Next Phase of my Service

Upon our arrival in Armenia last June, we were led into an auditorium where we were loudly welcomed by 40 other second year Volunteers.   Well, a couple days ago another 1st year volunteer mentioned that in another 6 months we are going to be up on that stage as the "Newbies" come in.  Seems strange as most of us feel like "newbies" still.   So I guess this is a good time to reflect on the past 6 months in-country.

Odd as it seems, probably the most important book I have read since my arrival is a murder mystery, Child 44.  Set in Russia during the 1950's (when I was adjusting to the wooden rulers of the Catholic nuns at Holy Cross grade school), it gives a very poignant portrayal of just how unsettling life in the Soviet world could be.  In a world where fear predominated, keeping information to oneself and hiding problems was important for ones safety.  Well, the Soviet Union may have crumbled in the late 90's but they surely left their cultural heritage behind.        (Probably not too different from the Puritan influence in America, although we seem to have outgrown it of late *;o).

By reading that novel, I have finally been able to come to grips with the what show up for my American eyes as a totally dysfunctional business culture where information is closely held and collaboration is reserved for family functions.  And above all, "walk around the elephant in the middle of the room." ( Not that Corporate America doesn't have a smidgen of that, too.)  The operative mode is to "circle the wagons" and wait for the next grant of American funding to continue paying salaries.  

After 6 months in the country and 3 months at my work site, I think I have finally realized that this is "what is"  and my efforts are not really going to change it.  When we came to our work sites,  we were assigned to one of four sectors: language, environment, health or business.  Our sector is actually called "CBD" or Community/ Business Development.  So I believe my next year and a half is going to be "CD," letting the "B" takes its own course.

The photos above are a good example of Community Development.  One of the second year volunteers has directed a lot of her efforts to supporting a Harvest Festival where the local residents of nearby villages could gather and celebrate.  There is even some friendly competition for the best presentations and food preparation.  As you can see, the children also have a great time dressing up, dancing and singing.

  I have recently become acquainted with both an art school for youngsters as well as an art  academy for older students and am hoping next year to help promote their work.  The current leaders of my city are the products of the Soviet times but the young people will be Armenia's future.  Whatever I can do to enhance their hope and confidence are seeds for the future.   I think I just found my New Garden for the next couple years.

Overcoming the Past

 

This past weekend I attended a planning session for a youth camp to be held next summer.  About 3 hours to the northeast of my site and adjacent to Armenia's border with Turkey is the City of Gyumri.   Twenty years ago next month, the whole area suffered a devastating earthquake from which both the buildings and the city's economy are still recovering.  

 Having a population of approximately 120,000, Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia.  At one time the population was twice that size.  As we approached the outskirts of the city on a local "marshutni" (a mini-bus built for 12 that often carries 20 people), several vivid reminders of its history appeared: a very large cemetery and a number of abandoned industrial buildings from the Soviet period.  

 But once we arrived at the bus station, the mood quickly changed.  As I walked the two blocks to the Square, I was suddenly engulfed in a hub of commerce, with tables and kiosks lining both sides of the street.   The vendors on that first block were well aware that winter was just a couple weeks away.  They displayed a vast array of products from sheet metal stove pipes for furnaces to woolen socks and fur-lined boots.  (At 5,000 dram or $15, the boots were more affordable than I expected.) 

 As I moved along to the next block, the more popular Armenian wares appeared: cell phones, woman's fashions and cigarettes.  In addition to their commercial value it was apparent that these two blocks also filled a vital social function for the city's residents.  But not being much of a shopper myself, I was rather relieved to reach the end of the gauntlet and into Freedom Square, appropriately named for my feelings at the time.

 While I waited for fellow Volunteer's bus to arrive, I enjoyed exploring the city streets which offered quite a variety of architectural styles.  As the photos indicate there were many examples of classic 19th Century architecture as well as stark reminders of December 7th, 1988.   My attention was also drawn to one older building whose face was covered with electrical panels. I couldn't decide if this was really some kind of neighborhood transfer station for electricity or the wires were needed to keep the structure standing.

Stepping Over the 20th Century

As I was leaving Gyumri Sunday afternoon, I had this strange sense that something was missing in the city.  It finally dawned on me.  What was missing was The 20th Century.  Their medieval churches had a new neighbor: the electronics chain I have seen before in Armenia: ZigZag. And the statues in the square honoring their ancient heroes had a new backdrop: Samsung.  Yes, the 21st Century featuring a wide array of electronic toys had now arrived in Gyumri.

