Sunday marked my first expedition out of Armenia's capital of Yerevan. A bunch of folks from the documentary company I am working for drove to Lake Sevan, Armenia's largest lake. Vardan, the head of the company, is an avid paraglider. He is a member of the Yerevan paragliding club - a random group of adventurous souls.
Paragliders have a harness and can control their shoot through an extensive string network. Depending on the wind, one can fly for a quite a long time. Something called "lift" is involved and like a bird you can literally catch a wave of air and float. Flying requires intensive training - definitely worth the exhilarating experience.
Lake Sevan is breathtaking, changing colors quickly between Caribbean turquoise to Atlantic navy blue. The lake was beaten up during the Soviet times due to their hydroelectric ambitions, but Armenian enviros are working to restore it.
As for my life here, I am starting to understand the documentary business and have lined up my first Armenian lesson this Thursday with a tutor from Yerevan University. The lovely Armenian alphabet has 39 letters, 36 of which were introduced in the early fifth century by Mesrop Mashtots. The O and the lowercase H are the only letters of the alphabet that correlate directly with their Latin counterparts. Uphill battle. Wish me luck.
No comments:
Post a Comment