's too bad, though... my first day at shoghakat i was shown around, and on the second day i was asked what i want to do. basically i think i'll just do some editing, because to be honest they haven't prepared any work for me. i actually felt as though they had no idea who i was when i got there, or what i was supposed to do. so i might do some editing...
i actually fell asleep on my second day. i went to the bathroom just to be able to sleep, and i fell asleep for 45 minutes in one of the control rooms. the night before i'd slept for about three hours. adrina and i went to bed but couldn't stop talking, and then at 4.30am jirair came in saying he had bed bugs and didn't know what to do. he slept on our couch, but then adrina and i got paranoid that there were bugs crawling all over us, so we got up and inspected our beds to make sure we were fine. i slept from five to eight.
ahem, back to work. the women's ressource center is amazing. i'm very impressed. adrina and i are both working here two or three times a week. she will be giving a dance/yoga class to women over 40, and i will be giving a french class. we're also going to be working on a magazine they have called feminist. i love this place. they are a lot more progressive than i expected, and in a country that won't even fund them. oddly enough they get fudning through norwegian and swedish companies who fetched them out! i'm going to be interviewing the der hair (priest) at shoghakat and probably the head director about women in the country and so on and so forth for the magazine. this should be really interesting, there is a lot to do here, unlike shoghakat.
so far we've had a traditional dance class (which is once a week), an armenian class (twice a week), and a history lecture. the language class was great - we are separated into two groups, one for retards and one for geniuses such as myself, and even the genius class is challenging. the history lecture was interesting, to say the least. armen ayvazyan is a well-known armenian historian and we got into a very heated discussion about what it takes to be armenian. he's got a bunch of criteria, and he doesn't have the balls to come out and say it out loud but basically 3/4 of our 18-person group is not armenian in his opinion. he's kind of offensive, arrogant, and attacking, and kept telling us we were wrong. we have another lecture in a few weeks. that should be damn interesting.
we've been going to restaurants but i'm sick of it because we always end up eating non-traditional food. so a couple of us have "complained." also, the traditional food here is not the same as what we have at home. what we eat at home is considered to be influenced by the turks. what they have here is influenced by the russians. so there's a lot of boring salads and coleslaw and chicken... coleslaw. in armenia. seriously. last night a couple of us went to shushi, a dance group, and it was cheesy so we left.
a lot of people have told me to stay away from the water, because i might get sick. however i've been drinking tap water and i'm fine, it actually tastes good. in fact, excuse me for being so graphic but it's the complete opposite of diarrhoea, and i'm not alone. i feel like i'm getting poisoned or something.
we've also been encountering problems with curfew. yes, we have curfew, midnight, because we are such a big group and they need to know where we are. if we're five minutes late they are supposed to close the gate and have us spend the night outside. so far this hasn't happened (although some have been late) and it's a source of conflict because we want a later curfew at least on friday and saturday.
enough about what we've been doing. about yerevan... i have to admit that i am not that impressed. despite the mountains and hills, the abundant greenery and the architecture composed of pink rock (which is typical armenian), there is something lacking. yerevan itself is not charming. i have not had an illuminating "oh my god my ancestors were here" moment, not yet at least. i'm actually really looking forward to getting out of yerevan. the way people dress here... it pains me to see it, and pains me even more to say it, but it's just not classy at all. the girls wear make-up and heels at all times and it just doesn't look good. the boys are guido's. the obvious explanation to me is that they had been so repressed by communism that they just went the other way completely. i don't even know if they think westerners dress like that, or what, but it's just not pleasant to see. i can't wait to get into the mountains and just elsewhere.
the first few days were much more intense. now everyone wants to have fun and recreate what we had so bad that it's just a dud. i haven't really spent a moment alone since i got here... i wonder when it'll get to me.
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