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

  

Back from camp - browned, bitten and boiling but very happy!

We're back safe and sound after a great week at camp in Sisian.

The quoted "5 hour" journey to camp turned out to be another good example of the Armenian understatement as it was more like 7 and a half thanks to the bus breaking down and some very interesting roads through the mountains! The journey was well worth it in the end though as the scenery around the campsite was absolutely stunning (I say campsite, but if even your most basic mental image of a campsite is a grassy field and a tap, you'll need to scale it down a bit). The ever-resourceful Armenians soon turned it into a home from home and we all adjusted and settled in very quickly.

We soon got stuck into camp life and had an absolute ball joining in with traditional dance lessons and competitions, some re-worked Armenian fairy tale plays and a comedy sketch evening which we think we understood about 5% of! The girls and leaders were incredibly kind and patient with us and we found some of our most enjoyable moments were simply sitting around in rest times and learning about each others' lives and trying to pick up as much Armenian as possible!

Our training sessions with the older girls also went really well and hopefully we've given them some inspiration and ideas that they'll find useful in the next couple of years when they start new Guide groups of their own.

The journey home today was better than expected but incredibly hot and sticky (currently 40oC in the capital). We've all had pretty much the greatest shower of our lives and Cara and Kelly are in the hostel kitchen, hopefully whipping up something that doesn't involve bread, buckwheat or cabbage. We'll sit down and fill you in properly with all our adventures and comedic mishaps tomorrow when we've eaten and slept.

Catch you soon,

Marie and Team Armenia 2011

Off to Camp...

Good Morning all! All is grande!

We are up bright and early and have just enjoyed our jam, bread & CHEESE breakfast at Envoy!! Hmmm loving the Armenian cheese! We are all packed and excited as today we are off to CAMP! yay!! More about that later though as we will fill you in on the busy day we had yesterday, no rest for the wicked!

We had a meeting yesterday at noon with the Commissioners of NUGGGS (National Union of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, of Armenia) at their office; Amalya, Aya, Tatevik, Lilit and Satenik.  To get there we had to take two taxi's and our route reminded Caroline of Grand theft Auto - plus we are yet to ride in a taxi with an intact, non damaged windscreen - all the cool taxi men of Armenia have at least a 4 inch crack in their windscreen!! Score!

Once at the office we discussed the plans for the project, camp arrangements and the traveling /accommodation for the Activity Days in the north of the Country post Camp.  A few amendments were made yet all happy with the project as it means we are spending a few more nights in the northern regions and not so many in Yerevan. The four regions that we will be visiting are all situated along Lake Sevan, so it will be a beautiful backdrop to our trainings! We then sorted all our resources for Camp - job done!! So we left the ladies to their meeting and headed back to Envoy for lunch.

We then took a walk to the market in the afternoon sun - Caroline had been reading her travel book and was desperate to explore the olde market.  We saw everything from the contents of old Armenian men's garages to the beautiful craft works of traditional Armenia to the lovely bright orange, blue and red t-shirt declaring 'I heart Armenia' - tempting!  We were also accompanied by one of the Armenian Guiders, Lilit - or media Lilit as she is better known to us - and she became quite the David Dickenson, minus the fake tan, similar hair, and haggled our prices down for us!  And after some retail therapy and a much need cool drink in the shade - small rest from working on the tan :) - we headed to the cascade.  It is a focal point in Armenia and overlooks the entire city so naturally i made the team race to the top... the didnt like me at the top!  However, the views of Yerevan are worth the climb to the top - on a clear, bright day you can get the most stunning views of Mount Ararat - another time maybe! Or an evening view? The team are not quite keen on my 6am sunrise idea but i will keep working on them!  

We had more than earned our dinner after the climb so the team plus Lilit headed to Jazzve, a cafe restaurant beside the concert square in Yerevan where we all a hearty meal plus a few cheeky desserts for some! Exhausted yet still keen to see Yerevan life before we head to Southern Armenia we headed to the fountains!

The fountains are in Republic Square in the Centre of Yerevan and is a social meeting space for most.  There you can watch the most elaborate fountains that are all coloured and and choreographed along to music! Kelly was so keen to get good pictures she nearly fell in - opps - just a sore knee to content with yet all is grande!  Then at 11 pm after a busy day we said goodbye to Lilit and headed back to Envoy for some well deserved kip! 

