Odds and Ends

Daylight Savings Time did indeed arrive while I was away – so now the sun peeks over the ridge at about 8:10 am and it is bright past 8 pm. The outdoor cafes are starting to open and I am getting a sense of the late-night town that Yerevan will become in summer. I think that being outdoors should help with the cigarette smoke, but not if everyone smokes outdoors!

While I was away, Yerevan was invaded by Iranians – in a peaceful sense! For Iranian New Year, wealthy Iranians and college students come to Armenia to drink, dance together and party in general. I’m told it’s quite a scene! Then again, I am not a drinker, dancer or partier, so I probably would have avoided the crowds had I been here.

Also, an elderly lady in Georgia (the country) was hunting for copper and accidentally cut the cable that provided internet to all of Armenia. True story. The internet was apparently down for hours! And she is being thrown in jail.

On the first leg of my vacation flight I had a sense of how snowy and mountainous this region is. We flew over the Black Sea as well, but all I could see were clouds. Maybe next time?

When I went for my introductory meeting with MCA-Armenia this week, my host mother/sister waited until I left and then threw a glass of water out the door after me (she told me first that she was going to do this). It’s for good luck. When I realized that I had left behind the piece of paper with the address and contact info (even though I remembered where I was going and who I was going to see, I thought I would feel better with the piece of paper), she had to do it again! It must have worked.

April 7th, yesterday, was Motherhood and Beauty Day – another candy and flowers occasion, marking the end of Women’s Month. According to my tutor, the day was set after independence to distance Armenia from the Soviet holiday of International Women’s Day, March 8. But that one stuck as well, so instead there is Women’s Month and April 7 is the end of it. She said there is also a Christian significance to April 7 – this was the day that the Archangel Gabriel told Mother Mary that she would be a mother. Hence motherhood day. And she said that she (and I) were special because our birthdays are just about nine months later.

My tutor also talked about some nomads that once lived in Armenia. I mentioned that someone told me I might be a nomad, looking for a home – and she stopped me immediately and said NO! Nomads do not look for a home. They just pick up and go and then pick up and go again. So if I am looking for a home, a place to belong, then I am not a nomad. An interesting perspective….

I mentioned the Azrou RPCV that I met last week, but I haven’t yet mentioned another connection! Just before I left for vacation, I heard from a PCV currently in Morocco. She works with my counterpart (her site is outside Azrou though), and he asked her to work on a web site for the new artisana (which is still not finished, so I am glad I didn’t push for an extension!); she wants to take what I have done and build on it. He didn’t remember that I had done one, I suppose, but my successor had told her about it, and Tariq, the Program Manager, had used it as an example of a successful PCV project. I am so glad that someone wants to build on my work! She also told me that the new Morocco Country Director is eliminating the Small Business Development program after her stage leaves – so whatever she does has to be sustainable. I know that change is inevitable, but it was sad to see that. I asked the Armenia CD (who had just left Morocco) what he thought and he seemed sad too – and remarked that he didn’t know the impact on the volunteers and staff (not to mention the artisans…).