KazariansInArmenia

Bringing Armenia Home

2009-05-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Although we are not in Armenia right now, I, Kalem, continue to incorporate Armenian village life into our "county island" city life. We have increased our chickens from 10 before Armenia to about 20 now. Recently, we got a mother sheep with two baby girl lambs that were born on Easter. This was in exchange for butchering services (of which I learned in Armenia) of this same mother's offspring from last year. Actually, the son impregnated both the mother and the sister! Our son Frank when explaining how we have a mother and babies with out a father, he gladly offers, "we ate the dad!" This mother will probably also fall under my knife in about a month or two, once the lambs are properly weaned (let me know if anyone is interested in watching).

There are a few of the older and fatter chicken that I think I would like to kill as well. One especially the alpha hen of the group, manages to get into the neighbors yard but can't get back into ours. Pretty much the list for being slaughter ready on our egg farm is as follows: 1. turning out to be a rooster (12 chickens died this way that we raised from chicks, in addition to the two quail we had), 2. segregation, not mixing with the other hens (2 this way) 3. being of age and not producing eggs. (same two) 4. Having some disease (3 this way, but we didn't eat these), and 5. For causing general problems in the chicken coup, having a bad attitude, or escaping regularly (the alpha chicken will die for this).

We have also started composting with worms. We take food garbage, minus meat and fat, plus napkins and paper towels, and mix it with shredded newspaper, and yard waste like straw leaves or grass clippings, and bury it. I take a hand full of worms, from the established area (I mail ordered them originally from the worm dude), and mix the worms in with the compost, add a thin layer of dirt on top to keep the flies away, and then I put an old window screen on top to keep the chickens out, and I have a sprinkler that keeps the area moist. The castings, dark, rich, fertilizer is then great natural organic fertilizer for our garden, lawn, trees and other plants. The worm population will double every 2 to 3 months in ideal conditions, the worms also become a protein treat for the chickens.

When we want to get rid of harmful bugs or do some light tilling around the garden plants we let the chickens in for natural pest control. It is an age old cycle that we are glad to be incorporating into our lives. Some times the animals get out and cause more harm than good, but we are learning to deal with this.

Attitude of Gratitude Video

2008-12-07T21:23:00.001-08:00

The "Kazarian's In Armenia 2008 - Attitude of Gratitude" video is now
available for viewing via YouTube. video.kazarian.net or you can go
direct at http://www.youtube.com/user/kazarianfamily, or the link to
the side of the page about the kids video.

SLIDESHOW TIME

2008-11-29T18:12:00.001-08:00

Join us for light snacks and a video presentation of our trip to Armenia, including our special guest Gohar Palyan direct from Armenia. She will share about her work with Armenian Habitat, and the Fuller Center. We will have a question and answer time following the presentation. We hope you can make it, to our house, Sunday, December 7, 3:30PM evite invitation: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=CYIBLIIZNASMXOIBOWCN#

Back in Our House

2008-10-22T11:44:00.001-07:00

We have moved back into our home in Fresno, Kalem is looking for a
permanent job, while filling in with construction projects, and
Jonelle is continuing to homeschool the kids, and unpack boxes. We
missed our home, and are glad to be back. We continue to process the
experiences we had while in Armenia. Please continue to pray for us
as God puts it on your heart, some of the most difficult work
associated with this trip is being done right now, as we talk and pray
as a couple and seek Gods healing, provision, and direction. We will
announce a date for a dinner slideshow at Lilly's restaurant soon, for
now we are beginning to take invitations for dinner at your house to
share about the trip.

Back Home

2008-09-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

We are back! Some highlights from the return trip: We left Armenia
on schedule, and enjoyed movies on British Airways flight operated by
BMI. In London, we made it to the proper terminal and gate with
plenty of time and settled into our seats on the plane, when after
about an hour of sweating in "the back of the bus" they unloaded all
of the passengers, to continue working on a faulty part of the
electrical system for the lighting and air conditioning. They fixed
the part and then it broke again, this is when they handed out $10
food vouchers to each passenger, so we ate and waited. Once on board
four hours later the kids fell asleep immediately, we ate dinner and
watched movies and slept, and 11 hours later we were in LA. Going
through customs one of Kalem's favorite parts is when the officer
says, "Welcome home." On the baggage belt things were going good
until the last bag could not be found. An employee said some bags
were left in London, but then the next morning we got a call from
another passenger that they mistakenly took our bag. Several hours
were wasted trying to connect directly with this family and ultimately
we just left, so now we are waiting for British Airlines to ship our
bag to us. We were quite surprised how neither customs nor the rental
car company, took very much interest in checking for illegal items,
and damages respectively. All that behind us we are extremely glad to
be home and are now fighting jet lag as we settle in. The kids are
actually kind of funny as they wake up in the middle of the night and
say that they are hungry.

Coming Home

2008-09-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

We have begun our return trip home already, with a short transition in
Yerevan at a relatives house, for a couple of days, and then we will
travel home via British Airways through London. We have many stories
to tell and will continue to update the blog with some of our past
experiences, as well as some thoughts as we transition back to
American culture. We plan to lay low for a couple of weeks, as we
process the experience. We are trying to put together a book
compiling our past blogs, with some new an never posted blogs, to give
a fuller picture of our experiences in Armenia. More details to come.

Internet

2008-09-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Irony of all ironies is this, we have been living in this village for
four months now, without even the hope of an internet connection, and
two days before we are to leave our neighbor announced that they got
their internet to work! You know I tried everything that I could do
to get a connection for us, but some times it helps to know someone.
It took our neighbor's cousin who works at the phone company to
personally take their phone back, reprogram it and personally come set
it up. Today I was one of the first people to surf the net from this
village. Now this may not seem very impressive to you, but if you
think about the donkey "Eeawing" in the background, the burning dung,
the horse drawn cart, the dirt roads, and the mountains on every side
of this village, it is very impressive. As our neighbors put it "it's
a pity we didn't get the internet sooner," we do feel blessed to have
been here and to see God answer yet another one of our prayer
request. Although it is not always the way we would want or in our
timing, He is faithful.
On a side note just as I was coming into Gyumri to send this email,
and print the last batch of photos to leave in the village, I noticed
they had begun fixing the road entering Gyumri coming from
Lusaghbyur. This road is really a night mare, for about 1/2 a mile
and has been like that as long as I can remember. Add that to the
irony that as we are leaving the road that we use most is finally
getting fixed. Lusaghbyur is slowly becoming a more comfortable place
to live, especially for the four families that have remodeled homes
this year!

Mommy's 1st Day of School

2008-09-16T02:27:00.000-07:00

See this smile? This is the smile of good old American
remedies...Imodium!!! One sick day was all I could handle...I really
wanted to get to school. Kalem, Peter and Frank joined Judi and I
walked together to our class sporting our new Barbie backpacks. And,
as usual, we attracted a crowd. All the kids from my summer school
mobbed us and asked if I was REALLY going to school. There was a
mixture of shock and admiration as they joined our parade to Dabrotz.
Soon the Teacher, Unger (literally Friend) Khachadouryan walked in and
Judi and I jumped up to get our picture taken with her. (One thing I
lamented when I began homeschooling was that my children would NOT get
a picture with their new teacher each year on the first day of
school...I have great peace now since every year when they take their
school picture with me, I can look back and see how different I look
each year!!!) Unger Khachadouryan was very nice to me when I met her
this summer and was very excited that I would be joining her class in
the Fall. Today, though, she seemed pretty cold and aloof. Perhaps I
was being too giddy, I have been known to be just a tad silly ; )
sometimes. She took her picture with us and then assigned our seats.
Of course Judi and I were separated and I was moved to the back of the
class. Each of the tables had two seats welded to the frame and metal
partitions were set between the two individual seats (this would prove
to be VERY important with two 6 year olds sitting at the same table/
desk.) Vaneegk got put in the desk in front of mine but in the
opposite seat. I will tell you more about Vaneegk and all the
students later but just suffice it to say that Vaneegk would be
classed ADHD in the States and be heavily medicated. He was told to
turn around and sit straight about 10 times that day. And I made a
bet, with myself, that he would be the first to get smacked! After we
were all settled Judi, who was caddy corner to me across the isle,
turned and said, "Mommy, look we are so close." Unger Khachadouryan
swooped in and said, "Lesee Judeet, eem tasoom meeine Hyeren chosoom
ek, yev YES KO MAMAN ice degh!" (Listen Judi, in my class we only
speak Armenian, and here, I AM YOUR MOM!) I could see this was going
to be a learning experience for me, much bigger than I originally
thought. And so went my first day of school...maybe staying in bed
one more day would have been good, even though I am 38 and by far the
TALLEST kid in the first grade...I was scared!

When Mommy is Sick!!!

2008-09-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

Now you might be wondering WHY ON EARTH would I, Jonelle, let that absolutely HORRID picture of my sick self be sent out for all of cyberspace to view...well, I guess I can only liken it to having a baby! I am an extremely modest person, BUT when in the throws of labor it seems that little matters in the area of modesty. Let me expl

ain what I mean. I was on my death bed as you recall and Kalem was working at the neighbors house. I was trying to do homeschool with Judi, Peter & Frankie, on our King-Size mattress (praise GOD for the container FINALLY arriving!!) whilst under the covers laying flat on my back. It was actually working...for an hour or so but then it got to be lunch time. I sent Judi into the kitchen with these instructions, "Jude, get the peanut butter, honey, and bread and make sandwiches for you and the boys." Seemed simple and straightforward enough...A few minutes later Judi came into our bedroom announcing, "Mommy, Tsoeegk is here and she wants to ask you something." Again giving seemingly simple instructions, I replied, "Oh, Jude can you please tell her Mommy is sick and see if you or Daddy can answer her question." APPARENTLY NOT! Within moments Tsoeegk was standing at the foot of my bed, BUT NOT ONLY TSOEEGK...NO it was Tsoeegk, Aysa, Shoosh

anigk, Nellie, Vart, and two or three smaller size children all standing around my bed, staring at me! Oh, the horror!! I don't even want to look at me when I am sick let alone all these village women! I wanted to die from stomach pain before but now I wanted to die of sheer and utter mortification. There they were hashing over the story of why I was sick and all chiming in on what THEY thought the REAL reason was and what remedies I should pursue forthwith. I was trying to explain to them that in America mostly we just want to be left alone when we aren't feeling well. They assured me THAT WAS NOT how they were. (So I had to put the picture in...I wish I had one of THEM looking at me...NOW THAT would have been priceless.) They wanted to"HELP" (The 70's Alan Alda & Margo Thomas' LP FREE TO BE YOU AND ME popped into my mind "Some kind of help is the kind of he

lp that helpings all about, and some kind of help is the kind of help WE ALL CAN DO WITHOUT!) Just then Judi came in the room and I asked why on earth she let "these women" in my room (You know that is the BEST thing about people here NOT knowing English...I can say whatever I want and not have to sensor...but I digress), Judi just laughed which made the women laugh and I laughed but only out of embarrassment. "It's not the watermelon! said Aysa, "Gegham brought us the rest of your melon and told us you got sick eating it...we laughed the whole time we ate the rest!" Oh, please I thought, but I replied, "Zer stomachneren oojhegh en, eemnas tweel eh." (your stomaches are strong and mine is weak.) Next came the in home remedies (mind you EVERYONE is a DOCTOR HERE...or so they act) I had already tried the one method Kalem tired; the spoonful of fresh espresso ground coffee...I felt like I was suffocating...ever try to swallow a spoonful of powder?

Try it...IT'S ABSOLUTELY AWEFUL (that's funny, like when you smell spoiled milk that is just horrendous, but then you want others to smell it too...) I was about 10 minutes past that attempt when the peanut gallery arrived. The women fought among themselves as to whose concoction was the soundest, but since Aysa and her two daughters-in-law out numbered the rest they "won". They insisted that I needed to take LEEMON TUTSEE...now I could figure out the lemon part but it was the TUTSEE I was afraid of. A few more minutes which seemed like hours past and the whole crew marched off to get the mysterious wonder drug. I was left with the lingering smell of cow in my room, which I might add is NOT helpful for a sour stomach. Shooshanigk returned with a folded envelope of newsprint and presented Leemon Tutsee to me...it looked like large granulated sugar but it tasted like lemon flavored ACID. I downed a spoonful and gagged on some water...she said I should be back to normal "quickly" but if in an hour I wasn't better to take another spoonful. I don't

know if the coffee grounds and the acid didn't agree with each other or if the LEEMON was doing the WATUTSEE in my stomach...all I knew is that helpful visit from the women of Lusahgbyur made me want to die...in EVERY sense and there was NO WAY I was going to have one more spoonful of ANYTHING from those DOCTORS. And as I lay in my bed reeling from the day's events my sweet angels made their lunch..alas it was NOT PB & J, not it was GRATED CARROTS WITH SUGAR POURED ON TOP (on top of the carrots, the table, the floor. But my mommy says, "Some days are like this, even in ARMENIA." Jonelle ;)

Sevan Cruz

2008-09-12T12:35:00.000-07:00

Every year our family takes a few days off and enjoys what some call
the Armenian Riviera, or Santa Cruz. Up to our ears with village live
we decided to take a few days off and enjoy the real Armenian Riviera,
Lake Sevan. Now we have visited the popular an convenient West shore,
but we were told about the more secluded East shore. We packed up the
Niva and headed away from the village. Two hours later we reached the
far side of the lake and found the "resort" that we were told about.
We were shown to our "domik" (like a double wide trailer, with two
bedrooms, bathroom, living room and entry. All newly built within the
last three years. Our contact was the closest thing to an Armenian
Beach Bum that we have ever seen, laid back, tan, and always close to
the water. Motored raft rides, horse rides, all part of the $50 a
night domik fee. We enjoyed our rest and returned somewhat refreshed
and very burned.

Dying

2008-09-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

Just found out today that our neighbor here in Armenia, Satanik, a 82
year old widow, had already prepared her grave. Her husband died
a couple years after they married, she has been living in a domik
(metal shipping container since the earthquake, 20 years ago. The
domik is extremely hot in the summer, leaks when it rains, and is
freezing cold in the winter. She has a relatively decent disposition
about life, but at this point it seems she is just waiting to die.
She will be buried next to her only brother who was killed in the
second world war. The basalt headstone has a picture of her brother
and already a picture of her. With no children or other close relatives to
look after her, she has taken the final preparations upon herself. It
is just a reality here, and I have not really experienced this before,
just thought I would share.

Twas The Night Before 1st Grade...

2008-09-09T04:22:00.000-07:00

The night before my first day at Bullard High School, I threw up and
was sick the whole next day. Chalk it up to 9th grade jitters or bad
Chinese food. The night before my first day of 10th grade THE SAME
THING HAPPENED! What are the likelihoods of that? So I missed the
1st day of school two times as a teenager possibly from food but most
likely from nerves. The night before I was to start my matriculation
at Kyoogh Tduhbrotz No. 1 I was FINE. I was so excited to go.
FINALLY I, JONELLE, had a REAL class all to my self, for me to learn
the Armenian language PROPERLY with a teacher, books, homework and
all. I told EVERYONE. I had my clothes all laid out, my pencils
sharpened and a brand new notebook crisp and ready...but like a three-
peat of my high school career, I awoke Monday, 1 September with the
sourest stomach I have ever had in Armenia. I have not had a problem
with my bowels in my homeland and so I have told, nay, boasted to
all. "Kalem just has a weak stomach." I would say. But that morning,
even if I tried to swallow those words they wouldn't have stayed in
me! I know I was excited but could I possibly be scared of THE FIRST
GRADE? Maybe so but I contest it was the WATERMELON!!!! Kalem can
confirm this as we have done personal and costly (to our innards)
experiments with said fruit. Locals say that if the melons are left
in the hot sun all day, day after day they turn to "POISON". Of
course I did not believe this at first and had quite a few delicious
sumerook since I have been in Hyeastan, which I took to mean that I
had a cast iron stomach or that I was truly a deghatzee (Local)! It
actually begs the question, "How would one know if a melon had sat in
the sun all day, day after day?" This melon in question was purchased
from a traveling market (these are guys in vans or better yet cars
with boxes of produce stacked to the gills. Sometimes the whole of
the car is filled, back windows and all to the headliner of the moving
Khanoot.) and our neighbor even asked, "Are these things poison?" Now
I know I am not the best business person, but what produce peddler
(especially an Armenian one....) is going to say, "Yes, actually all
of my melons are terrible and you would do yourself and your whole
family a great disservice by purchasing one of my black-seeded TIME
BOMBS!" Whatever the culprit, the nerves or the melons one thing is
for sure, I AM NOT EATING ANOTHER SUMEROOK UNTIL I GET BACK TO THE
USA!!! And Lord willing tomorrow I will see if I can stomach the 1st
grade! Weakly yours, Jonelle ; {

First Day of School

2008-09-07T00:17:00.000-07:00

September 1st is the first day of school for the whole country of
Armenia. Everyone was scurrying about on Sunday, 31 August to make
sure they had their fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, rulers, and of
course new clothes. In the Village school, the children in grades 1-4
have clothing requirements. The girls must wear black skirts, white
shirts and white socks (shoes are left to preference). The boys are
clad in brand-new 2 and 3 piece suits with newly quafted hair-dos.
The rest of the Tduhbrotz (school) wears what they like, but what they
like is THEIR BEST CLOTHES. I must say I DO NOT MISS the nasty,
scankie, and sloppy dress of American students, and the population in
general. It is refreshing to see kids who want to look their best.
That is not all...the students are taught to stand when an elder walks
into the room and greet them with a hearty "Barev Stez". Disrespect
and foolishness are NOT allowed by the teachers and the parents know
(and it seems, LOVE that the teacher is the one disciplining their
children!). While I was doing my School/VBS/Babysitting/English
Teaching/Refereeing this Summer, I was told by parents that if their
children misbehaved that it was MY JOB to smack them! Of course I
explained to them that is WAS NOT my job but THEIR JOB the other 22
hours they were NOT with me. Alas, this is the way they roll. Each
of the 1st graders received not one but two brand new backpacks; girls
got BARBIE, of course and the boys either a dragon motif or
SPIDERMAN. The packs were stocked with colored pencils, a ruler,
three pens, an eraser, one pencil sharpener, 9 small "blue books" in
the US but here they are light green. Four of them are for
Mateematicas with a grid pattern for paper and the other 5 are lined
for letters and writing. There was also one 8 1/2 x 11 pack of white
drawing paper, and one "packet" of colored paper (don't go picturing
the thick, pulpy American grade...No this is paper is a blend of say a
tissue paper and the transfer paper tailors use to mark white lines on
fabric. Oh and the color is only on ONE side of the paper, the other
side is white.) The first day started with all sorts of Pomp and
Circumstance Village style with a weak rendition of Mer Hyedeneek,
bouquets of flowers for each student (except Jude of course because we
are the newbies and NOBODY tells us what we need to do until AFTER the
fact : )!!!, and a general welcome to all the new and returning
ahshagertner (students). Of course I am writing this only second hand
because this 1st day of school did NOT turn out to be MY first day
along with Judi...No my first day of school was spent in an ENTIRELY
DIFFERENT way! More to come, more than you know....Jonelle; )

The accident

2008-09-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago a few minutes after I had learned about the
benzine crisis I was driving around in Gyumri with the kids after
church (Jonelle was home with a bad headache), I had a long list of
things to pick up from town and was trying to make sense of the
situation, when I saw the calling card I was looking for in the window
of a street side stand. I had just entered a wide round about and was
maybe in the middle when I darted over the right to stop. The car
behind me honked and then they pulled over in front of me. I jumped
out to get the calling card while the angry driver was coming towards
me. I had seen plenty of accidents in Armenia and knew that a large
argument usually follows, but I didn't know it happened for near
misses. As I got my card the man tore into me, "why aren't you
looking where you are going, we almost had a bad accident." My reply
was you are right, it was my fault, I am sorry. This is a very
uncommon response here and not knowing how to handle it he tore into
me again. I explained the situation, apologized again and admitted
that it was my error. With sevral more warnings the man left me and
we were back about our business. The funny thing about this story is
that two weeks later I had stopped into a store in Vananadzor (East of
our village, 60 miles from Gyumri) for an ice cream bar and it just so
happened that the store owner was the same man who I nearly ran into.
We rehashed the same conversation, he again gave me more warnings, but
a least this time he asked what I was doing in Armenia and we had a
little nicer conversation. Armenia is a small country, but in the
seven months we have been here I have only recognized four people
while I have been out and about, this was a very strange meeting.
Fast forward to yesterday, I was in Yerevan to take care of a few
things and was headed to say hi to my relatives before I headed back
to the village. I was in a standard bumper to bumper traffic jamb in
the city when all of the cars in front of me slammed on their brakes.
I did to and nearly missed the car in front of me by inches, and as I
listened for the car behind me to stop also, I heard very little
breaks and and then a crash! Jolted nearly into the car in front of
me, I held my spot and then pulled over to the side to hash out the
situation. Again angry driver yelling at me, we argued about the
situation, and he claimed my break lights didn't work, and that we
should go right then to a body shop and get the car fixed. Although
they in fact did work but were weak from a low battery and bad
alternator. I know that the law is the same in Armenia, as in the US,
the person who hits from behind is as fault, usually for not keeping
enough distance. I called my cousin and he came over to help, but the
man continued to insist that I pay for the damages, then he called the
police over to help settle the situation. This took about half an
hour to get a police officer to the scene (where are they when you
need them?), and we went through the whole thing one more time. The
man continued to insist he was right so the road police called an
expert to measure skid marks and determine who was at fault.
While we were waiting my cousin left to take care of his business,
and the other guys off duty police officer friend also came to the
scene. Left alone in an unbalanced situation, but pretty sure I was
not at fault I waited to see what the expert would say. After a few
words with the man that I was not privileged to hear, I heard
something about him having to pay at least 20,000 drams ($65) to even
have the guy measure the scene. Finally, understanding the situation,
the man backed off, the expert officer asked if I had any problems, I
said "no" even though my cousin wanted me to have them get a new rear
bumper for the Niva (that showed little to no signs of an accident).
So after over an hour of waiting and arguing, I was finally able to
leave in peace, glad that the law prevailed despite what connections
one might have. In conjunction with many other experiences here this
is not a country where one admits their fault very easily.

Ga

2008-09-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

With all of the comments and emails about the last blog (Ch Ga II), I
thought I would update the situation with what we do have (Ga). We
now have gasoline, and at decent prices. We have been able to leave
the village for church and rest. We worked very diligently at trying
to resolve the situation with our neighbors, and an understandable
stalemate resulted. Although it was not the best outcome all sides
were heard and rules were created for their kids not to be
unsupervised in our yard.
The power still goes off frequently and actually last week, the
"PG&E" guy changed the wires on our pole, that had melted and then
they melted again. Some uninsulated wires had touched and were
causing a short, he fixed the short and changed them again. For half
a day of work and 100 feet of thick wire I traded a 90 pounds bag of
cement about $10.
So now we have power most of time, we sort of have friends, and are
continuing to make new ones. We have benzine and our health most of
the time. But most of all we have hope, that God will provide for us,
though out all of these situations. As we also have many
opportunities to share our faith with many of the people who are
interested in us. Finally, we have all of you that are praying for us
and supporting us, thank you.

