Fifth-year Public Speaking students at Gladzor University brought cakes, cookies, hot dishes, soda and wine for a 9 a.m. class party. To make sure they were practicing their English, each young woman had to tell us a little bit something about Christmas that they learned by doing research on the Internet.
At the Agribusiness Teaching Center, Santa Claus (aka Guladi from the Republic of Georgia) and Mrs. Claus (aka Tamara from Armenia) handed out presents during an evening Christmas party there. In Armenia and Georgia, Santa Claus comes on New Year's Eve, while Christmas (celebrated January 6 in both Orthodox Christian countries) is all about Jesus.
Over the weekend, I spent time in the small, beautiful village of Bjrakahn, which lies at the foot of Mt. Aragatz, the tallest mountain in Armenia (Mt. Ararat is in Turkey now.) One of my students from the first class I taught -- Mariam (center) -- is leaving for a special 10-month program to study in Greece. So it was our last chance to be together. Her mother (left) taught me how to make my favorite Armenian candy -- strings of walnuts dipped into thickened grape juice and sugar, then dried before eating.
Outside, Mariam's father (left) grilled skewers of pork in the tonir (the hole on the floor to the left of Dad.) After grilling, Mariam's cousin (known here as a brother) uses whole pieces of lavash (bread) to take the meat, onions and potatoes off the skewers. Called Horavatz, this is a delicious, traditional meal in Armenia.