East meet Europe

I just have been watching “The Music Room” a program on CNN trying to be cool (it doesn’t work), but was about "Music in NZ" ... I have seen in succession King Capisi, One tree hill, Salmonella dub, P money, and so on... the presenter was being filmed at the entrance of Simunovich Fisheries, a door I crossed 1000 times... It was all so familiar but weird... from here… cold Yerevan…

Where funnily enough I’m not very used to not to be seen as a foreigner… everyone come and talks to me in Armenian, and kind of get offended when they realize that I have no idea of what they going on about… is very weird… in most other jobs.. tends to be very obvious my foreignness… but not here… at least not to them…. Not one person comes and offered me a menu in English… all Armenians I meet, later on come and tell me you look so Armenian… you look like my cousin Sevan… and so on I'm kind got use to it...

But.. I'm not getting use to the cold… geez... 1 degree C at lunch time… there is no need for that … however I'm kind of understanding the little things associated to it… like why most cars have all this cats footprints on the bonnet… because is warm there! As soon as a car parks… al cats from around come an lie there… is very funny for me!

It has only been one day since I'm here that I was able to walk the streets without my fleece jacket!...

Went to the Armenian equivalent of the Vatican... Which was cool... but quite “sanitized”.... very interesting painting, carvings and illustrated bibles…but it is funny, because on one side they have the spear that went on the side and “killed” Jesus (yeah man!!!) is not in display but is Armenia’s most treasured possession… and then all “priests” have a very Muslim looking beard and hat… on top of that one of the various religious icons they use is like a fake hand (like a prosthesis) in which the thumb and the “ring finger” are touching each other, meaning of circle of life that you see in the meditating Buddha statues in Sri Lanka…. Very weird…

Even if Christians I find my self more convinced that this is much more the middle east than Europe, even if local would get mad if the hear me… I don't know I just get to see it in the obvious issues, but as well in details… that perhaps only make sense to me, the combination of the fringe and the colour of the dresses of the waitresses in a restaurant… Their ideas on what we like… The plates of carefully sliced fruits… That all waiters/waitresses have an ID with their photos… That tea is called chai… that not one would ever dare to bring milk with the tea… and of course a slice of lemon...

Socially I got into some circles and I found my self "busy" during evenings... I went for an "audition" at the Buddha Lounge Bar a nice bar/club/restaurant copied to one in Paris where the "pseudo-alternative" crowd hangs out... and the guys was so keen that asked me to keep playing so I did a 2 hr set and I can go and play anytime I want they said, so I chose to be the resident DJ on Fridays... So I have the weekends free…

I normally eat at an Iranian Restaurant around my corner that cater students (many here), and it is a happy place with people talking to you and being friendly, besides cheap... so last week went there, and at the moment I'm getting is another 2 people comes in... and they are speaking Spanish... an Argentinean-Armenian composer (whom I knew about) and a Mexican anthropologist .... so they invite for dinner as it was the Mexican guy b'day... so other people started coming... 2 airport Argentineans (an Argentinean Armenian owns the airport!), Ecuadorian political scientist with NewYorican water economist wife..., various half Armenians from different parts, a Bask accountant-diver (?), a Norwegian social psychologist and her Norwegian political scientist flatmate, the German and French embassy officers, a Swiss-Italian development officer, the Canadian French microbiologist-filmmaker, and so on... so I was in my sauce... after they finish we went to the Mexican flat and had a pipe... and so on... So this crew kind of adopted me, so I got invited to quite a few parties and dinners lately and now besides having the Buddha gig... I’m now the DJ in the “Spanish Society” radio program at a local FM... bizarre....

I hate my job some days... I hate not being with my family... But destiny tends to pull some tricks on me of take me into strange situations... If I was Muslim and taught that my destiny and life book ahs been already written by Allah...

Well… I would strongly suspect that Allah does drugs...

Yerevan

Armenia in my mind was like the Atlantis.... Kind of place that we all heard off... But nobody really knows if it still exist or where it is supposed to be... This is the Caucasus from where the word Caucasia come from...I have been described like that... but I don't know why... in any case this was the backwaters of the Soviet Union... land of the lawless... as soon as the CCCP went down this guys got independence and went to war wit the neighbors for chunks of Christian land in Muslims countries... in theory Armenia and Azerbaijan still at war..

By day downtown Yerevan seems very Russian with non Russian looking people... (I have not been to Russia, do) ...men in cheap leather jackets and pointy mocasinos... pelt hats... many in fake adidas anoraks looking like iranians/turks ... but Christianity seems to make them look a bit different... women are into very tight clothes under colour leather jackets that come down to their knees, a lot of light blue make up around the eyes and the concept of hair coloring has some how new meaning for me.... There is a bit to much yellow and contrast with the very dark black from the eye brows( and the very white skin)... and by no doubt masters of equilibrium and frostbite control as per the very tight and pointy stiletto kind of boots they use to wander trough the snow

all sort of soviet cars of which ones i only recognize the nivas and a few others, and of course as it is a free country... BMW and Mercedes... meaning that you have either $ or are in politics (normally related)... and is very important for you to show off...

