Our last few days in Yerevan.

Well before we head off on our Russian adventure we had better fill you in on our last few days here...

After arriving back from Sevan late on Wednesday night we had our tea in the hostel and took an early night.

The next morning we had our breakfast and then started on the plan of action for the day. Cara and I went shopping for gifts for Gevorg, the hostel manager, and the lovely lady who makes the breakfasts here. Jade and Marie updated the blog and Amy and Kelly counted up the resources we are leaving here in Armenia for next year's team, down to the last paperclip!

For lunch we chowed down on crisps and cookies, then evaluated how our activity days had gone and also what we thought of the project as a whole. 

In the afternoon some of us set off for a spot of souvenir and resource shopping, before returning to envoy to get ready for the big evaluation with Amalya and the NUGGGS team. For dinner we went to a funky American diner just down the street where we enjoyed burgers, fries and soft drinks all at a bargain price of 1400 dram per meal!

The official evaluation went well with lots of positive feedback on this year's project and some possible aims for the next 2 years of GOLD in Armenia. After the meeting at the office we were taken out to a pub called 'Wild West', where most of us let our hair down and a great time dancing away to cheesy music along with our Armenian friends and a rather portly chap from the Czech Republic who was keen to show us some dance moves, and even keener to marry Cara!

It was early morning before our heads hit the pillow, but we still awoke very early and headed out to the cascade to watch the sunrise, something Cara had been very keen to do. It was a wonderful experience, which gave us a great view of Mt Ararat. The only downside were the stray dogs, who followed us to and from the cascade like a scene from a Disney film!

When we got back from the cascade we headed back to bed for a bit before lunch at a nice cafe/diner called square one. We then went our separate ways, with Marie and I going to check out the Dali exhibition in the National Gallery in Republic Square and some of the others hitting the shops for last minute souvenirs. 

We met back at Envoy at 4pm for a photo shoot to promote the hostel, in which we we had to pose with our rucksacks, grinning widely and in a variety of cheesy poses such as 'looking in the empty locker' and 'leaning against the bunkbeds for an earnest chat'. Thankfully it was not our room that was used, as all the knickers hanging to dry and half empty bottles of fanta made it look a bit messy!

We then headed to Lillit's Mum's apartment, in a taxi ride that made GTA video games look, frankly, quite tame.

Love Caroline and Team Armenia 2011

Last night in Armenia - Sad Times!!

How - day - us!

We have just arrived back at Envoy after a wonderful evening of food and fun at the home of one of the Armenian Guides (soon to be Guider) Lilit.  Her mum and aunt prepared us a wonderful meal of barbecued meats, fresh vegetables, lavash, fish, chicken, fruits and ice cream - what a send off we had! We will need to be rolled into the airport with our bellies still full tomorrow morning! There was of course a bit of Armenian dancing to help burn off the over indulgence but i think those G.UK shirts will be a tad tight tomorrow! 

We have had a wonderful time in Armenia on GOLD 2011 and would like to thank everyone at NUGGGS and Girlguiding UK who have helped and supported us throughout all the Project - it really has been a once in a lifetime adventure for us all, and i am so appreciative that  i have got to experience it twice!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the team themselves - Marie Harrison, Amy Longhurst, Jade Bennett, Caroline Kendall and Kelly Chant - thank you so much for being wonderful people to spend an amazing three weeks with on GOLD Project.  You have provided endless laughter, banter, support and hugs and truly made this experience as enjoyable as it could be - a massive thank you from me... i still wont cry! :) However i will mention the dinny dropping flip flop, the bees boxes, swagger jagger, the jade-isms, Susan Boyle, British dancing, SAS, laxatives, random proposals,  church grope, cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese, 6am cascade sunrise, rabies dogs and WOLVES. Love it!! 

We are now off on a mini Adventure to St Petersburg - flight in approximately 6 hours , leaving envoy in 3 hours and still sleep to be had - a GOLD all-nighter could be on the cards!!  We shall hopefully still have internet and update you on this onward banter however we thank you for you support and perseverance at times when reading this blog - especially if Marie is writing it, ha!! 

