Motherhood, Repatriation and other fictions

Parks and playgrounds rated by my kids

2011-08-07T17:24:00.000+05:00

Yerevan has nice parks and some of them are really interesting for kids and others are not so friendly. Since we decided to spend the summer here this year, we tested most of the popular ones. In this post, I will present my kids’ most preferred green(or not so) areas of Yerevan and one in Ashtarak town. The process of selection:After going regularly to most of these places, I sat with my kids

The “boks” or the hospital of angry nurses

2011-05-07T21:02:00.004+05:00

I can say I am feeling much better. This pregnancy was a little more stressful in the beginning because of my age. When you’re over 35, you need to go through the worries of the health of the baby, triple test and the amnio. But the most nerve-racking experience was the wait. Thank god I was occupied with my work and travelling for conferences and meetings to keep my mind

Are Women NGOs becoming cheap service providers with senseless goals? -A lesson in humility from women in black

2010-10-15T10:06:00.002+05:00

Almost 2 weeks ago, I was invited to take part in the Cross-border Network meeting of South Caucasus, in Istanbul. Women’s organizations from Abkhazia, Armenia, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia were invited. Their common goal was women’s rights and security in the region through peace dialogue.I used to go with great enthusiasm to this kind of meetings, then my enthusiasm

The story of the 4th occupation of my body

2010-10-14T17:45:00.004+05:00

Yes we finally decided, or the baby decided for us! I am 5 months pregnant and will experience again pregnancy and childbirth in Armenia. I will post regular updates on that, to keep my family living abroad part of this 4th adventure and also to give information on the procedures (medical and other) related to pregnancy and childbirth options in local hospitals and other facilities. Now i

Meet Ipod/Ipad/Iphone: the future parents of your kids!

2010-09-06T20:08:00.004+05:00

Today was the first day for the brainy beans English workshop for kids at Educ Youth Center in Yerevan. Since there are little alternative language schools offered for kids here, I decided to register mine to this 4-week workshop taught by a British educator. After almost collapsing on the 6th floor stairs I finally arrived with my 8-year-old daughter on the doorsteps of the classroom.

Dance classes that break your children's self-esteem

2010-04-27T12:31:00.001+05:00

One of the things that i really like of life in Armenia is the multiple dance, music and art classes offered to children after school. Some art schools, like Igityan cultural center, have a long experience of teaching children dance and most of the children growing up in Yerevan specifically go to one of these schools to learn Armenian folkloric dance, ballet, latino and other styles. Parents (

Խոսիր ինձ հետ, ես այստեղ եմ քեզ համար:

2010-04-20T17:48:00.000+05:00

(For english version see here) Ես երկար ժամանակ մտածում էի գրել ինչ – որ բան այս թեմայի հետ կապված: Հետո ես ինքս ինձ ասացի, որ երեխաները կարևոր են, նրանք պետք է ամենից կարևոր լինեն, այդ թվում նաև Հայաստանում, քանի դեռ նրանք ամենից խոցելին են սեռական բռնության հանդեպ: Կանադայի կամ ԱՄՆ-ի յուրանաքանչյուր ծնողի համար, ով երեխա է դաստիարակում, սա շատ անհանգստացնող հարց է:

Story time at the children's library in Yerevan

2010-04-14T23:39:00.001+05:00

Yerevan has a very nice children's library situated on Teryan street in the middle of the city, called "Khnko Aper Children's Library". The old building is a legacy of soviet times and has ben renovated recently. It is a 3 floor building and each floor is divided to sections where books are classified by age/grade groups. If you have a proof of residency, the library provides you with a

Talk to me, I am here for you

2010-04-07T10:09:00.006+05:00

I thought for a long time before writing something on this issue. Then I said to myself children are important, they should be top priority everywhere, including Armenia, since they are the most vulnerable and an easy target for sexual abuse. For every parent raising a kid in Canada or the US, this subject is a very scary one. TV, schools, radio, newspapers, public ads constantly remind them to

Yes to Violence Against Women...No to Preventing Assault and offering help!

2010-03-26T13:44:00.008+04:00

It's funny how people tend to automatically criticize us and try to silence us when we start talking about violence against women in Armenia (and in lots of other places, i am assuming it is the same!). Last year, I remember when we were planning our march to stop violence against women for november 25, the city mayor's office demanded from us that we bring them written proof that there is

French kindergarten in Armenia...Ah, oui!

