What an experience so far! As Ara logged a few days ago, he did take me to the airport and because of the heavy snow, my flight to Moscow was delayed by an hour and a half. This is where the chain of events started. Some time between the flight from Yerevan to Moscow, apparently I got up to use the restrooms in the back of the plane and fainted. I have no idea how long I was out, all I know is that I had a huge bump on my skull and I was in pain. Next time I woke up, I was back in my seat, I had some ice wrapped in a napkin, resting on my head. I don�t remember getting off the plane, but I do remember asking the Aeroflot flight crew to assist disembarking from the plane and was told that they were not allowed to leave the plane. I remember it was cold when I left Yerevan (minus 20) and it was even colder in Moscow.

So I�m sitting at the airport waiting to be transferred to another terminal, the Russian woman tells me that I would miss my flight to Rome since it was leaving in 20 minutes. Well lady, if you get me transportation to the other terminal immediately, I wouldn�t have that problem. She says too late you�ve missed it (all this is being translated by an Armenian guy who now lives in the States). So I sit on her desk, refuse to move, show her the bump on my head covered with my icepack, show her the blood on my skull and ask for a doctor. She says not here, at the other terminal. Eventually I get to the other terminal, it�s all really vague and because I had missed my flight to Rome, I got re routed through Frankfurt. Sixteen hours later, I got to Rome on Christmas day.

Now because it was Christmas, I didn�t want to ruin it by going to hospital so I left it for the following day. By then I could feel the bump kind of moving down towards my forehead and eyelid so I went to emergency at 2am. I was told I had temporary amnesia before and after the event and that I wouldn�t remember it. The doctor asked if I remembered getting on the flight from Yerevan, yes that I did. Anyway to cut a long story short, 5 days later I still have a bump on the skull which is still quite red and sore, very close to the right temple. And yes the blood did move its way down my face under the skin, down to my right eye, it went from blue to purple.

Today, being Sunday, I went to the Armenian Church, to thank my lucky stars that I was still alive, but because I got there at 1 in the afternoon, the doors were closed and the mass was over. The Armenia Church is called San Nicola in Tolentino built in the 15th Century. So far in Rome, I have re visited Basilica Di San Pietro, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Santa Maria Minerva, Piazza Di Spagna, Piazza Barberini, Colosseo, Piazza Del Popolo and others. Oh and the weather is so mild, I came from minus 20 to plus 17, it feels great! Tomorrow I will meet my best friend from Sydney at Termini metro station and will spend a few days together. Raffi K. thanks for thinking of me at the Russian airport, I bet you would have never guessed what I actually went through. Happy New Year to all, Ciao!

If you haven't read Ara's December 27 log, please do so. We had quite the experience looking for a raft yesterday. A complete trip around Lake Sevan has been on my list of "things to do" for quite some time, and thanks to Ara, that "thing to do" has been crossed off my list.

So we were supposed to head to Vartenis (which is on the south-east coast of Lake Sevan), but we went up to the town of Sevan first (where every tourist usually visits, about a 40 minute drive from Yerevan). We drove by Harsnaqar, which is a new tourist spot with a hotel, restaurant, bars, tennis courts, waterslides, a huge pool, and much more, right next to the lake. From there we went around the lake through a few villages and extended drives with no homes or people in sight. The sun was shining strong and the mountains were totally snow white. Sevan looked beautiful, completely blue. Most of the roads were covered in snow and ice, and although cars were sliding left and right, Ara's "beast-mobile" handled the roads quite well.

After finding a raft in a small village named Dzovag, we turned down the offer to spend the night at Abres' house and head back to Yerevan. By the way, Abres is the one that sold us the raft. A translation of his name, if I'm not mistaken, can be either one of two things, "good for you" or "may you live", or maybe even a combination of both.

The stars were beautiful heading back to Yerevan. I even saw a shooting star. Instead of taking the route to Yerevan through Martuni then Yeghegnadzor, we went through Martuni and back up to the town of Sevan. The entire trip took us about 6 hours, including looking for a raft.

The other day I was telling Ara how once in a while when I'm just sitting around, even if nothing bad has happened, I ask myself "Was coming to Armenia a good idea?". Today I thought to myself that if I was thinking those thoughts 24 hours a day and then one good experience took place, that one time can totally outweigh all those hopeless thoughts. The Lake Sevan experience was definitely the best time I've had in the past 2.5 months. I think once in a while I need to get out of the city to feel normal again. And passing through villages and briefly communicating with the locals can make anyone feel good. They are usually the nicest people, very giving and harmless.

Today I found out that on Thursday 64 cars were buried for hours on the Martuni-Vartenis highway because of an avalanche.

I won't even bother trying to describe the day any more than I have, because I know that it won't do justice. I will definitely take this trip again in the summer.

And those puppies...they were the cutest! If only I had a yard for them to play in. Ara, at one point, started turning the car around to pick them up, but...never mind.

Ara, I had a blast! Good luck with the raft. Till next time.

As the year nears its end, Yerevan, too, seems to be boiling with a certain amount of energy. Decorations everywhere, Baghramian Blvd. lined with beautiful lights, Christmas trees at every turn, and so, one can feel the holidays. Something interesting to note is that the hustle and bustle of the holidays started here about two weeks ago, and it really got going this past week. This gives all of us a chance to actually enjoy the holidays, and not fall victim to retailers and discounters, as we do in most western countries. Yerevan still seems to be icy. It's cold (it has reached -20C at some points this week), and underneath the last blanket of snow is hardened ice, so walking around in the city is not much fun at all.

I put up my tree this week, even though I'm leaving in a couple of hours for a visit to London and then to Los Angeles (but needed to make it feel like the holidays in my home, too). The process of finding decorations was quite interesting. I went down to the Ferdosi market just below Republic Square. This market is essentially a colleciton of booths lined up and covered with blue tarp and one can find essentially anything--clothing items (i mean every kind), kitchenware, electronics, ornaments, food, flowers, detergent--you get the idea! What was interesting is that this small stretch of booths, it felt like, swallowed me on one end and spit me out at the other. Once I entered, I truly lost all control of movement, because of the huge crowds. In an aisle approximately 4 feet wide, perhaps nine people, at any point, were trying to pass each other. What an experience. But even in what seemed to me to be chaos, there was rule and regulation. For instance, The blue tarps covering stands were weighed down my melting snow, and at times the melted snow would gush like a waterfall on some unsuspecting shopper. But the stand owners make sure that they make the visit as pleasant for their visitors as possible, so occassionally one hear "janaparh badzek" (make way), and everyone automatically would slide to the side of the aisle, and another would poke the tarp to release the pool of water creating a sizeable dent into the "shop ceiling."

After Christmas eve dinner at my house this week (which was a great time for eveyrone--it felt like our own little family was together), I also had my coworkers over for new year celebrations, and we had a great time. The holidays here are truly about the time one spends with friends and family, and this has been very enjoyable. Of course, once in a while I will turn on CNN or BBC to get a glimpse of western Christmas traditions, and just about the only thing I see are images of shoppers at Macy's with the voice over painting a bleak picture of the horrible sales season for retailers. It gives me an interesting contrast in values.

A few things this week made me go hmmm! The unfolding of the "war" story in Iraq, and today's amazing announcement that some religious group and their scientific arm have achieved a huge genetic feat--the successful birth of a cloned human being. Scary stuff, if you ask me. Oh, and also, Herb Ritts, the photographer passed away. Random news.

