Week 4 of 116

I can’t believe it’s been a month. Madness how time flies. At the beginning of the week a few of us went to Glow Camp in Stepanavan, Armenia. This is such a fantastic program. Its purpose is to empower young girls to address social, cultural, and environmental issues in their local communities. Despite the short duration of the 6 day camp, follow-ups throughout the year condone activism, longevity, and thus sustainability.  Going to Glow Camp reminded me of Summer Bridge and it’s mission! Retention and graduation! Shoutout to my TRiO family! I’m motivated to be involved in either this camp or something similar to it at my permanent site, which by the way, I find out in 4 days! Ahh. So. Much. Anticipation.  

                I did, however, get sick this week. I think my immune system finally gave up on me…but it’s okay. I got plenty of rest, drank an obscene amount of H2o, and felt better. No worries. Be happy.

                I received Cara’s postcard, my mom’s care package, and Mandy’s letter! Totes made my day. I appreciate your kindness and your effort in keeping in touch with me!

                We visited the capital, Yerevan. Fist we got a tour of the Peace Corps office. We perused the library and office spaces. Then we all split up. Some went to the genocide museum, history museum, ancient manual script museum, glass museum, and some just meandered around. I had signed up to see the art museum. It was really nice. I wish I was artistically inclined. I also wished I had more time to savor everything…but alas we were on a time crunch. I wanted to go to Vivacell, my cell phone carrier, to put more money on it, since I’m on a prepaid plan. I also wanted to go to the supermarket to browse for future reference, post office, and buy correspondence supplies at a paper shop. We did make it to a sushi restaurant. Nothing to brag about the restaurant, but my sushi cravings have been satiated. I can’t believe I can travel an hour away from my village and be slapped in the face with such amenities from the city. It was a beautiful day to people watch and pound the pavement. Yerevan actually reminded me of New Delhi, especially with the orange bricks and governmental/ parliamenl buildings. I miss my India travelling Semester at Sea Academic Adventure-ers!

                Even though I’ve never had asthma, I sometimes have trouble breathing here…and I think it’s the high elevation. But I’ll adjust in due time. Moving with mi queso.

                I’m so thankful to have met so many cool cats—figuratively speaking folks, because you all know that I’m allergic to actual cats!) haha I’m excited for what the future holds for us all.

                This last part goes to Allen. I’m sorry for acting like a crazy person. There is so much more I want to say to you about what had happened. I took my frustrations out on you and that’s not fair. I don’t know if you’ll ever see this, and I know that saying that ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t cut it sometimes because actions speak louder than words, but there’s only so much I can DO right now. I hope you can forgive me.  I love you and I miss you. I hope we can be friends again one day, hopefully sooner than later.

                Last but not least, I feel a calm and peace I haven’t felt in a long time. Everything is looking bright and optimistic. Remember to stop to smell the roses from time to time! Infinite hugs and kisses, phiL.

It's so hard to come up with pithy titles all the time.

Hola Mujeres y Hombres!

I find myself wanting to speak Spanish in my Armenian class all the freaking time. It comes out in accident sometimes when I talk to my host family. So annoying  :P

Week three and I’m glad to say that my honeymoon phase isn’t over yet. I’ve started to do P90x again…my core and legs are cray cray sore. I haven’t even spent any of my spending money yet! I’ve stayed away from helados y refrescos…there I go again ;) I need to release it somewhere! I’ve been scheming as to where I want to travel in the near future. Since Armenia is relatively close to Eastern Europe(Italy, Germany, or Greece), a plane ticket wouldn’t be so bad. Flying to Asia isn’t bad either THAILAND! So many options! And of course Turkey/Georgia/Azerbaijan. Let me know if anyone is interested in joining me! My friend Courtney from Semester at Sea is planning on coming sometime in August, so I’m excited about that. I’ll probably be done with training by then.

