Haghpat & Sanahin, my "Slumdog Millionaire"

In celebration of the warm weather sticking around this November, my closest sitemates and I rent out our buddy's taxi and head on a day roadtrip...

Haghpat

Haghpat is one of the most famous temples in Armenia, located in Lori Marz near Alaverdi. The area has produced artifacts from as old as the Paleolithic Era.

If you look hard, you can see what's left of the huge fresco painting of what I would consider a depiction of God on the topmost part under the arch.

We luckily came on a Sunday- heard and saw a bit of a mass!

These holes held all the precious items at the Temple.

At one time there was a concealing fake floor laid on top of them.

It is now a tradition to drop dram into the small safes, like wishing wells.

Sanahin

Sanahin is easy to miss, though you would not want to.

Lisa, Armen (the taxi driver who seems to know every past volunteer), and I lit candles next to eachother!

The flooring of Sanahin, or many monasteries and temples, must be made of gravestone markers. I don't know much about it, but these pictures show some very primitive depictions of humans. I've seen a lot of similar gravestone-like stones in many of the other places I've visited, but none like this. Maybe they were made later on, they are a little too well preserved to be as old as that style of drawing. Right?

Artifacts! Listening into a tour guide's speech (but in Armenian), I heard that the room held a great deal of precious cultural materials from various places (I caught Greek and Latin) as well as Armenian. They studied and preserved the artifacts at Sanahin.

My "slumdog millionaire"

If I really have to explain what happened, then you probably also don't get the movie reference. It hurt, but atleast the hole wasn't full of waste. I took the door and the whole floor a couple feet under with me, from trying to skip over the boards in front that looked weak. (The inside looked strong!! Kind of) Haha. It hadn't been used in a long, long time and a butterfly could have caused this. I don't know what I was thinking, I will have to remember to lay off the honey and that I don't weigh 10 pounds! :)

By the way, this kind of thing could probably only happen to me....

Kindergarten #1 goes to a Bridge of Hope Event

November 10th is "Action Day".

Today the Bridge of Hope used all those paper hands I've been cutting out for the last two weeks! Between the schools and community members of Noyemberyan, and by the help of an ambitious group of volunteering pre-teens, hundreds of these paper hands were hung on a banner in support of the handicapped. Wishes were written on the hands by all who came except those not old enough to write. The event took place in all the surrounding villages as well as in front of the park here, in Noyemberyan. A successful event, beautiful weather, music in the park... today was a good day.

Kindergarten #1 showed their support by participating! (How interesting it was to help move a group of 2-6 year olds down a path and across a street- it was terrifying actually.) Afterwards, our kindergarteners had a bit of time to relax in the park! At lunch, with our lentil soup, we were treated to some candy by the Bridge of Hope!

Today is one of those days I couldn't be happier to be where I am.

ww2 memorial hike

Change is... well... Change is change.

We could talk about change all day-

Our brains and voices pattering away.

Beautiful things like forested mountains are ignored

When our mouths are busier than our eyes and legs.

pictures!

The Bridge of Hope

My Paper Crafts counterpart & my buddy Gohar

Nodar & Gohar helping gut the pumpkin

Nodar cutting the pumpkin

All the kindergarteners and teachers with "Mookey" and Donald Duck for a birthday party celebration at the Kindergarten.

I was forced to dance with Donald... HAHA. They actually took a video of it too...

The birthday boy, Nrek, 2 years old! His mother, a teacher at the kindergarten and his fantastic friends!