Friday, August 15, 2008

So full of LIFE

There is so much life here... sometimes there's no electricity, sometimes they cut the water, and you're lucky (and privileged) if you can take a hot shower every day or every 2 days, if you have a job, if you can afford to eat well... there are many things that Yerevan does not have, but what it does have is LIFE. I have been taking photos of people's hands because they are so expressive when they talk. You might not be able to flush the toilet after you've made a big stink, you may be told you can't have a cup of boiling water to top up your tea in the cafe because they have no more water, and you may even get tired of eating bread and cheese and cucumbers and tomatoes every day (not true), but you will be able to have the most passionate and inspiring conversations in the company of good friends and walk down the streets of Yerevan in the middle of the night wearing the same sleeveless shirt and shorts you've had on all day (and not be cold!) while the warm breeze caresses your hair and men may say stupid things to you, but really they're harmless and you can laugh at them all the way home...

You may cry at the weight of it all, the beauty and the sadness, the hopes and dreams, the laughter and the tears that would fill the wells the world over of an ancient people crushed between one super-power (Russia) and another (America). But what poetry - our language, our humour, our lifeline - this is the passion that fuels the fire and is what keeps us Diasporan Armenians coming back to this place again and again...

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