This is going to be a bit of a mess. Hang tight. I was in the middle of writing a different version of this blog post, one with the words “everything is normal here”, when suddenly things stopped being quite so normal. Several things happed sort of at once. Armenia reported three more cases of … More Peace Corps Armenia: the bees came back, and we’re waiting
Full disclosure: I didn’t think I would struggle this winter. My summer was so mind-bendingly hot that I couldn’t conceptualize the cold. All of the things that Peace Corps said would be hard about the winter I didn’t think applied to me, because it’s not as cold as it could be at my site, because … More Peace Corps Armenia: Things I thought I knew
They warn you about the Winter. How it’s not the cold itself, it’s that you can’t get away from it. It gets dark so early, and the winter food is different, and you have been here just long enough that it’s starting to feel long. All Januaries are long, of course. It’s a long cold … More Peace Corps Armenia: stories to keep you warm
I left Armenia for the first time in nine months. In my head, that didn’t really seem like that long of a time, but people’s lives can change a lot in nine months. I didn’t even realize mine had. I went to Berlin to meet Hannah, my friend who is studying there now. I met … More Peace Corps Armenia: Berlin, Dresden, and Home
Ani’s* eyes lit up when she saw me sitting alone in the back of the bus. I grinned back at her. She left her mom at the last open seat in the front, and I scooted to make room for her on the plastic blue seat. “Hello Miss Med,” she said softly. “Hi Ani,” I … More Peace Corps Armenia: how should I say?
Gold light spills through my window every night around 5:30 pm, and the fig tree turns all deep blue and green and orange around the edge. I’ll go for a run, or talk on the phone, or lesson plan, or write, like I am doing now. I’ll make a cup of tea with lemon in … More Peace Corps Armenia: Like it is
The heat breaks like a fever and fat fig leaves glitter in the rain. Had I really forgotten what a cool breeze felt like? This first storm comes like a celebration, with dancing trees and thunder song. Swallows dot the hazy purple sky and sing, and it comes from nowhere and everywhere, like something has … More Peace Corps Armenia: Andzrev Galis E
