almost 3 weeks in

i had no idea internet would be this difficult.

i was so close to getting my own dial-up account from local isp netsys, when the telephone monopoly decided to shut of their phone lines for no apparent reason. so here i am, in armenia, laptop loaded with connection possibilities, and no way to get it on-line.

i've had a rough few days mid-week, with my first bout minor bout of random bowel-movements, as well as a severely stiff neck, probably induced by too much sleep in a bed that is at least 20 cm too short, and with pillows that are hard and thick.

on the other hand after week 2 of the project was interminably slow, because of the various other commitments of my counterpart Arman Velesyan, this last week has been full-steam, 2-3 meetings a day.

there's some real interesting discussion showing up, and we're getting a lot closer to at least some of our objectives. and since i was always calculating a 25% loss of time, due to the nature of these projects, we're still pretty much on top of things, although most of the leeway has been taken out of our timeplan by now.

i've pretty much settled in here by now, and after the first 2 weeks of constant excitement, a lot of things are getting rutine. i get up in the morning, watch a bit of news on tv, get ready, pop down to the Artbridge bookstore and Cafe for breakfast (egg-sandwich, cappuccino and oj), try and get in a short trip to the internetcafe and head over to the office. evenings are spent with some of the other volunteers, paul, susan, aramazd, bob, or watching sports on espn. i still don't understand even the basics of a baseball game, but i've been watching quite a bit of world series stuff when there's no football (soccer) on.

oh, and i also spend some time adding notes from the days meetings into my personal wiki, reading up on python programming, and enjoying the fabulous prose of v.s.naipaul and iain banks.

oh, and having interesting discussions with my newfound friends (volunteers and staff) about the latest developments in world politics, terror, chechnya etc.

the 3 most overpowering emotions in my life in a project like this are (in order of importance perhaps?):

fullfillment/happiness/serenity - flowing from the fact that i know i am here doing something i am good at, having fun, learning new things every day, and at least trying to make a difference in a fragmented world.

solitude - both in a positive and negative sense. even with lots of newfound friends around me, i inevitably miss my wonderful family, especially signe, my friends and my well-known, well-worn day-to-day life. and while i am one to enjoy the thoughtful, meditative powers of solitude, i am also as much a social being as most others. from time to time, it's difficult to think about the distances, mental more than physical, between the role i have chosen for myself here, and the daily universe i call my own back in denmark.

frustration/depression - mostly at the world, politics, terrorism, and probably to an even greater extent the widely accepted state terrorism that seems to be eternally covered up by a complacent media, strong political administrations, and the need for people to belive in good and evil. it saddens my heart that the world is becoming ever more fragmented, prospects for peace ever more ethereal for every time someone uses the word war, wether on terrorism, against terrorism, or in any other perspective.

luckily however, the first of the emotions is strongest, easiest to relate to, and generally the last one on my mind before i fall asleep in that godawful 190 cm bed...