Ch Ga part II

2008-08-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

When we were in Yerevan I wrote what I thought was a pretty extensive
list of things that were not available. Things like the gas being
turned off, the water being rationed a few hours each day, internet
not working sometimes, and the electricity being shut off for unknown
periods of time. After three months in the village my understanding
of "ch ga" (don't have) has greatly increased. Not only are the above
mentioned things periodically turned off, but there is a whole host of
other things that now not available.
This particular blog was inspired by the current absence of gasoline,
in the whole country! This is something particularly difficult to
fathom after living in America our whole lives. Sunday after church
in Gyumri I pulled into a gas station to fill up one gallon (4 liters)
to make it back to the village, and was surprised that they didn't
have any. Why you ask only one gallon? Our car was broken into after
only one month in the village and with the front seat headrests, the
radio and speakers, one windshield wiper blade, and $30 worth of fuel
was stolen. This lead me to buy a locking gas cap, but then when the
thievery continued three more times by breaking the lock on the gas
cap, I resolved to keep the car as empty as possible to prevent future
loss. I would keep about an old juice bottle full of benzine
(gasoline), in case the empty gas tank didn't get us to our next
destination. So I had used up the bottled benzine to get to church
thinking for sure I could just fill up both the car and the bottle and
return home. When the second gas station in Gyumri was also out of
benzine, I began to worry. At the third gas station, I just had to
ask what happened and where I could get gas.
The attendant explained that there was no gas in the whole town,
(Armenia's second largest town), this blew my mind, as I have never
experienced this before in my life. Next we decided to pray, as for
sure we didn't have enough fuel to even get home. In faith we decided
to try and see in what way God would provide. So just before leaving
the city limits, I spotted a sign in Russian that said "Benzine" not
that I read Russian, but after 6 months I've learned to recognize it.
There was a stack of gas canisters (not American red, but Russian
green), and God answered our prayer with us buying the last gallon of
gas that the old man had, for $6! I was more than happy to pay the
inflated rate just to get home. Asking again what happened to all the
gas, he explained that the rail line coming to Armenia from Russia
through Georgia, was blown up. Workers fixed the line in a few days
and then it was blown up once again.
Now we are "stuck" in the village, with just enough benzine to make
it back to the city to refill once the trains make it in. Not only is
Gyumri out of gas, so is Yerevan the capital city of this small
country, and every other city. The only cars on the road are the ones
that are fueled by natural gas. This has brought about a whole host
of other problems.
Since it is nearing the end of the month, the cash I withdrew for
this month is nearing it's end, and it's not like we can just hit the
"village ATM" to get some more cash, or use our Visa card at the
village store to buy food. So add to the list "pogh ch ga" (don't
have money). Jonelle can't go to Gyumri to teach her bible study
class, or shop for the items that just are not available in the
village. We don't have a T.V. or satellite dish like many other
people, no news paper either, so we don't have any idea what is going
on in the world.
Just recently our closest friends in the village turned their back on
us, after their mother slapped two children that she thought hurt her
grandchildren in our daily summer school at our house. Refusing to
apologize to us or the children who she slapped, we have had to ban
her grandchildren from our house. Needless to say this has negatively
affected our fellowship with our believing neighbors. So add to the
list "ungerner ch ga" (don't have friends). There are other people in
the village we know but by far we have invested the most time with
this family. This has also lead to unstable mental health as we
ponder these issues, and a general lack of freedom as we are stuck
here with neighbors that apparently don't want anything to do with us.
As you may also know, we were never able to get internet in the
village so by the time you read this the benzine situation should be
resolved, but remember it is Armenia so you never know.
Please pray for us that we finish our last month here in Armenia
well, that we continue to be living examples of Christ's love, as he
continues to streach us and teach us more about complete dependence on
him.

Gegham Hopar

2008-08-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

"Barev Gegham Hopar!" is the cheerful greeting I receive from dozens
of children everyday. It brings the biggest smile to my face every
time I hear those words, for several reasons. First the children are
respectful and greet their elders properly. Second, they have learned
and use the authentic Armenian version of my name Gegham. Third they
call me "Hopar" which is short for "Horut Aghper," which is "fathers
brother," literally "uncle." Fourth since Mr. & Mrs. are generally
not used and everyone becomes uncle and aunt I have been loved and
accepted with the greeting "Hello uncle Kalem."
Finally, my smile doubles with joy as my own children have even begun
to refer to me as Gegham Hopar. Not only is it funny, but I just love
the sound of it so much, and coming from my own children it is that
much sweeter, (as improper as it is to call your father Uncle and use
his first name). I love this name so much I changed "Simon Says" to
"Gegham Hopar Aseys," as I lead the 20 or so kids that come to our
house daily for "school." For those two hours, and when ever they are
around we are able to love them as our own family, as they call to us,
"Barev Gegham Hopar, Barev Joawna Tota."

Hyestan Hotties

2008-08-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

This is my 1st blog since entering the Kuyoogh. Of course we don't
have ready access to internet and today is the first day I was given
1) The Car, 2) Time, 3) Knowledge about how do hook up at the internet
cafe 30 minutes away. I have missed you all TERRIBLY!!! So, Lena
Eritzian, Nar Yergat and Jonelle are sitting on a lovely bench at the
Hocktonakee Igee (that's Victory Park) in Yerevan to enjoy a few hours
of Fresno fellowship and play for our kiddos. Of course, by the photo
you can tell that Nar and Lena are....well...they are just HOT!!! I
would aspire to be them someday in the reverse (Fresno to Armenia
transplant) but THEY are the original and reigning HYESTAN HOTTIES!!!
As we sat in the small space of shade to shelter us from the
smoldering Yerevan heat we noticed three Vosdeegans (police officers)
coming our way. As is typical Hyegagan Sev (Armenian Style) the three
were staring unashamedly in our direction. But it was oh, so much
more than they typical stare-down of the Armenian Male...they circled
back around THREE times and couldn't stop drooling...I know because I
was staring them down and they WERE NOT LOOKING AT ME!!!! This is the
problem...if you are beautiful and without a male in toe you will be
stared at, BUT NEVER in my entire 7 months here have I seen the
determination of the vosdeegans that day. I was please to be in such
company but even more to share those few hours with such wonderful
women as Lena and Nar. They brought a piece of Fresno to me, they let
me speak English and they are indeed beautiful...INSIDE and OUT!!
Miss you all Jonelle ; )

Where did the pounds go?

2008-08-20T05:08:00.000-07:00

Moving to Armenia has taken its toll on us physically, first of all
traveling here with our whole family suffering a winter flu, then
Winter snow, rain and cold that seemed to last through Spring,
coupled with the kids bring back colds from kindergarden, seemed to
keep us generally immobilized, with at least one of us sick. This is
when we tried such remedies as Vodka and Garlic, rubbing snorting,
eating and drinking, we tried Russian versions of cold medicines, on
of which sent me (Kalem) into an Anti-falactic reaction, which
required more medicine to fix.
From previous trips to Armenia, I was warned not to drink the water
due to bacteria, so this time I bought four test kits and checked all
of the main water locations we would generally be drinking from. The
test was negative for bacteria, but only showed very hard water not
surprising for non galvanized pipe. So we drank the water with ease;
but still something else caused stomach problems, mostly for me, but
we were pretty certain it was not the water. A note in Armenia we
also found ourselves walking quite a bit which also added to the loss
of extra weight.
After a while I tried eliminating coffee which had cause different
problems in the past for me, but again to no major consistency. About
this time we moved to the village, which brought a whole new set of
problems. Our newly remodeled house was extremely humid from all of
the water based wall treatments, earthen plaster, drywall plaster,
paint etc. There was and still is stinging nettle everywhere around
the house and the village for that matter, the kids and I would
frequently run inside for the anti-itch cream. We all fell ill again
that first couple of weeks, and our neighbors attributed it to
"changing air."
One night I awoke in agonizing pain and found myself between the bed
and the bathroom the rest of the night, not knowing in which direction
to approach the toilet. That actually lasted into the next day, and
the cause was left unknown. Once that bought was over I noticed that
I had run out of holes in my belt. I had already moved in two, about
two inches, and my pants were still loose. Although I know I didn't
loose it all in one night I was curious to see how much weight I had
lost after being in Armenia for five months. Ten pounds was lost in
all, and so I started to try and replace the weight.
I had often skipped lunch for work, but now I would try to eat at
least one lunch if not two. I switched back to beer for toasts,
instead of Vodka, whenever possible, and tried to limit my stress.
Just when I was gaining weight and had eaten one of the most
satisfying meals of my time in Armenia, (lamb, pork, and chicken!),
and was completely full, I continued the feasting with cold
watermelon. To my dismay found myself in the bathroom again the whole
next day.
My most recent theory is the warning we were given about not eating
watermelon that has been out in the sun. Almost everyone buys
watermelon from street markets, almost all of the watermelon is left
in the sun, and so I am beginning my fast from watermelon. My Imodium
supply is running very low, but I do think they sell a Russian version
here. I also tried the village remedy of eating a spoon full of
unused coffee grounds. Which seemed to work but has kept me up late
into the night writing this blog.
As for those who think this to be "too much information" this is very
much apart of most peoples experience with Armenia and is important to
be noted. It is hard not to think and long for the processed fried
food of America at a time like this.

Animals living with us

2008-08-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

Although we live in a "remodeled" house, complete with European
windows, and door, there are quite a few uninvited guest in our home,
and this time I don't mean our neighbors. I am not sure where they
are coming from but we have an ample supply of flies everyday,
literally I spend about 20 minutes every morning with the fly
swatter. Then there are the spiders which I generally leave alone, as
long as they stay out of the way, to help control the ever increasing
fly population of course. With all of the fresh fruit this time of
year there are also quite a few gnats, and besides getting rid of the
fruit we don't have a way to control them. The moths are pretty easy
to kill with the fly swatter, but they still seem to be gaining in
numbers. There are ants, usually in the bathroom, Raid (produced in
Russia) takes care of that problem, for a couple of days at a time.
The real interesting thing is the black beetles that we find in the
shower, not so easy to squash but not to fast either. With all of
these insects if the kids ever leave the door open the neighbors
chickens find their way inside also, but at least that is one animal
that we can eat!

Hot Chili Pepper by Judi

2008-08-16T02:17:00.001-07:00

Once upon a time when we were living in Armenia we were eating dinner and as usual my brother Frank was sucking his fingers. Mommy had warned him that if he sucks his fingers he would get to meet Mr. Hot Chili Pepper. Frankie still sucked his fingers. So then Mommy grabbed one hot chili pepper and Mommy broke it up into two sister and brothers. So then Frank was just funny. He put them on his fingers and started to mess around like they were puppets. And then he took a bite of the end of the top of the pepper. Then he said, "Ah!" but then he started to mess around like they were puppets again. And then we all took them off. Then we all told him to suck his fingers and he listened to us and sucked his fingers. BUT THEN he started to cry and Mommy gave him some ice cream and then we all finished our food and then we ate our ice cream and Frank just had a fit with Mommy that he wanted more ice cream.

THE END

Five Minutes Peace

2008-08-16T02:17:00.000-07:00

We were warned before we came to live in the village that people would
expect to be able to walk into our house at anytime. In my mind this
translated as one or two unexpected visitors a day, maybe three. We
have since learned to expect that amount per hour! Us being from
America and all, is very interesting to many people here in the
village. People would want to talk, introduce themselves, invite us
over for coffee, see if we needed anything, bring us some
"housewarming" gift, etc. Then as work on peoples houses picked up
they would come over to borrow tools, or need materials. Then Jonelle
started a daily class with the neighborhood kids that were hanging
around anyway, and they all arrive around 11 AM for class. Then as
word got out we had a scanner/printer we offered to copy a passport or
two, and that has turned into about three or four a day sometimes.
There are many more "then's" but I think you get the idea, during
meals, rest times, waking up, going to sleep, showering, etc. the
doorbell is ringing, people are knocking, and yelling for us. It can
be very overwhelming at times, and sometimes all I want to do is hide,
as would Jonelle. We have tried very hard lately to say no,
especially at night and on Sundays, as we retreat if we can to the
safety of the house. Slowly people are learning as we are setting
boundaries, but it still leaves the rest of the day to be pretty
hectic. I was commenting to Jonelle the other day that our calender,
which is usually full of events in America, is literally empty, but
yet we are run ragged everyday, without 5 minutes peace.

A Good Nights Rest

2008-08-07T04:44:00.000-07:00

The container shipment of tools and household supplies just recently
arrived for our last two months in the village. Included in this
shipment was our old cal king mattress, and another very new donated
full size mattress. We looked at them in awe like they were from
another planet not really believing that they had made it here, as if
we had forgotten what a mattress was. I say this because in the
village the standard bed consists of laminated wood or tubular metal
bed ends, a bed frame that really looks like some kind of medieval
torture device as it is a woven coil mess that is tensioned by two big
bolts on one end, and really one can never get it tight enough and the
result is a very saggy hammock. Then on top of the "spring" a
"mattress pad," which is usually old rags sewn together or some other
ugly mess, it is used to keep the rust from the "springs" from the
"mattress." The quotes are for emphasis since this is all such a far
cry from what you all would consider appropriate names for these
items. A picture of this "mattress" is included with this blog, it is
really a giant person sized pillow case stuffed full of, yes lambs
wool. This is not processed wool one might find in the US, it is
sheered washed a little and stuffed in the bag. We have seen our
neighbors spending days washing and putting the "mattress" back
together (after their young children pee on them), and now it is our
turn. Since we have real mattresses now for ourselves and the boys,
who are sharing the full by sleeping in it sideways, we are washing
Franks mattress, before we return it since he also did a bit of pee
pee in his. We are on our third load now as we speak and you can see
how much is left, I don't even think we have washed half of it yet.
The worst part is that you can not see how much dirt, sand, and dust
is actually in this thing. I finally understand very clearly why my
asthma has been so bad ever night since we have been living and
breathing the clean village air. I have actually been sleeping on and
under a sort of sand bag, like a dirty vacuum cleaner bag, since the
top blanket is more of the same just a little thiner as it is sewn
flat. Judi has been gracious enough to sleep in the remaining bed
that actually does have some what of a decent modern mattress, and we
all have "fresh" donated used sheets and blankets from America.
Personally my body rejected the firm mattress and I tossed and turned
all night, but the second night, oh the second night. It was
absolutely wonderful, no inhaler before bed and in the middle of the
night, no puff of dust every time I moved and the bed was actually
flat and smooth all night. Having a good nights rest has changed all
of our attitudes and outlooks. Although we are generally very tired
and sore everyday from life here, it is very nice to actually be able
to have a good nights rest a top a real mattress.

PG&E in the village

2008-07-31T00:58:00.000-07:00

Today was Frank's 3rd birthday, and we didn't have power for about 8
hours. Jonelle was left with one cake ready, one in the oven uncooked
and one not yet prepared. We served small pieces to about 30
neighbors, adults and kids and it worked out okay. As night
approached my very American wife came to me and said, "what will we do
about our food in the refrigerator, we still don't have power." I
began to ask around and I heard from one neighbor that our transformer
(1/3 of the village) burned up, and that we wouldn't have power for
days.
So that neighbor and I worked out a plan to run power from his house
where they did have power, but before we executed, we thought maybe we
should ask the town electrician or the equivalent of the electrical
side of PG&E. The younger brother came to our aid and said that I was
the first to complain after 8 hours (that is almost 100 families who
didn't say anything!) So we went up to check the transformer and
after smelling something burnt, flipping a few switches and nothing
happening we gave up and headed back down. We were met by the older
brother who (usually collects our power money when ever he needs
money, there is no real schedule), and he was carrying a pair of
pliers and some thin wire in his back pocket. He suggested we grab a
pair of rubber gloves and a flashlight, so we did and up again we went.
On the 10,000 volt side, of the transformer, (the dangerous side,
that they are not supposed to work on) we found two of the two three
phases were burt out, and by burned out I mean a wire not much thicker
than a strand of hair that stretched about 2 feet was missing. I
found it very hard to believe that the power for a third of the
village ran through such a thin wire, which acted as fuse. Looking
closely I saw that this was not the first time this had happened as
there were about twenty old wires still tangled about, as the older
brother was yelling at the younger brother who was cleaning it up, to
leave the mess and hurry up. A couple of switches were thrown and the
lights brightened in the houses around us. I left the gloves as a
thank you, and said that next time if we don't have power for five
minutes I'm coming to your house to tell you.
To continue my description of the other half of PG&E, we recently had
gas run to the house, by some "independent contractors" from the
village. I use the term loosely because we are still not sure really
how much they over charged us. Although according to the official
paper work they showed us, we along with our neighbors bargained the
price down about 20% over coffee on our balcony, yet other neighbors
said we paid too much, and others said they are waiting until it is
free (which may never be). One mayor of a neighboring village,
refused to let anyone of his villagers pay to have gas run, insisting
to the authorities that it should be run with out payment, they still
don't have gas. What ever the case, these guys hooked us up, we still
haven't done any paperwork and we have gas, which Jonelle is enjoying
very much, by the way as her fingernails have returned to their normal
soot free color.
The exciting part of the gas experience was hooking up to the main
low pressure line, which runs along the street parallel to the high
pressure line. The welder was using an oxygen/astatine type torch
although the astatine I think was some other gas he produce from
dropping a manufactured "rock," that they call carbide, into a
pressure tank filled with water. Once he had all the welding done he
came back to the main low pressure line, welded a short piece of pipe
to the line that would fit into the larger line we ran to the house.
Then with a metal punch and hammer he proceeded to create a hole
inside of that fitting, and gas began to spew forth. Once the hole
was large enough he fitted the larger pipe over, gas still hissing
out, and lit his torch. Needless to say a ball of fire flamed in the
very area he had to weld, and for about 10 minutes he welded in the
flames. Just as he was finishing and people were congratulating us on
having gas and wishing us well, one of the oldest men in the village
silently walked by with a giant wrench in his hand, and everyone was
yelling around him that the water was going to be cut off.
So poetic justice in Armenia, just as we got gas, our water was cut
off, only to be rationed for a few hours each day, this was to go on
for the next two months while the water was diverted for watering
potatoes. Thinking I could beat the system, a few days later I
installed a water storage tank in the basement to accumulate water,
and a pump to create the pressure to lift the water and fire the gas
powered hot water heater. Then as you read above the power went out
and we didn't have any water either! So this is our life here in
Armenia in the village. But, just when we tried to complain about the
conditions, we were told that they lived without power, gas and
minimal water for over five years after independence in 1991, and that
they are all use to things not being. So we are grateful for what we
do have, and trying to make the best of PG&E in the village.

Harvest time

2008-07-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

Things are happening in the village, its grass harvesting time.
Everyone is talking about it making plans, working out schedules,
watching the weather, and harvesting their weeds. There are pretty
much three things here, animals (cows in particular), potatoes
(harvested in September), and grass (straw, weeds, flowers, what ever
you want to call it). Most people that have animals have grass, and
the ratio is about a hectare (2 acres or 2 football fields) for 5
cows. This year the grass is tall about 2 feet almost three, there
are combines that cut the straw and there are bailing machines, but
there is an exceptional amount of harvesting that is done the old
fashion way with a sickle, rake and pitch fork.
In the morning men go out walking a couple of kilometers (little over
a mile) to their fields with long sickles slung over their shoulders,
a small cellophane bag of food, and a small bench in their hand. At
first I thought the bench was to sit on for lunch or a rest, and I
have seen this, but a closer look and an explanation revealed that
there is actually a small anvil attached to the bench. The cutting
edge of the sickle is hammered out to remove dents from rocks and to
be made thiner for easy sharpening with the stone they carry in their
pockets. If you are going to swing a sickle around all day it better
be sharp to be most effective. Then there is the raking with over
sized wooden tooth rakes (usually women help out with this) and then
their is the pitch forking on to trucks or carts pulled by tractors,
horses, donkeys, or even people. All day long trucks bring bails
back to the village, to be stored with this loose straw for the
animals to eat for the winter.
There is so much work gathering straw that there are hardly any
interruptions to our work, and I have taken the time to finish up some
of the lingering projects on the house we are living in. Wether there
or one of the other houses, the work days are long and like the guys
cutting straw all day I look forward to a good nights rest at the end
of a long day.

Neighbors

2008-07-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

So to continue my description of village life let me talk about our
neighbors for just a little while. We live along what used to be the
main road of the village 15 years ago just down from the school two
houses before the river which bisects the village in the opposite
direction thus marking the center of the old village.
Lets start at this cross, on our side of the road, working to the
school, we have Anoosh (which is really a girls name but short for his
real name), he, his wife and daughter tend the "neighborhood store."
They have two cars, and about 15 cows, he employs a handful of his
friends and neighbors in construction projects in neighboring
villages. They are one of the "richest" families in the village.
Next we have Satenik, who is a widow only after a few years of
marriage and she is 82 years old, her only sibling, died serving in
WWII and she lives in a metal shipping container next to us. She
really doesn't have any relatives and the weeds in the yard that she
just harvested plus a Social Security type payment, are her only
sources of income. The other neighbors really help her out as much as
they can, from what I can tell.
Special note, below Satenik off of the main road lives Vaho and Rita,
and their two sons (who are in Russia working, Edgar is one of them).
They truly are the most genuine family, and we really enjoy their
company. I can go on and on about how great they are but I would
rather complain about the next couple of neighbors a little more.
Next to us is Ashot and Zoghe, they have two daughters married with
children one living in the village and the other in a different
village outside of Gyumri, their only son is serving in the Army for
one more year, Ashots mother, Araks Tat, also lives with them. If our
house was "house 1" to be remodeled theirs is "house 2", and with no
one else really around I am over a lot helping Ashot. He works as a
railway tunnel guard, 24 hour shifts about every 4th day, he and about
20 others from the village are employed to make sure no one blows up
the train tunnel, not a real exciting job. Ashot was a "rich kid"
growing up when the earthquake destroyed all that his father had left
him he like many others fell apart and turned to drinking, and has not
stopped since. Ashot is a drunk and is drunk most of the time. In
Armenia you aren't really considered a drunk unless you are drinking
alone, so as long as all of his drunk buddies are drinking with him it
is okay to consume over a liter of Vodka every day. When Ashot is
craving a drink and no one else is around he will try to stop what
ever I am doing and say lets eat. It didn't take long to realize that
eating equals drinking every time, a person really doesn't say come on
lets have a drink. Ashot is really pretty incapable initiating any
project on the house, he can bring tools and buckets of water and mix
concrete, and carry rocks, that is about it. Zoghe works as hard if
not harder than most other village women, cooking, cleaning, and
tending the animals and potato fields. Today Zoghe and Araxs Tat,
both washed up, and changed their clothes. This was the first time in
over a month that we have been here that Arax tat changed her clothes.
"House 3" is next and it is Ishkan and Aysa, and their three sons
( Jirar, Hamayak, and Hapersoom), two of whom are married, and they
have two grandsons, David and Garen. Ishkan lost is right arm working
on the trains, Jirar was born with something that makes him a little
slower and awkward, but still very sharp, and Hamayak lost his left
leg below the knee during the earthquake 17 years ago. If Ishkan
isn't over my shoulder talking and giving advice, or his grandkids
aren't stealing tools and constantly on top of me, I wonder where they
are. Really, David would be on a double dose of Riddalin if he were
in the states. The three women are constantly busy working around of
the house, occasionally we'll see them chasing after the kids, who
don't come when they are called and are often shooed away like dogs by
other adults. Jirar takes the families 11 cows out with the other
cows 11 days a month, Hmayak works construction 8 hours out side of
the village in Karaghbagh, and Hamparsoom, works repairing the rail
line. These guys are very capable of working and are doing a great
job on the house. They are very conservative Christians who don't
drink, smoke, dance or listen to music, (except Hamayak who rebels
against everything).
House 4, and 5 are further away, but I do have an honorable mention,
Sas is about 10 years old but functions more like a 5 year old, he is
over every day all day, he is very obedient but forgets very quickly,
so we find ourselves repeating things over and over for Sas, and David
and Garen (for them because they just don't listen). There are lots
of other neighbor kids that come over, but these three play in our
yard more than our own kids do.
So there you have it, I feel better knowing that you know. Please
pray for patients for us as seek to serve God and be his witness here
in this village.

Dirty Fingernails

2008-07-11T01:31:00.000-07:00

In the village we have 24 hour high pressure water (this is big
considering that many parts of Yerevan only have water a couple of
hours per day). The other thing is that we have electricity most of
the time, it usually only goes out for a hour each day. Gas was
brought to the village this winter via above ground pipes along the
main roads (standard for Armenia), the responsibility of running the
smaller pipes to each house is left to individual homeowners and their
own finances. We are just now learning about the process and are soon
to pay for the line to be run to our house and from there our
neighbors will pay to run it to their houses. For the last month we
have been using a 20 kg (44 lb.) butane tank (about three times the
size of US BBQ tanks), for cooking, washing dishes, showering, and
heating the house. Needless to say we empty the tank about once a
week, and I take it to get refilled in either Gyumri or Spitak both
about 20 minutes away. All but one refilling station causes a black
soot to form on the bottom of our pans. This black soot is the
transfered to other dishes in the sink while washing, and then to our
towels when drying. Jonelle's rubber gloves are back from the soot
and after one month of living like this her fingernails seem to have a
permanent reverse French manicure with black tips instead of white.
Believe it or not this one thing drives home the magnitude of what we
have done, in bringing an American city girl to an Armenian Village.
As far as these two lives are worlds apart, my wife has embraced her
role, and serves our family with out grumbling or complaining. With
dirty fingernails, she loves our family, she loves and serves our
neighbors, she teaches our children and our children's friends. It is
a pleasure to live and serve here with Jonelle and I thank God for her.

刺 Embroidery 繡2008/7/8 下午 01:43:15 contradictbadccabi@fred.net

2008-07-07T22:43:00.000-07:00

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Life in the Village

2008-07-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

I have been reflecting on what we thought village life would be like
vs what it really is like, and thought this might be a good topic to
explore in a blog since we have had so few lately.