So, as I close out the year and leave for London, I wish all on the site, particularly my fellow loggers, who seem to be spread about on various continents at the moment, a great, healthy and happy new year, full of all that you wish for. Guten Rutsch, as the Germans exclaim (Good slide into the new year)!

The weather is nice in Melbourne today. I think I will be here for the next month. I was thinking of travelling to the W coast of Australia, but the ticket prices seem quite unreasonable. I am still looking for options, but barring some last minute discovery, I will be here. Here is a nice place though. The past couple of days have been spent with my half Greek cousins. The one who lives in Sydney speaks very good Armenian, the one in Melbourne speaks kichm' Hayeren. The Greek influence has been much stronger in their lives however since they left Ethiopia. The Armenian cousins who I am splitting my time with speak fluent Armenian, and their Australian hubbies are picking some up as well. The kids are spoken a fair amount of Armenian to, so I think (hope!) they will speak it in time. It was fun bringing everyone goodies from Armenia (and Jacob Majarian's incredible photography book), they all enjoyed them a lot. Some of them plan on visiting Armenia which would be great, since everyone who goes there just loves it!

So anyways, last night we went to an Ethiopian Restaurant. The young Ethiopians there got a kick out of speaking Ethiopian with my aunt, uncle and oldest cousin. They also found the fact that I knew how to say "gossip" in Ethiopian (actually, the language is called Amharic) a hoot. A couple of them knew a bunch of Ethiopian Armenians, and they talked for a long time. Most of the conversation was in Amharic, so I can't say what the rest of it was about... A bit of trivia for you all -- the Ethiopian national anthem at the time of the Emperor was written by and Armenian named Nalbandian. Well, that is all for now...

Sh'norhavor Surp Dz'nunt to those of you who celebrate a bit early :-)

I have been in Melbourne, Australia now for 5 days, and although I have not been in "downtown" yet, so far I must say the resemblance to Los Angeles is uncanny. Here is a list of similiarities (which incidentally Sydney does not share)

• Climate (and thus plants which are happy here), just about exactly the same
  
• Freeways, roads
  
• Boring (often ugly) architecture, urban/suburban sprawl
  
• Chain shops instead of one-of-a-kind/mom&pop type shops
  
• Christmas lights
  
• They seem to keep their tops on at the beaches
  
• Other things which I forget just now :-)
  

That is not to say I don't like Melbourne, or LA, it is just to say they share a lot in common, and both could work towards becoming more interesting (as far as the stores go) and easier to get around without a car. I am reserving final judgement on Melbourne till I have seen more. These are just initial impressions.

Now that I have caught up with all my cousins, and met their new families, it is nice to relax and spend lots of time with them all. It is just no good to travel in a big rush all the time. So thats all from the "down under" report which I have taken over from Lena! :-)

What a year it has been with its ups and downs. My volunteer program with the Armenian Volunteer Corps ended in July this year and I bid my farewell to my dear friends Armen and Kohar. AVC is going strongly thanks to Jason, Anna and the new volunteers who are doing a great job.

Then came my trip to Georgia, which I enjoyed immensely. I then started employment at the Tourism centre in business development and this was followed by my Scotland trip. I am now the Associate Country Director with IESC (International Executive Service Corps) and loving it. And in less than 24 hours, I will be flying to Italy via Moscow to spend Christmas and the New Year in Rome with my cousins. Not to mention all the trips I went on within Armenia and Karabagh during the summer. And also not to mention the numerous amazing people I met this year through my work and the Diaspora.

To everyone out there, have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. This will be my last log for a while so good luck to all, let�s hope next year will be prosperous for all of us. Lastly thanks to all my friends for your support during the year, you know who you all are, I couldn�t have made it without you.
Madlene and Artur, I hope your wedding went well.

I just got back from a trip to the huge cargo warehouse by the airport. If anyone was wondering about the relocation of the casinos, I saw at least a dozen of them all next to each other. Isn't it sad though that the first thing visitors will see now, when they come to this country, is all these casinos?

Frank Muller was in town yesterday for the opening of his elite Swiss watch shop on Abovian. I still haven't understood if he has opened a factory here or he is going to. I've also heard rumors that he is going to open up a workshop in Artsakh as well. Maybe Ara knows something about this.

So it's still snowing and snowing and snowing. Everybody I talk to says they can't believe how much snow there is this year and that it hasn't been like this in years. But according to one of my relatives, the faces of the people on the streets are so different than what they used to be like back in '92 or '93. They used to look so depressed and hopeless, and you can't really see that anymore.

I think I might check out the big holiday tree in the middle of Republic Square and Frank's watch shop this afternoon. Though, I might have to put on a suit and black dress shoes (like a Hayastantzi) to be allowed into Abovian Streets latest glamour shop. God I love that street!

I�m pretty sure I�ve previously logged about my experience in paying electricity bills at the post office but I really must write again, it simply blows my mind.

I walk in to the post office, which is absolutely freezing, in fact it�s colder in the building than outside. So there are approx 15 people in the queue and I think to myself it should take half an hour. This is a day where I have a million errands to run since I don�t have time during the week (I don�t take a lunch break and I am currently working more than 12 hours a day). The queue is moving very slowly, then people walk in off the street and apparently they�ve held their position in the queue previously, gone out for 20 or so minutes and when they return, their place in the queue is honoured. It simply blows my mind, try and do that in any other country.

So the 15 people become 25 and that�s not all. The people in the queue not only pay for one residence, they pay phone bills and electricity bills for other addresses as well. I�m not sure if these people own 4 or 5 residences or if they pay on behalf of their relatives. Needless to say the process becomes very long and after an hour and 10 minutes I was done. I guess I could use this strategy myself, except the next place I had to walk to and pay another bill was 20 minutes away.

Another annoying factor this week was when I went to have soup with a work colleague and for some conversation, the restaurant has Russian music blaring. I requested very politely to change the music or turn it off all together, I cannot stand Russian pop. Why still insist on playing this music? It drives me crazy!

On a good note, the city is so pretty, it�s still snowing and even at 1am when I get home from work, it�s dead quiet and everything is well and truly covered in snow. This is the first time we�ve had snow for 2 weeks non-stop in the last 10 years. Locals are finding it difficult using transportation in and out of town, a lot of the streets are closed due to heavy snow.

Sydney Report

Well, it has been a full week in Sydney now, and in less than an hour I fly to Melbourne to visit more of my cousins in Australia. Well my primary reason for coming was to visit cousins, secondary was to enjoy a bit of summer, and third was to check out Australia again.

It has been really fun to spend time with my cousin in Sydney. I have never spent any proper time with her, only a day here or there which add up to less that a week my whole life! Well now that has changed, I have spent a full week with her properly and had a great time getting to know her and her husband and kid, plus catching up with my aunt. What a crime that our family is spread so widely over the world, and now I appreciate just how far Australia is from everything else having flown to it once from N. America and once from Europe.

The weather has been pretty good, but Sydney has one thing I cannot stand. Humidity. I have never really experienced it like this before and I quite hate it, thank you very much. This does mean it is a fair bit greener than LA and Yerevan, which is nice, but not enough to sway me. I will just say that the beaches are quite beautiful, and I will leave it at that :-)

I got to catch up with Jack here on his home turf which was quite fun. It is funny to see Armenia friends in a 'normal' place driving their own cars, going to their haunts, etc. We even took a day trip to the Blue Mountains and into some nice caves, where you have to pay to get in, follow the guide around, there were nice railings and steps... what a contrast to Armenia!!

