Beach day

It's been a while since I went to a popular Armenian beach on the Sevanavank penninsula (known as g'ghzi, meaning island). I usually head to quieter parts. Yesterday's trip shows how much things have changed. Aside from it being packed with people, the beach gear has improved a great deal, there are life guards on jet skis, DJ pagodas in the water in front of beachfront dance floors, stores, restaurants all over, camping, etc, etc. It was a really fun day full of eating and enjoying. The funniest thing was hitting beach traffic on the way back to Yerevan. Beach traffic! In Armenia!! :-)

Armeniapedia: It can (almost) get you deported!

Here's an article forwarded to me by Erik at Gaiftours. The writer has made a number of rather important mistakes in it, but the basic facts of the application for asylum are clear. An Australian tribunal decided to reject an Iranian's claim that he had converted to an Armenian Church after the Iranian Revolution and his life would be in danger if he were returned to Iran. The tribunal used Armeniapedia's Armenian Church Service online no doubt, in order to judge his familiarity with it and he apparently did not know anything about it. A court overturned the decision because, his claim to have joined an "Armenian Church" did not necessarily mean an Armenian Apostolic Church, and therefore his familiarity with the service would have been irrelevant.

Armeniapedia.org was also quoted in the New York Times earlier this year after Hrant Dink's murder... and of course the New Republic quote of this Cilicia.com blog this week was quite memorable.

Loss of memory

So much happens everyday, eventually it all turns into one lost stockpile in your head of things that happened once upon a time. Has anyone ever seen that Stephen King movie where an airplane full of people accidentally fly into a tear in time and they are suddenly experiencing what happens to the world when time passes it by. Suddenly the world starts to fall apart and deteriorate. Yes... it feels like everything we do just slips away into a really bad Stephen King movie. Before we can even recall what happened, it's too late. It falls into a part of our memory that doesn't remember what day it is.

Golden Apricot came and went, as did the Armenian Navy Band concert that came with it. Of course, the only means I have to recall these events is to take photos, and I lost all my Golden Apricot photos... not Navy Band. Don't ask. I saw one of the films by a Croatian filmmaker... it was very good. I went to Goris/Datev/Karahunj/Khndzoresk with a bunch of Canadians. Meanwhile, the entire world was apparently partying it up in Shushi. Glad you guys had fun. My parents were here a while ago and had an amazing time. Coming up is... oh my God, is it already August? Pan Armenian Games are around the corner, along with some crazy parties. Tonight, I go to the Nuné and Shoushan Petrossian Concert with a massive group.

But I think the thing that's exciting me the most in life right now is work projects and personal ventures. Since I got my new camera, I've been taking photography a bit more seriously (and burdening my new computer with gigabites overload). There will be some really cool Deem productions coming out soon that I'm quite proud of. And to follow, I have big ideas in mind for updating my photo website. There aren't enough hours in the world OR understanding friends who are happy for you when you want to work around the clock. AY!!!

Will share some photos soon when I have the time to even look at them.

False Job! :(

2 weeks ago, I was so excited because I thought that after waiting 3 and a half months to find a job, I had found the perfect one! It was to be at a school opened by a Diasporan from California, working with children of different ages and different backgrounds. At the interview I was told that the school followed the California standards for education, and also the California elementary curriculum. I was also told I'd be getting paid a 4-digit salary... I thought to myself... could this be true?!

Well, apparently it wasn't quite that true. The school was a mess, from the rooms to the program! It lacked basic necessities like markers/pencils, and yet teachers were required to come up with activities for every 15 minutes. Sometimes, it was utter chaos, and the daily schedule was pretty much left to the will of the students who would often claim, "I don't want to do that"... and so the plan had to change because nothing would be a success if ALL the students are apathetic.. (huh?? that would NEVER happen at any school I've ever taught at!). Needless to say, I was not that thrilled to be there... it is difficult to work in a situation when sooooo much is expected of you (like, not only to develop a program, implement it.. but also wash dishes, clean, and supervise without ANY sort of break), with little help or guidance and not-so-nice criticism. (Obviously this director was not familiar with the popular saying "It's not WHAT you say, it's HOW you say it). It also didn't help to know that I was receiving double the pay as the other workers, and I felt that I wasn't treated equally as them... they received FAR MORE criticism than I, and when your colleagues aren't happy.. you're not happy! (Atleast that's how I am... perhaps I really am a socialist lol). And as an added cherry on top, at the end of my interview (after being so excited about the "perfect" job, I was informed my salary had to be cut down to less than HALF of what I was initially promised....

