Border to Border 2016: Magical, Incredible, & Unforgettable

Hmmm, where to begin? June was a crazy month. I did not have any alone time until a couple of days ago; I had been surrounded by people 24/7 for 4 weeks straight. Starting on June 1, Border to Border 2016 took over my life, but in the best possible way. If you’ve been regularly keeping up with my blog, you probably have read a little bit about Border to Border.

Quick refresher: Border to Border (BtoB) is a Peace Corps Armenia health awareness initiative, where teams of Peace Corps volunteers and Armenians hike across the country. Along the way, we camp in towns and villages and teach interactive lessons to children on personal, social, and community health. Our mission is to promote healthy living, through a healthy body and a healthy mind. We want to promote a healthy lifestyle, so we backpack and 100%-walk across Armenia in order to lead by example. “We don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk – literally.”

Teaching dental hygiene

The lessons taught on BtoB this year were nutrition, smoking prevention, dental hygiene, gender equality, peer inclusion + leadership, and environmental stewardship; all lessons were taught in Armenian. On my team, I taught the dental hygiene lesson; I had a blast teaching young children about brushing and flossing, using hand paint, baby wipes, and brooms. Feel free to ask me for a demonstration some time. Originally, BtoB only had 2 routes, a North and a South route. The South team starts on the border with Iran, walks through Syunik marz, and finishes in Yegheghnadzor (the end point for all teams). Traditionally, the North team starts in the northeast corner of Armenia and covers the eastern half of the country. But this year, the North route became the Northeast route, as a Northwest route was created and implemented for the first time. I had the esteemed privilege of being on that inaugural Northwest route. The Northwest team started on the border with Georgia in the northwest corner of Armenia, in Shirak marz, and walked through 5 regions (Shirak, Aragatsotn, Armavir, Ararat, and Vayots Dzor marzes). We got to reach areas and teach in communities that had never heard of Border to Border (or sometimes even Peace Corps, for that matter). When we finally reached Yegheghnadzor on June 21, we had walked a total of 186 miles (300 km) and taught over 450 students.

June 21: We made it!

I am so incredibly thankful to have been part of the Northwest team and route. Team Northwest has already spent several hours being sentimental together, so I won’t dwell on us too much. But I can’t imagine shaking my booty, watching The Shawshank Redemption, or singing “Hakuna Matata” with any other people.

There are not enough words to describe the people I met, the experiences I had, and the emotions I felt during Border to Border. Sorry to be cliché, but Border to Border was incredibly rewarding and truly life-changing. It is undeniably the highlight of my service thus far. There were so many unforgettable moments and multiple places along the way that stole my heart. I wish I could write about every single, wonderful moment we had, but that wouldn’t be possible, so I’m going to limit myself to the ones from which I have visual mementos.

Chronologically, one of our early favorite moments from the start of BtoB was in Torosgyugh. We had just arrived after a hard and challenging walking day (as our bodies were still adjusting to our backpacks and walking distance/time) and the school director gifted us with a jar of his homemade honey and told us to expect some students to come meet us a little later. Torosgyugh was the first site where we were to interact with solely high schoolers, so we were initially nervous that they would act like they were too cool to interact with us Americans. But the kids were AWESOME! They came out to the school to greet us later that evening and asked us to play some games with them. We ended the night with a game called Hee-Hoo-Ha (see video below), and even though our bodies were aching, we had a great time being silly and laughing together.

Another amazing site that we visited was Hatsik, which we went to right after Torosgyugh. Hatsik was probably the first place we visited that I described as “magical.” There, we didn’t teach at the school; instead, the children of Hatsik led us on this 15-minute walk to this beautiful, small gorge, where there were little picnic tables and pavilions that we could use to teach. The children were so excited to play and interact with us, and we had community adults come observe our lessons for the first time, too! Our lessons went very well, as the young students were super engaged, and when we finished, we were taken to this “magic” rock with a hole in the middle. Supposedly, anyone can climb through the hole, regardless of body type or size, and if you go through it, all your wishes will come true. After watching my teammates go through the hole and going through it myself, I’m really inclined to believe that anyone can truly climb through that magical, small hole. (Shout out to our police friend Hovik for helping us climb through the hole!)

Our Vedi friends!

