Day 23 - Yerevan, our last day ;(

We've had a relaxing start to the day, a lay in and a pop to the supermarket to buy some last minute bits to bring home!

Around 1ish we had our evaluation with the National Board, Simona, Ani, Siranush and Anahit. They are really pleased with how well the GOLD project has gone this year and they couldn't thank us enough for all we have done. They are very excited about September and going back to the towns we visited and opening up some new Guide units. Simona surprised us all with a gift, Armenian flag key rings, they are fab and it was extremely kind of you Simona, thank you. 

We have all had an amazing time here in Armenia and we have made so many memories that we will remember forever. There are so many things we have loved...

• All our training sessions with potential Leaders, current Leaders and Guides.
• A very memorial taxi ride to Gyumri and squishing into the taxi, when one of the taxi's tyre needed changing.
• The three amazingly yummy cakes on camp (how they managed to bake them we still don't know)!
• Camp!

That's our group memories, here are our individual ones.

Rachael - 

• Guide training in Sevan playing lots of parachute games
• Meeting someone we trained last year on GOLD who is now a Guide Leader
• Narrating an Armenian story
• Emma and my duet performance on camp
• Meeting so many incredible people, and working with the fabulous GOLD Armenia 2013 team - you've all been amazing!!

Jess - 

• Lake Sevan 
• Our first training session in Abovyan
• Emma and Rachael singing on camp (oh Emma, Emma, Emma...)
• I've enjoyed all the time on camp and getting to know all of you in the GOLD Armenia 2013 team.

Emma G -

• Rachael singing to me, the disco and campfires on camp
• Lake Sevan
• Walking up the Cascade
• Seeing how keen girls/women are here
• Spending almost 24/7 with Guides on camp learning lots of Armenian.

Lydia -

• Visiting the Cascade and Republic square at night
• Being hunched over in the mini van to the mall!
• The enthusiasm for Guiding here
• Emma and Rachael singing on camp!
• Disco on camp.

Emma T - 

• Meeting lots of new people and the friendships I have made that will last a lifetime
• Camp... Bzzzzzz!
• Meeting many enthusiastic girls and women
• Seeing the beautiful country of Armenia

Laura (me) - 

• The Guide sessions we ran in Sevan and Metsamor
• Lake Sevan - swimming in the lake and playing volley ball
• I absolutely loved everything about camp, thank you NUGGGS for making it so memorable
• Making lots of new friends, both the GOLD team and NUGGGS members
• Being apart of an amazing GOLD team and project.

We are now mostly packed and ready for our journey home. This isn't a goodbye Armenia and NUGGGS, just a goodnight.

A big thank you to everyone who has translated, helped and made us welcome here in Armenia. You all went beyond the call of duty for us and we can't thank you all enough. We are extremely sad that our time here is very nearly over, but Armenia will always be in our hearts.

A final song that we would like to end with...

Linger

I want to linger hmm

A little longer hmm

A little longer with you mhmm

It's such a stary night hmm

It doesn't seem quite right hmm

That this shall be my last with you mhmm

And as the years go by hmm

Remember with a sigh hmm

We say goodnight and not good bye

Bari gisher

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Day 22 - Dilijan

Today was our last day of Trainings :( 
We headed north of Yerevan in mini vans to Dilijan with Simona and Kara, our translators for the day. Thanks to both of you.

 For our last training we met 6 potential leaders, which is really encouraging in an area which has no current guide unit. The training was really well received and we finally got to see Rachael's resources training! 

On the way back to the minibus we felt like we were in the middle of Hollywood, when we stumbled upon a film set in old town. 

All our trainings have been met with enthusiastic girls and women, and we hope that we have made a real difference to girlguiding in the regions that we visited!

This evening Simona accompanied us to a new shopping mall in the city, where we felt right at home with all the British shops...even Marks and Spencer! A lovely, relaxing way to spend one of our last evenings. Thanks Simona.

Day 21 - Yerevan

Day off today and a well spent by all. We had a lie in first thing and then headed off to the Hrazdan Hotel to spend the day by the pool!

This evening we had a final farewell with most of the lovely people we have spent time with here in Armenia. Everything seems too real now that things are coming to an end.

But we still have 2 whole days to go :D

Day 20 - Metsamor

The sun is still shining in Armenia, although today we think it might have been the hottest day, or it felt like it!

