I, Amerikatsi: At Vahram and Armine’s House - Վահրամի Եվ Արմինեի Տանը

Vahram and Armine were some of the first friends I had in the village of Lehvaz. Armine is related to the host family I stayed with during my first two months in the village (one of Artoshya and Karine’s three daughters), and her husband Vahram was there to greet me on the first day I arrived in the village. A memory always sticks in my mind of Vahram calling me the night before I left Lehvaz after my 3-day “site-visit” over two years ago. I couldn’t understand him that well at the time, but the gist was something like “safe travels tomorrow, we’re glad you’re here, and God watch over the work you do here in Lehvaz.” It meant a lot, especially at the time, and we’ve been pretty good friends ever since.

They have three sons, Artur, Vahe, and Monte. I’ve taught Artur and Vahe English at the village school, but during my two years Monte was unfortunately still too littoe to be in school, despite his keen interest. Artur, at 11 years old is eager please but really spacy and often in his own world, which is a lot like I think I was when I was his age. Vahe, 9, is crazy excitable and kind of hilarious as a student. His desire to participate in everything is great, but it’s sometimes so strong that even if he doesn’t know the answer he’ll raise his hand anyway, stand up rigidly straight and then say a bunch of gibberish that is neither English nor Armenian, and then suddenly look surprised that what he’s saying doesn’t make sense. Vahe was also always the one who during my two years would over and over again come up to me on the street after school and say “aisor mer toon kgas!” (today you’ll come to our house!). If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have gotten as close to the family as I did. Monte, the youngest, is really smart for his age, and I bet he would have been fun to teach. When we came to teach the Border 2 Border lessons in my village over a year ago, I remember him making all of the girls on the team swoon over how adorable he was. He already seems well aware that he has this effect on people.

I’ve been to Armine and Vahram’s house to chat and have coffee countless times, as well as for birthdays and holidays like Nor Tari (New Year) and Vahravar (the holiday where everyone throws water on each other that I posted about in the beginning of my service), and on my last night in the village, it was most important for me to go see them. The evening weather was really nice, and on their big picnic table outside we had dinner together under a light bulb that Vahram had strung onto an overhanging Persimmon branch. Vahram had been working at the mine in Agarak all day and was clearly pretty tired. The boys too seemed a little bit subdued, maybe because they knew I was leaving. We took some photos, and I let Artur take charge of the camera after giving him some quick instructions on how to use it. We had the usual coffee after dinner, and then I said my goodbyes and headed home to finish packing. Below are some pictures of the evening. I’ll miss these guys.