Word of the Day

WORD OF THE DAY 

Each day meaningful words were added to this list.  Often we would discuss the word of the day and team members would select words that fit with the day's activities.  It was difficult to choose just one word a day so I would often add several and frequently had to guess at the spelling relying on phonetic spelling to guide pronunciation rather than accuracy.  A rainy day inside the domik receiving language lessons from Naira and the boys allowed us to add a significant number of words to this list and to our growing vocabulary. 

Pedicure = toe refreshment

Padraste: we're ready

Verchatsene: we're finished

Dooile Leshark = bucket line

Ingher = friend

Vardaquin = pink

Gagarch = poppy

Vart = rose

Hogh = dirt

Skul = school

Achig = girl

Get = river

Dooster = daughter

Maireek/mama = mother

Avalush = see you later

Aghves = fox

Cove = cow

Hoki = soul/spirit

Beton = cement

Badinka = boots (in Russian)

Voznie = hedgehog

Leeka = full

Dartak = empty

Kyle/Gayle = wolf

Shoot -Shoot = fast/faster

Lav = good

Shatlav = best/ very good

Dune = house

Che = no

Voch = no

Hah = yes

IO = yes

Havanetsie = I like it

Eench Areshez = what is the cost

Auntsrev = rain

Tsegh = mud

Hav = chicken

Kar = stone

Khoomb = team

Dooile = bucket

Barkavatshel = prosper

Parev = Hello

Eight White Feathers

The Museum of Armenian Genocide ; Tsitsernakaberd Park, Yerevan, Armenia.

We visited this memorial and museum on May 28, 2011.  Thoughts about this visit have been rambling around in my head trying to organize themselves and I'm finally ready to let them out.  I was feeling very honored to have a chance to visit this memorial and I was feeling a little personal stress about how to properly and privately honor, bless and recognize my own ancestors.  I knew I was going to lay a carnation down at the flame site but I wanted to do something more - Rewind to my final night of packing... I was racing around the house doing last minute "everythings" and I finally figured it out - I'd bring eight feathers - white ones if I had them.  I'm a feather collector - they hold special meaning for me. And why eight? I love the number, eight is also infinity turned on its side, it's the number of my birth month, it's auspicious in many cultures and religions...it also honors pairs of grandparents, parents, generations on both sides of the families - there are way more than eight - but there are eight immediate ones - the ideas about "eight" could go on forever I didn't think about  it much just knew..." Eight".   And white - well, there are the ideas about white and spirit, ancestors, purity and honor that fit well with my thoughts.  I was also feeling a bit smug because as everyone knows - feathers are almost weightless so I would not be adding much to my 50 lb luggage weight limit by adding in a few feathers.   So feathers were also "practical".  Checking feather inventory... I did in fact have eight white feathers ... just eight to be exact - hooray! and then kind of weird that I had just enough.   I carried the feathers protected in a zip lock baggie in my money belt the entire trip.  They went everywhere I did. 

I have to admit that I was caught off guard at the power of place and the emotional response I had when I visited.  Walking up the steps to the entrance I looked up and thought, "whoa".  and  "whoa".  Words that I jotted into my journal were words like:  silent, vast, somber, powerful, permanent, peaceful, a little angry, kind of lonely, but only a little and only kind of- there was an interesting connection that occurred visually and energetically. It was also kind of scarey -this big, huge quiet and gray place. It was intimidating but I also felt like I belonged.  It was kind of welcoming and inviting yet it also was full of warnings and sharp angles- this big, huge, quiet place.  And other words I jotted down were:  gray, black, well balanced, classy, amazingly clean, at peace, subtle and loud.  Contradictions of thoughts, emotions and literally of place. Contradictions or "perfect balance".  I think I experienced "perfect balance". Not neutrality...balance.  No judgement or attempts to convince.  Just the "facts jack" - come to your own conclusions. 



