Raspberries and other stuff

Sometimes, it actually feels like I am in the Peace Corps.  This past Saturday was one of those days. After four and a half hours of language class in the morning, I sauntered home to be fed and have a nap. Unfortunately, the day that I returned from site visit one of my other sisters was rushed to the hospital. Not the same sister as when I first arrived, but the 17 year old. Everything is ok now after surgery. So, this weekend it was just myself, Grigor and Narine.

There are many trees in my backyard/garden and right now everything is ripe! My host father Grigor will climb one every couple of days and shake out the blackberries or yellow cherries. On Saturday, as I was napping under the cherry tree Grigor climbed it and hung out there for a good thirty minutes eating cherries. Sometimes I feel like I still live with my brother Andrew, but he’s 53, my height and married with children. Like Andrew, Grigor starts his day with coffee and a cigarette. He likes to fix bikes and sleep in the kidnapper van because ‘it’s cooler’.  And of course, he loves to climb trees and eat the fruit. This weekend though, Grigor was rocking his wife’s bedazzled slippers everyday and I’m not entirely sure why… but I loved every single second he had them on.

A few hours later I felt like eating some raspberries.  There are so many raspberry plants in the garden! I grabbed a basket and started picking. I have never before picked raspberries, but it’s something I plan to continue doing. You can get lost in thought seeking out the deep red hue popping out against all the green.  As I went along I realized that I would really love to have a backyard/ garden such as my host family’s once I return home. It makes so much more sense to water plants instead of grass, to fill the soil with seeds that will bear fruit the entire summer and give you winter preserves. Plus I enjoy the sensations of being in the garden. My bare feet in the damp dirt, sweat gathering at the nape of my neck as the sun beats down, the delicate skin of the raspberries… it’s all very sensual.

Later on, my friend came over for tea and sunflower seeds. Armenians freaking love sunflower seeds! They can eat a wild amount of them in a sitting. They are served at almost every gathering and I will look over at my neighbor’s plate to see the mound of sunflower seeds compared to my pathetic pile. It was a lovely day. My visitor was another American volunteer though, so I did not feel as badly about myself.

The next morning I woke up early to do language homework and clean up my room before heading over to the village of Kotayk.  A group of ten was meeting to go hike the nearby mountain. It was about a 3hour hike up, with a steep incline nearly the whole time. It was so intense with the heat and no shade at all. I have only ever hiked mountains in the Adirondacks, where there is tree coverage the whole way up.  This was quite a different experience. An hour into the climb I decided I was going to take my sweet ass time because I didn’t want to be utterly exhausted this morning.

When I woke up I was definitely dehydrated with a slight headache and my legs still feel like stone. The pictures were definitely worth it though, so check those out on FB ( I will post them in a few days).

And for those of you swimming in the ocean this summer, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! All I want is a long afternoon at the beach followed by chilled white wine, the best hair ever, great color and laughs with my friends. When that day does come again, my god, will it be ever so sweet!

Kisses! I ruv youse!