Ah, Madlene, don't be mad just because I pointed out that your dog is a ??????.

Welcome to the world, little cuzin Conner Raffi!!!

being with my friends on thanksgiving was like being with my family. we are such good old friends that we were making wise comments at eachother... and treating eachother as any naughty siblings do. raffi and i got into it because he hates dogs... what kind of a person hates dogs :o)

the thanksgiving turkey was ordered from a hotel that caters. we were all really excited and were even more excited when the turkey was delivered in a HUGE box... yummy thanksgiving. when we opened the box we found the smallest turkey i have ever seen. we were laughing hysterically but alex (our host) looked ... strained. we realized he was embarressed by the size of his turkey (even though it was not his fault the hotel had screwed up) he felt bad... so we went on to harrass him all night about the turkey. we offered to carve the turkey with a butterknife, thanked Lena for being a vegetarian and when he asked me to grab a serving plate to put the bird in... i grabbed for an armenian coffee cup plate. its a good thing that he is a good sport. needless to say, there was so much food... the turkey mishap went by practically unnoticed.

i have a toothache. i am off to the dentists office. let me take the opportunity to let you know how good the dental practice is here. if you don't have dental insurance... and need even a root canal or a few fillings... it might just be worth it to buy a ticket and get yourself here... see my dentist and save money in the process, and of course enjoy Armenia (in between shots of novocaine).

It is getting chillier, everyone is wondering when the first snow will come. It is still drizzling on and off every few days.

Well happy Thanksgiving world. It is really nice here, with your good friends who you are with by choice. All the repatriates participate in one Thanksgiving dinner or another, whether they are American, Canadian, English, Australian, Iranian, etc, if they have any American connection at all. I think they all really love it secretly, certainly the traditional Thanksgiving feast is not far from the ideal evening for any Armenian gathering -- stuffing your face with the people close to you. Alex was the host this year, which was impressive since he did not have the day off. So we really had a great time and sadly return to work today. No four day weekend for any of us.

At work last week I submitted my newly redesigned USAID/Armenia website to Washington to be put online. It is not online yet, so maybe there were some problems, but I am quite happy with how it looks and will let you know when it is up. I used Dreamweaver for the work site, rather than notepad like I use for Cilicia.com, and although I have some issues with Dreamweaver, I must say I am tempted to use it at home too. We'll see, I am not in a massively productive stage on the site, so it is not so important just now. Maybe if I hire someone to work on the site full time then it would be worthwhile. Currently I need to concentrate on reprinting Rediscovering Armenia if anything. It is out of print as of this month.

What else, it really was a crazy, hectic week in my life, too much even to write about. Probably my most eventful week since I started this job. In the middle of all the excitement I saw a movie at the British Movie Week about the Irish "homes" for girls run by nuns up to recent times which was so incredibly disturbing I could not believe it. Based on true stories, it showed the horrible treatment girls were subjected to in these prisons, with no say in their lives at all. It must have broken all kinds of human rights laws, and UN Charters, and was heartbreaking to watch. Perfectly innocent girls put there because society did not want them. Wow. "Magdalena Sisters" or something like that, I definitely recommend it. It reminds you what can happen when society has a twisted mentality. In Irelands case it was a very severe, fundamentalist Catholicism, and in Turkeys case today it is a sick nationalism and imagined persecution which manifests itself in similiarly sick ways.

Well I have to get ready for work, but one last quick note is that I am excited that my cousin is about to have a new baby boy in Australia! (She may have had it already). His middle name will probably be Raffi -- too bad it is not the first name (hint hint :-))

This morning, I am in bed half sleep and hear Nigol’s voice, Armenia is on CNN map!

Past week, two of our hotel customers were from UAE.
You might be living in UAE for 20 years, but you know it’s transitory stage, not your final destination. Yervand Says.
He’s a Hayasdantzi engineer, found a job five years ago; moved his family. He and his wife, Anna, work. Kids go to foreign school (where else?)
His boss is very happy with his work and every time they need another engineer he says, let’s hire someone from Hayasdan. Now they have more than half-a-dozen hayasdantzi engineers working in the company.

Price of land is escalating in some parts of Armenia. Armenians from Russia, Iran, Syria, UAE, North America are buying land and property.

Before, when I went back, they asked me about thieving Armenians and Mafia, now they’re asking about job opportunities. This from a Syrian-Armenian guy who moved in 1996 and has a store in Yerevan called ‘Everything for Sewing’.

Perceptions are changing.

Armenians are feeling restless, whether born in the Middle East, or in voluntary-compulsory-work-exile situation.

Yervand and a couple of his friends have purchased land in Armenia. His plan is to move back in four years’ time. If you want to start a business this is the time, after four years you might be too late. He held that opinion before the explosions targeting Christian foreigners in different Moslem countries. Now he is apprehensive.

