Nov. 2

Emily: Everyday on the walk into town I pass these tatiks sitting on their bench outside their homes. Satik, left, lives alone and after a year of saying hello to her every day she has just now started saying hello back. Emma, right, is notorious for cornering me on the street or in the store while munching on walnuts and telling me stories about her relatives that live all over the world. The two are always very curious about me, my activities and the numerous foreign guests I bring by their bench. This is the first time I've taken their portraits.

Me: I've known Glen since I was 8 years old when he worked for my Dad's construction business as a framer. He still frames houses, and he still calls me Paigey Waigey or most of the time just P-Wage. I go to his house in Austin about once a month and we'll cook dinner (and if it's not chicken then it's sausage), drink beer, and I'll listen to him tell me about something I should know that I don't know. He perpetually jokes with me that knowing Armenian is going to give me a leg up in the world. It's always a good conversation, despite his misunderstandings of my linguistic wealth and power.