Postscript- Travel home

So, if you read our last day you realize that I have been going full steam all day long and finally got to bed at 12:30 am on travel home day.

Promptly at 2:45 am my alarm went off telling me it was time to get up to get ready to go. Since I was in a rented apartment someone was coming from Hyur Service at 3:30am to check me out. Unfortunately I overestimated how much time I would need and was bleary eyed but ready at 3:10am. 20 minutes to go.....I laid back down on my bed realizing that the doorbell would definately wake me up...zzzzz.....it did! Promptly at 3:30 both the Hyur Service person and Melik showed up.

Check out complete, no complaints about 5 bags of garbage in the kitchen and a few items just left as is. (Ice cream in the freezer, blueberries rehydrated in vodka- chilling in the fridge, dead curling iron left in the cupboard, a few other miscellaneous but it wasn't trashed.) Melik and I carried down my tote bag, suitcase and carry on  to the bus and were done with it.

Round the corner to the hotel where Lauren was the only lonely soul in the lobby aside from the counter clerk and the doorman. I ran up to her room and slipped a note under the door with the tip for the floor lady to cover the team for Kristyna to disperse as she and Jirka were staying a bit longer. When I returned Lauren was safely ensconsed in the bus, which BTW still had the food in it from last nights apartment dinner leftovers! Melik assured me his next stop was to deliver the food to the office.

Off we headed to the airport. Melik dropped us at the door and went to park. Good thing! It seemed that my carry on luggage was too big to carry on! Having paid to bring a second checked bag in I was not going to pay for my carry on to be checked. Melik helped argue my case and they checked the bags. With a little more convincing they were willing to check them all the way through to Grand Rapids. (I had booked 2 separate flights GRR to JFK and separately JFK to EVN to save about $300, but on connected carriers.)

It was about 4:30am and our flight was at 6. We headed through security. Lauren had also had to have her carry on bag checked so she was really down to minimalist carry on- her kindle and her waist pack. I had pulled my computer and prayed that my carry on had been packed well enough to protect everything inside. I was already carrying a tote with my purse and a book in it and a second tote with a framed painting given to me by my good friend Armine. It was a bit awkward to carry but not too big to have been able to bring home.

First flight about 5+ hours to Moscow- breakfast included. salmon salad, bread, and a cake like dessert.  Not my typical breakfast foods. Lauren and I were not seated to gether. I was seated by a little Russian speaking woman. Evidently it was her first flight. She didn't know how to enter the bathroom, how to use the headphones, little things that I could help her with nonverbally. We did manage to use a little Armenian to communicate a bit as the flight went on. I managed perhaps an hour nap, perhaps. Disembarking was definately lighter than I am used to! Through the gate for transfers and off to wait for the next flight. Through security again-yes. My little friend followed along and I helped make sure she got to the right place to head to Amsterdam.

Next flight was 10 hours, 8 time zones and we would be in New York, New York, USA. The flight departs at 12:30pm and arrives at 2:20pm. It seems kind of crazy! Again we were not seated together but were just up the aisle from each other. I caught a brief nap before drinks came along preceding lunch. Always Order water AND something else. Ginger Ale is a favorite and so is Bloody Mary mix but they have neither on Aeroflot so I opt for Apple juice. Lunch is a choice of lamb or fish. Lamb please. It comes in a gravy with some oven roasted veggies, a small salad, bread and a chocolate dessert. It is passable. I watch a movie waiting for the sleepies to kick in again.

I finally nod off for about an hour to an hour and a half, or so it seems, before I wake up again. Potty break and request for more water from the stewards in the back. Getting up to stretch feels good. WHen I return I decide I am too awake to sleep so I find another movie to watch. Since each seat has it's own screen and many choices of options it's easy to watch whatever you want, whenever you want. Movies round 2.

I try for another short nap only to be woken up with the next round of drinks preceding dinner, or whatever meal it is. By the time the meal arrives there is only one choice-fish. Whatever....but it turns out to be a nice chunk of Salmon on veggies, with salad and bread. The dessert is a rather dry cake. I nibble, not finishing anything. After all, I haven't done anything to work up an appetite, just sat there.

Arriving at JFK, Lauren and I go through the long line for customs. It reminds us of the favorite ride at an amusement park on a popular day. We pick up our luggage and everything seems to be intact. I grab my toothbrush and contact stuff out of the wetpouch with high expectations. My mouth can hardly wait! We go through customs without a hitch. I recheck my bags and say goodbye to Lauren. Her Mom spots us and comes to greet me and express her appreciation for me taking Lauren on this adventure. I tell her it has been my pleasure! Lauren was a great team mate to have along!

I head off to check in at the Delta counter for my remaining 2 flights home. I have about a 4 1/2 hour layover. It takes about an hour and a half to find my way from one terminal to the next, check in and make my way to the gate. Of course it didn't help that I got stuck for 1/2 hour behind a group of 12 Taiwanese refugees who didn't speak English, didn't know what to do and who's aid was running back and forth between them and another group in a different location. Then I found out I was in the wrong place. Opps!

As my boarding time approached I realized that I would not get food on this flight and I was feeling slightly hungry for a change. I tried Burger King, but unfortunately had waited too long and their service was too slow. I left, empty handed, to become the last one to board. It was about 2 1/2 hours to Detroit on Gingerale and Peanuts. I survived and managed another nap.

It was a quick turn around in Detroit and I was on my last flight home! WOOHOO! And there we sat on the runway....and sat....and sat. We were 15th in line to take off. Yawn! I think I nodded off before we actually took off. Arrived home close to ontime at 10:50pm. My body's clock said it was 7am the day after I left Armenia on 2 hours 15 minutes of sleep(and a few naps). Dan picked me up and 20 minutes later I was home.

After a brief visit with Dan and Nick, phone call to Alicia and a brief amount of unpacking it was lights out around 12:30. That bed had never felt sweeter!

