MY GREEK VACATION

So, I left Armenia for 10 days and went to Greece. It was lovely. I stayed 10 days in Athens and 7 days on Crete in the seaside down of .  I saw the Acropolis and other Greek ruins, ate wonderful food, did a botanical garden tour on a Segway (the most fun), and swam in the Mediterranean every day while on Crete.  I walked high up on a goat trail every morning in Panormos.

First restaurant where I ate Greek food - on the Platka..

Temple of Athena, or Aphrodite, cannot remember . . .

Nightlife on the Platka - area surrounding below the Acropolis..

There are outdoor restaurants/tavernas and shops with

everything to be found... The platka is open until  well after midnight..

The flea market as they call it . . .

On the Acropolis . . .famous goddess temple . . . 

The Parthenon on the Acropolis . . .

Parthenon - under renovation/construction

Amphitheater seen below the Acropolis

Acropolis Museum pieces . . . 

Walkway leading to apartment where I stayed in Athens

just below the Acropolis . . .

The original Olympic stadium . . .

Changing of the guard, Greek Army regulars in front of

the president's house  . . .

Me on my Segway . . . I loved this thing . . . It was the best . . .

View of the Acropolis from a nearby famous mountain where

I had dinner one evening . . . .

Car I liked and wouldn't mind having :-)

Favorite taverna for dinner in village of Panormos on Crete . . .

Panormos seaside village . . . Taken from cliffs on

morning goat walk . . .

View of the Mediterranean from goat walk cliffs . . . 

Favorite taverna sign . . .You had to go in and look in the

oven to decide what you would have for dinner.... opened at 6 p.m.

Kitty City station . . . cats everywhere and all well fed

at the stations and in the tavernas and restaurants. . .

Favorite cafe for morning cappuccino after goat cliff walk . . . 

Cats getting fed at the taverna . . . Everyone feeds the cats. . .

Got inadvertently caught up in a demonstration in front

of the president's house the last evening . . . 

View from my balcony in Panormos . . . .

NATIONAL POETRY CONTEST

A number of years ago a Peace Corps Volunteer created and made sustainable an English spoken national poetry contest for Armenian school children.Now there is a very active Peace Corps volunteer committee to organize and make this happen on an annual basis March through May of each year.  It was my pleasure to enable some of my students to participate this year.

The contest begins at a PC volunteer or not a PC volunteer public school.  Students in grades 7-12 can participate. A list of selected poems from Robert Frost to Keats is generated each year with a different selection for 7th and 8th graders and for 9th through 12 graders.  The student his or herself selects their poem, memorizes it and practices with their English teacher or volunteer.   A school contest is held and the best chosen reciter from each grade in each school participating goes to the regional contest.  Then the best in each region goes to the national contest in Yerevan, Armenia's capital.

The students are judged on of course the words of the poem, correct pronunciation and the feeling given to the recitation.  From the 'feeling,' a judge can deduce if the student really understands the meaning of the poem.

I had two of my students, Narine and Nellie in the regional contest in Hrazdan this year. They were both in the 8th grade. Narine went on to be in the national contest in Yerevan.

Narine and Nellie, Hrazdan regional contest

Narine, Nellie and me at Hrazdan regional contest

The girls and me at the national contest in Yerevan. ..

Narine and me after the national contest. . .

The national contest was held at The American University in

Yerevan. This was the girls' first visit there and very exciting for them.

With this year's regional and national contests I introduced music into the contest atmosphere by providing musicians from my school along with me to play before the contests started and in some contests during the break while the judges were making decisions. The music was both Armenian and American.  I had two second grade boys playing the Armenian drums called 'dhole,'  Nellie and I played fiddle and guitar with Armenian and American folk tunes and Hannah (another PCV) and I played flute and fiddle together with Armenian and American folk tunes.  This as the first time this has occured - music at the poetry contests and it was a great cultural exchange opportunity for Armenians and Americans.

Second graders playing 'Dhole' Armenian drums. . .

Nellie and me on guitar and fiddle . . .

All of us together . . . .

Me and Hannah Frantz playing together in Yerevan.

Up until this time of PC service Hannah had been only a 

classical flutist.... She is now an experienced flute player of

 Armenian and American folk tunes !!!!  We also played together

at our swearing in ceremony last November. 

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