Greetings. I am in Armenia.
We flew in via Paris, after nearly missing the connection due to a surly security guard. There were 3 days of 'camp,' where we didn't do much besides learning about procedure, and then we went to the surrounding villages to meet our host families. I am in a small village -- no place names, please, any of you who may know them -- in the hills in central Armenia. My host family is a grandma, a mom and dad and a 17-year-old brother. We live on a small farm with cows, sheep, pigs and a family of turkeys. Most days i have class until 2, then i study for a few hours, then we bring in the cows from the hills and have dinner around 9 or 10. We have an orchard with cherry trees, apricots, pears, peaches and walnuts and a garden with strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers (hot & sweet), and more that hasn't come in yet. Almost everything we eat is made by my host mother and grandmother. Every meal has cheese and lavash (flat bread). Last weekend we slaughtered a lamb and had a barbecue.
The language is progressing, but it is definitely the biggest frustration. I have been reborn as a 100-kilo 2-year-old. The extended family usually says 'hello', and 'how are you', and then they smile sadly at this mental midget they have to endure. But my family has been very patient and helpful with me, looking through my dictionary for hours and allowing me to make wild gestures and take twenty minutes to tell them the difference between a lobster and a crayfish.
So yeah. I miss everyone a lot, and i have vertigo every time i remember where i am on this planet of ours. But it just goes to prove that there's good people all around it, and anywhere can be home. Pretty much.
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Good to hear from you, Joe -- good luck. What use do Armenians have of crayfish and lobsters? Shoo some cows for us in CO -- Rev. Jim
Well, they are eaten with apparent frequency. Except they have something that is almost a cross between the two, and we eat them apparently raw. I have also eaten lamb spine, which as a friend accurately noted, effectively negates any amount of time i have been a 'vegetarian'. Fish are eaten whole without exception, and as much as i appreciate the beauty of a dead fish, i have had to draw the line there.
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