Bosovich team's last day together in Armenia

Monday, August 6th, 2012
      Today our plans are to go to Garni and Geghard, lunch near Geghard and then some free time before dinner at my place.
     9:30am pick up as usual. We have an interpreter and local volunteer, Nune Hakobyan, along to share information about the historic sites we are visiting today. Garni is the only remaining pagan temple left in Armenia. Though most pagan temples were destroyed after Armenia became a Christian nation, Garni was originally preserved because the king had married there. It has a fabulous view of the gorge below including some well preseved basalt columns on a facing cliffside.

      Outside of the gates many vendors are set up to sell homemade preserves, fruit lavash, walnut soujuk, dried fruits and nuts. A unique favorite of mine is the young whole walnuts in the husk that have been boiled whole in a spiced sweet preserves that are very delicious.

Then we climb back onboard the bus and head for Geghard, a monastery that was orginially carved completely out of a huge single rock. On the way we stop to order lunch at the closest cliffside restaurant to Geghard. It is new within the past year. With Melik, our driver's help I order pork khorovatz(grilled), bread, summer salad, yogurt, a bit of cheese and some rice. We request food for 8 people thought the table will be set for 10. (Kristyna is not feeling well so she and Jirka have stayed behind for her to recover. Bill has chosen to stay back to spend more time with his former exchange student, Hasmik, but we have the addition of Nune and Taron, another new friend, and of course, Melik) Though our number remains the same we ask for less food because we ALWAYS have too much food. They say it will be ready in an hour. Perfect.

   Off we head to explore Geghard. There are many different buildings to explore in Geghard plus a little trail to a cave with a nice view back to Geghard.  My personal favorite part of Geghard is a smaller cave above the main rooms. It has a small hole that allows you to peer down to a larger room below for some cool picture opportunities. Even better though are the perfect accoustics. Each time I go I feel the strong urge to sing something and relish the reverberations! Today I sing one verse of "Amazing Grace," which lends itself beautifully. Before leaving I must sing once again, and choose "Sacntuary."

    When everyone has had the chance to see everything we head back out and I buy some Gata, a delicious round flat loaf filled with a sweet layer of goodness. Several others make purchases from other vendors and we head back to the bus to go to lunch.

   We arrive at the restaurant, wash up and have a seat at the table overlooking the ravine. They have taken the libery of adding a vegetable khorovatz to our menu request and the rather bland rice dish fills 2 8x12 pans....for 8 people! The meat comes last, the expectation being that each person will eat 4 large chunks of meat the size of a small fist. Not happening! So at the end of our meal we have them pack up leftovers of everything except the rice. It will fill out tonights dinner or go to the office for tomorrow's lunch! A huge 2 bags of leftovers!

    When we returned the team got their first real taste of freedom for several hours. My cooking team was due to join me in the apartment around 5:30-6 for an 8pm dinner, so they had about 3 hours and the rest had about 5 hours!

I didn't waste any time and got down starting the food prep. Fortunately I talked Melik into helping me! (Man of many talents-Concrete guru, Bus driver, mechanic, plastermaster, prankster and now cook!) We started at 3:30 cooking the last of the chicken for the chicken rollups, prepping peach cobbler, apple crisp, salsa, taboule, cooking a vegetable mess from the khorovatz veggies from lunch with some chopped herbs and onions mixed in (Melik's specialty). We were still going strong when the team cooks started to arrive between 6 and 6:30. Cooking continued right up til moving and setting the table and sitting down at 8pm with the Fuller Center Staff to dinner for 14 people.

In true Armenian style there was way too much food. In the end all leftovers were packed up and sent off to the office to be lunch for the next week I think!. We toasted with wine, a little homemade vodka and "Teacher's" Scotch-whiskey, a gift from my team in honor of me being a teacher of sorts. I passed out photos as a thank you to my team and some fun gifts to our great staff. The staff passed out gifts and certificates to the team and we all expressed our appreciation. After the food was packed the staff and some of the team mates departed.

Several of us stayed for some extended celebrating and dancing. As 11pm came and went things wound down as we realized tomorrow we would part on our separate flights and should finish last packing and get a few winks. After starting the dishwasher and making sure I was down to the last essentials I climbed into bed at 12:30 with the alarm set for 2:45 am. Augh!

SUnday August 5th- Echmiadzin & Vernisage

Sunday is for sightseeing staring with Echmaidzin, the Holy City for Armenians. It is where the seat of the Armenian church is, the Holy Katholikos, their version of the Pope in Rome. It is a very large complex with many buildings to house the priests, provide classrooms for education, museums for precious artifacts.... Every year I've gone there seems to have been more construction going as this year also proves true.

We went into the sanctuary but services had not started yet. It was not very crowded for a Sunday morning though there was a large group a distance away, probably waiting for services to begin. Several team mates light candles in rememberance of loved ones passed away. When we finished we made a pit stop in the souvenir shop. I had been requested to replace a cross purchased here for a former team mate whos previous one had been stolen. (Katie, I have it!) :-)

Afterwards we went to the huge Grand Candy store near the Matenadaran. Lots of wonderful choices and a Grand Candy bakery next door, where I picked up a batch of half chocolate, half vanilla creme filled Armenian doughnuts. These would be our dessert after lunch. I had never had one before and wouldn't have known about it except for Vartuhi, our interpreter's guidance. Good choice. Of course lots of purchases were made...by the kilos! Having been to vernisage I volunteered to bring the candy back to my apartment to avoid melting while the rest of them shopped.

Next stop, lunch at Square one, a nice American fare restaurant. A bit pricey-er(?) after half the team ordered milkshakes or smoothies on top of their meals but they sure did enjoy it! Hamburgers, Pizza and breakfast omelets and the like landed in front of everyone and they dug in heartily. At the end donuts went around and even those who were full had to at least try an Armenian donut. It was a good choice!

