Category Archives: Education

Hard lessons through beautiful words

Posted on March 3, 2018 by Liz Barron

The poor always believe there is room enough for all of us; the very rich never seem to have heard of this. In us there is wisdom of how to share loaves and fishes however few; we do this everyday. I thought Gohar had been hasty. She … Continue reading →

Posted in Alice Walker, Armenia, Beauty, Blessings, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, family, Food, gratitude, identity, Language learning, life lessons, National Poetry Recitation Contest, Peace Corps, Poetry, Rich and Poor, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life | 2 Comments

Poetry Please

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Liz Barron

Gohar Ghazaryan’s  13-year-old students are preparing for 2018’s National Poetry Recitation Contest, reading and analyzing poems by AE Housman, Langston Hughes and Jack Prelutsky. Two of poems are copied below, so you can see just how accomplished these five students are. … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, BBC, BBC World Service, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, Language learning, Learning, National Poetry Recitation Contest, Peace Corps, Poetry, Syunik Marz, Teaching, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, Village life, Youth | Leave a comment

Where Worlds Collide

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Liz Barron

J’s beautiful face is surrounded by the hijab she uses to cover her hair. Her hijab is the only one I have seen in Armenia. J speaks Farsi, Kurdish, Arabic and of course English. She glowed as she talked about … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Beauty, Christianity, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, International Human Rights Day, Islam, Language, Learning, life lessons, Literacy, Middle East, Nagorno-Karabakh, National pride, Nature, Poetry, Religion, Rt, Syunik Marz, travel, Turkey Armenia relations, war, Wilfred Owen, Writing | 2 Comments

School report

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Liz Barron

The CEO of Dasaran pulls up a slide that shows the number of logins they get from abroad—click throughs by the thousand from Russia, Spain and other parts of Europe and the Middle East. “These are dads working abroad” says … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Dasaran, Data Analysis, Education, family, Internet, Learning, life lessons, Play, Technology, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel, Youth | 2 Comments

The children of Lor?

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Liz Barron

46 children attend school in the village of Lor in Syunik Marz, Armenia. There are twelve forms, 0-12, with a scant handful of children in each. 46 is fewer children than last year, and more than next year. Worldvision, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Armenian art, Armenian writers, Beauty, Cross-cultural understanding, eating out, Education, Emigration, Environment, Food, friendship, gratitude, Great weekends, Halloween, identity, joy, love, National pride, Nature, Peace Corps, Poetry, resilience, Syunik Marz, Things that make a difference, travel, Village life, work, Youth | Leave a comment

Peace Corpse Volunteerie: Hacks for Halloween

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Liz Barron

When presented with a broom I immediately resist any urge to sweep or clean. To me, brooms are strictly for riding. Is it any wonder Halloween is my favorite holiday? Here in Armenia it is the duty of every Peace … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cooking, craft activities, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, Environment, fear, Food, Games, Halloween, pagan ritual, Peace Corps, travel, Youth | 1 Comment

Queening Around

Posted on September 27, 2017 by Liz Barron

I have had three chess lessons now, so obviously I am in a position to post about the game. And I am not a complete newbie. Goodness no! I have played chess before–or thought I had. Years ago, my father … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, chess, Education, Embarrassment, errors of judgement, Games, know thyself, Learning, life lessons, personal failings, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, travel | 2 Comments

Pleased to know you Picsart

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Liz Barron

We only know each other through social media but as soon as we met for real, Ani and I both went in for a hug. It was the same when I was introduced to Madlene, another member of the Picsart team … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Armenia, Armenian art, art, Education, joy, Media, Picsart, social media, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, work | 3 Comments

For Anahit

Posted on August 12, 2017 by Liz Barron

Anahit is 15 and things are going her way. She brims with possibility and could sell self-esteem. She has plenty to say and everything to do. In her case, this includes geometry, at which she excels, and languages, of which … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Armenian art, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, Fundraising, joy, Language learning, Learning, Literacy, love, Peace Corps, Poetry, Shakespeare, Things that gladden the heart, Things that make a difference, Village life, Women, work, Youth | 3 Comments

So what do you do there anyway?

Posted on July 5, 2017 by Liz Barron

I spent the 4th of July cutting out pictures of hamburger buns, cheese slices and dill pickles. Black and white pictures, because we don’t have a color printer here. I used the pictures to teach an English conversation class about … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Advice, America, Armenia, Caucausus, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, Education, family, Food, Homebrew, Household tips, Language learning, laundry, Marketing, Moonshine, Mulberries, Peace Corps, personal failings, Press, Syunik Marz, Things that gladden the heart, travel, Village life, Vodka, Women, work, Yogurt | 4 Comments