Yet there seemed to be no bridge from the 20th Century.  All the city had to show for that period was the effects of the devastating earthquake of 1988 and the industrial collapse of the USSR in the early 90's.   Even with all the humanitarian aid that came to the area after the earthquake to rebuild structures, it is obviously going to take a lot longer to rebuild the economy.  Hopefully the future will bring a resolution of their conflict with Turkey and provide an open border to stimulate trade.

View from the Top

( I tried to include this photo on my last blog posting but I am still have not mastered the Blog Tools. )

This was our view of our city and the surrounding hills once we completed our hike. It is really beautiful country. The monument seen rising in the distance was built to commemorate 50 years of Armenia belonging to the Soviet Union.

Surrounded by Beauty

So last weekend was the perfect day for a Fall Hike. The sun was out just enough to filter through the trees and highlight the brown leaves on the ground. But fortunately for those of us who do not have access to Gold's Gym, it was not so hot as to further challenge our conditioning.

I will definitely need to post these photos on my Screen Saver once we start into the next season Mother Nature has to offer, which is coming soon they tell me. Not having seen a real winter for 30 years, I will need a "light at the end of the tunnel" .......a tunnel that is supposed to be 5 months long.

My daughter Meghan recently mailed a half-dozen books my way, a birthday present that will provide enjoyment for many winter nights. I have been told it's not the temperature alone is really the problem. (For I do recall my winters in Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota.) Rather it is the absence or limited presence of central heating I am told presents the biggest challenge. In the Midwest there was something wonderful about a fireplace and warming up after a chilly day. While I know it is foolish to "borrow trouble from the future," I heard too many stories from last year's Volunteers that the chill didn't leave their bones for months at a time. I am beginning to understand why some Volunteers found Egypt a wonderful place to visit in ......February or March!

The Garbage and the Flowers

Sometimes in reading the replies from friends to my Blog site, I get the impression that only the Romantic side of my journey is coming through. There is much that is problematic and difficult here but I guess I feel it does little good to dwell on it. But when I was walking home one day this week, I was struck by the stark contrasts in this country: I could stand IN ONE PLACE and get such different pictures! As I stood at the bottom of my street (which in my Midwest childhood, we might call an alley) and looked UP the street and then BACK DOWN the sidewalk from which I had just walked. The visual contrast was so startling that I decided to take photos of it.

When a group of us were traveling in India about this same time last year, we met with a similar experience: the striking beauty and the stark realities of the 3rd World. For those of us who were old enough to remember the Leonard Cohen song from the 70's, Suzanne, these lyrics came to mind.............and she shows you where to look among the garbage and the flowers. I guess that is a choice we get to make every day but sometimes that choice is just more obvious.

The Spirit of a People

It wasn't but a couple days after I posted the photos of my masonry friends finishing the top of the wall lining the river that a huge storm hit the area.  All the dirt they had piled up for their work unfortunately diverted the water coming down the road behind the wall.....and that whole section of the wall tipped over into the river.  Like true construction people, they were back at it the next day, pulling the old wall out of the river and starting over.  

I don't supposed William Faulkner is required reading in Armenian schools but the people surely embody one of his reflections on man:  I believe that man will not merely endure.  He will prevail.  He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.  After 600 years of being ruled by other conquering nations,  one outstanding aspect of Armenia's national character is endurance.  I have a feeling that over the next couple years Americans will have the opportunity, if that's the right word, to grow in this attribute as well.

When I watched the workers slowly re-build the fallen river wall day-by-day, I was reminded of my earlier visit to a local Medieval monastery.  Talk about patience.....I don't know if my photo will show it but these particular building blocks are numbered from 1 to 16 as they work to stablize the foundation of this 12th Century structure.   You can also see the photos of the worker as he moves the blocks....one-at-a-time on a wooden skid back to their original location. 

In addition to the structural work, the construction project involved upgrading the infrastructure leading up the hill to the monastery so that tourists had better access: paved road, electricity, and gas/water lines.  Even more amazing to me was the billboard highlighting this million dollar project, indicating that the funding was sponsored by the Ruler of Sharjah, a member of the Arab Emirates.  In a time of so  much religious and ethnic conflict, I could not help but find hope in an Islamic leader helping to preserve a Christian monastery.

