Over the first few weeks of spending time in Yerevan my friends and I have realized a bunch of differences between the Armenian culture and the Armenian-American culture. These differences are not all bad things but all of them are interesting in one way or another. One of the very first things I noticed was different between the two cultures was right when we arrived to Yerevan and I met my family that was at the airport to welcome me to their country. In Los Angeles when an Armenian person greets another Armenian it is a tradition to kiss each-other on both cheeks. In Armenia they only kiss an one cheek. That is neither a bad thing or a good thing but for me even something small like that was interesting to be different between the two cultures. The next difference between the two cultures that I was informed about by my cousins was actually quite humorous for me at first. They told me that in Armenia men should always be cleanly shaved and should not have facial hair. They told me that I should shave or else local people would have the "wrong thoughts" about me. At first I thought they were joking but as more and more of them told me I just kept replying that I could honestly care less if people in Armenia judged me because of my facial hair.
After thinking about it I realized how much the Armenian culture is still part of the "old world" and it keeps its traditions. These traditions that have been kept have good and bad things in it. One of my favorite things about the traditions kept by the Armenian culture is how parents teach their kids proper respect. They teach the guys to look after the girls (some times a little too much) and they also teach the guys how to properly treat a lady. This once again is one of my favorite things about the Armenian culture. Some of the bad things that I dont really like about the traditions which keep Armenians in the "old world" is how men are superior over women. The idea that women should stay home, take care of the kids, cook and clean is still present in our culture. Even though women are going to school and working more than they ever have this gender discrimination is still present in our culture. I really love how this "gender discrimination" has inspired many women in Armenia to show the men that they can perform better in school and in the work place and I see this to be a very healthy competition.
Another "thing" that I have realized to be a bad part of the Armenian culture is how Armenians do not accept any change or differences. For example all men should wear long pants a nice shirt and even fancier shoes, no shorts are allowed even if it is over 38 degrees Celsius outside. The same goes for the women here. Girls either have to wear jean or they wear a long skirt, and always heals. Anything else and everyone automatically judges you to be "slutty"(in lack of better terms). This "Armo mentality" has even caused me to get into a few problems while I was here. During my last visit I almost got into a fight with 5 Armenian youngsters at Khor Virap because these youngsters were cussing at the girls because of the way they were dressed. Honestly for American-Armenian standards it was perfectly normal, but for Armenian standards it was something they would never see from local girls. The same thing happened this time but on a totally different level. Last week I was walking with a group of my younger friends from Los Angeles that were visiting Armenia as their senior class field trip. On the way from Opera Club to Marriott while passing through Opera Square a few local Armenians cussed out the girls on what they were wearing. This once again was getting out of hand and as soon as the guys and I started to yell at the local youngsters, the police came and split everything up. Other than being quite hostile with us, within 10 minutes everything was settled all the problems were solved and they send us on our way. But why did this even need to happen in the first place? Why aren't Armenian people accepting to see any difference in people everyday. Why do I need to get into problems with local youngsters just because American-Armenian standards dont meet local standards. These are all things that Armenians have to get used to and accept if they plan on progressing as a country. But no matter what Armenia is still my homeland and I will love it no matter the little problems that need to be fixed.
The SIP Diary
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Armenian Assembly’s 2010 Summer Internship Program in Armenia kicks off with 5 Interns
The Armenian Assembly of America launched its 2010 Summer Internship Program in Armenia with the arrival of 5 participants.
Representing California are interns Aram Kavoukjian, Diana Oganesyan and Anush Petrosyan Joining them from Massachusetts and Washington respectively are Aram Bedrosian and Gaya Baloyan.
For the first time, Assembly interns Aram Kavoukjian from Loyola Marymount University and Diana Oganesyan from University of California, Berkeley are interning in the Armenian Development Agency (ADA).
ADA was established in 1998 by the Government of the Republic of Armenia to facilitate foreign direct investments and promote exports.
Aram and Diana will volunteer also in “Orran”, the center for socially vulnerable children.
Aram Bedrosian from Fairleigh Dickinson University and Gaya Baloyan, Seattle Pacific University graduate are interning with the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS).
In addition Aram will participate in the Fuller Center for Housing, Armenia’s working trips to villages.
Anush Petrosyan from Glendale Community College is interning in the Ministry of Diaspora.
So far interns visited Museums of Yerevan, Lori and Tavush provinces, toured in Etchmiadzin. They had very interesting meetings with AAA Country director Armina Darbinian and the director of Birthright Armenia Sevan Kabakian. They had a great opportunity to meet with His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and Retired CEO/Chairman of the Board of Intel Corporation Dr. Craig Barrett.
They enjoyed the performance of Armenian State Dance Ensemble.
Trip to Echmiadzin
On the 27 of June, the AAA staff and the interns visited Echmiadzin, the holy center of Armenia and the city where the Catholicos of all Armenians sits.
The interns visited several churches: the church of St. Hripsime, the church of St. Gayane and the Mayr Ator.
The interns also had the opportunity to meet his Holiness Garegin the Second and take the tour of the museum.
They had the unique chance of seeing the golden alphabet and the golden cross.
The interns visited several churches: the church of St. Hripsime, the church of St. Gayane and the Mayr Ator.
The interns also had the opportunity to meet his Holiness Garegin the Second and take the tour of the museum.
