It's a Small (Armenian) World After All

On Monday night I met up with the fellow writing the updated Lonely Planet Armenia chapter in the Caucasus guidebook (he will write it from scratch). I had met him in January in Melbourne, Australia, through a guy who knows him and I happened to meet while he was in Armenia. I really look forward to the new version of the guidebook coming out, since the guy is quite sharp (a far cry from the last one).

Tuesday night was quite interesting too. A regular episode of "it's a small (Armenian) world after all". I can only do it justice as a timeline, with explanations.

• 6:50 - I walked partway home with a co-worker, running late for a dinner with friends
  
• 7:00 - On the way, I bumped into this fellow I met in Jerusalem in 1995 then again in 2000. Very nice guy. Another friend from Jerusalem may be visiting soon and we make plans to get together.
  
• 7:08 - So running even later, I got to the restaurant, and found that I was still earlier than my friend and his wife. The friend's mom and dad went to university with my mom and dad. His wife and her father are architects.
  
• 7:10 - They arrived at the new Sayat Nova restaurant and again I got the Greek salad which I had enjoyed on my earlier visit.
  
• 8:00 - I was running late for my meeting down the street with a second architect friend (one of my first acquaintence in Armenia in 1994) due to the delay in getting the check.
  
• 8:04 - I ran into my painter friend from Sisian on the way. Had to say a quick hi.
  
• 8:07 - Met the second architect friend, who joked from my lateness that I am becoming quite local, and went to look at an apartment that needs to be remodeled. He of course it turns out, knows my friends wifes dad.
  
• 8:30 - With just the second architect, we go out for some drinks.
  
• 9:00 - See another acquaintence who does not see me, then my architect friend's Iranian-Armenian friend comes with his family and sits at the table next to us.
  
• 10:20 - Architect friend takes me to his painter friend's nearby studio for a visit. His friend has had exhibitions in Orange County among many other places... I'll have to somehow tactfully ask how much the red Ararat painting would go for.
  
• 10:50 - head home
  

What a Yerevan evening.