YARP hello from Isabelle! Armenia is one of a kind. It is good and bad in many ways. Yerevan is Armenia’s capital. Let’s compare Yerevan to Boston. Unlike Boston, the most buildings in Yerevan are not made of polished glass or shiny material. There are some buildings that are made of shiny material and polished glass but most buildings are made of stone.
The elevators are not quite that nice either. They only have one light which makes them dark but the elevators in Boston are bigger and with lots of lights. Some people avoid using the elevators because they break down. The stairs are not that nice but they are safer than the elevators (especially during a fire).
An average building in Yerevan has about nine floors. There are four apartments on each floor. Each apartment usually has a TV room, a bathroom, one or two bedrooms (no one gets their own room unless it is someone living alone), a kitchen and that’s about it. Each apartment has about nine to thirteen windows. This is a typical building.
We have a house in the country, in a village called Bjni. The house is made of bricks. It has two floors and only our family lives there. We have two bathrooms, one kitchen, and four bedrooms. In the backyard, we have a big cherry tree. In the garden we have other cherry trees, apricot trees and raspberry bushes. The people in this village also live in big houses and they usually have a farm. All the people in the village are very nice (not that people are mean in Yerevan).
Armenia is also made up of good things. For example, there are great hotels and beautiful buildings where people live. There is a hotel that is shaped like a castle from fairy tales. I would recommend that hotel if you have children. There are over 400 hotels in Yerevan. I am not going to describe each one in detail. So, if you ever want to come, you will have lots of places to stay.
Armenia has lots of water fountains. The fountains have lights which makes the water glow. Like most fountains, the fountains in Yerevan can go up high but they go up higher than most fountains in Boston. Children like to go there in the evenings and they like to play and listen to music at the fountains.
Children play outside till it is dark. In each building there is a “group” of children that is always out playing. They have different and fun games. In Boston, children barely ever play outside, and they do not stay out as late as the children in Armenia.
In my opinion people visiting Armenia would like it, and they would learn about the great things in Armenia and its problems.
If you would like to visit Armenia, the link for the list of hotels is: http://tripstoarmenia.com/, or http://www.fructusarmeniacus.com, or www.armeniainfo.am.
Here’s a picture of the view at sunset from the balcony of our building in Yerevan–
Hi Isabelle and Elise,
What a wonderful summer you are having! I think it’s great that kids can play outside until dark in Armenia. It sounds like fun gathering around the water fountain together!
Do you eat fruit fresh from the trees at your country house?
When I was a little girl my best friend was Armenian. Her Mom moved to America with her family when she was about twelve. Her mom was a great cook and I got to try some of her Armenian recipes. Yummy!
What is the weather like?
What are the schools like?
Enjoy your vacation!
Mrs. G.
How interesting Isabelle–I feel like I can picture where you are staying. It sounds lovely to have so much delicious fruit growing in your garden. What other things do people grow on the farms? You mention that children stay outside a lot. Do children ever do work on the farms or gardens?
Elise’s post on stray animals made me also wonder whether you both see many animals in the country. In the Boston area people complain that deer eat the things they plant. Do you have deer or other wild animals that farmers have to worry about? Do the farmers have animals that they are raising?