The workers have been trying to learn some English (mostly to perfect their flirting techniques) and so we have taught them a few key words and phrases. The best of these is the day we taught them the word “Shenanigans” ... nothing is funnier than hearing all the locals try and say this word. They are constantly asking us now to “do shenanigans.”Our field crew certainly has been up to some shenanigans, and so I decided I would list some of the random adventures and good times we have had in the past weeks:
4th of July: Being the only Canadian here we did not have any Canada Day festivities, but since there are many Americans in our crew we did celebrate Independence Day. We had barbeque and kabobs and lots of wine. They even found popcorn for a taste of home. Then we gathered up outside and lit fireworks from the streets which the local children loved.
Vardavar day (The Feast of Water): July 10th is a national holiday for Armenians and revolves around a old pagan celebration where water and rose petals were thrown at people as signs of luck and fertility. Today the holiday a day off for everyone so the entire country can partake in water fights. No joke. Everyone participates and if you leave your house you are fair game. Complete strangers will be soaking each other with buckets of water in the streets. July 10th happened to be one of the hottest days of our trip, so of course we were more than willing to partake in this Armenian tradition. It also happened to be myself and Taylor’s day to work on washing pottery and faunal bones at home and so we were home all day to watch the festivities from the balcony. Eventually the older women from the house rushed us out the gates and we braced ourselves because we knew what was coming. Next thing I knew we were drenched from head to toe with water being thrown at all angles. So we filled up our buckets and retaliated. Soon the children from the street saw us playing and ‘soak the “Americans” seemed to be the hit game so we were attacked by bands of seven year olds until it was time to get back to work.
Ice-creamy Beige: Ice-creamy Beige is an invention we discovered completely by mistake. We named it after the Old Greg youtube video (as he refers to Baileys as Creamy-Beige). We went to the lounge one night and tried for ages to order drinks... then we saw people ordering iced-coffees and we decided that would do. We then noticed they had Bailey’s Irish Cream on their shelf and so we decided that would be the perfect mix. We asked for coffee (which they held up), and then pointed to the Bailey’s, and then said ice. We thought they understood, but then a tray of chocolate ice-cream covered in Bailey’s came out. It became a hit, and we order it every time we go out now.
World Cup: As most reading this are well aware, my sports knowledge is limited... as is my interest level, but one of the guys on my field crew is so obsessed with soccer he would put Mahmud to shame. So when the world cup finale was on we all went (at midnight) to the local outdoor lounge to watch the game. We had previously convinced the bartenders to stay up late for us. So we all had some drinks and pistachios and cheered very loudly. Buzz was rooting for Spain because he lived there, and Nathan was rooting for Netherlands because his girlfriend lives there, and the rest of us were also voting for Spain purely on the grounds that they had the hottest team... and I guess I have some Spanish roots too. We were so loud and enthusiastic that the Armenians couldn’t stop laughing at us!
Arpa River: One day we ran out of dirt bags (we sift every inch of soil troweled up and so each bucket is dumped into labelled bags) so when the bags ran out we had nothing to do and still had a few hours before our driver came. The workers decided they would take us to the river that runs at the base of our cave for a swim. We were all dirty from work and it was a very hot day so we all ran into the river, which is crystal clear and actually quite deep. You could lay down and the currant would take you down the river. It was an amazing time, and the locals got quite the kick out of the “Americans” swimming with their dig clothes on.
More Sports: One day after supper we decided to play some games on the street, which attracted a lot of local old ladies and children who got a laugh out of watching us all fail pretty badly at Frisbee. After Frisbee the local children decided to teach us a game they play. This game was a cross between monkey in the middle and doge ball. Two teams were devided and one time would be in the middle between the second team as the second team tried to hit the third team. Once hit you were out, and if you caught it you got a point. Not sure how I feel about this game.
River shenanigans with some of the crew and workers
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