We met the Ambassador from the embassy last week. He said that ecotourism and a few other entrepreneur things are anticipated for the next couple of years in hopes of making Armenia lucrative. I think Armenia will be really different even in 5-10 years. It is a transitioning country after all.

The aji (garden) which includes straberries, cherries, apples, and so much more!

Mama Greta and the Pigs

Yesterday, I had my first big cultural miscommunication. Armenians speak incredibly loud and with a buttload of fervor. I was enjoying my hard boiled eggs and tea for breakfast when my sister marched into her room yelling, speaking fast, almost crying…and I caught only a few words about Tatik (grandma). I was super uncomfortable. I assumed that things had hit the fan…so I scrammed out of there to go to school. I find out later that night, as my sister puts it, “Italians and Armenians speak loud.” She loves her family and that nothing was wrong. She was just talking loudly so that her mom could hear her.  J oh geez I need to get use to this fast!

If you guys know me well, you know that I can be really oblivious and that I absolutely abhor dead things…well I was walking home with a friend on a path that I take at least 4 times a day. I was aghast to realize that there were flat, dried-out frogs everywhere on this dirt road. I shudder every time I think about it. Hehe. But I still have my sense of humor; so far it has served me well.

Is anyone reading my blogs? If yes, please feel free to leave me comments or questions!

I finished my beef jerky. Sad day. What I would give for carne asada fries right now J

Lots of love and positive energy from Armenia to you,

~Philus Synder Croctopus Nhi Pguyen Sanchez

Rawrrr!

Hi again,

My new friend Carolyn. We went out for a nice walk close to Akunk.

I went to mass on Sunday.

  I was hoping to send some thank you cards, but I don’t think it would be feasible at the moment: Thank you Mandy, Cara, and Rachelle for throwing me an awesome tea party! I loved every second of it! Then again for the surprise bon voyage party. Thank you Jeriel and Amanda for hosting! Shoutout to the people that came (Anayensi+guest, David Babayan, Cally, Zeschia, Hayden, Rob Diesel, Allen, and of course Cara, Chelle, and Mando----laissez faire much?). Thank you to Allen and the Munoz family for making that lovely dinner and inviting my friends to come to your beautiful home. To the TRiO family that came out to celebrate with Yensi and me. It was so great to see you all one last time before leaving the states! Thank you to the Noetzel family for the gift of relaxation at Massage Envy. Thank you Lena Salter for coming down from Irvine to see me!! Grassyass, Maria Jimenez for showing me around D.C. You were right, that burger place was delish. Thank you a thousand times, Rachelle, for giving up your laptop for me; it will be such a valuable teaching tool/ keeping in touch apparatus. Thanks Amanda for the last minute stuff. Cara for the photo album, it really helps whenever I get homesick. Ben, thanks for being a fabulous listener. Lastly to my mom, she’s the best. She’s been so supportive and encouraging. I can’t wait for my box of goodies en route! I love you all! Thanks for everything!

I’m doing great. I feel like I’m getting more into the routine of things.  I am glad to get to know the other trainees in Akunk more. Carolynn , Debra, and I did yoga in my room yesterday, and I feel that I was able to get rid of the bad energy in my mind and body. I slept like a baby after dinner.

My sister Gayene and Armene

My family loves to have their coffee/beer late at night J Oh, so living in with my host family gave me more insight into my own culture. I see many similarities between Armenians and Vietnamese. First of all, they feed you to the brim. Second of all, the family is very important. One of my sister’s boyfriend would bring over treats for the whole family in order to see her. For example, the first time, he brought over alcohol ice cream. The second I saw him, he brought over popcorn and ice cream again. And when he hangs out with her, it’s with the whole family in the living room. As much as I enjoy my independence, I can see the appeal of this way of socializing. There are many other instances that remind me of my own family in Ho Chi Minh City. A cool thing I saw was, that my host mom and dad went out on date night on the weekend. She came home from the salon all dolled up and they went to a fancy restaurant and then to the city. I guess, I was surprised that they could have that luxury or even wanted it, but it makes me hopeful and glad that they are still happy with each other after 30 years.

