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
In Short: School started. I switched to warm clothes; got a cold. Had to ask another PCV how to request medicine ‘cause I didn’t pay attention during PST and thought I’d never get sick. FINALLY finished that book. Visited Lake Sevan. Visited my PST Host Family. Fell behind on my running schedule. Restarted English Club … More Peace Corps Armenia: Patience
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
It doesn’t seem like I could possibly have anything to teach Nune*. She’s in her late sixties, a garden expert, makes a better cup of coffee than I, and is decidedly unimpressed with both my Armenian and my cooking. So I was surprised when she came in to my room with a skein of yarn … More Peace Corps Armenia: Blink and You’ll Miss it
The smallest girl in my English club stands on her tiptoes to try and reach the board, giving English her very best shot despite being only six and sitting in on her older sister’s class. “Miss Maddy,” An older student whispers, and points at my stickers. Her eyes glitter. “Kareliey?” May I? I nod and … More Peace Corps Armenia: Special Everywhere
A group sits around a table full of food, laughing and clapping. I stand towards the outskirts of the group with my friend, a woman whose first home is also far away. We ask each other about our respective countries in a language neither of us was born into, with long patient pauses while we … More Peace Corps Armenia: Dancing and Lights
I was planning on seeing my bad day all the way through, while I kicked a stone down the road in a pair of shoes not meant for distances measured in kilometers. These shoes are my only pair that have seen three continents. I got them in Norwich after I soaked my old favorites beyond … More Peace Corps Armenia: Raw Garlic is Spicy