Only thing left to say is JOB DONE - all the best to next years team and roll on GOLD Armenia 2012!! 

Cara xxx

 

Our Recruitment Mission to Gegharquniq Region!

Ok, a quick run down for you on what we've been up to over the last week...

Day 1 - Thursday 4th August

Hired a mini-bus to take us to our home for the next few days in Karmir near Gavar. The house belonged to the family of one of the leaders who had been on camp so she came along with us to let us in and show us around. Her relatives lived just down the "road" who generously gave us water everyday (between the hours of 8:00 and 11:00am) as there was none at the house. The toilet was a rather rustic establishment around the back of the house so our training during camp came in handy. First activity day was that afternoon in the village school, where we were greeted by 48 girls with balloons, singing God Save The Queen! (Cue tears from Marie) We had to adapt some of our plan on the fly due to the numbers and space available but the session went really well and there seems to be good potential for a guide group to open there in the future.



Day 2 - Friday 5th August

We awoke after a reasonably comfortable (but hot) night to be collected by our wheel for the week, a lovely man in a black-out windowed, booming sound system, chrome alloys, parquet-floored and cracked-windscreened Lada mini-van. Absolutely immense. We travelled to Vardenis where we were met by Satenik (a member of NUGGGS) who was staying with her family in the town. We were invited in for a 'snack' before the activity day. As we prised ourselves back out through the doors and rolled down the street to the kindergarten where the session was to be held, we began to understand just what Cara has been talking about when she says the Armenians like to feed us. We had 17 girls today aged 10-17 and again, the session went well with lots of enthusiasm for starting a group there. After the 'proper' lunch (an incredible Armenian barbeque) we had a stroll around the town before heading back to the house in Karmir. Upon collecting water for the evening, we were informed to watch out for WOLVES!!! at night. Toilet trips became slightly more interesting from then on, with everyone taking a different approach to fending them off. My personal favourite was taking a pan and a ladle to make plenty of noise, and a friend to operate the search light (although Simona favoured the use of a small table fork...)



Day 3 - Saturday 6th August

We packed up and cleaned the house before leaving for the activity day in Geghhovit, near Martuni. We arrived at a school, where we were told that the training had been moved to a community club so we hopped back on the bus. At the club, we were shown the space available, which was a large landing and the boxing ring on stage in a theatre. After umming and ahhing about the best way to use these (and one or two Rocky impersonations), we got set up and had a good session with 25 girls. 3 women came along who were keen to start a guide group so things look good there too. Hopefully we are giving the girls in these villages a good introduction to guiding - the songs, games and crafts are certainly going down well and our translators have made plans to call and offer further support over the next few months.
After the training, Lilit remembered she had an aunt and uncle living in the village so our plans changed and we were invited to stay there for the night. (Apparently, this was only allowed after an argument over who should be allowed to host us, with even the taxi driver offering us a place to stay!) Although we offered to sleep on the floor and cook our own meals, we were thoroughly spoilt and fussed over. We all appreciated a decent bed and the chance to have a proper wash, and enjoyed getting acquainted with the family cow.



Day 4 - Sunday 7th August

After a hearty home-cooked breakfast (of roast lamb, fried potatoes and vegetables), we waved a solemn goodbye to our new auntie and hit the road to Noratus, a large village near Gavar. We were shown to a school with a large hall and even the privilege of tables we could use for our crafts. At first there were only around 15 girls, but moments before we got started, an extra 20 appeared so we had a great session with lots of laughter (particularly during the traditional end-of-session balloon game!)
After the session, we visited the famous cemetery in the village with its beautifully ornate carvings and women trying to sell us socks. Then, horror of horrors - it started to SPIT!!!!! It was that fine rain that wets you through - our translators couldn't believe we still wanted to walk around in it but we battled on. On the road again, we headed to Harazdan, a village 30 minutes outside Sevan, to stay at Simona's aunt's flat. After climbing 4 stories with our heffer rucksacks, we were delighted to find a western toilet which even flushed some of the time that water was available (11am til 2pm). Roll mats came out and the battle for the sofa began. A traditional Armenian meal of sausage and mash was followed by an evening of silly games before bed.