Also last week, we gave complimentary rooms to a Lebanese crew preparing a TV documentary about Armenians. They have discovered interesting findings: More Armenian skeletons in the Syrian Desert; and a village near Syrian Turkish boarder, with Armenian inhabitants converted to Islam. In Armenia the crew filmed Dzidzernagapert and other places, and interviewed Lebanese Armenians who have moved to Armenia. Key questions were, Why did you leave Lebanon and moved to Armenia? Will you consider moving back to Lebanon?

I watched CNN the whole day, I saw Michael Jackson, Georgian and Iraqi news but no map of the region.

Once they decide, Armenians can find their way home.

CNN map, isn’t it for Americans to show where they have invested interest?

I am braving the cold... I am not whining, I am not layering excessively and I am not draining my life of outdoor activities... I am becoming a four seasons kinda girl. Who knows, you may even see me this winter on the bunny slopes in Tsaxkadzor.

I am finally seeing a lot of my friends. I knew this would happen once the weather chilled. We played a game of In Pursuit a few days ago. I still long for the funner Balderdash, next person who goes... must bring it back.

Arthur Ispirian, my talented and studly husband, is in a new musical which will air new years eve. he plays a vet. and ozzie and i make a cameau appearance as client and client's owner. arthur will also be a part of the opening of the opera. very exciting.

I have a funny story about Arthur. For all of you who have been tortuing yourselves with my logs, have read about how hard it was for Arthur to adjust to our golden retriever Ozzie. Finally when things finally calmed (after an incident when Ozzie ate four pairs of shoes in one sitting, all Arthur's, all performance shoes) he was getting used to the fact that Ozzie is a part of our family. Alex had a gathering and Arthur, Ozzie and I went for a night of fun. Raffi and Lara Nizibilian were also there with their amazing kids. Arthur had given Amassia (who I believe to be three or four) an orange and Amassia was walking around. When Lara asked Amassia (as a good mother should) "who gave you that orange" Amassia proudly responded with "Shuniki papan dvec" (the doggy's dad gave it"...We were all laughing hysterically and Arthur was red as a bazook (beet) and amazed that he would ever be called a doggy's dad. The sacrafices people make for marriage are just amazing.

Arthur and I were godfather and godmother for a four year old boy name Senulik recently. It was a beautiful ceremony. Its really hard not to kiss the kid for three days after the baptism. Kids are really cute and really tempting to kiss. On Wednesday we will go and wash him as Armenian tradition dictates. He is our third Godchild. We are blessed.

So regarding my last log...although OVIR at the airport claimed the $20 penalty only applies to applications filled out at the airport (and not the Yerevan office), my mother went to OVIR in Yerevan to extend her visa today, and was still charged the $20.

For anyone coming to Armenia with a 3-week visa and wanting to stay longer (even if it's one extra day) make sure you go to OVIR in Yerevan at least 4 days before your visa expires to avoid any additional penalties.

Today my mother, another relative, and I decided to try a new restaurant called Arcada at the corner of Teryan and Tumanyan. Again, a new restaurant with tens of thousands of dollars spent on this 3-floor complex (top floor is a sushi bar, the middle is a cafe, and downstairs a restaurant). Each floor has a different atmosphere, very nicely decorated. BUT, obviously no attention was spent on how to prepare the foods or the training of the waiters and waitresses (now there's a surprise!). Our table was set with a tissue paper for each person (imagine, they spend all this money, and even have a plasma screen playing music videos, and they can't even afford normal napkins). The service was way too slow, the food expensive and very, very oily. To sum it up...nevermind.

I've been glued to the TV following what's going on in Georgia. A little off topic, but why doesn't CNN ever label Armenia when they show maps of this side of the world? For those who aren't aware, a few of Georgia's opposition leaders have been said to have Armenian roots. Might not be that important to some, but I thought I would still mention it.

My mom leaves in a day (today is her birthday) and I'll be getting back to work...finally. I'm also renovating and decorating my new apartment, and can't wait to move in very soon. This was a boring log.

Revoultion! Revolution! Revolution!

What was the old slogan from MTV--Rock & Roll Televised--well, here you have it, Revolution Televised!!!

The Republic of Georgia went through a peaceful revolution--change of powers--and every step of the way was televised--more so on BBC than CNN (the only two western--read English language--outlets I have access to). It was an exciting weekend in Armenia as well, because these changes will undoubtedly affect Armenia in profound ways. The mood in Armenia has been somewhat subdued vis-a-vis the events in Tbilisi, but people are talking about and analyzing these historic events. One can't help but think back and compare the situation in Georgia to that in Armenia just several months ago. I was in Georgia in July of this year for a brief period staying at a hotel just across the street from the parliament building where history was made this weekend. The situation in Georgia although at first glimpse comparable, in reality is different. Georgia's social problems--poverty in particular--are severe and unchanging. The state has paid a lot of lip service to these issues but hasn't done anything fundamentally. This all despite Georgia's incomparable access to markets and trade routes that Armenia lacks.