The team went off to the vernisage with the guidance of Hasmik, Taron and Nune for souvenir shopping. I headed up to the apartment- 4 flights up- with what felt like 50# of candy in my backpack and hands. Then I turned around back down to do some shopping for our farewell dinner at the apt on Monday.

I know they were probably overwhelmed with all that vernisage had to offer: old books and carpets, new t-shirts, scarves, hand-embroidered tablecloths, jewelry, Ornately Carved wooded Nardi/Tavlo/Backgammon  boards and other wooden creations, CLocks, Salt bowls and shakers, glassware and Jazzve pots, Cd's, keychains, Postcards and bookmarks, Khorovatz swords, Paintings, artist supplies,Carved wood and toof and obsidian, and so much more to choose from multiple vendors all vying for ones attentions and money.

Of course the heat would make it less desirable to spend too much time, which was good because we were getting picked up at 4pm to go to a House Blessing that evening. The house was about the same distance away but not near to our family's house. It was a family of 4 with a daughter and son about 8-10 years old.

This was a combined effort with a local TV station who videoed the ceremony and then interview the family, staff and I as team leader. WHen they found out that none of us had actually worked on this particular home, they kept it short, I spoke to the fact that volunteers come to work on homes wherever the option is available to us and that we were happy to help bring this family's journey towards homeownership to it's official conclusion.

Dinner was piled high on the table, Khorovatz meat and vegetables, boiled lamb, salads, and fruits, candy and cakes for dessert.  As usual we all ate too much. Toasts were made by several of us with wine and vodka and around 8pm we got ready to  head back to Yerevan. At the last minute I remembered my glow sticks. I had 4 glow necklaces which I distributed to the 2 kids, , mom and Grandmother. Then I gave a package of 15 bracelets to the daughter, Geghetsik, meaning Beautiful, whose lovely eyes lit up with delight. SO glad I remembered I'd brought them!

After we returned and had a reminder that tomorrow we would again meet at 9:30 for pick up, everyone headed to bed and I climbed back up my 4 flights to the apartment. I should have really great legs when we get back after all the walking and stair climbing I've done this past month!!!


by Susan Bosovich

August 4th Saturday by Susan Bosovich

Today we are working with our 3rd family in Udin village. There is a mother, father, daughter Ani and son, Hovakim who is the same age as our youngest 2 girls. Nice that he is very cute as well. We also have three local volunteers, Nune(who had joined my team last year), Taron, and Hasmik. Our job is to haul toof to the roof- Bucket brigade!

Lauren and I join the father and the son in the roof to pour the toof. It is nice and open so we are protected by the tin roof but open at both ends to receive a breeze. Evidently it is very hot down below and "Hing rope" or five minutes is called frequently as they gulp water and change up positions for shoveling and passing and pouring into the buckets which are hauled up by rope.

We stop for a lunch of eggplant slices crisscrossed over a dolma style meat mixture- which Taron, one of our locals has never eaten before but decides he likes it. Plus salads and bread and other  delicious dishes which fill us up. Then we switch up places so that others can have reprieve from the heat. The shade is creeping over the passing zone offering more relief as well.

Frequently we switch up places during a 5 minute break. Around 3 pm Gohar V says we should stop and have coffee break and be done. Slave Driver that I am a climb back up the ladder to see the progress. We are so close to being done! I suggest that after break we continue for another 30-45 minutes to finish the job. The team agrees and we are able to finish insulating the roof. It's a good feeling to know we finished the job!

Since it seems that we ALWAYS have too much food wherever we eat, we are changing it up and going for Lahmajoon- Armenian style fast food pizza! It is a big hit with everyone! Though no one is hungry enough to order a second 2 from the group order a chicken sandwich as well. It is nothing like what you are imagining right now. It was a wrap with all sorts of other things inside as well as chicken.

Hasmik, Bill's former exchange student daughter, meet's up with Tamar, they are going to a Karaoke club with Taron and Nune after dinner. It seems they are going for dancing not to sing karaoke. The rest of us walk back with a pit stop at a local souvenir shop. After several purchases we head back and call it a night.

Unfortunately it is time to think about packing up. I have delivered an entire suitcase of goods to Armine for her family so I am down one piece of luggage. I was hoping to leave the other as well, but as I look at all the souvenirs I realize I have to pack the large one AND the carry on in order to fit everything! 3 bottles of "wine" for instance, a wooden bowl. duduk instrument, backpack from a carpet, Grand Candy, a pile of obsidian rocks, a wine stand, 2 doorstop mice, 2 jewelry pouches, 2 Armenian coffee cups and saucers, a Fuller Center Armenia clock, etc... on top of the things I was already bringing home- a few pieces of clothing (required to wrap around and protect items) my mini printer with which we had printed out pics for a scrapbook for our main family, the Haroutunyans,et al.

So much for compactness! I also have to carry with me a framed "painting," 3-d made out of Armenian clay/dirt. given to me by my good friend Armine, as it would not fit the luggage safely. Too much risk that it would be damaged in baggage handling.

So after organizing much of it, I still didn't get to bed much before midnight. Only 2 days of sightseeing then a very early departure for home.

Paro Lighthouse and work

Blog – 2 Aug 12

This morning we start off headed to the Lighthouse Palos – like where is a lighthouse in this landlocked country. Turns out it is a home for abused women. This foundation is he only one of its kind in Armenia and serves women throughout the country. It is a model organization which depends on contributions mostly from the US. What they have been able to accomplish is amazing. The women and children are given dental and health care. They provided with education, counseling, sewing and computer skill and religious educations. Currently they are building a chapel on the grounds.

Off to work – hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last day on this site as our last building day we will be a a different site. Today we will be working on another house. We are joined today by a group of Armenia (mostly college age) from the west coast. Two were from Fresno – and Gary knew friends of friends of theirs (what’s new) and two of the girls had been to a wedding that Gary and Judy attended last September – small world. They will be with us for two days.

