Yay another update from us. On our return we found a mouse in our only bucket of drinking water, which was a pleasant welcome (a lesson to us all, cover drinking water). Tomorrow marks the arrival of our hero and saviour, complete with fur, Vale’s cat, who is temporarily on loan. We don’t know his name, but we’ll call him ‘our little soldier’. We have learnt how to successfully light a fire so are now warm.

On the work front, our office is now fully decked out with bookshelves and pretty English related posters, and, of course, maps. Our plans to start children’s classes with the English teachers in the schools have taken a turn for the slow at the moment, but we are perservering with the one teacher who has taken an interest. It is difficult to convince people that our work over the next few months will have better and further reaching results in the long run if we concentrate on the teachers and adults as opposed to holding kids’ English classes ourselves. We have started our community English lessons and will be holding beginner and intermediate classes once a week to begin with. Otherwise we are pursuing ideas for the development of Shushi in general, such as a website, and a playground. The Red Cross constructed playgrounds throughout red zones in Nagorno-Karabakh, and we are hoping to model a similar one in Shushi.

If anyone has any ideas/plans for Shushi’s development that we can help with, please let us know. If anyone is interested in coming to visit and give a short workshop or talk, we would be more than happy to make the arrangements. And also give you a couch to sleep on.

Julia and Briony

The snowfall from last weekend, which was added to the snow already on the ground is melting through in a few sunny spots. Not many sidewalks get shoveled, so walking the streets becomes tricky, as you try not to slip, or splash muddy water.

Life seems to slow down a lot in the winter. There seem to be much fewer cars and pedestrians. No rush hour from 8:55am to 9am.

Lara and I are in NYC and will be leaving for DC in an hour or so. I have been on the road since last weekend to promote the LCO and the concept of volunteerism in Armenia. I have met with many veterans who have been doing a great job in spreading the good word of the Land and Culture Organization. For all those who want to know more about all of this please visit the exciting LCO site at www.landandculture.org

I miss my 2 babies who are with our parents getting spoiled rotten in Montreal. We should be home soon. I can't wait to return to Armenia. This has been a wonderful trip to the west that assured me that our move to Armenia was the right one.

I miss all my friends in Yerevan (Sam, Sebouh, Dzovinar, Madlene, Alex, Sylvie and everyone else... you too Stepan).
Another great news is that we will have our third baby; this time in Yerevan at the Erebouni hospital. I will update you on the process and the conditions of this experience. The baby is due for early May.

It's January 18th and I have been stateside for almost two weeks and I must say it is good to be back. I spent the first two weeks working in DC. If I were to move back to the US at any point soon, DC would definitely be my first choice. (Although a move back seems unlikely in the near future). Unfortunately, Armen and I did not have an opportunity to do any sight seeing this time. Last year we made it to the National Gallery, the zoo, and took a full day tour of all the sights. This year we were stuck in the hotel due to heavy heavy downpours.

Now I am in LA (no not Glendale) where I will spend the next three weeks. It seems the mudslides have passed so I am passing my days in 80 degree weather. In addition to a few doctor visits, Armen and I will have the opportunity to visit Las Vegas and San Fransisco! Armen seems to prefer seeing a boxing match - maybe I can convince him that Circe du Soleil is better... it's worth a shot anyway. I would like LA so much better if I didn't have to drive a minimum of two hours each day!

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

Early morning, December 30th at Zvartnots Airport (now known as Armenia International Airport), about 200 cheery local Armenians are ready to hit the uncultured Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheik. I swear I had never seen that many smiling Armenian faces gathered in one place in this country before. (You all know how serious looking Armo's from Armenia usually are.) But what an amazing sight to see so many local families with their kids and grandmas heading to a vacation country so many people dream about. Tickets weren't cheap either ($1,000+.) and throughout the 10-day trip I noticed many of them spending lots of money. How could they afford this? And a quarter of the passengers on the flight my relatives and I later took to the miraculous city of Luxor were Armenians. (By the way, tours to Luxor cost about an additional $200-250.)

Sharm is definitely not a place I really cared much to visit, but it was the only flight to Egypt, and the last one Armenian Airlines was flying. (By the way, Armavia is the only local airline company now. And if I'm not mistaken either owned by one of our well known mafiosos or high ranking government officials.)