Anyway, this past weekend I quit that job. It was a difficult decision to make, because during my two weeks there, I became attached to the children. And no matter how much I loved the idea and the job description, it was far far far far from the reality of the situation. The job hunt continues...

So you see, it's quite difficult to find the RIGHT work in Armenia, unless you create it yourself... Now I'm thinking, perhaps I should open my OWN school! :) Any investors? :)

TSUH :)~

From one drooling Armenian nationalist to another

OK, three blog entries in one day is probably my record here, but sometimes you go through dry spells, and other times you have a spurt of things to say. This third blog comes to you thanks to fellow blogger Nareg, who caught a mention of me and my blog here in May about genocide reparations in this weeks the New Republic. My blog was, in my humble opinion, a very reasonable post, and far from calling for all of the six western vilayets, plus Cilicia, plus interest in the form of land, which most people who would be considered true nationalists would demand. I simply proposed what I consider a just, reasonable and realistic reparation for what was done to us and continues to be done.

Nevertheless, my blog entry was mentioned as that of "one Armenian nationalist" who is "drooling" at the though of reparations. Oh well. I assume that makes most of you, the readers of this blog, drooling nationalists as well. We'll just have to settle for being happy that they say the Turks are terrified of us :-)

Excerpt from: K Street Cashes In On The 1915 Armenian Genocide

The truth, as the Turks see it, is simple: There was no genocide. The Armenian death toll is exaggerated, and most died from exposure or rogue marauders during mass relocations. (One Turkish activist even cheerily assured me that, after the relocations, "everyone was invited back.") The Turks say that the G-word implies an intent that can't be proved. This stance is more than just a matter of fierce national pride. The Turks are terrified at the prospect of huge financial and territorial reparations for the Armenians.("[C]ash," drools one Armenian nationalist blogger, "lots of cash.")*

Monte Melkonian

So as I wrote in my last post, on the day of elections in Karabakh, I had little to do, and fortunately had a copy of the biography "My Brother's Road", about Monte Melkonian, by his brother Markar. I highly recommend the book. It was not only about Monte's role as a commander in the Karabakh War, but unexpectedly (for me) also an inside account of what ASALA (the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) was all about.

His actions in Karabakh, where he was almost immediately given a role of leadership in the Martuni area by Vasgen Sargsyan were very idealistic and humane. He was always concerned about civilians, even more so the Azeri civilians than Armenians... for at one point, he forbade Armenian civilians to leave their homes in anticipation of a largescale assault by Azerbaijan in order to ensure the Armenian men fought harder. That is a tough decision and I don't know if I can say I'd have made the same choice there. He was given his leadership role to a large degree because he was an outsider, who could be seen as neutral in the local politics and clan struggles against one another. Honesty was also a huge problem he had to face, finding it hard to even find people to guard warehouses who would not steal.

In his earlier role as an ASALA fighter, he killed a number of Turks, and was one of the key men in the organization, which was run by a dictatorial esheg (according to this account) who Monte eventually determined to kill, but never was able to make it happen. The organization was a much smaller one than I'd imagined, and the way it was run, what was going on behind the scenes... the book gives an excellent, and for me very surprising account. It was crazy how long it took for Monte to be able to get to Armenia thanks to the Soviet rule, and I didn't even really realize he spent time in French jails.

Overall, just a fascinating, worthwhile read. The author, who does add a bit of his own commentary, which at times seems out of place and judgmental in a inappropriate way, has done an excellent job of piecing together the life of Monte, getting on the inside of ASALA and the Karabakh war, and making it all in interesting and easy read.

And finally, at the end, he puts to rest all rumors of conspiracies to kill Monte by Armenians, and "friendly fire", etc. Monte died in a surprise run in with Azeris, in a newly captured town which was not yet secure. Both sides saw each other clearly, and were clearly confused by the identity of the other, and finally shooting broke out leading to Monte's death by shrapnel in his forehead.

the Janapar Trail, Shushi, Elections

I'm back from a week in Karabakh. I was there on some Janapar trail related business, and think the trip was very fruitful overall. First, I met with HALO Trust, to discuss safety issues on the trail. They were reassuring that the area which the Janapar will transverse does not include minefields, which is nice to hear :-) They were extremely helpful and generous with their time and advice, and the operation was very professional. They have been clearing mines in Karabakh for a long time, and their record is impressive. They gave me materials on the dangers which you can come across anywhere in Karabakh, primarily UXO (Unexploded Ordinance), which will go on the website.

