Oh the blog has fallen off the tracks a bit. Going to try to keep posting more regularly guess we'll see what happens.
I've moved into a new apartment, much closer to my work. It's nice, I know (normally) have water all the time, have actual kitchen counters, and even a nice kitchen table.
Vanadzor rains all the time. Every day for the last 15 I would say, it has rained. Maybe not the whole day, but always in the evening, sometimes in the morning. I'll get some sunny days, but then in the afternoon or evening it will always rain. I used my new (laundry machine? Clothes washer? ) washing machine! (I can never remember this word! Jesus, my English is going to hell in a handbasket). Right, I used my washing machine, and hung out my clothes to dry, a beautiful sunny morning, but then at 2 pm, I'm sitting at work and it starts to hail then rain. Stupid clothes.
Oh and I live about 4 floors up, and I'm afraid of heights, so reaching out the window to hang my clothes is actually kinda scary. I'll get used to it eventually I'm sure.
So the constant rain I was warned about, it's probably one of the few bad parts about living here. everything is becoming green pretty fast though, and having green hills and forests covering our mountains is nice. There are places that are more semi-arid and don't have much of anything that is green, so I guess I should be thankful for the rain (at least somewhat).
And with spring comes the fixing of potholes! I'm actually quite surprised, most of the streets here look like they haven't been repaired in years. I complain about potholes in Erie, it's quite a common complaint there. (I remember an email from the 90s that had a list of things like "You know you are from Erie if . . ." and one of them was 'if you like when it snows because the snow fills in all the pot holes). Well here the potholes (in general in the country, my city isn't too bad) are huge and will destroy your car if you hit one. The worst part is that even the sidewalks have them, and while if you step in one your foot will be okay, when it rains they just become tiny lakes that you have to dodge as you walk. Some sidewalks have been fixed, redone, they're brand new really. But those are only piece-meal and in front of new buildings that have also been renovated, so you'll be on a brand new even street, but then run into a street that hasn't been fixed since the early 90s.
Like I said, they're going around filling it pot holes. So what they've done so far is go through the main street of our city, and use a jackhammer to tear up the area around the potholes so they're a nice rectangular shape. And that's it. They first went through the whole street and did that. So now instead of slight small pot holes with a few big ones, we have many many large, huge, enormous, massive ones. Luckily our main street is also about 3 times too large for the amount of cars on it, so the drivers have plenty of room to weave and dodge through the potholes.
I assume they're going to fill them in eventually, but right now we just got loads of holes.
Armenian Language Corner
Yay. Maybe this will turn into a recurring segment, as I talk a bit about language, Armenian probably, cuz that's my reality right now, and what I do when learning/not-learning/butchering it.
Okay, so Armenian has the same word for 'foot' and 'leg.' It's the word votk. Now some people might point out that because they don't differentiate, they don't understand the concept, or that their language isn't as accurate or precise as language X (usually X is whatever the person's native language is). I believe there is a name for 'heel' but it escapes me at the moment. Now I am sure Armenian doctors have all sorts of names for the bones in your feet and feet and calf, and thigh, but really, in general situations, why does it matter. you say votk then point to what you're talking about.
Another example of this I found out recently with my language tutor. We were talking about the rain (and really what else is there ti talk about in this place, that's all that ever seems to happen these days) and I asked, her why she didn't have an umbrella, and she said she had her glkhark (oh and my transliteration might not be perfect with the k and g sounds, but that is how they will sound 8 times out of 10 to an English speakers ear) but then pointed to her jacket.
"What? Your hood?"
I had learned glkhark as the word for hat. So yes, Armenian has the same word for hat and hood. Or rather, the word shouldn't be translated as either one, and should really be translated as 'head covering' which is satisfying to me, and I believe that all Armenian-English dictionaries should be changed to reflect this.
So I guess I did have some things to say. Hopefully I'll be posting more often this month, try to keep everyone updated.
Hajogh
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