There is really NOTHING Egyptian about Sharm. No historical sites, and hardly any decent Arab-Egyptian restaurants. It's basically a tourist spot to get away from the cold, mostly jammed with Russian, Scandinavian and Italian tourists, who yearn to relax by one of the most beautiful seas in the world ... the Red Sea. So much so that the majority of local shop owners speak fluent Russian and Italian. Most of the annoying shop owners, thinking we might be Italians, would greet us with a "Ciao". A couple of times we were asked if we were Turkish, and a quick crash course of the Genocide would scare them away. Actually, anytime my relatives (both born in the Middle East) would answer back to "Ciao" with a "Marhaba", the shop owners would just walk away, thinking we might be Arabs whom they could not even squeeze one Piaster (Egyptian cent) out of.

Our priority excursion to the city of Luxor was AWESOME. Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, and the Temples of Luxor and Karnak were just amazing. We also flew out to Cairo, instead of taking the painful 6+ hour bus ride through the Sinai deserts. Of course we visited the popular tourists attractions ... the Giza Pyramids, the Sphinx, the brilliant collection at the Cairo Egyptian Museum, and the popular Khan el-Khalili Bazaar. (Man did they have a lot of tasteless art. But I did manage to buy a couple of inexpensive "derbeke" drums.)

I was in doubt to take this trip, but when mama found out I had the chance to go see Egypt she kept reminding me how much I've been wanting to see her since I was a kid. (It's a 'her', right?) A second trip is definitely needed to see some of the other places we didn't have enough time to visit.

Our flight back to Yerevan was delayed for 8 hours. Picture 200+ Armenian tourists, with their luggage and their 2 or more carry-ons per passenger, gathered in a small airport, not much bigger than our own Yerevan airport. One guy even had a one-metre high plastic camel as a carry-on. What other airlines would allow that on-board? After finding out our flight was delayed, and waiting around doing nothing for over an hour, our group leader managed to get us a bus back to our hotel to relax for a few hours before returning to the airport for our flight back to our beloved freezing Motherland.

Back in Armenia and our social troubles continue ....

My relatives have the most "apush" neighbours. We were gone for 10 days, there was a snowstorm, and the entrance to the building was completely covered in snow and about 10-cms of thick ice, yet no one bothered to clean it up. For 2 days my relatives and I made tremendous effort to clean it, but the ice was so thick we could barely get it to crack. The neighbours downstairs refused to help. They are the ones I got drunk with a couple of years ago (check my Jan 11 2003 log.) Three guys in their twenties and their father, all refused to help clean up the entrance THEY also use (not me, I don't even live there, yet I went out over half a dozen times in 2 days trying to crack that stubborn ice.) Then there is the guy upstairs, and an idiot cop in his 40's in another apartment. No one helped.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be possible to gather a group of decent Armo's, both local and diasporan, and build a new city in an unpopulated area of Armenia, and eventually seek autonomy. Naming the region Armenutopia or Armenadise, or maybe even Armenadraxt, a place where all respect eachother, and with the aim of setting an example for any disrepectful Armenians. I had done an interview in Noyan Tapan newspaper a few months back, and my "we need to respect each other" quote was the title of my interview. I really think so much of our daily problems in Armenia comes down to the issue of respect. (A little off topic, the youth fraction of the Republican party wants to pitch an idea to the government of renaming this current Armenia as "Eastern Armenia". It's not a new idea, but definitely interesting.)

Once again, Happy New Year to all! Almost everyone I've spoken to has made really positive predictions about 2005. I have a good feeling as well. :-)

Log by Julia and Briony, which they had trouble posting themselves (yes, it's a month late!)

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December 19, 2004

Hallo Hallo! I just realized this is quite long and I am sorry but it's interesting (kind of) and about us (yay us) so you should take the five minutes and read it.

For our second update, we've decided to give you a rundown on what's gone down over the past month and the general state of our work these days. . . an update as it were. heh, mmm heh, I digress.

I can say that the majority of problems we wrote about last month still exist: house not finished (fingers crossed, after the new year we'll move in?), the host family is still great (though I could definitely deal with my own drawers), and we're still meeting with organizations in Shushi and Stepanakert whenever we have the chance (more about that later).

The good news concerning our house is that a couple weeks ago, we picked out furniture (everything from light fixtures and beds to rugs and the kitchen sink) in Yerevan and though it doesn't look livable now, you can tell that it will be livable eventually. The bad news is last week while the construction coordinator said it will surely be finished by the new year, one of the workers said it was too cold to continue working. Doh.

Whilst I had a bout of intense stomach badness, Briony visited Stepanakert Rehabilitation Centre where she was highly impressed with the people, facilities and aims of the organization (the centre works with physically and mentally disabled people from throughout the region). We also met with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who has been working in Karabagh since 1992, first providing general humanitarian aid and more recently concentrating on primary health care.

