Armenian Birthday Party

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On Saturday I went to the large bazaar with a colleague from work. Everything you can imagine, from single beaters to plug into your handheld mixer, auto parts, beautiful rugs and needlework, bootleg CDs, etc. and you name it and it was there. But the highlight of the evening was yet to come. I went with one of my Armenian colleagues to a birthday party. Originally I thought we were going to a "jazz club", but then this came up.

I arrive at the birthday party around 9.30pm. I'm thinking this is going to be some staid affair. Hahaha. I couldn't have been more wrong. The eating and drinking had been going on for quite some time. The son-in-law's family owns a restaurant, so they had closed the restaurant down for the party. So, I ate salmon caviar, trout, all sorts of really good things. As I believe I mentioned, I ate my way across Armenia. But, the highlight was the vodka. Knowing that I'm a light weight, I tend to steer away from heavy alcohol and stick with Armenian or Georgian wine. However, not a chance at this party. Traditionally, Armenians like to toast - and toast a lot. I say bring it. Everyone got a toast, even me. And children are integral to Armenian society, so much so that other neighboring countries say that Armenian children are spoiled (or so I was told). My children (to occur in the future) were also toasted. And, Armenians often add something that sounds like -jan to the end of people's name as a term of endearment. I was called Sara-jan and that was awesome. I sat next to an aged Armenian tennis star and across from some famous lawyers and judges. Many thanks to my numerous translators of the evening.

In any case, I was also told that it is rude for your glass not to be full - full of vodka that is. Needless to say, add a little ice and lemon slice and I can drink vodka with the best of them. I never knew I had this talent. Top it off with a little Armenian coffee, and you can be good to go all night long. Everyone was so nice - Armenians are known for their hospitality and the fact that I was even invited I think speaks to that. Or, at least with a little booze, the universal warmth of humanity comes through.

So, food, drinks, and next up - dancing. I'm not known for my dancing abilities, not in the very least. But hey, they tried to teach me. I'm sure I was the laughing stock of the party, but that's cool. I can't figure out if it was karaoke or just a guy they hired to sing, but the party also had a mini-concert and dancefloor. Some guy just belting out the hits in Russian and Armenian. Armenian dancing has a lot of arm movements, it looks very Mediterranean I think. Of course the women were all super elegant in stiletto heels dancing and I clumped, clumped, clopped along. The tennis star of his youth tried to do a little bump bump grind, but I nixed that pronto. I may be of the MTV generation, but I can't dance like Brittney or Beyonce, nor do I want some man I don't know getting to know me. David is highly concerned that my dancing may have severed, or at least wounded, Armenian-US relations. This is probably highly likely.

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