Category Archives: drinking

Don’t mess with my Toot Toot.

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Liz Barron

It is time to make toot vodka. Toot is the Armenian name for the mulberry– we have white and dark purple varieties here. The white mulberries, larval-looking but honied in taste, are the most prized. A couple of days ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Capitalism, Caucausus, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, drinking, Food, Homebrew, Moonshine, Mulberries, Peace Corps, Syunik Marz, travel, Village life, Vodka | Leave a comment

Double Trouble

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Liz Barron

Robert zoomed by his mother as she was painting her nails. He knocked the coffee table with his toy truck and nearly sent her bottle of blue nail polish flying. “Don’t do that” said Aleta. (She says it a lot. … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, drinking, Language, Language learning, Vodka | Leave a comment

A Still Morning

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Liz Barron

The people across the road have a still and this morning are making 70 liters of grape vodka to sell at the market. I know it is good because after breakfast I went over to test the product. I ran … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cooking, drinking, Homebrew, Moonshine, Village life, Vodka | Leave a comment

He Got This

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Liz Barron

  This story is my son’s and is shared with his permission.  I cried today for the first time since arriving in Armenia. It was only a tear or two, and it wasn’t because I felt isolated and far from … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, down and out, drinking, family, joy, Recovery | 1 Comment

Amnesia and Arafat: The World According to Barkis

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Liz Barron

Margie, a docent and all-round decent person, led the learning at my going-away dinner. Her project board featured maps of Armenia. A pop-quiz quickly confirmed that no one knew where it was. Kevin was closest and Michael (who couldn’t join … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, drinking, errors of judgement, friendship, packing, Peace Corps, travel | Leave a comment

Tips for Lady Travelers

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Liz Barron

My beautiful Riad is in the northernmost part of the Northern Medina, close to a launderette, a number of scooter repair shops, some foundry workers and an Islamic saint’s tomb which non- Muslims are not permitted to enter. The riad’s … Continue reading →

Posted in drinking, eating out, errors of judgement, Marrakech, Morocco, shopping, travel | Leave a comment

The Night We Shut The Place Down

Posted on November 5, 2016 by Liz Barron

The weathered wood sprite danced towards the door, shouting over a tweeded shoulder at someone unseen. “I’m away on now. Sure, I’ll see you through the week” If Richard Burton had been from Belfast, this is how he would have … Continue reading →

Posted in Belfast, down and out, drinking, eating out, errors of judgement, friendship, Shepherd's Bush | Leave a comment

Cold Feet?

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Liz Barron

I don’t own a pair of socks, and although I have many pairs of shoes, I prefer my feet to be bare when I am in the house. This won’t do in Armenia, where I now know people always wear … Continue reading →

Posted in drinking, know thyself, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Merrily they roll along…

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Liz Barron

  The elderly and infirm in Watchet, Somerset know how to have a good time. Do you need a license for one of those? 

Posted in drinking | Leave a comment