One thing I feel I should explain for those of you who are not aware is how lands are defined in the Karabagh region and how those definitions affect aid work here. There are red and green zones. Red zones are those places, e.g. Stepanakert, that have traditionally been inhabited by an Armenian population. Green zones, our own Shushi included, are those places formally populated by Azerbaijanis and therefore considered to be occupied territories. What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? It means that it is against the law for international organizations to work in green zones (except for de-mining purposes) and therefore, there is very little aid occurring in these areas.

A few weeks ago, we visited Martakert, a small town approximately an hour's drive from Stepanakert. Though located in the north close to the Azerbaijani border, the climate is much warmer than either the capital or Shushi and the entire region is an agricultural centre producing a number of crops including pomegranates. Because our visit was only a few hours, we cannot say too much about the area. I can say that it has seen more reconstruction than Shushi(it is a red zone) and much less than Stepanakert. When the roads improve (and what I really mean is thaw), we shall return to Martakert for a longer and more in-depth look at this town and its surrounding villages.

On our return to Stepanakert, we drove through Aghdam, formerly the largest Azerbaijani city in the Artsakh region and presently a pile of rubble. The only thing that remains standing is the central mosque. Sadly, this city was not ruined during the conflict itself as its inhabitants fled without fighting, but rather it was destroyed by Armenian forces aiming to make it impossible for the Azerbaijanis to return. This goal was accomplished. Today, aside from people scavenging for usable building materials and a few livestock, it is a ghost town. It is hard to believe 12 years ago Agdam was a functioning city.

Finally, I'll relate a bit about how the work is coming along. We have recently secured an office in the former state university. We spent the past week cleaning and painting the floors. Whilst we are away for the Christmas holidays our bookshelves will be built and our wood stove installed. Our Shushi program will be run from this office at least through the coming school year. Located on the same floor as our office, are the puppet theatre and small scale (very small) music school where a local Armenian folk group practices.

From January, we will be establishing sustainable after-school English groups in the schools of Shushi. To this end, we will hold an English session with the teachers once a week to work on their communication skills and prepare for the weekly children's groups. We will also be holding a weekly English group for students from the local college. From February, we plan to start an adults' English group, for pivotal members of the community. We also plan to establish 2 childrens' afternoon groups in our office itself, to include art, music, sports and, in the summer, field trips to local historical and cultural sites.

As I said, things are moving slowly but they are moving nonetheless. As we are still getting to know this diverse, migrant population, we think it is best to start these few programs before branching out into other works.

Of course, we wish all of you a happy, healthy and extremely exciting holiday season. Eat, drink and be merry.

Sirov,
Julia and Briony

Happy New Year

It seems I am the first logger on this page for 2005. where have the rest of them gone! I almost forgot, Armenia celebrates the Old New Year too on January 13.

Well I am still here in Montreal. I am working on the upcoming opportunity fairs in Canada and the east coast. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can visit Armenia and get your airfare reimbursed, join us at one of the events. Read below for more details and please feel free to pass on the message to friends and family that might be interested.

I will write more in the coming days about life in Montreal as opposed to my new life in Armenia.

Event:

EXPERIENCE ARMENIA & GET FREE ROUNDTRIP AIRFARE TO DO IT!

You are invited to come join us at the Opportunity Fair nearest you to learn about the wide array of volunteer and study opportunities currently available in Armenia for diasporan Armenians from around the globe. Birthright Armenia is sponsoring promotional and recruitment events in early 2005 to offer young diasporan adults a one-stop shop of information. Not only will you hear first hand from the organizations that implement the programs, but you will also have the opportunity to apply on the spot to the program of your choice.

Representatives from the following organizations will be on hand to present their programs and to talk with interested youth one-on-one: AAA, ACYOA, ASA-NY, ATP, AVC, AYF, CYMA, FAR, Habitat for Humanity, and LCO (www.landandculture.org).

There will also be information available on Internships offered by local NGOs and Study Abroad Programs offered in Armenia.

Never before have there been as many options available to diasporan youth to get involved in community service in the Homeland. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about all the options currently available to you for a journey of self-discovery.

Montreal - Jan. 14, 2005 - McGill University - 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Toronto - Jan. 15, 2005 - Glendon College - 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Boston - Jan. 20, 2005 - ALMA, Watertown - 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
New York - Jan. 21, 2005 - NYU, Kimmel Center 803 - 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Philadelphia - Jan. 23, 2005 - St. Sahag/St. Mesrob Church - 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Washington, DC - Jan. 24, 2005 - Embassy of the Rep. of Armenia - 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

For more up to date and detailed information, please visit www.birthrightarmenia.org or email info@birthrightarmenia.org.

You can also contact me directly at info@landandculture.org.