Again I'm a giant walking the streets in disbelieve of the anarchy of traffic.... the old part of the city seems to have been very posh at some stage... the Architecture is monumental... still much more to see... young (teenage) soldiers playing in the snow with uniforms that make them even younger... kebab houses shining... the poster of lord of the rings in Russian and Armenian... (Pity I did not had a digicam)... cheap latino music in Spanish pouring from underground clubs...

on the other side... on a Wednesday night I could go to a opera, a chamber music concert or the visiting Iranian Philharmonic playing with the local one (over 400 musicians on stage)... Pretty much every night is something and we talking a city of Auckland population

Is quite tripy to go on a Volga car (big) trough the hills from outer Yerevan... trough industrial areas with melting snow, down driveways into government buildings looking empty.... The ministries are incredible... Ruskis master the art of institutional architecture....

The office I' be working is a bit out of town, but I can take either a buss or a gondola (sic) to get there... yes the gondola is again very Russian in design...ugly but able to still work after 20 years of minimal maintenance ...

Yerevan is the lowest part of the country, (1000mts) and is surrounded by hills...there is as well a underground metro... so the stations that are under some of the hills have the longest mechanical stairs I have ever seen... one of them must be 250 mts at least... is hard to see the top when you get on it...

Food is varied and meaty.... I went to a place last night aptly named Caucasus Tavern which by some reason was full of Armenian army soldiers... they bring you a small glass of vodka, you pour a bit on your hands to wash then and disinfect... then u dry them and drink the rest.

Then some short dark dressed girls with the faced of experience pass and leaves you with a plate of different types of salad leafs, mushrooms, capsicums and flat bread...
so u get the leaves an much it cow stile.... And make some rolls with the bread ands the rest, and the chunks of bbq meat come and you keep making rolls, and wash down the whole thing with red wine...

By the way, I got the flat, move in on Tuesday, is on the 7 floor, nothing flash, kind of big, close to a park, the bazaar, republic square, etc

Saturday morning... watching muz.ru tv... sort of Russian own mtv... but very cheesy.... Glitters and tits seems to be big in Russian tv...

and all under 30 cm of snow.... but that does not seem to bother the mocasino man and the stiletto woman

Maputo is good for you

Maputo is going to be good for me... so to really valorize how much we do really have...



Is very hard to maintain the optimism i normally have in any of the Pacific island or in Sri Lanka... there is perhaps a better life for Africa... but they know that is way far in the future... hey are at the bottom of a rubbish bin... covered by bad shit like AIDS, misery, corruption, no education... and still be badly fucked by the Americans...read about the "free trade" agreements rounds in Mauritius... based solely on Oil...

our own EU!!... i saw a copy of the Fisheries Agreement... Spain, Portugal, France, Greece... 4.9 million Euro per year for unrestricted access to the grounds for 50 boats (all over 50 mts)...pathetic

and i supposed to work on fiscalization aim to "sustainable fishing"... very disappointed...

last Monday went to nice place named cerveceria Miramar.... when i came out... this 3 young prostitutes come to me aged 15 to 17 perhaps... so i got instead the car and lock the doors as they arrived... and they were offering themselves to me... pointing at my penis and opening the months... then pulling their t-shirts up and rubbing their tits against the car windows... while i was trying to get the antitheft block out of the wheel... and saying 'quince dollar'... quince dollar... 15USD... i finally started the car and star moving so they left... i was overwhelm... and fucked up... because i realize I’m the target market... alone... middle aged.. white guy in a big car... my types fuel that sad life... i was just out of my self...

there are good things... like the music... the caffes.... beautiful scenery... but overall happiness (which seems to be the fuel that maintains the place going) ... and incredibly a very laid back attitude to life...

i'm positive about being here... but i'm very pessimistic about the future of this (now my) people...

Peace and pot in Sri Lanka

Greetings from a peaceful Sri Lanka… after 19 years of hardcore battle there is finally peace… mi 2nd day here after a 3 month stint back home, was in middle of the Peace rally… which as most things in this country was quite full on… over 300000 people marching, chanting, dancing, getting completely piss and stoned under a torrid sun (in Colombo is always 31° C!).

It was a nice feeling when you are the only white face in a huge crowd and you get the best dialogs…

- where you from sir?
- Argentina… but I live in New Zealand
- Ah… Maradona and Chris Cairns…. Very good combination sir!!! same hair style!!

You feel the difference that peace is making… no more roadblocks… free travelling… very cool atmosphere… the final peace process still has a way to go, and a lot of negotiation to be done… as the prime minister is driving the peace process, but the president is opposed to it… (welcome to Politics!)



But is very good for the north east (Tamil land) which has been neglected for ages… and there is were I’m going for the next 2 weeks...