Having said all this, I'm still amazed that the Georgian opposition has acted quite maturely and resourcefully and persistently (something that by many accounts the Armenian opposition was not able to do). It is also interesting to note the chronology of events, particularly the arrival of Igor Ivanov from the Russian Federation. Anyhow, it is exciting times to see all of this happening and be witness to historical change like that.

What bugged me about the coverage in the US (just based on CNN-Interational and its nightly program Newsnight, which covers next day front page headlines of national papers), is that Michael Jackson's latest venture into the legal realm is grabbing more headlines and above fold articles than is this issue--one of great significance and importance to all countries in the world. Georgia, afterall, does lie in a major energy route.

Of note this weekend was the opening of the renovated Philharmonic Concet Hall, and the inaugural perfomance there of world-renowned Russian conductor and composer Yuri Bashmet. A world-class event, with a few less than perfect logistical moments (temperature, waiting etc.), but overall a wonderful evening. Lena, Madlena, Arthur and a new AVC volunteer from Boston, and I went together.

Cheers.

I am watching the velvet revolution in Georgia live on BBC... just what I logged about a few times recently, including my lecture to the taxi driver a month ago. Beautiful.

Terence and I took a cab to the airport instead of me driving this time. Six days from now I'll have to go back to send off my mother. These odd hours are damn annoying! I have to say that the cab option is a great one. Blitz taxi costs about $6 Canadian to the airport and back. For the driver to stay there up to one hour costs about $2.50 Canadian.

So as usual something unexpected had to happen at the airport and I'm writing about this here just to warn people.

Although they say the penalty for staying here after a visa expires is $3/day, there is also a $20 charge which is apparently the cost of putting the actual visa into your passport. OVIR (the visa office) in the airport claims the Yerevan branch does not charge the extra $20 fee, but for those who know how time consuming OVIR in Yerevan is, I think it might actually be less of a hassle just to pay the extra $20 at the airport.

Anyway, nothing beats the 10-year visa. (Just a suggestion for those who plan on coming here at least 4 times, more than 3 weeks each time, in the next 10 years.)

My super quick update (since I have loads to do at home which I have been neglecting and a busy week ahead of me at work) is that the weekend was quite fun, and this www.0spam.com is really suiting me great still. So, lets see, I saw the "Wood House" furniture store on Dikran Mets and it had really fantastic furniture, all made in Armenia. Beautiful stuff really - remonding is not even going to be challenging soon in this country (ok, I realize I am getting carried away with that comment). For Madlenes bday (Happy Birthday Madlene!) we had a brunch at Artbridge, and took over the lower room. Alex was back, Niziblian brought the babies, and we had a great time. Did vernissage twice, etc, etc :-)

Now I had better hang my laundry and jump in the shower.

It's been a long while since my last log...Quite frankly I'm scared for my survival on the logs. Raffi just might kick me off, I tell ya.

I'm back from a long hiatus, and it feels to be back in Armenia. I was in the US on business first and foremost, then a week-long stay with family in cold, rainy Southern California. By the end of the trip, I was itching to get back to Yerevan for three reasons:

-missed my friends and life in Armenia
-hated living out of a suitcase for almost a month
-disliked the current reality of American life

I got back on Saturday at 1 a.m., and plunged right back into life here, and it's felt excellent, mostly because everytime I leave Armenia, I'm not quite certain how the return will feel. Well, this time, the most welcomed change was the airport. I've loggeda bout my disdain for the airport in Yerevan, but let me assure you that the new Zvartnots is something to behold. Between landing and my exit from the airport, meer 25 minutes had elapsed. Record time for me, and not comparable to the 2 hour wait last time. What a wonderful surprise this was. Also, the cart system is now under control and it's an efficient and well-maintained service at the baggage carousel.

Lena graced me with her presence as my date at the annual Marine Ball, where we hung out with friends and danced a bit, and this was a great way of getting back into official life in Yerevan. The best welcome though, was this morning, where we had a great breakfast party hosted by Madlene for her birthday, and it was a most excellent gathering of friends, and nothing makes you fee like home than do loving and supporting friends. What a great feeling of belonging.

Ararat is gorgeous as ever, now that it's chilly out, and with the holiday season approaching, we're all making plans for the next couple of months.

More soon...but great to be back in Armenia!

Whinnying of a horse, what does it tell you?
“Armenia is a cradle of horse civilization.” Two contradictory thoughts cross my mind simultaneously: Yeah right, here we go again, and, We’re one of the oldest civilizations (if not, The cradle).

Three weeks ago Nigol took his friends to a hunting trip in Artzakh and they encountered wild horses. They could not get too close but took pictures. See a couple on our website.

Last weekend, we’re surfing on TV channels and I hear the last part of the news - remains of a prehistoric horse have been discovered in Shengavit.

