Say it aint so…
Say it aint so…
I actually spent a good hour yesterday writing a blog and then the internet went down in the internet cafe that I was in and, of course, I had forgotten to save it at all so it is gone forever. It was a masterpiece, but now, the world will never know, and I don’t even remember what I wrote, so, on to a new blog.
My brief stay with the group is just about over. I’ve been here about 2 weeks and in 20 or so hours I’ll be leaving on a jetplane. The #1 problem with traveling to Armenia is that eventually you have to go back to wherever it is you came from and the saddest thing for me is that after about two weeks I’m just beginning to once again get adjusted to life here in Armenia, and now I have to go. I saw some old friends in the last few days, made some new ones….ugh, I’m just hitting my stride.
The scene right now, it’s 9:30AM, Vaughn is on the chair in our living room playing some mean guitar, he is trying to master ‘I Want You to Want Me’ by Cheap Trick, it’s a tough song to play on the guitar but he’s getting better every time he plays it. Paul is sitting on the couch in his pajamas staring at him and talking about Transformers, which we saw in Russian at the local theatre the night before, and Alex is on the phone near the front door talking to his girlfriend back home about everything, as Alex does. Serop is sitting on the couch trying to stay awake as the group is waiting for Adrianne to come over from the Toumanyan girls appartment so they can catch their Marshutka (bus) to head to work at Nerses the Great Hospital. Our livingroom/my bedroom is an absolute mess as usual, but what do you expect when you have 8 guys cohabitating in one appartment. There are cups, socks, napkins, pillows, empty waterbottles and a lot of other junk all over the place. Sleeping in the living room is pretty sweet except that I’m the last person to sleep since everyone hangs out here until they go to bed or go home after 4am or later, and you’re the first person to wakeup because starting 8am the parents start calling and the phone is next to your head, and the hospital people gather here before work so there is no sleeping in, but I’m willing to sacrafice since the rest of the appartment has a lot more to do during the morning hours than I do (such is the life of a CYMA leader), so let them get their sleep.
Anyway. This is my third trip to Armenia. Every time I come here I feel closer to this place and to my own heritage and I feel a sense of profoundness that I yearn for when I’m not here. Sadly I’m just beginning to feel that profoundness now, right before I have to leave, but I am comforted by the fact that our group, these CYMA kids, feel it as well and are as passionate about it as I was the last time I was here. This is a great group of people, their souls are intact, I want everyone out there to know that they are beautiful people and they will be successful in their futures; they will make us all proud to be a part of their lives. I don’t even want to think about what it will be like to be back home and not see them all every day, it’s killing me inside. The main part of our mission is to take your new friends and memories with you, and to create a family that you will have for the rest of your lives. When we meet anywhere in the world it will be like creating a new Armenia (thank you William Saroyan). Armenians have a special view of friendship - I once apologized to one of my local friends here for not talking to her often enough and I told her I’d been rude because it had been so long since we communicated. She responded to me by saying something like, ‘Time and space don’t matter, only friendship matters’…I like that and I believe it.
Life for Armenians here in Armenia is not easy. If you have a job, or multiple jobs and you can earn $300 dollars a month or so then you have a chance at making it. This is a young country. As a culture we are beyond ancient but the Republic of Armenia is still in its infancy. Let’s not forget that just 11 years ago this country was without power. From post-Soviet 1991-1996 Armenians here had electricity for only 20 minutes a day, and they didn’t even know when those 20 mintues would be…could you imagine?! I can’t, we’re talking about the 90’s here, I probably personally used up more electricity than 1000 Armenian families combined during that time. Armenia went from an educated nation of successful merchants and scientists, to a nation of oppressed and endangered people who had to made to make the conscious choice to flee the country or die, to a Soviet nation of people who were taught how to eat, sleep, work, think and live, and now we have our infant Armenia. This country has come a loooooong way but people here struggle, they may not look like it, and they might not admit it but it is a struggle. There is light at the end of the tunnel however, things are slowly getting better, it will just take time, as with all things. Programs like ours, although seemingly insignificant in the grand scheme of things, make a difference. Just by being here, talking to people, playing with local kids, volunteering, giving a different, diverse point of view can do something to initiate change. You’d be amazed at what just reaching out and having a conversation with someone can do, Armenian or otherwise.
