Dear Readers: welcome to the January log of Julia and Briony’s life in Shushi, close on the heels of our December log. With the celebrated arrival of a bone fide internet café in Shushi hopefully these will become more frequent and/or temporally relevant.

We took the drastic step of moving into our house before the workers had moved out (quite literally, one of them was sleeping in our bedroom, unbeknownst to us). On the positive side, we have finally unpacked, located all of our teaching materials and library books, and been able to work on the computer without a crowd of admiring host siblings. Also on the positive side, we have rediscovered the joys of camping with all its benefits: lack of running water, and general heat and occasional electricity deprivation. Julia wielded the hammer to break through 6 inches of ice to reach our temporary water supply in two rubbish bins in our garden, which incidentally affords a beautiful view of mer Shushi. Although the sojourning labourer has now moved on to higher climbs (up the hill), we have found that we are still sharing the house with another occupant, or possibly several, of the small rodent variety. So the arrival of either a cat or a nasty mousetrap is imminent. We shall be ready for hardy visitors in approximately two weeks, so book your mashrutne ride.

Interestingly, we are not, as we supposed, the only long term outsiders in Shushi. An entrepreneurial Frenchman, Armen, has come up with a surprising concoction of businesses which he is running from one location in the centre of town: another internet connection, and photography services; second-hand furniture; and a laundry service. Things are definitely moving forward in Shushi. As for ourselves, our office is nearly ready and we are starting lessons this week.

Toodle-pip!
J&B