Amarikatsi em

Ամերիկացի

Amarikatsi em... I am American. These words have new meaning for us. Here in Armenia, it means - we don't know what we're doing! Heh.

When my taxi dropped me off and I had to switch to another one (see the post further down), when I got in to the next taxi and wasn't sure what was going on, the man asked me, "Amarikatsie ek?" And answered, "Aio, Yes Amarikooi em." which is the way to say I'm an American if you're a girl. Anyway... he smiled big and nodded. (But that's about where the conversation stopped...!) :) Most Armenians like to hear us try to talk in Armenian. A friend said that they don't hear a lot of forigners speak in Armenian so when they do hear it they enjoy that...

Anyway... People think that Americans, in general, are smart and have a lot going for them, which is true. But here, we realize that as an American, we only know one language and we don't know street rules or cultural norms... We watch other people float in and out of three or four languages and explain cultures and history...

We are humbled.
Whenever we do something goofy or are confused or don't understand... Kev and I look at each other and say, "Yes Amarikatsi em!" with a smile and shrug.