As Alex wrote, yesterday was just a beautiful May Day. We laughed so hard for so long, especially in the stupid house of horrors. The warm weather is supposed to get better and better, last night I left the windows open all night and wasn't cold. What a relief after the long winter (in NYC for me). OK, enough about the weather.
To Alex, I want to say publicly that every time you log you do not have to inspire the world... just logging the day to day events of life in Armenia, sometimes interesting, sometimes inspirational, sometimes run of the mill gives the complete picture of living here. (And keep logging, or else! :-)
Repatriates live in Armenia by choice, unlike many of its native inhabitants. So when you are feeling down it is natural to question whether you did the right thing in moving here. I used to experience those cycles of feeling great about being here and then wondering whether it was the right choice very rapidly (monthly). Now I tend to question my decision once or twice a year, usually soon before winter comes :-) But seriously, although I never pictured myself staying here forever, the more time that passes, the easier it is to do so. The changes you see every day for the good, although not far-reaching enough, are obvious. Most of the sidewalks are complete now, although some of the concrete bricks seem to be disintegrating from bird droppings already. There are just loads of new construction sites all over the city. Massive ones at that. Old projects and remodelings are complete, many shops have closed, more have opened. It is fascinating watching all of this evolution. Many people have a more positive outlook on the future. Gas lines are being restored to homes, water is becoming 24 hour soon, and this month there is a national referendum which includes allowing dual citizenship. If it passes, it is still not clear when it will be offered, or in what form, but it is a big step nevertheless.
Also, I met Der Hova this week for the first time. I did not get much of a chance to talk to him, but I finally have a face to associate with the name. A few others have repatriated that I have not met yet, and a couple of more that I know of are in the pipeline.
To Alex, I want to say publicly that every time you log you do not have to inspire the world... just logging the day to day events of life in Armenia, sometimes interesting, sometimes inspirational, sometimes run of the mill gives the complete picture of living here. (And keep logging, or else! :-)
Repatriates live in Armenia by choice, unlike many of its native inhabitants. So when you are feeling down it is natural to question whether you did the right thing in moving here. I used to experience those cycles of feeling great about being here and then wondering whether it was the right choice very rapidly (monthly). Now I tend to question my decision once or twice a year, usually soon before winter comes :-) But seriously, although I never pictured myself staying here forever, the more time that passes, the easier it is to do so. The changes you see every day for the good, although not far-reaching enough, are obvious. Most of the sidewalks are complete now, although some of the concrete bricks seem to be disintegrating from bird droppings already. There are just loads of new construction sites all over the city. Massive ones at that. Old projects and remodelings are complete, many shops have closed, more have opened. It is fascinating watching all of this evolution. Many people have a more positive outlook on the future. Gas lines are being restored to homes, water is becoming 24 hour soon, and this month there is a national referendum which includes allowing dual citizenship. If it passes, it is still not clear when it will be offered, or in what form, but it is a big step nevertheless.
Also, I met Der Hova this week for the first time. I did not get much of a chance to talk to him, but I finally have a face to associate with the name. A few others have repatriated that I have not met yet, and a couple of more that I know of are in the pipeline.
posted by Raffi K. at 9:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home