If you’ve already visited Armenia, you might have been to Erepouni. The names Menua and Argishti might sound familiar. Argishti conquered these parts of the world, and built cities and fortresses (he came from the Western Armenia). In the year 782 BC, he built Erepouni and he carved the birth-certificate in cuneiform inscription on more than one rock “With the permission of god Khaldi, I, Argishti son of Menua, built this city for the prosperity of Biainily country and for bringing peace to our enemy country.’ On another rock the last phrase is ‘for the terror of the enemies’.

On September 25th of 1950 the stone birth certificate was discovered. A sprint to Moscow asking permission to celebrate the birthday of city, the green light, and Armenians celebrated 2750th birthday of Erepouni. “Yerevan tartzar im Yerepouni…” Erepouni transliterated into Yerevan. Since then we count the age of the city by the inscription date, 2785 the last count.

“The land was waste and I undertook great deeds.’ Argishti continues. The land was barren, there were no buildings on it.
The land was called Aza, and it included Medzamor civilization, a city burnt down by Urartians.

Excavations in Shengavit (close to Lake Yerevan) in 1930’s by Kurtyan, between 1960 and 70 by Sartaryan, and in 2000 and 2003 by Simonyan show that settlement phases dating mid fourth to the second millennium BC existed. They had a high level of civilization, stone fortifications, buildings, and spiritual religious beliefs...

Why didn’t the Armenian Soviet leaders admit their mistake?
We’re they scared of becoming the laughing stock of Moscow?

Yerevan is at least five-thousand years old and the
Whinnying of a ghost horse in Shengavit answers it all.

It has been drizzling for almost a week now on and off. Never a strong rain, but a few hours of sprinkling, usually right before I need to walk somewhere. I walk almost everywhere, but in the rain a taxi is quite tempting, and oftentimes hard to get.

Yesterday I noticed that Haig, who logged here a few times tried to claim on Ara's site that he was removed for having written negative logs, which is hogwash, and I had told him so before. HE was the one who asked me if he could be a logger, and after taking a chance on a guy I had never met, and asking him repeatedly to log more often, after a few weeks more of silence I removed him. Most of you probably don't remember him because he logged so infrequently, but it was just really obnoxious of him to post that after he had made the same claim to me and I had cleared it up. I have never, not once mentioned the content of his logs to him, ONLY asked him a number of times to log more often (which I would not have even done if I had an issue with his logs). I have removed a number of good friends for this same offense including Aram, Ashod and Rhoda, three of the original loggers. Which reminds me... Gayane Yoghurtjian, where are you??? Alright, I have been dwelling on this theme too much lately, but it just has kept coming up.

So the anti-spam software I installed last spring really turned out to be a bit of a flop, since it caused my system to be a bit unstable, but I have found a great new spam fighting system I think. I have only been using http://www.0spam.com for one day now, but it is already working like a charm. I recommend trying it if you have a spam problem, you have got nothing to lose. It has really cleared out my inbox. I still have to go and look at the spam folder now and then, but it is not in my face at all and I deal with it when I want to, not all day long.

Oh yes, last night was quite an arguement at Sayat Nova Restaurant. We love the food there, and the atmosphere, but last night we decided to try the wine and ordered two bottles that we know cost 1,000 dram in the stores, not imagining it could cost much more than a couple of thousand dram a bottle. The bill came for 9,600 dram for the wine alone and after they explained it is "by the glass only" (something they did not mentioned when we ordered a bottle) and that a glass is considered 100ml of wine (which means a normal bottle of wine is considered to be EIGHT glasses of wine at 600 drams each). Well we were quite unhappy and argued a good long time, and unsuccessfully. At the least we said they should have warned us when we ordered a bottle, that it is not measured by the bottle, but by the glass. Well, that was an interesting lesson. I don't know what I learned, maybe to study the menu like a consumer rights freak, but it really did leave a bad taste in my mouth... at least we did get to see the Bart Simpson vs. Australia episode afterwards which raised our spirits!

I took my sister to the airport the other day. She had been here for 3 weeks, and as much as I love her I was getting tired of being the unpaid tour guide. We did most of the commercial tourist spots and as my aunt says "we've gone to Garni so many times this year, all we have to do is kick the Jeep and it drives itself to Garni". As much as I make fun of that place, the Lincy Foundation is doing a good job cleaning it up, building a new entrance, washrooms and a cool exhibit.

My best-non-Armenian-friend Terry is leaving Armenia next week. He's been here for 7 months. He says he was enjoying himself immensely until he came down with a bout of food poisoning, followed by a self-diagnosed case of dysentery after drinking the chicken water. For those of you who don't know, the water supply for part of Yerevan was tainted for a few days. A heavy rainstorm, combined with a nearby poultry farm allegedly contaminated the tap water and about 200 people have been hospitalized as a result of drinking it.

A week after dysen-Terry leaves I have to send my mother back to Toronto as well. She's got a list of things she wants me to do before she leaves (hopefully no more trips to Vernissage) and soon I'll be back to working on this never ending album.

Yallah bye! I've got work to do.

