Category Archives: America

My inner voice is aristocratic

Posted on April 24, 2020 by Liz Barron

I have renamed my inner voice Lady Louisa Chick. LLC is the impossibly smug sister of the always-socially-distant Mr Dombey in Dombey & Son. (I have yet to read this Dickens’ novel, but binge- watched an old BBC version this … Continue reading →

Posted in America, art, BBC, bras, Charles Dickens, clothes, coronavirus, Household tips, lockdown | Leave a comment

Splash-down in Shady Side

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Liz Barron

I had not been back in Shady Side for even an hour before I was using a tumble-dryer, an appliance I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. In Armenia, where I spent twenty-seven months serving with Peace Corps, a washing … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, Odd One Out, Peace Corps | Leave a comment

Hajo to His Excellency

Posted on October 14, 2018 by Liz Barron

The outgoing Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Armenia gets what it’s like to be a volunteer. After treating four of us to breakfast in Goris in April, Richard Mills and his wife Leigh Carter had to … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambassador Richard M Mills Jr., America, Armenia, armenia’s revolution, Cross-cultural understanding, Damian Gorman, Diplomacy, friendship, Hanna Huntley, National Poetry Recitation Contest, Peace Corps Armenia, Poet In Residence, Summer camp, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference | Leave a comment

Northern Ireland and Armenia: bordering on —well, what?

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Liz Barron

Above all else, politicians and peace-builders in Northern Ireland — not two completely overlapping groups— know that people find it hard to change. It is 20 years since the Good Friday agreement and many stumbling blocks to lasting peace and … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Armenia, Belfast, Borders, Caucausus, Cross-cultural understanding, fear, Learning, life lessons, Millisle, Nagorno-Karabakh, National pride, Northern Ireland, Peace Corps, Peace Corps Armenia, Terrorism, Things that make a difference, travel, velvet revolution, war, Women | 3 Comments

What kind of woman are you?

Posted on June 20, 2018 by Liz Barron

 Armine who works at SOSE sat beside me and translated in a whisper. My toddler Armenian meant I couldn’t say much and anyway a loud-mouthed American braying in her own language wasn’t really what was wanted. But the discussion about … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Armenia, family, fashion, feminism, life lessons, sexism, Weddings, Women, work, young women | 2 Comments

Finding our true American voices

Posted on June 19, 2018 by Liz Barron

I lie in bed reading poems, trying to pick just the right one for a class at our Creative English camp. From the phone beside me miserable news streams from the United States. I come across Walt Whitman’s ” I … Continue reading →

Posted in America, America singing, Armenia, BBC, BBC World Service, Borders, Emigration, Peace Corps, Peace Corps Armenia, Poetry, Walt Whitman | 2 Comments

Rage, Rage Against the Dying of our Children’s Light

Posted on March 25, 2018 by Liz Barron

Yesterday everyone I know in America marched. The gay grandads marched. The Arizona teacher raised on an island filled with Armalites marched. The TV producer mom flew home from a shoot to stand in front of the White House and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018, America, Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, fear, Fundraising, gratitude, Great weekends, guns, Hanna Huntley, Happiness, march for our lives, Mother/daughter dynamic, National Poetry Recitation Contest, no guns in schools, Peace Corps, philanthropy, Poetry, Safety, Terrorism, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel | 2 Comments

St Patrick’s Day in Armenia

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Liz Barron

St. Patrick’s Day in Armenia. Well, now at least there’ll be an entry should anyone else ever Google this phrase, which seems unlikely.  St. Patrick’s Day will not be as big a deal here as it is in my native … Continue reading →

Posted in America, American holidays, Armenia, Christianity, Church, Cross-cultural understanding, Food, Ireland, Legends, red head, St. Patrick, travel | 2 Comments

Peace Corps: One Year In

Posted on March 16, 2018 by Liz Barron

I am serving my country abroad, and my country is America. I can’t quite believe it myself. The words conjure pictures of soldiers, brave and resolute in uniform, or Ambassadors, smooth and sophisticated. I am neither of these, and I … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Anniversary, Armenia, BBC, Blessings, Caucausus, creative writing, Education, friendship, Fundraising, gratitude, Happiness, life lessons, love, National Poetry Recitation Contest, Peace Corps, straight-talking sister, Teaching, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, work | 5 Comments

Glad Tidings of Comfort and Joy?

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Liz Barron

It is always a white Christmas in my part of Armenia. Last year there was a meter of snow on the ground for the Apostolic celebration of Christ’s birth on January 6, and the first flakes fell back in October. … Continue reading →

Posted in America, apricots, Armenia, Beauty, Borders, Christianity, Christmas, Church, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, Food, Great weekends, History, identity, Islam, life lessons, Nagorno-Karabakh, National pride, Nostalgia, Peace Corps, Politics, Religion, Soviet Union, Syunik Marz, travel, Village life | Leave a comment