2010-03-20T12:09:00.001+04:00

Vayk, my youngest goes to the french kindergarten, known as the "Ecole Maternelle d'Erevan". I found this place by chance years ago, through an article in an Armenian journal, just before our move to Armenia and i was so happy. Coming from a francophone background/education myself, I wanted my kids to learn french from an early age and this was a good start-up place. I visited the place once I

March 8: from Yerevan to Turin

2010-03-18T09:36:00.006+04:00

Last year at the Women's Resource Center, we took the initiative to burry with a performance the "red apple" (symbol of virginity for brides in Armenia) and the reactions were diverse and loud that you could see here. Despite all the negative comments, it was really important to experience how far can you push the limits regarding traditions and gender in Armenia. This year, less controversial we

Because education at Waldorf school is more than a simple 1+1=2

2010-03-13T01:47:00.001+04:00

You could learn a lot on the Waldorf education just by visiting one of the parents-teacher meetings. Usually the meeting starts at 6pm and is conducted in your child’s classroom. You are allowed to bring your kids if you have nowhere to leave them and they could play in a small room on the same floor.The teacher, in our case Baron(Mr) Arsen greets the parents with a smile and starts by

Women and Work - ETF Conference/ 7-8 March

2010-03-06T04:40:00.000+04:00

After a hectic week at work in-between presenting reports, preparing for the International Women's Day in Armenia and launching the campaign on sexual violence, i find myself finally resting for a couple of hours at the departure area of the Zvartnots airport. I am heading towards Turin where I will take part in a 2 day conference which gathers bloggers, activists and students from different part

asylum

2010-02-25T10:22:00.002+04:00

Note: I wrote this 2 years ago as an introduction text on the activists blog site of www.pushingthelimits.se While driving back from Shushi, NKR (a disputed region between Armenia and Azerbaidjan), I was thinking about the long journey that took me back home. I am an Armenian woman born in Beirut, Lebanon who fled away just after the war of liberation in 1989 when general Aoun wanted to liberate

histoire d'une naissance - 1ere Partie

2010-02-23T19:45:00.000+04:00

(ce texte a été publié dans le recueil "Special Residency Status: 18 tales from Armenian Repatriates", 2008. Je raconte l'experience de mon accouchement en Armenie.) A l’hôpital Erebuni tout est vieux, gris et triste sauf cette chambre d’accouchement ou tout est blanc propre et lumineux... Mais la route qui mène à cet endroit, aussi vielle que l’ère soviétique est presque

Armenia in my kids

2010-01-17T22:39:00.002+04:00

I was being lazy lately and not writing much on my blog. The holidays came by and passed so quickly. I had planned a list of things to do, to write, to prepare for the New Year and did so little actually. I started my 7th year in Armenia and I just noticed that my moving here and transition from the life I had in Canada to the Armenian one is so clearly embedded in my children’s different

Armenian Winter for Kids (part 1)

2009-12-15T14:55:00.001+04:00

This year, with the panic of the Swine flu, the schools closed earlier than expected in Armenia putting parents in a very stressful situation. The lucky ones had grand-parents (Tatiks mostly) who took care of the kids while parents continued their work. Others tried to find last minute baby-sitters to replace the school hours. And the government, like other social issues, did not even attempt to

Red Apple

2009-12-12T10:37:00.001+04:00

(first published on www.pushingthelimits.se october 2008) Anush got married last Sunday in her birth town, Vanadzor. A town situated 1 and a half hour away from the capital Yerevan. When I saw her a day before, she was very nervous. She had met her future husband only 4 months ago and everything was going so fast . The parents were pressuring her to get married for the last 7 years, she was

artashat des femmes

2009-12-09T00:26:00.000+04:00

Femmes réunies autour de cette table Silencieuses et sages Combien de temps encore avant que vous osiez Parler, crier, dénoncer Le conformisme vous ronge les entrailles Sortez vos griffes de temps en temps Parlez Artashat m’étouffe Avec ses bâtisses insolentes Nvart parle la première “On ne veut pas prendre des femmes au travail Puisqu’elles peuvent quitter à chaque

Violence against women: from Vienna to Yerevan

2009-12-02T09:20:00.002+04:00

(I wrote this text during my travel to Vienna for the OSCE conference, it was published on the blog of www.pushingthelimits.se) While waiting to board my flight back home, I reflected on what I learned during these past 2 days in Vienna at the OSCE Supplementary Meeting on gender equality with a special focus on violence against women. This was the first time I was participating in a conference