Interesting stuff going on. The biggest news is that Madlene's log about "Dinner with the Prime Minister" was (I kid you not) on the top of the front page of a pretty widely read newspaper. I may scan it for you so you can read it in Armenian.

Tuesday was Veterans Day -- so nice to have a day off. Soon it is Thanksgiving, and then the holidays start in earnest. I was undecided about whether to stay here for Christmas or travel somewhere nearby, but now that a friend is coming from the states, I am heavily leaning towards staying here. Since I started working in May, I have not taken a single day off, so this is going to be nice.

In case you haven't been following the news in Georgia, there have been demonstrations ever since their fraudulent elections. It is good to see that people are getting fed up with it. The biggest demonstration is a mere 3,500 people gathered in the center of the city, 24 hours a day. So few people who are making a huge difference, the government is truly beside itself. Again proof that a few can make a difference. Imagine if 50,000 or 500,000 took such a stand here. Oops, there I go again with my fantasy about forcing government accountability and demanding good government.

And finally, last night was a night of world conquest... that's right, the Risk board came out. It was lots of fun even though I got massacred first thing in Australia. I hope to get a few more games in this winter. The funny thing is that we had a few people who had played in the past, and everyone had their own rules. Funny how house rules develope, and when people come together you have to synch them.

So I registered for an independent course at AUA. It’s called the Armenian Criminal Code. I thought it would be good to know, as a resident, what the law says about crime in Armenia.
Tonight was my second class. WHAT A BORE! The Prof (I don’t even think he is qualified to carry this title) discusses. He talks about things. There is no theory, no guideline. I am clearly disappointed. I have 6 more classes. I will start asking questions. I think this will probably be the ONLY way to get something out of this course.
After class, I dragged a few of my friends to view my almost completed film. They gave their critiques and by tomorrow the whole thing should be ready for show. I am quite satisfied with it. It is not quite what I had in mind when I was thinking about a film, but I guess that’s what happens in the process… you evolve.
We all then went to Stepan’s for SFC (that’s the equivalent of KFC). They deliver and are quite tasty.
Now I am home doing some work for LCO. This Saturday, we will be heading to Vanadzor to hold a volunteer day. We will build Gabions in a gully to prevent the soil from sliding into the roads or the fields. We’ll be joined by AVC and Makoor Yerevan volunteers… a total of 40 people are expected! COOL!!!

I didn't know what to write about Patrick now that it has been a year, and know many of you who never knew him can't understand, but he was such an amazing guy, and still young, and it was so unexpected... Armenia and Patrick were always intertwined for me, as he was one of the first people I ever met here in 1994 when I did LCO and he would come to the Yerevan events and visit the village. In 1995-96 again I would see him at LCO events in Yerevan, as well as bump into him on the streets and have all kinds of good intentions of calling him, but never did. I did go to his flat for a party once in '95 and that building - and a few others - always reminds me of him. I would joke that the three or four pastry shops that opened in his building owed their existence to him. In 1999 when I moved here, we really became friends, and you could see just how many people knew and loved him by sitting at any restaurant/cafe with him, or just walking around, or listening to him constantly answer his phone and find time for everyone. He would somehow meet travellers and take them to see sites 4 hours away just because. He would always have visitors staying with him. Also he was one of the most international people you could ever meet. French and Argentinian passports, lived in Armenia for years and years, lived in the USA, Thailand, and travelled around. We would joke that we were always honored that he would spend time with us and see us since we were not French speakers :-) That one would always make us laugh. The church here where services were held for him was packed, as I am sure the ones in Paris and Buenos Aires must have been. He got so many people to come to Armenia, to see the positive, the good. Just thinking about him always brings a good memory to mind. Every picture I have of him makes me smile and remember a good time.

As I have said before, logging is not easy - at least not for me. I had to remove the comments so that we would not feel so oppressed by some jerks, and recently removed the email addresses as well. So understand that sometimes we write for your benefit, and sometimes for ourselves, but it is not easy and a number of loggers have had problems with the feedback they get. Lay off already.

The reason I haven’t logged lately is because I get so much feedback that I truly don’t have time to respond to all those emails. My work is extremely busy and is in its critical period. The programs/ activities are back to back with deadlines, the Volunteers are in town for my program as well as World Learning (I currently have 6 in town with more to arrive next week), I have tons of meetings with various ministries etc.

I have been spending a bit of time with AVC (Armenian Volunteer Corps) volunteers and it’s been really cool. The gatherings have been volunteers from 3 groups, mine being the first, then the middle group with Rhoda and now from the new group David.

I have also been trying to fight off my cold for the last 2 weeks and yesterday my next door neighbour offered this thick juice to drink for my cough made out of pomegranate. It’s delicious and she told me the name in Turkish is “bekmez” and was brought over from Karabagh. I used to have this “bekmez” in Lebanon however I think it was made from fig.

