Some of you might know that from 1995-97, I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Armenia. I taught English at a school in Yerevan. One of my former students is now a director at Peace Corps/Armenia and for years, he's been after me to visit. This year, we finally made it happen, just in time for our 21st wedding anniversary.

There's a lot I can say about this trip so far, which will continue until early Sunday morning, when we board a 5:05 AM flight back to Germany. But for the purposes of the RfM group, I would like to share a story my former student's daughter told me. She is 17 years old, very bright, and extremely mature. Last year, she won a scholarship to study in the USA for a year. She ended up going to Washington State, where former PC/Armenia Volunteers hosted her.

While we were enjoying khorovats (Armenian BBQ) at a restaurant that had a view of a pagan temple, I told her about the very cool LDS couple who was in my group (A3). They were very liberal Mormons who didn't push their religion at all. I think, if I hadn't met them, I might have been a lot more leery about dating my husband, who was an active Mormon when we met.

My student's daughter explained that there were many Mormons where she went to school for a year. She ran into one who was going to be serving a mission in Armenia. She said she told the person that they were going to have a hard time selling Mormonism in Armenia. Knowing how much Armenians love drinking alcohol, coffee, and tea, and how highly prevalent smoking is, I couldn't help agreeing.

I seem to remember there was a LDS church here when I lived here, though I never ran into Mormons in the wild (just the couple who were in the Peace Corps with me). I know they went to church, though, and I remember thinking it would be hard to sell that brand of Christianity to a country that claims to be the very first Christian country in the world. A lot of Armenians are pretty secular, too... a side effect of all those Soviet years. On the other hand, I was visited by JWs when I lived here, so I know some people are convertible.

We have only been here since early Saturday morning, and it's already been life changing. I'm so glad we finally came back here. I can't wait to write about it in detail... The main thing is, now I KNOW I did something worthwhile that made a difference to people besides me. I don't know if missionaries have this kind of connection. My husband's daughter served a mission in Utah and she said she was advised not to return there, so as to keep her memories... She now lives in Provo!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2023 02:26AM by knotheadusc.

If you like meat, it’s so delicious. They barbecue vegetables, too!

I really envy you. My boss from Berlin was there twice and regarded Armenia as the trip of his life. Another friend was there and in Georgia earlier this year and wants to go back. I still have to go to. My destiny in Ethiopia where I had the best years of my life. I have relations in Rheinhessen and hope to go there in the coming months.

You will be in our neighborhood if you visit Rheinhessen!

you know. MY niece lives in Rheinhessen and a relation in Schlangenbad.

It's nice to revisit a place where you have the pleasant memories of your youth. At least that Mormon missionary that your friend's daughter met will see a lot of people who are quite happy without his or her upstart American religion.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/2023 05:14AM by summer.

That’s just it, though. I was quite depressed when I worked here and couldn’t wait to leave by the end. I didn’t think I’d made a difference. I’ve just found out that my time here wasn’t wasted.

I did get a lot out of being here in the 90s, but I had a hard time. I wanted to quit many times. Now I’m glad I didn’t.

And I can still speak some Armenian.

>> I didn’t think I’d made a difference.

I think that anyone who is in the helping professions, or who does extensive volunteer work, wonders that at one point or another. I know I have. I worked out over the weekend that I've now taught over 1,000 students during the course of my long career, so there's that. Hopefully I've made a difference for at least some of them. I have always given it my best shot.

summer, there is no doubt in my mind that you have affected countless lives by teaching. I would have thought that a week ago, but coming back to Armenia has shown me that we all affect people, and what we do has ripple effects.

I went to a concert last night... I hadn't known who the performers were, but it turns out they are quite famous in Europe. It was a Mexican singer named Rolando Villazon and a harpist named Xavier de Maistre. Villazon now lives in France and is frequently on German talk shows. I don't watch a lot of German TV, so I didn't know. They put on a great show; my husband and I were the guests of my former student and his wife.

During intermission, a lovely woman came over to speak to me. It turned out she was another one of my students. I hadn't seen her since 1997, and she had a completely different look. She cut her hair and dyed it black. She saw me outside and recognized me, but figured it couldn't be me. Because she knew my host, he told her to come see me. I never would have expected to be remembered after so many years, let alone recognized! And yet she gave me the biggest hug.

Today, we had lunch at a place we picked because it was convenient and the waitress was welcoming. Her manager noticed me speaking Armenian and struck up a conversation. It turned out he's friends with my former student, who has been working with Peace Corps for 15 years. I had little to do with my student's excellent command of English. He already knew English. I just helped him make a connection to Americans and the Peace Corps, and now he's helping people through the organization.

Maybe your experiences wouldn't be as dramatic as mine are, but I remember most of the teachers I've had. Most of them helped me in some way... in good ways. And based on what I've seen from your postings over the years, I have no doubt that you have many former and current students who have been affected by you in beneficial ways, and were influenced in their own lives to do good things.

Knotty, that is such a lovely story about reconnecting with another students. What an amazing trip!

Summer:

I had a teacher in High School who taught Accounting. She noticed my propensity to understand the topic, and would spend extra time with me on the subject. She gave me additional work that intrigued me, along with some tough assignments. She would have me come before the class and explain a topic that was hard to understand at the time, but it gave me confidence and my fellow students benefited since they could see I understood the topic.

At the end of that school year, this teacher chased me down in the hall way and sat down with me and said that the school district has approved an advanced accounting course for next year, and she wanted me in that class. She needed 15 students to justify the class. She was so excited when I said yes.

Her example and the two years she invested in me (they were both full year classes), gave me the confidence to pursue higher education. I now have degrees in Marketing and Accounting, am well established in my life, have no worries about retirement, and I always have Controllers standing at my door asking for advice. I do not like supervision, so I am that guy in the background that makes things happen.

So never under estimate the impact you can have on just one individual during your years of teaching. I give you my congrats, because I could never do what you have done.

Thank you, Silence. That is very kind of you to say that.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Armenia. I hope you continue to have a wonderful trip!

We spotted mishies twice today. They stood out in their nice cardigans! We passed them this morning, then again later, as they were talking to a local.