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June 12, 2006
Armenians aren't so mean
YEREVAN, ARMENIA -- I made it to Armenia Sunday morning at 1AM, but my luggage didn't. I suppose that by country #62, my number was up. Fortunately it arrived on the next day's flight from London, although one person who took Air France from Paris hasn't been so lucky as to get hers. The unfortunate teenager has been wearing green pants with pink trim for some time now. Clothing seems hard to find, though I actually spotted a Victoria's Secret here today. But who knows if it's the real thing: we also found fake Evian water for the impossibly-low 35 cents a litre. (There was also a detergent called BARF and some nasty $2 vodka.)
Armenia, part of the former USSR north of Turkey and Iran, was devastated shortly after the Soviet Union broke apart, and 1/4 of the population fled the country as unemployment hit French-like levels of 70%. Although it was Europe's fastest growing economy in recent years, the base is so low that even 15% GDP growth has yet to make more than a few people rich. Unlike the Baltics, where signs of both a wealthy elite and middle class were obvious, the most common car on the streets of Yerevan may well be the Zhiguli, a Russian-made sedan that resembles the Yugo.
The Armenian language is as cryptic as Thai, and for once, I'm thrilled to have signs written in Russian Cyrillic. I pointed out to our group the most important sign, PECTOPAH ("restaurant" in Russian). That wasn't even necessary, because the food has been excellent, though Armenian food is overshadowed on the Yerevan restaurant scene by Georgian food, which tends to be very spicy, meaty (lamb and beef), and a bit oily.
Tomorrow we start work on our house for Habitat for Humanity, the point of coming here in the first place. Habitat has bought a half-finished Soviet-era apartment block where construction stopped when the USSR fell apart, and volunteers are finishing off the units to be sold as condos to middle-class Armenians. (Unlike in the States, Habitat in Armenia tends to benefit the middle class, since the poor cannot afford the no-interest mortgage required to occupy a Habitat house.)
Meanwhile I've put an offer on a condo in Manhattan, though thanks to some unwritten rules in my 401k plan, the negotiations are proving complex. This sort of thing always seems to happen when I'm away!
Posted by adrianjo at June 12, 2006 12:42 PM