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Published: August 10th 2007
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Second Blog from Yerevan
I have had requests to see my apartment so I took some photos -- a bit tricky because the place is big—the ceilings are more than 12 feet high, for example. The reaction of every Armenian who comes to the apartment is that it is much too big and airy. It is probably the thought of winter heat bills that scares them. But the rooms is newly remodeled and is great for doing exercises because there is a great deal of space (note the dumbbells in one of the pictures). Two rooms and two bathrooms.
Also included are pictures of the yard—Yerevan apartments are generally built in a square with a central courtyard, in the European style. But you will note the placement of garbage bins and dogs in the play yard. Dogs are a central part of the Yerevan recycling program at the moment. That is why the project we have chosen as a “green” project at AUA is a composting program using the AUA cafeteria organic waste. If Yerevan composted on a large scale, the city could be producing needed topsoil, and reducing the number of ferile dogs. As it is many people
go to the large landfill and pick through it to salvage vegetable, bread, and other waste to feed to their livestock.
I have taken some photos of Yerevan. It is interesting is to go to Google Earth and zoom in on the city. You will find the landmark Cascade - I have photos on the blog page. Yerevan sits in a bowl so that the Cascade is a structure that is built up the hillside to a very Soviet style monument at the top. From there we can see Mother Armenia—before about 1963 there was a statue of Stalin, but it was taken away and Mother Armenia took his place.
In summer Yerevan is a city of outdoor cafes. Environmentalists got really upset when these cafes proliferated into the green spaces—the green was paved over for the tables/chairs. But it makes for very pleasant evenings and much of Yerevan is up late—3:00 a.m. can be a busy time on the downtown streets.
It’s only money
We all joke that our second home is the HSBC bank automat (which is in a little stand-alone enclosed structure ). The city is expensive and the dram to the dollar
is always changing in an unfavorable way so it seems like money just pours through my hands. At the moment there are about 340 drams to the dollar. Two years ago it was 500 drams to the dollar. Our dollar is not in great shape I guess.
It’s the Environment
The American University of Armenia’s Environmental Center is one of four members of a consortium called EcoArmenia. The consortium formed before I arrived. AUA and the other members, World Wildlife Fund, The Armenia Tree Project, and the Armenian Forest Organization leaped into action last year to present alternatives to a government plan to put a road through the Shikagogh Forest Preserve—one of the only large patches of forest left in Armenia. They held a panel discussion with the Ministry of Nature Protection and others at which they presented an alternative highway route around the park and were successful in persuading them to select a new route. Now EcoArmenia is involved in trying to halt illegal logging and to persuade the Armenia Copper Production Company to halt its plans to build a Butte-sized copper mine through another forest patch fragment in the north until a good environmental review is
conducted.
I have included a picture of a news conference at AUA (I was the host for the event) at which a consulting firm presented its findings on the economic values related to illegal logging and alternate livelihoods. Next week we meet with the copper mine owners, Armenia Copper Production and the Minister of Nature Protection to try to persuade them to allow us to have an independent firm from the Netherlands conduct an environmental assessment of the copper mine plans. Stay tuned.
Exercise
Tomorrow I am supposed to meet a bunch of people at 3:00 p.m. at the Cat statue at the base of the Cascade—the Hashhouse Harriers (groups from the British and American Embassy) who run or walk every Saturday. If I get back from my tour of the landfill in time, I’ll be there, although it should be well over 100 degrees tomorrow. But it will be great to meet a few new people.
It’s the Water
I managed to catch a stomach bug a couple days ago -after major doses of Imodium and charcoal tablets and lots of kefir I am feeling better and I hope I’m cured and immune from
now on.
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Jeff
non-member comment
Jenny, Good to hear from you and learn about the area. Very interesting, thanks for sending the narrative and the photos. Off tomorrow to the Richardson Clearwater with Phil and Jackie. Doug and Beth will be there. Mom is going along with Mike and Sharon, Skip and Olga and Sue, me and Taylor. Taylor is excited about fly fishing and has a new rod. More later. Love, Jeff