November 22, 2009
I (Sherry) am taking a class, learning how to do beading work. My teacher is a staff person from school. She is Armenian. I go to her home after school, and she shows me how to do jewelry with a beading technique. (The beads are tiny. It reminds me of the Indian beading work we see on the moccasins and dresses of the Ho-Chunk in Wisconsin.) As I said, the beads are tiny and I sew them together in beautiful designs. I believe it is a very old craft that has been done for centuries. Karina showed me a book with examples of the beading work done on women’s clothing and jewelry from the 1600-1800’s. There are hundreds of people in Yerevan and surrounding villages, who do crafts, and sell their crafts on the street or at a large market in the center of the city.
At my last class, Karina made supper for her family and me. She served an Armenian pumpkin dish. She roasted the whole pumpkin with rice and dried fruit stuffed inside. She took the seeds and the inside of the pumpkin out, cooked the rice, and mixed it with dried sweet cherries, figs, raisins, and apples. She added honey to the mixture. As she roasted the pumpkin she rubbed the outside of the pumpkin with oil or butter. It came out of the oven looking shiny and beautiful. The pictures will give you a good look, even better then I can describe. It was delicious. Karina served the pumpkin on an antique dish her Grandmother had. I am thoroughly enjoying the experience.
