And More Culture

I was invited to go skiing this past weekend; there's a ski resort in Armenia and some PCVs were going. I thought it would be fun - never had the chance to go in Morocco, after all - and then I remembered the ballet tickets and didn't want to worry abut getting back in time. On Saturday I met a PCV with a big knee brace and crutches... Yep, she had been skiing. Now I think I can wait until I get a chance to visit my friends in Utah or Colorado....

Yesterday we did go to a museum after all. The Cafesjian Center for the Arts (www.cmf.am) has some beautiful glass sculpture. Chihulys that seem to be everywhere, but also some edgy glass done by Czech artists. There was also a mural that depicted important points of Armenian history, and a Model N Ford, a model ship and a model train. The Cafesjian Center has weekly concerts; I hope to get to some of those. The museum is inside the Cascade, with galleries at each of the levels; the Cascade itself was a neglected relic until Mr. Cafesjian helped to rebuild it. The sculpture garden outside has, coincidentally, works by several of the artists whose works I just saw over Thanksgiving in the New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden - Fernando Botero, Jaume Plensa (who, I just learned, also did the Crown Fountain in Millennium Park), Barry Flanagan (I think also I saw some of his work in the Smithsonian's National Sculpture Garden earlier this year). It was nice to be with art and to feel inspired.

The day wasn't without work though, so I never felt completely relaxed. While I did Internet, Brian came to Artbridge to brainstorm. He didn't mind that I didn't give him undivided attention, but I felt bad about that. And then we had the dinner with Tim and the PCVs - it was good to get their perspective and important to get some background prior to the meeting, but it was still work, and as I said sometime last week, I need more downtime. We had a crunch last week and we have a crunch this week, and we may have a crunch through the beginning or even the middle of March, but if it goes much longer than that I will burn out and start to be really cranky if not downright unhappy. At least I like the project and the challenge and the opportunity and the people, and at least I feel imbued with the volunteer spirit and the belief that I can make a contribution, and I'm learning and experiencing some of Armenia. That'll keep me going for a while.

Actually, we met with only two of the three PCVs - the third couldn't get over the pass because of the fog. And in addition to learning more about the way business is conducted here we learned more cultural things - how if people have fewer items than you they will cut in front of you at the supermarket, that they think there are earthquakes because during the Soviet era the Azeris tunneled under Armenia to drill for oil and drained the country and now it is settling, that they have a close sense of personal space, that they think you will die if you open a window in a taxi or in the minivan "marchutny" (sounds familiar), and (even more familiar) that a little store is called a hanut (same as in Morocco! As Tim said, one less word for us to learn). And speaking of words, I'm using some more Armenian, for greetings and the like. I've been studying the transliterated lessons at home. Most of the Peace Corps language book is in the alphabet, so I can't get too far without the tutoring. The funny thing is that as I try to use Armenian, my Darija is coming back to me - it must be in the same part of my brain. And of course it doesn't hurt that Brian knows it too.