Lots of wandering around in Balmain and the city in general. I was very impressed with the architecture, the people are very casual (what a contrast to Armenia where I stand out like a sore thumb if I where flip flops!) and friendly, it is a real city and very easy to get around. The food is great and cheap all over. In short, Sydney is a fantastic place that just needs a massive dehumidifier to be perfect!

I will be in Melbourne for something like six weeks, so I will have an even better chance to explore that area, and pick up the local accent. My cousin in Sydney has a very mild accent, hardly noticeable, so my intense immersion in Australian is about to begin.

Well have a sh'norhavor nor dari yev surp dz'nunt, and a g'day mate! (oops, I was supposed to say that at the beginning)

Well it really looks official. Winter is here and I get the feeling that before it starts to warm up, it�s going to get really cold.

My pipes were frozen yesterday so I didn�t get to take a shower. I was able to recover 3 liters of water, which I planned on using today to bathe with (reminds me of the good old days in Yerevan 1991 to 1994). Fortunately for me the temperature got up to 4c and the water started to flow. I took advantage of the situation and took a nice long HOT shower and filled up any bottles I had with water.

I had planned on going to Yerevan to participate in the celebration of Garegin Nzhdeh birthday, but due to the snow, the road conditions are not all that great. So I guess the Nzhdeh celebrations will have to go on without me.

I�m thinking that it would not be so bad to go out and get another chicken to fry up in the deep fryer. Not exactly the most healthy way to eat, but it�s not like I cook this way all the time. I need to get some buttermilk so I can make a really thick batter.

Woo-hoo! No more casinos in Yerevan! No more casinos in any major cities in Armenia! I've been waiting for this day.

Okay, okay! I understand you guys have all made it clear to me that I should stop writing about "negative" things. I think some of you have the impression that I hate this place. Let's make this clear once and for all...I LOVE ARMENIA! Sure there are a few things I can write about that might seem negative to some, including my friend and I being called "lagods" a couple of times the other night (I think because we weren't dressed in the typical male Armenian attire which consists of a black suit and black dress shoes), but I will keep my mouth shut for now. In the meantime, I will wear my big blue and black Gap jacket and my Depeche Mode toques while people stare at me because I choose to dress differently (or rather warmly).

Last Thursday, I spent my afternoon with Madlene and Arthur. Arthur was shooting a music video at Astral Club, and after that, we dropped by Orran so they could say hello and goodbye to the kids before their LA trip. I have to tell everyone that Arthur is one of the most decent people/artists I have ever come across. His popularity hasn't gotten to his head and he's been very humble and super helpful over the past couple of months.

The city looks so beautiful these days. Walking outside at night, especially when there is no traffic and all the street lights are on, is so awesome! The tall tree they are installing in the middle of Republic Square is going to look great. The cold isn't really bothering me. Actually, it's quite similar to Canadian winters, minus the winds. Yerevan isn't windy at all. Plus I heard that this has been one of the coldest Decembers in a long time here. The sidewalks with the new stone blocks that Lincy funded are brutal. Last night I took a flip! I twisted my ankle and fell on my butt. Luckily nobody was around. I got up and kept walking trying to occupy my pain with the beautiful sights of Yerevan 11:30 at night.

The kitty was all alone, so I petted her and decided to take the escalators up Cascade to see Yerevan from above.....WOW!

I had pizza at Oscar last night (the restaurant within the Nairi Theatre complex) and was quite satisfied. I also walked by Pizza di Roma and saw one of the workers with his hand down his pants. Why does this happen to me?

Today is Patrick's birthday, and all day it's been snowing small perfect snow flakes. Thinking about Patrick and his life's work, I was reminded by a colleague that those who lend a helping hand in building this country in whatever form, also etch their legacy in history, because one of the wonderful things about Armenia is that one can see his or her work turn into real tangible change. Patrick's everywhere today, and will be tomorrow, in Armenia.

As Armenian Americans were hitting their keyboards, phones and faxes to protest the Bush Administration's arbitrary inclusion of Armenia on a list of terrorist countries, Armenians in Armenia, too, were outraged and ready to take to the streets and make their voices heard. In recent weeks I've had the same argument over and over again with people who tend to think that the goals of Armenia and the goals of the Armenian Diaspora are somehow divergent. This angers me. I challenge anyone to ask an Armenian citizen of Armenia about the Genocide and the current incarnation of the Armenian Cause, and 9 out of 10 people will tell you that we, as a nation (this includes the Diaspora) are on the right path. A non-Armenian American colleague of mine recently published an article in an online journal, in which he went on to voice criticism on Ararat the film, and what he concluded was a disconnect from current day Armenia. The implication here was that talking about a homeland long gone and an era that does not have much of a connection to current day, does not help Armenia (today) in any way. I disagree, and find the idea that Western Armenia is somehow an abstract notion that only Diasporans and Genocide advocates relate too, absurd. Our nation is unique in that we are able to talk history, we are able to feel history, and it is that history that fuels our drive to build our homeland, in whatever limited form in which it exists today.

An interesting mundane fact of life: I have regular trash pick up in my neighborhood. The truck pulls up at around 9 a.m. and the collector starts banging on a pipe in the backyard, notifying the neighborhood about his presence. Then, like released ants, we all run down to meet him with our bags of waste. Quite an interesting site, especially in the slippery days of winter. I'm told this is not regular practice in Yerevan.

Good night!

We are experiencing technical difficulties! Well actually they are over as soon as you read this. What a disaster that was, and I did not realize it because I was in Australia and just thought the internet was quirky on my cousins machine... Everything is back to normal.

I have been having a nice and quiet time in Sydney so far. My cousin and her family here so far have been great, and catching up with them has been fun. Last night I caught up with Jack Majarian as well who brought over a few copies of his fantastic photography book on Armenia, called just that, "Armenia". It was by far the best way to give my relatives here an idea of what Armenia looks like. The city, the countryside, the people and the monuments. I don't know where you can get copies except in Sydney or Yerevan, but if you can get your hands on it, don't hesitate. We were up talking till midnight which with my jetlag was a feat. I have not been doing much of the touristy stuff, and don't plan to either. In a few days I will head down to Melbourne where I have three cousins and go from house to house until they are all sick of me! :-)

Leaving Armenia was not easy. For 2 days before leaving, a fog descended upon Yerevan the likes of which I had never seen there before. Plane traffic stopped, and finally the morning I was to leave, the first snow had come and the fog had disappeared. So it took many hours to get things back on track and I got to London too late to catch my connection. They put me on a different flight instead, and remarkably, I got to Australia 3 hours earlier than scheduled, right at the same time my cousin's husband arrived at the airport. What timing! :-)

Firstly a warm welcome to our new loggers, H. & Alex from repatriate and R from the Diaspora. It�s Patrick�s birthday on the 17th and he would have turned 38.

The reason why I have not logged in a while is because I�ve had difficulties dealing with Patrick�s death. I just didn�t know how to express my feelings and so I spent all my energy into work and have been working my a�off.

A brief update on events. My Scotland trip was great, a good therapy really and I met a lot of wonderful people. Perfect green lawns everywhere, great transportation, castles and golf courses everywhere. Edinburgh reminded me of Sydney but on a small scale and without the beaches.