Dear Diaspora

2009-12-01T01:05:00.002+04:00

Hope everything is well with you out there. Hope the churches are filling with good religious Armenians every Sunday and the associations are working well, educating the new generation on the genocide issue and how to be a good Armenian. Hope the women’s bazaar was also fruitful this year and that you were able to raise lots of funds for the cause and the community. I miss your thoughts and our

2009-11-03T23:59:00.002+04:00

November 25 - To end violence against women

2009-11-03T23:57:00.003+04:00

The Waldorf school experience in Armenia

2009-10-29T12:36:00.001+04:00

When I moved to Armenia in 2003, my daughters were very young and schooling was something that I was thinking about endlessly. I am known to be a slightly paranoid mother and choosing a school or a kindergarten was a major concern for me, specially here. The process started by long visits to almost more than 10-12 schools and kindergartens in the city center, not too far from the area where we

vanished life

2009-10-22T11:27:00.002+05:00

She served the best tea in Shushi. I always visited her during my stay there. It was a long process; at first she boiled the water in this old samovar, then prepared the concentrated tea in a small Chinese teapot with red magnolias design on it. Then she took out the beautiful set of blue teacups, gently kept in an old shoebox under her bed. And the final touch was the delicious raspberry jam

Hoqnel em

2009-10-17T23:59:00.000+05:00

Hoqnel em mianman hayatsqneritsHoqnel em dalanerits u heteve daqnvadz keghtot tarazqneritsHoqnel em petakan hamalsarani, gratarani shenqi mech koghq koghqi kanqnadz anhoqi tghamardu demqerits garatsadz tupikneri vraHoqnel em anendhat teghs bntrelu ampokhi mechDemqt lav makur dzalum em, taq arduqov ughighatsnum emU dnum em mi anhayt daraki mech u bakum em vor el chjptasQo jpite indz khanqarum e u

Do we care?

2009-10-15T11:48:00.000+05:00

Diguine(Mrs) Sissee was born in 1957, in the Yezidi-Kurdish village of Alagyaz in Armenia. As was the tradition in her culture, her future husband kidnapped her on her way to school, when she was 15 years old. He locked her one full day in his house to ruin her reputation (having spent a day in a stranger’s house without someone chaperoning her was enough to presume that she was no longer virgin

esquisse shushiesque

2009-10-04T11:16:00.003+05:00

At the end of the day, what matters is how many women you empoweredHow many of them were touched by your attentionHow much better they felt about themselvesHow many felt dignified with your attitudeHow many went home with the feeling that they are worth somethingSomething they did not sense for a long timeSince all they get is indifferenceAll they hear is demeaningAll they ever loved broke them

I don't want to get old in Armenia

2009-08-28T20:43:00.006+05:00

Julietta is born in 1934, She is my downstair’s neighbor. When I moved to my new apartment 2 years ago, Julietta was cleaning the entrance and talking to everyone passing by. I smiled at her and went up to my apartment. From that day, she always chats with me when I leave the apartment and tells me that she went to the church and prayed for me and for my children(I think she says the same thing

histoires shushiesques de femmes- 1ere partie

2009-08-14T13:37:00.003+05:00

Nano avait 15 ans quand la guerre s’est terminée et Shushi essayait de reprendre des couleurs. Elle ne savait rien de ces ruelles. Elle essayait d’oublier la peur, le danger. Elle voulait s’adapter à cette ville de fantômes.La mère ne voulait rien savoir. Elle avait un regard vide, qui mettait Nano dans une complète désuétude. Elle venait d’une grande ville lointaine, dont elle ne prononcerait

To move or not to move

2009-08-09T16:30:00.001+05:00

It’s been almost 7 years that I moved to Armenia with my family. My oldest was 2 and a half at that time, my second was 7 months old and my 3rd wasn’t born yet. It was quite challenging at the beginning; trying to find the essential products and foods needed for my babies, the search for a good pediatrician, then a trustworthy babysitter to have some spare time and work on the “women’s resource

Yerevan parks tested by my kids(continued)

2009-08-08T14:38:00.001+05:00

Lover’s Park: Very nice but not very suitable for very young active kids. Lots of restrictions (no playing on the green, no throwing pebbles in the water…). Unless you have a child who likes sitting on a nice bench and reading a book or taking a nice walk, it is not a place where children can play freely. I think it is mostly designed for adults or quiet and calm kids. My daughters enjoyed the

