Saturday
27.10.12
In Yerevan
we stayed with the Norwegian honorary consul Tim, a very industrious man with a
lot of projects going on. He works mainly in Yerevan with employing women in
the rural regions around Yerevan. Tim was our greatest resource during our stay
in Yerevan, not only providing us his home where we stayed, but also sharing
some of his great experiences, insight and knowledge about the Caucasus region.
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| Our man, Timothy. |
This day
consisted mainly of interviews. As we finished the interviews, Even and I
agreed that it seemed like we would have the same problem here as in Baku: too
many good candidates. Interviewing is fun, especially when you are interviewing
so many interesting and smart students.
We had time
for a quick rest at Tim’s before we joined our friend Lusine for a proper
Armenian family dinner at her parents place. According to the clock, we dined
for five hours; it felt like it lasted only one. I would take that as a sign that we were having a good time. It
was exactly what you would imagine a traditional family dinner to be. Great
company with the parents, grandmother, sister in law and her two daughters and
us.
The food
was extremely good; I think “dolma" is my new favourite dish. After dinner
and some cakes that were simply too delicious, we had entertainment organized by
the two little ones. Dancing and singing with great talent surely took its toll,
and soon after they started the girls were exhausted and got put to bed. I really
wish I knew Russian—it was easy to see that Lusine’s grandmother and parents
had a lot of good stories to tell, especially the grandmother who used to be a
journalist during the Soviet era. We handed over a bottle of Norwegian aquavit
before leaving and gave them our greatest thanks for a very entertaining
evening. Their hospitality was amazing and we had a great time. We continued
the dancing at some bar and we might have gotten use of the steps we learned
from the two sisters at the family dinner.
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| Eating chocolate at a chocolate shop. |
Sunday
28.10.12
This day we
finish up the interviews early, something that suited us well—the nightlife of
Yerevan had made its impact on us. Ane left us sometime during the morning
because of her work the next day. To be honest not much more happened this day;
we had a rest, dined, and hung out with Tim at a really good bar called Eden.
Monday
29.10.12
Our last
day together, and a day full of surprises. This was also the big day of
sightseeing. Yerevan actually offers a lot of sights and is characterized by
the huge and old Soviet monuments. We went up the stairs of the national
gallery, a really cool installation with a lot of different art at each floor.
This was also the time and place where we realized how close Turkey is, and
that Yerevan has a perfect view over Mount Ararat. The scenery was stunning; I
can’t believe that we did not see that before! As we moved up the stairs, more
and more of the city was revealed, and the huge monument Mother Armenia got ever
closer. We parted with Beate and Even and I headed for the huge statue.
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| The view over the city, with mount Ararat in the background. |
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| Mother Armenia |
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| Later that night we went to see the sunset, and we barely missed it. |
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| Yes, we took a ride on that, and I don't think any of us will consider to do it again! |
I wish I had more time to stay in both Armenia
and Azerbaijan.
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