Nane met us this morning near the hostel and we headed off to the bus stop to catch a bus and then a mini van into Metsamor. Here we were welcomed by around 18, very giggly and enthusiastic 7-12 year old's and three of the adults that we had met on camp. They loved all the activities we had planned, they did a fab job at making different objects in Giant's House and even managed the WAGGGS badge! The

parachute was a definite hit, particularly the 'washing machine' and 'cat and mouse' games. It was a really positive and fun session for all and the best bit is that the Leaders there are really keen to open a unit for these girls. Thanks goes to Nane and Lilit for translating for us today.


Once the session had finished and we all felt like we were melting in the sun, Laura, Lilit and Emma T thought a water fight was a great way to cool down!! The Leaders here in Metsamor very kindly took us on a short walk to visit their local Church which was very pretty.

This evening we met up with some of the members of the NUGGGS National Board, Narine, Lilit, Simona, Lilit and Anahit. Jess, Rachael and Emma G cooked a traditional British meal (Cottage Pie) which was very yummy and the National Board treated us to a delicious cake with a number '5' candle on it. We discussed our time here in Armenia and we all couldn't put into words how much fun and enjoyment we have had. They also asked for some tips for camp next year too, which we happily shared. 
We had a final get together photo before some farewell hugs as we wont be seeing some of the members before we head home. 

We are all feeling a little sad now, as its finally hitting us that our time in Armenia is coming to an end. We have so many happy memories that we will keep with us forever. On the plus side, we still have 3 more days here so we will be making the most of it!

Day 19 - Yerevan

None of us can believe its Tuesday in our last week and we are trying hard not to think about coming home.

Today was a day off and we woke at a normal time to take a walking tour of Yerevan run by Envoy (the hostel). Although we have been walking around the city for a while we saw and heard about lots of new places. We found a new café for lunch and some of us enjoyed a sandwich!! In the afternoon we stopped off at a few shops before heading back to the hostel for a rest. 

On the way back to the hostel we saw some amazing art work on the pavement outside the Opera House.

Emma, Rachael, Emma and Jess had a longish nap while Lydia and Laura (me) caught up on our diary's.

We've enjoyed dinner out and watched some of the athletics happening in Moscow and we are now about to tuck into banana/cake and custard, very British!!! Back at the hostel. Thanks to Rachael for bringing it over with her. 

Day 18 - Spitak

Today we went to Spitak, about a 2 hour mini van ride north of Yerevan. Here we met 10 potential leaders and carried out our training's  giving them an insight into girl guiding, the benefits of girl guiding, what makes a good leader and how to adapt activities for different ages. These went down really well and we got very positive feedback in our evaluation session. They are now considering opening a Guide unit in Spitak! A big thank you to Tika and Nane for translating for us today. 

We are back at the hostel now and in need of food. 

Until tomorrow, night all!

Day 17 - Yerevan

It's Sunday!!! Lay in day and day off!

We all woke up late this morning after a long overdue lie in. We all smell normal again and have mostly got rid of the camp smell about us!!!!

Today we hit the market in Yerevan to buy souvenirs to bring home. Nane, one of our translators on camp kindly came along with us to translate prices etc. We all had a great time looking at all the lovely items for sale and have come away with quite a few bags of different bits. After the market we stopped off at a pizza restaurant to re-fuel before hitting the shops in the city centre. 

Camp - Marmarik

It's been over a week since our last entry, but that doesn't mean we haven't been fully occupied. We've been camping with NUGGGS at Marmarik, just over an hour's journey from Yerevan. It's been an busy, tiring and fantastic week, though we're all pleased to be back in the hostel for a well needed shower! Here's a brief summary!


Day 1 - arrival day - Saturday
What a busy day! Lilit's Mum and Dad kindly picked all our baggage up from the hostel for us and we walked to meet the bus. After about an hour on the bus we arrived at a very steep hilled site and most of us were wondering where the tents would go! At the top of the hill was tent pitching space, so we helped erect the many tents for approximately 80 people to sleep in. We were so excited to begin the week's camp! Rachael particularly enjoying the evening meal- which included lots of mashed potato, salad and vegetables. We were delighted by the campfire, and sang guiding songs well into the night. 'Sharks' became a particular favourite with the younger participants on camp.

Day 2 - Sunday
The first day of early morning 'camp exercises'. Thankfully this only involved a short run and some aerobics moves, which we were all very relieved about! Excersises were followed by the opening ceremony and flag break which was the formal start to camp, and it was great to see all the Guides and guys together at the same time. Since Sunday we've had a flag ceremony every morning. Jess and Rachael then lead a training session about tents, how to put them up, where they should go up and how to look after them.

This was a great success as each team was timed to see who could put the tent up  the quickest and in the best condition. Sunday afternoon involved a energy draining wood collecting session- energy draining because of the gradient of hills around the campsite! We had great fun though, and the views from the top of our hill are really fantastic. The day finished with team races, we all had great fun messing around and trying not to fall over on the hill!!

