Back Again to Pick Up Where I Left Off

Yet another departure from the Eugene Airport. Can anyone find my Mommy in the background?....waving til we can't see each other anymore...?....stepping back and back and back until the very last possible moment? She doesn't know this, but my eyes are always full of tears by this time at the top of that escalator, and then when I turn around and begin walking forward instead of backwards, the tears take their natural form and give in to gravity. I'm heading back to Armenia, stepping back on the path that was so exciting, fulfilling and enlightening, in so many ways. I'm hopeful of the possibilities that come with building on what I started-- the personal relationships, the language ability, the cultural understanding, and the career development.

Leaving again meant that I didn't make it across country to meet, in person, my first and only God Daughter, Afriyie Upija Owusu-Fordwouh, pictured below. I'm having to rely on photos to see her grow and change. I dream of seeing those captivating, gorgeous eyes in person when I get back, or perhaps she'll happen to be visiting the country of her parents and I can take a detour through Ghana on my way home!

This is what I came back to. Yerevan in early November, snow on the mountains in the distance, chilly, but comfortable when the sun was shining.

I've never been much of a city person, but Yerevan has grown on me. I never imagined living in one of these residential apartment buildings, but I am. I have a cozy apartment on only the second floor of a 5-6 story building, located on one of the most desirable corners in the city center. I love it. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it's not pictured below. :-) Despite having gotten used to the city, I still long to get out into the country. It's what I love about Armenia. It's what I fell in love with my second day here, a year and a half ago.

There are historical treasures to be found in every landscape's fold, such as the old tiny monastery perched on this little hill above "Her-Her" Village. No, it's not pronounced her.;-) Co-Author of "Rediscovering Armenia," Raffi took us to a place none of us had ever seen or imagined. My first week back in Armenia, it was a great Welcome Home. Apres Raffi Jan!
His sense of adventure and curiosity turned out to be a blessing for all of us, as we finally found the below monastery, a place Raffi had been wanting to see for years, and a place none of the rest of us even knew about (well at least Arevik and I).

Not only was I welcomed back in Armenia, but likewise in Tblisi, Georgia.

Tblisi's Vernissage Market had many Armenian vendors, so Armenian language came in handy. I particularly liked the use of space on car hoods & rooves at this market.
Anything you could ever want, as long as it was readily available decades ago, is most likely available at the Vernissage Market.
The weather was chilly. I'm enjoying Eastern style (I say that to avoid saying Turkish or Oriental, lest I upset anyone ;-) coffee after a big plate of khnkali (yummy Georgian dumplings).

Ordinary scenes like the one below repeatedly caught my eye. Earthquake damage and physical deterioration made for a lot of structurally unsound homes (the worst of which aren't shown here).

Inside these doors was a vacant home perched on a cliff (the view from the other side was great). The owner would like to renovate and rent. The conditions were unlivable, and among the few things that remained...
were these old photos hanging on the wall. There was a time....
...Tbilisi was well populated by Armenians. Below is one of many Armenian churches. All that remains here are the burnt pages of thousands of books.

But from a distance it looks like it could be a functioning church. Only a handful of the old Armenian churches in Tblisi ARE functioning.

That's a glimplse of Tblisi. More pictures of Armenia, particularly Getap Village and my dear friends from there are on the way. Reuniting with them was magical.