This past weekend, a bunch of us went into Yerevan for a couple nights. The ride there wasn't bad at all, and only cost 1500 dram, which is like 4 dollars. Once we were there we bought Cafe Glaces at the Marriott in Republic Square then headed to a Yerevan Volunteer's apartment. There was a group of high school students outside of the Marriott whose country we were trying to guess and after several failed attempts, Tatjana went up to them and asked. Turns out they were from LA, which only affirmed that the Marriott (and it's prices for coffee drinks) is targeted purely toward tourists.
That night we went to this underground (literally, not metaphorically) bar called "That Place" that played American pop music from approximately the years 1998-2005. Once again, we were in a place that was targeted toward tourists, but I think its what all of us Gyumri volunteers needed. There were plenty of locals there and at one point we formed a big dance circle of half volunteers and half locals and everyone really got into it. It was nice to interact with some Hayastantsi without the direct barrier of language, and it was clear that the goofy Americans dancing loosened up everyone there. We also met a couple US Marines there who were psyched to talk to other Americans which was cool.
Yerevan is definitely a place I want to spend more time and every now and then I wish I was volunteering there for the simple fact that there are lots of things to do and see whereas in Gyumri you pretty much have to make your own fun after 8 PM. But that isn't to say that I don't love it where I am. In Gyumri all the volunteers hang out frequently, everyone knows everyone else in our neighborhood, and the people are so genuine. And I love working at the Healthy Center and wouldn't trade it for anything.
On Saturday we had another excursion that took us approximately 18 hours to complete. In the words of Nouny, in those lengthy 18 hours, "we went to the border. Then we came back." Which is basically all that we did. But in those 18 hours we used three (very very) different modes of transportation, starting in a charter bus, squeezing into the hottest marshrutka in Armenia, then climbing into the bed of a pickup truck where we were driven up to the border patrol who took us into the trenches. It was a long day indeed, but one I will never forget. Living in the US, having a hostile neighbor really isn't anything I've ever completely understood. Canada and Mexico are pretty agreeable neighbors. If anything, we're the ones that are hard to deal with. Azerbaijan, however, is no Canada.
The soldiers explained to us that every now and again if the Azerbaijanis think something is going on, they fire into the small village on the other side of the border. "The villagers are used to it," the officer reassured us. Somehow being used to random, unwarranted open fire into a village of civilians just isn't reassuring.
We also talked a lot about the mandatory conscription, which is a reality I am very grateful to not have. I was reading about human rights violations in Armenia the other day and one of the listed subjects was conscientious objection which I was very pleased to hear Armenia had. The system is that if you are a conscientious objector, you don't have to serve as a soldier for your two years of service. You get to fulfill "alternative duties." The only issue being that the military oversees the alternative duties, and they often end up being the same thing. Armenia has clearly come a long away, but definitely has a long way to come as well.
Yerevan is definitely a place I want to spend more time and every now and then I wish I was volunteering there for the simple fact that there are lots of things to do and see whereas in Gyumri you pretty much have to make your own fun after 8 PM. But that isn't to say that I don't love it where I am. In Gyumri all the volunteers hang out frequently, everyone knows everyone else in our neighborhood, and the people are so genuine. And I love working at the Healthy Center and wouldn't trade it for anything.
On Saturday we had another excursion that took us approximately 18 hours to complete. In the words of Nouny, in those lengthy 18 hours, "we went to the border. Then we came back." Which is basically all that we did. But in those 18 hours we used three (very very) different modes of transportation, starting in a charter bus, squeezing into the hottest marshrutka in Armenia, then climbing into the bed of a pickup truck where we were driven up to the border patrol who took us into the trenches. It was a long day indeed, but one I will never forget. Living in the US, having a hostile neighbor really isn't anything I've ever completely understood. Canada and Mexico are pretty agreeable neighbors. If anything, we're the ones that are hard to deal with. Azerbaijan, however, is no Canada.
The soldiers explained to us that every now and again if the Azerbaijanis think something is going on, they fire into the small village on the other side of the border. "The villagers are used to it," the officer reassured us. Somehow being used to random, unwarranted open fire into a village of civilians just isn't reassuring.
We also talked a lot about the mandatory conscription, which is a reality I am very grateful to not have. I was reading about human rights violations in Armenia the other day and one of the listed subjects was conscientious objection which I was very pleased to hear Armenia had. The system is that if you are a conscientious objector, you don't have to serve as a soldier for your two years of service. You get to fulfill "alternative duties." The only issue being that the military oversees the alternative duties, and they often end up being the same thing. Armenia has clearly come a long away, but definitely has a long way to come as well.
My parents called yesterday to tell me that my snake, Polixenes, died. He wasn't even 3 years old yet. That's made me more homesick than anything else.
More to come (immediately).
More to come (immediately).
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