Summer

2009-08-06T11:34:00.000+05:00

If you are in Armenia during the summer, you have to be very creative to find good, fun and safe entertainment for your kids. The challenge was bigger a couple of years ago when even the basic necessities (baby food, milk, diapers...) were hard to find and activity centers for kids was almost non-existent. Today you still find some good choices:Public park: In Yerevan, there is a couple of nice

Goris des femmes

2009-08-06T11:29:00.000+05:00

Je ne connais rien à cette villeJe ne connais rien à ce peuple qui construit sans arrêtLes petites ruelles bordées de verdure, d’arbres majestueuxL’eau qui coule sans attendre, emportant la saleté de toute une nationVieilles femmes clouées devant la porteEn attente de cette chose qui n’arrive jamaisTristes, douces, aux visages millénairesYeux qui sourient, bouches qui marmonnent“C’est lui, ce n’

Patinage

2009-01-20T09:19:00.000+04:00

Amassia adore patiner sur la glace. Au début c'était difficile de trouver un endroit agréable à Erevan, mais depuis 2-3 ans déjà le lac des cygnes (Karapi lidj) est ouvert au public toute la semaine. Les patins peuvent etre loués, mais il faut laisser son passeport au commis. Mais cette année, Amassia a recu comme cadeau des nouveaux patins de Dado et surtout des patins canadiens. Alors chaque

fun!!!

2009-01-12T01:17:00.000+04:00

For the Holidays, the Republic square is filled with Soviet Santas, most of them drunk, standing beside weird animals and christmas decorations and inviting children and families to take pictures. Around them, within a very tiny space, you could find some horse/pony rides and other entertainments. I was panicking a little bit and stressing out, because there was a lot of people and not everything

Republic square for kids

2009-01-12T01:11:00.000+04:00

last sunday before school starts!

2009-01-12T01:04:00.000+04:00

Enjoying the train rides at the Hrabarag with friends.

Manti night with the staff of the Women's Resource Center

2009-01-12T00:38:00.000+04:00

Varanta and Vayk helped me prepare our favorite dish, Manti, and share it with my staff from the Women's Center. It took us 3 hours, Varanta stayed till the end helping and chatting endlessly. It is a tradition in Armenia to celebrate the new year by visiting relatives and friends houses and feasting with them. Most of the Restaurants just started opening today, but very few people are on the

Partyyyyyy!!!

2009-01-07T15:50:00.000+04:00

After hibernating for almost 5 days, we finally called Diguine Anna our devoted babysitter to stay with the kids so we can go out for the first party of the year at Square One, organized by Deem Communications and Aftershock. The place was packed! we danced non-stop. Sam, the godfather , Araz, Gohar, Arsineh...and most of the people I know were there, enjoying the music, dancing and going crazy (

the ice queen -- skating show

2009-01-05T14:45:00.000+04:00

Place : The Sport Complex, HamalirTime: at 5pm on the 4thcost: 2000-3000 AMD (almost 10$)Good show for the kids during the holidays, the artists were invited from Moscow. Nice Light show and great costumes. The kids loved it and the place was heated!

Visiting Amassia's friend

2009-01-05T14:06:00.000+04:00

Yesterday we were invited at Nane's house, Amassia's best friend from the Waldorf school, for a traditional Armenian New Year's feast. We talked a lot about the education system in Armenia, since other parents were also invited. We discussed the importance of Waldorf school in the Armenian society and how it is preparing a more conscious and responsible future generation. The kids had a blast

Celebrating Christmas

2009-01-04T03:42:00.000+04:00

Celebrations in Armenia start on december 31st at midnight and lasts until January 13th (the old new year). For the days preceding the celebrations, almost all the women of the households are busy cooking, baking and cleaning the house, while the men are hunting for the best deals in food, meat, fruits, vodka and chocolates. Ishli keofte, Khozi bud(roasted pork), dolmas and sweet sujukhs are a

Salut

2009-01-04T03:12:00.000+04:00

Voila apres toutes ces annees je cree ce blog pour faire part a mon entourage de ma vie en Armenie, des enfants qui grandissent trop vite, de l'Armenie qui change sans cesse et de mes projets qui n'en finissent pas.