I wasn’t alive in the 1950’s but I was an avid watcher of “Leave it to Beaver” before I left and other 1950 era television shows so I think I know a thing or two about what that era was like and if I was asked what Armenia is like in 2009 I would say its like America was in the 1950’s. For example in Armenia, if you’re fortunate enough to have a car then you only have one. The man is the bread winner and while many of the women do work they do so in the typical jobs held by women: teachers, nurses, operators and secretaries, and when the work day is over the misses prepare dinner for the family and clean the house. When you make a phone call you connect through the operator (my host mom is the town operator) to who your calling. And if you have a television then you probably have only one with just about seven to ten TV stations and on that certain night of the week everybody’s home to watch that particular show that everybody just loves. Now the shows are in color for the most part but life its self is still hovering in black and white. A lot of times people still focus their lives in a way that begs no question for what comes next: your born, if you’re a girl then as a little girl you start helping mom and grandma around the house while if you’re a boy you start helping dad and grandpa outside, after you graduate from school at the age of sixteen if you’re a girl you get married if you’re a boy you serve your two years in the army then get married. Then you have kids, your kids do the same as you did as a kid and you follow in your parents footsteps living in the house you grew up in (if you’re the oldest son) and take the expected as it comes. However, it would be unfair to lump this all into the experience of every person in this country. Not everybody lives out there life in such black and white frames. It would be hard to imagine hardly any woman in the United States submitting to a June Cleaver lifestyle in 2009. And similarly in this country times are changing and change here is coming from the inside out. Armenia is surrounded on two sides by formerly communist neighbors while to the East and South are more conservative Muslim societies (Iran because the government commands it and Turkey because the east is the more agrarian conservative portion of the country). All this means that there is no near by force bringing change but in the capital Yerevan there is the occasional radical hair do, new style or gay club to keep people looking towards the modern. The Diaspora also brings new ideas and change as it centers around the Los Angeles area (some popular questions I get are “are you from LA” “no” I say “I’m from Texas” “is that near LA” they say with a sigh of disappointment) and other major metropolitan areas of the world such as Paris and Beirut. So life isn’t quite as open as it is in the US but it is moving in that direction but it’ll be a while before Armenia moves to color.
It’s cold here. No surprise since its December. As I’m writing this there is snow falling outside my window and its getting pretty deep. I attempted walking today and nearly ate it a couple of times. School has been canceled for two weeks do to the growing “flu epidemic” as the vice principle put it. It’s getting close to Christmas but here it is celebrated more like a season then a day to look forward to. In fact the celebration doesn’t center on the day of Christmas (January 6 by the Armenian Apostolic calendar) but instead on the New Year when you go to all your friends houses for free food. I’m leaving in less then one month for India and Dubai on what is a much anticipated vacation. Hope all is well with you and Merry Christmas. Love, Me.
