WE ARE a FAMILY----------in ARMENIA

     As the saying goes, “blood is thicker than water” and there is no better place to see that demonstrated than in Armenia where families are strong. Work that must be done, misfortunes to be faced, and joys to be celebrated are all shared by resilient Armenian families. To be a part of an Armenian family is to be accepted, to be trusted, to be held responsible and to be encircled with love.                                                                                   

    David and I feel that we are, indeed, a part of our Armenian host family. We have quickly become aware of how the family functions, the gender roles which prevail and the daily stresses placed upon each member of our Armenian family. Although they initially wanted to treat us as guests, catering to our every need and schedule change, we soon became uncomfortable with that and gradually began sharing in small portions of the household routines. As an older couple, we were probably able to make the transition from guest to family member a bit earlier than some of our younger peer volunteers.  From our hosts’ perspective, they probably weren’t sure what to do with their resident volunteers---their 2 year- old child’s new, American Papik and Tatik. We were soon introduced to extended family including our host father’s mother, brother and other family members who also welcomed us into their home as if they’d known us forever.  Our host mother’s sisters and children were met early- on in our stay and we soon shared fun-filled experiences with them. Many of the other relatives and employees of the family’s dairy farm became regular acquaintances with frequent presence in our lives. 

                                                                                                                       

      We certainly did not want to act insensitively to the culture of our family but gradually we began helping to clear dishes from the table and then making our own breakfast so that Anahit could sleep later when we had early classes. I helped prepare a few meals and found that occasionally washing dishes after we ate seemed both to be appreciated and not too intrusive. Our host father was frequently away from home tending his herd of dairy cows that graze in the Armenian mountains during the summer months. 2-year old Armen misses his Papa and quickly began developing a relationship with David and then with me.  Recently we took Armen to a local village playground where his Mother says she rarely has time to visit. We felt like grandparents as Armen climbed on the play equipment and slid down the slide with us watching and interacting when he asked.  It was basically a non-verbal communicative process with us saying “shat lav” or very good when he accomplished a new feat on the playground. There were no behavior issues and our trip ended with a walk across the street to the local khnoot, store, for ice cream.  Sounds like America, doesn’t it? That 1 ½ hour excursion and bonding experience with Armin gave him exercise and fresh air, a chance to play with other children, and a chance for his Mother to enjoy a bit of personal time without a 2 year-old in tow.                              

      Earlier in the day, David helped our host father and older son to unload a huge truck of hay bales. At this time of year, Armenian farmers are working from sun- up to sun- down cutting and baling hay to feed their cattle during the long, harsh winter soon to come to mountainous Armenia. David was accepted and respected as a family member willing to help with this farm task just as the other men in the family were.                          

        I have been obsessed with finding a child’s hardboard dictionary with items labeled in Hayeren (Armenian language). We now have this book so that Armen and I can “read” it together. He also “reads” it with his mother, David and anyone else who will spend time with him and his dictionary, a word he knows and pronounces in English.  Unfortunately the 2 year old knows many more words than this Tatik who has to sound out every letter in some words, using the not totally memorized Armenian alphabet. As Armin snuggles closer and points to pictures in his new book, I feel part of his family.  His mother and father tell us we are family, and that’s as good as it gets for us in Armenia.      Judy                                                                                             

English as a Foreign Language: Teaching in Armenia

    I’m sitting in a Model School classroom with 5-7 year old Armenian children. It is an English class for students recruited by the Peace Corps so that we TEFL’s have students for our practice teaching. We are evaluated by trainers and more experienced Peace Corps volunteers then given feed-back on our work. As trainees, we also alternate teaching classes with evaluating our peers as they do the same.  TEFL’s are teachers of English as a foreign language. That will be my job with Peace Corps Armenia along with 21 other trainees in my group. Soon we will each be assigned to a different Armenian town or village, so this practicum is invaluable preparation for what lies ahead.

   Today, I am evaluating 2 young women volunteers, peers who are teaching the 5-7 year old class about colors and farm animals. The children in their class demonstrate a wide variance in use of English because they are young and have experienced minimal instruction in English up to this point, plus most families here do not speak Angleren (English) in their homes.  With pony tails swishing and voices purposefully clear, the teachers review 5 animals and 8 colors which the children began learning during the previous lesson. As I observe and listen to these 2 young teachers, I can’t help but think of “Ding Dong School”, a television show in the ‘50’s which featured Miss Frances, the epitome of an elementary school teacher.  Her methods may be outdated, but she knew how to keep her audience of young viewers interested.  And, so did my 2 peers who were presenting the class today for very young students.  Speaking slowly and very distinctly, the sounds made by each farm animal are added to the older material. Then, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” is posted on the board in large letters and introduced to the children. The Armenian children follow the lead of their teachers and sing the song, adding an animal and its sound as they go. Their pronunciation is unique, not quite “Angleren”, but close. The children’s laughter adds to the fun of the lesson.

