You know you're back in Armenia when....

This really happened. Yesterday I was trying to cross the road. There was a green 'walk' sign, but there were so many cars driving through it, I had to wait. I had stepped onto the road and this idiot who was parked next to the crossing reversed into me then drove off without even noticing. I wasn't hurt, but I was furious!

The road was painted like a zebra crossing and there was a green light. It was a real crossing-type green light - sometimes it's red; sometimes it's green. The wee red man is standing to attention, waiting for his turn to cross the road and the wee green man is legging it as fast as he can before someone mercilessly mows him down. I got that ages ago. Red = Don't even think about it! Green = Feeling lucky, Punk? I don't know what the white stripes are for. Maybe there was loads of spare white paint lying about. Functionally, the striped asphalt is no different from the plain grey stuff that makes up the rest of the road. It's for driving on.

So I spent my first morning in Yerevan in a right stroppy mood thinking, 'What a shithole', but it didn't last. By the evening I had mellowed out a bit. It was cold in Europe. It's almost thirty degrees here. There are leaves on all the trees and flowers are in bloom. The outdoor cafes are open again and we spent the evening strolling between coffees and beers, enjoying the smell of acacia and warm earth and watching the kids having fun. It's a good place to live. ....as long as you watch out for cars. This will be our last summer in Armenia. In August, we get chucked out the flat we're looking after. Can't complain. It's free. But it will be sad to leave. We're going to spend the summer checking out all the things we haven't seen yet, and doing all the things again that we enjoyed last summer.

By the way, I figured out how to make goji berries taste more interesting. Soak them overnight in blackcurrant, pomegranate or any other juice. They're great for breakfast with muesli or yoghurt.