Our third and final week of BtoB was filled with unforgettable people and incredible experiences. It all started in Vedi, where we had the best host family stays EVER in BtoB history. I could go on for hours about the host family experiences we had in Vedi; one of my Peace Corps goals now is to convince one of my Northwest PCV teammates to extend his PC service for a third year in Vedi. Just one day after we said good-bye to our Vedi friends, they called us and offered to pick us up and take us to our next destination, Lusashogh. After a team discussion and vote, we finally decided to take them up on their offer and have them pick us up partway through our hike that day, and boy, we are so glad that we did! When we arrived in Lusashogh, we were treated to an khorovatz and an impromptu, mini dance party with our friends from Vedi. Check out the fantastic view and our equally-amazing Armenian dance moves!

The last BtoB moment I’ll detail also comes from Lusashogh, a village of 80 families and no marshutkas (i.e. public transportation). Turns out that if we hadn’t had our friends from Vedi drive us the rest of the way, we would never have reached Lusashogh and get to experience the most magical and incredible 12 hours of Border to Border. We didn’t even teach in Lusashogh and we fell in love with the community. In a few days, I will share some of the NW team’s publicity blog posts (from the BtoB Facebook page) that we wrote during the trek. One of my teammates Rachel does an amazing job of describing our unforgettable night of sunsets and poppy fields in her post about Lusashogh. But now, I’ll retell the dreamlike moment of when we departed Lusashogh. As we left Lusashogh and walked through the village, the little boys from the previous, adventure-and-magic-filled night joined us. They walked as far as they could with us, and along the way, they picked us poppies and wild flowers from the roadside fields. When we had to truly say and wave good-bye to them one last time, I cried tears of sadness and joy at the same time; sadness, for this truly magical and indescribable experience was coming to an end, and joy, for the opportunity to have met and interacted with these beautiful children of Lusashogh. I know in my heart that I will be returning soon.

I will never be able to do justice to the unforgettable, life-changing, and heart-warming experiences I had on Border to Border, in written or verbal form, but I hope that I’ve been able to provide an adequate snapshot of this incredible time in my Peace Corps service. I know that when I look back on my Peace Corps service 10, 20, 40 years from now, Border to Border 2016 and the Northwest route and team will be in the forefront of my memories.

Team Northwest: Day 1

And one more thing. A completely unrelated endnote, but did I mention I got to see the Pope? #firstchristiannation

18 vs. 24

“Wow wow wow.” That’s how I’ve been starting many of my messages and correspondences lately, because just WOW. Time is warped here in the Peace Corps; days go by slowly, weeks are a toss-up, and months pass by in the blink of an eye. I can’t believe that I’m already a quarter of the way done with my service in Armenia. When I talk to Armenians and they ask me how long I will be in Armenia, I no longer say 2 years; I now tell them 18 months. 18 vs. 24: through the Peace Corps lens, the difference between those two numbers is gigantic (even though the difference is only 6. See? I’m putting those Davidson math skills to good use #mathmajor).

Me and Lucy (and Lyova, whom you’ll read more about below)

When I first arrived in Armenia, November 2017 seemed like a lifetime away, but now I realize that time is flying by. This realization is punctuated by the end of the school year in Armenia, which means I only have essentially one academic year left of teaching! That’s barely anytime! I feel like this past semester at school was more of a trial-and-error period, where I was exploring classroom dynamics, testing out English clubs, getting to know my students and counterpart, etc. Arriving at my school in the middle of the year was definitely a challenge, as students were already set-in their ways, which made setting new classroom expectations and routines difficult. I’m already really looking forward to the start of the new school year, when I’m able to set precedents and expectations from the get-go. My counterpart is already fully onboard for all of my ideas (bring on the cell phone basket!), so I’m super excited. My CP’s willingness and excitement over collaborating more with me next school year is so amazing and ideal; she’s definitely one of my favorite parts about my service in Gyumri and Armenia. As a student, I don’t think I was ever excited about the start of school. Now, during my first post-college job stint, I can’t wait for September 1 to arrive!

