Happy New Year everybody. As I’ve said a few times before, I think, New Years is a big deal here in Armenia. They don’t celebrate Christmas like we do in America they save it all for the big ball drop. The night of the 31st is spent with close family. I spent it in with some Peace Corps folk and after mid night me and my friend Beth went on the hunt for dolma (I’ll explain what that is later). So after standing on the street corner for a about an hour we finally got an invite from some young guys which seemed legit for about a minute. We followed them down the block where they were burning tires in front of the of the Armenian Republican party. I don’t think they were making a political statement but it seemed a little anarchist none the less. After warming up in the ash filled black soot that is burning tires we followed these teenagers to their house. We expected a family with dolma and other typical new years foods but they didn’t live with their families, which is highly unusual in Armenia. I think the best way to describe these guys is to say they were like the Newsies caps and all living in some run down shed with only cookies to eat. Anyways then we went to where the big Christmas tree was where we were treated like celebrities even being asked to be in pictures with perfect strangers. The next day I made the rounds to different peoples houses, which is how the Armenians celebrate. Everybody goes around to their friends houses and eats dolma, meat rapped in cabbage, meat wrapped in pancakes, vodka, cognac, chocolates, dried fruits, nuts, tropical fruits, gelitized pigs feet, chicken salad, and other stuff. The celebration is so big that people spend as much as a month’s salary on preparations. If you’re a grandparent or older then people come to your house and as you get younger the more you have to visit as opposed to people coming to your house. So above I’ve included a collection of pictures from the different houses I’ve been to this New Years.
