Category Archives: Cross-cultural understanding

Lost for words. No happy endings. 

Posted on April 26, 2017 by Liz Barron

Let me start by saying that I know English is a nightmare to learn, what with all our irregular verbs and silent letters and eccentric colloquial quirks. Compared to English, Armenian is easy. Most verbs conform as though drilled by … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, Language, Language learning, Learning, personal failings | 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

Spin the Bottle and Speed Dating, Armenian Style

Posted on April 14, 2017 by Liz Barron

We have played Jeopardy and a saliva-free version of Spin the Bottle. We have danced to mnemonic rhymes. We have brought in family pictures and discussed them at length. We have done it all in Armenian as part of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, Language, Learning, Village life, Women | Leave a comment

Jam tomorrow. Lavash every day. 

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Liz Barron

One of the great things about living in Armenia is that there are no rules about breakfast. In my past life,  I was used to being denied cherry cake before noon and nobody liked it when I finished off cold … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, family, Food, Mount Ararat, travel, Village life | Leave a comment

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