We are about a third of the way into our adventure. It has been an absolutely amazing experience.
Our work here in Vanadazor has been very worth while especially with such great company. I want to introduce you to the people we have the opportunity to work with while we are here. We are so grateful for their patience, their care, and their hard work. It has truly been a blessing to get to know them and work with them. We look forward to future time with them here.
First, our Fuller Center Program Director for Vanadazor is Tatevik. She is such a sweet lady. She organizes our work, our sightseeing, our food, and our overall experience. Not only does she do the planning, but she also works with us on the site. She passed buckets of concrete to me just yesterday. When she talks about Fuller Center, you can hear the passion in her voice and the belief that Armenia can become a greater country through its work. We are so thankful for all that she does for us.
Our driver since we arrived in Armenia is Melek. He is incredible and does so much more than drive our bus. He is also a very hard worker. Every day he has loaded countless amounts of dirt into the concrete mixer and has helped with several other jobs. He also likes to kid around with us, which makes it feel like he is part of our family. He is truly a man of many talents and I don't know what we would do without him.
Another integral person to our Fuller Center team is Jivan. Not only is he hilarious, but he is also a very hard worker. He has been part of our roof crew and passes buckets with us even though he is getting a bit older. He also has taught us Armenian words and has picked up English words from us. He taught us what full and empty are and they sound like "lekar" and "dadark." It was funny when we would hear him say "empty" and "full" as well. Although we don't need these words to get the work done it has been a very fun exchange of language.
Our family is incredible and has worked so hard with us. The father/husband Karen heaves buckets from the bottom bucket line to the roof bucket line every day all day long without gloves. He does not complain or ask for breaks, at least from what we can hear. His wife helps cook lunch and our break food, which we are so thankful for after a work day. The oldest daughter Siramarg works on the roof crew just like the rest of us. She passes full buckets of concrete in the hot sun and is only 10 years old. The other two children are adorable, but are too young to work.
Misho is another Armenian helping on the house. He works every day on the hot roof pouring the concrete we pass him and spreading it out to finish the roof. He works so hard and will laugh with us as well.
Just recently another girl joined our team. Her name is Meri and she is a college student who is our age and our level in school. It has been wonderful to have her as part of our group. Her English is very good and she served as our translator today on our excursion. She also is a hard worker. It is a wonderful opportunity to share with a person our age from Armenia. We all are so glad to have her as part of our group and hope to continue the friendship when we get home.
It has been incredible to see how hard each of our Armenian partners work. I am proud of our team's work as well. We are going beyond what they thought we could do.
Of course we are very thankful for our Professors that have joined us for this adventure and learning experience. They have done such an amazing job of organizing this trip and providing us with great educational experiences. Today is Dr. Grant's birthday and we wish him a wonderful birthday.
And I could not leave out the wonderful team of Mercer Service Scholars that I am working alongside. The abilities to work together and get work done effectively and efficiently has surpassed expectations. It has been wonderful to get to know each of them better and to see how each of them exhibit leadership skills in their own ways. We have bonded on this trip and are truly becoming a family of Service Scholars. I hope that kind of cooperation continues throughout this trip and during our time at home.
Thank you to Mercer for this wonderful opportunity!
P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!
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