   I wonder, did these young children understand the words they are reading from the board, saying—or singing? That is one challenge each of us who teaches English as a foreign language must overcome. Just as in the US, many Armenian children do a great job of reading words in English yet comprehension of what is read often falls short. Only with time and repeated interaction can a teacher be certain of a child’s abilities. From there, a lesson may be planned and further learning occurs. That is the aim of all TEFL’s---to teach a child to listen to English, to read English, to write in English, to speak English but foremost, to understand English. Then we will be successful.

    The young children in the class today are potentially learning 13 new words in 1-2 days.  David and I haven’t done nearly this well in our Armenian (Hayeren) language class. If during our 2 years of service in Armenia we learn 3-5 new words each day, our vocabulary will increase by 2190-3650 words.   That is a huge number of new words to learn.  ( I think we’ll wait to start learning them until after we swear-in on August 16.)    Judy and David

                                                                                                         

                 Students receiving certificates at conclusion of Peace Corps Model School                                            

SUMMER in ARMENIA

    Dave’s watch, which serves as our alarm clock, beeps at 6:30 am but our day really begins at 7:30 am when we hear the low mooing of many cows as they cross the road near our open window.  Nose- to- tail, they amble, headed for greener grass to graze on the nearby mountain.  Along side the cattle is a farmer, stick in hand but his voice the tool most useful in keeping the cows in line.  If one strays to the side to munch on a patch of tempting grass the farmer quickly pursues the animal, taps the ground with his stick, utters a few loud sounds and occasionally throws a rock at the wandering cow. They usually move quickly back with the herd, the mooing becoming louder as these cows patiently make their way methodically up the mountain. This process is repeated exactly twelve hours later. Around 7:30 pm every day, these cows are herded back to their barns where the Armenian women who milk them wait to do their work. One wonders who is happier for that return to the barn—the cows who’ve been in the hot sun, grazing all day and now coming home with udders seeking relief, or the women who tend to the cow’s basic needs and understand only as a woman can, how important their work is.

                                                                     

        We enter the downward stretch in our pre-service training for Peace Corps Armenia. Preparations are being made for our official swearing-in ceremony. Soon after that we move to Dilijan, Armenia which will be our home for the next 2 years.  We will leave our sweet host family, the dairy farm life and the neighbor’s cows who serve as our alarm clock. We’ll leave at summer’s end as our family and most others are preparing for the long, cold winter ahead. Now farmers are busy baling hay and storing it for their animals to eat during the winter. Women are canning fruits and vegetables in great numbers and making muraba(jam)  from the fruits so available during the summer. Herbs are being dried; apricots, peaches, cherries and other fruits are being preserved for later on when only root crops and a few other vegetables are available. In mid-September our family’s large herd of cows will be driven from their mountainous summer home back to the place where we now live. Fat, sleek, and ready to face winter, they’ll be cared for by our host father and his workers.                       

          

           It is strange though that living on this dairy farm, we never have milk to drink. The milk produced by our cows is trucked down from the mountains and sold to a local company which produces matsoon (yogurt-like dairy product), sour cream, tan (similar to buttermilk), butter and other products. As the cobbler’s son did not have shoes in the tale of long ago, this dairy farm family does not drink milk although they do have cheese, butter, matsoon and other milk products. We take it in stride and supplement our diet with calcium tablets provided by the Peace Corps.

            In the summer, our family’s cows and our neighbor’s cows thrive in the grassy, cooler mountainous areas of Armenia. They survive the cold winter closer to home. Just as it is for their owners, life is tough in Armenia, but the people are strong, resilient and able to handle challenges which face them. And so preparation for winter has started even as our days are hot.  In our new town, we’ll miss the procession of cows passing our window, morning and night. We’ll recall the gentle moos and the farmer’s voice, but we’ll trust that it will all be repeated next season, because that’s how Armenia has survived.  Despite the tragedies of war, genocide, earthquakes, poverty, religious intolerance, and lack of freedom as a country, Armenia prevails and is proud.   May this resilience continue to serve the people of Armenia.       Judy                                         

PLAY a Song, PLAY with a child: It's Cultural Exchange

         “Old Susannah, Oh don’t you cry for me. I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee.”