The first is the weather, we were told it could get up to -35 (F & C
are the same at that temperature) in the winter, we experiences some
of that freezing weather on a trip there in February, and have heard
plenty of stories about the harsh 6+ month winters. This was part of
our decision to winter in the US starting in October. Generally in
Armenia the winters are dry and summers are wet, like the East Coast
in the US. In the village this translates into frequent thunder
storms, which were every day for about 10 days when we moved in during
June. General humidity causes condensation on everything in the
house, the walls are drying VERY slowly from all of the plaster and
concrete work that had been done during the remodeling process and
every two or so days we are wiping MOLD off the walls. At night
sometimes our "dry" sheets feel like they just came out of the wash.
The one good thing is that the summer high doesn't get above 80 F and
the air is clear. while people are sweating and choking in Yerevan we
are enjoying a very temperate summer in the village.

The next thing is the cows, we knew this was the livelihood of most
people in the village but to experience that on a daily basis is
something else. At sunrise (about 7 AM) the cows get milked and are
herded out to the hills by shepherds, then before sunset (about 8 PM)
the cows are brought back to be milked again. If a family does not
participate in the shepherd rotation they pay about $5 per cow per
month for the service. There are about 50 cows that go out with about
5 shepherds. Sheep are a different industry, they are kept in large
buildings above the village, by just a few families, and one shepherd
can handle about 100 sheep, so the monthly pay for this job is only
about $1 per sheep per month. Back to the cows, the morning milk is
usually used by the family to drink, to make yogurt, or cheese, if
there is surplus it is sold. In the morning and the evening about the
same time each day a vehicle slowly makes its way down the village
main roads where women stand with their buckets full of milk, the
going rate is about $0.30/Liter or $1.15 gallon. The women usually
stand together as neighbors and I have seen them waiting into the dark
of night usually about an hour sometimes as much as two. The cows use
the roads (dirt and rock) more than cars do and they generally have
the right away, which goes something like this: cows, sheep, cars,
people, dogs, chickens. Then there is the dung, the indoor pens have
to be cleaned everyday, the dung is spread in flat pile to dry in the
sun. Often it is rolled and compressed each day. This time of year
the dry dung is cut up into squares and stacked to create round towers
to dry further, to be used in as heating fuel in the winter. Cutting
and stacking dung is a job usually done by older women in the family
(80 year old grandmothers that look like they are 100). So with all
this dung you can understand the village has a general smell of poop!

After cows comes potatoes, everyone grows them and everyone eats them,
every day and in every form possible! They plant, then hoe their
fields, water and wait, then they harvest, enough for the whole year.

Then fresh bread is made once a week, in family teams as one rolls out
the dough, the other is sitting over a clay lined hole in the ground
with a fire burning in the bottom. They are making lavash, Armenian
flat bread. We reap fresh bread milk and cheese sometimes, but mostly
we are still buying most of our food from the cities half an hour a
way in either direction.

One more thing is the weeds which grow wild everywhere, the worst of
these is the stinging nettle which sends the kids in running for anti
itch cream. Some crazy locals eat the stuff and even rub it on their
skin to make them immune or tougher, who knows. The flowers this time
of year are very beautiful (bright yellow, white, orange, and purple
flowers. They have already started cutting the fields to be bailed
and stored up for the winter, and they are doing this by hand with
giant sickles, talk about 50 years ago!

I will leave village hospitality and neighbor relations for part two
of this series, until then...

-Kalem

Work Projects update

2008-06-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

We just completed the second week of work projects with 10 volunteers
the first week and 15 the second week, a very full and rewarding two
weeks. We worked on our two neighbors houses, filling rocks and sand
into kitchens and bathrooms to raise them up to match the floor grade,
and then mixing and pouring concrete all via bucket brigade. The job
that never seemed to end was lifting dirt up to the attic of one of
the houses to be used as insulation. All of our volunteers had great
attitudes and all did great work, even our parents! We are now in
Yerevan to spend the last few days with the group before they head
back, then it will be back to the village for more work. We are still
without internet there, but hope to have it in July sometime. We
enjoy your emails and comments, and will try to fill in some blogs
with the great stories we have of village life.

Tsavet Danem

2008-06-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

"Tsavet danem" literally means, "I take your pain." Although the
modern usage of this phrase has drifted much from the original
meaning, it is easier to see this phrase lived out in the lives of the
people of Armenia. As neighbor helps neighbor, as burdens are shared
and bared, and labor is taken up together.
Although I was not here for the earthquake in 1988, I do remember
exactly where I was when I heard about it. Fourteen years old serving
as a candle holder in St. Gregory Church in Fowler, Father George
Arakelian announced that an 8.9 earthquake struck near the town of
Spitak in Northern Armenia. I had no idea then that I would be
rebuilding those very homes that were destroyed, and to live and
witness the devastation day after day 20 years later. I had no idea I
would be so enmeshed in lives of these people struggling to survive.
I have come to understand what it means to say tsavet danem as I work
hand in hand with my own neighbors rebuilding their homes and
encouraging them to persevere.
Story after story, live after live, changed in a moment forever.
Homes destroyed, children losing parents, parents losing children,
husbands, wives, loss of limbs, loss of purpose, never to be the
same. It is almost to much to comprehend such tragedy, living in
tents through the winter, then shipping containers, and still. This
burden was taken up by the world, as country after country came to
little Armenia to rebuild and yet the pain is still there. Then homes
are still not complete, families are broken, and the people bear the
scars of this tragedy. We say tsavet danem as we lift them up and
bear their burden with them.

Update on village life

2008-06-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

We have survived the first week in the village, and one of the next
families has already begun work on their house. The next couple
families will be soon to follow. The kids are cycling trough colds,
fevers, and various allergic reactions to the plants and food. It is
a very cold and wet environment and our house is even more humid from
all of the construction work. If you could please pray that we all
get and stay well, especially the kids who are particularly sensitive.
Things have been pretty busy settling in to the house, meeting our new
neighbors, and helping on their home construction. We hope to have
more blogs soon!

We've moved to the Village!

2008-06-06T02:56:00.000-07:00

We have moved to the village. We have a flushing toilet a shower and
hot water, but as of yet no internet. You can call us via
international calling card (specific Armenia cards can be found at
armenian delis and grocery stores) 37425560308. We receive voice
messages on our Fresno phone number via our email. Our postal address
is Kalem Kazarian, Lusaghbyur Village, Lori Region, Armenia,
094652088. We hope to continue to update the blog site as we make
trips into town, and of course we love getting emails and comments
from you. Our email addresses are our (first name)@(our last
name).net and we hope to find a way to get internet here, until then
there will be delays between our blog posts and replies to emails. We
have plenty of new and even better stories so keep checking. We
welcome our first volunteer Linda Shekerjian who will be helping for
the month of June, and are expecting our family and friends for
touring and working in the middle of June.

Problem at the Zoo!

2008-05-26T02:08:00.000-07:00

When we were leaving the zoo we actually saw a zoo employee. They
were yelling and screaming at us and pointing vigorously. We looked
around us to see if one of the children were missing but they were all
there or if one of the kids had picked something up and walked away
with it, but no they hadn't. We were totally confused but the man
kept pointing at Peter and Frank and then pointing back toward the
zoo. Kalem tried to calm him down so he could try and understand what
he was ranting and raving about in Armenian. Apparently he thought we
were trying to smuggle animals out of the zoo. Of course we did not
want to have the authorities brought in (you know how it is in Mexican
prisons? Well I don't and I didn't want to find out about Armenian
ones either!) Kalem pulled out his wallet to try and settle this the
good old fashion Armenian way, but the man persisted even though he
thought about the drams for a moment. NO! He insisted he must have
the animals...they were zoo property. So we had to obey. If you want
to see Peter and Frank, remember it only costs $1.00 for adults and
kids are free (although the airfare gets pricey in the summer!)
Having fun at everyone's expense! JONELLE: )

Zoo Pics

2008-05-23T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Zoo

2008-05-23T11:38:00.001-07:00

Yes, we went to the Yerevan Zoo, or Gazannanotz (Beast Place) today.
I must say it was quite an experience. We paid $2.00 entrance fee
(that was for Kalem and Me and the kids were free), and found our way
into the park. I half jokingly said to Kalem, "Where are the maps?"
when we glanced up and saw a beautiful 5' x 8' painting of the map of
the zoo with each animal in it's quadrant. We ambled our way up the
path and the first "Beasts" we saw were bears; they were blonde
bears...(perhaps Russians who didn't leave after the 1991 collapse?).
There were two of them, one relaxing with his back against the side
wall and the other pacing back and forth in front of the 6 foot
wide"stream" that flowed through their den. The bear seemed to be
quite interested in her reflection in the water or just a nervous
hadiff, I'm not sure which. We walked on and to the right, saw quite
a collection of the cannes family; foxes, wolves, jackals, hyaenas,
and dogs, yep just household or wild shoons! They all had grotesque
parts of dead animals to feast upon, but the section could be a leg or
ribcage or some unidentifiable mystery meat. On our left, which was
the center strip of the park landscape were deers, a small lake with a
single swan and other crane-type birds, two camels in desperate need
of a comb down and my favorite the elephant (of course the elephant
pen was sponsored by Grand Candy, the confett conglomerate of Armenia
selling everything from delicious chocolates, hard candy, flavored
coffee, ice cream, etc and the Grand Candy mascot is a huge pink
peegh...that's Armenian for elephant but sounds like pig!) There were
a number of equine exhibits, many big cats, and yes they did have a
household cat too...gadoo! Peter's favorite was, of course the lions,
2 males and one female and the vagker (tiger) unfortunately they were
all asleep! and Judi loved the peacock and peahens but would not
believe me when I told her the beautiful bird with the fanned out
plumage was a boy. She insisted that GRANDMA told her the beautiful
one was a Girl! I could not believe the gorgeous vultures, stately
eagles and colorful birds unknown to me before. This was quite a
unique place in so many ways. For instance, there was a nice "train"
that had two passenger cars and a man who drove paying customers
around the park. In reality there was no track, the driver; a 45 year
old, relatively tall man crammed behind the wheel, smoking a cigarette
(I mean that is a given) and doing about 25 MPH with toddlers and
grandmas holding on for dear life, honking as he drove through
pedestrians. Most parks and especially zoos have signs, restrictive
bars and park personnel to prohibit untoward activity with or near the
animals. Amazingly enough there were NO park attendants ANYWHERE.
The only people in the zoo were vendors selling food & carnival toys,
old women with their cupfuls of black unsalted sunflower seeds, and
the visitors to the park. And that was the problem. We learned that
the zoo is a place for small children with their whole family, lovers,
and groups of Neanderthal men trying to impress each other or show
off...not a good mix, but when you are in a beast place I suppose one
likes to act like a beast! There were groups of these smart guys
throwing rocks at the wolves, chunks of sweet bread to a ram and the
the worst of all was a dagha mart who threw his half drunk 24oz Coke
into the cage of an old baboon. He offered the primate a cigarette
first but then decided it would be more fun to poison the poor thing
with soda instead. Of course, the baboon took the bottle opened it,
poured it out and started lapping up the brown syrup. Kalem pulled me
away before I could intervene! Next there was Christmas music playing
in the park cafe in the middle of Spring and in ENGLISH. But probably
the most disconcerting and then slightly humorous thing was the rats.
Yes RATS. No they did not have a specific rat display or habitat, no
they just had a lot of...rats. The rats had burrowed holes in and out
of the rare bird section, dined on the porcupine carrots and cabbage,
ate the seeds and grains served to the peacocks. In a word they were
everywhere. Kalem said, "There are more rats in the place than
animals!" But the day was lovely, the weather beautiful, the ice
cream cold and creamy and time with Kalem and my three little beasts
was the best...rats, crazy drivers, foolish boys and all. Enjoy the
pictures and see if you can find the Rats! Jonelle; )

The Top 10 Things We Wish Were NOT in Armenia

2008-05-22T05:02:00.000-07:00

10. Smog and relatively few clear days

9. Mafia (this lumps in everyone who gets away with NOT obeying the
law)

8. Corrupt Cops (they are not the norm but they give a bad name to
the clean ones)

7. Litterbugs (There is way too much trash in this BEAUTIFUL land
of ours...I am going on a crusade!)

6. Burning Trash (They might not use pesticides here but the air
filled with toxic burning plastic bottles can't be healthy!)

5. Potholes (sometimes it seems like more are added each night to
test pole position driving skills...NOT helpful)

4. Fully Tinted Car Windows (I mean ALL the windows, even the
WINDSHIELD, black as night.)

3. Armenian Rap (I guess once you stop laughing the music is almost
bearable)

2. Armenian Brandy Filled-Crucifixes (I mean this is in poor taste
and sacrilegious)

1. The Evil Eye (This is seen everywhere in Armenia a blue eyeball
set in gold or wood, etc. hanging on doorposts, rearview mirrors,
BABIES!!! Okay so if we rest on the fact that we are the 1st
Christian Nation then, why are we hanging on to superstitions?

Loving my homeland but saying it like it is! Jonelle; )

Waiting in Line

2008-05-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

There are two main places we find ourselves waiting in line, the
grocery store and stoplights. The funny thing is that lines or
queue's don't really exist in Armenia, it is more of mob scene every
time. From what I have been told it is a repercussion of Soviet time
food lines, people weren't sure what line they were standing in so
they would just crowd towards the front to find out. On my first
trips to Armenia I was welcomed by this mob mentality in the airport,
and although with good position originally I found myself one of the
last to go through. Thanks to the terminal at the airport things are
much better now.
Driving here has introduced some other line waiting issues. The
winter snow and sand just about erase the painted lines leaving lanes
up to the drivers imagination. This is particularly intensified at
traffic lights due to several reasons. Left and right turn lanes are
often combined with the option to go straight, and cars waiting to
turn back up the cars trying to go straight. So extra lanes are
usually assumed as drivers pole for unhindered positions, the other
problem is the furthest right lane is often filled with parked cars
and sometimes double parked cars. Probably the worst and most
unpredictable are the mashutkas (public transportation vans), that
pull over and back into traffic so randomly, and are often stacked two
or even three deep into the road. The next problem is the impatient
drivers, usually new black BMW's and Mercedes with black windows, that
will pull out into on coming traffic to cut in front of all of the
cars waiting at the light. Let me just throw in the frequent
accidents, stalled cars, erratic police driving, and lets not forget
road construction and all of the potholes.
In grocery stores from small neighborhood shops to large chain
supermarkets, the "express lane" is missing, this is because every
lane is an express lane. If you want a pack of cigarets you can cut
in line, if you have just one item you can cut in line, if you act
like you are in a big hurry you can cut in line, if you are too cool
to wait in line, you can cut in line. After months of this behavior,
our sweet patient Jonelle had just about enough, and she snapped. We
had just filled our kiddy sized shopping cart with about thirty items
from the cramped downtown supermarket chain, and had them all loaded
on the checkout belt. Just before the checker started an older man
stepped in front of Jonelle and handed his item to the cashier.
Jonelle gave a hard look of frustration and rage that translated very
well into Armenian, and the man said in Armenian "I'm going ahead, if
your not getting too angry." The frustrated Jonelle, started out in
Armenian just let him have it in English. "I'm not ANGRY!" "I'm just
tiered of everyone always cutting in line!" By this time he had
already paid and was walking out the door, with nothing left to say.
I had a good laugh about the multilingual exchange and enjoyed seeing
my wife hold her own.
There was another time I tried to pick up a package at the post
office, and I learned that mail and packages are only about 1% of what
they did. This was the place where people received their social
security, pensions, and other governmental benefits, and it was also
the place where they paid their electricity, gas, and water bills.
The lady giving out the money was backed up about 10 deep (this is
really ten wide as everyone was crowding the counter), and in walks an
old grandmother, straight to the counter and even pushed a few of us
out of the way to get right in the face of the lady with the money.
There is no comment from anyone about the crowding, it is just
accepted. When I saw that I had lost my place as second in line and
was now something like 11th I decided to leave and come back later,
but before I did I saw most, if not all, of the government money get
recycled back through the other lady to pay utility bills. When I did
come back later they didn't even have the package there it was at a
central office, where there was more waiting for a special tag (kept
in a safe) to be filled out with my passport information, stamped and
signed twice, before the package was released!
All this to say three months in and there are still many things we
are still getting used to, and some that we might never understand...

Amazing Armenia

2008-05-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

2008-05-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

When we came to Hyestan there was major upheaval due to the
Presidential elections. There were protests; peaceful and not,
propaganda on every side, and it was reported that 8 people died in
one up-rising near the Opera. Some stores were looted and vandalized
and many people were injured in the fray. I know all of you around
the globe were worried for us and called or emailed your concerns.
Others planning trips to Armenia in the Spring and Summer actually
canceled their reservations! We were saddened by the actions of a few
that caused so much turmoil here for a few weeks and very sad that
some will not come here because of these events. Granted a rioting
nation is not the ideal vacation spot BUT we are ARMENIANS! We all
make a lot of noise, cause problems, yell, are stubborn and want our
way at all costs...these are detrimental traits and also ones that
have kept our nation and our people alive and well for thousands of
years. The other thing we Armenians can do REALLY well is PARTY!
These Hot Air Balloons were floating up and down over Republic Square
and beyond for inauguration day and a few days following. There was a
laser light show in the evening of the inauguration and music with the
balloons nesting in the Square for the spectacle. At precisely 10:00
pm the fireworks began, huge, exploding canopies of color and booming
sounds filled the night air. (Note: for some reason Armenians like
Fireworks...I mean REALLY like them. I personally have seen no less
than 10 4th of July-esk celebrations in the sky since February!) It
was a tremendous celebration honoring the man that would take
governance of Armenia; who was the center of controversy the month
before. So...rebook your flights and come and see the beauty, wonder,
insanity, and life that is Armenia. (I have been paid BIG $$$$ by the
Armenian Tourist Association (ATA) for this endorsement, I just wanted
to disclose this before you come and see me driving around in a fully
tinted, black ice, H2, with RED license plates!) Jonelle;)

Pentecost Sunday

2008-05-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday when we Christians remember and
celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to all those who believe in
Jesus as their Lord and Savior and the birthday of the Church. The
story in Acts 2 is tremendous, replete with a howling and violent
wind, tongues of fire, people enabled to speak in languages that were
not their native tongues and Jews from around the ancient world
hearing the Good News of Jesus in their own tongue. The Apostle Peter
then stood up and preached to the masses and 3,000 people believed on
Jesus and were baptized! This Sunday we attended The Yerevan
International Church which is gold among the treasures of Armenia.
This Fellowship assembles Christians, literally from around the globe,
to worship Jesus in a smallish upper room in ENGLISH! The only
travesty is that we discovered this haven much too late in our stay in
Yerevan! We met and worshiped with Armenians from Armenia and
Glendale; with Indians...from INDIA, Dutch from the Netherlands,
Germans, Mid-Westerners, Africans--Yes, from AFRICA! I have not yet
figured out all the other nations represented but we with one voice
sang, prayed, listened to God's Word, and worshipped our Lord Jesus
Christ who is King, Sovereign and Lover of His whole Creation!!!
Pentecost must have been an AWESOME experience but we tasted the fruit
of what God intended and what we will experience in heaven forever! A
tremendous and wondrous blessing from God! We are far away but closer
than we realize! Loving you all in Jesus Name and worshiping the SAME
GOD OF THE UNIVERSE! Jonelle;)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

2008-05-11T04:15:00.000-07:00

This is a Top Ten List dedicated to our Mom's, Elaine & Jane on Mother's Day. We realized that we wouldn't be in Armenia WITHOUT THEM! Of course they gave birth to us but they also instilled many things in us that have helped us get here, survive here, & thrive here in Armenia. (I know they are both shaking their head's and saying, "They're blaming this on us!?!" : ) We love you both dearly and cherish you as our mothers. We also want to pay tribute to our Grandmothers too! Geganoosh (Gertie) Kazarian and Isabelle Najarian, whom are still blessing us with their lives on earth and Grace Garo & Lillie Karabian who proclaim God's greatness and majesty in heaven. (Don't worry we have another list for Father's Day!)

10. Talk to EVERYONE.

9. Be HELPFUL & SMILE.

8. Be ADAPTABLE.

7. Act SHNORKOV (in other words BEHAVE).

6. Love of TRAVEL (they both love to see the world).

5. ADVENTUROUS (they don't want to leave any rock unturned).

4. Be JARBIG (go after what you want without being shy).

3. Throw the BEST PARTIES

2. LEAN ON THE LORD AND USE GOOD JUDGEMENT

1. For goodness sake have on the right SHOES!

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18

Thank you MOMS for EVERYTHING! and for a special treat read this wonderful short story by a good friend SHARLA SEIDEL and take action! Love Jonelle; )

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/valley_voices/story/590103.html

Top 10 Best Things About Armenia

2008-05-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

10. Walking right up to monuments, climbing on tanks, airplanes, etc
that would all be off limits in the States.

9. Ice Cream literally on every corner (I guess this is good and
bad!!)

8. Darling individual pastries and cakes for less than $1.00 (La
Boulangerie would charge about $5 for the same thing.)

7. No Car-Seats required (again good and bad!)

6. $0.50 Soorj available EVERYWHERE...(note---soorj or cafe is all
they call it...not Armenian Coffee AND Armenian's in Armenia have NO
problem admitting they got it from the TURKS...so get a grip in
the diaspora!

5. Delicious ORGANIC* fruits and veggies (*much more on this later!)

4. Shoe repair for less than $1.00!

3. 24 Hour SHOE STORES!!!!! (note for those of you who know my
Imelda side...I only have 5 pairs of shoes here...it's almost like
suffocating : )

2. 9 Holidays in May with Full-On FIREWORKS EVERYTIME!!!

1. CHOCOLATE BUTTER!!!! (No explanation needed!!)

50% of my list is about food...I MUST BE ARMENIAN!
Enjoy Jonelle;)

Only In Armenia!

2008-05-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

One Sunday after church Kalem took the family to a place where both tourists and locals frequent; Haghtanak Igee (Victory Park). Mayr Hayastan is there in all her glory, decommissioned tanks, an airplane, rocket launcher, and other military goodies. Also there is one of the best vistas of Mt. Ararat (when you can actually see it) that takes your breath away! The first few times we drove by Victory Park, I thought it was nothing really, just a tufa block fence and long-worn-out signs in Russian and Armenian on either side of the entrance way. From our house in Nork Marash we can see Mother Armenia and a Ferris Wheel near-by her. It was only weeks later that I realized Haghtanak Igee was a fully functional park and that the huge Mother Armenia statue overlooking Yerevan and the Ferris Wheel were in the same place. That Sunday we parked and walked down the concrete slab tiles (2 1/2' square with grass growing between the 3" spacing). Trees lined the walk and vendors spotted the way selling cheap toys and plastic jewelry. As the walkway continued up to a circle other vendors sold popcorn and cotton candy. Once we reached the circle we noticed three "British" looking cars from the 40's. Apparently for a few hundred drams (a few dollars) one can "rent" the car. That is to say, a person (any age or so it seemed) would pay to drive the car around the circle and down a street perpendicular to the walkway. We were almost plowed over by a 12 year-old commandeering one of these two-toned autos. Past the circle the walkway continued; food vendors and rides were the next attractions. The first ride we saw looked to be an abandoned dinosaur roller coaster. The track followed a semi-circular pattern with undulating hills and valleys. The dinosaur had five cars holding four people in each section. Each car had a "hold-on-for-dear-life-bar" but no safety restraints to speak of. In the center section of coaster were long metal dowels connecting the dinosaur to one main hub in the middle of the weeds. The metal platform and guardrails were painted green at one time, but rust and weather had taken their toll. But the most disturbing thing about this dino-coaster was that they USE IT!!! In fact, Judi, Peter, Frank and I made our way up the metal staircase to board the roller coaster with much excitement and a pinch of FEAR. The ride attendant (who looked like some guy off the street) took our 200 drams (per person) and then went to his booth. No checking to see if we were safe inside our cars. No strapping our seat-belts tightly...because THERE ARE NO SEAT-BELTS! No, he just went to his little stool, lit a cigarette and pushed the green "GO" button. Praise God we got off alive! There were other ramshackle rides and little cafes with overpriced food just like Disneyland only without the $$$$ entrance fee, gorgeously manicured lawns, colorful characters and an electric light parade! Okay, so it's not like Disneyland at all, more like Rotary Park's Playland in Roeding Park, Fresno...only way more weeds.
We continued on and let the kids ride some tamer rides and then found a little building with one Skee-Roll type bowling game. For those of you who don't know, JOHN-L, that would be me, LOVES Skee-Roll and looks forward to playing in Santa Cruz every year. So we walk in and see a little old Armenian grandma with a tashkenak (handkerchief or as Frank calls it, a hanker ship) on her head, several layers of clothing, possibly 6 teeth, and slippers. We paid 500 drams ($1.66) for 5 balls to roll at bowling pins suspended from an arm above the game. As each of us took one roll Grandma would say, "Ahbrees" (Well done/good job) even to Frankie's roll right into the gutter and Peter's power roll that hopped the alley and landed on the other side of the booth! When Kalem rolled the final ball she motioned for us to come to the "PRIZE CENTER" which was a box 4"x8" and about 6" high. Inside were the following: 2 sets of "high fashion" jewelry, a heart shaped alarm clock, a plastic gun, 5 or so, hairbands, and some bracelets. Of course I took the clock! We continued to walk and made our way to Mayr Hayastan; she really is amazing with her gargantuan sword and shield and the view of Ararat was truly amazing that day. We even visited the Museum of the Ministry of Defense which is located underneath the Mother Armenia statue. We had "lunch" (ice cream & one koravadz) and then were making our way out of the park when something caught my eye...the park had quite a number of those "CLAW" machines; you know the ones you spend tons of money in to move the claw out to the very spot your favorite stuffed animal or toy is sitting. You've done it to...you get the claw all lined up and push the button for the three fingers to drop. You hit dead on your toy and the fingers grab your prize and start to ascend when before your very eyes the claw's grasp is not enough to bring the much desired goodie to the tray...you watch it slip out landing back into the pile of toys and dolls that will NEVER leave that house. Only in Armenia would you ever see one of these filled not with toys, stuffed animals, balls or caps, but with....CIGARETTES!!! If you don't believe me see for yourself. Never ceasing to be amazed...Jonelle;)

See For Yourself!