Lastly, I will log about whatever my heart desires, whether it’s pertinent to good or bad things it’s my prerogative. I miss my Alex and I miss my Patrick.

It has been a year since we lost Patrick. His presence is still felt at every gathering. He is one of those spirits that brings such warmth and love even after he has left us. We miss you Patrick jan.

There are NOT many occasions where I complain about Armenia, or the personalities who presently control it. I am fully aware that this country is unhealthy and I try to understand the reasons why… be a good example myself and notice small changes towards the better and point them out. I always share the magic because that is always what sticks… at the end of the day. Today however I will tell you a few experiences I have had… both negative and positive.

Dinner with the Prime Minister was an interesting experience. Arthur and I decided to treat ourselves to a romantic Italian dinner. Eating at expensive restaurants is something we hardly do. We went to Ai Leoni and went to the empty upstairs part since downstairs was almost full. We had ordered wine and appetizers …when the Prime Minister of Armenia came with two women and another man. Two minutes later the waiter came to tell us “The Prime Minister does not want you here, and you HAVE to move downstairs”. Shocked, disappointed and frankly disgusted we moved downstairs… and left. It is unbelievable how this representative of such a proud and warm people does not have basic human decency. The manager of the restaurant was even more at fault for agreeing to boot out one customer for another. The Prime Minister could have bought out the entire restaurant for the night so that he may have his privacy or could have had dinner at home. That was dinner with the Prime Minister.

It is an amazing feeling to obtain a life’s dream. Since the ripe age of 8, when I used to attend Armenian camp in California and return home to tell my mom that I wanted to be a fedayee when I grew up… to my first Armenia trip when I was 18, when I fell in love with Armenia… I have always wanted a home… in Armenia, overlooking Mountain Ararat. A few weeks ago my father and mother came to Armenia to celebrate their fortieth anniversary and also… to help me obtain my dream. Although it is just land for now, and I have a lot of bread and water to drink before it becomes something I can live in… I feel I am almost there… and that feels GREAT.

For a while now I have been giving you updates on my contribution to Garni School in the memory of my uncle who left this world a few years ago. For those of you who do not remember my family decided to build a computer center in Garni School Number 2. The computer center was opened when my father and mother came to Armenia last month. Arthur and I went to our summer house recently to relax. We were bombarded with villagers who had complaints. It ends up that the principal of the school had closed off the computer center and had been using it as a private business, her son charging students 3000 drams a month for private lessons (Another complaint was that he was not that great with computers himself). The villagers just thought it was sad that we had done a good deed… but it ended up being good for the principal’s financial situation. I called the principal into my office today. I explained that this would change immediately… and they would have one year to prove that the room is being used the right way… before I decided the fate of the computer center. I was truly disappointed, and very sad that our good intentions were misused and was grateful that I live here and was in a position to follow through… and make sure that my contribution would count… really count.

Arthur has started Karate classes. I went with him for a few classes but found that Yoga is more my thing. I thought I would leave Karate for him… so he can have his own thing. Actually he is really good, as he has five years of practice. Thank God I am on his good side.

As a final note last night was a nice night with work friends. Sometimes you meet the greatest people just by working with them.

This merits a log on its own.
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of a very dear friend’s passing away.
We miss you Patrick.

Today, our plan was to go to the Zoo. But when we woke up at 9:30, the heavy rain was a definite sign for us to cancel these plans… what to do in Yerevan when it is raining?
What about the circus? After a few phone calls, we found out that there would be a show at 1:00 and at 5:00. We quickly got dressed and off to the circus we went. The Yerevan circus was hosting the professional circus crew from Moscow.
It was raining hard. There was a long line to get in. I asked the lady at the door where we can buy our tickets. She told me to bring my people and she would get us in with the best seats in the house. Minutes later we were seated.
The show was really nice. The hall needed some touching up (hint hint Mr. Kirkoryan). The best act though was a 14 year old girl from Yerevan. She was a contortionist who had won gold medals all over the state and Russia. SHE WAS GREAT!
There were clowns and an Armenian couple from Russia who carried trays filled with filled wine glasses…. 120! World Guinness record in 2000.
We are now at home. Some friends will be over in a few hours to have madzunov koftayi abour (that’s yogurt soup with kofta balls).
Even rainy days in Yerevan are fun and spontaneous!

Has been a very busy 10 days.
All the LCO board reps were in town for an international meeting last Saturday and Sunday. Of course there was the meetings before themeetings and the ones after the meetings... and then moremeetings. You know how it is!
Monday, our office was flooded and most of our electronics were damaged. A burst pipe was the cause... no insurance or accountability by the owners of the building.
Tuesday and Wednesday I was on the road. We went to the Ayroum fruit dryer opening that our volunteers built this summer. Then went for some new site searching. Thursday was a "catch up with your Stuff day". Friday, I was back on the road. Went to Vardenis area to visit some refugee villages. If you have not been to this part of Armenia, you do not understand its true problems... just too many to say right now.
I miss my babies. I have been out for more than a week. I would only see them when they were asleep.
The film is almost ready to go out. It's the one dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the earthquake. I worked with Bars Media for the camera and editing.
Today, I am taking it easy with my family. We will be walking around in Yerevan. Probably go see a puppet show and visit the artists at Vernissage. We'll end the day at one of the resataurants where they have games and entertainment forkids. There is one near the opea, another on Mashtots and one called Wonder world (I think) on Tikran Meds.