We accomplished a lot of cement work today (say bucket brigade) and also added touf to the attic (this is a light weight rock used as insulation. Wheelbarrows and buckets full of these rocks are transported to below the attic, then buckets are hoisted up then team members in the attic spread it out (again bucket brigade style). The temperature in the high 90’s.

We return for a quick shower and a 25 minute stroll thru central Yerevan to our dinner. Delicious local food highlighted by a veal dish, the family’s recipe, topped with a sour cherry compote. The owner tells us that dish was from his grandmother and only available at his restaurant and his brother’s place in Canada.

We returned to the hotel after a slow walk thru central Yerevan, bustling with people even at 10 PM. Many stores are open, the restaurants are full. In the central square there is a light/water/music show every night from about 8-11 during the summer. There are always thousands of families, young and old folks there every evening and we never get tired of being a part of this evening show.

Getting behind- apologies.

So we're getting behind again. We've had 2 days working with our main family and one day of working with a third family. Today we are sightseeing. Official word to come later.

August 1st Return to Yerevan

August 1st, 2012 Return from Yeghegnadzor. By Susan Bosovich
It is funny how our world gets smaller by the little things. Armine's mother's B&B was booked for the extra night we stayed in Yeghegnadzor in order to work with another family in Areni village, back door neighbors to my very first builkd in Armenia in 2006. Because their B&B was booked we shifted to Armine's grandmother's B&B in nearby Chivas village....Which happened to be the place my husband and I had gone to for a wedding reception for Armine's cousin in 2010. Familiar memories came flooding back.
6 of us stayed here and the remaining 5 went to Armine's cousin's B&B nearby. We were greeted with homemade wine and vodka toasts with a few refreshments as we took turns using the single shower to clean up for dinner back at the big house. Again, when we returned from the big houseafter having enjoyed a lovely gardenside dinner, we were greeted
with a smorgasbord and more toasting before finally getting to bed. It was absolutely lovely and they remembered me from the wedding.
In the morning of the 1st, we had a lovely breakfast back under the outdoor awning where we had x been toasting the previous night- delicious. At 9:55am we were packed and headed for the big house to pick up the rest of the team. And we were off for lake Sevan via Selim pass. We stopped at Selim caravanserai, one of the best remaining camel stand from the days of the silk road transportation of goods.
It was a wonderful view despite a hazy distant view. There was a farmer with his herd of cows and another with his flock of sheep on the hillsides around us. It was an interesting structure as well which remains in good repair after centuries.
We continued on our way to lunch on lake Sevan. A new restaurant which had a place to wade and swim. Jirka, Kristyna, Tamar, Molly and Jill all decided to take a swim and felt very envigorated by it even though it was a bit cold. We enjoyed a lunch of fish and pork and fries with some salad and bread.
Then we proceeded to where we could climb to Sevanavank. Jirka, Kristyna, Tamar, Lauren and I climbed way out to the farthest point where we saw the Presidents summer house closed off from the public. There was a group of men who were there also. They invited us to join them in some shots of vodka with lavash and tomatoes and cheese. We made some new Armenian friends in that brief time.
As it was cold there were many less artists on the hillside today but the toof carver was among them.

We continued on to Yerevan, and though we were still full from lunch, managed to put a good dent into dinner at the Color of Pomegranate restaurant! It is amazing that when food is put in front of us we can find room, even if we just graze our way through it. Personally I am looking forward to UNscheduled dinners!                        

Work day in Areni

Blog 31 July 12  by Tamar Tatoian

Today is our third day off of our little “ vaca”. We leave our B&B (which finally got electricity by the end of the night last night) we head off to help another family not too far away in the town or village of Areni. The B&B was a real treat; Armenia was very thoughtful and cooked yet another delicious breakfast. The family that we worked with today was very kind, cheerful, and welcoming. Our team helped their family finish off their back deck which consisted of us doing a bucket brigade. We helped with the cementing process. The process of the bucket brigade was very intense as we had a line of all of us handing buckets of cement from lower to higher levels and then to the men of the family. Melik, Bill, Susan, and, Kristnya took care of shoveling cement and putting them in buckets to hand to Jirka and Lauren that eventually handed them to Jill, and Molly so on and so on. Some of the buckets varied in weight. Having a great and energetic team we got through the process very fast.

Today for lunch we did traditional with a splash of Armenian added to it. A very filling lunch that consisted of Lavash sandwiches, fresh blackberries, watermelon, peaches, and tasty anoush almonds. Later on once again enjoyed fresh Armenian coffee with more peaches and some candy!

As we were getting closer to the end of finishing the back deck, Jirka and Jill started a water war that eventually got everyone involved! It was a very refreshing water war that involved many laughs and smiles. After awhile we got more comfortable with the family and started a water war with their oldest nephew that was mainly doing the cementing, the youngest boy Haig, and the father. Bill brought Frisbees which we played with. The ending was a lot of fun and brought a great filling because it was our celebration of helping this family accomplishes the rest of their hard work!

Afterwards we headed to our second B&B. This B&B is very interesting because some of us are separated from our group. Jude, Gary, Molly, Jill, Kristnya, and Jirka are staying in the one main big building where we ate dinner tonight, and the rest of us are staying right down the road from them in a smaller B&B. They both are very nice and the workers are very friendly and welcoming.

Tomorrow is another day, which is our last day off and we are taking the time to travel back to Yerevan and are making a few pit stops, which one of them is to Lake Sevan.

Today was very entertaining and long and I can’t wait to sleep tonight!!!!!!!

Bari Gisher-- Good Night!!!!

Catching up~ July 28,29,30

log 28, 29, 30 July 2012

Today is a catch-up day for the blog.

The 28^th was a work day. Starting with the 1½ hour drive to the build site. We continue plastering. We have completed two coats on most of the house and have completed all 3 coats on some rooms. We had to leave this afternoon with only a small portion on a couple of upper walls without the first coat completed – most of us wanted to stay, but we had a special dinner to ?Attend.

