We Made It!

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Well after waiting and flying and waiting and flying we finally have arrived here in Yerevan. Our flight was delayed for eight hours in Dulles which was actually convenient because it save us the trouble of having to wait in Moscow for ten hours before going to armenia. We are staying at the shirak hotel in the middle of the city and as izzy has brilliantly put it "they made everything for dwarves". Meaning that the beds are very small and anglos such as myself and izzy have to hang half of our legs off of the beds. (Stuart)

Here it is 10:46 am but in our heads it is 2:00 am so we are quite exhausted. We arent quite feeling the effects of the jetlag yet but im sure that at night everything will be a little hazy. We have just finished a mini tour of the city where we exchanged our american dollars in to the Armenian Drahms,(about 300 to the dollar). We also saw the statue of the drunk and got sodas in glass bottles. Things are not as cheap as you would expect due to the weakening dollar but we still have it pretty good. Sam says that the average income per person is less than a dollar a day and 60% population lives below the poverty level.

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Photos

Waiting to leave for Moscow
Anna, Wren, and Stuart are eager to set off to Moscow, but little do they know that they will have to wait for another 8 hours before they can take off.

Sleepy Sam
Everyone was so exhausted from waiting that we just fell asleep all over each other. Wren even referred to her silver toenails as "tiny shoenails".

Moscow!
Waiting in the hot airport in Moscow fro our flight to Armenia.

Statue of the Drunk
This is a statue of an alcoholic who sold flowers he picked from the fields to passersby and when he had enough money for a bottle of alcohol, he would go buy one. He became a local icon so they made a statue as a tribute to him.

Our View from the Hotel
Sam And Stuart's view from their hotel room on the 13th floor of Hotel Shirak.

The City Square
The Hustle and Bustle near the center of Yerevan with some amazing architecture

Izzy and Gayle
Izzy and Gayle indulging in a little Fanta and Coke on the way to the internet cafe

The Hammer and Sickle
A remnant of Communist Armenia under the reign of the Soviet Union

Wren Posing
Wren with a statue outside of an apartment bulding on the same street as Hotel Shirak

Comments

[kappy Laning]

its good to see you!
hello all! thanks for the update! I had a fun day yesterday harvesting potatoes and onions, blackberry picking and making bread...I'll keep things going well here on the "farm", love and hugs, k

[Bob and Eleanor Droege]

Hi from America
Great pics. For you procrastonators (you know who you are) Shelby finished her sparrow today. It's terrific! G -Ma