Yesterday marked 6 months since I started working at USAID. 18 months left on my contract. It is the norm to be employed for a certain term at these positions, but 18 months seems like an eternity away, so I can't say I am imagining about anything except for a good long trip at that time...

My evenings this week have been a bit different, having eaten over at friends' homes twice already, and one more planned this week. Cooking for one is just no good, so eating out has just been easiest. If this keeps up the winter will be just fine, since I had no intention of sitting in smoke filled restaurants night after night. I can't imagine how far the day is when smoking is banned here. On that note we were looking at some very preliminary budgets for the future here, through 2008, and I sure hope Armenia grows out of needing help in a lot of these fields. 2008 is a long ways a way and I wonder if Armenia continues this pace of growth and development where things will be.

Someone knew who I was. Yesterday I am standing outside the orphanage and a kid from the upper window notices me and calls, 'Nigol's woman, where is Nigol?" (Nigoli aghchig Nigoln vordegh a?)

I've been visiting this mankadun for more than three years.
Dzovig introduced us to it.
Vorpanotz is located in Zeitoun and housed, at that time, 70 kids from age two to seven.
Dzovig's family gave a 'hokejash' for her father's requiem. It was lahmajun, veggies, and taan. No alcohol. They are hayrenatarz Armenians. The extra lahmajun they wanted to give away to an orphanage and located the mankadoon.
For months everytime I visited, the kids would run to me and call me Dzovig, then someone would say 'she's not Dzovig'.

The first two years we took them slippers, shoes, underwear every summer and boots, pyjamas, sox every winter. Then we gave four TVs. We also took tourists, the ones that are not shy of visiting orphanages. Most of them chipped in.

Last year we took a group of French notaries. They, and their tour organizer, Henry Emard, donated money. With some of the money we got shoes. The principal of orphanage, Ungeruhi Greta, said they needed laundry machines. What they had was from the sixties and was leaking water. We could not find an industrial washer in the market and Greta said the smaller washers better served the purpose and helped isolate viruses. We got them five, Seven months later the washers were still not used. Greta said they needed hot water to operate the machines. It also meant, the kids were walking from one building to another thru corridors for their baths in cold weather.

This year there was a change in status and the mankadun/vorpanotz turned into a dormitory for kids. Ungeruhi Greta says now it's under Ministry of Social Welfare and they are getting better funding.

The visible implication of the change is the increase of dormitory population. Since September one-hundred-and-twenty kids reside in the institution and a new section is opened for toddlers. The toddlers barely walk. Picture a giant walking, boom-boom-boom, hard to keep balance, toddlers walk like that. They approach you and raise their arms and want to be held. They also want to leave with you.

The war orphans are at least ten years old; the earthquake orphans are older. Kids in these institutions are from broken homes or from socially insecure families. Hopefully, one day they will have a home to return to.

'Nigolu nersum a' I answer to the kid of the upper window. "Pa vordegh a, inchi mer mod chi kalis? Inch a perel".

This kid is one of the original five. A French Armenian wanted to sponsor five orphans. Perhaps he had other plans, like adopting one of them. Five kids were identified as being orphans; later we discovered that all of them had at least one close relative.

Nigol is supervising the renovation of the bathrooms/washrooms, installing hot water system and water tanks (bugs). Two sets of bathroom/washrooms are now completed and there's two more to go. Before Christmas I will post on our website, www.parev.am, pictures of the bathrooms/washrooms before and after the renovation. I will also make a webpage for the mankadun/dormitory.

'Zoularanern a norokoom'. I say and feel the absurdity. The kid doesn't care about the washrooms and bathrooms. He is expecting bonchig, fruits or candies. Well, Next time. Meanwhile Nigol and I would like to thank people who donated to different projects of mankadun/institution these past three years. We will also make and post placards with sponsors names at the entrance of each bathroom.
Some people will hate me for announcing their names. Sorry for doing it, but we fill we are accountable.

Vicken Arabian of LA.
In January Vicken came with some money and wanted to disperse it to the poor. We talked about 'zohvadz azadamardigneri' families and the orphanage. He assisted eleven families who lost their loved to the war. Then we took him to the orphanage and he saw the hot plates used for heating the rooms. Unsafe for small kids. Same day, he purchased five electric stoves, and a vacuum cleaner.
Next time he visited Armenia he and his family had raised money for the renovation of a bathroom/washroom. Vicken's sister organized a birthday for her son and in-lieu-of gifts money was donated to the project. Thanks to Sonig and Ara Avedikians. Also thanks to Ani Balian-Boyadjian.

