My Fiddle in Armenia - A Peace Corps Journey

Sunday, February 21, 2016

THE MAKING OF LAVASH... TRADITIONAL ARMENIAN BREAD

Lavash is the traditional bread of Armenia for centuries. It is the standard nutrition for Armenian families and is eaten in great quantity with every meal. Most food is wrapped in it - i.e. vegetables, cheese and meat. It is an unleavened bread made traditionally in what I call a lavash hut. The sheds are still found in virtually all of the villages in Armenia usually behind the main house. The hut is square about 12 X 12 feet. Fuel for the fires to make the bread is usually stored on the side or the top of the hut.
This lavash hut is found outside of the village of Karakert in Armavir Marz - middle western Armenia. I visited this village and stayed with a host family there in their home.

Me outside the lavash hut... Notice the

fuel/twigs stored on top. The fuel is gathered

by the women.

Me and Peace Corps Volunteer, Andrea Grant..

Lavash is made in a round fire pit, with the diameter maybe 20 inches and about 2 feet deep. There are two other pits of the same size in the shed. These are for a place for the women to put their feet and lower legs while they are making the lavash so they are level with cooking fire pit. It takes two women together to make lavash.

Fire pit...

The fire is started by lighting cow dung patties which are dried and stored. Once the cow dung is lit well the fire is fed with gathered twigs from the trees in the fall. The shed gets incredibly smoky as the ventilation is only a hole in the roof. It was intolerable for me and I could not stay in the shed more than a few minutes once the fire was lit. These women sit in this dense smoke for hours while they make sometimes 150 pieces of lavash, almost every week. The women collectively make the lavash - 2 or three families together. It is not surprising therefore the frequency of lung cancer and early deaths 50s and 60s for these women.

Woman starting fire with cow dung patty...

Feeding the fire with twigs...

Fire heating up...

Lavash is always made by women - and usually the older women (grandmothers) in the family who reside with their families. The dough is prepared in huge tub with flour and water the night before the baking is to commence. Once woman tends the fire and baking (about 5 minutes against the wall of the pit) and another woman readies the dough into long oval very thin pieces. The bread after baking can be stored dried for up to 6 months or more. When it is ready to be eaten it is sprinkled with water to soften it and then cut into small pieces for eating.

Lengthening the piece of prepared dough...

Preparing the dough shape... Notice the

woman sitting with her legs down in a round pit..

Sunday, January 17, 2016

SCHOOL DANCE TOUR IN ARMAVIR MARZ

I have started doing what I call 'dance tours' in different areas of Armenia. My first tour was to Armavir Marz, in southwest Armenia. I went to three different schools in three separate villages in the Marz (county), Arteni, Karakert and Aragartsavan. In each village school I had dances in three or four classes. We did American folk songs and then had a barn dance doing two or three easy dances. This was in grades three through 12. It is in essence, not a class to learn English, but a cultural exchange where the children/students experience an American cultural event. It also creates a space of joy for the children where they have fun, laugh, and move about and learn a little something about America. Peace Corps volunteers Andrea Grant and Aileen Fermin were here to help me.

This first group of photos is in Aragartsavan

third grade class. We are dancing The Galopede!!

Group photo... Aileen Fermin on far right...

Me and Andrea - No heat so coats and scarfs on!!

This second group of photos is from the village of

Arteni and Karakert third and ninth graders...

Group of third graders...

Learning left and right!!!

Arteni ninth graders.....

Learning La Bastringue...

Karakert third graders singing....

ARMENIA ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

In November of 2015 I was invited to the Armenia English Language Teachers Association Conference in Tshaghkadzor at the Russian resort there. I was invited for a cross cultural exchange to put on an American barn dance. There were about 70 Armenian English teachers from all across Armenia present. They virtually all attended the dance that first evening of the conference. From this exposure I have been invited to visit classrooms all over Armenia for cross cultural exchange. My site mate Brian Badgley helped me with the dance.

Evening dance in the old Russian

Tshaghkadzor hotel resort lobby.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

SELLING MEAT ON THE STREET...

Coming up on to New Years Day or Nor Taree as it is called in Armenia, meat is sold on the street at this time of year when it is cold out and then whenever a cow is slaughtered in the neighboring village. A half a cow is brought to a table and then butchered piece by piece on a chopping block with an ax and/or a knife for each customer according to their request. A cow's head is considered a great delicacy here for the tongue and brains and thus the whole head is sold for about 4,000 AMD (Armenian Drams) or approximately eight dollars. I never purchase this meat or any meat in Hrazdan due to concerns regarding ecoli etc. I only eat meat from restaurants in Yerevan when I go there.
The meat stand you see here is just outside my gate at the shooka when I come down my steps. I had to look at these cows' heads every day for weeks. They were certainly purchased as I saw a new head virtually every day. The street dogs and cats hang out by the meat stand in hopes of getting a scrap of meat every now and then.

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR HOLIDAYS 2015/2016

This Christmas and New Year's holidays I spent at my site in Hrazdan. It was a very difficult time for me as I was alone the majority of the time in a different culture and no-one who really speaks my native language. Whenever possible I spent time with the children and Armenian friends.
Our Christmas in the US, December 25th was the last day of school in Armenia. Armenia celebrates Christmas on January 6th. So, on December 25th I went to school, had potatoes with Zoya and then chicken noodle soup at home. New Years Day is the big day in Armenia when stores are closed etc. Christmas Day in Armenia is not a big day - although a holiday, but stores are open and not much celebration at their homes except for a dinner.