So why the long delay in posting? Well to catch up, here goes:
Upon our arrival in Yerevan at 5 a.m., we were promptly taken by our amazing driver and now friend Harutoun to the apartment that we had rented temporarily, until our apartment is finished. To back track a bit, from LA, we had checked out apartments for rent. Once we picked out what we thought would be the best one, which was described to us by two people we trust as well located, fully equipped and completely remodeled (and the most expensive one we could find), we rented it. So, back to 5:00 a.m., we arrive at the apartment that was truly well located on Zakian Street around the corner from the Marriott. Up 66 stairs to what is best described as a vintage 1960s apartment with a paint job. Not to beat this point to death, but we left our beautiful house in BEVERLY HILLS, and were coming to what we expected to be a clean, European looking apartment. Ha ha ha. The apartment was suppose to have a reservoir water tank, air conditioning, three bedrooms, completely remodeled, high tech equipment including TV, DVD, Satellite and stereo. In its defense, it did have all of these items. In our defense and not to exaggerate, allow me to go through the apartment. The kitchen was gross and dirty and not remodeled. The burns I received from trying to light the stove have left scars on my hand (and on my family’s psyche). Here are a few pictures...
The bathroom was remodeled badly and things did not work or they leaked and, the bathroom smelled like pee all the time. The water that was suppose to flow freely both from the city and the reservoir in case of outages--neither ever worked—or if they did, the water only came out burning hot (and only in the bathroom). The air conditioning only cooled one room if all the doors were closed to the other rooms. All of the wardrobes to put our clothes in were full of the owner’s things. The satellite had about 20 channels of random porn or ads for porn (all with Arabic writing on them—go figure). If you attempted to flip channels from say fashion network or MTV, you may end up seeing “Alice does Ali Baba”. In the few days we remained here, we saw a wide variety of really scary looking bugs and ants. Houry became pretty hysterical and wanted to return home immediately. The girls took it better, but that is because I did not tell them about the really scary bugs. The quote of the day came from Houry. She was on the phone with her friend Gayane from LA and was asked what, if anything Gayane could send her……..Houry’s response “A ticket home!”
So we called the landlord who was not crazy about renting the place to us with a dog anyway and negotiated $750 of our $1100 back from them. The catch was we needed to be out by 4 p.m. the next day. This gave us a little more than 18 hours to find a place to move all of our luggage, the dog, two kids, unknown numbers of pairs of shoes, etc. The next morning we went to work and after pulling out all the stops with all our Yerevan contacts, our driver Harutoun saved the day. After Houry had a breakdown in his car, he called his friend the realtor and made him drop everything and find us the best apartments in Yerevan to look at. Houry and the girls made three stops and by 3 p.m. found a place we now call home. Must note here that we had unpacked all of our things in the first apartment, and then repacked in the middle of the night. Now we have one hour to get our money and arrange for all our stuff to move to the new place. Harutoun to the rescue again. At 4 p.m. two guys and a truck show up and they proceed to carry down 66 stairs all of our luggage, kennel, etc., load up the truck, we get our cash and dash off to the new place.
Landlord #2 is a Armenian from Russia who now lives in Armenia and has a couple of rentals. This place is a small one bedroom that is quite nice. Everything works and the place must have been remodeled about a year ago. Everything is up to European standards and if it was one room larger, it would have been perfect. Oh well, the family is closer than ever! Our location is fabulous. We are located at the foot of the Cascade 63 steps above a German restaurant that has become a mainstay of the Abajian diet. Great food and everyone knows us.
We have enjoyed two outdoor concerts (Kohar and Army Navy Band) that were given just outside of our window. The drawback of this location is that people outside our windows don’t go home or to sleep until around 1 in the a.m.. It is funny and a bit annoying all at the same time. We now know the folks that work in the local markets and they know us and goofy. Yum Yum donuts is around the corner. A video rental place carries a good selection of English language movies. And to top it off, a kebab place is just around the corner that is open 24 hours a day with great kebab!
After our traumatic start, life in Yerevan is settling down nicely.
The following week, Houry’s friend from work Hilda and her husband visited Armenia for the first time. It was a blast, Houry and the girls got to do a bunch of tourist stuff with them during the days and I got to drink excellent vodka with Joe at night. The next week, family friends (Auntie Nora & Uncle Tony) joined us and we went to Anush Opera. Never a lack of cultural activities available in Armenia in the fall!
So, we have been keeping quite busy so far. The girls started school and they are doing well. The first day we went to school, the vice principle put the girls into the 6th level of classes. This was done because schools in Armenia are essentially one grade level above schools in the US. However, our girls had their hair straightened and looked like they were going out for a night on the town. The other girls in the 6th grade were still really little girls. So, back to the vice principle’s office and off to 7th grade with the girls. The girls in this grade are perfect, they are much more socially compatible and age appropriate. We have brought along our curriculum and have set up private instruction for them for these core classes (in English) and regular classes with the other kids for other subjects. It seems to be working well. The kids at the school are great. They are taking good care of the girls. One boy has been following the girls around all over school all the time. Bridget told us that their friends played with their straightened hair the first day of school and I said how cute that was. Bridget responded “Yeah, but we were eating beurag and their hands were greasy!”
So after about two days in our new apartment, we go down to our most convenient German Restaurant and have a bite to eat. About four hours later, miss Bridget asks the question "where is my retainer?" So, we search the apartment with no luck. Then Bridget figures she left it wrapped up in a tissue on the table at the restaurant and they must have thrown it away. So, before we toss her off the balcony, we send them alone back down to the restaurant and tell them to find the missing retainer, or don't come home. About 20 minutes later they return, retainer in hand. Apparently they go to the restaurant, ask the waiter if he saw them. He said no. Then they ask if they can look in the trash because it was wrapped up in tissue. So they say sure. They take the girls into the kitchen and the two wait staff, restaurant manager and cleaning lady all help them go through the trash until they find the retainer. The cook even gave them a pair of gloves to put on. How is that for Armenian hospitality? The quotes of the day came from Kristen who said "the kitchen at this restaurant is really clean." and "the spagetti and meat sauce looks good even in the trash." So, we soak the retainer in a bit of Vodka and it is as good as new.
Before we left LA, Archbishop Derderian asked us both to serve as representatives of the Western Diocese on the various programs the Diocese is administering in Armenia. So, Houry has been getting involved. I will let her hopefully post and comment about all of this stuff.
The Paros Chamber Choir had its first Concert on September 20th and it was fabulous. We had been working on this concert since we arrived. We had a nice blend of locals and tourists and were able to get good media coverage on TV, in the newspaper and on the internet. Now we shift focus to our September 30 performance at the American University of Armenia’s Baccalaureate Ceremony and two potential Concerts in October.
In anticipation of our cargo arriving from the US, I went yesterday to try and get our residency stamp in our passport. The guy we have been told by our friends to go and deal with is apparently on vacation. The guy that told me this info is the person Houry called “a jackass” last summer when we were trying to get her Armenia Special Residency Passport. I just left and figured I would wait until our guy returns.
This concludes my first long catch up post in Armenia. Now to answer the question in the headline "Why is this Baby Crying?" The answer is....because she lives in a depressing apartment in Yerevan. The question still remains....why does a normal Armenian household in Yerevan have a picture of a black crying baby in it?
