January 4, 2010

Only two days to Christmas, and it’s the fourth day of a week long New Year’s Celebration in Armenia. At my host family’s home we have had a constant stream of visitors from late morning to late at night. The dining table is laden with food and drinks, most especially alcohol. Every visitor is seated at the table and then “given” a plate full of food. The food consists of dolmas, meat crepes, ground chicken rolls, various fresh fruits, dried candied fruits, various cheeses, various meats (ham, salami, unrecognizable items), mixed nuts, and more homemade pastries than you’ve ever seen. Oops, and I forgot the ubiquitous bowl of candies.

Today it is snowing, and there is about seven inches of fresh light snow on the ground. It is absolutely gorgeous outside. My family left to go and visit more relatives and friends. So I’m alone and it is wonderful that I don’t have to eat anything! Yesterday we visited five neighbor and family member homes, and at every home a plate full of food was put in front of me. And all of it was exactly the same food as we are offering here. It is inconceivable to me that we could have a six-day open house in the US where every home offered the same food.

Last Saturday another volunteer and I went to the home of our Armenian tutor (who does not speak English) and ate with the tutor, her mother, and a cousin. The mother works as a cook in a restaurant by our international airport (which has two flights a week to Russia.) The tutor works in the local high school as a translator of “Old Armenian” into new Armenian. Their home was at the end of a path through incredibly run down homes. The very small home had a small gas heater that heated the three rooms, no hot water, though running water in the bathroom that had to be carried to the kitchen. Carpets hung on the walls for decoration and insulation. The house has had no fixing up probably in thirty years. And yet there was this beautifully laid table with all the foods mentioned above. At the end I had never eaten so much in my life, and promised not to eat for another week; a promise that lasted until I got home and food was again thrust on me.

Many Armenians go into debt to celebrate the New Year. Welcoming friends and offering lavish food is a sign that all is well, even when it is not. No one brings hostess gifts. They reciprocate with visits to each other’s homes.

For really special guests, my host dad brings out his homemade vodka, which is 70 proof, incredibly smooth, and stored in canning jars. There have been many medical warnings about this home vodka, which has caused all kinds of problems including stomach, which require hospitalization. The everyday vodka on the table has a label that says “Siberian Vodka.”

To celebrate our American Christmas, I traveled to Kapan in the south near the Iranian border, and had dinner with 23 volunteers. We went to Sue’s house, which is up a steep cow path in a high mountain village just outside Kapan. The view was incredible, as was the hospitality. It was a fun day.
(Trekking up to Sue's house. View from Sue's deck.)



I stayed at another volunteer’s home in an apartment just outside Kapan. She had the most interesting water heater (that I regret not taking a picture of.) It was in the bathroom, and consisted of a tall narrow water tank mounted over a small wood-burning stove, with the faucet (directed over the bathtub) located between the tank and stove. So all you had to do to bathe was to get the fire going!

Kapan housing consists of all Soviet era apartment buildings, which are built along the mountain walls. The buildings are different from anything I’ve seen before in Armenia. The town subsists on local mining operations for precious metals though it is currently in trouble as the world commodity prices for metals are down.

(Kapan apartment houses.  There are few single family homes in this town.)


Kapan is on the main route between Armenia and Iran. The two-lane road is in unbelievably poor condition with lots of potholes and washed out sections of the road going over high mountain passes. Iran is a very important trading partner with Armenia as evidenced by the many trucks bearing Iranian license plates (which means those unrecognizable Iranian numbers.)
(Views of the market in Gyumri before New Year's Day.)