It was a sunny day a couple weeks ago and I felt ambitious... so I decided to explore the surrounding hills.  You can get some sense of how the village is laid out and the road leading into town.  If you look closely at the bottom of the other picture, you can see the top of a metal statue honoring the Armenian soldiers who died fighting against Germany in WWII.  I am hoping that we have one more good hiking day left on the calendar as 6 of us are going out together on a hike in the forest.  We have been in the Off/On rainy mode the past couple weeks so I am hoping Mother Nature smiles on us.  And if it rains, I am sure we will have a different kind of adventure.  I hired a young man who worked as a guide this summer to take us around as the trails are not well-marked.  One of my "Tourist Business" goals over the next 2 years is to create some hiking maps that we can hand out to tourists.  I have talked to several tourists who came to see the natural beauty of this area and left early frustrated that they could not locate the hiking trails.  With the challenges of today's Post-Soviet economy, we really can't afford to have those tourist dollars leave early.  Getting the trails marked and then finding the funds to print the maps should keep me busy for a while!

So it's not that there are not cars in Armenia, it's just the Peace Corps Volunteers are not allowed to drive one. And considering I can walk from one end of my town to the other in a hour, I really don't miss it. In fact, I think my "ticker" probably thinks it is a good thing that I have a 1/2 hour walk to work every morning. ( We'll see what "the report" is from my toes and fingers when winter arrives shortly. *;o)

So this is my view as I "round the bend" coming into the downtown where the blue tarps are covering some much appreciated Redevelopment. I hear this building is to house the first downtown cafe as there is currently no place to even have a cup of coffee. After a Starbuck's on every corner in the States, this is the other extreme. I envision several more coffee houses and cafes appearing in the downtown next year as the city offices, major supermarket, library and school are all located here. (My office is on the top floor of a 5 story building......so no Stairmaster needed when I get home.)

The other two photos taken on my walk home from work are of the new outdoor amphitheatre under construction and the wall along the river which was getting some much needed aesthetic repairs to the top surface. After spending the past 30 years in the construction business, it seems natural to stop and talk with the construction workers. The next day coming home I was invited to an impromptu picnic by them of sausage, bread and cheese. I guess I need to take more people's pictures! Seriously, the country is famous for its hospitality ............to family and strangers alike.

Earlier this month, Armenia had a soccer game in the capital of Yerevan with their western neighbor and sports rival, Turkey. Although we lost the game 2-0, hopefully some good was done in re-establishing better relations as the President of Turkey was in attendance. Re-opening the border to the west could go a long way to assisting economic recovery and providing access to the ports of the Black Sea.

The next day as I was walking to the bus stop, I discovered something else that Armenia takes great pride in besides their athletes: their artists and cultural heroes.  The two creations of metal and stone in a downtown park were fitting tributes to their respect for the arts in Armenia.

Leaving my small village

I had to include this photo as part of my final days living in the tiny village of Karenis. I walked by this water trough everyday on the way to school in the morning and on the way home, my head filled to the brim with new words. Now when I think of the village, it is the ever-present image of water that comes to mind, rivulets, and streams guided downhill along roads and eventually guided into the orchards that fed all the families. One day as I was finishing a travel memoir about Armenia ("The Crossing Place"), I came across a description that seemed to add another dimension to the water trough I passed every day. These springs were a part of every Armenian journey. I had been on buses which had stopped simply so that people could visit a certain spring, filling up like litrurgants to take water. Many of the churches were built near water, no doubt replacing earlier sites of worship. Water held a peculiar significance for Armenians. Here the water was channelled into a pipe which pushed through a large stone. At the foot of the stone was a trough and the water slopped constantly over the rim of the trough to drain away down a gully. After two months Armenia, I could feel just what he was describing.

During my last couple days of my stay in Karenis, I could sense those things I would miss the most: the sweetness of the people and the land. The "tateek" in my family was in her early 80's but as you can see even in this photo, never lost the sparkle in her eye. And she had a world of patience for the goofy "Americatzi" who tended to put on the hats the women wore in the orchards. I sure came to appreciate the value of humor to relieve the stress of having no idea what you are doing for days at a time.

Group Graduations..........

A friend emailed me recently that I must be in a busy period since I had not "posted" anything to the blog in a month.....Yes, the past month has been a whirl!