2008-05-08T04:45:00.000-07:00

Another trip to the Village

2008-05-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

The drive to the village was especially pretty this week, as the
temperatures dropped quite substantially, and a series of rain and
wind storms cleaned the smog out of the whole country. Yerevan is
built in a valley surrounded by hills to the North and East. Behind
those hills you can see that there is an even larger valley created by
Mt. Aragats to the North, Mt. Ara to the East, and Mt. Ararat
showcased to the Southeast. The mountains are all snow caped and
during the drive up and around the base of Aragats, I drove through
snow flurries in the town of Aparan (the halfway point).
Entering the town of Aparan a police tried in vain to pull me over
for speeding, I was probably going 65 kilometers per hour and I think
there might have been a sign saying it was 50 km/h. The siren and
flashing headlights were just not convincing enough for me and he only
moved his car about 50 meters, before giving up the "chase." I was on
the look out for the police on the other end of town but it wasn't
until after the next village did they stop me, this time they were out
of the car and flagging me down, again there was a special 50 km/h
sign, and they apparently clocked me at 84 km/h. I stayed in the car
with my seatbelt on and waited, a suggestion from a friend, who said
getting out of the car means you want to negotiate.
So, let me explain the driving rules I just learned, the open road
speed is 90 km/h, and town or village speed is 60 km/h, unless
otherwise posted. I tried to explain I thought it was an unfair speed
trap, coming around an uphill turn out of a village into a specially
marked danger zone, but that didn't work. They said the fine was
10,000 drams ($30), but would reduce it to 5,000 drams, this meant
from a ticket to a bribe. There are really three options, ticket,
bribe, and warning, since our goal is not to pay bribes, so I
continued to slowly deliberate with the police officers. Seeing I was
getting no sympathy with my standard pleas of just learning the rules,
and being here to help build homes for poor people, I tried my newest
tactic. I have a copy of all of the driving laws in Armenian, so I
brought it out and asked the police officers if they could show me
exactly which rule I broke and what the fine was. After about 30
seconds of flipping through the fine print, one officer shouted under
his breath, just give us money! To which I patiently waited for them
to show me the rule and 10 more seconds later he was handing all of my
documents back to me and saying don't drive fast anymore. I heeded
there warning and enjoyed the scenery, and drove 60 through remaining
villages and was passed by cars, trucks, and even a car with three
sheep in the back seat.
Lusaghbyur and two other villages nearby were without power for three
days, this stalled work on the house, and left Vartan and Vahan
freezing in the village with no heat and nothing to do, they retreated
to Vanadzor until the power returned. They have made quite a bit of
progress all interior walls are built, doors and windows are
installed, and rough electrical and plumbing is done, and the particle
board floor installed. The bathroom fell a little behind as they still
need to pour the concrete floor, then tile the floor and walls. They
were doing finish carpentry of baseboard and casing, and will paint
once the tile work in the bathroom is done.
After attempting to drive home late last week after being warned that
it was dangerous, I now agree that in Armenia in a Niva driving
outside of the city at night is dangerous. A person can hardly see
the white line in the center, and the edge of the road is even harder
to find, and other driver are just fine to pass with high-beams on,
the real fun came when some one tries to pass on a turn leaving little
road left to find in the dark. So I left early and in a 10 hour round
trip I was in the car for 6 hours, back before dark and glad to be
back with the family.

I Need A CHIROPRACTOR!!!

2008-05-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

Richard Garabedian where are you?!!!! I don't know if it is because I
haven't worked out consistently in over 2 months, or if it is because
I am hunched over using those blasted tumbleweed brooms made for
Munchkins, I'm sorry, Little People, or if it is because there are 3
potholes for every 3 meters (like that, I've gone metric!) of road and
the jarring is finally getting to me OR it could be a FEW things wrong
with my BED! Let me describe my previous sleeping arrangements in the
States...Kalem and I had a firm Cal-King mattress with a 3 inch
"Memory Foam" on top. 1,000,000 thread count, 100% Egyptian Cotton
sheets on a Half-Sleigh Bed made out of dark Mahogany wood, not that I
really remember sleeping in that bed, since it was over 2 months ago!
Please don't read snobbery in the description of what was formerly
know as "My Bed", just imagine comfort; sheer and utter nocturnal
bliss when I snuggled in with the sheets enclosing my face like a
hooded sweatshirt. And lest I be remiss to speak about my Pillow, my
Sweet, Sweet, SWEET pillow! It too is constructed of "Memory Foam"
matching the very curvature of my neck and holding my spine at
ergonomic perfection. (For those of you who would like to visit this
sleep shrine call 555-Circle K Ranch for visiting hours and admission
pricing; senior citizens discounts, food stamps and coupons are NOT
accepted!)
So a long day of sweeping like a hunchback, being thrown about in the
front seat of the Niva, and my lack of stomach and back strength all
play a role in my aching back and spine but the bed here really takes
the cake. As you recall ALL 5 of us SLEEP in THE SAME ROOM!!!!, I
know that many of you practice "co-sleeping" with your newborns up to
age...? But this is the whole lot of us like Rob Roy MacGregor or
something. Judi and Peter have "twin" beds (they are about 1/3
smaller than a twin in the US) and the head and footboards move in and
out at the slightest touch. Poor Frankie sleeps in between Jude and
Pete on one of those inflatable twin mattresses and as of late, every
morning we wake up to either the bed being totally flat or it has
deflated enough so that he has slid half-way (feet and legs) under
Judi or Peter's bed. Now, our bed; our bed looks like regal queen
size with a extra-super-high-high-gloss reddish, brown wood appearance
(it is really a styro-epoxy-foam frame with wood painting)and fancy
curls and swoops on the headboard. The mattress, sans box spring sits
on a 8" high black wood box, so it is quite low to the ground. The
mattress is a WELL WORN spring type and you can actually feel EACH and
EVERY individual spring. I have learned to negotiate a semi-
comfortable position with limited spring contact, BUT if by chance I
move in the dead of night I am reminded quickly and painfully not to
try that again. So the mattress is less than ideal but the pillows
are even more of a difficulty. The pillows that were on the queen
were "European" 2 1/2 Feet Square. At that size if we laid the
pillows down flat and placed our heads appropriately then our feet
were dangling quite uncomfortably over the edge at some distance. But
if we moved up on the pillows to fit inside the bed, then not only
were our heads on the pillows but so were our shoulders and arms down
to the elbow, and our ribcage...if you can't picture it...it is NOT a
very satisfying sleeping position. Also, I have heard of duck down or
goose down filled pillows, but I think they have the WHOLE BIRD in the
pillow too! Forget building houses. I am going to open a SLEEP
NUMBER or TEMPERPEDIC Shop on Abovyan!!!
Needless to say, after 2 1/2 months sleeping in these contorted
positions I am in desperate need of a chiropractor, Richard COME, NOW
PLEASE and bring my darling DEANNA and the luvy love girlie girls
too!!!! Until you get here I will try a massage...I have an
appointment today, my first ever in my life even though my sweet and
caring mother-in-law tried to gift this to me at least twice!!!
Thanks Mama Jane! Pray that it helps. Now please don't feel sorry
for me...after all if our lives were perfectly seemless what on earth
would we write about! God's Peace to you all and to all a Good NIGHT
(sleep)! Jonelle;)

A Strange Day

2008-05-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

May 1st is Labor Day in Armenia and other parts of the world, it fell
on a Thursday this year, so government offices, banks, and some stores
were closed. Even on Friday some stores and shops were closed and the
traffic was lighter. Then came Saturday, was probably the most
normal, with some kids returning to school (school is normal here on
Saturdays) but it was still a little strange as this holiday feeling
lingered. Then came Sunday, I was anxious to see what would happen as
I had heard that government offices would be open, and students would
be expected at school. Sure enough church attendance was a fraction
of what it is regularly and the city activity was more like a weekday
than a Sunday. In the evening traffic was a little lighter than usual
(only holidays and Sundays), as it seemed people tried to regain their
lost Sunday. All this crazy schedule changing to honor the workers by
making them work on Sunday! Needless to say it was the very topic of
the sermon. Making it the strangest of the four days.
We attended the an Armenian service in the morning and were told
about an English service that evening, so we went to both. The kids
receive grades for their behavior in church, 5 in Armenia is
equivalent to a A, and 4 is a B etc... The family average is about
2.5 usually. For some reason Peter pulled out a 5 this morning at the
Armenian service and we couldn't believe it (3 has been the family
high), then at the English service in the evening he managed a 0, with
shouts of "is it over yet," "this is too long," and "can we go
please!" during the sermon and prayer time. This English speaking
church service was also very strange with med students from India, and
other students from Asia and Africa, Non-Governmental Organization
(NGO) workers from all over the world, and a few locals. It was the
most multicultural church we have been to in a long time, and it felt
strangely familiar and comfortable to be amidst this mix of people all
speaking English.
The evening topper was getting a frozen pizza from the supermarket
for dinner and upon opening it finding hot dog chucks as the featured
meat! At least it wasn't coated in Mayonnaise as most other pizzas
are. The kids didn't get to bed until 10 (2 hours past their 8 p.m.
bedtime), celebrated with fireworks over the city for who know what?
Although these things may or may not seem strange to you, we continue
in the cultural daze that we call life here, with glimpses of
normality on occasion. Leaving us asking ourselves over and over
again, "really what is normal?"

Attitude of Grattitude

2008-05-04T03:21:00.000-07:00

We recently had an American guest to our home for dinner, and in
conversing after dinner, I found myself running down a long list of
differences in living between Armenia and America. You might
remember, "the potholes everywhere, traffic lights that don't work,
corrupt police, a very uncomfortable bed, the kids are constantly
getting sick from kindergarden, the gas goes off and so does our hot
water, heater and half of our stove, the internet connection needs to
be reset constantly because it has trouble staying connected, the
water has been off for as long as a full day and about once a week,
and then the worst one of all when the power goes out so does
everything else, since the water is pumped electrically from a tank,
the hot water heater has an automatic electronic ignition, the oven is
electric, and the dsl internet doesn't work with out power." To my
surprise he said something like, "I have been to places where they
don't have any of those problems, because they don't have any of those
things!" I just listened humbly to him tell of life in third world
countries where people live in mud huts, with out any of the luxuries
of gas, power or any other connection to the outside world. Where
they are grateful to have a place to sleep and live off of the dirt.
We were reminded of our family's theme for the year of having an
"attitude of gratitude," something we will defiantly need as we are
soon to transition into life in the village. Where I am sure we will
have a new list of things that don't work like America, or even like
Yerevan. We are so grateful for friends and family, for your prayers
and encouragement, as we struggle with these minor hardships, for the
sake of sharing the good news of salvation by grace through faith, and
as we help provide a little better quality of life and bring a renewed
hope to a downtrodden place.

Janapar

2008-05-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Janapar has many meanings: Paree Janapar (have a good trip), Vor
Janapar (What Road), Garch Janapar (Short Cut), Oreesh Janapar
(different way), Janapar! (get out of the way).
While working in the village this last week, I found out that our
"front lawn," which is really the back weeds, is really most of the
above. It is a short cut through the houses from the road and fields
down the hill, a different way to go, and it is almost turning into a
road at least for horses drawn carts. I almost use the "Janapar!"
statement to all the people just watching as I was carrying rocks into
the house to raise the bathroom floor.
The project is progressing very nicely, Vahan and Vartan are just
doing the best job. They are sleeping in the house, working 12 hour
days, and are doing quality work. With two local masters I was the
apprentice, moving rocks, mixing cement, bringing tools, etc. When I
volunteered to help build a wall, I was told "do you know how to do
this" Sure I can learn, but their response was, "No, these are
Master's tools, you can bring some water." It was mostly in jest as
I learned quite a bit about different mortar and plaster mixes and
procedures.
The funniest thing is when I laid the bathroom out originally it was
9' x 9' then they said it was too big, okay I consented down to 6' x
7', and now once the bathroom is built, they said it is too small!
This could be added to Jonelle's blog, "the way it is."

Vie Frankie: Part 2

2008-05-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

One day I went to pick up the kids from Mangabardez and walked in to find Frankie dressed like this...but with his tennis shoes on! Apparently he had an accident and his pants were spoiled or should I say SOILED, and this was all they had for him..teal girl's tights, size 6x with little Zummer Babi's (Santa Claus; literally Winter Papa) on the sides. I could not stop laughing...I was trying to control myself what with the possibility of YET ANOTHER complex for my poor children...but I just COULD NOT contain myself. And, if it was ANY one else they would have cried or had hurt feelings but not Frankie...he is my "tough-guy in teal tights"! Jonelle; )

My Name is JONELLE!!

2008-04-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

When I was born some 38 years ago my parents were shocked! They thought for sure I was going to be a BOY and my name was going to be JOHN, named after my paternal-grandfather! Thus the dilemma of what to name Garo girl #3. The story goes that during my mom's WEEK LONG (are you kidding me...managed care 24 hours and you are out on your ear!), stay in the hospital the nurses were urging her to name her baby...they needed to write something besides Baby Garo on my birth certificate! One version of the "Name" is that the woman sharing my mom's hospital room said, "Why don't you name her Jonelle, it is the feminine form of John in French!" The other version, told by my Dad, is HE is the one who came up with my name. Which ever version you chose is your preference, but my name is still JONELLE. I didn't like my name much growing up...There were NO bicycle license plates, mugs,pencils, key chains, stickers, etc. with my name on them. The closest I ever came was a mug that simply read, "SUE" (this was the closest anyone ever got...since my MIDDLE name is SUZANNE!) Invariable the first day of school the teacher would call roll and say, "Suzanne?, Suzanne? SUZANNE? (of course I was ignoring this), or they would butcher my name so badly that I would just stare at them in disbelief. But as I got older I realized that my name was SO COOL...it is totally unique. I had never met ANYONE ELSE with my name. (until 1984 when the short-lived, night drama, BERINGERS came out and there was an actress named JONELLE!, oh, and one of the check-out girls at the Meat Market...) other than that, I was special! The problem was that EVERYONE, besides my family, either couldn't read my name, say my name or remember my name. And the problem was wide-spread! People at EVERY church I attended, professors at schools, people I babysat for, bosses, co-workers, Jane Seymour, etc...The day I was ordained, channel 24 came out to video the service and interview people in the congregation about how they felt about me becoming a Badveli (that's pastor in Armenian). I watched the news clip in horror as the congregant who was interviewed was going on and on about how much he and the others loved and respected, JANELLE!!! This has gone on my whole life and some of the variations are quite comical: Janelle & Jonette (both of which are beautiful names and the names of beautiful women in my Bible Study Fellowship group in Fresno, I love and miss you and all the GALS so much!!!), JOEnelle, Jonlynn, Jonlee, one good friend's mom called me JOELENE after the Dolly Parton song (she was from TN and just couldn't shake it!). Of course these names have not only caused great frustraion for me but tremendous entertainment for my family. Phil still calls me Joelene and those who really want to torment me (you KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!) call me Janelle. So why am I airing all my issues with people not knowing my name? It is NOT because I don't have a therapist here! It IS because I have found that ARMENIANS DON'T know my name EITHER!!! The Jonelle name problem is PANDEMIC!!! It usually goes something like this, "Ko anunit inch es?" (what is your name?) then I reply, "JOHN-L", "INCH?" (what?) "Jonelle", "Jana?" "Che" (No) "Jonelle, Hovanessoohee" (that literally is the feminine form of John), They laugh or look confused. On the phone it is hysterical. My one friend who calls at least once every two weeks. She is (I'm guessing) about 70 years old. Ring, Ring, I pick up and say, "Ah-Low", She says, "Ah-Low", "O-va?" (Hello, who is this?), "Yes, Jonelle em" (It's Jonelle), Louder, "O-va?!" "Yes, Jonelle em!" Yelling, "O-VA?!" "JONELLE!" Then I wait and she says, "Ah-LOW?!" As if she wants to start over and I will somehow Magically NOT be who I am. Some of my NEW names are Jana, Chanelle & Chano, but my favorite one has to be what my cousin Ashot called my by accident. Usually family and friends add Jan to the end of your name as a term of endearment. So Kalem is Kalem-jan, Nana is Nan-jan, and I usually am Jonelle-jan. But one day Ash called me Jon-Jan...and I told him...finally a Wrong name I actually like! So if you are reading this and you are one of the 10's of thousands who calls me JANELLE...this is your final warning. When you see me again Remember, MY NAME IS JONELLE or you can call me JON-JAN! : )

The Way It Is...

2008-04-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

Last night I tried to make Madzoon for the second time. The reason I even tried to make it was because our cousin, Nana, said it was so easy and they always make theirs. She was teaching me one of her wonderful dessert creations when she pulled out a one-liter Rubbermaid container with the creamy white yogurt. I thought she said she added a small amount, "Achkee Chap" (that is literally measuring or sizing with your EYE!) of starter (which is just some yogurt or pre-made madzoon) to one liter of milk and put it in the fridge. Of course I tried to do this...and it was SO easy...and so WRONG! Then I went to the internet and read that you need to BOIL the milk first (yeah, yeah, so maybe you're smarter than me...) When I told her Saturday that my madzoon didn't come out she looked at me and said, "Jonelle-jan why don't you just buy it from the store it's so much easier?!"

Or the time when our gas water heater went out and Mrs. Serob and her handyman were in our bathroom and kitchen for about 30 minutes (I thought I was going to die...my eyes darting around the room to see if anything was out of place...of course her eyes were darting just as fast and her questions didn't stop from the time she entered until she left...it's a good thing it takes me a long time to formulate my responses...cuts down on the total number of possible questions!!!) Yet again, I digress! So they told me the heater went out because we weren't opening the small window between the shower and the heater. If we had only left the window open the heater wouldn't have broken. Two days ago Serob's dad found Kalem and told him that we forgot to close the small window in the bathroom and that we should never leave it open!

Or two weeks ago when I threw on my derby to pick up the kids from Mangabardez...my hair was especially crazy that day! When I got to the school Teacher Ida inquired as to why I was wearing a hat in Spring? I replied, "Eye-sore, shad vat maz or!" (Today, very bad hair day!) Ida, Jana-Moraqueet, and Serpoog didn't understand my reference and said, "Oh, hevant es?!" (your sick?) Then the three went on to discuss how it is very important to wear a hat when you are sick. When I finally got their attention, I told them again about my bad hair, but this time with more facial expression and wild hand gestures (I find that I resort to this type of communication often...it is too bad Armenia's national language is not SIGN LANGUAGE!!! I would be a viking!). Today when I walked out into the warm brightness of this sunny day, loving being in a short sleeved shirt and longing for shorts...I was met by none other than my, swollen-with-child, light-of-my-life, judger-of-all-things, MRS. SEROB...and what does she say to me?..."Why aren't you wearing a hat? The sun is too bright, it's not good for your HAIR!!!!"

I will stop with only one more example, but I could go on for days!!!! When we got our LADA NIVA...4x4 Mini SUV of course it had no seat belts. When Kalem asked his cousin Ashot, the mechanic, to get us some, Ash laughed and said..."Nobody wears seat belts in Armenia!" But Kalem persisted and we got two for the driver and front passenger seats. Of course we didn't wear them...I mean the cultural pressure is intense here, not to mention that our three precious children are sans car-seats and seat belts, just bouncing, rolling, falling to the floor mats every bump and pothole. So of course one of the several times Kalem gets stopped by the police...he gets a ticket..."FOR NOT WEARING HIS SEATBELT!"

It can be frustrating at times living like this but you have to remember...in Armenia, that's just the way it is! jonelle;)

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS IN AN ARMENIAN WOMAN’S PURSE?

2008-04-27T04:28:00.000-07:00

I KNOW WHAT'S IN AN ARMENIAN WOMAN'S PURSE…CANDY!!!!!
I LOVE CANDY. IN AREMENIA, ARMENIAN WOMEN CARRY CANDY IN THEIR
PURSE. TODAY, AT CHURCH FRANK WAS CRYING AND AN ARMENIAN WOMAN GOT
OUT HER PURSE AND GOT A CANDY OUT. THEN FRANK WAS CRYING AGAIN AND
ANOTHER WOMAN GAVE HIM ANOTHER CANDY AND HE WAS TRYING TO OPEN BOTH OF
THEM. DADDY TOOK THEM AWAY FROM HIM AND THEN DADDY HELD THEM AND THEN
DADDY GAVE THEM BACK TO FRANK. THEN AT THE END OF CHURCH ANOTHER
ARMENIAN WOMAN GAVE ME THREE CANDIES AND DADDY TOLD ME TO GIVE ONE TO
EACH OF THE BOYS. ONCE PETER HAD ALREADY GOT ONE, I THOUGHT I SHOULD
GIVE ONE TO PETER, SO HE WOULD HAVE TWO, AND THEN GIVE NONE TO FRANK
BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAD TWO. BUT DADDY STILL TOLD ME TO GIVE ONE TO
EACH OF MY BROTHERS. THEN MOMMY FOUND HER KLEENEX BAG THAT SHE HAD
DROPPED AND I GOT IT FOR HER. THEN WE LEFT CHURCH AND WENT HOME, HAD
LUNCH, THEN WENT AND WASHED OUR HANDS, THEN WE WENT UP TO BED. LOVE
JUDI!!!!!!

Let Kalem GO!