All of the TEFL volunteers from the A-22 group before us (A-23 group) say that they’ve been so much more successful in the second half of their service, so I’m hoping to be a much more effective English teacher come next school year. But even if none of my students’ English improved at all this semester, one thing that I am certain that I was able to teach them about is the beautiful diversity of the US. When I first met my counterpart and visited my school in October, my CP told me that the students had been expecting a young, white, blond girl, as that is what’s normally expected by Armenians when they here “American volunteer, English teacher.”

Peace Corps service as an Asian American is definitely a unique experience and presents its own rewards and challenges. Walking around my site, I often hear the word “chinatzi” (Chinese) when I pass by Armenians. Some days, if I’m feeling particularly sassy, I’ll turn around and say “Che, Americatzi em” (No, I’m American) and receive astonished faces in return. But in my school, I know that I’ve already been able to make a difference in my students in at least one way, and that is by broadening their mind and teaching them about about the incredible diversity in the US, be that diversity of race, religion, culture, or opportunity (among others). So if I had to suddenly leave Armenia tomorrow, I can be certain that I’ve had at least one wonderful teaching accomplishment that I can be proud of.

My time in the Peace Corps so far has definitely taught me that I should give myself more credit and be proud of myself in instances and events where I know I put in a lot of work, time, and effort. One proud teaching moment involves my character of a 7^th grader, Lyova (who’s in the picture above). He won second place at the National Poetry Recitation Contest this month, with the Leonard Nimoy poem “I am convinced” that I wrote about in my last blog post. He competed sick and was still able to win the judges and audience over with his charm and charisma (he ended the poem by making a heart with his hands…that might’ve been over the top, but it was awesome and hysterical). Additionally, at the beginning of May, I helped organize a Mother’s Day English presentation by the 7^th grade, where they recited poems, danced, and sang. I taught them the songs “I Love You” (yes, from Barney) and “You Are My Sunshine.” Below, you can watch the final chorus of the “You Are My Sunshine” group performance. I’m a proud mama bear.

And stay tuned for information on the big Peace Corps Armenia project I’m taking part in…starting June 1!

Ապրիլ

*Note: The title of this post is Ապրիլ, which is April in Armenian. Because I’m creative like that. Yeah. I know. I’m great with titles.

At the end of my last post, I mentioned that I had a surprise coming on March 31. Well SURPRISE!! My mom came to Armenia!! Well I knew she was coming so it wasn’t really a surprise in that sense, BUT I did surprise her by picking her up at the airport :) I had told her that I couldn’t leave work in Gyumri to pick her up in Yerevan and that instead I would meet her at her hotel the next day. Since I love love love surprises (whether I’m the surprise-ee or surprise-er) and fun surprises don’t happen enough in my life, I was so giddy and happy to pull off the surprise airport pick-up (my mom actually didn’t recognize me at first as she wasn’t expecting me at all!).

Me, Suzy, and her rose petal bath

During my mom’s first weekend in Armenia, we spent most of our time visiting my Mrgavan host family. Coincidentally, that weekend also marked the 40^th day after the birth of my host parents’ new baby girl. Nelly now has a little sister named Suzy! The 40^th day after birth is a big deal in Armenia and is normally commemorated with a baptism and celebration. Traditionally, an Armenian baby is kept at home for the first 40 days of its life and only those living in the home can see or hold the baby. Lucky for my mom, she came at just the right time and we got to meet Suzy and be a part of the 40^th day festivities! We went to the church in Artashat for the official baptism, but we also had a small ceremony at home that was like a mini pre-baptism. My host parents filled the baby bathtub with water, rose petals, and strings of semi-precious stones and then placed Suzy in the tub. They proceeded to pour 40 little cups of water on her head and she loved it! Didn’t cry once! I also poured some water on Suzy, as my host family lovingly and repeatedly reminded me that I’m her big sister too, so I should take part in the ceremony as well.

Integration thru khorovatz

Following the mini pre-baptism and the church baptism, we had a little party afterwards and my mom got to help prepare the խորոված (Armenian BBQ; pronounced khorovatz). When we left Mrgavan and were in a taxi on our way to Gyumri, my mom couldn’t stop gushing about my host family. She absolutely loved them. She adored Nelly and Suzy, became fast friends with my host grandma (despite a massive language barrier), and promised my host mom that she would stay with them in Mrgavan rather than at a hotel in Yerevan when she comes to visit Armenia again. My mom even joked with me that my host grandma kissed me more in one day than she personally has in my entire life.

