I think some great musician of our time said it well . . . . "What a long, strange trip it's been." Watched a film last night about the Armenian genocide, "Ararat." I look out the window at the remains of a once elegant city, once rich with arts and artisan, now 22 years since an earthquake devastated it and left 50,000 dead in the region. I visited the remains of a 1,000-year-old church a few days ago. Those ruins are "scenic"; the more recent ruins outside the window are not. Such suffering, such a terrible scar on the Armenian soul to carry forward. And here they are still, stuck in the remnants of the homeland they love dearly and can't get away from.
The father from the host family I stayed with last summer in Arzakan (and just visited a week ago) stopped by (well, stopped by is stretching it - he lives 3 hours away) a few nights ago at 11pm to remind me to please let PC know that they are a great host family and that they'd really like to be a host family again this coming summer. They make $300/month for that, $750 for the summer. They are so desperate. I like them very much and it so hurt to see the desperation in his eyes. His wife, Gayane, is a teacher, makes $200/month, has begun having migraines daily. He works for the forestry whatever, but his work is spotty. His 62-year-old mother gets a pension of $60/month and has a huge growth on her abdomen which they can't afford to have removed. They have a nice, big house and a great garden that feeds them, as well as a cow, a horse and chickens. They have one daughter who graduated from high school last year with honors but they can't afford to send her to college (where hopefully she'd find a husband). They have another daughter who will graduate next year and a 12-year-old son. And that's the life they live. So difficult . . . .
The father from the host family I stayed with last summer in Arzakan (and just visited a week ago) stopped by (well, stopped by is stretching it - he lives 3 hours away) a few nights ago at 11pm to remind me to please let PC know that they are a great host family and that they'd really like to be a host family again this coming summer. They make $300/month for that, $750 for the summer. They are so desperate. I like them very much and it so hurt to see the desperation in his eyes. His wife, Gayane, is a teacher, makes $200/month, has begun having migraines daily. He works for the forestry whatever, but his work is spotty. His 62-year-old mother gets a pension of $60/month and has a huge growth on her abdomen which they can't afford to have removed. They have a nice, big house and a great garden that feeds them, as well as a cow, a horse and chickens. They have one daughter who graduated from high school last year with honors but they can't afford to send her to college (where hopefully she'd find a husband). They have another daughter who will graduate next year and a 12-year-old son. And that's the life they live. So difficult . . . .
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