Malik, our driver, construction supervisor and jack of all trades extraordinaire, had invited us for dinner at the home of his father in a nearby local village

First we visited the village church then we went to Malik’s family home. His 74 year old father greeted us warmly. Malik’s sister and son had been cooking for two days. The table was set out under the fruit trees in the back yard. A vegetable garden, wild flowers, a hammock and a cooling summer breeze added to the delicious dinner. After dinner, Gary and Malik played Tavloo (backgammon) while the rest wandered around and visited. A special evening for all of us.

The 29^th is our first day of touring. We started at the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum. The first time we went through it 4 years ago you had the feeling of disbelief and shock at what you saw. This time it was a feeling that it really had happened and why won’t it be recognized as genocide the world in general. The accounts of the events by those from other countries that witnessed it are there.

St Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral, a recently built church and the largest in the country is our next stop. A beautiful cathedral, overlooking an old children playground and one of the poorer neighborhoods of Yerevan

Lunch at ArtHaus, a bookstore and café combination. BLT’s on brown and white bread, hamburgers that were a mout5hfull, tea and desserts for many – a nice lunch.

KhorVirap is a Monastery built on the site where St Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned underground for 13 years because of his Christian beliefs. You can climb down a ladder to the very small room where is was imprisoned. There is a beautiful view of Mt Ararat from here, just a few kilometers across the Turkish border.

Wine tasting in Areni - was our next adventure. We had a tour of the winery and tasted 10 different wines. We witnessed a woman putting the labels on the bottles. She earns 10 drams/bottle to put on the laqbels – equal to about 2 cents American. We bought wine here - mostly to take back home. The wine to drink while we are here came from the roadside venders and was bottled in a used 1 liter Coke bottle – for about $5

Noravank Monastery dating to the 9-10^th century. Built on the side of a mountainous region. It is incredible to even imagine how they got the building materials here. The most unique feature is a narrow, steep pair of outside staircases leading to the upper floor.

The night was a Bed and Breakfast in Yeghegnadzor, a beautiful family home where we were greeted warmly by Armani and her mother, Gohar. The garden was exquisite and where they grow everything they need. W­­­e enjoyed their home and hoff due to an afternoon storm. The storm did not put a damper on our group despite no ospitality, the Dolma wass very good. The meal was cooked and served despite no electricity which was

30 July12

Rain bodes and the likelihood for a hike in the mountains does not look promising – so off we go in our trusty van for a day of excursion.

Tatav Monastery and University - the most beautiful and stunning monastery yet. Build in 406. Beautiful sights from all the many buildings. The rain started, boy did it rain, and rain. Our lunch was in a Pepsi tent – while it continued to pour. Our biggest fear was going down the winding, dirt mountain road, but trusty Malik got us down safely – as the rain continued.

We proceeded to the Caves an ancient site where the Armenians had lived and hid during war times centuries ago. We were unable to cross the suspension bridge to explore the caves because of the weather but the view across the canyon was breathtaking_.

Rain, rain, rain continued. We returned home – a long 3 hour drive thru the mountainous roads and arrived safely to LIGHT and electricity in our B&B – for about 10 minutes – then lights out. Again a beaufitul evening.

For many of us the best part of the trip has been the beauty of the countryside, the candlelit dinners, and being able to enjoy all of the sounds of the countryside and the delight of an electronic, electric life.

All is well as of July 31st, but post is for July 27th

Preamble to our blog: While we were in Yerevan Gary wrote the blog pages but I had difficulty getting the internet to upload them. Friday's work day will come as will Saturday's. Then we traveled to Yeghegnadzor where we arrive to no power. It is Monday morning and the power just came on at bedtime last night. No guarentees if we will have internet tonight, but will work harder to get updates from Yerevan even if Shirak still has issues. All are well and safe, we've just been powerless, experiencing something a bit normal in Armenia for the rural regions.

Blog, day 2, Thursday 27jul12 by Gary Gostanian

We arise each morning to a view of majestic Mt Ararat from our hotel room. Breakfast at the Shirak Hotel is always a wonderful daily surprise of fruits, vegetables, breads, meats and mystery foods.

Another beautiful day in Armenia with tempature in the high 90’s. We arrived at our worksite and our family was hard at work with us. Their 10 year old daughter, Hasmik, is a delightful addition to our team.

Our assignment was to continue to plaster the walls. We have almost completed two bedrooms and the hallway. Work on the living room is about ½ ways completed.

Our work day was short today but topped off by another home cooked Armenian lunch, the highlight of which was the local watermelon and the end of season apricots.


On return to Yerevan we were treated to, after a short shower break, we were treated to a 2 hour walking tour of the city. Our guide as young woman born at the end of the Soviet era, who lived her early days during the war years on the Azerbaijan border and later spent a year as an exchange student in the US, returning to Armenia to complete university studies in history and political science. It is amazing to imagine what she has experienced in her short years.

Dinner was at an underground restaurant, The Club, beautifully served, delicious food and entertainment by a pianist and baritone singing Italian songs.

Day 1 Orientation and work

My apologies for the lack of postings. Evidently the Hotel Shirak was having internet connectivity issues. It seems that the floor lobbies near the elevators will get internet but not in the lobby. The good news is that pictures seem to be working now! So we will go from here!

Blog, day 1, Thursday 26jul12  by Gary Gostanian

By Wednesday evening all the team had arrived in Yerevan, tired but ready for our experience. As our plane flew into Yerevan snow capped Mt Ararat arose majestically welcoming us to Armenia. The latest arrivals were treated to a late dinner of lamajoon before being dropped off at the Shirak Hotel.

The team members met in the morning for orientation – Susan, our group leader, Gohar, our Fuller coordinator and team members, Bill, Lauren, Tamar, Kristyna, Jirka, Gary, Judy Molly and Jill, prior to our 1 ½ hour bumpy bus ride to our home, driven by the trusty Malik, who drives, as well as is a job site supervisor.