Since my mom came to visit me at the beginning of April, my school wasn’t on break so I still went to work. I’m super glad that my mom got to visit me during the school year. Sure, if she had visited over the summer, we could’ve been more touristy and visited other places in Armenia. But in the summer, she wouldn’t have been able to visit my school and meet everyone there. My mom really enjoyed meeting my students, especially the 7^th graders. They were so excited to meet her, asking her tons of questions and telling her how beautiful and young she looks. Even now at the end of April, I still have some 7^th graders randomly come up to me and say “Your mother is so beautiful!”

Post-luncheon group pic!

My counterpart, school director, and vice principals were also incredibly generous during my mom’s visit. They treated us to a lovely lunch at a Georgian-Armenian restaurant one day, and the next day, my school director and CP organized a tour of Gyumri by car for my mom. And on our final night in Gyumri, my CP invited us to her home for dinner with her family. Yes, my mom may have brought back some dried fruit, pomegranate souvenirs, and cognac gifts, but if you ask her what her favorite part was about Armenia, she will tell you that it’s easily the people.

Gyumri Poetry Contest

After my mom left around mid-April, my life was consumed by the National Poetry Recitation Contest, a Peace Corps Armenia funded project that helps promote creative and critical English language learning through poetry. I was the Regional Contest Coordinator for Shirak marz and had been planning the Gyumri contest since January. Ask any of my PCV friends and they will tell you how stressed out and nervous I was about the contest in the days leading up to it. Day of, I was running all over the place (in heels too!) like a crazy person. But luckily, the competition went incredibly smoothly. All the personnel at my school were extremely helpful in setting up the school’s gymnasium for the contest, and my PCV and Armenian friends were the best poetry judges ever. Additionally, two of my students won for their grade-levels (7^th and 11^th grades), so they’ll compete in the National Contest in Yerevan on May 8. My 11^th grader won with the poem If I Could Tell You by W.H. Auden, and my 7^th grader won with I am convinced by Leonard Nimoy. I had never heard or read any Leonard Nimoy poems until I got involved with this poetry contest, and now, I love this poem; I am convinced is exceptionally global, cross-cultural, and cross-generational. Given current events in Armenia and around the world, this poem sends a beautifully poignant, simple, and relevant message:

I am convinced
That if all mankind
Could only gather together
In one circle
Arms on each other’s shoulders
And dance, laugh and cry
together
Then much
of the tension and burden
of life
Would fall away
In the knowledge that
We are all children
Needing and wanting
Each other’s
Comfort and
Understanding
We are all children
Searching for love

This April has been an affecting month in Armenia. Deep-seated and long-lasting tensions between Armenian and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh erupted at the beginning of February, resulting in the deadliest conflict since the Nagorno-Karabakh War ended in 1994, with some Armenian news sources referring to this clash as the Four-Day War. I know that some friends and family back in the US may not be aware of any of this, so here are a couple of articles from CNN and the NYT about the current situation. In a country of less than 3 million people, the effects of this conflict and fighting are deeply felt across Armenia. Moreover, Azerbaijan is backed by Turkey, and April is the commemoration month of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by Turkey’s predecessor, i.e. the Ottoman Empire.

Tsitsernakaberd: Armenian Genocide Memorial

The Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, April 24^th, is always a solemn day in Armenia, but this year, patriotism was abundant (given the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh). I was fortunate enough to be in Yerevan on April 24 and was able to take part in the march up to the genocide memorial and lay a flower around the eternal flame, paying tribute to the memory of Armenian Genocide victims. The stirring and stunning display at the memorial is one that I will never forget, and even though I have only been in this country for 8 months, I already know that the awe-inspiring and persevering spirit of the Armenian people is one that I will always remember.

Has spring sprung yet?

