Pushkin & Pugacheva

For the past 25 years I have been under a rock. I had heard the name Pushkin but by no means understood his greatness and contribution to Russian literature and poetry. Tblisi, Georgia has a street named after him as does Yerevan. Born in 1799 he died at 37 in a duel. Besides reading Brother Karamazov by Dostoyevsky, my Russian literature knowledge is dismal.

On my seven hour trip back to Yerevan from NKR I sat up front in the marshutka. I was between the an old male driver and a woman about my age. She was reading a book in Russian. So in horrific Armenia I asked "Inche e girke?"... "what is the book?" She responded Pushkin. We went on to speak mostly in English about the importance of Pushkin's works. She was shocked that I had not read Pushkin and was not impressed that I had read Brothers K. She went so far to tell the driver that I had not read Pushkin. He laughed at me exposing his shiny golden teeth.

Her back story was that she was a literature major but was now working in a factory in Artsakh. She was content with her job and once a month made a trip to Yerevan for concerts. She was on her way to see Alla Pugacheva who was stopping in Yerevan on her way to Baku and then onwards in her 1 year farewell tour before exiting the stage. Here's an old clip if you want to get a sense of the music that folks like here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIFmhye6fqw

Pugacheva used to be quiet famous during Soviet times. A somewhat catchy song, but not my taste. I must get to reading some Pushkin.

Gandzasar & Some Thoughts on Christianity

The building of the Gandzasar Monastery began in 1216. The church itself stands as it has for 700 plus years. The near by monastery was bombed during the war and has been tastefully rebuilt to mimic the thirteenth century architecture.

The church sits on top of a mountain with lovely view of the valley bellow and a far reaching mountain range. These old Christians had a knack for placement.



I know I keep posting pictures of churches and I am admittedly not very religious, but I can't help myself from putting up more photos. Armenians take pride in being the first Christian nation, but it is more than that, being Christian is a large part of their identity. Christianity has served duel roles of religious faith and political unity. Christianity is how Armenians differentiate themselves from their neighbors (and those who conquered them) for the past 1700 years.

Most recently, the resilience of Christianity in both Armenia and Artsakh held up against the Soviets. The powers that be in Moscow oversaw the closure of almost all of Armenia's churches (and churches throughout all of the Soviet Union)and persecuted religious leaders.

Many folks say it is the genocide that gives cohesion to the Armenian people, but the longer I stay here, the more I realize that it is this deep sense of being Christian that connects Armenians. This was the intent, I assume, when King Tiridates III made Christianity the official religion early in the 4th century.

I feel a bit out of my element, but am inspired by this rich history.

Papik Tatik

During my trip through Nagorno Karabakh, I visited the Gandzasar Monastery. Thankfully, a friend's co-worker saved me from another marshutka ride and drove me north from Stepankart (NK's capital) to the Monastery. On the road out from Stepanakert the Papik Tatik (Grandfather, Grandmother) statue awaits drivers. "We Are Our Hills" is the monument's official title. Made of the tuff stone, it represents the grit of the people of Karabakh. It also stands as a political statement, in the 1960s the Armenians wanted the statue, but the government in Baku was not too hot on the idea. My guess, the Azeri government, under the Soviet Union had little interest in strengthening the cultural spirit of the Armenian people. Eventually the statue was agreed to.

Artsakh

I took the week to visit Nagorno Karabakh - known as Artsakh to many Armenians. The republic is not recognized and it is considered "breakaway region." It is a defecto state and functions quiet well. One could make a strong case that it is more democratic than Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. Armenians fought a bloody war for independence of the region when the Soviet Union began to crumble.



I took a marshutka (minivan) for a seven hour journey. Despite being sandwiched between two large men reeking of cigarettes, the journey was tolerable. The marshutka snaked across southern Armenia with varying rocky landscapes. Once across the Karabakh border larger and greener mountains greeted us. Within 30 minutes I was in love with the lush, alpine landscape.

I arrived in Shushi, a historic city that served as the intellectual and artistic capital of the Armenians, Persians, and Azeries. My bread and breakfast host wanted to walk me through the old roads of the town dotted with white stones. A heavy fog had set over the town. Badly scarred by the war, most buildings - both Soviet and historic lie in ruins. A population of 3,000 or so keep life going and much restoration is underway.



