Culture and Connections
Hey guys, what’s going on?
I’m still realizing that I’m actually in Armenia
Almost two weeks we’ve left home and already I’ve learned so much I never knew before. Despite some opinions Armenia is alive and thriving. Within 15 years they have managed to rebuild and continue to rebuild Yerevan. In another 15 years I doubt that I will be able to recognize the already bustling city as it is today. Spirits are high, and everyone has a great outlook for the future of Armenia. I met today with the President of NLI, Bedros Malakian, who just returned from a trip from LA for fundraising purposes for the organization in Yerevan. The group here played a trick on him by locking the doors and putting up ‘For Rent’ signs on the doors. There was a newly purchased alternate building that we all went to where we waited to surprise him with balloons, cake, fruit, drinks, etc. When he came, he told us how he had carried his heavy bags up four flights of stairs and then nearly had a heart attack as he read the signs - but it was all in good fun.
After the party, I went back to the hotel (which we all call home now) and took a short nap before David, Will, Eddy, Noushig, Mr. Yaldezian, Alex and I went to Ararat Brandy Factory to see how they make the cognacs and also were given the opportunity to taste some of the different ages of brandy. They explained to us that the older brandy gets, the less it burns and the smoother it goes down. Mr. Yaldezian, David, Noushig, Alex, and Will tested them, and their reactions were classic. David, Will and Alex took whatever brandy wasn’t finished or tasted and started their own party on their side of the table. Then we went and saw a short film on the company and how for almost 100 years, what the company has gone through, including two world wars, privatization and opening to the public market, and the process that the brandy itself goes through to become the classic cognac that we know. Then we actually went to the factory portion of the complex and saw the big wood barrels containing the brandy in different stages of production, and saw two barrels of the very first brandy to come out of the company. Another touching moment was a small monument where a barrel of brandy was placed in between a number of flags - the barrel of brandy that is to be opened only when the situations regarding Karabagh finally are resolved.
After that we were taken to the giftshop where a number of people bought different drinks both to bring home and to enjoy here in the motherland.
Finally, to end my day we went to a championship soccer match between Yerevan United and FIMA. It was cool to see a big sports event in the heart of Yerevan, and what was even more impressive was the power of the crowd cheering on their teams, it was really incredible.
After that we walked back to our hotel and now I am here, conveying my experience to you.
Many of the people I’ve met from here are amazing. Despite some difficulty in my understanding of Eastern Armenian, I found that they understand my Western Armenian perfectly, and that whenever I didn’t know a word they would help me with its western alternate. Every day that I am here my understanding and reading gets a little better. All the others in the group too are grasping Armenian better.
The work that these people do here are exactly what the church needs, an outreach program that strives to help its communities and to teach religion to regions who have not seen religion since the rise of Communism. It was suprising to me to hear that even here there were people and places that had not practiced religion for over 70 years and that now they were having to be re-taught by organizations like NLI. The more I hear about things that go on here, the more I want to go out and do something about it. With this trip, it was working with NLI, who knows what will happen on future trips?
I learned so much today about the culture differences and similarities between native Armenians and the Diasporan community. Much of our culture and what we think of is the same including attitudes on issues surrounding us. But some things are different, for example what we think needs to be done to improve our church here in Armenia, and abroad in the Diaspora. It is exciting for me to be here and to think about these things so that when I return home, maybe I can help affect some change and convince more people to come here to Armenia to see for themselves the roots of their culture.
One thing that I heard here and that I agree with is that we have to be active Armenians - we need to do more than just say we are and go to church. We need to learn more about what our culture is all about, more than the legendary stories as well as more in-depth on the classics. We need to make an active effort to come here and help, or if we do not come, work to better our culture wherever we are. But the big question here is how? How do we help our culture? It is a lot easier said than done and all of us are finding that out here. So much has been done and there is still so much to do. That’s all that I will say for now; in the meantime - I will post a few pictures from the past two days so you guys can enjoy ‘em.
On to Lake Sevan tomorrow and Saghmosavank!
Later -
Boghos
Pictures -
From left to right Will, Alex, David, and Eddy “sampling” the remains of everyone else’s brandy.
Will admiring the brandy museum - plaques, medals, and different award winning brandies adorned this small room.
Everyone got a chance to sign the wall in the brandy factory. The group with the Armenian Assembly had just signed their names today near where I put my name. Below my signatures is Eddy’s, the only signature in the entire complex that was scratched out and redone.
David standing next to the barrel labeled ‘67′ denoting what year it was put in the barrel. He wanted to be next to the 67 barrel (which is behind him) for his car.
The second barrel of cognac from the Ararat factory in 1902. It still has that same brandy in there and it is still aging. Wow.
The stadium in which the Championship match was being held between Yerevan United and FIMA.
Behold the crowd.
The preshow entertainment had different singers and also as in this shot, the mascot of Yerevan United, a lion.
July 8th, 2005 at 8:10 pm
Armenia thriving??? Wow. Why can’t we locals see that? Thank you guys for opening our eyes. We won’t emigrate anymore.
July 10th, 2005 at 5:50 pm
I’m glad to see (or read rather) it too. Good to see you’re having fun. Keep up the great work, champ. The pictures look great!