As we arrived we were greeted by our host family given directions for our job of the day. We were instructed on sanding and plastering the walls of the home.

At about 1PM the main table was cleared and delicious Armenian meal was served. Then back to work.

The originally shy 10 year old daughter of the family, Hasmik, gradually joined in with the work of plastering – it was quickly apparent that this was not the first time she had helped with the work. She proved to be as hard working as any of the grown-ups.

We pastered throughout the afternoon and taking a late break for coffee and cookies. The work was new for most of us to those of us who had never plastered before but we quickly caught on to the job.

The end of the afternoon was cleaning up – a job which took longer than we expected, washing up in a 50 gallon and a stream running across the property. Malik added comic relief to the job by tossing little sticky purple thistles at the working team – before long the ‘kids’ joined in.

A tired crew headed home for showers and a delicious dinner.

The day was fun, hard work, gratifying as the walls slowly showed the effects of our efforts. The gradual getting acquainted with the team members, sharing smiles, bits of stories, plaster and sharing of a purpose.

Notes between teams

Notes between teams
On our last team evening together, after dancing and eating a final meal of Lahmajoon we returned to say goodbye to 8 of our team mates at 2 am. Hugs were shared all around with many "Thank you's" and "Keep in touch" sentiments spoken. And the group shrank as they left for the airport.
The next 2 were departing a mere 1 1/2 hours later. In the morning Peter left for Georgia to extend his travels, and we were only 5. As Leo and Sona had the day booked we made arrangements for dinner at my apartment with Matt and Tony our last evening and an excursion to follow.
I picked up the first 2 team mates for my trip, Bill Chattin and Lauren Jones at 2pm. Nice to have a mid day arrival! I settled Bill into Hotel Shirak and Lauren into my apartment until the team arrived.
We had a small dinner for 5 at my apartment with 2 former team mates and 2 future mates. It was definately much quieter than the raucous crowd of 16 I had entertained  a few nights earlier.
As Bill and Lauren were game the 5 of us decided to meet up a bit later and head up the Cascades. The boys had done this several times previously but only in the mornings so this was a new experience for them to see Yerevan from the top of the Cascades at night. It was beautiful!
Then we crossed to Victory Park, which was surprisingly quiet, and walked through to see Mother Armenia. After many pictures were taken, we took a cab back to the hotel. They departed by cab around 2:45 am. Sona and Leo were also leaving in the wee hours of the morning at 3:15am. It seemed like a good idea at the time to accompany them as it was time to pick up my next 2 team mates, Kristyna and Jirka from the Czeck Republic who were due in at 3:20am. Unfortunately they were much delayed and it was around 4:45 that they finally exited the baggage claim area.
After checking them into Hotel Shirak around 5am I got to bed around 5:30am. Lauren, fortunately was sound asleep when I turned in, so I didn't disturb her. But my contacts were screaming obscenities at me by then! 9:30 am came too early but the sunlight woke me anyway.
It turned out to be a more leisurely day which was exactly what I needed! Bill Lauren and I wandered around a bit, visiting some shops and checking out the Blue Mosque. In the afternoon, Bill had some errands to run, Kristyna and Jirka decided to rest and spend the day on their own, so Lauren and I went shopping at the big bazaar and wandered around town for a bit.
Bill had met up with a former exchange student that had lived with his family a few years ago named Hasmik. She had invited he and Lauren to dinner that night. Jirka had lit up at the suggestion of pizza for dinner so we went to MamaMia restaurant. We ordered light for starters with salad and a thin pizza. Then we had a second round of pizza before filling up. It was an early night for a change for which I was VERY thankful. Final team mates were due the next day and I needed to be ready to get the show on the road.
I think I have lost track of the days but that happens when you are on a great vacation! Wednesday we had another leisurely day but I can't remember whether it is the day partly described already or another day.... Anywho....
The 5 of us had dinner at Tashir pizza Wednesday night which was different from MamaMia, as this was a thick Pizza. 1 salad and 2 thick pizzas were enough for this group as well. Then at 8pm I headed out to the airport to pick up the remaining 5 team mates. Fortunately they were wearing their red Fuller Center T-shirts. It was very easy to spot them!
They had not enjoyed their airplane fare and were starving, so we stopped for Armenian fast food~PIZZA~ AKA Lahmajoon! Which they thoroughly enjoyed! THEN, we went to the hotel to get them checked in and settled for the night. After all tomorrow is our first work day! A good night's rest is in order!

Manuelian Trip Finale

Trip Finale
Though it's still hard to believe, our trip to Armenia has come to an end. Surely everyone was sad to see each other leave so FCHA planned for us a fun filled day to ease the pain. First, Melik took the band to Holy Edjmiatsin and it was certainly a great sight to see. From the first step into the cathedral I became overwhelmed with the site's history. Just the thought of how 1700 years ago, St Gregory the Illuminator had built the beautiful church and it had survived to this date was tough to grasp. It comforts me to know that through all the adversity that Armenians have went through as a people, the Church is still standing and standing as strong as ever. Luckily, we were also able to catch a glimpse of the Рatriarch as he entered the church as the last person in a long precession. After visiting Ejmiatsin, we were taken to a nice small restaurant in Yerevan where the cheese fries had everyone's mouth watering before the first bite, (okay, maybe only me).

After the restaurant, we were taken to Khor Virap where we were absorbed with even more history. At the monastery we were able to to go down the pit where St. Gregory the Illuminator was jailed for 13 years. How Gregory managed to remain sane after more than a decade in a pit is mind boggling. I gave myself about 5 minutes before the combination of heat and claustrophobia started to drive me crazy. At Khor Virap we got a close view of Mount Ararat and the border with Turkey. Although we lost Mount Ararat to the Turks, I was instilled with a sense of pride that they weren't able to take Khor Virap and that brought me satisfaction.