I met with many others while I was there as well, in search of some good workers for the project, and think that at the last minute I found just who I needed... though time will tell if it was the right decision. Finding workers in a land with employment issues can be much harder than you'd imagine, but this guy comes well recommended, and gave a very good impression in the three conversations we had, so we will have a trial run with him.

Another chance meeting was with Nareg at the Naregatsi Art Institute in Shushi. I knew it was there, and decided to pop in, and was, like at HALO, extremely impressed with what I saw. Normally, walking through Shushi, with the majority of the buildings/apartments still in ruins, you don't feel like the city is really alive. You see people, homes, etc, but... it just feels more abandoned than breathing. The Naregatsi center was the first time I felt the place to be alive, it was a beehive of activity with countless kids in room after room, doing arts and crafts on their summer break, getting a good lunch, playing, etc. The parents must absolutely love this free day camp of sorts. A friend also happened to visit after me, and came out with the same exact impression. The place is not even completely finished yet, and after bumping into Nareg, he gave me a tour of the parts still under work. It will be a focal point of life in Shushi.

As you know, while I was there the Karabakh Presidential Elections were held. Bako did indeed win by a landslide, over 80% of the vote. It was interesting in that people didn't seem terribly excited either way (his main opponent was Masis), and a number of stores even were happy enough to display both main candidates posters in their windows, but in any case, people seem hopeful that Bako will lead them in the right direction. I had kind of realized the elections were taking place while I was there, but didn't realize how many people were involved in the elections, especially the people I needed to talk to. It certainly slowed things down for me, with Thursday being a down day. Luckily, I had access to "My Brother's Road", the book Monte Melkonian's brother wrote about him. So I spent election day in Shushi reading that... I'll write a seperate blog about that now.

Meanwhile, some PICTURES!

Journey to Karabakh

I am writing from the press center for the presidential elections taking place here tomorrow. I didn't really comprehend what it was going to mean to be here while the election was going on - but now I do. The town is humming, loads of people around from Yerevan and abroad, hotels packed, friends from Yerevan and the US are around, and locals are busy, making it a bit hard to get things accomplished here on the Janapar. Gamats, gamats as they say.

It was kind of humorous to discuss the Georgian movie "Journey to Karabakh" with a Georgian journalist last night - he cracked up when I asked if he saw the movie and was inspired to come. I bumped into Shavarsh Kocharian, a well respected politician in Armenia and had a drink with him at a cafe. An old LCO friend from 1995 is here in town as well, and now as I type I'm being photographed by a journalist, so maybe a photoblog of me blogging will pop up somewhere? This weekend, lots of friends coincidentally arrive from Yerevan as well. So I guess Stepanakert is the place to be this week (it certainly is feeling a lot like Yerevan with all these out of towners here). Speaking of the place to be - which is the Hotel Armenia's cafe motto (you didn't know they have one?), there is now a Hotel Armenia in the Republic Square of Stepanakert. It's not affiliated with the now Marriott Hotel Armenia in Yerevan, but it is certainly trying to copy it in many ways. The city is nice and clean, though it's been drizzling or overcast the entire time I've been here.

Ah yes, the elections. It is for the most part going well (ie. pretty free and fair as they say) according to the many foreign observers in town. The outcome also seems to be a forgone conclusion according to most of the press, with a candidate named Bako? (or something like that) poised to beat Masis, the second more popular candidate. Don't ask me their last names, I'm too lazy to get up and pick up a press kit. Technically I'm not the real press anyway, so I should probably get off this machine... I'll try to take some fun pics for my flickr page.

Armenian Navy Band Concert

There are so many things going on and no time to cover it all... but for now, here are some additional photos of the Armenian Navy Band concert during the Golden Apricot Film Festival. Great show.

Internet - the next step...

ArmenTel has announced new internet services/prices. Since the internet monopoly was broken last fall, the biggest break in price was by the satellite companies. Now ArmenTel has been trying to compete with easier/cheaper dialup service (which sucks), and now it has announced very high speed DSL, but, as usual, there is a catch. You pay per megabyte, so it is still nowhere near US prices for even the average user. Anyway, here are the new prices... I can't wait to see them drop and become unlimited usage. Maybe in another 4 or 5 steps?

