Category Archives: Peace Corps

Arts in Armenia: A Beginner’s Guide

Posted on June 14, 2017 by Liz Barron

Hooked on Trivia? Compulsive when it comes to crosswords? Proud of your performance at the pub quiz? Don’t risk being caught out by a question on the arts in Armenia–it could come up at any time. I am as fond … Continue reading →

Posted in apricots, Armenia, Armenian art, Armenian writers, art, Beauty, Candy, Caucausus, Cross-cultural understanding, Crosswords, fashion, Film industry, General knowledge, Hollywood, identity, Mount Ararat, National pride, Nostalgia, Peace Corps, Rosemary Clooney, Stalin, Syunik Marz, travel, Trivia, Writing | Leave a comment

Yank Don’t Tug

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Liz Barron

​​​​ ​​You know it’s a good party when the men start the dancing, the wine is $2 a liter, and there’s a bouncy sheep. All of these were elements of today’s Sheep Shearing Festival in the mountains close to Goris. … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Great weekends, Homebrew, Moonshine, National pride, Peace Corps, Syunik Marz, Things that gladden the heart, travel, Village life, Vodka | 2 Comments

Bubble Trouble

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Liz Barron

I have been trying to make the perfect bubble mix in preparation for a community event on Sunday. The recipe promises giant, long-lasting rainbowed spheres and calls for ingredients including baking powder, cornstarch and glycerine in addition to liquid detergent … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Armenia, Beauty, Cross-cultural understanding, errors of judgement, friendship, Games, Great weekends, joy, Language, Language learning, Peace Corps, personal failings, Things that gladden the heart, Village life | 3 Comments

The Road to Goris

Posted on May 14, 2017 by Liz Barron

I am laden down with a liter of homemade rose wine, a giant box of chocolates and half a hundredweight of homegrown dill and tarragon. These are my current host family’s gifts to my new family. Perhaps they hope to … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenia, Cross-cultural understanding, Great weekends, Language learning, Peace Corps, Social niceties, Village life | 3 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

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

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

From Washington DC to Yerevan

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Liz Barron

You’ll have heard of the Smithsonian of course. And the Lincoln Memorial. And the US Capitol. These are the icons and institutions for which Washington DC is rightly famous. You will not have heard of the Hyatt Place hotel, built … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Armenia, eating out, Peace Corps, travel, Washington DC | 2 Comments