Good morning, good afternoon and good evening readers,

Give me a D, give me an O, give me an L, M, A! DOLMA!

The evening of the 29^th April was probably my most delicious day to date. Tatev, one of the volunteers that we regularly spend time with, invited us to her parent’s house for a traditional Armenian dinner. They were so unbelievably hospitable and put on this huge dinner for us.  We were welcomed to a full spread and the menu was as follows:

Starters and Mains

Dolma
For those of you who don’t know what Dolma is, it is basically a little parcel of absolute heaven. They are a mixture of minced beef with spices, wrapped in grape leaves (although there are other stunning variations) and you eat them with a yoghurt dip.
Cheeses and meats
Bread – Lavache and others (oh the bread)
Matzoon (garlic and normal yoghurt)
Aubergine dip
Spicy peppers.

Desserts

Homemade berry cake
Apple cake
Pistachio nuts
Biscuits
Chocolates
Tea
Homemade Jam

I honestly ate about twenty Dolma’s, I think I almost turned into one. Unfortunately, since arriving in Armenia I seem to have gotten a terrible case of the greed and I ate myself into complete bliss. Amy and I were extremely grateful that they welcomed us so openly into their home and that we were all able to communicate despite the language barriers. It is reminds me to both return the kindness and also pass it on. Tatev’s father toasted on several occasions to the safety and well being of our families and for our being together that evening. Armenians seem to have this charming and spiritual ability to recognise the loving moments in life and to not let them go unnoticed. I fall in love with the people here more and more each day.

In gratitude and kindness,
C x