Our farewell dinner



Leo and Sona dancing
 at the restaurant

After returning to the Shirak to rest for a little, we were taken to a distance away from the hot city to a nice place alongside the Kazhak river where we were able to dine, dance, and watch the animals. We might have even cause a bear fight with a few morsels of lavash tossed into the cage. The food was good but I believe the highlight of the dinner was the emotional toasts made by a few members of the FCHA office and our group. It was great to hear the appreciation that FCHA members had for us, and it surely was a mutual feeling.

After heading back to the Shirak, the group headed to the Stoyka Pub where we danced the night away and boy, it was a blast. As the morning approached, the time came for us to say goodbye and personally, it was a tough moment. I'll never forget the friendships I made on this trip; from the young, rambunctious David Talanian to the older, wiser Peter Manuelian, we all bonded on this adventure and no matter what, our bond will remain unbroken.

As I reflect on this trip from the Shirak Hotel cafe as one of the last members in Armenia, I'd like to say that this was the best experience of my life, (believe me, I've had some fun times.) As a group, we filled a hole in the world and that will forever be something that I will cherish. Seeing my native country and the city of Yerevan were definitely highlights of the trip, but nothing compares to seeing the joy and happiness on the faces of those we helped. There's no greater gift than the gift of giving and I still have a lot of giving left in me. I leave Armenia honored to have had the chance to help those in need; it is an unmatched feeling and I look forward to coming back to continue this mission. Hayastan, its been real.
Till the next time,
                         Matt Ishkhan



Leo Manuelian's Team~ Over and Out!

Photo album for the Leo Manuelian trip

So here is a link to a combined photo album for Leo's team trip to build houses in Armenia. Much was accomplished and lots of fun was had as well! :-)

https://picasaweb.google.com/smiley25b/LeoS2012Team?authkey=Gv1sRgCISq8uGh6tGn_AE#

Souvenir shopping at Vernissage

Vernissage and Thank you dinner by Susan Bosovich

It was a good day to have MUCH less structure! After staying up and Dancing Friday night after a full day's work, I was in need of a sleep in day.

Our original plan was to go to the history museum at Republic Square at 10 am. My daughter, Alicia, and I had gone to see this museum in 2009 so I was not planning to attend. Evidently that was a thought in alot of minds.

Our other plan for the day was shopping at a flea market style place called Vernissage. You could get just about ANYTHING, except the kitchen sink there!. That had been on the calendar earlier in the trip but we had run out of time, much to the dismay of our serious shoppers. (Another reason to skip the museum and go staight to shopping) We met for lunch at Square one(a more americanized menu) and continued shopping!!!!
Note: In the past we have bargained with the sellers and been able to get lower prices. This year, however there were signs up in Armenian at many of the booths. Some added Russian as well. It was when we were almost done that we saw a sign in English that said, "Do not try to bargain." Now we understood why no one would come down in price.

Everyone seemed to find something interesting to purchase. Rug purses, Duduks, Nardi boards, magents, bookmarks,jewelry, etc,... so we were happy with the game plan. In the end Leo and his brother, Peter, were the only ones who went to the museum after lunch while we went back to Vernissage.

Personally, I slept in, meandered through making and eating breakfast as I am in an apartment instead of the hotel (which includes breakfast). I took a mini nap before actually getting dressed and ready to go. Then, I went to the hotel for internet to upload to the blog, check email and FB and such before meeting up with Tony for the walk to Square one for lunch. He had taken the opportunity to go to the internet cafe to upload grades for school. We have several teachers in our midst but he's the only one who actually had to do school related work on vacation!

We met at 6 pm to go to a thank you dinner with the family who's home we had worked on last year. Fortunately it wasn't a 70 minute drive to get to this house. It was wonderful to see the family in their completed home, smiles on their faces and exclamations of,"Shnorhakalutyun!" (Thank you!)

We had a delicious dinner of Khorovatz ("Grilled" over a small, hot stick fire)Lamb, chicken, tomatoes, mild peppers and eggplant, with vegetable salads, delicious fresh fruit varieties, breads, olives, and wine. It was followed up with a variety of Honeycomb (yum!), watermelon, sweet cakes for dessert with Armenian coffee. Way too much to eat AGAIN, but so hard not to try a little of everything. {I hope that my next team comes with a very big appetite!}

On the way back we saw fireworks going off but did not know what the event was, we just enjoyed them. Some of us went out to a local cafe under the trees near Republic Square where we could hear the music accompanying the water show. They really play an unusual mix of music! I called it an early night and the rest of the gang hung out for a second drink before calling it a night.


 The kids had decided to go our for ice cream instead. Evidently they met up with some of the youth from KPMG group and so they hung out for quite a while. When the adults returned they were a bit surprised but handled it well. Everyone had enjoyed the evening in their own way. Only one more day together and then we must say goodbye. (Can we start planning a reunion already???LOL!)

Our Last Day of Work with the Manuelian team

Heather
Susan
Sona

 Today was the last day of work. Half of the crew were up in the attic and half of us were on the ground, passing buckets of gravel down the line and up the pulley, to the roof.

After a good long work session, we say down for lunch. The family wanted to make us a lamb barbecue for lunch as a way of showing us how grateful they were of the work we had done. The grandfather and grandmother had been cooking it at their house and then brought it over to us. It was very satisfyingly delicious. I was trying to savor every moment of this lunch, knowing it would be our last.

After lunch had been served, a series of toasts were given by Leo, The father, and grandfather. It was so touching to see how thankful the family really was. After we had scarfed down our food and our tummys were full, it was time to bear our gifts to the family. The little girl, Hasmik who is 10 years old, had been taken with Rachel and I (both of us are 17) throughout the previous work days. She had let us know earlier in the week that she loved babies. So we thought what better gift could we get her.