       Who would expect to hear those words sung by an Armenian woman who barely speaks English? But our new host Mother sang these lines as we were working together on our respective languages. Annahit is learning English (Angleren) and I, Armenian (Hayeren). We help each other although she is certainly a quicker learner with a better memory than I. The startling recognition of the old Southern Stephen Foster song prompted me to bring out my new alto recorder which so far, had remained packed in my duffle bag. I do not play well but was able to provide the tune for Annahit’s song and in return, received lots of laughs and photo requests from our host family.  Anahit’s 2-year old son, Armen  watched with curiosity, and I was relieved he did not want to play with me!  He is a bright, active, smart child who frequently uses “che” (NO!) just as our American children do. He vocalizes and sings constantly and occupies himself amazingly well with little direction from adults. He has minimal play materials. I long for some of the items I chose to leave in the US due to space constraints when packing. Compared to the US, there is a limited supply of toys in village stores, so this child makes do with his Mother’s drawer of cooking utensils and other random household items. He is fortunate to have an older brother with a computer, and he does have a child’s computer program which is utilized occasionally. As a result, Armen can sing an entire children’s song in Russian and does so at many of our meals.

     One day David and I bought colored crayons for Armen and brought them home for use when he was bored.  That day came and I gave him 2 of the bright colors and several sheets of blank paper. (We have not been able to find coloring books here.) He was content to draw and scribble free style for a brief period of time, then just when I turned my back to help Anahit with a cooking project, he began making large scrawls of color on the kitchen walls!! I quickly took the crayon from his small hand, saying, “che” and trying to look stern.  Anahit smiled and said, “vochinch”, meaning “ it’s okay”.  I quietly put the crayons away until another time when someone could sit with Armen while he colored.  I’m a Tatik (grandmother) and should have known better than to leave a 2 year old child unsupervised even for a second!!!!  Later, Aahit told me they planned to paint those kitchen walls but not until Armen is older. I certainly see why.

        The brief encounter with music in the life of our Armenian family provides yet another thread or connection between them and David and me.  Our interaction with Armen is another route to cultural exchange as we see the overwhelming similarities in 2 year-old children, no matter where they live.                               

          May these everyday experiences and efforts be multiplied by many more such small links in the chain of understanding.                                  Judy

BARI GALUST HAYASTAN! Welcome to Armenia!

 We made it to Armenia !           Following flights from New York to Vienna, Austria, then on to Yerevan, Armenia, our group of 41 exuberant though exhausted volunteers reached the first step in our 27 month commitment to service with the US Peace Corps.  Highlights of the journey included a 14 hour lay-over in Vienna where we visited the famous St. Stephens Cathedral and engaged in the pleasure of eating Austrian Sacher torte. In Yerevan, we were greeted by the Armenian Peace Corps Country Director and staff,  then whisked away from the airport at 4:45 am to view a glorious sunrise at the foot of Mt. Ararat.  Although we saw no rainbow at the alleged resting place for Noah’s Ark, we felt inspired while being surrounded by so much history and such  reverent beauty.     

                                                            
                                              
                                                          OUR HOST FAMILY

     Angleren, Hayeren----our host “Mother” studies the language of America while we study  the language of her country, Armenia. These dual efforts bring David and me closer to our new family as we settle in for our 2^nd intense 3 months of training with the Peace Corps. We come to this country in hopes of serving the entire 27 months without interruptions as we experienced in Niger.   Our host couple have a 2 year old son as well as 2 older sons, ages 19 and 21. The older son is now home from serving his 2 years in the Armenian military while the 19 year old is currently away with the military as required by his country. Beginning with our first introduction, we felt a warm, sincere welcome into this family. The 2 year old now calls us “Papik” and “Tatik”, Armenian for grandfather and grandmother. We miss our grandson , Jared, but do have little Armen to fill our ears with laughter and hearts with love. Just as other 2 year-old children, he is a master of the word “no” expressed as “che”  in the Armenian language.      

     Our home for the 3 months in pre-service training is located on a large farm where dairy cows are raised. The family does business with a local company, TAMARA, producers of matsoon (similar to yogurt), cheeses and other dairy products.   Our room in this family’s home is spacious and comfortable, an excellent place to live and study while in this country for Peace Corps training.  We share a family bathroom which has a FLUSH toilet---a great step up from our facilities in Niger. There is running water and electricity and hot water is available during parts of each day so that bucket baths are a routine we will avoid for now, although some of the volunteers in our village do have limited bathroom amenities.