2008-04-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

When we first began discussing our possible move to Armenia, many
family members and friends would make comments like, "Gee, do you
really want to move out of your house, store your belongings and move
to Armenia?" or "Why don't you just visit there and see if you really
would like to move there for a longer period of time." But the best
lines always came from my mom, Elaine and Kalem's Grandma Gertie!
They would say things like, "Why don't you and the kids stay here and
let Kalem go to Armenia, settle himself and then come get you?" or
"If Kalem loves Armenia so much let him go and you stay here with the
kids?" One time my mom got so crazy as to say, "You and Kalem go and
the kids can stay with me and Papa Phil!" I know everyone was
expressing their sadness at the thought of us leaving for such a long
period of time and the idea that the grandkids would be so far away
was/is pretty much unbearable at times. And yet we followed God's
call to come to Armenia to live and work and share His love with those
we meet. So now we find ourselves just getting settled into our house
(no thanks to Mrs. Serob : ), our neighborhood, life near our
relatives, school for the kids and now we are preparing to move into
the village (which will probably be June 1st now due to all the
delays). The thought of moving to the village brings excitement as
Kalem and the crews will begin the wonderful projects of making homes
livable for families in the area, but it also brings feelings of
sadness as we have to move from the place we were beginning to call
'home'. The teachers and staff at the Mangabardez love Jude, Pete, &
Franko so much that they have started a campaign to get us to stay
until June 15th when they will have a big party and celebrate all the
kids who are moving on to Tahbrotz (that's real school which beings in
1st grade). Every couple of days they ask/tell me that it is Judi's
graduation and she should be here to preform and celebrate with her
class. Each time the pressure is increased and each time I default by
saying, "I will talk with Kalem, but I'm pretty sure we will be in the
village by then." A few days ago went to pick up the kids and I sat
down with Jana-Moraqueet, Teacher Ida, and Serpoog. We had our usual
conversations about Frankies progress in the 'pampers' arena, Peter &
Judi's advancement with understanding and reciting the vast number of
poems in the Armenian arsenal, and how my day was. Of course we got
around to June 15 and the chorus began, "Judi has to
stay.......Finally Jana-Moraqueet said, "Chanelle-jan (oh, I will blog
soon about my many names....) Kalem quooghk gnah! Translation, "Let
KALEM GO!!!! It seems there is a repeating pattern in every
country...any thoughts on this? I'd love to hear them all! Geesher
Baree! (Good Night) Jonelle;)

April 24th

2008-04-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Today we remember 1.5 million Armenians who were systematically annihilated by the Ottoman Empire. This picture is of the Tsitsernakabert, The Genocide Memorial. This is a must for anyone who ever visits Armenia and for Armenian's around the world it is a symbol of mourning, death, sadness and loss. But it also clearly represents life, survival, and endurance. I have been to the Tsitsernakabert three times...the 1st was in 1991 when a few of us from our Vacation Bible School work group stole away at night and in silence made our way up the walk. The movement of the eternal flame on the 12 'pillars'; dancing and moving brought even more focus to the orange and yellow fire. You do not feel alone when you stand inside the monument especially on April 24th when thousands upon thousands of locals, odars (if you don't know what this word means you probably are one...it means foreigner or non-Armenian), and Diasporan Armenians make their way to pay homage to the lives that were cut off. They come in groups and buy roses, tulips, carnations, lilacs, and other colorful stems to lay around the circle inside the monument. Stacking of long stemmed flowers creates a floral wall of remembrance and honor. The blooms are laid by men and women, young and old. Some make the sign of the Cross after they deposit their flower, others pray, the soldiers salute, and others shed tears. In the United States there is much political controversy about the Genocide and who supports memorandums and such. In Azerbijan, today there was yet another article about the "So-Called-Armenian-Genocide"...there are many who believe it is all a lie. Of course this saddens me because our heritage has proclaimed with their blood the truth and wether or not the Turks ever admit their culpability will not change the facts.

The second time I went to Tsitsernakabert was with Mariel Howsepian Rodriguez on her Easter week visit to Yerevan. When you take a tour you first go to the museum that is actually underground (so that the vista of the monument is not spoiled) and you see horrible photos of the hangings, death marches, and starvation. You read actual letters and documents from Missionaries, Diplomats, Soldiers, and people from outside of Armenia who witnessed the brutality and tried to make it stop. Soil from six different providences are preserved to remember the land of which the most devastation occurred and status reports of numbers of people, churches and land size are listed from before and after the Genocide. But the most moving aspect of the museum is an outdoor "courtyard"; it is actually a half-circle with 12 panels of stone (similar to the pitched walls of the monument) on these stone walls are quotes from non-Armenian eye-witnesses to the genocide. The docent says, "There were thousands of eye-witnesses to the atrocities of the Genocide there are 12 here who stand as a jury. They have brought in their verdict of "Guilty" but YOU ARE THE JUDGE!" with that she leaves you alone to walk outside, to ponder her words, to actually judge. For me it is not a question of believing or disbelieving...the facts are clear; we know the truth. Usually for believing Christians the question is more, "Why do we keep "Remembering" this awful part of our history?" or "If we are Christians aren't we supposed to forgive and forget?" To this I say we always REMEMBER. We have FORGIVEN but we don't FORGET. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper and He said, "Do this in Remembrance of Me! And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11, as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We REMEMBER Jesus death...he bore our sins on the cross, he gave his life as a ransom for ours. We must remember Jesus death because it reminds us of WHO WE ARE. I think of the Genocide a similar way; we remember not to hate the Turks or to wallow in our pain and suffering. We REMEMBER the Genocide because it reminds us of WHO WE ARE. It reminds us that our ancestors would rather be driven out of their homes, starved, and killed then to renounce Christ. I remember because our forebarrers DIED for their faith in JESUS CHRIST and some days I can't even LIVE properly for Him. I remember because it keeps in my mind how sinful we ALL are and in DESPERATE need of a SAVIOR. I remember because I am a Christian because of CHRIST'S suffering and dying 1st and foremost and because my great-grand parents, grand parents, and parents faithfulness to Jesus and His message of salvation. Today is April 24th; a day to remember. Blessings Jonelle;)

Judi Is In Love!

2008-04-23T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is Judi and her new love David, but if you remember your Eastern Armenian lesson it is pronounced DTAVIDT! Last week Judi came home from Mangabardez and was acting very shy and coy...COMPLETELY UNLIKE THE GIRL!!! She was smiling a lot and wanted paper to make something special for her "friend" at school. Of course, I am thrilled that she has friends at school since before she, Peter & Frank were exclusively calling their classmates, "The ARMENIAN Kids", didn't know anyone's name, and didn't want to learn them either. So she is smiling and now humming "EM YEREVAN" and then she stops and says, "You know Mom, Poker Nerses (that means little Nerses...which presumes there is a Medz Nerses...which there is and he looks like a miniture stocky truck driver with a crux-cut ...) and Dtavidt are really nice." "Yes Jude they are very seeroon (sweet)." "No Mom I mean REALLY Nice!" "Okay Jude, what makes them SOOO nice?" "They are just so....nice and very cute." Sweet Mother of Mary...the girl is 6 and she is telling me...nice and very cute about boys! I knew we should have stayed homeschooling.....but I contained myself..."Yes they are very cute too." "Mom, I'm not for sure but I think God is telling me that I am going to marry Dtavidt, and if not Poker Nerses." (I wonder if they really do get married will they be called Mr. & Mrs. Poker Nerses ....yan?)...she continued, "I mean maybe I am supposed to marry someone else, and I will if God tells me, but right now I am pretty sure God is saying it's gonna be Dtavidt!"
When Kalem came home for dinner that night I wanted Judi to share her "news" with him so like any good Armenian mother I prompted her by saying, "Hey Jude, tell Daddy about your Special friends at school." She was off and running and pretty much used the exact same verbiage to explain her revelation to Kalem. Kalem listened intently and then began to grin from ear to ear; his fingers drumming methodically together. Then in an almost sinister laugh he mumbled loudly, "It's all coming together just as I planned!"
Needless to say when I informed the teachers that Jude had a thing for Dtavidt they dismissed me saying, "Amen achcheegner!" (All the girls love him!)
Now I refer to Dtavidt as my Pesa (son-in-law) and when Judi behaves unkindly to her brothers or does some disgusting thing I say to her, "Now would Dtavidt like a girl who is not nice like he is?" or some such silliness. Yesterday one such instance occurred; Judi sneezed...a disgustingly gross, dripping mess of a sneeze of which she caught on her fingertips---Now the rest of this is not for the faint of heart or those easily disgusted so if you read on and then want to make some comment like, "How could Jonelle write that..." or some such thing...Just know I have forewarned you. Let it be written! Let it be done! So of course part of the drippy, snotty mess lands on her fingers and without so much as batting an eye the finger went straight into her mouth. "GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSS!" was all I could manage and then I had to keep down my own gag reflex. I was so icked out that all I could think to say was, "Jude, do you think Dtavidt would like a girl who eats her chugklink (snot)?" The question actually caused her to stop and ponder and no more was said.
Today when I picked Jude, Pete, and Franko up from Mangabardez Judi says, "Guess what Mom? You'll never guess! Today Dtavidt was sitting in the corner....EATING HIS BOOGERS!!!, so I guess he really WILL like me!"
Do you see what poor parenting renders?! Just pray that Dtavidt is not the one God is calling her to or THEY BOTH LEAVE THEIR NOSES ALONE! Laugh all you want...just keep YOUR noses clean! Blessings love jonelle;)

Construction has begun!

2008-04-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today construction officially started with the house we will be renting in the village. There was a pretty big to-do about it and there were never less than about ten people around and usually only about two were working. The greatest thing is that two brothers who I met on my first Habitat work project in 2006, were the ones doing the work for us! This is great because it saves so much time in arguing, although we did do plenty of that we were able to compromise much quicker having mutual respect for each other. Vahan and Vartan, are really great, not only do they work hard, have tons of experience, but they both have great personalities. I enjoy working with them very much and am very excited to have such a team set the example for the work in Lusaghbyur.

Just a few highlights:

- ice cream bars served at 11 AM followed immediately by coffee, then no other food for any one until 6pm!

- six year old boys carrying 40 pound blocks!

- grandma with the same scarf (same one from Jonelles blog entitled "She Said I Heard") wrapped around her head and her mouth all day!

- same grandma carrying parts of the demolished wood framed wall with nails and splinters with bare hands in a dress!

- every single visitor giving advice for what ever it was we were doing!

- sweeping a room that we are going to work in

- 5-10 minute argument with the electrical guy (PG&E equivalent) in which we ultimately lost.

- A horse pulled cart driven by a 10 year old to move furniture.

-Kalem

Our Teachers!!

2008-04-21T00:48:00.000-07:00

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>This is Jemma & Vram!! They are two of our many Armenian Teachers here in Yerevan. Vram's Maternal Grandma, Knar, and Kalem's Paternal Grandpa, Pete were sister and brother. Knar was left in Armenia as a baby and raised here when the rest of the family moved out of Hyestan, and eventually to California, Los Angeles and then Papa Pete to Fowler, CA. (This is a tremendous story that we will try to write for y'all sometime!) So, Vram and Jemma...they may look sweet and nice with their twinkling eyes and full smiles, but underneath these happy expressions are COLD, HARD, DEMANDING, THREATENING, ARMENIAN LANGUAGE DRILL SERGEANTS!!! Our first lesson started out so nicely, the table was spread with a typical morning meal of hard boiled eggs, breads, preserves, butter, tarragon, juice...(actually the 1st Armenian meal of the day consists of Armenian Soorj and a cigarette!)...so we enjoyed these wonderful foods and then, and then...the table was cleared and they were down to business! Vram produced his "Lesson One" which was a booklet filled, page after page with numbers 1-1000, days of the week, the infinitive form of verbs, 1st & 2nd conjugations, the Present Continuous Tense, the Past Continuous Tense, personal pronouns, and 30 Homework sentences to memorize. He said that we needed to know all the information in the Lesson BEFORE our next class which was supposed to be TWO DAYS LATER!!! Needless to say this was a tad too much for me...Kalem, on the other hand had "STUDIED" with these teachers before and was used to their methods. The second lesson we went over previous material and for some reason Kalem wanted to go over letter sounds...oh, how I wish their was a Letter Factory Video in Eastern Armenian...I think I will market this and make millions...wait, nobody do this...it's my idea! So...in Armenian, as in English, there are some letters that sound very similar when you say them...one can only recall a phone conversation with a credit card company or a phone order where you had to spell your name or address and the like. It is not uncommon to say, "Bill, B-as in boy, I, L-as in lion...and so on. The difference I have noticed in Hyestan, is when you are asking for a letter people respond with the sound instead, ex. CAR, If I asked how to spell this I would want C-A-R, but I get Kh, AAH, RRRR....The problem is there are about 6 different SOUNDS that all SOUND THE SAME TO ME!!! For example they have 3 sounds for G, gh, gk, kg or for D, dt, td, ta...but in the spoken word it is so slight that unless your ear is well trained a lot of the sounds don't sound different at all. The best is when we try to say words and people look at us as if we are speaking...English or something..."Dram...which is money, is pronounced TDRAM and if you just said Dram THEY WOULD HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE SAYING...then you try to add another word to help clarify like, POGHK and then they say, "OH, TDRAM!" I don't think I will ever tire of feeling like an idiot when I try to speak! Back to our lesson, Kalem wants to study his letters, so FROUGH JEMMA would give us a word and we would try to spell it...which would be followed by a cacophony of "TSK, TSK, TSK!!" from Jemma and then the exaggerated sounding out between the two VERY different letters, "Rruh, NOT Ruh!!!!" At one point she even had her ruler out and was whacking his knuckles! (I spotted the ruler in lesson one and subconsciously decided NEVER to sit close to Jemma lest I learn from my bruises and not my studying!) Good grief! But I will toil on because I do not want to live the old way of Armenian learning..."If you can't learn with your head you will learn with your backs and shoulders!" So enjoy your day, talk to many people and for GOODNESS SAKE....ENUNCIATE! Love Jonelle;)

Spring in Armenia: Top Ten List

2008-04-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

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10. Trees and flowers blooming everywhere.
9. The smell of lilacs wafting through the open window!
8. Judi & Peter reciting poems about Garoon (Springtime).
7. Not so much long underwear!
6. Seeing Mt. Ararat in all it's majestic glory (one day!)
5. Lettuce Salads!!!! (Ga-bye Cabbage!!!)
4. "Grass" growing everywhere...it's really weeds that don't ever get mowed, but humor me!
3. Anticipation of Futbol! (That's soccer to those of you who are confused!)
2. The kids get to play outside at school.

1. It's April...which means I get to take a shower!!!!!

Our 1st CARE PACKAGE--BETTY YOU ROCK!!!!

2008-04-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

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We were so excited to get the call. We had a care-package waiting for us at the Post Office! Here mail is not delivered to your house. The Post Office in your district telephones you and tells you to come and get your mail! This would sure cut down on all the junk mail we receive in the States! Perhaps we should lobby Congress for this "Pick-Up-Your-Own-Mail-Bill!"...I will start drafting this document very soon! Again, forgive the digression! This wonderful package came only 12 days after it was sent. As you can see it was filled with a wonderful assortment of useful and fun items for everyone in our family! And the best part is it came from BETTY GALLENDER! The coolest thing is that we Kazarian's, don't even know Betty! She is a friend of my dad's 2nd cousin Rowena Bowman. Apparently Rowena and Betty worked together at Coast Episcopal School in Long Beach! That's Long Beach, MISSISSIPPI!!!! We were blown away by her note..."Rowena sent me your blog and I have enjoyed reading about your experiences in Armenia...Upon reading your 1st blog I was moved to sent (the care package)...God Bless You and Keep You, Betty Gallender" We couldn't believe our Armenia blog was being read all the way in MS and then we thought about how cool it would be if we knew all the different places our blog is being read around the world. So, if you have figured out how to make a comment on the blog go ahead and leave your location! Your comments are awesome for us...it feels like we are having a dialogue with y'all! Besides that, I have decided that when our Armenia BOOK comes out...all your comments will be footnotes! So again we thank you BETTY for the WONDERFUL CARE PACKAGE...we have used and enjoyed it ALL!! We are so blessed by you and everyone of you who loves us, prays for us, emails, calls, and reads our blog!!! We love you! Jonelle;)

Judi's Best Lunch of ALL Time!

2008-04-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

One Saturday we went to this wonderful "Swap Meet" type market place that went on and on and on. It is called Malateesah and it is open 24 hours a day, everyday! Apparently if you go in the middle of the night the prices are even better. I am a bargain shopper but 2 am in these environs doesn't appeal to me. The spaces are filled with watches, belts, pantyhose, bedding, stoves, pipes, washers, curling irons, shoes, jewelry, are you getting the picture? They sell EVERYTHING here! And of course there is the food. Along many of the twists and turns of the huge marketplace there are small pits with hot ashes making delicious CHOROVADZ (BBQ and not in the Southern understanding of BBQ!) The sheeshes (skewers) are wrapped in highly seasoned ground meats or whole chunks of chicken (I'm pretty sure it's chicken : ) they are par-cooked and then heated through when a willing patron comes to eat. Along our winding walk through car parts, lingerie, and metal pipe we first smell the enticing odor that beckons us to come. With each whiff of the smoke acting as a odiferous invitation to dine. Each of the ramshackle restaurants claim the best eats around and chefs call you in as you saunter past. We have been told by many well-wishers and family NOT to eat "off the street" I guess you could take this literally and it would be wise council in ANY country. But the argument for abstaining from these roadside eateries is because they are not sanitary. Alas we threw caution to the wind and bellied up to the stand and boldly ordered one of each kind of chorovadz and one FantaÒ lemonade for the 4 of us to share. (Frankie was sound asleep in Kalem's arms). The cook on the right pointed to the "Dining Room" which consisted of a rickety picnic table with a well-worn vinyl table cloth. There were two bottles of ketchup (which, by the way, is EXTREMELY popular here in Hyestan and it is sold in varying degrees of gudzoones (spicy hotness), SALT (of course salt), and two or three “napkins”. Let me expand on the idea of napkins at this point. Usually, in outdoor eateries we have encountered these 3¼” squares of very thin paper; these or a box of Kleenex accompany a meal for the purposes of wiping ones mouth and fingers. Unfortunately for me I am such a messy eater that the napkins run out all too soon. Perhaps I will try using lavash instead since it is always in great abundance on every table and is much thicker and usually softer than the napkins…Hum, I will look into this…Back to the “dining room”, which was no bigger than the table plus a foot for a row of people to sit against the wall. The other side of the table had room for another bench but those sitting there were pretty much in the kitchen and would get hit by the refrigerator door whenever opened…which was quiet frequently!

We looked at the table and saw three men, all sitting apart but in a fashion that would not allow the Kazarian gang to sit together. Seeing this the “sous chef” yells at one man, “Ackper, SHARJEH!” (Buddy/Brother MOVE!) Now I call that customer service! As we sat and waited the “executive chef” smoked two cigarettes OVER our cooking meat, and the gentleman next to me ordered a shot of vodka (which was in the refrigerator). The sous chef took a used shot glass that was left on the table, wiped it out with a handkerchief from his shirt pocket set it on the table and poured the fresh shot! We received our meal and ate with vigor. Kalem and I unfortunately added barbequed peppers to our lunch and our mouths were on fire! We finished our FantaÒ, ordered another and a Tan (yogurt drink like buttermilk without the butter) just to put out the fire on our tongues. My eyes were tearing from the pepper, we were choking on the BBQ and cigarette smoke, and thinking about how UNSANITARY this experience was when Judi announces, “This is the best food I have ever eaten in my entire life!” I couldn’t stop laughing! ; ) jonelle

Vie Frankie: Part 1

2008-04-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

Frankie's sparkling eyes and winning smile took Armenia by storm. It actually started in the Moscow airport during our three hour layover. Once we were admitted into our gate's waiting area, Frank had made three friends: #1 Leonah (who ended up giving Judi delicious Russian chocolates because it was her birthday) was a 28 year old rep for CATAPILLAR® and had just come back from Europe, #2 Medz Babig (a grandpa) who had Frankie on his lap and was singing to him, and #3 Medz Tatig (no relation to the old man but a few chairs down). Within minutes Frankie had both of the octogenarian's cell phones and was dancing around with music they had programmed in their phones. They were laughing and clapping with Frankie as the entire waiting area looked on. Once we landed in Yerevan and got through the Passport checking station, which took quite awhile that once we were to baggage claim everyone was long gone. Mind you, it is now 4:00am and 16+hours in planes, 3½+ hours in cars. So there we are with our 5 suitcases and 5 boxes, each weighing 50 pounds, packed strategically on the airport luggage carts (Hyestan has really cool ones that are way more substantial with little seats in front for kids to sit, like in grocery carts). We have Peter sitting in one with Kalem pushing and Frankie in the other. Of course, Frankie is in his standard tired pose, pointer & middle finger of right hand in mouth, left arm bent, inside of elbow to nose and sucking fingers vigorously. One of the armed security guards in the baggage claim area came right up to Frankie and in Armenian said, "Take your fingers out of your mouth!" (We learned very quickly; as soon as we got into our AEROFLOT plane in Los Angeles, that finger sucking was a NO-NO, you should have seen all the looks we got from the passengers in rows 21 and 23 and those in seats F & G!) Then he started this game with Frankie and pretty soon another officer and a woman in lost baggage were all laughing and playing with Frankie! The officers even tried to speak English to cajole Frank to remove his digits, but Frankie just laughed and smiled that anooshig smile that turns his eyes into half moons, and kept his fingers firmly in his mouth! We waved goodbye and saw our relatives at the exit doors waiting for us to come out. No sooner did we step out of the airport did, Sam, Vram, and Ashot all tell Frankie, "Get your fingers out of your mouth!"

Fast forward to Easter Sunday. Frankie is sitting on Kalem's lap in the 2 hour service and is getting into "nappy" mode. The fingers go into mouth and the sucking begins. A stocky, full-figured woman in her 60's with a long grey, knit one, purl two, sweater vest and curly salt & pepper hair turns around to stare at Frankie. As she turned her head Frankie turned his and their eyes locked. Now, I was sitting directly behind the woman so I can only relay Frankie's reactions to her. Apparently she scowled at him and then I saw her shake her finger at him. Frankie's eyebrows went up in surprise and then immediately fell and he pulled his wet digits out, holding them in mid air as if suspended in time. She faced front again and Frank held his stare at the back of her head. When he was relatively certain the danger had passed, the fingers were securely back in place. Moments later the woman on "Finger-Patrol" turned around again and again Frankie's fingers came out as if she had a string connected to him that she pulled with her disapproving look. This went on for about five minutes. Sometimes Frankie didn't even get a chance to land his fingers inside before she looked and the hand went down. At one point "Miss Grey Sweater Gestapo" turned and gave me the, 'I can't BELIEVE you let your child suck his fingers' look. I was a bit annoyed and was feeling like I should tell her, "The service is going on in FRONT of you, Pay attention to Jesus NOT FRANKIE!, but of course, I refrained!

Frankie still gets questioned, glared at, and man-handled but he goes right on sucking his fingers; besides doesn't he look like he can hold his own with his "tough-guy" undershirt and crew-cut! Vie Frankie!

I Finally Got One

2008-04-08T11:44:00.000-07:00

I got my first ticket today! This would be the fourth time I have
been pulled over since we have been here (almost two months now). I
didn't even care any more, I gladly pulled over at what I have come to
know as the ammunitions check point entering the city. I drive by
these police almost every other day, because my cousin Vram lives just
past their stake out, and ever time he says slow down and gets
nervous, and every time I slow down, even this time. Often they
already have cars stopped and are busy already, but not today, they
actually looked pretty bored, maybe even a little hungry. Maybe they
needed some cigarette money, maybe I looked guilty, maybe my glasses,
maybe because I had a flannel shirt on and not my black sweater. What
ever the case today was the day I would be fined for not wearing my
seatbelt!
My argument went something like this, "I didn't know, I am new here,"
that didn't work, so I tried, "some one told me I didn't have to wear
my seat belt in the city just out side of the city." That didn't work
either, and so he asked again, 5000 drams (about $16), he didn't care
about my international driving permit, or the fact that I spoke poor
Armenian, he wanted is 5000 drams. Maybe my Armenian is getting
better, maybe I am over confident with the police, who knows? Seeing
that was not getting anywhere with him I then asked, "Are you going to
write me a ticket then?" At this response he was a bit frustrated,
for this meant paper work, and I was slowing him down. Typically, the
driver barters a 5000 dram ticket price down to a 3000 dram bribe
which they quickly pay and are on their way again. Although this is
illegal now it is still a very much practiced way of dealing with the
situation. Since he was writing the ticket anyway, I had the option
to pay him now or at the police station, guess what he preferred?
So after an agonizing time of him trying to read the english spelling
of my some what Armenian name, he wrote the ticket, I signed, payed my
fine and was on my way again, with another great story.

GRAND CANDY

2008-04-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

FRANK LOVES GRAND CANDY AND JUDI PETER AND
THE KAZARIAN'S ! LOVE JUDI

What vodka can't fix CANDY can

2008-04-07T09:18:00.001-07:00

The first day of kindergarden the kids were a mess, crying clinging, etc, and every teacher wanted to be the one to win the kids over with candy, especially little Frankie. He clung the longest and took three pieces of candy, and an extra hour to separate. Weeks later after the kids had adjusted with who know how much candy they were given while we weren't there, they caught a cold. The teachers said we weren't dressing them warm enough, and that we were probably giving them too much candy. I didn't even know about the community drinking cup policy at that time (don't worry the "Americans" kids now each have their own cups, but little Frankie often forgets about this). Upon the kids return the teachers started with the candy again to win the reluctant kids over.

When visiting or having guests, candy is the standard host gift, chocolate to be exact, and it is often opened before the meal even begins. It is set out immediately after the meal is finished and replenished later when coffee is served. If children are cranky or embarrassed, candy is the solution, local children usually don't have any limits or boundaries placed on their candy consumption. Because of this young children have to have rotten baby teeth pulled out, or capped, and their permeant teeth are damaged before they come in.

