The 3rd Goal

The Peace Corps has three official goals, that they have had, from its inception:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Last summer my family visited me in Armenia and got to see some of what it was like when I lived in a village during training.  They got to try the street food and many other Armenian foods.  

My sister, who is becoming quite the cook, had an Armenian themed meal after she went back, making several traditional Armenian foods, Armenian barbeque (Khorovats), Lahmajo (pictured below), and a green bean and eggs dish.

Lahmajo, also popular around the entire region

She shared this food with her friends and family and helped them gain insight into Armenian culture through their cuisine, an enormously important part of any culture.  I was glad my sister enjoyed her time in Armenia enough to recreate some of the cuisine while she was in America.

Winter is starting to set in, so there are no vegetables (the ones that are available are ten times as expensive as they were in the summer) and the lack of selection usually starts to wear on you.  Though we have mandarins right now!  They will be gone soon, but until then, I will be eating them every single day until they leave.