come in, please

It takes a long time to really know people here and feel comfortable with them knowing you (partly because you have to sit through the usual long questionnaire about yourself) that when others invite you in to their house, it is easier sometimes to just decline. I know I not only speak for myself but for other Peace Corps Volunteers - we are somewhere in between living and coping and assimilation and detachment. But in any case, I try to say yes as much as I can. Today I was stopped by a woman I don't know too well and I decided to take up her coffee offer. I left with a feeling of serene discovery and here are a few pictures I took from the 45 minutes I stayed.

girl in the fence

After some protest, she surrendered and let me take a few pictures. Vera - 9 years old. Loves playing 'futbol' and asking me questions.

?

The curious kid and his nameless pose. I think he was crying.

the femme scene

I feel like I've been here forever now, and finding interesting pictures is sometimes a challenge. So I have decided to skip out on some of my assigned work and take on a project about the attitude towards beauty in Armenia. I have been re-introduced to the American attitude and style regarding beauty just by being the outsider here. In general, I would say we (Americans) don't put a huge priority on our appearances and in some cases go out of our way to look like a slob. Never the case in Armenia. My torn jeans hardly get worn and when they do I have to admit to feeling slightly embarrassed. It's is something that I notice almost everyday - my outfit vs. their outfit. It's very cultural. I hope to have some good ones in the coming months.

the butcher bros

Brothers, co-workers and very good friends of mine. They grind coffee and cut up meat and somehow manage to keep a very humble and elegant manner about themselves. I wanted to take some audio of the place, but then thought that the sound of knife on meat and coffee in the grind really wouldn't be all that cool. I'm sure that is easy enough to imagine. I wanted to get more of the process of them working together, but this is all that I could manage to take while not getting in the way - hanging carcass posed people portraits.

school

Just by default, I help teach English with a local teacher at my school. I don't really mind it - but working in the schools here is tough. My first day I cried, called my Mom and couldn't believe how out of control it was. Now I'm pretty used to the level of discipline and chaos that I'd probably invite my Granny in to come see me there as I help teach. In general, the education system here is abysmal - from teachers' level of interest in teaching to the corrupt grading style. But so it goes. I tried to get some decent audio of the English class I go to - 7th grade. It just so happens that they were talking about punishment in schools that day; the irony. I've seen kids' pencils, protractors and books broken to pieces and scattered all over the room - and much more. It's not fair to compare what exists here and what I experienced as a child in school, but sometimes it's just all that comes to mind.

project assistance

I have spent the last day and a half with cinematographer and Fulbright Scholar Thomas Burns, helping him with his project here by translating a little and introducing him to some nice people I know. Thomas is "producing a collection of black-and-white photographs that use techniques of portraiture to explore narratives of social transformation in the South Caucasus." I had a great time watching him work and learning more about his future exhibition. These are some of my pictures from the duration of the last day. Thomas is a great guy - very down to earth about photography and what he's doing. I'm looking forward to seeing his project on the wall soon. www.thomasburns.net (p.s. Also a fellow Texan, born and raised in Austin!)

elsewhere

Tonight my neighbor Hranush's mother passed away - and while the body rests on top of a table inside with candles and cloth, the coffin stands outside in the snow to signify a death in the house. She had come over to tell me she thought tonight would be the night, and so I went over there to try to say my goodbyes - she was a fiery woman. It wasn't 10 minutes later that she let go. And while people were crying and singing, an infant on the floor starting playing hide and seek on his own trying to get me to notice him, giggling and smiling. As untimely a moment as it was, I like to think that there was a current of life sweeping by - celebrating somehow.

most beautiful chairs ever

These three musty old chairs on my back porch where I have sat and watched the sun set a hundred times, shared a beer and a cup of coffee with good friends, or finished up the last of a book looked more nostalgic than usual. I'm happy to say though: There are only 6 more months!!! (when I didn't think I'd stay 6 weeks). I apologize, no interesting audio to accompany this - will try hard to find something neat for the next time.

a brand new year

This picture comes from New Year's Eve last year. I was living with an Armenian family, following the patterns of their life and just getting a grip on speaking their language without coming across like a toddler: "Do you love water?"..... "I love water much right now." ....."No I don't eat because I much full, but thank you I love yours food." ..... "I think I must come to my house later right now is very late." It was worse than that - but anyhow New Year's is the biggest day of the year - gifts are given, people spend 5 days celebrating with all the food and drink they have gone into debt to give and share. The night begins at midnight, and lasts a good while. It's a bright full moon as well, which I can't help but think is a good sign for the start of a new year, around the world.

road side wine tasting

The wine in Armenia isn't awful, but it's totally unpredictable. In my experience, one bottle of what I usually buy will be alright, the next slightly carbonated, and the next so sweet I have to spit it out. But the best wine here comes from the region I live in from a village called Areni in Vayots Dzor Region. On the side of the road there are small stands for about half a mile selling homeade wine in Coca-Cola bottles along with fruit, honey, and other things. My friends Emily, Henny, and I went wine tasting a few days ago in our preparation to buy 10 liters of the best roadside wine we could find for our Christmas party. So we walked from one stand to the next, testing all of it - getting happier and happier at each stop. We ended the day by carrying our 10 liters of wine up the steep hill to visit the church in the village, take a photo and celebrate on our success of getting 4 liters of wine for free. The audio is complete with drive by trucks, so listening to it twice might be a good idea.

and so it is christmas

A few nights ago a few of us sat around a small table and drank homeade wine and hung out with an art professor from the university we teach at. He sang us an old traditional song while we held each others pinky fingers swaying back and forth like the way they dance here; I don't think the song has much to do with Christmas but it went well with the night. Merry Christmas to all!

Piano Lessons

This is the piano I am learning on - the only one in the culture house used for lessons that is missing half the keys. And it sounds horrible, but then again, I'm as green as they come right now. My teacher, Susanna, is a really patient woman but she often just likes to play or sing for me rather than teach, although she praises how fast I am catching on. I'm learning Ava Maria, and I recorded her singing and me playing (with many mistakes). One of these keys sounds so bad that it makes me twitch when I replay it. It's a lot of fun learning to play the piano; the best $15 I spend every month.

Where's your audio thing Paige?

These girls are obsessed with my audio recorder. And because I'm over at their house quite a bit, they bug me to play with it. They know it's in my bag, and even if I tell them I didn't bring it they know I'm lying. The first time I let them use it, they recorded 62 recordings. 10 second clips of silliness within an hour. So I stitched a few of them together - Russian TV in the background, my voice, them saying dumb things like" Listen to me, I'm telling you something." And then just laughter or silence. You'll see....

girls' gym class

I had the girls' 5th grade gym class to myself, which usually makes them wildly excited - because in the last 3 months we've played games that are new for them. Relay races with buckets of water, my suitcase of clothes they have to put on, running like a bear and a crab, and so on. This time though, the weather was bad and we got the gym to ourselves. So we played the old standby - dodgeball. The audio is like you'd expect, echoed screams and shouts that fill the space of a gym, so don't turn the volume up too loud.