Category Archives: Borders

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

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

It’s the little things

Posted on June 2, 2018 by Liz Barron

In a week filled with sweeping landscapes, big names and history lessons spanning 6 millennia, it is the tiny details that stay special. At Karahunj, Armenia’s stone henge I mooched among the wildflowers and was blanketed by the birdsong that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Armenia, armenia’s revolution, Borders, dwarf iris Armenia, entrepreneurship, Food, Goris, Great weekends, Karahunj, Lake Sevan, Mount Ararat, russian soldiers Armenia, Syunik Marz, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life, wild flowers Armenia | Leave a comment

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

Don’t hold the front page 

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Liz Barron

There are no newspapers and magazines to be found in Goris. And, now I come to think of it, there were none in the small local shops in my first village–although that was less surprising. In Yerevan, where I know … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Borders, Caucausus, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, General knowledge, Language, Language learning, Media, Nagorno-Karabakh, National pride, Press, Refugees, Syria, Television, The Archers, travel, Writing | Leave a comment

Border Post: Part Two

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Liz Barron

May 9 is a public holiday in Armenia and is known as Victory Day.  The day marks triumph over the Germans in the Second World War, where Armenians fought as part of the Russian Army, joining the allies to defeat Hitler. … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Borders, Caucausus, Cross-cultural understanding, identity, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Ireland, Politics, war | Leave a comment

Some dance to remember. Some dance to forget.

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Liz Barron

We are not allowed to travel after dark. We may not leave our villages without permission. We will never drive a car in our country of service. The rules governing the lives of incoming Peace Corps Volunteers are strict and … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Borders, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, family, Food, friendship, Great weekends, joy, Mount Ararat, Peace Corps, Politics, shopping, travel, Village life, Women | 1 Comment

Border Post: Part One

Posted on April 18, 2017 by Liz Barron

I have been thinking a lot about borders. This is the first post in a series of four that threatens to be quite boring, but which is at least topical. Brace yourself and persevere if you can.  Borders are like … Continue reading →

Posted in Belfast, Borders, Cross-cultural understanding, errors of judgement, Northern Ireland, Politics, Terrorism | 2 Comments

Where am I? It looks familiar

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Liz Barron

Sitting on a chair in Ani’s kitchen, I had a flashback. Ani, my new next door neighbor,was drying my hair and was about to style Elsa’s. It reminded me of when we were children in Belfast, and used to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Belfast, Borders, Cross-cultural understanding, family, Food, Northern Ireland, Nostalgia, Peace Corps, Terrorism, Village life, Women | Leave a comment