It's Never Sunny in Vanadzor

So it's the rainy season here.

But I was ready for it this year, and I know that the payoff is a beautiful June, so I'll take the month of rain.  And I have a rain jacket that I always have with me, even if it's sunny and 70 degrees.  I know better.

I haven't posted in a while!  Hopefully I'll make a few more before I leave, which is rather soon, is coming up quicker than I would like, and I'm gonna stop writing about it because I am having a minor panic attack writing this.

So it's the rainy spring season in Vanadzor, though it didn't really kick in to high gear of rains every day in the afternoon until a few days into May.  I seem to have this distinct memory of it raining all through a  good part of April, though perhaps that wasn't true and my memory is playing tricks on me.

But either way, its raining just about every day, and probably will continue to, and maybe even through, June.  One thing that is rather peculiar this year is the rain starts even though it's still sunny out.

It's pouring rain in this picture, despite the sun shining.

It's actually quite an amazing feeling, the warm of the sun while rain falls all around you.

I haven't posted in a while.  So these are some belated updates:

I went hiking.  On several occasions.  This one is south of Vanadzor leading up to the mountains.  We climbed up high that we found some snow sometime around the end of April, as you can see in the background.  Yeah that's snow that hasn't melted yet.  I had to jump over multiple streams so that I could touch it.

I also went to Kiev for a training of trainers.

I will be a teacher for a program called FLEX the Future Leaders Exchange Program which gives youth from Eastern Europe and Central Asia a chance to live and study in a high school in the US.  I will teach the Pre-Departure Orientation, a crash course on all the things they should expect in the US

The Armenian and Georgian trainers

I will be team teaching with an Armenian alum from the program during a 4 day orientation in June that I am incredibly excited for.  They are always looking for host families for students and from talking to the alumni from the program it is a wonderful opportunity.  If you use the link above and contact the FLEX program they can get you into contact with the host family placement organizations.

And one more picture of Kiev:

I really love the color inside on the balcony