Back in Yerevan, the streets look great and the snow is absolutely beautiful. I can�t believe I am actually saying this, but I think I�m getting used to the cold. Even though I have a nasty cold and a cough, compared to last year, somehow it doesn�t feel that bad, but I�m not saying that I like it either (last year was my first real winter).

Slowly I�ve been saying farewell to all my friends in Yerevan, who have become my family here. Raffi, Jeff, Carlos and last night Madlene. Next week, Kelly, Zabel, Edit, Aram and everyone else will also depart to heir respective homes for Christmas. As for me I have decided to spend Christmas and the New Year in Italy this year where I will stay with cousins in Rome, meet up with my best friend from Sydney also in Rome and travel north to Trieste to meet my Italian Aussie friends. My flight is through Moscow since it was the cheapest ticket, where I�m sure I�m going to die from the cold (-30?). If it�s anything like the airport here, then it�ll be bloody cold.

Work is going really well and I�m enjoying working with a bunch of talented young people. Tonight I went out to dinner with a few of my work colleagues and had a great time. It�ll be another big night tomorrow night with the whole staff going for khorovats on Proshian St, hopefully they�ll have BBQ potatoes for me or fish.

Oh and they�re already selling Ararat video in English for less than 2000 drams near Paregamutiun metro.

Yerevan is absolutely frozen. I must have fallen on my ass at least three times today...I'm from Los Angeles, so ice, snow and Angelenos just don't mix well. But last night I was with a friend of mine visiting from Washington, DC, and we visited a group of repatriate friends at Madlene's house, and just chatted and reminisced about some old times. I realize those of us who have moved to Armenia have also become walking and talking advertisements for Armenia, and I'm not always comfortable with that, because we tend to not necessarily see the real picture. Of course each one of us has a tainted view of what Armenia, because of our own realities. But, I think one thing can be said about Armenia, that it certainly does give you a dose of reality, and that reality is very refreshing. Whether it is bad restaurant service, poverty, icy streets, or a view of Mt. Ararat across the border, reality is certainly in abundance, and it is what we choose to do with that reality. It's easy for each one of us loggers and commentators to react to another log (I'm certainly guilty of this), but it certainly takes more courage to be proactive on those things that we see around ourselves. I work in an environment where I get to see that courage every day with non-governmental organizations that work to advocate on issues of importance to this country. Disabled children, the environment, and on and on. They are the present day heroes, and Armenia is full of them, and the progress that we see is on the backs and because of the efforts of these people.

It's been a great week at work. I have hope and that hope comes from the people I have the privelege of working with. They don't complain, they don't give up, they don't look away. It's great to be hopeful. For the first time in a long time Mt. Ararat was visible in its glory, and my friend and I stopped the car and just looked. It is indeed a hopefull day.

Good night from cold Yerevan!

i am leaving tomorrow for one month. i have so many mixed emotions. i have become very attached to armenia and to my life here. in a sense, i am sad to leave during new years. it is such a special time here and is so nicely celebrated that i can hardly imagine being away from my home, arthur's neices, my office staff and my repatriate group of friends. i know it is just for a month, but looking out the window at snow covered Issahakian street, I am sad.

on the other hand, i miss my family in LA like crazy. i have not seen my brother in almost two years, i have not seen my grandmother in over a year. best friends, good friends, old neighbors... old friends. i am counting the hours to kiss grandma and sit in my living room catch up.

i am also excited to go back to la and see how it makes me feel. i am curious how i will be with all the armenians there that scream "ararateh mern eh" but still live in LA and drive fancy cars. i am curious to see how i will deal with people who ask... how is hayastan? and then don't really listen to the answer... or don't believe all the absolutely fabulous things i have to say (and there are so many)

on the other hand, i cannot wait to feed those people who love armenia and miss it. i cannot wait to pass out armenian tea and watch my friends and family cherish it... even though it is just tea.. and just because it is from hayastan. i cannot wait to talk to youth about living here and how it is ok... and not only ok, it is the best city i have ever lived in (prior experience includes LA, NYC, and Nice France)... I cannot wait to show my Grandma how happy I am, so that she knows that we may be losing spending time together... but she is gaining instead a very happy granddaughter who is living out her dreams.

wrapping up my office work, saying happy new years to all my closest, paying bills, packing and organizing is enough to drive me crazy. my friends realizing this came over last night for what ended up as a pizza and tea night was exactly what i needed to remind me what an amazing family of repatriates we have here and how sometimes i just need to sit and enjoy myself.

many of us came here alone. i was not with arthur when i arrived. most of us had just moved... no family here, nothing. we have become family... a very good family. we are very comfortable with eachother and are very honest and real. i believe that armenia brings good people here. i believe that our group is eclectic but real and very pure.

a reporter just came back with an article on arthur featured in the armenian soccer federation newspaper. she returned the original picture we had given her to print and after i read the article i placed arthur's picture on my windowsill. two of my favorite things... that my window looks out onto armenia and arthur. i am happy that tomorrow i will be flying to another one of my favorite things... my parents and loved ones.

in honor of my second favorite armenian singer (the great harout pamoukjian)...and if you do not know my first favorite armenian singer... i really do not know what to say. ...
anyways in honor of harout i am proud to announce that i have found myself (thanks to shantiig) a harout dinner dance to attend and i will be on the harout dancing marathon when i am in LA... this could not make me happier. all in one weekend, a harout dance, and the celebration of our marriage. woo hoo

my opinion on these recent logs should not matter as everyone has one and it seems that everyone is sharing and caring... but i do not like what is going on. i am scared we are losing our flavor. it is out of hand. it reminds me of chats ... you know i am just waiting for someone to come in and write BRITNEY SPEARS RULES and leave... i don't want that for us. i want a professional and nice forum for repatriates to share their experiences. i want those who enjoy the reading to read. i am sick of taking sides and fighting about what is positive and what is negative.

i do not write too many negative logs because i myself am a very positive person. i am also a doer. example... i found that children on the streets really disturbed me and so i became a friend of orran (www.orran.am)... NEGATIVE becomes POSITIVE in my head so fast (thinking of what i can do to make this world better) that it does not stay in me long enough for me to reach this computer screen. sometimes i write about what i have done. i seldom think of writing what i will do. i do not want to make myself a model. i am just explaining why i do not write the negative.

arthur tells me that he admires that i am so positive. i admire that in me. i love that i am a doer and that i have so much energy and that i spend it doing good things. i love that all the bad things are erased at the next beautiful flower i see. i feel i am a good person. i feel i am professional and curteous at work and i hope that people follow that lead. i feel i am a good communicator to waiters and that they also may gain something from me... if need be. that is all. i think i am a good example in many ways. not all ways. but enough to make me comfortable that i am doing my part... by being an example.

so i may sound... what is the word? haughty? hung up on myself? ok maybe a little... but that is not such a bad thing. if i set a standard of excellence... if i am telling all you people right now that i am fabulous... i guess i have to work really hard to make sure i live up to it. nothing wrong with that.

thanks for the forum. i will write from LA.

That's gross, I think home-cooked food is most certainly the way forward here - will be making a whole pot of Dolma this weekend minus all the other parts which seem to be added to Harout's food in the various restaurants across Yerevan ;-)

Life in Yerevan with the AVC is definitely full of things to be doing, people to be meeting etc etc Everyday is most definitely a new day. This Christmas one of the volunteers had the idea to set up a winter festival, where all the AVC volunteers take part in organising Christmas parties for disadvantaged children in Vanadzor, Spitak, Gumri and Yerevan. Hopefully when AVC gets larger, it'll be able to encompass all the regions in Armenia. We'll try and see how the parties go and then next Christmas we can hopefully launch an even bigger campaign. The Armenian Tree Project kindly donated a huge amount of dried fruit for us to give out to the children, and what with all the crafts, games, carol singing and father christmas arriving, I suspect these children will have a great party!