The site is enormous and gigantic and amazingly powerful.  It wasn't particularly crowded.  It was in fact a beautiful day.  On one side, there stands a wall with the names of villages carved at the top.   Noona, Cynthia's cousin who lives in Armenia, was with our group that day and she was a great translator.  As I stood there, I began to find that I was searching for some sort of personal connection.  I asked her if she could help me find where on the wall that listed all the villages, was the name Sepastia/ Sivas.  The name of the area where both my grandparents were from.  The names of the areas that were devastated during the genocide were carved into the stone and they were carved in the Armenian language so I was at a bit of a disadvantage.  "Sure" said Noona and we walked over to the sidewalk that ran parallel to the names and she began reading... almost in time to our footsteps...  "Bitlis"..... "Habousi"....  "Erzurum"....  "Sepastia"... "Shatakh"... "Van"...  words echoing like reading the list of those who died at a memorial service yet I was also excited that she helped me find what I was looking for...  - and there were so many names , in fact too many of them.  You think of the human beings involved - it's overwhelming.  Each name that Noona read represented thousands upon thousands of people.   I realized right then and there the value of these memorial places and the value of a monument -  Places like this help preserve memory - and not just memory, they channel emotion, power, compassion and gentleness.  They connect on certain levels with certain people.  People who need  something to be recognized in an important way.   Noona spoke each name very respectfully and with honor.  There were a lot more names that what I've listed... each one kind of landing like a thud on my heart  as she read them out loud.  I'm sure what I've listed are out of order and spelled wrong but I was speechless and overcome with the powerful emotion of sadness and gladness - there it is again perfect balance.  I asked if she would take my picture.  I felt proud and disrespectful at the same time.  There it is again Awkward contradictions.  Contradictions - even in my own emotions and thoughts.  Yet, here it was etched in stone: the truth.  THE TRUTH.  Publicly recognized and significant AND  listed among the long list of other villages  .. Sepastia...  my family's place - its tap root - the foundation place, the legacy that lives on in our DNA whether we want it to or admit it does - the name of the place they came from, we came from  - important enough to be included.   I often get to wondering what it might be like to actually stand in Sepastia - but that's a trip for another time.

I walked over to the eternal flame site with my white carnation in hand and eight white feathers in my zip lock baggie.  I stood silently next to others in my group who had set their flowers down and were busy in their own thoughts.  I placed my carnation along with the eight white feathers on the side of the eternal flame on the cement- I sent blessings into the air and watched as a couple of the feathers I had just laid down on the cement kind of blew around catching on the stalks of the other flowers that had been laid down and tumbling here and there.  "Darn" I thought - should I retrieve them? Should I put them back before they flutter into the flame and burn up?  But I decided to let things go - and let them be.  As I stood there, two feathers seemed to have minds of their own - they took flight and floated gently up and up and up.  "Oh no", I could barely look - I could barely watch, it was painful - here were the feathers I carried with me this entire time, and no sooner had I laid them down maybe two minutes before were now headed right for the flames...  but suddenly they picked up speed and floated up, up, up and out of the circular opening at the very top of the eternal flame monument, escaping the flames and out into the open, perfectly clear and perfectly blue sky.



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Boot Mystery Solved!

Since I returned from my trip I've received a lot of comments about my hiking boot "problem".  I did email Asolo and sent them photos  - they were very responsive and kind.   My how time flies! My boots are more than 15 years old - (a very good return on investment I might add).  And, if I had brought them home with me I could have even re-constituted them but alas ... they're living in Vanadzor Armenia somewhere. 

I wanted to share the response I received.


Dear Beth,

Thank you for the pictures.  You have the AFX 530 model from about 15+ years ago.  At this point in time it is normal and expected for the rubber materials to start to show their age on a boot this old.  An unfortunate fact is that even when footwear is not being worn ( all brands not just Asolo ), it does continue to age, and rubber molded compounds along with adhesives will dry out after several years and become brittle -  this is called hydrolysis or “ dry rot” .  While they are no longer under warranty, they can be repaired for much less cost than a new pair.

The good news is that you can have them resoled by www.davepagecobbler.com  who specializes in hiking boots.  I can also send you new insoles and laces for them - I will just need your size and address.  Then the boots will be like new for many more years of hiking.

Thank you,

Lisa Erling

Customer Service Manager

877-888-8533 X104

www.asolo.com

More on the Armenian Nose

Okay, so I have found out more about the Armenian nose:

The wise Armenian women who have shared their stories with us claim the following and
I enjoyed hearing their stories and listening to their giggles as they shared with us the following:

The larger the nose the kinder the person! 
You can tell how kind a person is by the size of their nose.
Armenians have large noses because they are some of the kindest people on earth!
Armenians are mountain people and need a large nose to warm the air before it enters their lungs otherwise they would always be sick with things like asthma and such  -

Enjoy!

Tulips and Toes

For once, healthy airplane food!

