So my parents paid a visit to Armenia! They arrived the night after the English Camp ended. A bit of an untimely arrival, but c'est la vie. Here's a sort of play-by-play of their visit...
Arrival: Their flight arrived somewhat late on Saturday night. I left a birthday celebration in Akunq somewhat early to meet them at the airport. Conveniently, the Villa Delenda B&B arranged all our transportation, so I didn't even have to negotiate with a taxi driver! So, as I'm waiting in the arrivals hall (pretty sign in hand), I spot someone familiar! But not my parents. Turns out the founders of COAF were on the same flight! Then, another familiar face! No, not my parents. Turns out another PCV was on the same flight, too! It was my friend Collin, who told me about some Americans behind him on the flight who were talking about the "suburbs of Yerevan," which were actually just random villages. Turns out, those Americans were none other than my parents! (And they were being facetious, apparently, with the "suburbs" comment). So, I invited Collin to join our taxi ride back to Yerevan. My parents tightly gripped their seats as the wild (re: normal) driver sped back towards the city.
We ended the night at one of the many cafes surrounding the Yerevan Opera House.
Day One: My parents' first full day in Armenia happened to be the holiday Vardavar. Here's a photo from last year's holiday (and read the post here):
Luckily, we were able to dodge most of the water-throwers as we made our way to lunch. But being in Yerevan for this holiday was pretty interesting. The Swan Lake near the Opera was full of people in and around it, as was the fountain at Republic Square. We only got doused a little bit... mostly me! I think participants generally respect older people and men on Vardavar, because my dad was totally left alone and my mom only had a small big of water poured on her arm. My back got drenched.
Day Two: Tom met up with us in the morning and we all went to Khor virap together. It's the site where St. Grigor was imprisoned in a deep pit (a "khor virap") for 13-14 yrs. He survived by the grace of a woman who tossed down a loaf of bread for him once a week. So the sightseeing and history was interesting, but overshadowed by the HOTNESS. It was almost unbearably hot!
After the English chat, we took of on a whirlwind tour of people's homes. We managed to go to my school director's, both counterparts', and my host family's house all in a matter of 5 hours. For those of you who have experienced the intensity which is Armenian hospitality, you know what a feat this is. For those of you who haven't.. well... it's impressive.
Arrival: Their flight arrived somewhat late on Saturday night. I left a birthday celebration in Akunq somewhat early to meet them at the airport. Conveniently, the Villa Delenda B&B arranged all our transportation, so I didn't even have to negotiate with a taxi driver! So, as I'm waiting in the arrivals hall (pretty sign in hand), I spot someone familiar! But not my parents. Turns out the founders of COAF were on the same flight! Then, another familiar face! No, not my parents. Turns out another PCV was on the same flight, too! It was my friend Collin, who told me about some Americans behind him on the flight who were talking about the "suburbs of Yerevan," which were actually just random villages. Turns out, those Americans were none other than my parents! (And they were being facetious, apparently, with the "suburbs" comment). So, I invited Collin to join our taxi ride back to Yerevan. My parents tightly gripped their seats as the wild (re: normal) driver sped back towards the city.
We ended the night at one of the many cafes surrounding the Yerevan Opera House.
Day One: My parents' first full day in Armenia happened to be the holiday Vardavar. Here's a photo from last year's holiday (and read the post here):
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| Vardavar is a holiday in Armenia that is celebrated by throwing water on one another |
Anyway, we managed to get to a small restaurant and met a few friends for lunch. These were the first PCVs my parents really met (not counting their brief encounter with Collin at the airport). It was really nice to have my folks meet some of my good friends here.
Later that day, we made our way to Akunq for my PST host mom's birthday celebration. Talk about a good party! There were so many people there... family, extended family, neighbors, PC Trainees... everyone! There was khorovats, dancing, toast after toast... and my folks loved it! They really just at it all up (literally and figuratively). And my host family seemed to have a great time, too. Babkin, my host dad's brother, even asked my real dad to be his grandson's godfather! This made my folks a little nervous... but after some serious talking, I figured that Babkin just wanted them to be "part of the family." We assured them that his grandson and anyone else in the family is welcome to visit us in the States and that we'll keep in touch. So really, the godfather offer was just meant as a big, big compliment.
