My New Normal

I arrived in Armenia about a month ago. The day and a half of travel was brutal, but the amazing resort that awaited us was well worth the torture. We boarded a bus to a resort area called Aghveran. Even though it was close to midnight and pitch black, I could tell we were in the mountains. The moonlight highlighted the snow-covered mountaintops and the air was crisp. The days that followed were our initiation into the Peace Corps world. The amenities at the resort weren’t luxurious, but we had everything we could need or want, hot running water, indoor plumbing, and even WIFI! My fellow volunteers and I went through three intense days of training which included, safety and security, rules and regulations, technical training (which in my case is Teaching English as a Foreign Language), and language. For language we had an initial, very informal, assessment. Our bigger groups were broken up into smaller groups. Little did I know at the time but the groups we were placed into determined the village we would be staying in for the next 10 weeks. I was placed in a village called Shahumyan. From what I learned that day, it was the biggest of the five training villages and closest to Artashat, the location of our technical training.

            On Easter Sunday, the nine of us destined for the village of Shahumyan boarded a bus for our first ride out of Aghveran. Up to this point (only 3 days, but it seemed longer) we had only seen the small compound of the Aghveran resort. All of us were just itching to get out and see Armenia. As soon as we hit the road the views opened up and the mountain range came into sight. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The mountains were massive and nearly took my breath away. As we sped along the highway, weaving in and out of lanes, as all vehicles do in Armenia, we approached Yerevan, the capital city. Although we couldn’t explore Yerevan at the time, it was exciting to see what it looked like. There were tall buildings, lots of cars, shops, bars, and statues. Surprisingly, it was all very metropolitan! Once through Yerevan, we drove another 40 minutes or so and arrived in our village. As we pulled in, there was a row of cars lined up at the mayor’s office as well as lots of people waiting in a group for our arrival. The moments that immediately followed were a blur. I stepped off the bus and was introduced to my host mom. She greeted me with a hug and offered to help me with my bags. Once all of my stuff was in the taxi, we headed to the house. It was only a half mile down the road but the thought of carrying all of my luggage down the gravel (although they felt like boulders) road didn’t make me feel the least bit shameful about taking a taxi for the equivalent of a ten minute walk! My host dad and host uncle met us at the door and politely carried my luggage inside. The house immediately felt like home. Nothing was extravagant, it felt lived in. A quality I was really happy with. I’m already surrounded by so many things that have and will make me feel awkward and uncomfortable, but my home, my sanctuary, as this place was about to become, needed to be just that, a comfortable place where I could relieve the stresses of the day. I was already feeling like I had a great start to my Peace Corps experience.

            Over the past few weeks it has been six days of training and a “rest” day on Sunday. We start in our villages at the local school learning language for four hours in the morning, have an hour break for lunch, then all of the TEFL volunteers meet in Artashat (a fairly big town with lots of businesses) for technical training for three hours in the afternoon. We also have central days where all of the trainees gather for general Peace Corps training. Sessions include culture, policy, medical, safety, and diversity training. Looking back, the days blend into one. I can’t really distinguish one day from another, but a few memorable moments include, our visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial, being invited to dance (Armenian dance of course!) at the local arts school, a night at the ballet in Yerevan, the time a handful of school children raced after me yelling “Amerikatsi, Amerikatsi”, and the countless days when I would walk home and hear “hello!” from children peering out from behind a car with no windows or wheels, or running down the street, or out the window of a speeding car.

We’ve reached five weeks of training and it marks the half way point. I’ve decided that Peace Corps time works differently, in that it feels like we’ve been here forever, yet no time at all. The paradox is hard to wrap my head around sometimes but it's something I’ve gotten used to. There are five more weeks left of training and things are going to continuously change throughout the next two plus years. Any sense of normalcy and comfort I feel now with my host family and daily routine is going to drastically change once I am placed in my permanent sight in the beginning of June. But for now, I will stay here. In the midst of my new normal.