We also like to thank Mike Baronian and Pino Ciaccio of Switzerland for sponsoring the renovation of the second bathroom/washroom.

In September it was my sister's in-laws wedding anniversary. The fiftieth celebration was in LA and in-lieu-of gifts donations were made. Thanks to Gabriel and Dzaghkanoush Ayanian. The third bathroom/washroom will be completed by it.

We would also like to thank to:
Anush Sarkissian, Silva and Vartan Poladian of LA
Sisters and brother-in-laws, Raffi and Sossi Ishkhanians of LA, Ani and Paul Ayanian of San Franciso
Seta Tashjian, Houri Artinian, Arto Okutan, Maro Jizmejian and Aida Avanessi of Toronto.
And to people who donated personal items. To Hasmig Manougian of Montreal for donating new clothes and shoes, Manuel Gounjian of Damascus for donating shoes to the kids and their caretakers.
And to the Armenian-Australian whose name we were not told.
Thank you all.

I keep forgetting to write about the disaster that appears to be looming in my future... my view of Ararat appears ready to be at least partially blocked by a new highrise under construction. This boggles my mind, because it is a good half kilometer or more away, and being built in front of existing highrises, so I thought nothing would top those. This looks like it is about to... very disturbing.

So you have read about how difficult it can be to get something done with the government and utilities here on a few occasions, of course it can be hard in any country. Well I have been imagining how nice it would be to just hire someone to take care of all of this for me, and now that I suddenly have a bunch of things piling up, and little to no desire to deal with it, I have finally found a university student to handle all of this for me. Ah, such peace of mind. Still there are a number of things I can't pass on, like my trip to the bank this morning (since it is not open at all on weekends), but it is a bit load off.

The news is on in the background, and I must say I am disappointed in BBC, and the US Government. The BBC for calling Saddams destruction of the marshlands the "environmental disaster of the century". I thought they avoided at kind of sensationalistic and idiotic labeling. I am quite certain there are a dozen much bigger disasters that took place in the last century, and that many of them were probably in the USA and Europe. The Florida wetlands certainly jump to mind immediately. Then you hear that the US has banned the showing of any coffins of US soldiers in the media. Is the Iraq war a fight for freedom or not? How contradictory can you be? This of course is on top of the detention of people in Cuba, the removal of all kinds of other freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism... Just disgusting. Are these people so removed from reality that they can't see what they are doing?

They have passed a massive aid bill for Iraq this week, which is only fair to the Iraqis whos country the US bombs ravaged. But why did we go in there and necesitate this to begin with? In any case, I encourage you to apply for the plentiful lucrative jobs popping up in Iraq. It is perfect experience for similiar jobs in Armenia which are rather competitive. With Iraq on your resume, you can even get preferential treatment for certain hirings. Of course being in Iraq is not without its dangers, but I suspect that New York/LA are still more dangerous...

Now where are the other loggers?!?!?!

Today I picked up my special order from Vernissage, the letters USAID painted in traditional Armenian illuminated manuscript "birdletter" style. I had it done in a few color variations, and they all look beautiful. I am redesigning the USAID/Armenia website and I think this is going to make the pages look really great. I may have to have CILICIA done too :-)

Another great bit of news is that my natural gas line is getting closer to reality. As I said they put the pipe up the stairwell 2 weeks back, and today I filled out the application and paid a deposit. They think we should be hooked up by December 10. I still have to fill out more papers and pay more fees, and get the pipes put into my house, but in the end, it will make life so much nicer. I can heat the house for really cheap in the winter, and whenever the water is coming, I can have really strong water pressure of water any temptrature I like. Since I do have water a decent part of the day (7-10am and pm), this will cover most of the times I use water. The way it works now is I have a water tank that stores and heats water. The pressure is not fantastic, and I can't adjust the temprature as the water comes out. The fancy tank/pump combos will do that though. All that is left is to have 24/hr water and the utility situation will be pretty much normal (we will leave the ArmenTel situation out of this, especially since there is a glimmer of hope on that front). The city is supposed to have 24/hr water by the end of 2004, just 14 months. I can't say I believe that, but still, they are making some progress on that front.

This week was quite a week of movies for me, with three trips to the movie theater. It was American Movie Classics week at the Moscow Theater, and I caught Rebel Without a Cause on Thursday and Young Frankenstein on Friday. We laughed a lot during Rebel, since it was so cheesy and times have changed so much, and thought Young Frankenstein was just horrible, although it did illustrate how movies slowly evolved from old fashioned live theater performances, into what movies have become today. It was also fun to see the Griffith Observatory in Rebel Without a Cause. Tonight we saw American Pie III at the Nairi Theater. Of course it was stupid, I expected that much and was looking forward to it, but it exceeded my expectations and I laughed a lot. Just what I needed. Well I am still pooped from last nights Halloween party, so it is off to bed for me.