Lovin It
Hello out there in blog-reading land. I hope you are all doing fabulously.
I joined the group about a week and a half ago and I am loving every minute of it. I’ve been meaning to post something for awhile but our internet situation is pretty grim so I’ll do one superblog about what we have been doing since I arrived and some thoughts about the trip thus far. This is my third time in the Motherland and every time I love it more and more. I’m leaving in less than a week and I’m already dreading it….don’t even want to think about that so let’s move on.
Sadly I’ve been in the city most of the time. I love Yerevan BUT you can only do the eat, dessert, cafe, eat, cafe, drink, dance, drink, sleep, reset for so long. I love getting out in the country and I love it when our group is all together.
Here is a play by play of the last 9 days or so. If life was fair I could have been here with the group as a CYMA leader for the whole 2 months, but sadly, work, money, and life didn’t allow that so we had to split our shifts into 2 week blocks. When I arrived last week I wanted to spend time with the whole group. Speak to them, get some feedback etc, but within about an hour of my arrival half the group went on an excursion to the Independant Republic of Nagorno Karabagh, and the other half stayed here in Yerevan. I stayed behind in Yerevan and got to spend some quality time with the group that was here, we went to Sardarabad - the memorial of the battle won by Armenia in 1918 against Turkish aggression. If Armenia lost that battle then where I’m sitting right now would not be Christian, nor would it be Armenia. We went to the museum as well which is totally sweet.
After that we travelled as a group to the village of Aradashen to visit some old friends that some of us made in 2005. My friend stayed in this village quite some time ago and in 2005 we visited the home he stayed at and we kidnapped the two sons that live there, Robert and Artur and brought them back to Yerevan with us. This year we did the same thing again. Robert and Artur are now 17 and 16, they’ve grown up soooo much. Robert will be joining the Army in September to do his mandatory 2 years in the service, I am sad and proud of him at the same time, he is a great guy, I have a lot of love and respect for him and his brother, and also for his family who once again welcomed a bunch of strangers to their home with open arms and provided us with enough food and drinks to feed the rest of the country. Luckily this time around, there was no priest in Aradashen to beat me up…that’s another story for another time.
For the past week the group has been whole again in Yerevan and we’ve been having a blast making new local friends, making friends with other diasporan Armenian volunteers. We’ve been planning a lot of activities as a group and with the other volunteer organizations. I know I’m biased but our group is BY FAR the best group around. We’re a family, we love each other, we’re open, friendly and the best looking. We also have a different mission in that we’re not just a volunteer organization we have a spiritual mission as well, which is good because the idea of internships in Armenia and throughout Europe is much much different than in America. There really isn’t that much work to go around in this country and we’re lucky if the kids have about 4 hours of meaningful work to do a day. The CYMA program also allows our members to be independent and find their own Armenia.
Last week we also visited with the Paros Chamber Choir. The Paros Choir is a group of disabled people who were injured in the earthquake of 1988 in Gyumri and other parts of Northern Armenia. If you don’t remember, the earthquake was a 7.0 and about 30,000 people died in just a few minutes. The norther part of Armenia was also completely destroyed. Almost 500,000 were left homeless and 19 years later, the improvement is minimal. Anyway, they are amazing and beautiful, you would never know that they all have serious spinal injuries from their voices. I was so moved. I was asked to speak right after they finished their set (thanks Peter) and I could barely compose myself, we were extremely humbled by them. We got to hang out and talk with them for awhile afterwords as well, love them.
This weekend some of us travelled to the beeeaauuttiiiffulll Lake Sevan with some other volunteers. We went to some of the churches around the lake and on the Sevan Penninsula, I’ve seen them 4 times now and I still love em to pieces. After that we spend the day on a private beach on the northern shore of Lake Sevan. The beach is actually part of the PYUNIK Camp which is a summer camp for phisically and mentally disabled children. We spent the day with them playing games, painting faces and lying out on the beach. It was amazing. Yesterday I spent the day at Vernisage, the weekend flea market in Yerevan. It was H O T, I think I drank 5 liters of water yesterday. Vernisage is insane. There is soooo much stuff. Bartering is frustrating but it is also a lot of fun, it’s part of the Armenian experience for sure. I bought some beautiful (I hope) paintings for my mom and for my sis’ bday which I am missing for the 13th year in a row (thanks to summer camp and Armenia trips). Today is Mike’s birthday so we’re going to The Club to celebrate. The Club is one of my fav restauraunts in Armenia where you can get some of the best Manti in the world..I shall enjoy it.
Yesterday I also got to see Lilit and Suzzie for the first time since I’ve been here. They are my best and most special friends from my 2005 trip, so beautiful inside and out I have missed them so much. They spit profoundess like it was candy. I love them to peices, they are my Armenia. Anytime I can sit and be with them or talk with them, no matter where we are, to me it feels like Armenia.
I will post again later and add some pics. Here are some final thoughts/observations before I go.
1. Jeans - jeans have taken over Yerevan. I don’t remember the locals wearing jeans but now they are rampant, I love it, the gap is being bridged.
2. White Lada Nivas - in 2005 every 3rd car was a White Lada Niva, it’s like this mini Russian SUV/Jeep kind of thing that EVERYONE had, now instead of 1/3 it’s like 1/9. Let’s hear it for diversity.
3. Woman drivers - many more this year, girl power!
4. CYMA Rules - we’re a work in progress, 4 years running. We started with 4 travellers in 2004, this year we will be at 30. We have some definite tweaking to do, but we are on our way. We will not rest until this is the best youth program in Armenia.