I adored the family I stayed with. I played piano with the daughter, practiced my Armenian with the son, and spoke about the realities of life today and hopes for tomorrow for the people of Artsakh. I drank milk and ate yogurt (matzoon) from the neighbor's cow. I also had my first taste of mulberry vodka. A delicious drink that leaves one without a hangover and somehow more energized in the morning.

I also connected with a fellow diasporan and met her host family. We ate lentils, tomatoes, cucumbers and bread and drank. Later the men in the host family taught us Artsakh dancing which includes a lot of very quick steps, feet stomping and clapping.

Climbing Haytis

Today is Armenian Independence Day -- the country is 18 years old. Will write more on this later.



Yesterday I climbed Haytis, a mountain that is just over 2000 m. I joined a group of climbers who are training to climb Mount Ararat (5000 + m) at the end of this week. At the base of the mountain is a beautiful, small Armenian church. I will put some of these pictures up to view on Flickr. You can just click Armenian Pictures on the right.

One of the climbers in the group was a sprightly 80 year old man. He doesn't drink or smoke and is in fantastic shape. Early in the week I met a Canadian guy who looked at most 28 years old. He was 41. He has been biking across Armenia. It got me thinking about longevity. Maybe the fountain of youth is to bike and climb your way through life?

Heavy fog greeted us as we climbed. Out of nowhere we heard young voices laughing and from the fog appeared a group of Armenian teenagers (in the above picture)carrying the Armenian flag and singing Armenian songs.

At the top of the Haytis, Ara, the leader of the group who will trek to Ararat, took us into his manmade cave for a light lunch of apples, bread, cheese, cake, and tea.



After 30 minutes or so of eating, we left the cave only to be whipped by howling winds and a major drop in temperature. I enjoyed going up more than descending. Lots of stones to be mindful of -- one of the English speaking climbers kept reminding me, Armenia is a country full of stones.

Armenian Philharmonic

Aram Khachaturian remains the most well known composer of Armenian descent. Best known for the ballet Spartacus and Gayaneh, specifically "Sabre Dance"

listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUFWaauGPCs

Last night I got my first taste of classical music here in Yerevan in the venue the concert hall that is named after Khachaturian.



The concert was held in Yerevan's Opera House, built by Alexander Tamanyan in the early 1930s. It fits two large halls into the building one for operas the other for concerts. Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander, Verdi's Vespri Siciliani, and Haydn's Piano Concerto in D delighted. Though it's not Lincoln Center, at $5, the price is right.

Swayze

I have been interested in how American news is consumed and digested in Armenia. Earlier today a co-worker tapped me on my shoulder and asked, "Did you know Patrick Swayze died?"

I did not know.

The co-worker, in his mid thirties, is an editor, a tech fiend, and a lover of taekwando. Not your average Swayze fan. After talking a bit more to folks, my sweeping generalization of the day is that it seems like everyone here is a Dirty Dancing fan.

I was saddened when Ted Kennedy passed away, my office seemed less concerned. My guess is that the relative indifference to Kennedy's death is that the Senator did not affect their lives (though he was a stalwart on Armenian issues). Swayze however did effect lives. Their is shared nostalgia for this actor. It got me thinking about how American movie stars have a universal appeal and may be (for better or for worse) our most effective diplomats of culture. Unlike our actual diplomats, these actors end up being the transcending messengers of what it is to be American.

The Dirty Dancing story, working class guy meets girl, drama ensues, is similar to many parables cutting across a large swath of cultures. Only changes -- it's a Catskill mountain resort, working class guy is a handsome blue eyed dancer, and the bad guys are a couple that share my last name.

Katchverats

Today, I made my way to Echmiadzin, the Vatican of the Armenian Apostolic Church. I know very little about religious history, so bare with me, but it is said that Gregory the Illuminator had a vision that Jesus came to him and told him to build a church. Echmiadzin was built on this spot. Echmiadzin was the capital of Armenia when the it first embraced Christianity in 301 AD.



Echmiadzin is about 20 kilometers (I've gone metric) from Yerevan. I took a marshrutka (mini-bus) from the center city for 250 drams -- a little less then a dollar.