Tooth brushing is not standard practice, nor are dental visits except of course for the extraction or filling. One of the kindergarden teacher has been suffering for over three weeks now with a rotten tooth, she is so fearful of the dentist that she would rather suffer a fever and the constant pain. Long term affects of this are seen in grandparents with gold teeth or missing more teeth than they have. As far as candy goes the consequence are not thought out too well.

In the supermarkets there is usually twice as much space devoted to candy as there is to vodka. There is a company called Grand Candy, that pretty much has a corner on the market, and everything from the wrappers, to the stores, is bright and festive. Often candy is not enough it has to be Grand Candy, to be real candy. It is hard for the kids because they want it so much, and it is offered to them so much, and everyone else is doing it, that they often fall into the societal trap.

We have until now kept our candy dish up high and hidden from the children, but now it is the center piece of our daily table. Not that we might consume it but that the children would begin to learn self discipline around the tasty treat. Judi and Peter, are beginning to understand this discipline, but little Frankie has yet to grasp the idea of boundaries in his candy consumption. He has actually developed into quite a fast consumer of the sweet stuff, in less than one minute that we were away from him at a friends house, he had six empty wrappers piled next to the bowl, one unwrapped in one hand and one unwrapped in the other hand.

We have been through three series of colds all started by our own little Frankie, so as crazy as this candy situation is, please pray for us and little Frankie that we are able to protect both our teeth and our health!

A Different Kind of Classroom

2008-04-06T09:09:00.001-07:00

So, as you know we have been working diligently on our language
skills, Jonelle is learning through the shopping arena, and I through
toasts. Toasts in Armenia are more like toasts at weddings that last
5-10 minutes each, and can be the soul purpose for getting together.
They are more conversations, and detailed remembrances of the past,
than general well wishing we typically think of as toast at casual
gatherings. People drink in groups here and empty their glasses at
the same time, and there is always something said, the length of which
greatly depends on the amount of alcohol consumed. By alcohol I mean
Vodka, is there any thing else? Supermarkets have complete isles
dedicated to vodka, and small grocery stores ALL have vodka if nothing
else, $2-$3 for cheep average stuff, and the prices just go up from
there.
Glasses are fill almost immediately after they are emptied, A typical
toast would be, "This toast is for our (children, wives, relatives,
country, lives, etc)," then a further description of the topic,
clinking of glasses, then some one interrupting to either toast the
toaster, or tell some story. After which glasses are clinked together
again, and the toaster continues with his own story or commentary.
Finally, glasses are clinked again, and if the toaster is satisfied he
will drink followed by everyone else. Some major errors, all of which
I have made in the past, are drinking with out toasting, drinking
before the toast is actually finished, not drinking to a toast,
toasting before the senior member or host, swallowing improperly, not
finishing the entire shot, or not eating the customary bread sausage
or cheese immediately after the toast.
Toasts are generally hard for me to understand since they are
sketches of history that I am not always familiar with, compared to
practical conversations revolving around buying something, working on
a building project, or communicating some tangible piece of
information. I listen intently and try to make out as many words as
possible and weave together the meaning. As the toast wear on they
become simpler, and my comprehension improves, even before the end
when men are kissing each other and embracing. This along with broken
shot glasses, spilled bottles, and frequent calls from the wives,
usually signal the end of the evening.

Basketball

2008-04-05T00:35:00.001-07:00

I was a bit hesitant when I first received the invitation to play
basketball in Armenia: a) I didn't really expect to have opportunity
to play, b) I didn't bring the proper shoes, c) a very unscheduled
life for the first several weeks, d) the late hour (9-11 pm) e)
possible language barrier issues f) fear of re-injuring my knee (MCL
surgery '93 - rollerblades vs car, and then small piece of floating
meniscus '05 - basketball).
So, with a newly implemented family schedule, borrowed shoes, I
sucked up my language fears, and vowed to play carefully to protect my
knee. To my surprise, it was very similar to games with Jay
Khushigian at FAPC, with out the Bible study. English was the
predominate language used for the game, although there was a
surprising amount of Arabic, along with Western Armenian, Eastern
Armenian, and Russian.
Four on four half court, with evenly matched teams, was very fun,
although there were probably more fouls called than points scored.
Everyone was often reminded that it was supposed to be a "friendly
game." I tried to stay away from fouling and tried not to call any
fouls if I could help it. I did call foul, when someone's knee found
my rib cage and left me laid out gasping for air under the basket.
Some of my favorite statements from the game were: Directed at me,
"You're our best player, and our worst player (for not calling
fouls)." Then from my host to the 6'4" 250 pound player I was
guarding after discussing the 3 second rule in the key, "We will call
you Mashutka (public transportation van) number 45, and that (the key,
under the basket) is your parking spot.
So now two days later, every muscle in my body is completely sore, I
have blisters on my feet from oversized shoes, my ribs are bruised,
and I can't wait to go back next Thursday.

Mrs. Serob: The Last Battle

2008-04-04T13:05:00.001-07:00

The first time I ever met Mrs. Serob was one week after we arrived in Yerevan. We were hosting our first dinner for our relatives and Kalem asked her if we could borrow some chairs and possibly a table for the festivities (this is totally normal and not rude in any way shape or form). She came over with her brother who carried the table and he and Kalem brought the chairs back and forth. I was unaware of all that was transpiring because I was in the kitchen, of course, preparing the food. My hands were dirty and the counter was full of bowls and dishes of my latest creations. Kalem seemed to be carrying on a lengthy conversation and finally called to me, "Jonelle, I want you to meet Serob's wife and her brother." I washed up and came out to meet them. Mrs. Serob eyed me up and down and asked the standard, "Hyeren haskanoom es?" and "Hyeren chosoom es?" Do you understand Armenian and Do you speak Armenian? I replied my standard, "Me Keech" (a little), we smiled and then the conversation shifted to her brother who wanted to know if I was a Christian and if I spoke in tongues. (Apparently he had already interrogated Kalem) God is so good since I had just learned the word for gift "Noover" earlier that day. I said, "Voch. Lezoonera em noover che, bites em noover hospitality." Translation, "No. Speaking in tongues is not my gift, but hospitality is." He looked at me with a half-cocked head and an air of disapproval. So I quickly got my Bible and read, in English of course, 1 Corinthians 12. The whole while Mrs. Serob was rolling her eyes and trying to get her brother leave.

The second interaction with Mrs. Serob was the night she came to tell us to turn our computers off and lock our doors when we left (since she had been inside of our house for some reason or another snooping around), but when I heard her coming I hid in the bathroom with the kids! So the next time I actually saw her was the night she had come over to tell us that the kids were quieter. She came into the kitchen and asked me, in a very leading way, "Don't you like Armenia SOOOO much better than the US?" She followed up with, "Our food tastes so much better here too." "My sister lives in LA and she says the fruit looks good but it tastes like nothing and everyone is fat in the States." Of course this was all in Armenian but between Kalem and myself, we GOT what she was saying. Of course, I got defensive and made some joke about how I really didn't know how good the fruits and veggies were in Armenia since I had been eating only CABBAGE, BEETS, POTATOES, and more CABBAGE (since it was winter) and I would get back to her once the tomatoes, cucumbers and other fruits were in season. I did agree that we have a lot of overweight people in the States due to poor eating habits, and all the preservatives in our food BUT the thing I just couldn't get over was…was…was. Well, you see I have never really described Mrs. Serob's physical attributes; she is about 5' 3", black hair long to her shoulders and bangs, and, and, and she weighs about 170lbs. Now, I would not consider her huge but she is a bit plump so I couldn't see where she got off talking about Fat Americans.

You have read all the other interactions with Mrs. Serob and some of you have "weighed" in on your feelings about her. She's mean, crabby, annoyed, cranky, scary, and angry. Others feel sorry for her since she has to put up with the KAZARIAN'S for the past 6 weeks. You maybe wondering why this story is coming after all of the other sparing matches I have had with the woman, but this piece had to be put in place before this contest could produce a victor. Being the sensitive, caring, compassionate, intuitive, therapist, pastor, and friend that I am I usually can figure out what is going on with a person pretty readily. But something about Mrs. Serob eluded me. So I decided to look at all the pieces in order:

She is cranky
She sleeps until noon
She doesn't want to hear kids making noise
She's fat but doesn't seem think so
She's annoyed

I guess she might have a self-esteem problem, or not like Americans, or reverse anorexic imaging disorder (I made that up) but after I pondered and pondered and pondered the answer came to me like a clear voice…Actually it was Sam's (the way late coffee drinker) voice saying, "Jonelle-jan, she baby is going to have!" EEAHHHHHHH. I am soooooo lame. I mean I move to another country and I totally loose my mind as well as all my gifts??!! I'd better look into speaking in tongues! Mrs. Serob if you ever read this, "I AM SO SORRY!" GAME OVER you won!

The Khanoot

2008-04-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

My lesson for today from Herr Detweiler Kazarian was to go to the Khanoot (small grocery shop) on the next street up from our house. He wanted me to make a list of things we were lacking, take my drams (money) and buy what we needed BY MYSELF!; using only my Armenian language skills! Kalem believes in full-emersion baptism (but to me it feels more like the-hold-you-under-water-until-you're-about-to-drown-method). The only other name I could give his technique would be, "Fear Factor"!

At about 12:30pm Kalem booms, "Jonelle, You REALLY Need To Go To The Store, now…SHNELL!" I think this is a common Kazarian tactic of throwing your loved ones into situations "to help them" or "for their own good" (am I correct Ron?)…it gets lost in the translation for me…I genteelly tried to explain the teaching method that is most beneficial to my learning. 1. Show me how to do it. 2. Do it but allow me to help. 3. Let me do it but help me if I need it. And FINALLY 4. I will do it on my own. Praise God Kalem heard my request and he benevolently backed up from Stage 4 all the way to Stage 3!

So, at 1pm we made our way to the khanoot. As Kalem and I stolled up Pagotz Dasna Meg (street #11) we greeted a few people and smiled (like only AMERICANS do). When we got to the store the plump lady store owner was sitting outside with a nice arrangement of Gananchee (greens including tarragon, parsley, cilantro, green onions, radishes), Gazar or Sabgheen (carrots), Bazook (beets), Kartofil (potatoes), Chunsor (apples), Nareenj (oranges), Banan, Soghk (onions), and Khegamb (cabbage). She was outside due to the "remodeling" going on inside on half of the store. We greeted her with a, "Barev tsez" and went inside. EXCELLENT! There was only one other customer in the store and she was asking about Chameech (raisins). The store owner (who has been to Fresno) started yelling, "Gayane…GAYANE, GAYANNEE, CHAMEECH, CHAMEECH OOZOOM EM!!!" Then he turned to me. I was ready. List in hand. No pressure. I'm no good under pressure (well, not in Armenian anyway!) As I was about to speak another woman walked in front of me and asked about the man's chickens? Kalem yelled from the corner of the store, "Speak UP, Get In There!" So I started. I rattled off the list in my best Armenian and was doing okay, Dzu, Hatz, Madzoon…when I felt an uneasy feeling. I turned for a moment and there in the khanoot were 10 people all looking at me! They were looking at me because I was wearing my Nike tennis shoes. There were looking at me because I was NOT wearing my Hottie Hyastansi Jeans. They were looking at me because of the absolute clarity that I was speaking like a 2 year old not a 38 year old Armenian Woman. They were looking at me because I was buying so much stuff! Remember this is not a "store" where you get your own items. Khanoots are much like deli's but EVERYTHING is behind the glass! I started to panic. My list was a bit blurry. I didn't remember if I already asked for my Garak (butter) or not. I was trying to hurry when I heard the Chameech Lady say to the Grocery. "Who is this? Is she trying to learn Armenian?" With that said and the fact that I understood, I retorted. "I owe, yev, na eem oosooceech!" (Yes and he is my teacher!" I don't know why I feel like I have do defend myself or that maybe they are looking down on me, but whatever the reason I came up swinging. (As I type this I am abundantly aware that I sound like a very combative person…perhaps I need to look deeper into this…does anyone know a good therapist? : ) The clerk and the woman laughed and I felt the weight lifted. I bought Zetoons (olives) and Apple Cider Vinegar and moved to the deli meat section. "Uta sausleges." 8 Hot Dogs. He grabbed a handful (they are all connected by the thin plastic wrap that coats the dogs then is twisted and attached to the next and so on) and noticed that they were in sets of three. To this he stated, "No 8. 9!" The same happens with kilos and ½ kilos of olives, cheese, beets…just make it even and easy! I finished my "ordering" and paid the man. The others were happy to see me go (especially the Chameech lady who was still waiting for someone to find the blasted things! I told her to go to Circle K if she really wanted the best raisins!) They were finally able to purchase their 200grams of butter, an ice cream cone or a loaf of bread! No express lanes here (unless you cut in line!). Inside was done now we made our way outside to the plump woman with the veggies. She asked if I was Kalem's sister and then said she loved Judi and had a Tornig the same age as Jude, living in Beruit. We made small talk while I actually got to select my own carrots and beets…well, sort of…I put the amount I wanted but I still ended up with more of both than I wanted…"just to make it even". I paid her and we were off. Kalem was uncharacteristically full of praise for my job at the khanoot and when I thanked him he said, "But you have to just buy a few things every other day or so…that's how they do it here!" EEAH!!!!! If I wasn't in Armenia, and I wasn't so SUBMISSIVE and didn't have arms full of groceries I would have knocked him out! (Yes, I see it again…latent maniacal tendencies!!) Good eating and enjoy grocery shopping this week! Love Jonelle

survey

2008-04-01T11:15:00.001-07:00

Thanks so much for your votes on the charitable giving. Just for fun
please vote on the frequency of your visits to this page.

Pretty Woman

2008-04-01T10:49:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite movies of all time is the well-known-but-totally-UNBELIEVABLE-tale called Pretty Woman. There are countless quotable lines from the film and classic scenes but I, Jonelle Suzanne Garo Kazarian, got to live one of them this past week!!! No! I did not become a "Hye"-class call-girl in the Yerevan Garmeer Luz District, but I did get to go on a "Shopping Spree", of sorts. Recall the 1990 film when Julia Roberts tries to go out on Rodeo Drive with a fist full of money to buy some decent clothes? Well, since I am the conservative-pastor-missionary-(and don't forget) SUBMISSIVE wife; I packed pretty much as if I was going to a village in Armenia circa 1991! (note...this was the last time I was in Armenia and I was here for a missionary project!) This time around, if you recall, I was studying for my MFT exam and then deathly ill the two weeks prior to leaving the States. Needless to say my packing was LACKING!!! Obviously the saying is true, hind sight is 20/20 but I was batting a 20/200 in the suitcase department (note: this is the cutoff for legal blindness in the United States...that would be 6/60 in metric...but again I digress!) My clothes are tastefully baggie in the pants, overly loose and very plain in the tops, and my shoes are, well missionary-esk. PROBLEM GA! The women of Armenia, specifically HYASTAN are proverbial HOTTIES!!! The pants are oh-so-form fitting, the tops are BLING, and the Shoes...don't even get me started. Just picture 4 inch spike heels attached to any shoe, boot, sandal, etc...So plainly I REALLY stick out with my habit and sensible Aerosoles. So since I don't fit in and Kalem, aka Richard Gere wanted me to practice speaking Armenian to actual Armenian people instead of my computer screen; he took me to the "Iranian Faire". This is an "open-air-market" and I used OPEN-AIR extremely Loosely!!!! There is nothing open to this market, they are tightly jammed stalls winding up a slight grade for about 1/2 a mile with blue plastic tarp covering every access to the sky. The walkway is no more than 4 feet at it's widest point and the Iranian's don't even own the stalls anymore, but it is STILL called the Iranian Open Air Market...just work with me here. As we came to the street Kalem says to me, "Are you ready?" I looked and got the feeling of holding my breath as I jumped off the high-dive platform of an olympic pool! I mean it is all the excitement of the bartering challenges of Tijuana or Cabo without the needed attitude nor language skills! I loved making my way through the masses of people crammed in this serpentine highway of commerce. I watched ample sales women stuffing their celophane cash drawers INTO their bras, toothless peddlers of black-saltless sunflower seeds (which is crazy to me since even the coffee has SALT!! it really doesn't), and golden toothed smooth men offering their wares as the best on the pogotz (street). It was all well and good until Richard, I mean Kalem wanted me to talk! He taught me this phrase, "Ench Cahn Arjee?" How much does this cost? I was supposed to saunter up to these vendors ask how much something cost and then buy it for our household. Easy enough right?! WRONG!! Terribly WRONG!! It went something like this, "Nerets ek, Baron Ench Cahn Arjeh?" to which the man would look me up and down and THEN give me a price that was mumbled under his breath. I scrambled to try to hear the numbers and THEN to try to remember what number was in fact assigned to those verbal utterances....3 minutes later I am still standing there trying to cipher, he is staring at me like I have mental problems, and I end up saying, "Uh, Shanoragalootoon" and walking away. Richard was not happy with me! So he pushed me into a nice stall with women's jeans. A woman in her 50's and a young man about 19 were ready for us. I inquired about the jeans, she responded in ENGLISH!!! Do you see how I am not pulling of this-oh-yeah-I'm-a-local-thing?! We asked her to only speak Armenian and the fun began. I tried on 3 different pairs of jeans and with each one I came out to model, the 19 year old clad in black and Chips sunglasses would lean back in his chair and pitch his head over his left shoulder to offer his opinion. This was starting to be a good time. I liked one pair and the 19 year old another; Richard didn't care either way but the sales team was so approving of this new style for me that I was wrapped up in their spell...{Jeana is this what you do at Macy's?} So we bought the jeans promised to return when I needed another pair and were on our way. Just for fun and practice I asked another vendor how much her jeans were...THEY WERE LOWER!!!! You know how I love a bargain and you know crazy this made me, but Richard was loving my Armenian lesson of the day! And in case you are wondering...my jeans are so YEREVAN...so HOT!!! (especially for a MISSIONARY!) I am beginning to fit in...at least from the waist down...TOMORROW I BUY SHOES!!!!!

Broken Glass

2008-03-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

The first week we were in Armenia Jonelle accidently broke a plate, I
thought, "no big deal it is a common pattern we can replace it."
The second week, she broke a china cup, and to that I said, "now that
is going to be a little harder to find." That same week I broke a
glass of which we had a bunch of and I said, "we have a lot no one
will miss it."
The third week, she broke a mug, and I said, "I didn't really like
the pattern or style, no big deal." Then she broke the saucer to the
china cup, to which I said, "Well now they are even again." Peter
broke a shot glass, and I said, "Now what was the Peter doing with a
shot glass?"
The fourth week Jonelle broke another plate different pattern of
course, and I just shrugged my shoulders, and then I broke another
china cup, and although no one saw, they are uneven now. Jonelle then
proceeded to break a ice cream bowl, and a coffee cup, I said nothing.
The fifth week Judi broke a coffee cup (she said it was the boys
fault) and then she dropped a jar of strawberry jam, Jonelle said
"couldn't you have dropped the rose hip jam?" Later that day I
dropped a jar of natural juice mix in the same spot, to which Vram
said "we can save it, quick get a strainer!" Jonelle then moved the
dresser away from the wall which cause the mirror that was neither
attached to the dresser nor nailed to the wall to fall and break both
mirror and frame! I shouldn't of said anything but what ever I did say
wasn't very helpful. Later that day the boys were fighting over using
the computer and attempting to get Frank out of the way Peter decided
to push the whole table over! Fortunately the laptop did not break,
but one of the two glass inserts from the table did, to this our
friend Gohar said, "You just need to break one more thing today to
stop the cycle." Jonelle obliged her by breaking a tea cup in serving
her tea that night.
I'm publishing this now because either the cycle stops, or we will be
out of dishes soon. If Serop's wife only knew...

Mexican Food

2008-03-28T13:24:00.001-07:00

This may look like black beans, rice, salsa, chips and a Corona....
...but really it tasted like dolma and vodka.
No really it wasn't Corona, not even close. We were so disappointed!
The chips...fried lavash! Really the whole thing was pretty bad.
Mexican food is going to be harder than we thought.

Pride Comes Before The Fall

2008-03-28T01:58:00.001-07:00

Monday night we were scheduled to have Sam (remember soorj-mart
(coffee-man) and his family over for dinner. We met his family on our
first offical night in Yerevan at Judi's birthday party in Nork but I
was sick and jet-lagged and really wasn't positioned to talk with
Sam's wife, Angel, at all. Judi enjoyed playing with their two
daughters Serpoohi-6 1/2, and Susie, 4 1/2, and we loved seeing their
new Zweekner (twins) Allen and Ellen who were 3 months old at the
time. But that was more than a month ago and we really needed to have
them over...Kalem called Sam Monday at noon to confirm dinner and the
time...5pm was decided upon (note: I was so excited by the early time
since things usually don't start too early and it always means a long
night). I was in the kitchen working my magic, CornFlake Chicken (A
few notes on CornFlake Chicken(let me know if you want the
recipe : )...Greg Haroutunian introduced this delacy to me in the
early 90's for a church function...easy, fun and truly you cannot
screw this up. I had tried my CornFlake chicken with our family in
Nork and with our new beloved friend, Gohar (not MRS. SEROB : )) from
the Habitat office. Both groups had never had this crazy chicken
before but seemed to like it very well (even though I usually get
chided for not putting enough Salt...I need to devote an entire blog
to SALT in Armenia!!! But this time I would not be chided for not
enough salt, for this time I not only put salt but I also put a VERY
GENEROUS portion of CHAMAN (for those of you Hyes who know chaman it
is NOT the red, soft, granular paste that blankets basterma, but
actually the dry spice of chaman which is actually yellowish in hue).
Sorry to be pedantic but the details are necessary)...SO CornFlake
Chicken , Gananch Loubi with Dzu (ginormous long, wide, green beans
with scrambled egg, Pilaf, Cabbage salad and the coup de
etat...chocolate chip cookies for dessert (really Nestle chips &
baking powder even though there is still no brown sugar...) PRIDE.
My meal was perfectly set to be hot and ready by 5:30pm (leaving the
customary...Hello! we're Armenian and we NEVER get ANYWHERE on TIME
cushion). The house was clean, Peter and Frank were taking a late
nap, Judi was pleasantly sitting at the computer, as the clock struck
5pm. Then we waited. 5:15, 5:30, 5:45...NOTHING. Now to my awesome
American friends who show up at 5pm when they are invited somewhere at
5pm or to Mark & Julie Fagundes who would probably show up at 4:45pm
and wait in their car in the drive-way!!! For you this is craziness,
but for (some) in Hayastan this is NORRMALL! At 5:50pm, I, Jonelle,
the loving, patient, demure, soft-spoken, and lest I forget,
SUBMISSIVE!!!!!! wife demanded that Kalem call Sam and see if they
were dead, super late or just not coming. Of course, the conversation
went like so, "Sam-jan gallees es?" "Ha, Kalem-jan gallees em!".
Translation, "Sam are you coming. Yeah Kalem I'm coming!" Now I know
I just might have been a little cranky but the operative question for
me would have been WHEN? When are you coming?...women, we are so
punctilious! 6, 6:15, 6:30pm..."KALEM, PLEASE call Sam and find out
WHEN they are coming PLLEEESSE!!!!!" Phone call #2, "Sam-jan gallees
es?" "Ha, Kalem-jan gallees em!". If I hadn't cut all my hair off
(yet another blog) I would have PULLED it all out after that! So our
peaceful and prepared meal of perfection had slowly become a cold
gelatinous and over-cooked mess. Our peace was replaced with chaos as
Frank and Peter were roused from, what had turned into, deep REM
sleep, whines, whimpers, and cries for Daddy to hold them and all
manner of craziness in volumes which only we can produce in the echo-
chamber in which we dwell. Next, Kalem's phone rings and it is Sam
and his family...they are ACTUALLY at our house and only 2 HOURS after
they said they would be there, oh and one more side note, Sam brought
his Dad and Mom too!! Pleased be advised that I am TRULY an advocate
of THE MORE THE MERRIER philosophy and USUALLY I prepare more food
than anyone can ever eat (baring Peter's baptism lunch and Frank's 1st
birthday...may we never speak of these again....) But you have to
understand in ARMENIA the Chicken are actually naturally fed and they
don't have hormones so they are 1/3 of the size of our botoxed birds.
The chicken would feed us nicely but two more adults and again I was
hanging on the precipice of being inhospitable this time by LACK OF
FOOD!!! As the group made their way up I sprang to the kitchen to
whip up some pasta for the kids. I was working the boiling water and
Peter crying, Kalem had Frank-O and was welcoming the guests and
getting them settled. From there we made a steady descent into the
worst night of entertaining I have every produced in TWO COUNTRIES!!!
We were trying to eat, I was up and down with the food, the crying
boys, and the extra plates. Judi bonded again instantaneously with
the girls and the mayhem continued up and down the stairs, yelling,
running, slamming doors, INSANITY, and then Peter and Frank joined
into the mix. At one point the kids were in the breezeway between the
apartments jumping down from ledge making thunderous sounds. Yep,
Mrs. Serob came out to investiage and chide. I just wanted to crawl
upstairs and hide. There were few moments of good conversation and
peace and then the chocolate chip cookies...flat and anham (tasteless)
except when you got to the chocolate. The evening only lasted 2 hours
but it seemed like an eternity. Our guests departed vowing to have us
to their home for kufta...we closed the door. We got the kids to bed
after they were instructed, lectured, chided, punished, prayed for and
loved good-night. I came down to the table. I slumped into my chair,
disheveled, distraught, and throughly disappointed. I had barely
eaten in the confusion and much to my shock there was actually food
left over. I took a piece of cold lifeless CornFlake Chicken in my
hands hoping to find a morsel of comfort. Once I swallowed I looked
at Kalem in utter disbelief, "This tastes HORRIBLE!" His response, "I
KNOW!!" God is so precious how He puts us in our place, how He shows
us that we are not "ALL-THAT" and how in our defeat He shows us His
love and HIS HUMOR!! Mental note: DON'T EVER PUT CHAMAN ON YOUR
CORNFLAKE CHICKEN!!!
Jonelle (aka Mariam Stewartyan)

Me Ara

2008-03-26T12:21:00.001-07:00

May of you have asked how the kids Armenian is progressing, well let
me tell you. Judi, aka "Voch" (No), Peter aka "Che Garalee" (can't),
and Frank aka "Me Ara" (don't), are learning just fine. Collectively
they have picked up the majority of the words spoken at the
kindergarden. Which are those mentioned above, in addition to
"che" (no), "em-na" (mine), "ee-ah" (mimicking the sound of a donkey,
you get the idea), and the there is the famous "ts" (kind of like
tisk, or a polite way to say ee-ah, or a stronger way to say no). The
other day Frank, arrived when he had his first complete fight with a
classmate completely in Armenian! It was hard not to smile when the
teachers explained that Frank had said, "Voch, em-na, voch, em-na" as
I cared more about him learning and using Armenian than the poor
sharing skills at this time. And so it has been around the house with
"Me ara" here and "che garalee" there and every where "Voch, voch,
voch!"