Day 5 - Monday 8th August

A rest day!!! After waiting for the water to come on so we could wash and flush, our favourite Westwood-mobile collected us and took us to one of the beaches around Lake Sevan. The water was refreshing after so many days of dirt and dust but in Cara's words, ABSOLUTELY BALTIC! We had a lovely afternoon of sunbathing and swimming, playing uno and having the odd drink. Before leaving, we climbed the hill to visit the churches and appreciate the beautiful views of the lake.. As we waited for the bus it became a bit nippy , and for one of the first time during the trip the jumpers were out , and we stood and moaned about the weather like true brits .Back at the flat, with some of us nursing some serious sunburn we ate left overs form our picnic lunch.



Day 6 - Tuesday 9th August

Last activity day !!!
We were up and out and on our way to Sevan City, we were early which was nice as it gave us a chance to have a nosy around the school, set up and find the loos! 42 girls showed up, which was great and we had a loud and lively session to finish off our fantastic week of recruitment. Our cajoling also seems to be paying off as Lilit, Simon and Tatevik led some of the craft sessions and games, and are all close to become leaders in September. After the session, we headed to the ski resort of Tsakhkadzor and went up the mountain on the chairlift. At the top, we did a spot of tree-climbing, photo-posing (still determined to make the cover of Guiding magazine on our return) and had a nice chat with an Iranian family who were on holiday. Back in the village, we walked to the monastery before indulging in enormous quantities of pizza. So good.



Day 7 - Wednesday 10th August

Another day the beach awaited us, as did the clouds and wind. We splashed out the equivalent of 85p on entrance to a private beach where the sand had been raked and flattened, sun-beds were provided and a cafe and toilets lay within easy reach. A few of us braved the wind to fit in a spot more sunbathing, one or two ventured in for a swim and others wrapped themselves in towels and shivered. Still, it was lovely to relax after all our hard work.


So, if you're still reading after that epic tale, Happy Thursday and we'll be in touch soon to let you know how the evaluations go and what we get up to during our last two days in Armenia.

Over and out,

Team Armenia 2011

xxx

Back in Yerevan

Hello all,


we are back in Yerevan safe and sound after 6 nights away in Gegharquniq region. We had an absolute blast with the activity days, sightseeing, some very hospitable home hospitality and just hanging out with our translators. All our trainings and activity days are now finished so it's 2 days of evaluations and last minute shopping before we leave Armenia :(


Will fill you in shortly on all the goings on, thanks again for following us throughout our adventure,


Team Armenia 2011


xxx

Off to our activity days!

Hello!

We are all set to leave Yerevan for the Gegharkunik region for our activity days. We are being joined by our three translators, Lillit, Simona and Tatevik and we will then hop on the minibus. We are staying near Gavar in a town/village called Karmir, and we are holding our first activity day in that area this afternoon. We are all really excited about the 5 activity/recruitment sessions we have planned and are hoping that they will prove successful in recruiting lots of girls to become members of NUGGGS. We have 4 crafts planned at each activity day, all with an animal theme and we will also be playing games, singing songs and handing out goodie bags at the end. 

In our free time we are planning to swim in Lake Sevan and hoping to take some trips out to see the temple at Garni and some other well known sites. I'm sure we will have a super time and we will update the blog on out return, next Wednesday when we come back to Envoy for the last couple of days in Armenia.

Best wishes,

Caroline and Team Armenia 2011

Rest in Yerevan

Hello,

Just a quick blog to tell you all about the few days off we have spent exploring Yerevan, in between camp and activity days.

Tuesday, was a rest day, catching up on all the missed sleep from camp. We all finished writing postcards early afternoon, when Cara and Amy headed off to the post office and between them stuck around 140 stamps on the pile of postcards. To say tongues were dry is an understatement! We also dropped off 3 Ikea bag fulls of laundry to the launderette to get rid of the dust from camp! The afternoon was again a relaxing time.