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| the spread of food! yum! |
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| toast after toast, after toast.. |
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| real parents & host parents |
Day Two: Tom met up with us in the morning and we all went to Khor virap together. It's the site where St. Grigor was imprisoned in a deep pit (a "khor virap") for 13-14 yrs. He survived by the grace of a woman who tossed down a loaf of bread for him once a week. So the sightseeing and history was interesting, but overshadowed by the HOTNESS. It was almost unbearably hot!
After the excursion, we made our way back to Yerevan and had drinks & dinner at Eden Pub.
Day Three: The moment of truth! On this day, I brought my parents to good ol' K-Town, the village where I've been living for the past year. We took a private taxi (which I've never done before; there are so many other transportation options) and got in around 10 or 11. After a quick tour of my house (which my mom said was nicer than she'd expected), we stopped off at the Culture Center where my counterpart's husband works. Here we had a short meet-and-greet with some of my students. I wanted them to practice their English skills with REAL English speakers who know ZERO Armenian. I think they (both students and my parents) enjoyed the session.
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| my parents & students |
After the English chat, we took of on a whirlwind tour of people's homes. We managed to go to my school director's, both counterparts', and my host family's house all in a matter of 5 hours. For those of you who have experienced the intensity which is Armenian hospitality, you know what a feat this is. For those of you who haven't.. well... it's impressive.
The reason for being in such a rush is simple: there was a big to-do going on in K-Town this day! The finals of the soccer tournament! My village was playing a nearby one for the rights to the title of champion in this first-ever tournament! Plus, a ton of COAF staff and volunteers were gathered and it was a great opportunity for my parents to be introduced to the organization. They were able to talk with some of the English teachers I've been working with, some regular staffers, as well as the founders themselves.
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| Mom & Anna, my friend and one of the COAF English teachers |
And last, but not least, in this day of touring around... TRIVIA. That's right, I worked it into our busy schedule to play trivia at the local Irish Pub. We didn't win, but we had fun! (And my parents got to meet even more PCVs)
Day Four: Another excursion day, this time to Garni Temple and Geghard Monastery. Both are quite popular sites around Yerevan. I went last year with Peace Corps during PST (blog post here). I think both my parents were quite impressed with these sites. They really are surreal places. There's one chamber/room at Geghard that I really like. It has a domed stone ceiling that is designed in such a way to produce really beautiful acoustics. I was there by myself for a while and [attempted to] hum Chinar Es, an old Armenian song. Even without words, and even with my atonal voice, it sounded amazing! Something about how the sound waves reverberated and overlapped each other, it was very beautiful and haunting.
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| Dad and I on the steps of Garni Temple |
Back in Yerevan, we visited the dancing and singing fountains of Republic Square. This was actually my first time visiting the fountain at night; how cool! I was really impressed with the show and quality. It was especially nice to enjoy a sight with my parents for the first time, rather than just being a tour guide!
Day Five: I wanted to make sure my parents saw some water while in Armenia (besides that of Vardavar), so I decided to take them to the Lake Sevan Monastery. I forgot, however, that it's much cooler in Sevan than Yerevan. So when we got atop the hill, it was extremely blustery & windy! We weren't dressed for the occasion, so that visit was cut short.
We returned to Yerevan and went to the Genocide Memorial and Museum. To me, this was a very important stop on the itinerary. True, it's not the most exciting or fun place to go, but it is important in understanding Armenian culture and history.
Finally, we went to lunch at Charents 28 and stopped by the Peace Corps office. Luckily, most of the staff was in the office that day, and my parents were able to meet some of the people I work with most closely there. It was nice to see the different sides of my life collide, as was the theme throughout this visit.
The final day of my parents' time in Armenia was a short one, as we all had early morning flight to catch. Mine was particularly early.... but stay tuned for the next post to hear about it!
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