That’s the question of the month. In Gyumri, we’ve had some teaser days of 50-degree weather, with beautiful, warm sunshine and clear, blue skies. I even got to stop wearing wool socks and doubling up on my pants! But then about halfway through the month, temperatures dipped back down to a high of 30s during the day and well below freezing at night. All the snow had already melted, but last week, Mother Nature must’ve thought, “Let’s have snow again just for funsies,” and it also snowed again last night (but a lot of it has already melted so that’s good). When the cold first returned, my host mom initially didn’t turn on our gas heater, so for the first couple of days, I formed a very loving and intimate relationship with my Peace Corps-issued personal radiator. I now know all the best and most comfortable ways to sit on and/or hug a personal-sized radiator in order to maximize warmth transference and retention. I can also give some sound advice on how to multi-task and do work on a laptop while still maintaining a close bond with your radiator. So if you want any tips on this particular topic, hit me up. Though recently, whenever I start complaining about the cold, I stop and think about my close friend in Colombia (who’s also teaching English) and how she told me that she’s constantly sweating in 90-degree weather and humidity (Thanks Sara!!). That really puts things in perspective and makes me actually grateful that I’m cold rather than dripping sweat. If you know me pretty well, you’re probably aware of my nose and its sweating habits, so the cold is definitely a good thing.

During training, Peace Corps told us that the winter weather would probably affect our emotional and mental health when we moved to our final sites, since we were arriving and adjusting to new and unfamiliar surroundings at the onset of winter. At the time, I kind of brushed off any worries about feeling down in the dumps during the winter since I’ve never thought of myself as someone whose moods are affected by seasonal changes. Now in retrospect, I think it was inevitable that I experienced multiple lows and highs during the winter months, especially in Gyumri. In December, January, and February, I experienced changes in my mental attitude daily, if not hourly. One day, I might have woken up dreading going to school, then had an awesome breakthrough moment with a student, then gone to bed questioning my integration into my community (especially since Gyumri is NOT a village) and my time in the Peace Corps. And then the next day, I might have had the exact opposite kind of day, a high-low-high day, with waking up and going to sleep loving my Peace Corps experience. Honestly, about a month ago, towards the end of February, I was probably going through my lowest dip thus far. After three long, cold months, I was feeling very unsure and stressed out about my work in the Peace Corps and my presence at my school and in Gyumri. I felt like I wasn’t having any kind of positive impact on my school and that I was failing at integrating and making connections in Gyumri. I was constantly stressing about different projects, deadlines, and expectations, including post-Peace Corps prospects. There was a stretch of nights during this low period where I was already extremely anxious about what I’m going to do after Peace Corps and spent hours looking up post-Peace Corps career and educational opportunities nightly.

But along with the slightly warmer temperatures and small preview of spring weather this past month, I’ve definitely been on the upswing in March. Yea, I’m still stressed about multiple different projects and their various deadlines and expectations, but I’m now also really excited about them! March has seen much more positivity, with me having more confidence and a better understanding of my site and placement and thus being more productive with all my work. A close friend back in the States recently asked me what my day-to-day life is like, and I answered honestly: daily life here isn’t super exciting; often times, it’s actually boring. But as cliché as it might sound, it’s the little things that make a difference. I didn’t have to travel anywhere this month, so I’ve really valued my time at site, making special little memories here and there:

Gyumri School #26 debate team

• Helping the school’s debate team prepare for a competition and tagging along to cheer them on
• Working with the 7^th grade to prepare English poems and songs for their Mother’s Day (April 7 in Armenia) presentation
• Playing soccer with my counterpart and our 11^th graders
• Attending a student’s 16^th birthday party
• Baking a German apple cake from scratch for my host mom and sister for International Women’s Day (which is a big holiday in Armenia! We got 2 days off of school for it! Why is this day not a bigger deal in the US??)

  

  German apple cake baked by Americans in Armenia #culturalexchange

And last night, I attended a jazz concert by a French quartet that I was invited to by the Swiss organization I’ve been working with in Gyumri, and it was fantastic! I’ve realized that even if my work as a teacher isn’t immediately effective or doesn’t necessarily ever meet the TEFL indicators of a successful service, the meaningful relationships and friendships that I’m forming with people all over Gyumri are the foundations for a life-enriching and inspiring service, both for the Armenians I work with and myself.