Day 3 - Monday
All participants on the camp site were split into four teams at the start of camp, and as

the GOLD team we're split between them. Monday was a dedicated team craft day, so we split off into our teams to create objects to reflect our different team names (which include the 'Minions', from the film 'Despicable Me, the Bees, Urish (other) and Phoenix). Just after lunch we we showcased our crafts, most of which were made using

natural materials such as wood and stone. Having brought our big resources bag with us to camp we decided to make sitters with the rest of the camp participants, which weren't quite as fab as we'd hoped but still perfectly good sit on while eating dinner! We also made friendship bracelets and little boxes made out of card.


Day 4 - Tuesday

The sun is shining again, Laura woke up saying 'who turned on the lights!'. Tika, one of the NUGGGS leaders lead a 1st aid training in the shade. After lunch the members of a youth history group gave us a talk about Armenian history, Lilit translated for us again! Emma T, Jess and Laura joined in with an Armenian volley ball game in the afternoon with most of the camp. By the end I think we managed to pick up the rules. After a little time to catch our breath, Agnes taught us all some traditional

Armenian dancing. Agnes thought we were that great, she wanted us to come to one of he dances with her, but unfortunately we will be back in the UK. When the sun went down the flood light was turned on and we decided to make 'GOLD' using the shadow!

Day 5 - Wednesday
Today we had to get moving quickly, breakfast was slightly earlier ready for a hike to a very old traditional Armenian church. It started off with a gentle walk along the roadside and then we entered a forest. We were all slightly confused about where the Church was. Tika told us that the Church is up the top of the hill (extremely steep hill!) to keep the enemies away, as they wouldn't find it at the top. The Church was very different to ones we had visited before, much darker and cooler, but a welcomed break from the heat. We

were told that if you threw a stone into a small hole much higher up, all your dreams would come true. We all tried, however it seems Emma T was the only one of us with the knack! Back outside we played lots of games with the Guides and guys on camp. Everyone enjoyed these and many giggles were heard. The team managed the hill down, some with a little help from others! Then a relaxed walk back along the river with a gentle breeze.
Back on the campsite later in the day we got into our teams and had to come up with a performance including a traditional Armenian story to perform tomorrow.

Day 6 - Thursday - traditional British weather!
This morning we woke to rain, and lots of rain all morning! We all felt like we were at

home! Lucky the site has a part built house that we are using to cook in and we used the upstairs rooms as shelter from the rain! The NUGGGS leaders ran a compass reading session in a tightly squeezed room! But as girl guides do, we all coped! Once the rain stopped it was time for a quick practise of our group performance and then show time. We all took part with our groups and had a small talking part. There were several highlights- the Granny costume that Emma G was made to wear and

the full A4 page of Armenian text that Rachael was asked to read out! Laura's Mum sent us all hand puppets to make, so when the sun came out we sat outside and made them, Thank you Laura's Mum. The younger members on camp enjoyed helping us put them together and we gave some of them away to them. Later in the evening Emma G taught the camp some Scottish dancing, we had lots of giggles trying to get the steps right!

Day 7 - Friday
Our last full day at camp :(
The week has flown by, so it was a shock that Friday was our last full day of activities on camp. In the morning we were split into two teams to play volleyball- water balloon

volleyball! Most of the team stayed fairly dry apart from Rachael who took a water balloon for the team! Most of the afternoon was taken up with the closing ceremony; each team had practiced both a song and a dance, so performed it in front of the rest of the camp. Post performances we lined up around the flag for the final thank yous, and we were thrilled with the unexpected gifts that NUGGGS had

Look we're flying!

purchased for us - an "I love Armenia" t-shirt, a NUGGGS badge, an Armenia flag badge and a NUGGGS pen. All the gifts were a huge hit with the team and as you can see we love wearing our new t-shirts! Thank you so much NUGGGS. All the participants were also given a certificate to mark their participation in the camp and we were also presented with one specially translated into English which was really special for all of us. Thank you again NUGGGS. The closing ceremony concluded with each

stand by me... stay stay stay..

team lighting a Chinese lantern, which was a great final team activity and watching the lanterns floating into the night sky and stars was really beautiful. 2013 is also the 15th birthday of NUGGGS so we celebrated by singing "Happy birthday" and eating a very yummy homemade birthday cake. On our final night at camp we were determined to make the most of the campfire so enjoyed sitting and singing campfire songs well into the night. 
The GOLD Team made up a thank you song to the tune 'Hey Jude', which we sang to the whole camp, it went down really well!!