After dinner, we all took part in one of the Envoy Hostel walking tours, in which most of us climbed right to the top of the Cascade (which was a lot quicker and easier than it was in the day) and saw the most picturesque night time views of Yerevan. Beautiful, tranquil and you could see the majority of Yerevan. After reaching the bottom of the Cascade most of the Team went to the Fountain show in Republic Show, which again was a beautiful experience.

Today, we decided we would get up and out early, to enable us to witness more of Yerevan. At 42 degrees it was a very hot day. However, we put up with it and made our way to the Metro Station to travel to the Genocide Museum. 

The Metro Station was very art deco, with chandeliers and sculptured ceilings.Three stops later and we had arrived, a short walk and up a slight hill, we had reached the museum. The museum was very interesting, with paintings, documents and artifacts. Outside the museum there are a number of trees, next to each one a sign to say who had planted the tree. Each tree was significant, for every tree planted someone has admitted that the Armenian Genocide. People from organisations to Presidents have admitted it had happened. We then went to see the eternal flame, which remembers everyone who was a victim of the Armenian Genocide. It was a really interesting experience.

A relaxing evening of packing and sorting out for the activities day which start tomorrow, before a lovely Team meal out.

Team Armenia 2011 x     

Camp Life...

Hey y'all - still in Yerevan catching up on sleep and hair washes since camp but just thought we would take the time to fill you in on all that happened at the Armenian National Camp 2011! Well not all, could be here for hours, however we will do our best to share the experience with you!

Monday 25th July 2011

Depart from the NUGGGS Office in true Armenian style - the girls were told to meet at 11am for a 12 noon departure as they are always late - 12.40pm we set off!!  We had a bus take us on the supposedly 5 hour drive from Yerevan to Sisian in the South of Armenia - it was hot and sticky yet we had plenty of entertainment, dancing and singing from the Armenians and a few tunes from the olde UK ipod! Seven and a half hours later, after a a temporary stop as the bus broke down and some al fresco toilet relief, we fianlly mae it to camp! woop! Just enough daylight to get tents up and organise camp kitchen and toilet!  The evening provided us with our first opportunity to join and Armenian 'Camp Disco' - hesitant dance moves at the start of camp - ole snake hips by the end!

Tuesday 26th July 2011

First morning on camp relieved to us how hot this week would be and how little shade we would have to cover our pale UK bodies - let the tanning commence!  We were split into patrols, Amy, Caroline and Jade in one Patrol and Kelly, Marie and I in the other and set about setting up camp! We all helped to tidy the outhouse on camp, prepare emergency sleeping areas if need during camp, clear space for our GOLD training sessions and make a dining area for each patrol to enjoy camp! Hard work in HOT heat! It was great to explore the old outhouse thought as it was used in Soviet Armenia to teach men how to operate machinery, make tools and different types of craftmanship!  That afternoon we started our GOLD training sessions, Marie was up first - WAGGGS Global Actions Themes, Women Empowerment.  She delivered a brilliant session and set the bar high on the ole standards front!  Evening was filled again with Armenian dancing and a beautiful bonfire and tea to heat us up for bed!

Wednesday 27th July 2011

For breakfast we were treated to some egg ommlette - which was a massive difference to the constant bread and cheese (however i wasn't complaining, I loooooooove the Armenian Cheese!) Yum! We the got stuck into our GOLD training, que Kelly and he training on 'International Guiding' - another great training! Marie and I had some rest time during this trainings so set about washing! Team work as one held the hose of freezing cold water as the other one scrubbed their hair and shave the legs! Quite a feat in itself - feeling mighty fresh we set off on a hike with the rest of the camp to this beautiful waterfall.  Apparently the waterfall is used to generate power for Southern Armenian and you can only see it at certain times when the power station turn the waterfall back on - all very strange yet the view was stunning - que the photoshoot!  Back to campsite and after dinner we were invited to join the Armenian's for a game of 'Truth of Risk' - fun times that included Marie singing our national anthem and Caroline producing the oddest sounding ambulance  noise!