 I had my interview with the program director yesterday. This meeting was a way for me to update her on any difficulties, achievements, concerns, and where I would prefer to be placed. To be honest, I think I would be willing to go anywhere. I’m going to stay as flexible as I can be. It was weird to hear myself share such intimate details about my rough adjustments with her. I think it was weird because this was the first time I heard it out loud…but I got excited when I told her I would be interested in doing a film club with my students! My communications degree hopefully will be utilized!

I’ll be less wordy I promise, I’ll just show you because a picture can be worth a thousand words <3 phiphi

Mama Greta and Neighbor

My sister Gayene

Below the Facade

Barev Dez (hello)!

I can’t believe I’m already at week two. A plethora of things have happened since we left the states, for that, it feels like we’ve been here for months though. We had our first trainee to leave the pack, now we are down to 39. I do wonder, what is the standard deviation of people who leave during training though?

Yoga in my Room!! I need to keep my sanity!

My fancy room! It's been a while since I've had a room to myself!

I’m going get a little personal and share tidbits of my reflections. I knew this would not be easy, but these past two weeks have pushed my comfort zone an array of ways.  I am confident in myself and my ability to adapt; however, I was not prepared for the emotional baggage I had carried with me to explode so soon.  And because I value my mental wellbeing, I have not been as social with my host family as I typically am. My main goal right now is to get through training without having a nervous breakdown. I’m really glad to have found a friend, with whom I can share my feelings and frustrations without judging me. I have been journaling and I find it very soothing. In addition, I’ve called home a few times to talk and vent. I hope I didn’t overwhelm anyone too much. Your words of encouragement means a great deal. I’ve put up the notes you guys wrote to me from my bon voyage party up in my room, so that it will serve as a constant reminder that regardless of what happens, I have people who believe in me. I know it’s never healthy to repress emotions, but at the moment, there is really nothing left for me to do. I’ve done all I could.  It helps me to think that I have this opportunity to bury myself and to forget about my heartaches, disappointments, and guilt.  I need to focus on building my language skills, teaching portfolio, building/ maintaining relationships, learning the Armenian culture, and staying physically/mentally healthy. These are my priorities. I just need to have faith in God’s plan; everything will fall into its place. For now all I really can do is to stop fixating on things out of my control, and with this new surplus of energy I can get empowered to do a kickass job here with the Peace Corps. 

On a completely side note, why is it that it’s penny for your thoughts, but when you want to share something it’s putting your two cents in?

Akunk's fish farm!

My Armenian is absurdly limited right now, but I can still make my family laugh, does that count for anything?

I’m doing my best to keep my sense of humor and so far it has served me well. A few people find my facial expressions when I react hilarious. J

When Armenian students learn English, two of the most difficult letters to pronounce are the TH-sound and the W-sound.

The exchange rate right now is 1$=400 Dram.

Yesterday, June 1^st, was Children’s Day in Armenia. All I saw was children singing and dancing on a tv network for a solid two hours during one of my house calls with my host Mom Greta.

My language class!!

My host mom is a stay at home mom. My host dad is a house painter. They have 4 daughters, one host son from the previous year, and yours truly. Two of the daughters are married. The family is really good about not rushing their daughters to be married. I say this because their family on some levels remind of me of the Bennet family from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. My host grandmother and host grandfather live on the same property (Tatik and Papik). We have one cow, a few chickens, a dog, two cats, 6 pigs, one greenhouse, and a cute garden. I asked Tatik to take me with her to church on Sunday, and I have been informed that mass starts at 11a.m. and lasts until 2p.m. I’m super intrigued to see the difference between American instant gratification values and Armenian values of time and space.  

And last, but not least, due to Armenia’s collective nature, the Armenian word for alone holds the same meaning as sad and lonely.

Coolio. Until I have the internet again! StaySutSoon (byee!)

<3 phiphi