You know it's been a year in Armenia when you see other PCVs posting about living in Armenia for a year

One year. A bit over. I looked at my blog post, the first one to see the date, because I really can't remember when I first got here. Apparently I left Pittsburgh on May 27th, in DC until the 28th, then maybe to Armenia on the 29th? There was a long layover in Vienna, it's all sort of a blur.

So the earth has fully rotated around the sun once, and the earth is in more or less the same spot it was in when I arrived here. Freaky.

so first, some things I saw recently, then I'll get on to the whole what-this-means-for-my-life part. I was in Yerevan the other week, and I saw something sad and happy at the same time.

There was a sign posted for a lost dog. It was a white poodle, small, looked like the one my dad has. So I was obviously sad, this poor person/family has lost their dog. But to see a sign posted, a homemade sign, with a picture and contact info, all that work to try to find your lost dog. These people really cared about this dog. That isn't the typical view of dogs in Armenia, and pets in general. Dogs aren't viewed as pets at all really, though there are exceptions, and in Vanadzor I see more and more people with dogs (well the same 3 people out with their dogs).

Then . . . there was something else but I forgot what it was. Maybe I'll think of it later.

Oh yeah. (it's later) I had the most amazing conversation with some translators who translate books from English into Armenian. I met this person through some staff at the Peace Corps office and he worked for Peace Corps in the past. We have dinner and his father's friend and also a translator is there, and the first thing he asks me is, do you think Armenia is a failed state.

I don't know how to say that in Armenian, so it's never really came up in most of my interactions with Armenians. So we talked about that. He mentioned the lack of strong democratic institutions here, even after 20 years of independence.

For me I disagreed that Armenia was a failed state. Armenia has a lot of ways to go in regards to strengthening democratic institutions, and they are making these changes slower than other countries in similar situations, but for me, when someone says 'failed state' I think of countries without adequate electricity or consistent water supplies to the people that live there. While most volunteers are on water schedules, we more or less have electricity on-demand. When I think of a failed state I think of places where the government can't protect their populace. I feel safe in Armenia. Really, Armenia has a long way to go, but people forget that they have come a long way already. During the 90s people were cutting down wood for heat in the winter, and had power for perhaps an hour or two a day, if at all. So Armenia has really come a long way from what you might have called a 'failed state' during the 90s (and I really don't know enough about the situation or how you actually go about defining failed states so who knows).

So reflection? Here's a bit describing my general feelings a year in. It's been nice. There. Done.

No okay, just a little bit more. Winter wasn't so bad, except when it decided to never end, and then it just rained instead of having a spring. So the rain has been the roughest part this spring/winter. But now everything is really green, and recently things have started to look up, and it's been going well, and I find myself becoming very fond of Armenia.