Unfortunately, I sat next to a persistent man who within the 30 minute ride tried to convince me of many things. No, he was not Armenian, but Persian. He was in his late twenties "touring" Armenia. Iranians come to Armenia quiet often for vacation. The two countries share a border. He claimed to be a history PhD and spoke some English - all wonderful until he started telling me how I should come back to live with him in Tehran where life is peaceful, food is wonderful, and everything is great. I declined politely. He then questioned my views on smoking, drinking, the Muslim religion and President Obama. I was glad to get off the bus.

Having escaped further awkward conversation, I focused on finding Mayar Tachar, the main church. It turned out to be the religious holiday Khachverats, a day devoted to the the holy cross (Surb Khach). It's also a day to remember those who have passed. Mayar Tachar is a three level church with lots of bells and ornate stone carvings.



Beautiful singing voices greeted me when I entered a packed church filled with elderly women with detailed needle points veils covering their hair. After the ceremony, I entered the church museum which holds Surp Geghard, the "Holy Lance" which is my handy Lonely Planet claims was used by "a Roman soldier to pierce the side of Christ on his way to Calvary."

I discovered another church down the road. The original base of the church is 1400 years old (so said the tourist information sign). I walked in to discover a baptism taking place. One of the perks of living in this country - religious holidays and family celebrations of the present are steeped in the past.

Growing Grapes

The picture on the right captures the grape vines above the office balcony. I have been impressed by the do-it-yourself culture here and ability to maximize what will grow from the soil out of a small space. I have so far learned that the best time to prune is during winter when their is less sap pulsing through the vines.

In other news, I have shown my coworkers the joys of American politics with Rep. Wilson's disrespectful "You Lie!" scream fest last night to the President. My coworkers admired Obama's calm response, but were absolutely thrilled by the Speaker's disproving death stare cast at what the Armenian here called "Obama's enemies." The wonders of YouTube. Unfortunately it remains officially banned in Iran, Morocco, Thailand, China, and neighboring Turkey.

Patriarchal Society?

Though I have heard many say it, I am not so sure that Armenia is a full blown patriarchal society. I haven't lived here long enough though to give a good answer. Coupled with limited observation, I am working for a progressive organization where men and women are given equal creative voice and seemingly equal decision making power.

Yerevan is also much like European cities from its nightclubs to outdoor cafes. Women and men mingle freely and women dress and act much like their counterparts in Europe.

Some striking differences do exist:

Women who smoke in public spaces like in parks or the sidewalk are viewed as easy. If they are smoking at a party or in cafe no one cares.

At a dinner table, if men are present, women should keep their hands off the wine and alcohol, it is the man's job to fill glasses.

There are no laws on the book specific to domestic violence. Nor is there a culture to report these crimes or organizations to assist victims. Domestic violence is rampant in the US as well, but the stigma about a man hitting a woman is not prevalent here.

If anything it reminds me a bit of my time in India when on a train from Chennai to Mumbai. I sat with a group of middle aged engineers (all men). After finding out I worked for an NGO that focused on empowering women in city slums and rural areas they expressed their mostly positive views on micro credit then proceeded to lecture me on why Americans should stop trying to impose their views of domestic violence on other countries. Their point - domestic violence is a private matter between a husband and wife.

I agree that major problems occur when one culture imposes its views on another, but reject this "oh its a private matter" or its unnecessary to have extra protections. It reminds me of folks in the US who say hate crimes are unnecessary. It's a limited view that ignores the underlining social reasons for violence and partially excuses the perpetrator.

The sculpture photo is on the first level of Yerevan's Cascade - the lovely white stone steps leading up to the 50th memorial to Armenia being part of the Soviet Union.

Animated Docs

It's easy for me to romanticize fields - documentary making is no different, uncovering real life, shot by shot, revealing the hardships and beauty of life. You get the idea, it's all wonderful. But I am doing my best to burst the bubble by learning about the challenges of the business, how hard it is to garner interest let alone dollars through pitches.

Outside of the political research I am working on, I have been tasked with researching basics on successful animated documentaries for a long term project. Waltz with Bashir may be the most famous in this genre, but it is predated by the work of the artistic genius behind Waking Life, Bob Sabiston. In 2004, he made a 12 minute short, Grasshopper. I am years behind in understanding cutting edge technology, but Sabiston took what's known as rotoscoping to a new level with computers by placing animated sketches over the live action shot.

