preparations

"you're going there again!?!" is the usual response to this summer's travel plans: turkey, through georgia, a month in armenia, and back again- approximately 6 weeks.
so, while i avoid more substantial preparations (laundry, buying toothpaste, figuring out where i'm staying in armenia), allow me to introduce the basic plan and some background information.

first, why turkey?
well, i love it. i fell in love with the country, especially istanbul, during last year's amazing 2 month trip. and i didn't see the half of it. in fact, i didn't even go to the mediterranean last time, so i plan many sunny beach days this time around.
also, it's going to be about the same amount of money to fly into istanbul and trek across the country as it is to fly direct to yerevan. so, hey, i'll practice the turkish i spent all year studying.
following my cousin arden and his j-pop craze, i'm planning on starting a turkish pop collection: in particular the comics and movies of tarkan: grand bazzar, here i come!
and my good friend patrick will be accompanying me for this two week portion of the journey, which will add both company and adventure.
the flight is 3 days away, and i can't wait!

while saying "i haven't been to armenia since 2006" may sound a little privileged (and it is), a lot can (and has) change(d) in three years- especially for a country that hasn't even seen 20 years of independence and especially viewed from an anthropological perspective.
to be honest, i'm not quite sure exactly what i'll be doing in armenia. the technical jargon is "exploratory fieldwork," which is to say, i hope to come back with a better idea about a site and topic for my phd dissertation. i want to spend less time in yerevan than i did in 2006, hopefully staying in gyumri for a week or so with the help of birthright.
one possible project looks at the burgeoning presence of charismatic Christians in armenia, and how their interactions with citizens and the national, apostolic church illuminates the uneasy relationship between church, nation, and state in armenia. so, the "exploratory research" would need to get me out into villages and see what is actually happening: where there are pentecostal, etc. churches, what etchmiadzin's response is, and what peoples' responses are.
another project concerns required military service and citizenship. armenia has recently passed a dual-citizenship law, but for those armenians of the diaspora under 28, military service is required for citizenship. israel has a similar rule (i'm not an expert here), but there is a service component that many israelis by birth and diasporans alike take advantage of. the category of "citizen" has been a recent interest of mine, and according to one of my professors the military service/substantial diaspora population connection hasn't really been interrogated.
basically, i'm going to keep my eyes open, and try to see with the new lenses i've gained since 2006.

but georgia!? really?!
yup. its fine, its safe (i'm not walking into the disputed regions, i'm taking a train to the capital from an important port city), and tbilisi was the center for eastern armenian culture in the 18th century (sayat nova being the best example of this). i don't plan to spend more than a day or two in tbilsi, and perhaps a day in the armenian populated portion of javakh, but i'm really looking forward to this.
it is, after all, the only real way to go overland from turkey to armenia since the direct border is closed. (i can't wait until the kars-gyumri railroad opens up)

so there it is. i love anthropology and the ability to travel for work and research. it truly is a privelege being able to learn more and more about the region that i have fallen in love with and that forms the background and history of so much of who i am today. so, for those of you who will be coming with me again via blog, thanks for the love and support!
now, off to some real preparations.