I think another reason why I’m currently so upbeat is cause I know that March is already almost over (!!!) and I have a lot of events and commitments coming up in April and May, so these next couple of months are going to fly by!! Plus, the school year is essentially over around mid-May since all the kids just go ahead and mentally check out for the summer, which means…SUMMER IS SOOOO CLOSE!!! I’m already beyond excited for this summer! My schedule is jam-packed in the best possible way! I have Border to Border starting on June 1 for three weeks, mid-service training at the end of June, the Peace Corps’ Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) camp at the beginning of July, then I’m taking a trip HOME!! Yes, I’m so stoked for my visit back to the States (details about that trip coming later), but let me backtrack and tell you a little bit about the amazing Peace Corps Armenia program that I already know will be a major highlight of my service: Border to Border.

Border to Border 2016 logo

I’m so incredibly excited and #blessed to be a part of Border to Border 2016. Border to Border is a Peace Corps Armenia health initiative founded in summer 2010. Every summer since, teams of Peace Corps and Armenian volunteers have hiked and camped across the country, stopping in villages along the way to teach interactive lessons on personal, social, and community health. Our mission is to promote healthy living, through a healthy body and a healthy mind. We want to promote a healthy lifestyle, and thus are backpacking and 100%-walking across Armenia in order to lead by example. This summer will be the 6^th annual Border to Border, which will take place June 1-22. In the past, there has traditionally been two teams (a North route and a South route) that meet somewhere in the middle of Armenia at the end of three weeks. This summer, there will be three teams for the first time! The original North route is now the Northeast route, and the Northwest route is the inaugural, new route.

We are currently fundraising for Border to Border 2016 and are a few thousand USD short of our goal. Please consider contributing to this exceptionally impactful and unique project. Every little bit helps and a (tax-deductible!) donation of any kind will be greatly appreciated! Below you will find our Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP) donation page, as well as the official website for Border to Border 2016 and the Border to Border Facebook page. You can read more about Border to Border at any of these three links.

Border to Border’s PCPP donation page

Border to Border 2016 website

Border to Border Facebook page

That’s all for now. More updates to come soon as things pick up in April and I have a surprise coming on March 31!

Love, Արիան (that’s how you spell my name in Armenian)

Happy Holidays from Armenia!

I can’t believe I’ve been in Gyumri for only a little over a month! It feels like I’ve already been here a few months! Things are going swimmingly. My new host mom is super sweet and accommodating, plus she’s a very good cook! My room is nice and big, but it has a really high ceiling which makes it difficult to heat. I know I’ve already written more than once about how cold it is in Gyumri, but I really can’t talk about it enough. Most of the time when I’m outside, I feel like my fingers and toes are bordering on frostbite (and I’m wearing gloves and doubling up on socks!). The ground is almost constantly frozen – yes, frozen. Not like a slippery-ice frozen, but you can definitely tell that the ground is frozen because the dirt is very hard and solid from freezing. I’ve also taken to wearing leggings under my pants ever since my host family emphatically suggested I do so. Apparently, I need to protect my ovaries from freezing so I can have babies later.

So I’ve figured out I probably won’t be maintaining 2 blog posts per month like I originally said…I’m not even doing a lot of work for my school yet and I still have a hard time finding the time and energy to sit down and write a post. I’ll be striving for one post per month now #underachieving. Currently at school, I’m mostly just observing English classes and interacting with students before and after class. I occasionally act as a teacher’s aid, checking grammar exercises and reading through passages with the class. In January, after winter break, I think my students expect me to start teaching regularly…right now that’s the plan and I hope I’ll be able to start co-teaching and co-planning with my Armenian counterparts. I officially only have one English teacher counterpart at my school, but she only teaches 10^th-12^th grades. If I only worked with her, I would teach less than 10 hours per week, so I started working with the other English teacher at my school, too. Now, I also get to teach 6^th-9^th grades! I love working with the younger students, particularly the 6^th and 7^th graders. Their excitement for learning English is adorable and I can’t help but smile every time I walk into their class, with students cheering and screaming “HELLO!!” Once I start teaching, my schedule will definitely pick up. I think my school also expects me to start an English club after winter break, so we’ll see how that goes…if anyone has ANY ideas on club activities or how to make an English club interesting and sustainable, let me know. Please.

In general, my school has been fantastic! I really like my school director and vice principals, and the students and teachers are all great (the French teacher lets me break out my rusty French and practice with her!). There are many awesome aspects to my school, one being that 6^th, 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th grades have English more than twice a week! The 11^th and 12^th grades actually have English every day, except Saturday. Yes, my school is in session on Saturdays and all grades have class 6 days/week.

