Category Archives: Food

This is what they eat in heaven

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Liz Barron

Aleta has hair the color of dark honey. It is long and thick and usually piled on top of her head. Her eyes are hazelnut brown and her skin is apricot. She has the kind of body that should always … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Beauty, Cross-cultural understanding, Food, friendship, Things that gladden the heart, travel | Leave a comment

The language of love: meet my best friend in Armenia

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Liz Barron

Elsa got past me this morning to hang a last load of my laundry on the line by the backdoor. She is very particular about pegging out. Underwear is discretely strung next to the pear tree,  and dark or colored … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Beauty, Cross-cultural understanding, family, Food, friendship, joy, know thyself, Language, love, personal failings, Things that gladden the heart, Women | 7 Comments

Congested in the Caucasus 

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Liz Barron

I blame the blossom. And then there’s the dust and the mould. What started as seasonal sneezing due to inhaling pesky pollen, motes of dried mud, and creeping black spores quickly led to sinus havoc. My ears popped crossing the … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Armenia, Bronchitis, Cooking, Cross-cultural understanding, family, Food, friendship, travel, Village life, Vodka, Women | 2 Comments

Armenia the Beautiful

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Liz Barron

Video credit: Peace Corps Volunteer Olivia Route. Olivia’s short film about her springtime in Armenia is less than five minutes long and worth watching. Everyday for the last couple of months she has recorded a few seconds of footage on her … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Beauty, Caucausus, Cross-cultural understanding, family, Food, joy, Mount Ararat, Peace Corps, Social niceties, Syunik Marz, travel, Vacation spots, Village life, Women | Leave a comment

A Sweet Solution to Armenia’s Problem with Abandoned Cars 

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Liz Barron

Grand Candy is perhaps the greatest secret Armenia keeps from the world.  The company, makers of wrapped, loose candy, boxes of chocolates, gallons of ice cream and mounds of pastries–have been keeping Armenian consumers sweet since 2000 and now have … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Armenia, Candy, Food, Grand Candy, Marketing, shopping, Social niceties, travel, Village life | 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

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

From Anne Arundel County to Armenia: Week One as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Liz Barron

I have a view of Mount Ararat from my bedroom near Artashat in Armenia. The mountain, the national icon of Armenia, is now in territory claimed by Turkey, but the people here still consider it very much their own. The … Continue reading →

Posted in America, apricots, Armenia, family, Food, friendship, Mount Ararat, Peace Corps, personal failings, travel | 4 Comments

Tarragon soda and salad with sorrel

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Liz Barron

Milhous is my beef-up buddy. It will be his role to stiffen my spine and strengthen my resolve when I have a wobble in the Caucasus. For more than thirty years he has provided bracing advice and general bucking up … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cooking, Food, Milhous, Peace Corps, travel | 2 Comments