I digress, as I usually do, let me catch you up to the group events of the last week. Others have some good blogs on the way too about more specific things, I’ll catch you up on our overall activities of the last week. Monday was Mike’s birthday, we went to The Club restaurant at for a birthday dinner. The Club is one of only two restaurants in town that serve Manti, a dish that a lot of us love back home but it’s not really an Armenian dish so it is hard to find here. After the dinner some of the group went to a screening of Vartan Hovanissian’s documentary on the Karabagh War with some of the other youth groups in town. I saw most of the film in 2005 and I got to meet Vartan as well, so I passed this time around because the theatre was small and I didn’t want to take up someone’s seat who hadn’t seen it yet because it is especially moving. Hopefully someone else will blog about the film. Most of our group who saw it was crying I am told, it’s a really intense film.
On Tuesday we went to a futball match. It was Pyunik, a local team vs. Shakhtar, a team from Ukraine. It was really fun. The stadium was packed, there were people everywhere. Unfortunately Pyunik lost. Their goalie got injured right before half time and he was replaced by the backup goalie whose name was Ignacio. Literally 8 seconds after the new goalie came in the other team scored on the lamest goal of all time. I don’t think Ignacio was up to the task. Shakhtar scored again on another ridiculous shot that any goalie would’ve saved. Pyunik had a ton of chances but they never scored and they lost 2-0. Our group was into it, the guys at least. Spitting seeds and screaming and jumping, the girls were busy staring at us in awe and they were busy being hit on by two Armenian soldiers and another guy in an orange shirt who, according to Sarah and Lena, ‘knew everything’. The mass exodus from the stadium was also insane. Already in Yerevan there isn’t much attention to lanes and intersections and traffic lights etc, but this was just like 10,000 people taking to the streets with absolutely no rhyme or reason while cars weaved in and out of the foot traffic. It was like an army of people screaming and yelling, very cool stuff.
Wednesday the gang had the day off from work because it was museum day. We began the day at the Children’s Art Museum which is also an art institute for children. In terms of awards it is the #1 children’s art institute in the world. Needless to even say, we were freaking amazed at what we saw. I will show you some pictures later of the paintings, sculptures, rugs and other works of art. The kids at the institute range from ages 4-18 and they have talent coming out their vorigs. After that we had lunch at Cafe Central up Abovian Street, just north of Sayat Nova, a place I’ve never been before and it was pretty awesome, I highly recommend it, get the bacon and potato eggs or the fruit salad. After lunch (loooong after) we went to the Genocide Museum at Tdidzenagapert, the Armenian genocide memorial. Yesterday in the lost blog that I wrote I told this long story about my taxi ride to the memorial but I don’t have it in me to tell it again right now. It was the most rediculous taxi ride I have ever had. When I have the energy I’ll tell the story, but for now let me just say that for the third time in a row I have not gone on the tour at the Genocide Museum…..ugh, total T.I.A. (This Is Armenia, I’ll explain later) moment. After the Genocide Museum myself and some of the other group went to the Ararat Brandy Factory to take the tour and have a little taste test….mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That 20 year Ararat Brandy is goooood. I bought a T-Shirt too, I like it a lot but I think it’s way too small, it’s the only size I had. There is a barrel of brandy in the warehouse at the factory that is going to be opened once the Karabagh conflict is resolved and Karabagh is an official independent nation, free from Azerbaijan. I was kind of sad because in 2005 I signed the wall, along with thousands of others, in the room where the barrel is kept but they have since painted over the walls and all the signatures are gone….sad.
Wednesday night was the highlight. Peter, Paul and I saw Transformers….in Russian. I saw it a few weeks ago in L.A. and I couldn’t stop talking about it and Paul absolutely couldn’t wait any longer so we said screw it, it’s Russian or nothing. Luckily there was only 6 people in the theatre so I could told them what was going on during the movie..great movie. Optimus Prime in Russian is pretty sweet.
Thursday night the CYMA 2005 crew, Stef, Boghos, Rita, Aleen, and myself went to dinner at an old friend’s house. It was a special night, a good reunion, we made some new friends as well. We ate and ate and ate and ate and drank and toasted. The Armenian toast is an art form. On the streets of Yerevan you hear so much slang and ’less sophisticated’ Armenian that you kind of worry where the Armenian language is headed but when Armenians make toasts…look out Shakespeare. The other group members went to a lecture at the American University of Armenia by Robert Fisk, a well known, well respected journalist and genocide activist. I hear it was very informative.
Today, Friday, will be my last day here. We are going to plan something amazing for tonight but I have so many errands to run before then I can’t even think about it and I certainly don’t want to think about leaving so I will stop right here.
All the best to you out there, I will see you back in the U.S…albiet begrudgingly.
-Lev