But after 11 weeks of wandering around a village where most things were "unfamiliar," we finally had a couple familiar events: Graduation. As part of our "community development work" four of us created a local "Youth Group" before leaving on August 15th for our new " work sites" where we will be for the next two years. I believe it was a learning experience for the teens and us. They learned something about the power of working together and making a difference in their own future. (It is not too hard to imagine how difficult it can be to keep "hope" or a "dream" considering the past 600 years in their country.) And on the Peace Corps side, the Volunteers learned to "trust the process," as there were times we were losing hope ourselves....that the group would make it! We also created (surprise, surprise... *;o) a new flower garden along the walk of their school. Or should I say we did some serious weeding, brought in new soil and put in a couple dozen iris to get started. I am going back to the village at the end of October for a "family birthday" and plan to finish the job, sprinkling in lots of wildflower seeds that I have been randomly collecting as I walked the roads for the past 2 months. Hopefully, some of the seeds will survive the winter and become flowers in the Spring. Hope Springs Eternal, as they say.

The other focus for the past month was the Final Language Exam. While some of the adept language learners achieved their "advanced" and "intermediate" rankings, yours truly was more than happy to be annointed as a......."novice." At least I am one step up from the hand signs that got me through my first couple weeks in the country! The graduation photo is of our village along with our two language teachers. In the back row on the far left is Lee Lacey, the Country Director for Armenia.

After graduation, it felt just like another day of work in Sacramento.....as I went home put on my "grubbies" and shoveled dirt into the school garden, as we were leaving the nex day. I was pleased and relieved to have a couple of the local teens show up on their own to help finish the job with me. It felt like they were starting to take ownership of the project.

I am not usually a big fan of cemeteries....not really a mystery for someone in his 60's. But when I was walking around in my future "permanent site" of Dilijan last week, I stumbled upon these grave stones. I felt a strange connection with the lives of the peoples whose faces I saw. That evening as I read another chapter on my book on Armenian history, I came across the following quote. It seemed to confirm the feeling I had that these were special places. "And perhaps for the Armenians, whose history has been no more than a continuous quest for order, a struggle against an unimaginable chaos, these marshalled plots are cherished more than most. To own a grave is to own land." For people whose history has been over 600 years of being forced from their lands, I am sure the relatives of the deceased found much joy in providing their loved ones at last a piece of Armenia to call their own.

Weekend Fun....

So, this past weekend I decided to walk the streets of the nearby village and see what the locals do. As you can see the men have an outside gathering place for cards and chess. It was fun just to hang out and watch the games! The "tateek" with the soccer ball ( or "football" in Armenia) is not really the goalie in a Senior Citizen League. Rather she is the sweet grandmother of my Host Family who was helping to unload the car after a trip to the river..........and I couldn't resist taking her photo!

Our Village

This was a group photo after we put on the July 4th party for our "Host Families" in the village. We are all in the sector called "CBD" (Community & Business Development) and will be all moving to different villages on August 15th. The intensive language part of training will be over but I am sure we will all be working with tutors as 10 weeks has hardly given us mastery of the language.

Village Life

This is the first year that the Peace Corps has done language training in our particular village. So when the 4th of July came around, it seemed like a good time to provide some American food dishes for our Host Families as well as share a little of our American traditions. One photo shows the young people in the village lining up to have their sparklers lit. Another shows a "brainstorming session" in a school classroom with some of the young adults (18-25). It was a community development exercise to help them identify what they would like to create in their village. The photo shows the guys and the gals in the group comparing the differences on their lists. Yes, the worlds of "Mars and Venus" exist even in Armenia. The first photo is of my Host Mom showing me something my own mother had talked about from her early days on a farm in northern Indiana: how to make butter. All the dairy products my host family puts on the table from butter to yogurt to cheese are wonderfully fresh.

Host Mother's Birthday

So these are some photos from our trip to the nearby river for a birthday barbeque. On the walk down to the ravine, we stopped in a very old chapel that some still visit and light candles. I was struck by the view of the surrounding cliffs that the hole in the wall provided. Once we arrived at the picnic site, we took some time to relax on the stone picnic tables, where my Host Mom practiced her kebob techniques....on her husband! There were some other families there as well enjoying their time cooling off in the water. I am slowly dusting off my former Midwest skills at playing cards and we played a little "Hearts" with the family members. Something tells me that I will need them during the November to April period of winter.