Let’s Talk Business! In Armenia!

Pre-Service Training was not only about learning the culture and the language. Believe it or not, there was also time for classes related to our technical skills (or lack thereof) and how to be effective “Community Business Development” (CBD) volunteers.

I think, in some ways, the TEFLs (volunteers here to teach English) got it easy. They all already knew what they would be doing in Armenia—teaching English! For most of PST, us CBDs had absolutely no idea. We were impatiently waiting for site placement to be told in what capacity we would be expected to apply our talents. (This turned out to be a mix of working with various NGOs (Non-governmental organizations), in mayors’ offices, and in schools.

In the meanwhile…

Our tech trainings were a bit difficult, for several reasons.

1. We have CBD volunteers who have run their own businesses for 30+ years, or who have already retired from the workforce. We also have volunteers who are fresh out of college, or who have very little business/work experience. How do you teach to such a diverse group?
2. As already mentioned, we had no idea what our job would be, once we got to site. So as we were having classes, we didn’t know what to focus on. Sure, everything was probably important, but you take in information differently when you KNOW that it is going to be relevant. (And maybe you take a few more notes…)
3. It was HOT. Who can concentrate when they are sweating all their moisture out?

As one of four IT volunteers, I felt that some of the trainings were too far over my head to even begin to understand. Maybe if I had taken a college course on business economics, I would have understood the charts and graphs we looked at one day. But as it was, they didn’t seem too related to “Information Technology” in general, or computers specifically, so I didn’t worry too much about my ignorance. I just hoped that my pitifully low level of knowledge in certain subjects wouldn’t prove too detrimental to my service.

The IT people got their day(s), however. We had a couple field trips with just the four of us to various businesses in Yerevan, which was pretty cool.

My favorite field trip was to TUMO. It’s an amazing, brand new technological facility that has been in the works for over 6 years, opening this September. Membership is open to anyone age 12-18, who wants to learn Animation, Video Games, Web Development, and/or Digital Video and Audio. They are guided by a coach through custom-made tutorials, and if they demonstrate interest and improvement, they receive more privileges, including more personal coaching and possibly studio space to work on their own projects. How amazing is that? (And who would have believed that this place exists in Armenia?) This place is the brain-child of a Texan Armenian who wanted to give Armenian children a leg up in the technological world so they can be competitive in the global economy.

TUMO Technology Center, Yerevan Armenia. These chairs are on wheels, and networked through the cords that go to the ceiling. So if you want to work separately, you can, and if you want to work with someone, you just wheel your chair over to theirs.

Viasphere Technopark – A commercial technology park that functions as an incubator to local start-ups and ICT companies worldwide looking to extend their core development offshore. We got to visit a couple different business inside the technopark. Again, it was quite interesting to see how advanced some of these businesses seemed, especially after hearing that we shouldn’t expect too much in the way of functioning technology when we get to site. (Of course, this was in Yerevan, which is quite different than the regions where we would be working.)

Enterprise Incubator Foundation – One of the largest technology business incubators and consulting companies in the region. One of their coolest projects (in my opinion) is their “Computer for All” program aimed at increasing computer usage in Armenia and legalizing software (a huge problem here is using illegal copies of software) by offering modern and reliable computers with software at affordable prices.

Some of the most useful things we learned during training, though, were from current volunteers. We had several panel discussions where they filled us in on some things we might expect in the Armenian business world that are different from the U.S.

• Relationships are key. When you are new to your organization, don’t try to jump in and reform things. Sit and have coffee and get to know your coworkers and let them get to know you. This is very important if you hope to accomplish anything in your two years.
• Meetings rarely start on time. Don’t worry about it. People will (usually) show up eventually, and then you can start. This is also a component of work schedules. If someone says they “start” work at 9:00 a.m., that might actually mean they are thinking about leaving their house at 9:00. And once they get to work at 9:45 or so, they will have coffee before trying to get anything work-related done. (Join them for coffee!)
• You are a wizard if you can type quickly, without looking at the keyboard. Most Armenians have not been taught keyboarding. (And since most keyboards only have English or Russian letters on them, typing in Armenian proves especially challenging.)
• Computers will often have Russian operating systems installed, so much will have to be done by memory or by looking at icons if you don’t read Russian. (I don’t!)
• A lot of NGOs are driven by grants. As one grant runs out, they look for another funding source. We are not here to be grant writers (although we can help write grants if we wish), but to help them sustain themselves without depending on outside money.
• Sometimes the items bought with grant money are taken by other people in the organization. “Oh, that new computer we just got isn’t in the computer lab? I think it’s at the director’s house.” No one wants to stand up and ask for it back, because the director is too powerful.

So this (plus our practicum) is how we’ve been prepared for the work portion of being Peace Corps Volunteers. Let’s hope that was enough!

In my next blog entry, I will talk about the practicum we did during PST. And then I think we can move on from PST and talk about my new life as a VOLUNTEER!