10 things that happened to me in Yerevan between February 5th and February 9th
1. I went to a pub quiz
2. I had a spontaneous French/Spanish language exchange with a new Mexican friend
3. I went to what I remembered as being my favorite bar in Yerevan and it was just as nice as I remembered it
In fact, it's one of my favorite bars in the world so far. The name is Calumet.
4. I packaged some food for a volunteering organization and met two French volunteers there
5. With some folks from the organization, I traveled to a town called Ijevan
6. I went back to Calumet by myself, had two non-alcoholic drinks (Schweppes) and met a bunch of people
I also sang Les Champs-Elysées with a girl from Russia.
7. I had a meeting with people from the European University of Yerevan
I'm gonna help out the French teacher and the English teacher.
8. I interacted with an INSANE woman on Telegram and it later turned out my friend's brother-in-law works with her
Got in touch through a Telegram channel because I was looking for a Russian/French language exchange. She got angry because I didn't respond within 3 minutes. Later invited me to a wine tasting event, I said I won't join, and she said "what are you talking about? I didn't mention any wine tasting event" and said several condescending remarks.
She made me legit uncomfortable, which I told her, adding that she should not contact me again. Unfortunately I'm likely to run into her because she's also part of the local CouchSurfing community.
When I showed the screenshots to my friend's brother-in-law he said "I work with her" hahaha and apparently she has a reputation for being weird. This is beyond weird though.
9. I took a bus
Not to sound like a snob detached from reality. I do take the bus in general, but in Yerevan it's another story. I remember being intrigued two years ago when I saw the super old looking buses, and regrettably never hopped on one. This year I noticed a lot of modern buses (not sure whether they were already around two years ago) but some old ones too. The thing is that it's not really worth it considering the taxis are very cheap. But anyway, I couldn't order a taxi so I asked someone which bus to take and it ended up being just like any other crowded bus ride.
Fun thing I noticed: Some buses have a logo that says "China aid"
10. I HAD A CONVERSATION IN RUSSIAN??????
When I went to my favorite bar (Calumet) by myself, I talked to a woman who barely spoke any English. I actually managed to make myself understood with a few Russian phrases and words, along with gestures. I haven't really learned any Russian in a long time and I don't even know some very basic words. It was really satisfying. Languages are a newly discovered pleasure for me. There's a really unique feeling to speaking in a foreign language you're learning, even if you struggle a lot. Even just a few words here and there provide a great feeling of satisfaction. I looked up the translation for "Do you have wifi?" and I've used the phrase several times since, and even used it for other things like "Do you have Instagram?" (with the woman I mentioned earlier)
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