                                                          Our Village and Country

      Our small village, as is all of Armenia, is filled with reminders of a somber history dating back for thousands of year .  Most visible is the destruction of buildings, remaining remnants, and the signs of gradual emergence of villages which were destroyed or damaged by the Turkish genocide of 1914-1917, World Wars I and II, the 70 year occupation by the Soviet Union, plus more devastation caused by the massive earthquake of 1988. Most recently the war with Gharabagh during the 90’s has added continuous woe to the lives of the Armenian people.   The genocide and violent restriction of religious practices for over 70 years has left this mostly Christian country still struggling to increase its population and return to the family-oriented, religious country that it once was.  There are numerous churches, monasteries and chapels found throughout the small villages and larger towns as well as in the capital of Yerevan. Many are in disrepair with local people striving to renovate these historical architectural gems.  There is a natural bleakness to the crumbling buildings which are in juxtaposition to absolutely stunning snow- capped mountains and lush green meadows covered with brilliant colored summer flowers.  The balance in mood is perpetuated by the resilient , hard-working Armenian people who value education and family and  desire to see their home land  thrive.  A Peace Corps assignment in Armenia offers us the opportunity to share ourselves and our country’s values with a totally different culture than we found in Niger thus broadening both our perspective and our appreciation for the US.   Although the people of Armenia possess a higher score on the United Nations Human Index scale, the country is pervaded by poverty and lack of jobs which affects families just as in the US.  Many men and women must travel to Russia to find work, thus separating families for lengthy periods of time. The same held true in Niger when the men of one tribal village traveled to another for field work as the seasons changed and crops came in.   Whereas Niger was horizontal and brown, Armenia is vertical and green. With the heat of summer becoming more intense, we are already seeing  that brown returning but to the mountains, not to the desert.    Those differences are obvious to the eye while the differences in each country’s people are not quite as self- evident.

                                                            Menk urakh enk Hayastanoom.   We are happy in Armenia!

 Written June 15, 2011       

ON to ARMENIA........................

Bari galust hayastan!  Welcome to Armenia!

The three bracelets pictured at the bottom of this article tell a story.  Just as my wrist was encircled with the bracelets of Niger, it will now wear the lovely silver bracelet bearing the Armenian cross. Soon, Dave and I will be surrounded by and immersed into the lives of our new Armenian hosts. Only a few months ago we left our caring host family in Niger who encompassed us with love and concern, always looking out for us.  Those bracelets are treasures, one from a former Peace Corps volunteer in Niger and one purchased in a Peace Corps shop carrying local women’s handiwork. The third is from Lisa, a dear friend in the US, who gave it to me to assure safety in our travels to Armenia.    These bracelets signify our journey which started in Niger, Africa and is making a huge circle towards  another part of the world, Armenia, Eastern Europe.   Hopefully, the circle will be completed with full service and accomplishments of goals fostered by the Peace Corps.

Dave and I approach transitioning into another country knowing that it will require enormous time, intense intellectual involvement and strong emotional commitment to be successful. We have learned an incredible amount via social networking and personal communications from our former Peace Corps peers who are now in new villages and countries.  They say in a nutshell, “ You cannot compare Niger or the Niger Peace Corps staff to any other.”  They also say for us not to compare the volunteers in our first group with our group headed to Armenia,  and not to expect to find Tondi, the superb Director of Training and father figure to all of us in Niger. We are advised not to jump to immediate conclusions about our country, our assignment or our training staff—or our work. These pieces of advice are passed on to us because these former volunteers with Peace Corps Niger say there is NO comparison between experiences  which will be so very different in so many ways. We know we cannot dismiss the impact of hardcore Peace Corps Niger, nor will we forget it, or even want to. But…..it’s time to move on.

Departure for Armenia is less than a week away. We’ve studied the language as best we can and researched the country. We feel better prepared than prior to leaving for Niger yet still harbor some anxieties about what is ahead, mixed with excitement and curiosity. Thanks to Peace Corps volunteers already in Armenia who’ve answered endless questions via the A-19 er’s Facebook page, the preparation and packing process has been eased somewhat. Staging in Philadelphia comes next, then a connecting flight from New York to Vienna (I can taste the famous Sacher Tortes now!!!), concluded by arrival in Yerevan, Armenia, the country’s capital city. We are contemplating everything, wondering with wide open eyes just as a child does before Christmas. What will our training group be like? Where will we live? Will we know enough language to actually talk with our host family? What about the students in my English class, will they be able to relate to an older American teacher with minimal teaching experience but years of life experience? Will Dave’s role in business development really challenge him as well as provide a route for his adding to the advancement of a developing country? And is everything preceded by a toast with local vodka?

