Saturday Jan. 28 was cold and foggy and ice crystallized from the fog onto bushes and trees.
January was an interesting month and I'll remember it (and probably February as well) for a while. It hasn't been a very cold month, though we haven't seen much of the sun and have had several snowfalls. The village authorities were working on the water supply for several days in mid-January and although the pressure was reduced, we still had sufficient water, most of the time, to trigger the instantaneous gas water heater. These are ubiquitous in Armenia and only large hotels have hot water tanks. However, one neighbor fed up with the reductions took things into his own hands and smashed the lock on the diversion setup near our house, sending more water to his house and cutting off our water supply completely. That was a very cold night and our pipes froze. In his defense, I think he didn't realize he was cutting off our water completely. Anyway, the next morning Zarik humiliated the poor man with a very public and very angry tongue-lashing; in Armenian parlance he was amot-ed (shamed). Since then, we've been able to restore water to the tap downstairs but the pipes inside the walls going upstairs are frozen and we'll have to wait until things thaw. So for the last two weeks we've been hauling water in buckets up the stairs, heating it on the wood stove, and washing dishes once a day in large bowls. We have been flushing the zugaran (toilet) with buckets and adding small amounts of rock salt to the water in the toilet to keep it from freezing. However, the last 20-30 feet of our house drain is elevated above ground and, predictably, without a steady flow of water trickling through it has frozen. So our toilet is now a bucket which we empty onto the garden. Most houses in Verishen have drains which empty directly into the river. I was appalled in 2010 when I realized what was happening with the household waste, and now I, an environmental education volunteer, am part of an even worse, if temporary, approach to waste disposal. I have been impressed with how Zarik and Hrantic are dealing with these setbacks. Their approach has been one of stoic acceptance; this is what we need to do until it warms up – and we will do it. I have not heard one word of complaint or misery; instead over lunch we guessed when things would thaw enough for us to use the toilet again. (The estimates ranged from 4 to 6 weeks.) The next several weeks won't be completely convenient but it's been an interesting lesson for me; it's a lot easier to put up with minor inconveniences when everyone accepts the situation. And it's not without humor; Zarik and I spar good-naturedly over who washes the dishes, and I was washing dishes this afternoon in bowls with hot water from the wood stove and Zarik rushed in to remind me not to pour the water down the drain; she found my response (gittem, apoosh chem – I know, I'm not an idiot) amusing. The three rooms we live in are warm most of the time and we have plenty to eat. Khndir chka (no problems).
My English classes are evolving into multiple tutorials. There are more contact hours but as my students are at different levels it's a lot easier to customize the lessons. One student is relatively advanced and I'm having her read National Geographic articles (in small sections) and I'm composing word lists for her with words like cajole, harass, disaster, serendipity, guess, and indolent. I throw in synonyms, definitions, and an Armenian equivalent or two. The Internet helps greatly here as well as I have a Web site with recordings of different people speaking in English. A volunteer in Goris who teaches English and is leaving in two weeks looked around for someone to assume some of his classes. I agreed to take on one class as, with good students, teaching English can be quite enjoyable and it helps my Armenian a little.
We have received the funds to renovate the math classroom but the contractor has said he doesn't want to start the renovation until late February. I was initially disappointed with that, but seeing how January has been and remembering that we had most of our snow last year in February, that is a wise decision. With better weather, they'll be able to work more efficiently and I think we will still have the renovation completed by May. In the meantime, fundraising for the furniture for the math classroom did well for a while with some very generous donations but it has slowed lately and we've been at the point for the last week or so where we still need $750 (23%). I'm not very good at soliciting donations but I urge you to help if you haven't already donated. All the money donated will be used to furnish the room, it's a pretty good deal (4 large cupboards, 11 tables, 24 chairs, 3 blackboards, a large whiteboard, and curtains – for $3327) and I think this project will be a big contribution to education in Verishen. You can donate by going here . I'm impressed with both math teachers at the school and I am looking forward to talking with them soon, in my limited Armenian, about different ways to utilize this new resource.
Our cow is pregant again and the calf is expected in early to mid-March. Consequently, her milk yield is minmal, barely enough for last year's calf. To make matzoon (yogurt) we have resorted to buying milk from a neighbor with several cows; it's almost impossible to buy milk at the stores in a rich dairy area like Verishen. I have been using some of it with instant coffee in the morning (katof sourch – coffee with milk) and they asked me what I thought of the milk. It had struck me as being more like 2% milk than the milk we usually have. Apparently the butter-fat content of the milk from our cow is 3.6% - not particularly high by U.S. standards but higher than for most cows around here (and higher than most Holsteins). A higher fat content means more mik and cheese can be made from the milk. I occasionally forget that Zarik and Harantic are somewhat exceptional in their practices; the new calf was conceived with artificial insemination via semen from Yerevan, Hrantic accepted the need to prune the fruit trees, he is meticulous with his records and procedures for making wine, vodka, and cognac, and they are observant and curious about pests in the garden. Hrantic was trained as a reproductive biologist before joining the army, Zarik has science training, and Meuzhan, their son, is a veterinarian so their background is unusual – and they are well aware of the advantages of different agricultural services that are available in Armenia.
I have been working with the Goris kindergarten for the last couple of weeks. We are trying to find money to replace the bedding there, that has been in use for 30 years, and to add decent children's furniture to some of the rooms. At the last meeting, Jasmena, the kindergaretn director, asked me to add a cheap point-and-shoot digital camera for the children to use to the proposal. I think that with proper instructions nd supervision that could be a great thing for the children to use, - stimulating creativity, learning from trial and error, etc. I decided against adding it to the proposal as I don't want to overload it with a lot of miscellaneous and unrelated items. Instead, it has occurred to me (and other volunteers) that there is probably an appreciable number of digital cameras that are still serviceable but have been replaced by a newer model. If you have such a camera and are willing to donate it to the Goris kindergarten where it will be appreciated and see a lot of use, or know of someone in that position, could you please let me know (hedleywbond@gmail.com) and I will arrange to have them brought here. One volunteer is visting Tucson in March and another will be in Portland, Oregon, that month and both have offered to bring cameras back with them.
One of the best features of the Goris kindergarten are the bright and
colorful scenes throughout the building. This aquatic scene is in a stairwell.
Some of the rooms at the kindergarten are furnished with sturdy and sensible tables,
chairs, and bookshelves. We're seeking funding to similarly furnish the remaining rooms.
Most of the bedding in the kindergarten is old and worn
and we're trying to get funding to replace it all.
I have given given up trying to blend in here. I am slightly taller than average, bearded (which is unusual) and lack dark hair and dark eyes. However, there are also numerous subtle clues as well. I wear a fawn fleece jacket in winter, different from the black shiny jackets most men wear; and when there is snow and ice, I wear boots. Also, as a rule, most volunteers walk more quickly than most Armenians. And in Verishen, most people and all the school children know who I am and there is nothing approaching anonymity here. Some volunteers have been surprised at how little anonymity they have even in large towns and cities, and some, particularly those from large cities in the U.S., are uncomfortable with this familiarity. We were warned about this during pre-service training and most of the time, I like the familiarity. There are times, however, when it is nice to walk through areas where I'm not well known.
Wednesday Feb. 1 started out clear with a beautiful view of the mountains.
Before long though, the clouds returned and it snowed later that day.