Our project is not based on rotoscoping, more classic animation, but I fell in love with Sabiston's Grasshopper. It's an interview with an older Kashmiri man discussing philosophy in Central Park.

Watch for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIu0NMDjtCI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzlwVLgp44s&feature=related

Clay Courts in Downtown Yerevan

Since running away from dogs, I am focused on finding new ways to be active in my new city. In a land where chess, wrestling, boxing and car racing reign supreme, I was overwhelmed with joy when I found clay courts this weekend right next to Yerevan State University. For $8 you get an hour of playing time. Not bad. I have never played on clay and am looking forward to it.

The discovery of these courts also brings to mind one of the few famous Armenian tennis players (there is also Argentinian, David Nalbandian). Little known fact outside of those who care to know Armenian facts, the great Andre Agassi is half Armenian. After doing a little research on him, I thought he was well deserving of a shout out.

He has a charter school in Las Vegas focused on underserved high school students.

http://www.agassifoundation.org/

With the US Open underway, he was recently acknowledged last week for these good deeds. His foundation has raised some $75 million. Also, please, when you have a minute google image Agassi, the pictures from earlier in his career display an absolutely impressive shock of hair.

Running with Dogs

So earlier this week, I decided to take a new running route. This time closer to Yerevan's sports complex that has a nice view of the city. It was about 8:30 in the morning when I met a group of four dogs. Yerevan has its share of street dogs. I usually stay clear of them, but these dogs started approaching me. I stopped and stood still with me hands at my sides (this is what I thought you were supposed to do) An old man appeared walking with more dogs (all of them street dogs) following him. One of the four dogs, the leader, started barking at me and then jumped up and bit my left butt cheek. Lovely experience as you can imagine. The old man had a stick and beat them off. And when I say old, he was a vigorous 80 years. One little dog, kept coming near me barking. I had obviously invaded their territory.

Anyway, I freaked out thinking I might have rabies. I ran back home and showered immediately. Then had the women in the office check me out, yes they got a look at my fine cheek. They could only see my irritated skin but no marks, no blood. Also, dogs with rabies rarely remain in a pack. No one thought I should go to the hospital, in fact they thought, that I would only be giving a doctor a peep show and paying him for it.

Nevertheless, paranoia go the best of me and I visited a doctor that the US Embassy has listed on its website. Not only was the doctor in his office, but it turned out, as head of the trauma unit, his office was a meeting place for other doctors. Six other doctors to be exact. The doc asked me to lie down on the couch and show me where I was bit, I ask him to ask the other doctors to leave (as you can imagine throwing up my skirt for one doctor is one thing, but six Armenian male doctors seemingly on a coffee break was another). He asked them to turn away and then examined me. As the women in my office thought, indeed, I was ok, the dog barely broke the first layer of skin, no shots were needed, but my office mates were wrong about having to pay, the visit was free of charge.

Alas, life in a new country. The incident has convinced me to get comprehensive health coverage in case of an emergency.

Lunch Culture: home cookin' meets ping pong

I have now been officially working in Armenia for two weeks. I have luckily landed in an office that takes a unique perspectiv on the midday break known as lunch. For those of you stuck behind the desk during your lunch time (basically everyone I know, unless they are in grad school), think about throwing an office coup to enforce the following:

Every day we break for lunch at 1pm. Our office manager happens to be a tremendously gifted cook who makes a meal for 10-20 people daily depending on whose in and out of the office. The meals are cooked in the office kitchen from 11-1pm. So far we have had stuffed peppers, eggplant, cabbages, baba ganoosh, beef strogenoff, different Lebanese-Armenian dishes, breads, cheese, and fresh salads are a mainstay. We usually eat for 30 minutes, where discussion of work is off limmits. If you do mention a work related topic, someone at the table immediatley screams that you will be "fined" or "beaten" -- interesting humor from the Caucasus.

After we clear the table we have 30 minutes of ping pong. Table tennis is a big deal here. Unfortunately my days of tennis playing have left me with the useless gut instinct to swing the paddle. Swinging renders the ball way over the table. I am slowly learning to use my wrist and talk trash in Armenian. It's surprisingly fun.