With respect to Hover chamber choir, things are going smoothly. We held the CD launch event at the end of November, to a completely packed and doubly-full audience at the Aram Khatchadurian Museum. Photos from previous concerts can now be seen on the Hover website and also details of future concerts. The CD is selling well and fast over Yerevan, and many people have heard about the CD and the choir, which is a great thing.

I have also been working with Arlex International on their Christmas Wish List 2002 which has been set-up to enable people who want to support Armenia, but don't quite know how or what is more worthwhile, at Christmas time. This is an excellent way people can give, to needy institutions which use the money wisely and all of it, not some of it. If any of the readers out there want to peruse the site and see just how they can help, please do so.

Then after all of the Winter Festival goings-ons, it'll be Christmas. I have decided to stay for Christmas as I really want to experience Christmas and New Years in Armenia, and my brother should be coming as well. He'll definitely love it out here, and finally the holidays will start, so maybe I'll try some skiiing for the first time ever in my life.

There are lots lots more happenings which I haven't logged, will start being a bit more consistent in my logging!

Hi everyone
Hope everything is fine with you. Lately too many things happened to me, I�m kind of busy doing some projects (supposedly to earn money). It�s been 3 weeks I�m visiting a physiotherapist, then going home and getting bored, seeing some friends and spending time with them, sometimes going to have dinner with them. I guess these are all to give a short description about what�s going on here. For those who don�t know, I�m now in Beirut for vacation, and waiting desperately the Christmas and the New Year eve, so I can return back to Yerevan. I see people doesn�t have hope for the future, my friends all are busy with their work, most of them not liking what they do, but because they need the job, they�re doing it. Well, the story of the therapist somehow was difficult for me, I�m a programmer, I work average 7 hours/day on the PC, so my right shoulder muscles and the ones lower are loosing their elasticity, this is called fibrosis, the fibers are getting dried or something, anyway, the cause is lack of exercise and not drinking enough water (8 cups per day), I wasn�t expecting such a thing to happen to me, I left sports 2 years ago, and this is the result.

Anyway, let me tell you about the concert I attend last Sunday. Lilit Pipoyan and Etvart Dzorikyan were here, they were invited to come to Beirut and give one concert, the place, had 800 seats (500 first floor and 300 second floor), I guess there was 600-750, (first floor was full, second was half full), it took almost 2 hours, they were great, and everyone was happy about the concert. There were few songs, which totally had impact on me, coz I know what they were talking about, coz I live in Yerevan, and I understand what they mean. Believe me if I were in Yerevan, I wouldn�t enjoy this much, but listening to them far from hayrenik will give more sensation and emotion.

Oh, one more thing I like to add is that there�s no better spirit of having an Armenian wine (Areni 1991, brought with me) in a clay cup (bought from Vernisage). I can smell the odor of my country, the smell of the earth and the soil. And that makes me feel stronger and reminds me all the good and bad days I lived in Armenia.
(I was going to log long time ago, but when I reach home the pain won�t let me to work, now I�m at work and because we have some Internet problems I had the time to write this. Hope my back will cure and I�ll be logging from home, and we have good connection.)
See you
P.S. I forgot to mention you how I got the ticket. As always I met a friend and after we interchanged "hi, helli, how are you" he gave me the ticket for me to buy.

I find the difference in opinions of all the Cilicia.com loggers to be very valuable. We have all come here for different reasons and I have briefly stated my reasons in my first log.

Although some logs might sound quite negative to some readers, we really have to see why those opinions exist and how to deal with them. Not necessarily by cutting up the loggers that have had these unfortunate experiences, but to figure out a way to rectify these problems so they don't happen again.

In reference to my last log, I have this to say:
I think it is negative to say "All the restaurants in Yerevan suck, they will never change so they might as well shut down. The whole country will never change so we might as well give up!". A great number of Armenians with that attitude exist out there, as well as here.

If, on the other hand, you go to two restaurants within a matter of a few weeks, and in one place you find not one, not two, but THREE greasy penile or vaginal PUBIC hairs in your pizza - and the waitress doesn't care; and in the other restaurant you bite into your 0.5cm thick burger and find it oozing with red bacterial blood - and the patron doesn't see the problem....should complaining be viewed as a negative or a positive thing?

Or, is it better not to bring these issues up to the employees or employers of these establishments, just bury our heads in the sand, and pray to God we don't get a body hair or an even more vile item in our food, pray the salmonella is cooked out of ours burgers, but continue to take our chances and chow down. All because we don't want to be considered negative.

If you like the standards of a third world country, then keep silent. If you want progression and a decent level of comfort and even more importantly health, like I do, then speak up!

I haven't come here expecting another Toronto, but I'm hoping that my POSITIVE comments, which I have learned in Canada, will help better this country. Of course I can just cook at home for the rest of my life here, but what happens if all these restaurants shut down because they served food that killed someone? And what about the jobs of the employees and the money they bring into our economy? Is it right for me to say that Toronto's Restaurant Inspection Blitz and LA's Restaurant Grading Systems were the proper things to do? Or is that my North American mind filtering the wrong attitude into Armenia?

More info at www.restaurant.org

On a much lighter note, Yerevan is looking so pretty these days. Back in Toronto, almost everybody suffers from so-called S.A.D. this time of the year. The city gets dark, everybody gets cranky, and it feels like the cold lasts for months and months. But yet, the sun still shines in Yerevan and apparently the snow on the ground doesn't last for too long. Plus, these spastic Armenian drivers look like they're in slow motion these past few days. I've heard great stories about the Christmas and New Years holidays in Armenia and I'm really looking forward to it. I will write about it soon and hopefully get a pic or two for you guys to see.

Can we now move on to the next topic?

I don't want to overdo it with too many posts, but I have way too many stories to tell, especially if I rewind and look back at all my experiences over the past few weeks.

I attended a concert tonight with performances by the Komitas Quartet, the National Choir and more, commemorating Human Rights Day. I've been quite active at attending numerous concerts and plays over the past couple of months. Last week I went to a 3-hour music awards ceremony with performances by about 25 Armenian pop and contemporary singers, including my friend Ispir, but the past couple of shows that I have attended really got me sick. Though the performances might be great and the venues might be very nice to be in, you just don't get excited over going to these events because of how cold the places are. Yet, the shows go on all throughout the winter, because the performers need to make money, but the venues either can't afford to put on the heat or the heaters are way too noisy to have running while the performances are taking place. The good thing in all of this is that even if you decide to leave at intermission (because it's cold or maybe because you're not enjoying the show), you never feel too bad about not getting your moneys worth. I just think about shows I've seen in Toronto with tickets costing over $80. Here, even if you don't enjoy a show, you just walk away thinking "well, it only cost me a dollar!".

Now that Yerevans ugly construction sites are looking pretty, thanks to all the snow covering them, the newly paved streets covered in black ice can be quite deadly for drivers. But I am glad to hear that they don't salt the busy streets of Yerevan. All I can picture is how brutal Toronto streets look in the springtime because of all the salt that ate away at the tar throughout the winter.

