failed at blogging

so i started keeping a notebook for "ethnographic purposes" and i'm just not capable of writing two different journals, so, blog fail.
here are some highlights of my time in armenia with only two days before i head back to istanbul (for anyone still out there):

1) the cool swiss guys i met at the first homestay. we hung out, went to "the club" where we had a good "western armenian" meal, and i went with them to khor virap, my first time taking public transportation to a famous site in armenia. a really nice old lady wrote down the return schedule for us.
2) being back at the same homestay. it really makes it feel a lot more comfortable staying with people i know in a bedroom that feels familiar, etc.
3) the famous armenian artist museum tour: sergei parajanov (filmmaker), mardiros saryan (painter), hovannes toumanian (poet), and aram khatchadurian (composer). not done in one day.
4) being recognized and welcomed when stopping by birthright. seeing ani and anoush (language instructor's daughters and my language instructors).
5) birthday! etchmiadzin, christina made a cake, and a cafe/hraparag night with christina, ani, and anoush.
6) garni/geghart trip with birthright. a fun group, and a great conversation with mikael and haykak.
7) a 3-day trip to gyumri, including the feast of Asdvadzazin, where they blessed the grapes on a platform in the main square. was fed too many pastries by overzealous host-mother. met another birthright girl. feel like i have a feel for gyumri.

other than this list, i've pretty much just been living. spending a lot of time reading and going to cafes. i guess the main lesson for this trip is how important it is to spend a lot of time in a place if i figure i'm going to get any ethnographic 'work' done. especially in the post-soviet world. especially in the post-soviet world.

so, its been good. i feel like the other really important thing is a feeling of normalcy of being in armenia. even though i developed a schedule, working, etc. last time- this trip feels even more normal. so, yeah, its been good. its been good to practice armenian, to keep up relationships with people i know here and make some new ones, and to realize how hard fieldwork is. am i any closer to an idea for a dissertation? maybe upon reflection.

well, i have to get a few final gifts, change some money into georgian lari, and get ready for a bus ride friday morning. i have to say, 'one week AND counting.'