Vodka

When I was a freshman in college, in the dead of winter, three of my girlfriends and I, after one too many, thought it would be a great idea to paint Northwestern's "rock." The rock is painted almost every night in the university's south campus. We gathered up supplies, mostly white and green paint and rollers. We couldn't find actual paint brushes, but this did not hinder our efforts. In the freezing cold, we made our way down to the south campus in the wee hours of the morning. After using the rollers to cover the rock with white paint, we painted mostly with our fingers with green paint, "God Bless Vodka." It wasn't creative, but we weren't trying to be. It was a paying of respects of sorts, or maybe more like a collegiate ode to drinking.

I learned last night, that Armenians live this very ode specifically to vodka.

My tutor, Simon, is a studious middle aged professor of linguistics. After our second lesson last night, I learned to speak more like an Armenian two year old child -- "I eat" = "Yes utum em." After our lesson, Simon invited me to stay for dinner with a former student of his, his sister, and his sister's granddaughter. Despite having already had a light dinner, I have learned that it is rude to turn down hospitality - a common characteristic here. A delicious meal of small plates was presented, cucumber and tomato dill salad, breads, cheeses, pickled vegetables, and a bottle of vodka had made its way to the center of the table. I have never had vodka with dinner, but this is not unusual in Yerevan.

We were given shot glasses along with our water and Simon proceeded throughout the meal to toast. By dessert, we had killed the bottle of vodka, probably five shots or so each. The food helped suck up the clear liquor and saved us all from becoming too drunk.

The night was representative of the Armenian culture. Like in many cultures, the people here place a high premium on company, food, and drink. What differs though, is that folks here compared to the West (broadly speaking) seem to warm to guests faster by immediately treating strangers (such as myself) like family.

As for the picture on the right, I felt vodka photo might be too cheesy and unfortunately, I don't have in digital form of my college day shot of the dripping words blessing vodka. This picture is of yet another fruit filled Soviet car. I saw this car just as the guy was half way down the alley with his trunk and roof of watermelons.

"Turkey and Armenia to Establish Diplomatic Ties"

I promise to not talk too much about politics, but this morning, I read a slew of articles including the NY Times' "Turkey and Armenia to Establish Diplomatic Ties." BBC, WSJ, Washington Post and the AP and Reuters all have similar pieces.

This photo is courtesy of Al Jazeera English. The organization reported thoroughly on the Armenia/Turkey news today. I was interested in reading their spin. Most of the coverage is pretty accurate.

Turkey and Armenia in April agreed on a roadmap to normalization of relations and the past four months there has been no movement. Leading many to argue that Turkey did not prove itself an honest broker, instead the Turkey government hoped to derail President Obama's pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide, with convincing diplomatic overtures. Now with the soccer match between Turkey and Armenia (in October) fast approaching, there seems to be some movement, but all remains to be seen.

Out of my time in Washington, I came to believe that Turkey should lift its illegal blockade on Armenia. Firstly, it's important for confidence building measures amongst the people - Armenians and Turkish people should speak and put a face behind the people. From an economic perspective, free market theory would point that it would help both countries if free trade were to become the norm.

I can't accurately report on the Armenian reaction. Mostly, folks in my office are not moved either way by the news. I don't think they trust the Turkish government. There is a sense also that Armenians may not yet be ready psychologically for the border to open. Armenians are an old people with an ancient language, but modern Armenian is not yet twenty years old. It has 3 million people, Turkey has 40 million people. I might be not be right, but it seems that some fear that Armenia may be swallowed up by Turkey. Folks in undeveloped eastern Turkey may pour into Armenia looking for jobs and ultimately Turkish goods will start to fill shops.

Symbolically, Mount Ararat, where Noah famously landed in the Bible, lies in modern day Turkey, but looms large over Yerevan. It's a constant reminder of Western Armenia and the land and lives lost in the first quarter of the twentieth century.

I will write more on the issue in the coming weeks, but from a purely practical standpoint, stripped of emotion, it is crazy that one has to go through Georgia to get to Turkey from Armenia -- the border should be opened. As for the unresolved historical issue such as Turkish recognition of the Genocide, this is not a precondition for the opening of the border, but it is something very real in the minds of Armenians living here in Yerevan, many of whom are decendents of genocide survivors.

Ok enough of the heavy.