In my last post, I talked about bad customer service. Now I want to talk about a combination of that and the not so easy task of finding a decent restaurant. Let me talk about my experience at Pizza di Roma that took place over a month ago with two of my friends. The pizza we ordered came with a bonus topping......3 private-parts hairs...........ew! When I reported this to the waitress, she looked at me with a blank face all confused. I told her how disgusting it was to find hairs in the pizza (and that was only in 2 slices and yet we had at least another 6 slices to go). She still didn't understand what I was trying to get at. She asked me if I was hinting at wanting another kind of pizza and of course I said no and I demanded to get a refund. And we did. Next story...

There's a so-called fast food joint called SFC (a total rip off of Kentucky Fried Chicken (aka KFC)). The atmosphere isn't bad at all and the food is okay (though the chicken burger is a little difficult to bite into and not the same texture as KFC chicken). Yesterday. I went there with my cousin who's here from Syria studying medicine. He ordered a typical beef burger and I had the chicken burger. The first bite he took he quickly looked right at me and said "look at my meat, should I not eat it?". The burger was brown on the outside, but the inside was as raw as the ground beef you purchase at a supermarket.

Me: I would never eat that, let me tell them.
Cousin: No don't worry about it, I will just eat the bread.
Me: What are you talking about? I have to tell them.
Cousin: Listen, you can't do things like this here, this is not Canada.
Me: Canada? What does Canada have to do with this? This is unacceptable anywhere in the world.
Cousin: Don't worry about it.
Me: You're pissing me off (now we're at the point of arguing 'cause I really don't understand the logic).
Cousin: So you tell them and then what? They don't care!
Me: Listen, I just want them to know. Somebody can seriously get sick from this.
Me to Supervisor: Excuse me, I need to ask you something. Please look at this meat and tell me if you would eat it yourself. (Supervisor girl is looking all confused as I hold the very obviously raw beef patty in my hand.)
Me: It's red!
Cousin: He means it's raw.
Supervisor: I don't understand what the problem is.
Me: It's not cooked, how could you serve this?
Cousin: Look, it's totally raw. This could have bad bacteria in it.
Me: You know people die from things like this? It could have a virus in it right now.
Supervisor: Do want a chicken burger?
Cousin: No it's all right.
Me: We're just telling you this so you guys know.

She then walks off without even apologizing. A minute later a man confronts us to apologize and asks my cousin if he wants a chicken burger. By now, my cousin is full because of the oversized buns they serve with their burgers. The owner goes on telling us how there was something wrong with the machine. Okay, I need to let you guys know that the beef burgers at SFC are probably half a centimeter thick. How is it possible that we have burgers back in North America that are sometimes more than 5 times as thick but are still cooked inside? So this was a warning to anyone who might check out this so-called SFC. By the way, don't expect a "can I help you", don't question why the pop cup is only half full, and don't bother paying the extra drams for a Pepsi instead of a Coke cause they just fill your cup up with Coke anyway.

Honestly, this wasn't a plan of mine to come to this country to dictate these restaurant employees about their service. I mean, who am I to come here to tell these people what to do when they've been here all their lives, right? But honestly, with problems like this, tourists walk away upset at the bad service and maybe a life-threatening disease because some kids haven't been rightfully taught about the restaurant industry.

Now let me tell you about the few places that I have enjoyed...of course the popular cafe/bookstore/restaurant Artbridge, Charlies (although for some reason it's rarely busy), Cactus (Mexican food...yum!), Breeze (Thai food, could be a little tastier, but still good) and a couple of other places. You know, I thank God most of these people open cafes rather than restaurants because they still haven't learned about the basic procedures of finding good recipes, preparing the food, and satisfying customers for the simple reason that they will return, maybe tell all their friends, and make the restaurants a whole pile of drams.

Sorry guys for the long post. By the way, thanks to all of you that have welcomed me.

So, today all of Yerevan woke up to a beatiful, white blanket of serenity, and the city seemed, even at 9 a.m., to be still and pure. It was a big surprise to see the first snow fall, and the fall and fall and fall. We've had close to 30 hours of snow fall, although not heavily so, but certainly consistently. And once one is over being initially mesmerized, one gets down to the reality of snow in Yerevan. The brown slush, the foming ice, and slippery streets make for an interesting day. But with all said and done, as I was walking home at around 11 tonight, the city had returned to its pristine calmness, and it was beatiful to occasionally slide on the new Kirk Kerkorian sidewalks, and get the urge to join some older kids throwing snowballs.

Travel's been hectic the last few days. I don't envy those who had to take to the skies into or out of Yerevan. First, the thick fog and then the snow have caused flight cancellations and postponement, but things seem to be getting back to normal with the airport.

So, I was reprimanded for not providing a bit more information about myself in my initial log. So here are a few things about me. I moved to Yerevan in April of 2002 and have been here since. I'm from Los Angeles, where I last worked as the director of the west coast operations of the Armenian National Committee of America, and earlier this year was hired as a consultant with a USAID project here in Armenia. Unlike most, I have to say that my move to Armenia was not because of some altruistic reason, but in fact, I found a great job, that allowed me to move to Armenia--which I had wanted to do after visiting several times, but I didn't come here with grand plans of changing a whole country. In fact, I have been professionally involved in the promotion of the Armenian Cause for most of my twenties, and I saw this move as a good opportunity to branch out.

At the same time, contrary to what I sometimes read on the logs, I don'ts subscribe to some grand illusion that those of us who have moved here are somehow better assets to this country or to our nation. There are Armenians around the world who do more in promoting Armenia and the Armenian Cause--which in my mind includes the strengthening of Armenia's stathood--than some people who live here (and I mean Diasporans who have moved here). So, that's my premise. I enjoy my job, I enjoy being in Armenia, and I enjoy discovering this country, but most of all I enjoy discovering the Armenian people. My job affords me to interact with a variety of people. In fact today, I had a conversation with my colleague on feminism in the Armenian context, and I learned that what I hold for gender equity is not what a modern Armenian working mother holds for the concept, and so on and so forth. But more on that soon...

What I enjoy about Armenia is its unpredictable nature, and what I dislike about Armenia is its unpredictable nature. For instance, not having electricity in my city block for close to 30 hours last weekend is not what I'd call enjoyment, but I've come to realize that that's what Armenia is. All of its good and all of its bad make it what it is, and it would be very easy to criticize, and call names and assign blame, but it is much more brave to combine it all, get frustrated but also see the absurdity of it all.

I never felt out of place in America, I never felt out of place in Germany (where I spent my youth), and I never felt out of place in Iran (my birth country), but I've also not spent enough time in any of those countries to call it home, so I suppose I'm looking for a home, and although Armenia is not home yet, the pieces are coming together. So, I hope in the next few months or however long I'll have the privelege of sharing my thoughts with you, I'll get to explore some of the daily struggles and triumphs in Yerevan with you, and answer any questions you may have.

So, tomorrow morning I'll get up at 7, get dressed, put on my odd looking hat, and bundle myself in my scarf and head out the door, for another day of slip and slide, and hopefully, I'll have something interesting to share with you. Thanks for indulging all of us loggers.


Oh and I forgot...I took some pictures this morning of the cat (I live right by it) with a nice snow cap, and some urban winter scenery, but unfortunately, I'm having trouble with the publishing tool, so as I soon as I get it straightened out, I'll post it.