5. Local girls - Absolutely gorgeous…still wont give me the time of day
6. The Dollar - damn the US economy for making our lives 25% more expensive here in Armenia…Bush…you suck, you suck so bad.
7. VivaCel - Ladies and Gentleman, the FIRST large, socially responsible, did I say large and socially responsible?, amazing corporation in Armenia. It is a mobile phone service that already has 1,000,000 customers, about 1 out of every 3 people in Armenia. They will be the beacon and the model for every other major corporation in this country. They preach things like diversity, fairness, enpowerment and have a passion for community service in this country. As an HR professional I have so much respect for this company, we should all be extrememly happy that change is upon us, it has begun and it is off and running. I helped Stef write a business proposal on behalf of the Paros Choir to VivaCel’s support. VivaCel has already hired three members of the Choir and we expect that 10 others will employed by them. Disabled people are not treated well in this country and, for the most part, do not have any shot of having a decent standard of living. VivaCel will pay them about 300 US Dollars a month….that will at least give them a chance, and will hopefully begin to change who disabled people are treated in Armenia.
8. Getting the point - yesterday one of our CYMA members made me so proud. She said the most important thing that I could have possibly heard, it made my week. It is something we want our CYMA members to internalize and to never forget the rest of their lives, it is a crucial part of this experience and has changed my life. She said, not verbatum, that in America, everyone has a shot. There is no secret to getting ahead in America. You work hard, you get an education, you strive ahead and you will succeed. From the moment all of these CYMA members either were born, or moved to America, the rest of their lives were going to be alright because they have good families and because the system in America works. Even people who arn’t that smart, talented, professional, well spoken etc can make a living in America if they work hard. In Armenia it is different. Their are so many people here who are smarter, more talented, harder working, creative, unique, amazing than I am….but they will never have the opportunity that I have because this country has not reached that point…yet. Who am I? What have I done to be granted so much more than them? I have done nothing, all I did was be born in the right place, at the right time. It is a humbling thing that has taught me to (try to) never judge anyone, and (try to) not take things for granted.
9. TV - I don’t miss TV at all. I turned on CNN (the only English channel) for 5 mins the other day, and all it was was US Celebreties scandels and other bs….barf…I turned it off. These things DO NOT MATTER PEOPLE, if it takes you to come to Armenia to figure it out then get over here.
10. Internet - I do miss decent internet…it’s kind of important to the daily functions of my life
11. Creativity - We have some creative people on this trip. Hopefully when we have time we will put some really cool things up online. It might not happen till we get home because of what I said in #10.
12. Armenian Navy Band - Love them, they are HUGE here. I thought it was just a band my cousin likes but they are everywhere folks. “Araraaaaat, Meri Seeroon Ararat, Araraaaaaaat” Love it.
13. Armenoids, Lyly - OKay okay, it is a catchy song.
14. Construction - There is soooooooo much construction going on in Yerevan. It might just be condos for rich diasporans, but hey, at least people are working, and at least the city can be modernized/beautified a bit.
15. The Temple at Garni - Still my favorite scenary in all of Armenia. I will put a picture up later in the week. It is absolutely breathtaking, places like this really don’t exist, but they do.
16. Mafia - I hate Mafia, both the organized crime unit and the game that we insist on playing on every single bus ride….ugh.
17. Project Boghos - coming soon to a blog near you
18. Medz Badmootyum, Pokher Kaghakar - Big Story, Little City - An AWESOME new local movie. I’m bringing back a copy. My Armenian isn’t so great but this movie is hilarity.
19. Speaking Armenian - I need to learn it….My Armenian is so-so, my Eastern is much less than so-so, but it’s getting a bit better day by day. But I am inspired to learn more when we get back home. I’m thinking of speaking only in Armenian to my roomates, mom and sis.
20. Transformers - HOPEFULLY we can see it soon in English this Wednesday. You can see it in Russian here, and you can buy a bootleg in Russian, but not in English yet because ‘Shood ah’, ‘It’s New”
I can’t think of anything else for now plus is Mike’s bday dinner time. I wish I had more of an opportunity to post, I hope to post a few more times before I leave. Much love back home to my family, friends, coworkers at HCP and perfect strangers around the world.
-Levon
July 31st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Levon your ability to express how you feel and perceive life and things around you are amazing. I am so proud that you find such joy in the experiences of yourself and others. I know your journey is coming to an end, but I am positive that you touched the lives of many and you leave Armenia now only until next time. Congrats on a job well done!
July 31st, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Levon, I completely agree with Ashley. Your ability to communicate your feelings through words is a gift. You have an amazing talent that allows you to share your experiences and ideas in a way that truly touchs those who joyfully read each sentence. I look forward to logging in again and hearing all about your ongoing adventure in Armenia, as I’m sure many others are too. Enjoy!
July 31st, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Love the way you’ve explained the details of Armenia. Helps us who have not been yet, to feel as we are there! Thanks!
August 1st, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I disagree with you Lev, CYMA 2005 is by far the best group!! HAHA! I miss you and I love you! Im jealous and want you to stop having fun and come home to boring LA with me!! You better be able to come next year because mike, car and I have recruited several possible participants from camp for next year… I dont want any excuses about money, work and life!!! Im definatly going and most likely agaisnt the will of Janet!!!
Please give me love to all my friends that you stole to come with you this year to Armenia. Give big kisses to my cousin and Bro (when he arrives). Take pictures of Mary Ann and David going around Republic Square once they get their rings blessed-technically they are already married, post January 2007.
Take lots of pictures and dont forget to photoshop me in!!
Love you all,
Carla