Peculiar

2^nd of June, 2022.

              Not many cars passing by. A super cute puppy calls my attention by barking from behind the fence where he seems to be stuck. I give him the other half of what seems to be a falafel sandwich.
              A black van stops and there are two men inside. They tell me they are going to Yerevan. I don’t know exactly how I feel about them but by the look in their eyes, the way they were looking at me, as I was a piece of meat, I decide I would not ride with them. The problem is I have no excuse for saying no. The few times when this happened before, those people were never going to my final destination so I could simply say I was looking for a direct lift. But now what? I take a deep breath and just say to them – I think I will just wait. Laugh. What else could I possible say? After all, I don’t know the guys, I will never see them again and I don’t own them anything.
              After some time a big man tells me he can drive me to the border. Yay! He seems a nice guy, even though also rough. He owns a parking lot just before the border and there is where he is going. But he tells me he can drive me the five minutes to the actual border. At the parking lot I ask him if I can full fill my bottles and he does it for me. He also gives me a Coke. Laugh.
              At the border no problems to leave Georgia and enter Armenia. On the Armenian side, they don’t ask me for my Covid-19 Certificate or anything. Only the purpose of my travel.
              In only a few minutes a black BMW, which was going around some of the shops here but now it seems to be leaving, it stops. There are three man inside but they all seem trustful and nice. And they are going to Yerevan! Great! It is almost 3 hours driving, so I am glad I get a direct lift.
              I am talking a bit with the man siting on the back seat, Ararat. But we mostly use translator. He seems like a nice person but there is something also quite not right about him. He keeps asking questions and want to talk. I think he is just not used with tourist at all. The other guys, Narek and Vladmir seem not to care much.
              We stop in a restaurant for lunch. I have many different salads (and they are all delicious) and some rice with a very nice scrambled eggs, kind of in a Brazilian way, actually, with tomatoes.
              When we are almost in Yerevan, Ararat offer to show me Yerevan and that I could stay with him for tonight. When I tell him I have a family waiting for me, he says I can tell them I am coming tomorrow. I call it off, of course, because even though I think he is nice, there is something behind my ear telling me to be aware. They drop me off near the centre.
              I manage to find a KFC. My host asked me to send him an email when I arrive in Yerevan. Telling by his answering time, he will not see it on time or not even today. So I ask a lady if she can call him from her phone. She is so kind and polite! After I turned off the phone with T., she asks me if there is anything else she can help me with it. Owm!
              Talking with T. is kind of difficult. He seems confused and keep repeating unnecessary things. Why so many people do that? Let’s be more objective, people! So I just tell him I will be waiting here for him. Unfortunately he tells me he will be able to come only at 8.30 p.m. It is now 5 o’clock. I decide to go change some money and buy some deodorant. I really need. I also need socks but I cannot look around for a cheap shop now. I try to leave my backpack in the KFC and even though the manager says it is fine, his boss says it is not. Prat! The supermarket is not far but it would have been so much easier without 25 Kg…
              Sometimes I think that in so many countries, people are considered to be very friendly and helpful. But why is it that when I need help the most, it is usually when they turn me down?
              I watch 13 going 30 while I am waiting. I am too tired to do anything more serious.
              Before 8.30 another man shows up instead of T. It is his brother in law, H. Apparently, T. has TWO other volunteers at his place, leaving in the next two days, so that’s why I cannot come to his place. What? Why the hell he didn’t tell me that before? Like 3 weeks ago or during these past three weeks while we were communicating? I could have done something else in Armenia, something on the way to Yerevan, instead of coming here directly.
              Anyway, so I should stay these first two days with H. and his family. His wife, A., is the sister of T. They have three girls: N., E. and L.