S ince this morning I am full of smiles
N ow that there is snow for miles
O h how beautiful it is to see
W hite has covered everything but me

happy holidays everyone, its snowing wild here in yerevan!!! we opened our front door this morning and were shocked. everything was white. it was soo beautiful. since early morning it has been snowing and it has not stopped. i can see true armenian patils hitting my office window and people struggling to pass the streets walking very very slow. bari araji dzyun (happy first snowfall) everyone. i am so excited i got to see snow before i left. i was dreading missing the first snowfall. i made it just in time.

wrapping up at work, wrapping up at home, packing and buying and paying bills that we will not be here for... the usual pre-travel norms. in addition we are shooting the new music video for christmas tomorrow and i am excited to be working with young and talented sirusho.

i hope we can get some pictures of snow, so you can also see how beautiful it is here right now.

Hi to all of you. I came to Yerevan two months ago. This is my third visit here, but this time I have the intention of staying. Of course, making a decision such as this one is pretty difficult, and hearing all the negative comments from other Armenians, sadly including some family members and friends, was not helping. I heard comments such as "why Armenia?", "there's nothing there", and "they're all thieves and liars there". Sadly, I'm still hearing some of those same comments here from the locals. But the one comment that has always outweighed all those nasty comments has been "bravo!".

So I came here without telling anyone that it was for good. "Ya, I'll go see how it is and then decide", but of course I had every intention of coming here and trying my best to make it work out. If it doesn't end up working out for me here, I can just pack up and return. I'll probably hear "I told you so", but then again why should it matter? At least I gave it a shot. Most of the people that say all those nasty comments are those that have never even seen Armenia.

I have always felt like an outsider even in the country I was born in. Not to say that I don't have that feeling here, but it feels less strange to me. It feels more like home than Canada ever did to me. I grew up listening to Armenian music, was a member in an Armenian Folk Dance group that traveled the world (and represented a country I honestly didn't know much about), attended masses at Armenian churches, ate Armenian food, spoke Armenian, went to an Armenian school, had many Armenian friends, etc. So what was I doing in Canada?

Don't get me wrong, I love Canada; but I love Armenia too. I love being here and seeing the entire country being rebuilt. I love to see the progression, I think it's awesome! Of course coming to a country with such a low cost of living is also a bonus. My other reason for being here is because I want to help out in any way possible, but mostly through what I can offer. I've been involved in producing music professionally for over 10 years now for all the major labels (ie. Sony, BMG, Universal, etc.). Although I have no intentions of losing those vital ties, I wanted to come here and see what I can offer all these talented people. Armenia is filled with professional artists: painters, writers, musicians, actors, etc. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it's been difficult for most of these artists to exhibit their works. And since music has always been an important part in Armenian life, I want to help preserve that.

Sometimes I wish the progression would speed up, but it's happening, it's happening at an acceptable pace. Thanks especially to a couple of wealthy Armenians for repaving and illuminating the streets, fixing up the sidewalks, museums, and even installing a million dollar pussycat.

The visitors are also making a difference here. The locals see how much money they can make from them and so they are opening up cafes, restaurants and so on. Plus, their communication skills have changed a bit. They know what "lolig" and "huvgeet" are now. Ya, so their customer service still sucks, but eventually it'll change. For instance, why not ask if you are finished when eating in a restaurant before taking your plate away? And what's up with standing right in front of you when you are shopping for souvenirs? All they need to do is ask if you need any help and then move out of your way. I'm debating if I should prepare a customer service skills pamphlet and hand it out to all these store owners. Their behavior is driving away customers.

I came here with my best friend (non-Armenian) and he couldn't believe how different Armenia was. He was expecting a totally Middle Eastern country. He said "Armenia is definitely a European country. All it needs is some money to fix the poverty issue".

By the way, if anyone has some money and wants to invest in a project or two I can make a few suggestions. For one thing, somebody needs to invest in fixing up the street signs. Writing them in Armenian, English and Russian. Also, how about sandblasting all these great looking buildings? It's a pricey project, but it can make a HUGE difference in the overall look of the city. I've noticed that on some buildings the ugly grayish cement parts have been painted in yellow or fleshy pink and I think they look so nice with the surrounding tuff stone and pillars. It brings a little color into the city.

Over the past couple of months I've shared many of my experiences with my friends back in Canada, which Raffi would like me to post here, so I will do that for sure in my future logs.

By the way, Raffi, have a great trip down under. Hope you return soon.

Before I go, I would just like to add that it is forecast to snow the day AFTER I leave! Woohooo! I missed the whole thing (well, I guess I had better not count my chickens before they hatch). The weather has been very good to me this winter, and everyone in town is feeling good about the temprature. Today was the first day it rained this winter, and with the snow coming... well those predictions I was making about an ugly sidewalk situation shaping up seem unfortunately to be coming true. Many of them are not complete and I just don't think they will be able to get much done till the spring.

The real news however, is that I seem to be the happy owner of a dacha! Alright, for those who don't live here, a dacha is a summer house/cottage. Many locals have one, and an offer me, Zabel and Lena made on a cute little place up north was accepted, so barring any major kinks, I will finally have a place in one of my favorite spots in the country... ahhhh....

A cool new thing I am testing out on my site is a real estate/property listing section, which looks really great. I have added one listing, and people can add their own as well. You can list property anywhere in the world, but the focus is Armenia of course. Property of any kind for sale or rent.
http://www.cilicia.com/cgi-bin/property/index.php

Greetings from Yerevan! To be a logger, I realize, is a serious responsibility and quite a privelege, and I hope to be able to contribute something meaningful to the discourse. I also look forward to hearing from people with questions on life in Armenia. There is a myriad of things to log about on life in Armenia, but I will pace myself and write about the most interesting ones, even thought the temptation to use this as a private journal is quite big. It is a cold Saturday in Yerevan, with some reports of snow, although I haven't seen it yet, but definitely a damp and cold day. I'll write more very soon. Thanks for the opportunity!

December 7, 1988 was the horrible earthquake in northern Armenia that leveled Spitak, much of Gyumri, and damaged destroyed many other towns. We were all glued to our TV sets for days, and the disbelief and surreal feeling of watching it from so far away on TV. Most of the survivors have new homes now, and the remaining few should have them soon. What remains desperately needed is jobs. There is virtually no work in that part of the country (like many parts of the country!)

Well as I warned you I would not be doing personal logs for a while. This is my first personal log (posting press releases does not count) since the passing of Patrick, which was so hard on everyone who knew him. Now I am able to think of happy memories of him, without dwelling on the fact that there will be no new ones.

The big news from my life is that my ticket to Australia came through just one week ago, and I leave in just 3 days!!! It really hit like a whirlwind. I will fly (and fly and fly over 30 hours in the air just to get there) to Sydney and leave from Melbourne. I am looking so forward to this. I have a bunch of cousins in Australia, all of whom are so cool, and I love dearly, despite the fact that we have not grown up together, and in fact have only spent a few trips here and there together. But they are the sorts of people that you would be best friends with even if they weren't your cousins. They are all so cool, as are my aunts and uncles. I have been to Australia before, so I don't think I will do any sightseeing, but that doesn't mean I won't enjoy the great weather there. It has been 4 years since I lay on the beaches in summer, and for that matter I have never been to a topless beach :-) So I don't know if I will log from there or not, but at least you will know where I am and know that I am having a fantastic time! I am staying there for seven weeks, since I have have no idea when I will have my next chance to spend that kind of time with my family down there... Unfortunately Zabel isn't going to come, since it is sooo far, and really not a sightseeing trip. She will spend the holidays with her family instead.