Round 4

2008-03-25T03:10:00.001-07:00

As most of you know I LOVE COOKING! Any chance I can get in the
kitchen and try a new dish or make a "Jonelle Concoction" and I am
happy. Last week we had invited our new friend Mairel Howsepian
Rodriguez over for dinner (she is a wonderful 28 year old wife,
teacher, writer, and coolest person ever since SHE BROUGHT US Baking
Powder & CHOCOLATE CHIPS in her carry-on!!!!!!) She was here for a
whirlwind-Easter-Week-historical-sightseeing-meet the Armenian
Relatives she had never met before-writing research-extravaganza
week. We were blessed to meet her (Al & Barbara Howsepian's
niece...and as you would all expect YES she to is BRILLIANT!) I
digress. She was set to come over for dinner and we were waiting her
call so Kalem could pick her up from her flat. At 5:45pm Kalem came
in with the few final touches I needed for my meal and with him he
brought our cousin, by marriage, Sam! Some of you know and love Sam
and met him in Fresno some 9 years ago when he visited lived on the
ranch with Mom & Dad Kazarian for a week or so. Sam is hysterical!
He speaks English with a "Sam" flare that you really have to hear to
appreciate! I greeted Sam with a hug and kiss and asked him, "Sam,
soorj oozoom es?" Do you want coffee? For those of you who know Sam
that is like asking would you like to breathe or would you like your
heart to continue beating (now that I think about it, the coffee is
PROBABLY THE reason his heart KEEPS beating...remember the frogs in
10th grade biology?) Alas, in the midst of my dinner prep I stopped
to make soorj. Sam and Kalem sat outside and I set out the coffee and
the confet (candy). Another side note...a good Armenian wife needs to
be ready at a moments notice to prepare soorj and have some simple
treats when guests drop in...I was baptized into this one afternoon
and learned quickly. I felt like I was a pro at the drop-in-soorj-and-
confet-gig. But I had NEVER had someone drop in at 6PM!!!! In my
country that is called DINNER TIME! Nonetheless, I made the coffee
and then washed the Jazveh (coffee pot which is a metal 'mug' with a
wooden handle affixed to the side! I needed the Jazveh because I was
creating a tremendous new dessert for my guest! I needed the Jazveh
to melt some chocolate for these tiny tartlets (let me know if you
want the recipe!) I no sooner got the Kisses into the pot when Judi
comes in (out of breath in Judi style...very dramatically) and says,
"Serob and his wife are outside to visit too. They need coffee!" OH
MAN!!! Now look at the mess I'm in...I have no Jazveh, no other small
pot (believe me there is a dearth of pottage here (DEANNA!!!!) so I
have to scramble since my arch nemesis is outside waiting for her
soorj. One more thing. In Armenia a woman's whole worth is judged in
the split second her coffee reaches another woman's lips! I sent Jude
back out to ask if they like it dar (no sugar), sorvoragan (medium
sweet), or karxer (sweet). She reported that they wanted it
"Norrmall" (medium sweet). I just had to get the melted chocolate
into these blasted little tartlets and Kisses DO NOT MELT WELL!!!! Be
Warned! I tried to apply the hardening chocolate as fast as I could
and get the Jazveh washed. I finally got the pot cleaned, the coffee
dust in, and the perfect amount of sugar in (Iron Chef I laugh at
you...you don't know pressure until you've been in my gosheegs!) I no
sooner set the Jazveh on the stove when Kalem came in and stated, "She
beat you to it!" "WHAT?" "She beat you to it, she already made the
coffee so don't worry about it." DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT are YOU KIDDING
ME?????? This was akin to a Frenchman slapping me across the face
with his thin leather glove! Oh, no lady. I don't go down that
easy! I pulled out all the stops. I plattered olives, cheese, and
salami and sent Judi out with the dish. I started heaping Mock Kehyma
on another dish and sent that out too. I arranged 3 different types
of bread and even sent out my melted cheese & green onion tartlets
(same shell appetizer filling!) that I made for our guest MAIREL!!! I
dared not go out there, I am scrappy but I am still a wimp! Kalem
said when Mrs. Serob saw all that I had prepared, "she was
speechless...her mouth just hung open!" YES!!! I may be a new
Armenian Lightweight but I can hold my own in the kitchen! Score:
Mrs. Serob 2-- Jonelle 2 1/2!!!! : )

Resurrection Cookies

2008-03-22T22:07:00.001-07:00

This is a great way to worship on Holy Saturday.

Blessings of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior

JESUS CHRIST!

1 c whole pecans
1 t vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 c sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. (this in important - don't wait until you are halfway done with the recipe!) Place pecans in a zipper bag and let children beat them with a wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested
he was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

Read John 19:1-3

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink.

Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us He wants us to know and belong to Him.

Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

Read Isa.1:18 and John 3:1-3

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.

Read Matt. 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.

Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Read Matt. 28:1-9.

HE HAS RISEN!

The Phone Call

2008-03-20T22:50:00.000-07:00

So we have our Fresno phone which anyone can call using our local
Fresno phone number and we have a house phone that is the local
Armenian phone. Mostly when this phone rings it is Kalem calling me
from our relative Roseanna's house and so I usually answer with the
typical, "AahLow". I try to banter on with him as much as I can in
Armenian and then just move into English when my SPANISH fails me!
BUT sometimes this phone rings and it IS NOT KALEM. These times are
usually hysterical for me and very frustrating for the person on the
other line. I start off with, "AahLow" and then when they say who it
is and whom they want I usually respond with, "Yes, Jonelle Em" (I am
Jonelle). They go off for a while in Armenian and I try to catch
every ninth word. I usually respond with, "YES, JONELLE EM!" They
try yet again thinking if they continue to talk with even more
difficult Armenian vocabulary that I will miraculously understand and
answer their pressing questions. I respond with, "Yes Chem
Haskanoom" (I don't underunderstand). They mutter something which
must be a blessing, I'm SURE! and then hang up. This happened quite a
few times before Kalem taught me the phrase, "Scala Hamar" (Wrong
Number) but I still would get call backs. This one guy tried three
times and finally I just said, "I'm an American named Jonelle and I
really DON'T understand a word you are saying!" He Hung Up on Me! So
the other day a woman called and she started talking. I listened
waiting for a break to insert "Scala Hamar" but to my SURPRISE she
said Kalem's name and a few other words that I UNDERSTOOD!!!! I was
very excited in fact I understood that it was the woman from Star
SUPERMARKET calling about Kalem's "Club Card" (the ones that take only
TWO MONTHS to process). She was wanting his American AND Armenia
Passports, his Social Security Number, and I think she said something
about his blood type too; not so sure on this point. I actually
responded to her in good enough Armenian that she confirmed what I
said to her!!! (I felt a wee bit like Bart Simpson in the episode
where he was the "foreign exchange student" to France...I need'nt say
more...for those who know KNOW and those who don't...well...). I felt
really good about that phone call soooooooooo, two days ago the phone
rang at 11:30am; thinking it was Kalem I answered with my best
Armenian-Man-Deep-Coffee-Cigarette-AahLooow" unfortunately it was NOT
Kalem but a woman who was looking for Serob. I again understood and
was trying to let her know that this was not his number. She sounded
like she really needed to talk to him and since I was feeling
confident I told her, "Me Rope" (One minute) and I set down the phone
(remember it is plugged into the wall...not cordless), opened the door
and ran up the stairs to Serob's door. I knocked and waited but their
was no sound. I made my way down the stairs when I heard the door
open and Mrs. Serob call out in a most annoyed way, "Inch
Ah?" (Basically what do you want?" I ran back up the stairs to see
Mrs. Serob in her jammies and bathrobe (like she just got out of bed!
oh I love this country....I just wish someone in my house would let me
sleep until 11:30am!) Needless to say she did not look pleased and
you already know of my fear and trepidation when it comes to her! I
told her in Armenian that a woman wanted to talk with Serob. She
asked me Who the woman was. I told her sheepishly that I didn't
know...the annoyed look intensified. But as I motioned her to come
down to our place she reluctantly agreed but asked me two more times
who was on the phone (did she think it would somehow come to me
because she was using Armenian Annoyance Torture on me?) So here is
Mrs. Serob in our apartment talking on the phone with the mystery
woman and I was pleased to say that her annoyance was not only
reserved for ME! She talked for 6 minutes in her bed clothes in our
apartment with the door open and me standing next to her (I am not
sure why I did this?). When she finally hung up she ranted about how
the woman was crazy and she wouldn't call again. Mrs. Serob walked
out the door and was half way up the stairs when I yelled,
"Shnoragalootoon" (Thank You!) She stuttered a half step turned her
head only a fraction but WITH A SMILE she replied, "Shnoragalootoon"
TO ME!!! Score: Mrs. Serob 2- Jonelle 1 1/2

Vodka and Garlic

2008-03-20T22:49:00.001-07:00

Before we came to Armenia we were warned about some local medical practices we might find in the villages. This American who had lived in one such village for five years said, "don't be surprised if they offer to rub garlic on a broken arm as a remedy." So, yesterday, I was pretty stuffed up with a sinus cold, and I saw my cousin Vram rub vodka on his nose. Investigating further I found out that this, and garlic, are remedies and protection from colds. Ashot who is married to my cousin Nana has been insisting for days now that drinking Vodka will cure anything. The following is a list of all of the local remedies I tried before the days end:

1) rubbing vodka on my nose

2) drinking vodka

3) eating garlic

4) drinking vodka

5) stuffing Q-tips dipped in chopped garlic and vodka mixture in my nose

6) drinking vodka

7) eating vodka and chopped garlic mixture

8) drinking vodka

9) stuffing chopped garlic and vodka in my nose

10) drinking vodka

11) hot water on my face

12) drinking vodka

13) sleeping

14) Oh, and did I mention drinking vodka!

I feel a little better but not sure what really did the trick, I don't really recommend these cures as they pretty much all burn quite a bit! After witnessing the events of yesterday, Judi now wants to rub garlic on all of her sores! -Kalem

ch-ga

2008-03-19T11:39:00.001-07:00

"Ch-ga" means don't have. This is a very popular term here in
Armenia. For example some popular uses; choor chga (no water), gaz
chga (no gas), luys chga (no light or power), pogh chga (no money),
afto chga (no car), khords chga (no work), voch me ban chga (don't
have anything). What we do have here is a lot of time to discuss
politics, the pros and cons of both Armenia and America, business
ideas, and drink coffee. I recently learned that "Armenian" coffee
(served in small cups with fine grounds mixed in), was introduced to
Eastern Armenia in the 60's, by neighboring countries, and was given
out free on the streets for the first year or two. Back to the chga.
The reason I write this is because our power was off again tonight,
and the power is the worst of all the utilities to go out. When it
goes out it takes with it the water (storage tank on first floor, with
electric pump), and the water radiator heating system which has an
automatic electric pilot, the oven, our fancy electric garage door
(with no release), the internet, our computers, our phone to America,
and the lights!
This usually sparks the conversation again with our landlords or
cousins, about America and why we would come to Armenia to live. I
share with them the misnomers of American freedom, namely credit and
insurance, let me just name them all for you, car loans, personal
loans, home loans, home equity loans, credit cards, retail debt, cash
advance, and life insurance, auto insurance, fire insurance, theft
insurance, liability insurance, disability insurance. On the other
hand you have the misnomers of Armenian freedom, no need for
insurance, no definite lines of traffic, no seat-belts or car-seats,
no littering laws, limited building codes, time to talk politics,
owning what ever structure you live in. Each time I have this
conversation, I struggle to make sense of these two very different
systems as the lines are blurring everyday. -Kalem

Visiting Friends

2008-03-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit some of the families I had
met last year on our week long building project in Khor Virap. Three
of the houses were on the same street and the families were all close
friends. We enjoyed our time in this tight nit community very much,
and the families appreciated our help as well.
I met with the first family and had coffee and looked through the
house. It was such an improvement to when we left, interestingly
almost everything was new except their kitchen cabinets which aren't
usually included in the habitat house cost. They didn't even have a
kitchen sink yet. They said that after this next harvest they would
have cabinets and a sink. Serop also just had a hernia surgery which
has limited a lot of his recent work. Despite these small obstacles
the family thanks God everyday for habitat's interest free loans, and
volunteers.
A small note about these interest free loans, donor around the world
give money to habitat international and they in-turn distribute this
money to the local habitat affiliates. There has been controversy
over Habitat International's new policy to charge interest
percentages, on the loans to keep up with inflation and their motto
that a house builds a house. Affiliates like Habitat Armenia face
disaffiliation with habitat international and a loss of their assets
and supporters. After talking at length with many of the staff and
homeowners, it looks like Armenia Habitat will hold out until the
bitter end in-order to provide interest free loans. As they have been
put on probation and the flow of funds has been stopped as of the end
of last year, the first round of layoffs happened and salaries will be
reduced this month. The habitat staff here is committed to their
original vision of, of providing actual homes to those people most
affected by the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and those still
reeling from the affects of the earthquake in 1988. Habitat
International is attempting to reach more families by working on
smaller projects or building homes room by room.
Reconciliation in this situation is something that you all could lift
up in your prayer times, and now back to the village...
As we left Serops house, Sevadad, the neighbor across the street,
brought us into his house, after explaining we didn't have a lot of
time and we just had coffee, we settled on bread and fresh home made
yogurt and cheese, with toasts of his best cognac. He is a very happy
man now even though they are still all sleeping in the one room that
they are able to heat with the small wood stove. They say gas is
coming in a month or so, just in time for summer, ha, ha. The family
is very happy now, I was both honored and amazed that the photos I
left this family last year comprised almost half of all the photos
they owned! This was the first time that I toasted and did not drink,
mainly because I was driving and we were just stopped at a check point
on the way to the village.
About the check point, we got flagged over by a very serious military
officer, not the local police, I produced my documents and he asked to
open the back of the niva to check out empty cargo area. He then
insisted that I have my drivers license translated into Armenian, to
which I explained how the international driver's permit worked and
that it was written in Russian. He had never seen one before but was
glad once he figured it out, we left laughing and smiling. Not
knowing where we are going, I rolled the window down, and as he was
leaving I called out "Aper" which means brother. This is the common
greeting for asking some one for directions, but as soon as I said it
my cousin hit my leg hard and said "NO! He is a 4 star captain, you
should say Baron Capitan (Captain Sir). He graciously gave us
directions and sent us on our way, I don't think he heard the "Aper"
part!
That day my cousin Vram and I were offered coffee at 6 different
places 8 if you count the place we went twice and the place we stayed
at for three hours and were offered lunch too.

Our Little Missionaries

2008-03-17T01:08:00.001-07:00

I am always amazed at what things stick in Judi, Peter, & Frank's minds. From random facts to gross details on any number of topics. But, the last week I have been overwhelmed with joy, gratefulness, and love as they have shared their hearts in different ways.

JUDI: Judi came home from school and said, "Mommy, I don't think these people know about Jesus." Why do you say that? "Well, they never pray before they eat." Jude, that doesn't mean that they don't know about Jesus it might just mean that they are not in the practice of praying before they eat. "Well, we need to tell them about Jesus!" Okay Jude. How about the next time you eat at school YOU can pray before you eat. Maybe that will remind them if they have forgotten. THE NEXT DAY Judi came home from school and said, "Mommy, I prayed before I ate today. Nobody else did but I'm going to keep on doing it!"

PETER: We were eating dinner at our relatives home and just as we were sitting around and talking Peter said in a half whisper (which is just below yelling for Pete!) "Mommy let's tell them about GOD!" Okay Pete do you want to share one of your favorite stories? Samson, David & Goliath, Elijah? "No. I want to tell them about Jesus!" Okay what about Jesus? "That He died on the Cross for our sins so we could be in Heaven with HIM!" Okay Pete, you tell Daddy and he will translate what you want to say. "No Mommy. YOU DO IT!"

Someone please let Mrs. Duncan, Mrs. Saul, Mrs. Scrivner, & Mrs. Forrest their work in the BSF Children's program brings glory to God through out the WORLD! Thank you and we love and miss you all...Franko's teachers too!!!

FRANK: Frank has been enamored with Judi's Polly Pocket Toy Cell Phone with dial tone, ringing, and of course Polly, herself giving "secret" messages to meet her at the mall. It is the one thing he loves to take from Judi's purse and walk around talking to Polly. The other night Frank picks up the phone, opens it and starts dialing. He put the phone to his ear and said, "Hello JESUS! It's Frank!"

We have been praying daily about opportunities to talk with people about Jesus and learn about their relationship with Jesus. Armenia has always boasted about being the 1st Christian nation accepting Christ in 301AD. We have a rich heritage of loving Christ, serving Christ and dying because we WOULD NOT renounce Christianity. God has given many gifts of talking with those we love most about Jesus. We are learning about the place of tradition, who they believe Jesus to be and the meaning of His sacrifice on the Cross. It is so wonderful to share our relationship with Jesus with them and encourage them to know Jesus truly by reading the Bible and having a relationship with HIM. Tradition is wonderful in it's rightful place and knowing that we have come from a lineage of martyrs is an amazing blessing, but the joy of the daily, living, communion with Jesus is the gift we want to bring to our homeland. We have been told that Armenia doesn't need to know about Jesus, they are CHRISTIANS already. To that we say, we all need to know Jesus, deeper and deeper daily and know who it is we worship, live for, and serve. Thank you for your prayers and the ways that God works in us to encourage, grow and deepen our love for Jesus TOGETHER. God is so Good! Love Jonelle;)

Great Finds in Armenia

2008-03-14T13:51:00.000-07:00

1. Clothes Dryer: Energy efficient, environmentally friendly,
portable, easy to use.
2. Instant Hot Water Pot: Heats cold water to a boil in about a
minute, auto shutoff, auto stay warm feature.
3. Water Heating Element: Warms single cups of coffee, tea or water in
minutes, pocket size, great for reheating.
4. Gas/Electric Combo Range Oven: Single electric burner, electric
oven, three gas burners, you never know which utility will be off.
5. Jazva: Small pot for heating Armenian coffee (with fine grounds
mixed in), careful it doesn't overflow. (on stove, notice spill)
6. Single Blade Razor: Economical, (Band Aids not included)
7. Folding Table: Great space saver, versatile, excellent for parties
(plant and card sent for Jonelle's birthday, from sister Kim in Fresno!)
8. Wood Handle Mop: Local product, use special cloth or any old
clothes. (notice kids art work wall)
9. Mini Broom: Economical, local product, great for kids. (Peter
really likes it!) And another reason everyone walks hunched over!

I got pulled over!

2008-03-14T13:10:00.001-07:00

Finally, I got pulled over today. The funniest thing was that I knew I was going to get pulled over some where some time during this little adventure. The reason for this (besides divine) is that I did not follow any of the simple routes I have memorized, nor did I have my cousins directing me, but rather tried to head in the general direction of the multiple stops I was to make (maybe over confident, with humility enough to know I would probably make some mistake). This is like when you are learning to ride your bike and you just go for it. So here is the conversation:

Hello

"I supposed you didn't know you could make a left turn there?" He said, as I handed him all of my documents before he asked for them, which all seemed to get in the way of the cigarette he was casually smoking.

"No, I didn't, I am still learning, I just came here. Was there a letter (I meant to say sign) that said that?"

"yes, it was written on the street" (remember you can barely see the lines after winter)

"Oh, there was a big truck there and I didn't see it"

"Okay, this time, but don't do it again, you are a guest" as he gave the papers back.

And that was it. It was a good experience, and I thank God for breaking me in slowly!

-Kalem

My Birthday Celebration

2008-03-13T00:11:00.001-07:00

Just to let y'all know. I had a great birthday. Kalem finally let me
go out in public! He took me to dinner very near to Republic Square
to a restaurant frequented by American's. It is called Square One.
We dined on onion rings, chicken Caesar salad, and tagiatelli Alfredo
with chicken and mushrooms...I mean it was no Macaroni Grill, and for
surely not Palintino's but not bad attempt at American Fare. We
walked around the square and found a book store that sells Russian,
Armenia and AMERICAN books. We bought a little paperback of Wind in
The Willows, by Kenneth Grahame (born in SCOTLAND...Diller's is there
a memorial to him there?) We have been at a loss as of late since we
only brought one "chapter book" to read together as a family (the rest
are homeschooling and great books I have had for 20 years and not yet
cracked). On Sunday we finished reading Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang (of
which Frankie calls it, CHITTY-BITTY-BANG-BANG) by Ian Flemming (I had
no idea this was the final book of the legendary JAMES BOND author, in
fact he died BEFORE it was printed.) Another side note, the book, as
always, is Very different from the movie, of which I STILL AM SCARED
OF THAT BLACK CLAD CHILD-CATCHER!!! It was so fun to read this to the
kids. Of course I had to read it in my very best English dialect,
Thank you JANE SEYMOUR! All that to say we were done with the book
and bed time was a little sad without the adventures of the Cracctacus
Pott Family. So a new book for our family reading time...all of us
piled into our bed (I HAVE to blog about our BED sometime!!!)
listening so intently to the twists and turns and if I have learned
one thing from the countless Bible Missionary Stories from KNAR
GUEKGUEZIAN, at VBS is you have to stop each night at the most "Cliff-
hangery" place possible. When I stop the kids, and Kalem erupt into a
chorus of, "Noooooooooo, read more Mommy Pleeeeeas!" I love that
part! So, back to my birthday. We went back to our relatives house,
where Jude, Pete & Franko were and the whole family had assembled
around one of NANA'S FAMOUS CAKES!!! Each one is a masterpiece, a
unique work of art. It was HUGE, vanilla cake with a layer of
delicious pudding cream and a layer of MARANGE...I don't know how they
do this but it is crunchy and light, and another layer of cake on
top. The coolest thing is that we have available to us a myriad of
amazing pyrotechnics available for common household uses
like,,,,,CANDLES!!!! The Sparkler SHOWER ON TOP of my Cake was just
like the 4th of July (perhaps the shower was so large because of my
advanced years???!!!! I will have to look into this also! Needless
to say it was an amazing display of dessert goodness! And our
relatives bought me very cool drinking glasses, like theirs, with
oranges all over them. Our other cousins, Vram & Jemma (more on them
later...they are OUR ARMENIAN TEACHERS too) bought me gorgeous
demitasse, Armenian Coffee cups. So beautiful and generous of them
all. BUT the BEST GIFT was a BEAUTIFUL, HUGE, LUSCIOUS, GREEN CALA-
LILLY from MY SISTER KIMMY from FRESNO!!!!!! She's got more
connections than the mafia! (and I should know!) She and her boss,
Lily arranged for Lily's sister-in-law in Armenia to get this amazing
plant to my front door! I was blown away by their love and ingenuity
to make my Armenian birthday so 38-SPECIAL! Thank you LILY & QIM!!!!
Thank you all for your wonderful gifts, calls, emails & faxes!!!! It
truly was a special birthday, I will place it at #11 on my list...A
note to you all...Diller has NOT been DISPLACED from his birthday
giving Throne! : ) Love you all, Jonelle!