Yesterday, after their Saturday classes, the 7^th graders held a Quiz-Bowl-like competition and invited all the teachers to come watch. The Saturday before, every grade decorated its classroom for the winter holidays and helped decorate the outside of the school. These extra little things make me really thankful for my school. On Thanksgiving, my main counterpart was aware of the holiday and organized a Thanksgiving tree. She explained the concept of Thanksgiving to the school and had students write (in English or Armenian) what they were thankful for on the leaves, which were then placed on the tree. My counterpart wanted to help me feel more at home and even brought a cake to school to celebrate Thanksgiving. My birthday was the following Tuesday, and my school definitely made it an unforgettable birthday. Throughout the day, my students gave me sweet little gifts and notes. Students ran up, kissed me on the cheek, and wished my happy birthday all day. To top things off, the first snow of the year was the same day and Armenians consider the first day of winter to be December 1, so my birthday coincided with the school’s end-of-autumn/beginning-of-winter celebration/performance. At the end of the celebration, I temporarily spaced out when one of the vice principals was giving a closing speech (I knew I wasn’t going to understand much of it). Next thing I know, my counterpart is nudging me and I look up to all the students staring at me and the vice principal motioning to me to join her in the middle of the gym. I joined her and she presented me with roses from the school director, then all the students started chanting “Happy birthday!” I was so touched and half-joked with my Peace Corps friends later that this was the most attention I will probably ever receive for my birthday in the workplace. Below, you can check out the video I made of the school’s celebration; it was very entertaining. Every single performance made me smile, and I’ve been told that there’s going to be another similar celebration for the last day of school before winter break and I’m stoked.

Besides the cold, Gyumri has been great! I live a 2-minute walk away from Renata, another A23 TEFL volunteer, so we see each other a lot. She and I have become regulars at Yaghli House, a café with really good wifi. We’re pretty sure the waiters are sick and tired of us because every time we go, we stay there way longer than other customers, even after we finish our food. But the wifi is SO FAST. I know, cafés and wifi don’t normally go with the Peace Corps image. But in its own right, Gyumri is definitely still developing. But it is developed enough to have cheddar and gouda cheese!! I made some bangin’ southern-style mac n’ cheese with cheddar and gouda for Gyumri Thanksgiving. All the volunteers in Shirak marz got together and celebrated on Friday since we had a regular work day on Thursday. After Gyumri Thanksgiving on Friday, a group of us went to Yerevan on Saturday for another PCV Thanksgiving get-together. For that, I made brown sugar bars with a pretzel crust and they were a hit! Originally, I wasn’t going to go to the Yerevan Thanksgiving, but then I found out there was a movie theater in Yerevan that showed The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 in English! So I ended up being able to celebrate Thanksgiving twice and see the last Hunger Games movie (which was awesome btw).

Our train conductor friend

Side story: When we went to Thanksgiving in Yerevan, we took the train there and back. On the way to Yerevan, we were invited up to the front of the train. We met the conductor and all the train workers and chatted with them for half of the trip. They were super nice and even served us coffee and gave us chocolate. It was pretty awesome. On our way back to Gyumri the next day, the train was chugging along like normal when, all of a sudden, the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. There was no train station, no train platform, nothing. All of a sudden, the train conductor we’d met the day before burst into our train car. He shouted, “Ari, ari (come, come)!!” and motioned for us to follow him. So we joined him at the front of the train for the rest of the trip, and this time, we got cookies.  

Last weekend, I went to Yerevan again for our PCV holiday party. Renata and I made lemon bars for the party’s bake-off and we won!! Besides the holiday party, it hasn’t really felt like Christmastime over here, which is a bummer (I really miss Christmas music!). I actually have work on Christmas Day, but on the bright side, December 25 coincides with the last day of school before winter break, so that’s nice :) Armenian Christmas is January 6 (Epiphany), which is part of New Year’s celebration here. I’m really looking forward to New Year’s. New Year, or Nor Tari, is a huge deal in Armenia and celebrations last almost a whole week. My blog post in January will definitely be covering Nor Tari. Being that it is the holiday season (and birthday season for my family!), I’m really missing my people back in the US, but I’m wishing you all a wonderful holiday season from Armenia! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!