reconnecting with friends my first day in Yerevan - Ben, Misha, Hoveek, and Scott
reunion with Peace Corps staff and friends
A-9s!
catching up with Anna and Meri and getting to know Anna's boyfriend, Andy
plotting strategy on Vartavar (water day)
with Rob and Bridget's neighbor girls
with Garik and his family in Kajaron
Kapan friends
teachers from School #1
Kapan
Khustoop - one of my favorite memories from Armenia is camping/climbing to the top with friends
Khustoop and Kapan
Nara with her mom, niece, and nephew - my hosts in Kapan
peeling ghorovats (barbequed) eggplant at Anoush's dacha
with Anoush
view from the dacha
with Penny, A-14 TEFL in Kapan
last night in Kapan
Khustoop in the early morning light
Masis, aka Mt. Ararat, in the haze above Yerevan (the peak on the left is Little Masis)
Another A-9 returns!
Scott, serious about his beer
When we were in training in Gyumri, you had to choke this beer down; now Gyumri is new and improved and seems to be the thing to drink in Yerevan's swanky cafes.
STILL in ruins. There has been some new construction in Gyumri, but the shells of many buildings still remain as they were left after the earthquake in 1988.
the new mayor's office under construction in Gyumri
If memory serves correctly, this church is at about the same stage of reconstruction as it was in 2001 when we arrived in Gyumri. Supposedly enough aid money has been given for Gyumri to have been rebuilt several times over - but it's gone to line a select few pockets instead.
back in the village - playing cards with Christina, Mattevos, and Anna
cherry picking
by the village pond
Our buckets were almost full, and there were still plenty of cherries to be picked the next day, too.
Mikhail and Christina with the one kitten that didn't run away from us
entertaining guests in the Sahakyan living room
with Anahit, Vanya, and Artur
with Christina, Anahit, and Vanya
The saddest part of my trip was learning that Ben's host father, Simone, had died in a fall on a construction site in Russia last year. These are Simone's parents, Serap and Larissa, and their grief seems visible to me in this picture. Of course it's tragic and heartbreaking when anyone dies at 42, but it's especially hard for this family since his earnings in Russia were their only source of income. Simone had a big heart, a wide smile, and a contagious laugh - and his death leaves an awfully big hole in this family and in the entire village of Keti.
moonrise in Keti
waiting for the bus
My host brothers came into the city with us on the day I left for Yerevan; here's Artur shooting in a park game booth.
targets
I was glad the girls also got to take turns shooting.
on an old Soviet "roller coaster"
Christina at the wheel
You're supposed to avoid collisions in the bumper cars in this park, but pushing/kicking/grabbing is allowed on the swings.
At the entrance to a Georgian restaurant in Gyumri. When I squeezed liquid soap out of a dispenser to wash my hands there, Artur and Mattevos asked what it was wanted to see how it worked. Narineh said she brings them to "the city" about once a year, and I guess there are no such dispensers in the village.
With Warm Hearth residents - Bridget worked with them when they were still in the boarding school in Kapan, and I often went along to help. It was great to see them in their group home - the first of its kind in Armenia.
handmade artwork at Warm Hearth
with Scott and Misha on my last night in Yerevan
coffee with Christina
Send-off spread at Ruzan's - evidence of Armenians' outstanding hospitality. There's a big bowl of figs behind the juice; she remembered from four years ago that I love them and wanted to be sure I had them before I headed to the airport.