Day 8 - Saturday
Today was the very last day of camp, we woke early to get a head start with packing and

making sure the tent was dry and ready to come down. We had brunch around 10, to set us up for the rest of the day. We all helped take down the tents and pack up camp. After loading the coach, we all got on board for the journey back to Yerevan. Most of us slept and missed the several stops on the way back. Hostel bound in taxi's none of us to wait long to use the toilet (that flushes!) and have a nice long shower to get rid of all the camp grime.

There was a campfire every night on camp, that we got very excited about. We sang UK guiding songs, and they sang some traditional songs to us. Lilit bought marshmallows with her, so we enjoyed toasted them on sticks one night. Rachael provided the biscuits to make s'mores. Very yummy. Camp food was great, it was amazing how they could cook so much food on one burner for lots of people!

We all had a fab time at camp and cannot thank NUGGGS enough for organising and letting us join them. We have made so many new friends and have lots of memories to take away with us.

Thanks for the T-Shirts we love them!

Shnorhakalut'yun NUGGGS isk bari gisher amen meky!

(Thank you NUGGGS and goodnight everyone!)

Day 8 - Yerevan

Our first day off...

So we made the most of it by having a well needed lay in.

Today we became tourists and visited some of the sights in the capital Yerevan. We started off with the Cascade (a monument), Emma, Rachael and Emma decided to take the 720 steps to the top. While Lydia, Jess, Laura and Lilit (who told us we could cheat!) took the escalator half way up and then climbed the steps to the top. There was an amazing view of the capital at the top. The escalators were the preferred choice on the way down and gave us all a good chance to look at the art work inside the Cascade.

After a lunch break, Emma T and Jess decided to hit the shops, and bought clothes, a bags and several other items. While the rest of us (Rachael, Emma G, Lydia, Laura and Lilit) visited the Genocide museum, a short taxi ride just outside of Yerevan. We found out a lot about Armenia's museum and it was really interesting. It was good having Lilit with us who filled us in with more information. 

We have now packed for camp, and we are getting excited about camping with NUGGGS. So this will be our last post for about a week. So don't panic! We're alive!!

We have all just got very excited to find out that our GOLD project has made the local TV in Hrazdan. Check it out, we are 7.42 minutes in. 

http://www.facebook.com/l/KAQEpLFLaAQFg1FQK9nMJ2Jag7uY2bb1Cds6D6_9OOUXWLw/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded%26v%3DvCJJuWiV_a8

Next blog will be in a week after camp when we will have lots of exciting things to share!

Day 7- Yerevan

Day 7 already! How quickly the last week has gone! 

Today we ran a training in Yerevan for leaders who are already involved in Guiding. It was fantastic to have 15 enthusiastic participants, and we were pleased with their really positive feedback at the end of the training session! 

During Jess and Lydia's training on leadership we played a game where you have to stand all your team on a piece of newspaper, which gets folded in half over and over until there is very little left to stand on. The picture below shows Laura holding Rachael and Emma while balancing on a very small square of newspaper! Thanks goes to Lilit again for translating all our sessions!

The weather in Yerevan seems very hot today, so we've decided to take the afternoon off to write postcards, which is a welcome rest. Tonight Lilit is coming to take us to traditional Armenian restaurant, which I think we're all really looking forward to! Tomorrow is a day off, so we're going to transform into tourists for the day, and have fun visiting Yerevan's must do sights.

Thanks so much for following our blog. 

Day 6 - Sevan

A fabulous day at Sevan and met some very enthusiastic girls who seem to be all interested in joining Guiding! We had 32 girls taking part from the local area who all seemed to fall in love with the parachute (yet again- its a hit!). 

Whilst playing one of the games (Giants House) everyone worked together to make a giant WAGGGS trefoil. 

A big thank you to our amazing translators - Lilit, Simone and Ani. 

Most of the girls that came today filled in forms to become members of NUGGGS (National Union of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts), there is a Guide unit that is hoping to start in September in that area. Which is great news! 

As a treat Lilit, Simone and Ani took us all to the beach at Lake Sevan. The mad ones of our team (Emma T, Emma G, Laura and Rachael) went into the freezing cold lake to play volley ball! But we all had practice from UK beaches and warmed up quickly.

We are looking forward to tomorrow with Leader trainings in the capital, Yerevan.

2 days till camp! Looking forward to seeing the Guides there that we have already met!

Off to bed now! New day tomorrow, can't believe we've been here for a week already!

Hajoghutyun from Armenia!!