My good friend, Steve Snyder, and I talked a lot about blending in before I left. We figured that I knew enough about Armenia not to dress totally out of synch, that I looked Armenia enough and that I had enough of the language to blend in. Well, not the case!
To start out with, I didn't bring enough shades of black. While there are certainly other colors here, they work from the base of black. Very typical dress for a man of my age is a black suit jacket, black pants, various color shirts and Italian-type shoes with long, squared-off toes. I can come pretty close with my pants, gray jacket and darker shirt, but my shoes are a dead give-away. When I walk down the street, I see people look at me and immediately look at my shoes. Shoes play a big part of the culture in Yerevan and especially for women. Most younger women wear spike heels all the time, including, according to a Peace Corps volunteer I met, in the winter going down icy streets. And what a variety! It is a fashion show daily. People wear lots of clothes even when it's very warm out although today was hot and I started to see some short sleeved shirts.
Ingrid and Leslie wanted to know about food. I am really hooked on lavash - a rolled out bread that looks like and is used sort of like tortillas although they are thinner and baked into sheets that are about 1 1/2 feet wide and 2 or three feet long. Sometime they are cut into smaller squares and folded. I also am addicted to tan - a liquid yogurt drink. Khatchpuri is sort of like spanakopita - thin layers of filo with cheese, mushrooms, and butter. Meat versions are also available. I've also had Ishkan trout - Ishkan means "prince" and it's named for the spots on its head that look like a crown. I've had pork khorovats (BBQ) twice and gotten sick both times. The salads made of tomatoes, cucumbers and light oil dressing are fabulous. The tomatoes here really taste like tomatoes.
That's all for now. I just got back in Yerevan from Sisian earlier today and haven't even been back to my room yet, but the internet in Sisian only had Russian or Armenian and I just couldn't do it. I am enjoying writing to you all.
Hajorutyun,
Bob