Miscellaneous Points

2008-03-11T23:36:00.001-07:00

The highlight of taking the kids to the year round fair last weekend
(like Roading Park), was not the dragon ride although we did have fun,
but rather coming down from the fairs-wheel I saw the operator spray
underarm deodorant into his jacket in the vicinity of his armpits on
to his clothing.

Today was the first day that all three kids walked to school, and no
one cried.

Today is the first day in the last two weeks that jonelle is not
soaking some grain or legume or her feet...

Most restaurants and stores pretty much every where, has a general
smell of cigaret smoke, including food handled at our small
neighborhood grocery store. It is not uncommon for butchers, or
clerks or even waiters to light up a cigarette while they are working.

The litter has been driving us "environmentally friendly" Americans
crazy, as well as the local solution of burning everything including
plastic bags. Stray dogs dig through plastic bags looking for food
and litter it everywhere, drivers of cars blatantly throw trash out
windows, people standing talking just drop trash. Just a few days ago
we saw the first wave of "city workers" cleaning up this littered
trash from the main roads.

Speaking of main roads it is also not uncommon to find about 5 or 6
guys huddled around a small hole they dug in the road, re-welding some
pipe, only to leave, yes... another pot hole!

-Kalem

Happy Birthday To Me!

2008-03-10T23:37:00.001-07:00

So today, March 11th, I am celebrating my 38th year of life. As I was
pondering this I was thinking WOW I can't believe I get to celebrate
my birthday in a foreign land (I have never done this before!) Then I
started to think about all of the great birthday's in my life and I
thought this would be a great time to honor some of you as I stroll
down memory lane. And of course to honor David Letterman, I will use
the Top Ten List! This is just a list about actual birthdays and not
gifts because the best gift I have ever received in my Salvation in
the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of my husband Kalem, the lives of
Judi, Peter, & Frank, my tremendous family and friends...so now on to
BIRTHDAYS!

10. My 13th! I had a boy/girl party and Darrin Marsella, Henry
Latanzio, Tony Stamolis and John Dealer came (these were the 'popular'
boys and I actually still looked like a boy!)

9. My 17th! My mom bought me a cake from Simpson's bakery with a
girl surfing on the top...great beach scene...I thought that was so
cool!

8. My 15th! Randy Jorgensen and Alan Hartman used balloons to "T.P."
my house and wrote Happy Birthday in shaving cream on the grass.

7. My 20th! My very first boyfriend, Karl Dean Ingeman!!!! bought
me a gold bracelet. I had never had a gift like that from a BOY!

6. My 14th! My sisters Kimmy & Judy bought me brand new sheets,
pillow cases, a comforter and throw pillows for my bed and put them
all on so when I got home from school my whole room was redone! I
felt sooooo special!!

5. My 30th! My brother Phil, sister-in-law, Melineh, Sister, Kimmy,
and my Dad & Mom bought me a brand new, shiny red, hybrid mountain
bike...two of my other bikes had been stolen!

4. My 11th. 11 is my favorite number and this was my "Golden"
birthday. My best friend, KENDRA HOPPER (now Fletcher) sent me an
anonymous package with a note that explained I would be getting 11 of
something each month on the 11th to honor my 11th birthday. She is
still too cool and has THE BEST IDEAS and ways to LOVE PEOPLE!!

3. My 16th! I was all scheduled to take my drivers license exam in
my dad's junk Datsun King Cab when the examiner noted that the right
rear turn signal light was out and I couldn't take my test in that
vehicel. My mom and I drove super fast to my Grandma Lillie's house
to get her 1978 Powder Blue Cutless Supreme with power steering and
brakes. I had NEVER driven a car with power ANYTHING and when I took
the test I thought I was going to fail just because of the severe
whiplash I created in starting and stopping. But I PASSED!!!

2. My 37th! Kalem knows how much I love Skee-Ball on the Santa Cruz
Boardwalk and he found out that Chuck E. Cheese gives free tokens to
people on their birthdays. We were all dressed up and we pulled into
this pizza joint...I was confused. We walked in and got 37 free
tokens and played Skee-Ball. Then he took me to Roger Rocka's Theater
and we saw "The King and I". (obviously not as good as NYC with Lou
Diamond Philips in the third row behind John Lithgow with you KENJI
but wonderful none the less!)

1. This one has yet to be topped...25! I was at school at Princeton
and my great friend, Kevin Diller, put posters, I mean 8 1/2" x 14"
sheets with pictures of me and some insane silliness that told
everyone in crazy ways that it was my birthday and I was 25! He put
them on trees, poster boards, in the dinning commons, in the halls, in
the dorms, EVERYWHERE!!!! One sign I will never forget, "Now, I'm not
saying how old she is but If Jonelle were a tree she would have 25
rings". Later that night Kevin Diller, Jimmy Flowers, Gregg
Valeriano, Tim Dobe, Neal Magee, Paige Wilson, Stephanie Hansen,
Emilee Berman, Cyrus Peterson, Dan Birchfield, and others threw me a
Surprise Party. I got great gifts but the best one was my favorite
episodes of The Simpsons on VHS! Many ManyThanks Devin Killer!

Now I celebrate 38 in ARMENIA and look forward to the events and
memories today will bring. Thank you already for the emails, phone
calls, and Cards! I love you all. Jonelle--38 Special!

Third Time's A Charm

2008-03-10T03:03:00.000-07:00

You know we have been trying to go to church since we got here and every week there has been some crazy story why we didn't quite make it there. WELL, this week we were determined! Kalem had the map and pretty well thought he knew how to get there. We were clean (without draining the ENTIRE water tank), well dressed and ready to go. Kalem found the church and about 19 potholes too...it's funny how he finds the ability to avert the ones on HIS side but not mine...I must look into this at length!?! We were about 15 minutes late but Kalem said it would be alright. We walked into a packed facility with almost no seat available! We were waved to a particular row with only two available seats (mind you there are 5 of us still), I didn't know if they expected us to sit on their laps or if each family was only allotted two seats. As we stood in front of people trying to get seated we were finally allowed a third seat! Kalem had Peter on his lap, Franko on mine, and Jude had her own seat (lucky duck!) We were between a row of 5 ladies on Kalem's side and two two-year olds (boy and girl...twins perhaps) and their medz-mideeg on Judi's side. We had no sooner sat down when the grandma and the two-year olds were offering Judi a bag full of GOLDFISH CRACKERS!!! Now I need to digress here and for good purpose. If you don't know this, Kalem and I have been working out teaching our children to worship God WITH us in Church every Sunday. When I was in school in Pasadena, I took a parenting class as a part of my Marriage and Family studies course work. In that class I read countless books on communicating your faith to your children. We had NO children at the time but we were abundantly aware of God's desire to train up our children in HIM. During my studies I found a book called, Parenting in The Pew, by Robbie Castleman, she is a pastor's wife who writes helpfully and candidly about this wonderful process. Those of you who worship with us in Fresno at Pilgrim, see Judi, Peter, and Frank every Sunday and the BLESSED ERITZIAN FAMILY!!! in the front rows of the church "TRYING" to get this worship thing down (answering the Kazarian Kid questions of, "Why does so and so get to bring stuffed animals to church? Why is what's her name drinking a juice box? Why can't we have crayons and paper?"...it is a process! We don't just want them to be QUIET we want them to learn what worship is, why we are in Church and what God expects from US! Now all of you parents who do this or are attempting to do this KNOW how difficult this can be with small children (or teenagers for that matter). We have a 6, 4, and 2 1/2 year old sitting next to us for 60 or 70 minutes regularly and we know how difficult that hour can be. I now return you to present day Armenia, Sunday, March 9, 2008! No sooner did we sit down and the grandma is offering Judi Goldfish crackers to which she said, "No." (I was SO proud of her!) We were doing alright, the service started at 10:30am, we were there by 10:45am and by 10:50 we had resisted our 1st temptation. The service was wonderful with worship music for the whole congregation, their AMAZING 21 person choir (that tours the globe), songs and poems from about 100 children for Woman's Day, Prayers, lots and lots of prayers, offering, more prayers, and of course the sermon. About 15 minutes into the service Frank decides that he wants DaDa and that the WHOLE CHURCH needs to know this also. No sooner did the words come out of his mouth when the grandma with the crackers was on the scene offering Goldfish goodness to quiet the child. Another friendly "No Thank You" from "THE MOTHER" (that's me), and a hand off of Frankie to Kalem and Peter to me. All is well. I am not sure of the time of the next infraction but it WAS NOT US...it was the grandma with the twins...they were nuzzaling (sort of between crying and wimpering) and every head turned to look at them. The five ladies next to Kalem all leaned over at varying degrees and sounded like a barber shop quartet +1 with the series of "TTTTTHHHTHTH" [I don't know how to write it but if you are ARMENIAN you KNOW this sound! it is like a "tisk, tisk" but the meaning can be anywhere from, "How sad, to "You are the biggest dope on the entire planet!" and anywhere in between.] Then they make their assessment and what should be done in the situation. You see in Armenia there is no "Privacy" or dealing with anything on your own. If you exist there is always another Armenian to witness your existence and to let you know how to do it BETTER! The grandma just smacked both twins on the head! and told them to "SOUSE". I just whispered to Kalem, "Thank you LORD that wasn't us!" Oh, silly girl...A few minutes later Peter was trying to punch his way through my skirt and the FIVE women next to Kalem leaned over to investigate. The one closest to Kalem pulled out 3 TOOTHBRUSHES to appease the little warrior and grandma was poised and ready with the blasted GOLDFISH! {Now I have seen a lot of ways to get a child to quiet down during worship, but I HAVE NEVER SEEN TOOTHBRUSHES offered EVER! Perhaps this is what the Fletchers, Eritzians, Kharahadians, and Bramanti's have used in the past. Again I will have to have you all confirm the role of the toothbrush in training up a child in the LORD! At the 1hour 15 minute mark the pastor asked all 1st time visitors to stand...as if we didn't stand out enough! : ) Along about the 2 hour mark EVERYONE in the Kazarian family was ready for church to be over. I'll admit it...we are rookies when it comes to Marathon Churching, and try it all in another language, with everyone looking at you. And now Judi had to have her moment. Judi begins to whimper, "Mommy I am sooooooo hungry." "This is the longest church I have ever been to." Here we go. Now I'M LOOKING FOR THE WOMAN WITH THE CRACKERS! The service ended at 1:05pm!! I think we more than made up for our three missed attempts!!! When we regrouped I asked the kids if they thought this service was longer or shorter than Badveli Ara's at Pilgrim Church in Fresno. Judi thought the one in Armenia but PETER was CONVINCED Ara was far more long winded! : ) But they both agreed they liked the 5 Minute Church the BEST! Loving This All Jonelle;) oh, I can't wait to tell you about lunch after the service!!!!!

Happy Woman's Day

2008-03-08T08:37:00.000-08:00

So Armenia has a few things totally right that we have missed in
America. (The Dillers, Laws, & Bantas will have to weigh in on their
experiences from around the globe). In Armenia March 8th is called
Woman's Day. In America we have Mother's Day so you only get
celebrated if you have a child...pretty lame. In Armenia all women
and girls are honored, loved, and celebrated today. Kalem and I were
discussing this "holiday" and Kalem said, "I wonder when Man's Day
is?" My reply, "In ARMENIA the other 364 days of the YEAR are MAN'S
DAYS!!!" I must say it was a nice day and I received a small bouquet
of purple crocus from our cousins and Kalem bought me a ring and
matching earrings from the Verneesage (the coolest open air market
with all of the wonderful things that artistic, crafty, talented, and
shrewd Armenians bring to sell. So Be Armenian TODAY and CELEBRATE
YOUR WOMEN & GIRLS. I night out to dinner, a movie, etc...go all out,
its WOMAN'S DAY! love Jonelle;)

ANSWER TO PRAYER!!

2008-03-08T01:44:00.001-08:00

We got home from our day trip to the village and we were all very
tired. We walked in and attempted to go to the bathroom and wash our
hands and low and behold THERE WAS NO WATER! No sooner did we
discover this when Serob's wife, (her name is actually Gohar, but keep
them straight because we have about 6 Gohar's in our life right NOW!)
came over...we immediately pleaded innocent and told her we had been
gone ALL day and there was NO way she could pin this one on US! She
was coming over to let us know that both the water and the gas were
off because they were working on the gas line. She told us there
would be no gas or water for a day (now if that meant this day that we
just had or the next, was anybody's guess!) The next thing that came
out of Gohar's mouth I did not understand but apparently she said,
"Your children are sitting so nicely and quietly, good job!" Praise
GOD! I guess the 6 hours in the car, no real naps, delirium,
sedatives, good parenting and the tranquilizer gun had really been
paying off! Thank you for all your prayers. I don't think they are
looking at us with SO much distain anymore. In fact, Gohar even asked
me if I wanted a new vinyl tablecloth for the kitchen table...We are
SO in! Love you all! Jonelle;)

She Said...I HEARD

2008-03-07T01:31:00.001-08:00

This is our new Landlord-To-Be! She is a darling and gracious woman.
When we got to the village I met her and she said her daughter and son-
in-law and four children lived in this house. It was a good house and
anything we needed she would get for me. When we got to the house and
the doors were finally opened I walked in to get a good look at our
new digs. I think she saw my eyes widen as I took it all in. She
came and stood before me and said, "Don't be scared. I will clean it
all before you come. I will wash the beds and sheets. Don't worry I
am not a bad woman and a dirty woman. It will all be clean when you
come to live." Now remember my track record with translations! For
all I know she was saying, "I am so worried! YOU are going to live in
my house?! But you are so scary and dirty? What will my daughter and
son-in-law say when they know I have rented their palace to "these"
people?!"...You never know...not with the "Armenia" I hear! : ). And
for those of you who don't read or get my humor I want to be crystal
clear...I LOVE ARMENIA! I AM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE! I WAKE WITH
JOY EVERY MORNING! And...I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HOW GOD WILL USE US
TODAY!!!

Pen-Pals & Care-Packages

2008-03-07T01:19:00.000-08:00

Some of you have expressed interest in sending us things. Let me first say you do NOT need to do this. I do not know how LONG it takes to receive packages and post nor do I know the COST. Saying that you may feel free to send whatever you like to the following physical address. Postal Blessings jonelle;)

Kazarian Family (or individual)
C/O Roza Nalchajyan
48 Amerakyan St.
Nork-Marash, Yerevan 0047
Armenia

After May 1st

Kazarian Family (or any individual)
Lusaghbyur Village,
Lori Region
Armenia

Village Trip

2008-03-06T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well we finally made the trek to the village. By trek I mean, a
2-1/2 hour drive up hill (+3000 feet) through near blizzard conditions
for half of the trip, around the town of Aparan (these people are the
butt of many a joke here). With 6 people in our mini SUV, which
became more of a RV for Jonelle and the kids in the back since no one
had seat belts and the kids were up, down, forward, and backward.
Seat belt training is going to be a challenge when we get back to the
states. Only once did I loose control when a huge gust of wind blew
the car sideways across the slick icy road into a snow drift. I
quickly backed the car up and proceeded on. On the way back I
hydroplaned over a small lake that had formed in the middle of the
road. So now that we got all of that out of the way...

The village was covered in snow and soon our children were as well, as they were not accustomed to this much snow they jumped out of the car and into a huge field of fresh snow maybe thinking they walk across it, well they sunk to their short little waists. And thus started the downward spiral of being wet, cold and uncomfortable. The crying soon followed, but not before we got a look inside the house. The condition was a little worse than we thought, but not bad for no one living there for ten years. There were some temporary wooden walls that divided the house into rooms, and beds in every space including the kitchen! The only source of water was from a small sink in an enclosed portion of the porch, which was to be a future bathroom.
The homeowners mother, showed us around and told Jonelle not to worry about the present conditions and that her own daughter had lived there, and everything would be alright, and if she needed anything just to ask. We came up with a rough plan with Habitat and hope to start work in a couple of weeks. We also had a look at a neighbors house who will be the next to have work done. There were about fifteen adults huddled around the wood stove in the middle of their living room, as Jonelle was already in the car with the kids and the heater on, needless to say it was absolutely freezing outside! I actually was thinking I might have had frost bite on my finger tips as I had them out while taking notes and drawing a floor plan. As we were leaving the neighbor two houses down approached us and verified that we were believers as if he had been expecting us, and invited us to the Bible study that mets in their home every week. What a blessing! After a quick tour of the school we were off back to the warmer weather of Yerevan!

Frankie Got Kicked BACK IN!!!

2008-03-05T09:28:00.001-08:00

So have any of you read this book, "Potty Training in LESS Than a
Day"? The authors assert that 4 hours, lots of water, a doll that
pees, a potty chair and you are bound for success. As you can see by
the photo and my total determination to NOT have my 2 1/2year old
Genius Kicked out of Kindergarten, I have deftly taught Frank who's
the boss with regard to Elimination! And he is so happy about it
too...can't you tell from this is a great picture! Okay I am lying.
Frank actually DID go POOP in the toilet this BY NO MEANS equals that
Frank is potty trained! I have begun my first of many books expressly
for parents: It is entitled, "Potty Training In Less Than a YEAR!"
Monday we took Judi and Peter to Kindergarten and the teachers said,
"Where is Frank?" Kalem told them that I had explained to him that
Frank was not to return until he was Potty Trained in about 2 or 3
weeks. "CHE, CHE, CHE" (NO, NO, NO!!!) they replied. Then they
proceeded to tell Kalem what they ACTUALLY said to me on Friday.
Apparently, they were merely OUT OF HIS DIAPERS and they wanted a 2 or
3 week supply. What can I say...this is a New Country and a new
Language for me. All is well once again...but, but, but, we will go
to the Village tomorrow....I can only imagine what stories will
follow. Stay Tuned! Love Jonelle;)

Busted...AGAIN!!!

2008-03-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

And if I thought it wouldn't get worse...Ha! Silly Girl. On Sunday morning we got up and ate a delicious breakfast of Scrambled Eggs with Basterma, Salty Cheese, Warmed Gata, Coffee, and Fruit (oh, yeah...you know I am ALL about Food in EVERY COUNTRY!) We finished our breakfast, I washed the dishes (by hand...even though we have been provided with a dishwasher...by the by...our local grocer was trying to tell us that we could put laundry detergent in the dishwasher, "Ha, Amen Makeena!" (Yeah. All Machines!) I don't think I want my dishes smelling like some overly perfumed elderly Armenian woman!...again, I digress. So as I was washing the dishes I put Peter and Franko in the shower/tub combo and filled up the little tub and let them play. I finished the dishes and then scrubbed up the boys (oh, they had not bathed in 3 or 4 days...we are trying to respect the "Customs" here!) After they were done Kalem shaved and showered. Then the phone starting ringing. We heard all about the riots of the previous evening, gunshots, tanks, burning cars...(for those of you who are following my Armenian Sleep Depravation Experiment...that night was the ONLY one I fell right to sleep and didn't hear a sound! Go Figure.) So while Kalem was getting the info and the warnings I was in the shower taking advantage of our "endless" hot water tank. Massaging my stiff neck (this will be an entire blog but no room now) and shaving the primate legs! By the time Judi started her bath we knew we were not going to church AGAIN because of the army with automatic rifles on every corner and the tanks in Republic Square. [If you don't recall, our church expericnce last week was hysterical. We made it to the church around 11:15am and walked in to everyone standing up and beginning to pray. Two Badvelis prayed for no more that 5 minutes and church was over. The kids said, "THAT WAS THE BEST CHURCH EVER!"] So two weeks and no church for the Kazarians. Back to the shower...pretty soon Judi says, "Mommy there's no water!" So we got her washed off with spare water we had in buckets and bottles and at last after many days the whole family was clean and ready for Church which we had in our own apartment replete with worship songs, call to worship, Scripture reading, two sermons, confession, prayer, and the doxology. Now why? you ask is this called Busted...AGAIN? Well, when we were fresh and clean and finished with worship...SEROB'S DAD came over and let us know that we had used the ENTIRE WATER TANK FOR THE WHOLE APARTMENT and we would have no more water until the tank refilled...the NEXT DAY!!! Again the embarrassment. Again the shame. But Serob's Dad offered us some friendly advice: 1) Don't Flush the Toilet!, 2) Don't wash clothes or anything until the night, AND 3) One person should shower a WEEK!!!!!! That means I am due for my next bath sometime in April! Lord help us all!

BUSTED!

2008-03-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

So we got home from our family's house late on Saturday night. We parked the Neva and quietly as mice...Large, Loud, Crying, Screaming & Yelling Mice we made our way up the one flight of stairs to our section/apartment in Serob's three-section House. No sooner did we pass by Serob's Dad's place did the door fly open and there stood Serob's wife with some strong suggestions that we control our children a little better, oh, and to lock our door (the door that wouldn't lock because the key, which is about 4 inches long, didn't actually LOCK the door), turn off our computers, and a few more things that we might not have understood fully. Of course, like a good Armenian Mom I was MORTIFIED. How embarrassing, yes my children are loud (there are many factors that contribute to that state that we will not ponder at this time), yes they cry when they are tired, frustrated, just woken up, hungry, happy, content, have a gunshot wound, etc, but to be told by this woman, our landlord's wife, was too much for me. I of course went and hid in the bathroom with the children while Kalem took the list of complaints. But to quote Clarice the Reindeer (voiced and sung by Janet Orenstein), "There's always tomorrow for dreams to come true..." Red faced jonelle signing off. Oh, and by the way, Serob's Dad promised to fix our door on Sunday...

Finally Some Pictures!

2008-03-01T12:33:00.000-08:00

Judi's 6th Birthday Party, 1st day in Armenia

City Diner, Yerevan - special family treat

Dinner with family at our house, our first party

Niva in the garage, it needs a bath!

View looking down our street towards the store

Only 3 Days in and Frankie Gets Kicked Out of Kindergarten

2008-02-29T11:36:00.001-08:00

So I go to pick up the kids from "Kindergarten" today and two of the
nice grandma teachers immediately come up to me and start "discussing"
Frank. I am not quiet sure of what they were saying so I purposefully
looked confused. They continued...apparently, what I got from the
whole thing is that they wanted him to come again in 2 or 3 weeks.
They said he was too young...What? My 2 1/2 year old is TOO young for
Kindergarten? Are you kidding me...he is so bright and articulate and
so darn cute....What could they possibly be saying. With some more
explaination and a lot of hand gestures I then came to realize that
they wanted him to be POTTY TRAINED...and I said, "Well, join the
club...WE ALL WANT HIM POTTY TRAINED!!!!" No really I nodded
apologetically and promised that only Judi & Peter would return on
Monday. When I told Frank he got Kicked out he said, "No I was there
today!" When I explained that he couldn't go because he doesn't do
PeePee and PooPoo in the toilet his reply, "I tried that and I
can't!" Got to love Franko. We knew this one would be Armenia's
greatest challenge.
: ) jonelle

Armenian Dollar Store

2008-02-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

So if the Armenian Costco wasn't enough, today my cousin Vram and I
found "My Dollar Store." What's more is that is is actually full of
American Dollar store products, probably shipped over on some
container. I'm told originally the prices were one dollar or 300
drams, but now everything is 800 drams about $2.60. This was very
convenient for us since we recognized so many brands. We hit about
three more large "supermarkets" and the Armenian versions of Circuit
City and Best Buy, not to mention two pretty large potholes. The Niva
is covered in mud it looks like we have been on some kind of crazy 4x4
adventure, but here every other car is just about as dirty. Tomorrow
it will get a bath! Pictures will be coming soon... -kalem