Our family- Tigran and Salvi
Hasmik and the twins, Sasun and Sarkis

We called her over and handed her both of the dolls. Her eyes were at bright and happy as they could be. We also gave her a jump rope, some hair accessories and clothes. She was so overwhelmed with the attention and gifts, she wasn't quite sure what to think. The two twin little boys, who are about 3, received two large special ordered Teddie bears with their names on them from Leo and Sona. Plus, they inherited two big water guns.(Remember Vartavar?)

 Their giggles when they got to shoot their grandfather and anyone else, were priceless. It was so enjoyable to play with and watch them. After we played with the family and their new toys for about an hour, it was time for us to say our last goodbyes. Hasmik stood and waved goodbye to the bus until it was out of her eyesight. And even then I bet she still stood and waved. It was very heart wrenching to say goodbye but also leaves hope for the future that I can come back and see the family again, living comfortably in their fully finished house.

We came back to the hotel and got all cleaned up and ready for our subway trip to a restaurant called Paplavok. Me, being from Missouri the subway was a new and exciting experience. We walked down big stairs that went underground. The wind was blowing like crazy once we got down there. Leo handed us our coins and we walked into the entrance. On the subway I got laughed at by locals that probably take the subway everyday. I was showing my excitement very loudly and clearly. It was a fun ride to say the least.


Dinner at Paplavok

 The restaurant we went to was out on a pond. The food was actually very delicious. We had bread(of course), salads, and chicken with mushrooms. They had a live band playing jazz music. All in all it was a great way to end the bittersweet day.


The pond behind Paplavok

                              
  
                                      By Hannah Reynolds

Concrete work

Making Concrete Thursday, July 19th By Mike Campisi

 On Thursday, we were all refreshed and ready to work after having another travel
day.  After passing buckets of stones (for both the porch and roof) and having the
enjoyment of plastering, we were now in for a treat as we were going to be creating
concrete to fill in the wrap-around porch.

After the ride in and our good mornings with the family, we were given our assignments as those who would shovel stones, fill the buckets with concrete, and
pass them along.  It was a messy job, but we were able to get through it, and by the end, saw a good portion of the smooth new porch. 

Of course, we stopped for some water breaks,another delicious lunch and some random fun (including another game of keep it up with the soccer ball.)

 
One of the highlights for many came when the cousin, Mkhur, was handing out "nick-

Mkhur, the very
 enthusiastic cousin!

names" to a few individuals in English.  He may not have known what he was saying, but did his best to make it as clear as possible.  Mkhur also joined in the line to pass the concrete and showed great enthusiasm as he stated "bucket" when it was time to pass it along, as well as "let's go!" and "incoming!"  Common phrases being said by the individuals from Fuller Center.

One of my not so highlights (just kidding)...after the idea was thrown around to do sixteen sets of sixteen pushups for David's sixteenth birthday, Tony actually did them and I felt it necessary to also do them.  The grandfather, Samwell, noticed
this and dropped down to knockout a few one handed pushups.  Then, before revealing to me that he was trained in the Russian military, demonstrated some self-defense techniques, not for me, but on me.  I could have gone without that!

David held the bucket for less than a minute.
Papik Samvell help it for more like 7 minutes!

At night, we gathered in the lobby and started our long journy to Liban (a Lebanese restaurant) for dinner.  We had some items that we have had before (including French Fries) and were treated to a main course that was a meat in a sour cherry sauce (that is the technical term!).  A few of us shared a bottle of Sicilian wine (which is always the best...sorry, the Sicilian in me.)  At this dinner, we found out why we were given mineral water instead of plain bottled water at many restaurants (the restaurants feel that foreigners would like to try something new) and, while at the restaurant, we were watching some local Armenian television, before being interuppted by MTV and Eminem when the waiter thought we would prefer American TV.  It was changed back shortly at our request. 

After ice cream, Natalie and Hannah
took advantage of the kiddie room.

When dinner was over, a few people went back to the hotel while others continued to
explore the city of Yeravan by visiting a gift shop and getting ice cream.
I myself, as well as Matt headed back out a little bit later on. I did hear that an
awesome "internet club" had openned on the fourth floor of the Shirak hotel.
Another productive, fun day in Armenia!

Genocide memoial, ATP, Lake Sevan

After getting the chance to sleep in slightly more than usual, we all piled into the bus for what we knew was going to be a draining experience. We arrived at the Genocide Museum and Memorial after an anxious bus ride and explored the grounds a bit before entering. Each team member placed a flower at the eternal flame and paid their respects. The museum itself was horrific and beautiful and powerful all at the same time. I know that I speak for everybody when I say that this was an experience none of us will ever forget.

Taking a few minutes on the bus to collect ourselves, we headed out to the Armenian Tree Project headquarters to have a tour of the facilities and learn what they do since they coordinate with the Fuller Center frequently. We tasted fruit picked right from the trees and learned a lot about their charitable work throughout the country.

Because it was such a beautiful day, we then trekked out to Lake Seven - a mere two hour drive on a smelly bus :-) but it was totally worth it. We climbed up what seemed like hundreds of steps to Sevanank, a monastery with a gorgeous view of the lake and mountains. Lunch was served at a seaside restaurant and we then spent some time dipping our feet into the water and skipping stones. It wasn't as cold we we thought it would be! After some shopping where some duduks were purchased, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up for dinner. A quick stop along the highway to collect some obsidian was a necessity as well.

Dinner was an adventure. Part of the group went to Susan's apartment to prepare a delicious meal of chicken (cooked lovingly by a vegetarian), rice pilaf, left-overs stolen from the previous night's restaurant, salads, bread, green beans, and of course - wine! :-) We ate too much, laughed a lot, watched Susan and Mike belly dance for us, and had a really great time! In honor of young David's birthday, we had a Gata cake and sang for him. After dinner a few people went out for some drinks and another beautiful day in Armenia came to an end.
 
By: Natalie Canamucio