I haven't written for some time simply because there hasn't been much to write about.
Last week I spent a few days in Spitak. Most of the snow along the road had melted, so on my way there I noticed how much garbage there was lying along the road and in the fields. I had forgotten just how much! The sight made me very sad and even a bit angry. The general lack of even the most basic environmental awareness is something that I can't get used to in Armenia.
When I came back to Yerevan I had a lot more stuff to carry than when I left: my friends insisted on giving me two bags full of home-grown potatoes and apples and some preserves. Why? "Well, you see Myrthe, you live in the city and don't have a garden there." "Yes, that's true, but...." "No buts. Take it with you!" Uhuh...

I got word from one of my Dutch (non-Armenian) friends that he will be coming to Armenia for a month or so this summer. Last summer was the first time he came to Armenia to take part in a volunteer project in Spitak and ever since he knew he wanted to come back. So this summer he will work as project-leader in another volunteer-project in Yerevan for three weeks and stay a bit longer to see if he can get another project going that he's been working on. I am so happy he's coming, not just for me, but also for him because he hasn't had an easy year and for a long time it didn't look like he would be able to come.
Also, I have been contacted by some other Dutch (also non-Armenians) who are interested in doing volunteerwork in Armenia this summer. It's nice to see people interested in coming to Armenia.

And finally something completely different: I recently read that Georgia is going to change its visa regime so that EU-citizens won't need visa anymore to enter the country. Now that I have a residency permit for Armenia and am no longer stuck to the single-entry tourist visa, this opens up whole new perspectives.... ;-)

When I opened the curtain this morning there was snow. Again! It's not funny anymore.....

I am toasted. I have had too many late nights (and drank too much, I guess) this week, spending more time than planned at Square One. When I go there for a drink, I always run into people I know and end up staying longer than I had planned originally. Usually that isn't really a big problem, though. ;-) Then, I went to a party on Thursday. My boyfriend sometimes doubles as a barman, and they asked him for this party. It was right next to our appartment, so I dropped by (and stayed longer than I wanted to, again...). And last night we went to the concert of Vahagn Hayrapetyan and his band (he plays or used to play in the Armenian Navy Band) at The Club. Although jazz isn't really my kind of music, it was a nice concert and I had a good time.
And of course on Wednesday evening we watched the soccer match Holland-Armenia in a bar with a group of friends. It was being played in The Netherlands and, due to the three hour time difference, it started at 11:30pm. Who I was rooting for? I have to admit I was kind of divided. Being Dutch, I rooted for them and I knew they would win anyway, but on the other hand I was hoping the Armenians would play well so they could be proud of themselves. The final score was 2-0 for Holland, so the Armenians didn't do too bad. For those who don't know too much about soccer and who think I am bragging about "my" team: the Dutch and Armenian teams are just playing at different levels, the Dutch being considered one of the top-teams in Europe. A much larger score would also have been a possibility. Imho, the Dutch were not playing really great, but Armenian goalie Roman Berezovsky was also partly responsible for the Dutch not scoring more: he killed so many of the chances the Dutch had. I cannot wait for the return match in Armenia in September. You bet I will be in the stadium!!
Other than all the partying in the evenings, I have been busy with catching up on my Armenian course. I started learning Armenian a year and a half ago, when I was working as a volunteer in Spitak for a couple of months. Then, back in Holland I took some classes at the Armenian cultural association in The Hague for a short while. I never got passed the basics of learning the letters and some basic grammar. During my stays here over the years, I picked up a lot of words, phrases etc. Now I can read and I understand most everyday conversations, but I speak it very poorly (I can go shopping and order in a cafe and tell the marshrutka-driver where I want to get off, but that's about it). I speak Russian very well, so I have never had problems communicating with people, which is a good thing. But the bad side to it is, that there never was a real need for me to speak Armenian, so I didn't really improve my conversation skills. Now that I am living here, I decided I should make another serious attempt to learn the language and start using what I am learning.