All the while, we hear from our friends from Niger, now in countries all over the world. We receive e-mails and phone calls biding us farewell and wishing us good luck. We will even have breakfast on June 1 with Michele, a Returned Peace Corps volunteer from Niger, who lives close enough to Philadelphia to come and see us off.  We are excited as though standing on the precipice of a majestic mountain just waiting to step off into the unknown. Our hopes are high that this time we’ll be able to really contribute to what our new country needs.  David and I will reach out to the people of Armenia and share our knowledge through teaching and small business development. We may learn more than our Armenian counterparts but that will further complete the circle and the bonds between people of two very different countries.   This cultural exchange makes up 2  Peace Corps goals, and we share the belief that they are well worth the effort to achieve.

To Lisa who gave me the bracelet with the Armenian Cross, I say “Shnorhakalutyun” or thank you, and we will definitely travel safely.

Good-bye Niger.       Judy and Dave

MAYBE A BROKEN HEART...............

    The e-mail was brief and sad. It was succinct though softened with an apology by the sender who expressed dismay at being the bearer of bad news. It was the unsettling announcement of a beloved Niger staff member’s death which came that day.  After a couple of months back in the US and after beginning to put the Niger experience in perspective, it was certainly a shock to learn that Seini, the tall Nigerien Program Assistant in the Dosso region of Niger, had died. In compliance with his religion, Islam, his funeral was the next day. How sad it was to know that very few of those who knew him would be there to pay their respects.

     Seini, also a dedicated driver in the region, had worked for Peace Corps Niger for twenty years and now we were being informed of his death. No reason for this sudden passing was known. All we knew was that Seini did anything he could to help us volunteers. He did a magnificent job and showed compassion and heart without fail.

     I recall during our 2 week language immersion experience when David and I were living in a village in the Dosso region, Seini stopped by to see us if he was traveling to another village nearby. He particularly liked David, and I think he admired him as an older volunteer. Outside our millet stalk shade hangar, we could see Seini’s white Peace Corps vehicle stop and the tall, slender, muscular Nigerien man step out. His smile was infectious and his handshake firm. He brought us French bread some days which was a treat, since there were no markets close to our village. Many of those mornings in the village of Bangou Banda, all we ate was that French bread and tea or coffee. One day he brought us a dozen eggs, one of the few items of protein we had during that 2 weeks. We learned from Seini and Djibo, our language trainer, that we could keep eggs unrefrigerated for several days before they’d spoil.  We had eggs for supper and eggs for breakfast, David, Djibo and I, until all twelve were gone. Seini was the person who brought those eggs to us, and we did not even have to ask him to do so.

     I’m certain the full time volunteers in the Dosso region have many more stories of praise for Seini than could ever be recounted in a blog. We are just fortunate to  have known him briefly.  We also know that Seini had arranged to find some type of toilet seat for another older couple who were working on their traditional pit toilet, trying to make it more user friendly.  Seini always went the extra mile to help a Peace Corps volunteer.

      We did not know his personal story or if there were underlying health issues, but maybe Seini  died of the proverbial “broken heart” as suggested by one staff member who worked closely with him. Documented over and again in medical and other scientific literature, persons have been known to die after sudden emotional shock or loss of a dearly loved one. Maybe Seini’s death was due if not totally, partially, to a “broken heart” resulting from the loss of his life in the Peace Corps, or maybe due to the suddenness and abruptness of the evacuation from Niger of the entire Peace Corps family, and the loss of his  identity which soon followed. Whatever the cause of Seini’s passing, it was tragic, and it said volumes about the impact of Peace Corps on one life which then overflowed to affect all the volunteers with whom he had worked.

      Seini’s life ended as abruptly as did the Peace Corps in Niger.  Seini symbolizes the briefness of life and the absolute importance of using every minute wisely.  Seini was certainly a perfect example of that as he worked to make Peace Corps Niger an effective organization to benefit the Nigerien people who had asked for help. He worked even harder trying to help Peace Corps volunteers adjust to life in his country. To that end he was more than a success.                   May Seini rest in peace.

Irkoy ma suuji a ma a yaafa (Zarma). May God bless he who has died.

Judy and David