GOING HOME

One family's diary, journeys and thoughts

Monday, July 30, 2007

What's new

Hello all, and sorry for not logging for a while. We were all rather busy, and this time with a good outcome. My apartment is finally sold, hip-hip-hooray!!! (For those who don't know, that was ONE of the main reasons I had to come here.) Moreover, after some searching I found and liked another, smaller apartment a little farther from city center and now am in process of buying it. As of right now I am homeless, living in an apartment that doesn't belong to me anymore. We already started packing, but there is still a long way to go, considering the fact that there is also my cousin's stuff to pack.

After working for a couple of months 10 am to 1 am every day, Vicky finally quit her job and is now chillin' at home.

Roxy is also home, doing homework (summer courses) when Vicky is not on the computer and housework - when she is. On weekends, we try to get out of town. Our last trip took us all over the Northern part of Armenia, but it was a one-day bus trip, so we didn't have time to appreciate things as much. I am looking forward to going back there and enjoying the nature and the sights at my leisure.

And the cat... well, she is a big girl now and every few weeks gets lonely and starts calling out from her high 3rd floor tower for her knight in shining armor. I think all the furry knights of the neighborhood gather under our balcony on those days.

The rains finally stopped, and now it's that hot and sticky summer weather I dislike so much. It's a good thing we have air conditioning at work, and at home the stone walls are so thick, it's always nice and cool inside.

So, the life goes on. As I hope it does elsewhere, even though we haven't heard from anyone in a while. Where are you, people?

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Hey

Hey everbody. Long time no blog. Hm. Happy belated Friday The 13th! Well, how was your camping trip? You know, tomorrow is going to be something called Vartevor here. Everyone waters each other. You can walk down the street and some passer-by will just dump a cup of water on your head. That's what happened to us last year. We came home soaked after these dudes with water bottles soaked us. Why don't you guys back home celebrate with us, if it's hot enough. Wet each other!

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Village sketches

Just some pictures of rural life in Armenia, taken in different villages we visited. The kind of life one gets to miss while living in a city.
















House-selling bloopers

I posted an ad in newspapers about selling my apartment. It is nicely located by a park, is in a good building, and is rather large, so I didn’t have a shortage of phone calls and visitors. Some are worth posting here.


-Hello!
-Are you selling an apartment?
-Yes!
-Okay…
Follows a barrage of questions: what, where, when, how much. Then…
-So who should we talk to about it?
-???
It took me a second to understand what the guy is asking. Then I realized what it meant. “Is there a man in the house we can talk to?”
I had to disappoint them. I said I was the one in charge. I don’t remember them calling back.



The visitors provided much entertainment, too. Some were scared of the cat (“can you please take it away?”). Some didn’t like the fact that the floors/ceilings in the building are not concrete, but wooden beams with plaster. Well, it’s a 1940 building, so if you like concrete, you gotta do it yourself.

Some simply wrinkled their noses and said something like “It is impossible to live here, this needs (a huge number) dollars to renovate.”

Gee, thanks! I don’t know if those tactful people noticed, but we actually LIVE there! AND, the amount to be spent on renovation is entirely their own problem – I don’t care if they spend 10 grand or 100 for it, it doesn’t change the value of the apartment.