The monthly user charge for the ASDL package is AMD 4,800 for 100 MB of Internet traffic, 9160 AMD for 300 MB, 10800 AMD for 500 MB, 27600 AMD for 2000 MB, 110700 AMD for 10,000 MB. (note: 10,000 dram is about $30)

The Golden Apricot Film Festival continues. As usual, the confusion over which movie has what language subtitles is a complete mess. They don't tell you, so you won't know till you enter. Russian language movies have no subtitles it seems, many movies have been given Armenian subtitles, but then if the movie originally had English subtitles these may be supplemented or overwritten with Armenian.

Last night was an Armenian Navy Band Concert in conjunction with the Golden Apricot. The venue, like all of Yerevan yesterday, was scorching hot. The tickets were extremely expensive at 5,000-8,000 dram, but the place was packed, and it really was one of the best ANB concerts I've been to, with of course the crowd going wild when they played Ararat...

Three Random Items

I hate it when something funny or ironic happens to me, and it’s just too ephemeral to put on the weblog. So, I wait until the little tidbits collect, and, voilà, we have ourselves a post. Of at least three paragraphs, anyway.

The lacklustre professionalism in Armenia – especially in customer service – is no secret to anyone. The other day, a good friend and I were about to take the metro. Naturally, each one of us wants to pay for the other guy’s token. So, we casually walk up to the “jeton”-selling lady, finally breaking into a run, only to be confronted with an anti-climax: the poor thing was asleep. (Mind you, it was a bit past lunchtime in the afternoon.) What to do, what to do…? I decide to sneak in a coin through the little window, and drag out a couple of tokens, but before I manage to do anything, she gets up, takes the money, passes on the tokens… and promptly falls back to sleep.

Now, this next bit is something I have been DYING to write about for ages now. My family has lately taken to visiting supermarkets, as opposed to taking advantage of your classic shouka. Personally, there is "the East" in me, and I really like the atmosphere at bazaars. All the hustle and bustle, various smells, people calling to each other, shouting about, haggling, threatening even... The supermarket, on the other hand, has smooth tile floors, pop music playing lightly in the background and air-conditioning. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, anyway.

The quintessential aspect of the supermarket is the shopping cart. They mostly all have them now, many even furnished with little, miniature versions of the same, for the kids. My sister-in-law, over for a week from the States, thought they were adorable, and said they don’t have any where she lives. “Maybe it’s a European thing.”, was her conclusion.

Well, I don’t know how European it is seeing full-grown adults pushing those about. And I swear I have borne witness to this on countless, countless occasions, every time cursing myself for not being the kind who goes about with a camera everywhere. I mean, what is with that ?! There are some who probably have less items to buy than others, but you can still use a regular shopping cart, or just get one of those baskets to carry… Wow, it’s just, so amazing, I can’t begin to explain what a jaw-dropping sight it is, seeing a strapping Armenian man hunched over to push his wittle shopping cart all the way to the check out counter…

Sigh…

And, finally, ladies and gentlemen, I read in the news today, quotes and excerpts from President Kocharian’s recent interview to the renowned German newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, but I wanted to check out the original. It’s only available in German, it seems, so I went and made use of AltaVista’s Babel Fish Translation.

None of these online translators are perfect, of course, but they do give you a rough idea of what it’s all about. They make for some interesting translations, though, and I just thought it hilarious to share that Babel Fish thinks “Kotscharjan” – the German transliteration of his name – means “Excrement crowd January” in English. Like I say, machines cannot translate properly, although some may disagree in this case. At least, in part. :-P

The Golden Apricot Film Festival

Yesterday was the opening of the Golden Apricot Intn'l Film Festival. It was all outdoors, and was in Armenian (though some people had translation headphones I understand). The show (as it seems appropriate to call it) was a bit strange to me, with mimes, a blessing by an Archbishop with his crew, the Minister of Justice (Hasmik, a woman) being precariously whisked up and down a steep slippery ramp to talk. The fireworks were nice (as you can see) since they really lit up the Opera house, and then the outdoor movie screening that followed was nice (there was an indoor one for the VIPs), though again, only if you speak Italian or can read Armenian subtitles really fast.

Cigarettes hate you!

All the Medical Conference attendees I spoke to in the last week had something to say about the seemingly underlying theme of the conference: smoking. There seemed to be some who were highly devoted to the cause of fighting smoking in Armenia, but it's a very steep uphill battle.