Well that was the intention - we were all rather excited and eager for camp so started packing! Late night early mornings - welcome to GOLD!

So we are now about to check out of Envoy and head to the Office and go to Camp - WHAY! - Armenian Styleeeeee! We have a 5 hour - ish bus journey ahead of us and will be at Camp in the town of Sisian until next Monday so it will be all silent on the blog front as we will not have any internet! But dont worry we shall fill you in on all the goings on, on our return on Monday  1st August.

We all all having a ball - all safe and well and cannot wait to officially start our trainings and GOLD Adventure at Camp! 

Woop woop!

Cara & Team 2011 xx

We have arrived!!!

Woooo! We have arrived at Envoy Hostel and ready to go.

After, many experiences at the Airports our 24hour journey was complete. Thanks to Kelly's Dad, we got to Gatwick in a minibus and in plenty of time. Check in was interesting to say the least, we very nearly had to fork out 500 euros for our resources bag - despite already purchasing extra baggage - but thanks to Cara standing her ground we got the weight cost for free! Cara had a scare when Marie handed over an empty passport cover, and berol pens were carried in everyone's pocket, which finishes the check in experience.

After the first flight that was hot and sticky to Riga, we had the 6 hour wait in Riga airport. Not much at Riga airport, which made the 6 hours drag on. However, a great time to get to know the team! We placed ourselves firmly in the comfy seats at Coffee Nation, and talked the hours away. After some help from the aesthetically pleasing gentleman in the transfer lounge we got to our second flight. After three and half hours later we arrived to a welcome party at Yerevan airport. Bundled into a taxi and Lilit's Dad's Car, we made our way to Envoy Hostel. 

We decided to have rest until 12pm, however we all over slept until 2, so now it is time to explore the capital! 

Talk soon,

Team Armenia 2011 x   

The Final Countdown!!!

Right, it's the night before we leave and we're all at Kelly's house in Reading. Have been eating our body weight in pizza, getting on with last minute re-packing, sorting out training folders and cramming about a million maoam bars and felt-tip pens into every last available inch of space.

Most of us are pretty tired after a busy few weeks but getting VERY excited about the morning. In 15 hours we'll be in the air and on our way!

We'd all just like to say thank you again to everybody who has supported us over the last 10 months. We're all so grateful and can't wait to share our adventures with you when we get back.

Will update the blog as soon as we can with news of our arrival and first few days - wish us luck!

Amy, Cara, Caroline, Jade, Kelly and Marie xxx

2 weeks left until we fly out to Armenia!!!

Hasn't time gone quickly? it only seems like yesterday when we all found out we were selected and now it is only two weeks away! we all are very excited - the new opportunities, meeting new people and experience Armenia and the culture. 

Well, a lot have happened since we last posted. We have has out third and final briefing at Cara's humble abode, down in sunny London, where we session planned, discussed matters in hand, got our passports with the lovely Armenian Visa inside. We also visited Chq, then Battersea Park to practice our tent pitching skills. As well as taking many photos of us in our beautiful uniform.

We have also had two phone conferences since 3rd briefing, one very long for Team Armenia and one short a sweet. 

Anyway, back to the matter in hand - it is only two weeks to go! Woooo!

Packing has begun, even re-packing has started! Plans are prepared, resources brought, folders made, photos printed, and much more. We really hour just counting down the days.

remember to keep checking out the blog over the next month as we will be updating it as much as we can - with new, events and our GOLD journey.

We will like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us in someone. Also a big thanks to the GOLD team, who have helped sort out Visas, baggage issues with the airline and just been there when we have all had a question to ask.

Without everyone, we wouldn't be here. So thank you!

Team Armenia 2011

x

2nd Briefing - Apr 2011

Hello again! 

Well a lot has happened since the last post! 

We have had our second phone conference. Where we discussed similar things to the first phone conference, with the addition of the evening entertainment for our 2nd Briefing, our presentation on Armenia and our project aims to our fellow GOLDies and Updates on Badges and uniform.