After that it is not clear where I am going, which seems to be the story of my life, and many loggers as well ;-) I may have to start a seperate log page for Armenians like Jeff, Aram Simonian, Arsine and others who have a hard time staying put in one place for very long. You will notice some new faces on the logs, Alex will be joining, and I think Harout too. So if I do stop logging for a while, they should keep you entertained. This means there will be approx half a dozen loggers, who should be writing pretty regularly, some of whom have been here a long time, some are fresh, some are married, some are single, from all corners of the earth and different ages.

i have never done this but this time it is important enough... i am asking all of you for help.

our animals at the zoo here are dying. our two pumas, two lions, wild cats and many others. they are all dying from anthrax. we do not have a normal vet here. we are in dyer need of some help. we are losing animals every day. today the director of the zoo called me asking if i can research anthrax on the net... while animals are dying by the day. i can do the research... but we need a serious vet here to assess the situation.

if you are a veteranarian or you know one who is willing to come here for free to help save our wild animals and our other animals here at the zoo... please get in touch with me.

if you can contact any source of help for the zoo here, even if it is a vet. who would just come here to assess, it would really be a great help.

thank you.

hi everyone. my last log got stuck somewhere deep into scroll down so i thought i would recap before i start the new stuff.

if you have been reading the logs lately and are dissapointed i am sorry. us loggers will be getting together tonight and we will talk about logging more. i hope we can get back on track. i know most of us have been bad loggers lately.

the recap

it has been really busy for me. arthur won three different music awards (singer of the year for groong, armenian music awards for best newcomer, and a gold album for three candles) he is videotaping new years videos and his own video, the heart, just came out. he has had many interviews and he takes me on most. it has been hectic.

as for my work, the cascade has opened and the escalators are in full gear working from 6:30 am to 11:00 pm for free. the botero cat is doing great and it will have a santa hat in just a few days. i am very excited about the cat. it is getting quite a good reaction. the other day, an old lady brought it food and tied a ribbon around its front paw... so cute.

the new stuff

i am on tv a lot lately and have been ignoring friends and family because of time constraints. everyone who sees me says "menag tv'ov enk desnum kez" (we only see you on tv lately)... it makes me feel famous. it is a lot of work being famous and i am happy that i am not a superstar (even though deep down inside i think of myself as one). i am looking forward to being in LA and not having to repeat the same information about the cat and cascade... just for a month.

speaking of LA, we are on our way to LA. it is going to be insane as arthur has not met many of my friends and family. i have not met his LA life and we will be busy. we will be doing a small wedding reception and my girlfriend wrote me and asked if we are registered anywhere. i started to think about it (because we are not registered anywhere) and i thought to myself... living in armenia... and going to LA... what is important and i realized that if we were to be registered anywhere it would have to be target. i was writing my "things to buy in the states list" and most of the stuff can be bought at k-mart or target. sleeping bags, nyquill. i realized how truly minimalistic we have become here. i do not dream of anything, and nothing has intrigued me that can be on the top floor of Macys or Bed Bath and Beyond. Everything here is simple and right and comfortable. i like it that way. i guess i have become more ... simple.

we are recording our annual christmas song. it will feature arthur, eric & iza from rubicon, sirusho, emulik and a few others. i will be doing a short christmas rap. SPEAKING OF ME AND MUSIC. i went to vernisage the other day... and heard the song that TATA ASKED ME TO BE IN. i was sooo excited. we bought the cd and i have been playing it for everyone... my part is literally 2 seconds... but still... it is me and tata. and it is fantastic, ara your sushi is a close second... but your sushi is better than the tata song, i will give you that.

today i will order the cats hat and catch up on some work. recording at our studio then off to meet the loggers. i will stop my log now and promise to write soon.

Just announcing that the message boards have a new Ara forum. Please check it out and keep up with his political and social thoughts, logged from Martuni, Karabakh! This will keep the logs more focused on the daily life of the homeland...

THE ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE
Real Estate Department
Contact person: Fr. Pakrad Bourjekian
Tel/Fax: 972-26271079
Email: armre@netvision.net.il

PRESS RELEASE (COMMUNIQU� 3)

THE STATE OF ISRAEL HAS CONCEDED TO WITHDRAW FROM ITS INTENTION TO SEIZE A
LARGE PORTION OF THE BARON-DER PROPERTY

Following negotiations between the representatives of the Armenian Orthodox
Patriarchate in Israel, the Ministry of Defense of the State of Israel has
conceded to withdraw from its intention to seize a large portion of the
Baron-Der property, for the purpose of structuring a security fence between
Jerusalem and the north part of Bethlehem.

The Baron-Der property consists of about 143 (36 acres) dunams of
agricultural land cultivated with olive trees (1600 trees), antiquities and
the ancient tombs. Baron-Der has been for generations a center by the
Armenian Patriarchate for devotion and hermitages.

In May 2002, the State of Israel announced it will construct a security
fence between Jerusalem and the Aida refugee Camp, located at the north
part of Bethlehem, in a route that would split the Baron-Der property and
render it impossible for use.

Following negotiations, the State of Israel conceded to relocate the route
of the fence, and the possession of the Baron-Der property was given back
to the Armenian Patriarchate, except for a stripe at the southern edge of
the property, to be temporarily used for security and defense purposes.

The State of Israel has acknowledged the right of the Armenian Patriarchate
to have free access to the Baron-Der property, in order to cultivate the
land and the olive trees, the right of free pilgrimage to the property and
the right to perform religious services. The State of Israel has also
agreed to compensate the Armenian Patriarchate for the damages caused.

The Armenian Patriarchate, for all the moral support rendered in the issue
of Baron-Der, expresses its appreciation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Armenia, to the Hierarchical Heads of the Armenian Orthodox Church, to
the Diocesan Leaders, to the Armenian and non-Armenian organizations, and
especially to His Holiness the Pope John-Paul II and His Holiness Alexey
II, the Patriarch of all Russia, who at the request of His Holiness the
Catholicos of all Armenia, prayed for the peaceful settlement of the issue.

26 November 2002
Jerusalem

Real Estate Department of the Armenian Patriarchate

* * *

The Eastern Diocese likewise conveys its gratitude to the public for the
concern and support it showed regarding the Baron Der issue.

--11/27/02

before you all start to scream at me for not writing... i just want to say, i was really really busy.

here is an update to end all updates.

CAREER:

my boss came into town from minessota and we got a lot done. thank you nigol-zabel for posting that picture of the botero cat because i would have never been able to do it... but i will give the update anyways.

last week we unveiled the famous cat by fernando botero. fernando botero is one of the most famous living contemporary artists alive... and probably latin america's most famous living artist. his work has a unique style which makes him very recognizable, he distorts sizes... and everyone or everything ends up really fat on his canvas. so cat, is from his line of animals and is a 2 meter bronze sculpture and it was just placed in yerevan. this is the first peice of artwork coming into yerevan from mr. cafesjian's private collection and it is stunning. i just can't believe that we have a fernando botero... that is awesome.

we also opened the escalators inside the structure cascade. these escalators had last worked in 1997 for 40 drams a ride. Now they have reopened and are better than ever and they are FREE. it was so great to see everyone riding up and down, excited. this is a major sign of hope and a definite good thing that people can actually touch (i mean ride)... needless to say i felt amazing for putting the event together and i felt great about all the work mr. cafesjian and our team have done.

for the most part people here are very