Moving Day and Other Events

We have now moved into our own apartment in town. We are very happy to be out on our own, but very sad to have to leave our wonderful host mom. I could go on for pages and pages about her, but I won't--at least not now. So our apartment is a one bedroom on the third floor of a soviet-era 5-story walk-up. We have a pretty big living room, a kitchen, enclosed balcony and bathroom. All our stuff is here (took two car trips and numerous foot trips) and we are slowly getting unpacked. The view from the balcony is pretty nice too.

One of our biggest challenges so far (aside from the usual lack of water issue) has been food. We have been so spoiled with our host mom doing all the cooking and shopping that we really didn't know what to do our first night here. Which store to go to? Where do we buy vegetables, meat, etc.? It's been a learning experience for sure. Tonight I made lentil soup for dinner with meltable cheese on top. The soup had carrots and onions in it, and some really nice spices thanks to our dear friend Deborah in San Francisco. We've been making oatmeal for breakfast and then just snacking when we come home for lunch. Thankfully Peace Corps gives us a wonderful cookbook. My challenge is getting American recipes out of my head and substituting Armenian ingredients. But again, the cookbook is invaluable because it lists the availability of ingredients by month. So for vegetables, we are quickly coming upon the season where the only things we can get are cabbage, potatoes, beets, carrots and onions. I am craving "green" food, but have to wait until spring when asparagus comes into season. In the U.S. you really do get so used to being able to buy anything you want at any time of year. Not so in Armenia.

So I was teaching a class the other day and another teacher walked in and asked four of the boys to leave the class for some reason or other. When class was over I was walking to the teacher's lounge and came across the boys from class (and a group of other boys) watching a classmate assemble and disassemble an army rifle. It was a timed contest too! Later in the afternoon, that same rifle was sitting in the teacher's lounge. This is probably very usual in schools here, but it was a bit alarming to me. Does this kind of thing happen in the states? It sure didn't at any school I went to, but then it's been a while since I was in school.

And speaking of school, we are about to start after school English clubs. The other volunteers have been really great sharing ideas and helpful hints. My school director wants the clubs open to all students, and it's going to be interesting to see how many students express an interest. I've asked them to write me a paragraph about why they want to be in the club, and then I'll conduct interviews with those who submit and narrow down the group after that. Lots to do for sure.

Next week is a vacation week and schools are closed, at least for the students. Teachers still have to go in, but we have the week off. We're hoping to travel to some other places next week and see a bit of the country before winter sets in and travel becomes difficult (ice, snow, etc.). But more about that in another post.