I was at the airport to send off 5 French LCO volunteers. Besides the stupid time and the long lines and waiting, I have seen many improvements in within the past few years. It's true that construction could have started already, but I do welcome and appreciate this one space in Yerevan that is not in construction and full of dust.
The Armenian International Airline services had improved... they were smiling and some attempts of humor was evident. There are also cafes and souvenir shops for the last minute buyers and the waiting and such.

Tourists, they are not just Armenians. I met a very cute couple from Israel who were touring from Turkey to India. This would take them 1year. They had already spent 4 months in Turkey and 6 weeks in Georgia. They had been in Armenia for about a week and were heading to Arakadz when I met them at Artbridge. They were very impressed with Armenia, but most particularly with Armenians. They thought the people here were welcoming, calm and relatively not too crooked. I guess after Georgia and turkey, one can come to that conclusion. They wanted to go to Azerbeijan and Turkmenistan, but will have to cancel because it is too costly and or too dangerous. Visa to Turkmenistan is $300.Maybe us Armenians need to stop Bitching about Armenia all the time and see what is happening in the neighboring countries and we can start appreciating what we have. We have a Beautiful country (and I am not saying this because I am Armenian... totally unbiased;o), smart people and a strong will. OK there is some corruption, some injustice but these are things that could be overcome through that strong will I just mentioned. Let's try to look at Armenia through the eyes of these non-Armenian tourists and give this young country a break.
PS: Opera square has become a hang out for waaay too many people.