Badges have been produced and delivered. They are lovely and also for sale. So if you would like any, please contact us and we will sent you all the details!

Uniform. We have ordered our items, a grey hoodie and polo shirts in Royal Blue, Turquoise and Jade Green. They should be on there way soon...

2nd Briefing! What a wonderful weekend! The weather was lovely down in Gilwell Park, Chingford. We started off by catching up with both our team and also all the other GOLD 2011 participants, who are heading to the locations: Chile, Fiji, Guyana, Malawi, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania. 

Saturday Morning saw each Team presenting a 10 minute activity or talk on their location and/or Project. As Team Armenia will be going on camp we decided to teach everyone else knotting using strawberry laces and twiglets, as well as morning exercises in the form of Squatting.

The rest of Saturday was spent doing workshops and having Team time. That was until 9pm where the evenings entertainment began! Each Team where asked to come up with a royal variety performance. We had everything from Chilean line dancers to the Guyaneese Farmers with Old MacDonald's Farm! Team Armenia, for one night only were the guys from GLEE! We had Artie, Puck, Quinn, Santana, Rachel and Mr Shu! We had Mash-up of Glee tunes which included signing Imagine, we had loads of Fun!

On Sunday we were given tips for packing and also tips for our roles on GOLD e.g. first aider, documenter etc. And then we all said farewell and Good luck to the other GOLDies as we will not see them before we all fly out to our project countries!

So I will leave it there for now. Roll on our 3rd briefing in June - where there will be plenty more news!

Team Armenia 2011

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Our First Conference Call Over with exciting news and updates...

Tonight at 9pm we started the Gold Armenia team 2011's first conference call!  
It lasted only an hour and was quite a surreal experience, but nevertheless we all survived and have plenty more news and updates to keep us going.


So what did we talk about...


1st briefing -  We all thought it was fun and a success. Slight information overload but, everyone agrees that the more information, the better!


Fundraising - Everyone is doing well. Discos and craft days have raised loads of pennies and more fundraising plans this week that include a quiz... we will keep you posted on our success.


Badges - They have been ordered! Woop Woop! And what is even better they will arrive before our next briefing! 


Uniform - The quotes are coming in, decision on who to go with is still undecided. However, We have our final colours: 
The Hoodie = Dark Grey
The Polo shirts = Jade Green, Royal Blue and Turquoise.
So lovely and bright! 


Project - Discussed rough dates for flying out, so at the moment we are just checking that we can get time off work and exams are all over. We will keep you posted on that. Also discussed onward travel, which all depends on the date we travel.


So lots of things to keep us going until the next briefing.


Anyway, better get off to bed


Team Armenia 2011
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Meet the 2011 team...

Meet the 2011 team: (L-R)

Caroline, Cara, Kelly, Jade, Marie and Amy

1st Briefing - Feb 2011

Hello!


Last weekend we has our very first team briefing weekend, up at Linnet Clough Scout site near Stockport. The weekend was crammed full of information (and energisers!) so we all had to take notes and work hard. It was great for the whole team to spend time together so we all started to get to know the team that we would be travelling, working and living with for three weeks this summer.


So what we did:
- Arrived Friday night, had a lovely dinner followed by an icebreaker then we had team time. Team time involved getting a beautiful (sweet and badge full) team packs and talking through Cara's A-Z of Armenia, which ensured the whole team started to get very excited!
- Saturday saw a lot of information - however the more information we had the more excited and less nervous of the unknown we became. We talked about the GOLD journey, roles of the team members and leaders, fundraising, health and well being. But that was all! We chose the roles so we all get started on the jobs as as soon as possible, also talking about kit and our Trip Clothing!
- Sunday was again an information day, with talks on Cultural awareness and Kit. Team Armenia eventually decided on uniform and colours of trip uniform (this was a bigger thing than ever first thought - the colour has be to right!)


As the weekend came to a close we had a beautifully long list of to do jobs before the next briefing in April which is down South at Gilwell Park!


We have all come away from the briefing weekend very excited and enthusiastic, especially as we feel our Armenian adventure had only just begun!


Please keep looking back at the blog as we will be updating it with every piece of news and all the developments with Team Armenia 2011. 


Team Armenia 2011
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