We've really had a mild winter here, for which I am eternally thankful. Life here is hard enough without having to deal with the severe winter they often have. It really is amazing to think that the majority of people in the world live in very sub-standard situations where their basic needs are just barely met. And often even that is missing. While Armenia carries forward a legacy of "less than beautiful" architecture from the Soviets, still life was good here until about 20 years ago when the Soviet Union collapsed. It's humbling and scary to see how quickly a nation can deteriorate. I have been so blessed by my birthplace. May I never forget.
My work here is good. I love the kids! Give me a box of crayons, some paper and a roomful of impoverished kids and I'm a hero. I love to bring color into their lives. I'm supposed to be doing an English club (okay, we'll call it that - I speak English) but mostly we play with bright colors. I incorporate color wherever I can. Last week we made cards for our mothers for Women's Day. I had a little poem in English about how I love you Mom blah blah blah which they copied down then I had coloring pictures of flowers, birds, outdoor scenes that I had downloaded from the internet. I passed out bright colored markers and for an hour we were all engrossed in making the world a bright and beautiful place. I'll miss giving them that. Their lives are so drab. Our souls need color. I want to buy gallons of bright paint and run through town, splashing it on everything I see!
I'm having health problems that just won't quit so I've decided to leave Peace Corps. I get headaches and ringing in my ears that only happens here in Vardenis. I can't figure it out and neither can anyone else. A lot of people here (in Vardenis) say they have headaches and blame it on the altitude (6,500ft). Who can say? But my headaches and ringing ears are so severe that I really can't stand it anymore, even if I wanted to try to persist. So I'll leave Vardenis in a couple of weeks but will stay in Armenia until mid-April. Then I'll travel to Turkey and will meet friends from the US for 2-3 weeks. OmG what an incredible place Turkey is. Google images of Cappadocia, Pamukkale, Istanbul. Just incredibly beautiful and the history equally magnificent. All the places we read about in school as children! When my friends leave I'll travel around Turkey by myself until maybe early June. Then I'll travel to Turkey and will meet friends from the US for 2-3 weeks. What an incredible place Turkey is. Just incredibly beautiful and the history equally magnificent. All the places we read about in school as children! When my friends leave I'll travel around Turkey by myself until maybe early June. Then I'll either fly ($260 cheap!) or travel by land to Switzerland, where I have a friend and will have free lodging there for a couple weeks. (I'm such a bum) I will go by land if it's not too expensive. I'd like to take the train and bus up through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria. I'll figure that out when it's time to figure it out. Then . . . . . . I have another friend who lives in Finland so Ruth and I will fly there (again cheap $300), visit with Sirkka for a week then will go over to St Petersburg, Russia for 2 weeks. There again (in St Pete) I will be able to do a homestay with relatives of my host family here in Armenia. My goal is to keep all my travel expenses under $1500/month, excluding my airfare home, and I think I can do it. Otherwise, you'll see my smiling face on your doorstep much sooner than mid-July. :o)
Of course I have no home to return to in Colorado so I may just keep on rolling. Many places in the US I haven't seen yet, many friends spread far and wide who I haven't seen in a long time and may visit. Who can say which direction a tumbleweed will roll next?
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