Thursday 28th July 2011

It was soon back to GOLD Training with a double session day and to start the day it was my turn, 'Programme Planning', this seemed to go well and the Armenian Leaders and Young Leaders seemed to be finding our trainings enjoyabe and useful - always good! Then after lunch we were straight back to it with Carolines training 'How to run a Guide Unit'.   Our free time in the afternoon was mostly taken up practicing for the evenings entertainment which would be an adaptation of a Fairytale - a bit like Goldilocks and the three bears yet no Goldilocks, instead a Mariela!  Jade, Caroline and Amy's patrol went first with their play where Amy and Jade were beautiful trees, accompanied by leaves duct taped to their legs and tree branches as arms.  Caroline was Shriek and wasnt invited to the disco - she had missed her Armenian call and gracefully snuck into scene an d just lay on the floor - hilarious! It was then the turn of Marie, Kelly and I, Marie and Kelly being Class A detectives and me playing the part of Mariela - where i had to adorn pigtails, dress and Carolines make up! Brilliant banter with the kids and another great night on camp!

Friday 29th July 2011

Today was an exciting day on Camp - Jade training on 'PR and Recruitment' seemed to bring positive vibes and we were joined on camp by a Sisian Television Crew  who filmed all the aspects of the camp from the Campsite and tents to the running on GOLD Sessions - we have all now made our Armenian TV Debut!  The film crew also did interviews with Amalya, the Chief Commissioer in Armenia plus all the leaders from the 7 different Guiding regions that were at camp - and your truely was interviewed looking mighty sweaty with greasy hair and not a drop of make up - Sandra would be so proud!! Apparently the footage was shown in every news bulletin for two full days - Great PR for NUGGGS and Armenian Guiding - we will try and get a copy and show you all!  In the afternoon we went a hike to the Armenian equivalent of  Stonehenge - yet its at the top of a bloody great climb! But we all made it and the views were worth it - 'is there nothing G.UK flip flops cant do?' We also visited an Armenian Zoo that is VERY different to a UK zoo - there was a pigeon in a cage! LOVE IT!! Then a relaxed and chilled evening talking to the kids and learning more Armenian Phrases!

Saturday 30th July 2011

Today was the day of our 6 and final training on Camp - 'Environment' Training by Amy! By this stage we were all quite tired yet the enthusiasm from the Armenian Guides pulled us through and we had a fantastic final training finishing with a recyclable fashion show! All the GOLD training participants were presented with a certificate for their participants and all were thanked for their energy and enthusiasm.  After lunch we then walked into Sisian's town centre, visited the church and local monuments plus we found a shop and scoffed an ice cream each - Caroline and Amy had two - ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!  After dinner back at the campsite we had to practice in Armenian a comdey sketch - we literally made a fool our ourselves no idea what we were saying/singing but apparently it was funny!!  Then Lilit asked us to teach the Armenians some traditional Scottish Country Dancing, que the Gay Gordons Armenian styleeeeeeeee! Awesome night filled with laughter and fun!

Sunday 31st July 2011

Last full day on camp - sad times - but we were all know desperate for a shower!! Just as well it was an Armenian Holiday called 'Varty Var' translated mean 'wet day' where you through water on anyone you see and they cannot complain! Awesome holiday so we had a massive camp water fight  with a bit of water balloon Dodgeball and a bit of water balloon Vollyball!  Just brilliant - i couldn't help feeling victimised though as i kept being pushed to the front!  I was only standing at the back so the kids could get wet and enjoy the fun- haha!  Then into clean warm clothes and official uniform for the closing ceremony as such.  We were thanked for joining in all the fun at the Armenian National Camp and given a certificate and badges for delivering the GOLD Trainings.  We also said a few words, thank all for their participation and making us feel so welcome and presented everyone on camp with one of our GOLD 2011 Badges.  Then it was disco time - we danced Armenian styleeeeee until the wee small hours, a few of us assisted by a wee glass of Rose Juice Wine - even included a wee singsong round the bonfire - Marie was in her element!

Monday 1st August 2011

Final morning on Camp, Tents down, bags packed, last use of the 'dinny squat' and we were off! Only 10 minutes late i was phenomenal! The return route was only 5 and a half hours this time yet in 47 degree heat it was quite the challenge, all just dreaming about the shower's at ENVOY! hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

xxxx