The problem addressed at the conference starts with the doctors themselves, even smoking in the hospitals. I think I saw this for myself quite a few times. The days of saying "they have bigger fish to fry" are over. Pretty soon, this will be the only fish.

Despite a few laws that were passed to require non-smoking sections in restaurants, it seems there is very little interest in implementing that law given just as high (if not higher) a percentage of the government smokes themselves.

As everyone knows, smoking in the US has declined drastically in the last few years. However, most in the US probably haven't questioned why the cigarette companies are giving in so easily, but it's a problem that the rest of the world is started to realize very quickly. The future of business for these companies (Philip Morris particularly) is in developing countries where laws and restrictions are practically non existent.

Take me for example. I lived in the US all my life and started to grow fond of the ban on smoking indoors. I move here, make a simple face at people for blowing smoke in my food at a restaurant and I'm told to get over it. Some started to convince me that anti-smoking campaigns are American propaganda to steel their cigarettes. Try to make sense of that.

It's well known that this is the new direction of cigarette companies, as addressed in this quote from www.tobaccofreekids.org.

"As tobacco use declines in the United States, the tobacco industry has aimed its deadly products and deceptive marketing at the rest of the world. The result: Five million people will die worldwide this year because of tobacco. Unless urgent action is taken, tobacco will kill 10 million people a year by 2020, 70 percent of them in developing countries."

Take this for a prime example of the lengths they will go. A few weeks ago, many of my friends attended what was said to be the biggest party of the year in Armenia. Supposedly, well over $200,000 was spent on music, sound, lighting, the location, everything. I asked who in Armenia would spend that kind of money on a party in Yerevan. My answer? MARLBORO!!! They are targeting the youth in a blatant and horrifying way, I'm shaking to think what affects this will have here. Already Armenia is rated as one of the heaviest smoking countries in the world.

So here's the answer... educate! PR! advocate till your nose bleeds. What should we advocate? One doctor suggested taxing the hell out of cigarettes until the government can no longer afford to take bribes from Philip Morris. When I say PR, I don't mean a commercial that airs once a month on a hidden channel. I mean the future of our country is the youth and cigarettes might kill them before they have a chance to do something with it. SPEND THE MONEY TO SHOW THEM WHY CIGARETTES ARE BAD!!!! Show them the photos we grew up with of a smokers lung vs. a healthy lung, show the commercials of... hell THEIR OWN PARENTS!!! These people need to know why it's not cool anymore to smoke. If there is one cause that needs to pick up fast and so far has little effort taking place, it's this.

So the beginning of my anti-smoking campaign starts with this: Cigarettes hate you. Hate them back. That... and I ran my friends cigarettes under a sink yesterday. It felt so good. Keep your eyes on your packs, friends. I have no more shame.

Ethiopian-Armenian Reunion

Sunday night marked the start of the Ethiopian-Armenian Reunion. This was the second reunion ever held, and the first in Armenia. Hampo and Marie Ghazarossian did an excellent job organizing it all the way from New York. They've also been active in creating websites and gathering photos and updates on the community. The turnout ended up at 128 people, about half the number who had originally planned to attend, but all the generations were there, and this week is being spent touring the country - for many it is their first trip to Armenia.

For those that don't know, the cause for the reunion is of course the dispersion of the Ethiopian Armenian community. It was a small but very cohesive and well organized/united community, with church, school, club. But the coming of the communists in the 70s meant an end to the lifestyle and freedoms the Armenians enjoyed, and the vast majority left. Today a handful hold down the fort there.

Starting fresh

I have been buried under a cloud of clutter for far too long. So many things have happened the last few weeks, the only way I can remember is by looking at well over 5000 photos I have taken in just the month of June. It starts with my parents. They did and saw all that they could in a 10 day span until the Medical Conference began. Here are some non-typical highlights:

• Fetê de la Musique: incredible. I think this was maybe one of my favorite nights out on the town ever. Everywhere we looked, there was music on the streets. It was such a beautiful way of bringing people together to have fun and enjoy good music. The best of the evening for me was the part my parents missed, The Zoo at the French Restaurant. I have video clips and tons of photos to show from this, so I will try to YouTube the videos and upload the photos to my site soon.