Veronica from Poland helped me choose the color: 
It's called "color so hot it berns" (spelling is correct)

Am in Amsterdam now after a 4 1/2 hour flight from Yerevan heading home - Our flight departed at 6:00 a.m. this morning meaning that we ended up departing for the airport at 3:45 a.m. this morning (ugg).  It was Republic Day in Armenia - and because Yerevan is the capital city - fireworks, car horns, music, concerts until all hours of the night filled my dreams.  In preparation for the upcoming 9 1/2 hour flight and "readjust" we ( me and Kathleen my traveling companion and fellow team member and all around great pal) headed to one of the wonderful spa's they have here in the airport for an "express pedicure" - We have a 5 1/2 hour layover here in tulip country - Everything is designed in the shape of tulips - and they have fresh bouquets of tulips everywhere!   Because the spa was so busy they asked us if we would MIND SITTING IN THE MASSAGE CHAIRS until our appointment - (What as gift!)  We spent an hour getting swallowed and pounded on by a wonderful mechanical chair that literally helped re-align my spine and work out many of the bucket line knots in my shoulders.  What a special treat!  Needless to say, I'm clean and glowing from the knees down but otherwise feel in need of a shower...

Sitting in THE CHAIR in the spa!

More to catch up on later, my time at the kiosk is running low.  Thanks to all of you who have been sending emails and reading about my adventures.

Country Mouse City Mouse

Country

Yerevan

Thursday morning; final breakfast at our hotel: honey, hard boiled eggs, bread and peas.  We bumped along the pot holes in the streets of Vanadzor - Melik and other drivers on the road do a great job navigating around each bump. Where pot holes are concerned, all rules of the road no longer exhsit - you are allowed to drive wherever you want to avoid them, including 2 inches away from the next car, 1 inch away from the next car - sideways in the road (I don't know how they do it),  in the middle of the road, on the opposite side of the road, you can even weave very quickly back and forth and pause on the sidewalk if need be.  It's very interesting and makes me glad that I'm not the one behind the wheel.

We were headed to Lake Sevan about one hour away.  Lake Sevan is the first and most famous national park in Armenia.  It was designated a national park in 1978 and is one of the largest freshwater alpine lakes in the world.  In Europe only Lake Geneva is larger.  Lake Sevan covers about 4% of the country (close to the forest cover).  It is almost 2,000 meters above sea level.  We arrived just in time for a light rain - that didn't daunt us as we climbed more than 200 steps to the Sevanavank monastery.  Ancient ruins, amazing views. The site of the monastery used to be located on an Island in Lake Sevan  - at some point under Soviet rule, the Soviets decided it would be a good idea to drain Lake Sevan to 1/5 of it's original size so that they could farm the land. The plan was started but protests by the people stopped the draining project - but the island became a peninsula instead. It is a very popular vacation spot and people from Yerevan drive up for picnics and beach and swimming during the hot summers.   

Lake Sevan

After Lake Sevan, we continued our drive to Yerevan.  Along the way we stopped and collected Obsidian - along the side of the road! Veins of it run through this region from ancient volcanos it sparkles in the sunlight as you drive by - large streaks of it on the mountains and along the sides of the road - I've never seen anything like it!

Collecting Obsidian

We arrived in Yerevan - quite an adjustment after spending time in the village countryside - similar to spending time in Apalachia and driving to New York City. Yerevan, the capital city has a population of 1.2 million and is a bustling modern metropolis - electronic billboards similar to NYC  - fashion on every corner - the best shoe watching ever!  We visited the museum Matendaran;  a research, restoration and repository for ancient manuscrips.  We had a brief tour given by a guide who spoke English (faster than I could listen) and we learned a lot about Mesrop Mashtot - the man who invented the Armenian alphabet. We looked at early 7 and 8th century math books that discussed geometry, a round world and multiplication tables. Parchment was used (lamb skin), lapiz, gold leaf, cochineal beetle (crushed for a red color) were used.  Garlic mixed with gum arabic was used as a glue.  A very interesting afternoon.

Outside the Matendaran

We have packed away our work pants, cement stained t-shirts and work boots and are adapting to our new role as tourists in the big city of Yerevan.

Armenian coffee

Armenian coffee recipe:

Finely ground/powdered coffee
1 tsp coffee
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cup water
Bring to boil 1 or 2x's

Sometimes you can add milk and boil it again.
Drink from teeny tiny cup and enjoy!