• Military Hospital visit: As I mentioned before, my father is the president and a founding member of the Armenian American Health Association of Greater Washington (AAHAGW). Leave it to doctors to come up with such long-winded and non-creative names. We visited the Military Hospital where some of their assistance goes, including advanced equipment for such things as blood banking, etc. They have also contributed to renovations of parts of the hospital and plan to do more. The staff that greeted us was incredibly skilled and educated. My mother also works in a bio-research lab in the US and observed her counterparts there as well. It seems they are doing very good training, but need to continue developing parts of the hospital in the same way as the ones they have already done.

• Stamps: It seems my father's dreams have come true... he got to buy his own stamps in Armenia. Sadly, when we went to the post office in Karabagh, the entire post office was out to lunch.

• Artsakh We went to Artsakh. My father's clear best experience in the entire two week trip was the visit to Ganzasar. His impression of the well-kept condition and the respect towards the church itself was worth the extra hours of drive. Otherwise, we met with the Minister of Health to discuss other projects they have there as well, and possibilities for future projects. We stayed in Shushi, saw the museum, visited a few friends, saw the Nigol Duman Museum, and were on our way.

• Turning 30 I hit the big 3-0. Lucky me. Looking forward to the aches and pains of the 30s. But the greatest part was that my birthday gift was a full homemade dinner prepared by my mom, the best chef in the world, and enjoyed by me and my closest friends. :)

• Deem is 1 year old Okay, this didn't involve my parents, but what a party it was. 400 people attended the Deem 1 year anniversary party held in the basement of the Moscow House across from City Hall. The theme was grunge and boy was it. I was dancing and partying all night on my third day as a 30-year-old, and now I'm learning what it means to ache. Good thing my other birthday gift was a massage.

And now... I am in hermit mode and returning to all things Arsineh. For quite a while my life revolved around other things. But now it's time to focus on me, my interests, my goals and my hobbies. I shall return to the world of news, current events, and keeping up to date on things, as I feel dumb right now for finding out about the bomb scares like 3 days late. Also, something about Foreign Press liberties being attacked in Armenia... I don't like the sound of that. I shall brush up and become a reliable source of information yet again.

Also.... sooooooo many photooooooooossssss..... I think I need to spend a month straight on photos along, not talk to anyone, not go anywhere... just work on photos. The new camera (canon 5D) started off with a BANG!!! and I already lost the lens cap. ARG!

That's enough for now. Expect photos once I have a free month. :)

Adjusting...

So, I've been here a week today, and for some reason, this trip has required quite a bit more adjustment to Armenia than I'm used to. When I saw the brand new airport, I could hardly believe it. It's so modern, with the duty-free store and non-smoking rules. Well, now that I've picked up so many of my AGBU interns at the airport, I really never want to go there again. No, not really. Actually, I've witnessed some pretty happy and overwhelming moments during my last 6 or so trips to our otanavagayan. Families reuniting after many years, parents greeting kids who live outside the country, long lost friends, and of course excited interns.

Speaking of the AGBU intern program, things are going quite well so far. It's a great groups of young adults from the US, Canada, Egypt and Romania. We also have a girl who was born in Armenia and has not been back since age 3, and is experiencing a pretty amazing journey through the city in which her parents met and she was born. The group is really diverse also, so that's always good. They start their 5-week internships around the city tomorrow, and I am anxious to hear what specific projects their various organizations, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the American University of Armenia, the World Health Organization, the Cafesjian Family Foundation, Sharm Creative Advertising Agency, a pharmaceutical company, a dentist clinic, and many many more. Living with the interns and spending so much time with them has been fun and tiring, and different from being in Yerevan in any other capacity. Even though I have always done work here (not come as a tourist), this position is very different, maybe because it does not end at 6pm -- it's a 24-hour gig. So while I have not had as much time to reacquaint myself with the city yet, there is plenty of time for that later, and plus I'm enjoying the perks of being the intern coordinator. For example, today one of the intern's uncles came to visit her at our dorms, and he turned out to be Dr. Ara Tekian, who climbed Mount Ararat with a group of 5 other Armenians. He spoke really informally about the trek up the mountain, and how it felt to place the Armenian flag at the top. Apparently the photos of the flag incident circulated around Turkey, perhaps through Agos where it was published by Hrant Dink, and now the government is pretty upset (to put it nicely). But anyway, it was so cool to hear Mr. Tekian speak about that experience. One of the interns said afterwards that it was her father's dream to climb Mount Ararat and place and Armenian flag at the top... then he could die happy. Interesting. Anyway, more updates to come...