They had the unique chance of seeing the golden alphabet and the golden cross.
AAA Interns met with retired CEO/Chairman of the Board of Intel Corp. Dr. Craig R. Barrett
On June 28 AAA Interns and the Country Director visited the Armenian branch of Synopsys IT Company for a meeting with retired CEO/Chairman of the Board of Intel Corp. Dr. Craig R. Barrett.
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has honored Dr. Craig R. Barrett with 2009 Global Award of the President of the Republic of Armenia for Outstanding Contribution to Humanity through IT.
The Global IT award established by the Armenian President in 2009 annually honors a Laureate who has made extraordinary contributions to humanity through advancing the world of IT. The award consists of a unique Gold Medal, Diploma and trophy evoking Armenia and high tech. The Awarding Program is implemented by the Award Committee and the international Selection Panel appointed by the President of The Republic of Armenia. Synopsys Inc. and its subsidiary Synopsys Armenia CJSC serve as key initiators of the program. Financing for the 2009 program is provided by VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC through Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.
AAA Interns met with the Minister of Economy Nerses Yeritsyan and CEO of Viva Cell - MTS Ralph Yirikyan
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Taxi Drivers
Over the past week that I have been in Armenia, I have taken quite a few different taxi rides. I found these taxi rides to be a very good opportunity to interact with local people, get into random discussions and a way to get some information on the thoughts of the locals. But then again you have to know how to approach a taxi driver and how to open up a discussion. Taxi drivers in Yerevan come in three categories (in my opinion), ones that are really nice, friendly and are willing to have a good discussion, ones that just want to get work done as soon as they can, and my personal favorite the ones that try to rip you off! Throughout my past experiences I have learned how to minimize the chance of renting a taxi that is with a driver that is trying to rip you off. First thing I do is try to make sure I don't look like a tourist (basically just putting my camera in my pocket). Next thing, I do is speak only Armenian in the car, I also try to use some slang words and some Russian words here and there so they wont think Im a tourist. One last thing I do is try to tell the driver the name of the streets as they were before (as most people know them). For example instead of saying Mashtots street I say Prospect.
But the reason for this blog isn't to give tips on how to avoid getting ripped off in Yerevan (that's another topic in itself), the reason for this is to try to interact with the local people. I have found that the most interesting discussions, come with local taxi drivers. Yesterday night I got into a political discussion with the taxi driver on the way home. The driver was a man that looked like he was in his mid 40s and he told me how he was working his job overtime to make some extra money to send his kids to a good university overseas. He told me this not to make me feel sympathetic towards him and leave a good tip. He said that the universities and the schools during the Soviet times were so much better since they were mostly free of charge and that kids were getting a better education back then they are right now. I got in a slight debate, a friendly one, with him. I argued that Armenia is still a developing country and that everything is still progressing, including the government and the schools. The driver agreed with me and then the conversation shifter into a more political debate.
The driver started talking about current politics in Armenia. He started talking about the elections of 2008 and didn't mention who he was supporting to win, but mentioned that the level of corruption was just unbearable. I didn't want to interrupt him with any questions because the level of information he was giving me was just great.
Then the driver started talking about the local people trying to rip off tourists. He was laughing when he said this because for him it was humorous how local Armenians can try to rip of other Armenians. He said "we are all Armenians... Armenians should help each other rather than ripping each other off." He went on by saying this way of treating the tourists is bad for Armenia's tourism in the long run. Tourists get mad when they find out they get ripped off and they don't want to come back to Yerevan. At the end of the ride the taxi driver didn't even want to charge me for the ride since he said he enjoyed the discussion at well. Obviously I wasn't going to let him do that so I paid for my ride and gave a nice tip as well. I stepped out of the ride and as the driver left he numerously said thank you and have a good night.
The entire time I was in this taxi, I felt like a student in a classroom listening to my professor give a lecture. But it was a very interesting lecture, not one of those lectures you nod your head to even-though you don't understand anything said. This simple cab ride made me want to interact with the local people more, whether this be with taxi drivers, colleagues at work or even some random people sitting next to you at a cafe or a bar.
But the reason for this blog isn't to give tips on how to avoid getting ripped off in Yerevan (that's another topic in itself), the reason for this is to try to interact with the local people. I have found that the most interesting discussions, come with local taxi drivers. Yesterday night I got into a political discussion with the taxi driver on the way home. The driver was a man that looked like he was in his mid 40s and he told me how he was working his job overtime to make some extra money to send his kids to a good university overseas. He told me this not to make me feel sympathetic towards him and leave a good tip. He said that the universities and the schools during the Soviet times were so much better since they were mostly free of charge and that kids were getting a better education back then they are right now. I got in a slight debate, a friendly one, with him. I argued that Armenia is still a developing country and that everything is still progressing, including the government and the schools. The driver agreed with me and then the conversation shifter into a more political debate.
The driver started talking about current politics in Armenia. He started talking about the elections of 2008 and didn't mention who he was supporting to win, but mentioned that the level of corruption was just unbearable. I didn't want to interrupt him with any questions because the level of information he was giving me was just great.
Then the driver started talking about the local people trying to rip off tourists. He was laughing when he said this because for him it was humorous how local Armenians can try to rip of other Armenians. He said "we are all Armenians... Armenians should help each other rather than ripping each other off." He went on by saying this way of treating the tourists is bad for Armenia's tourism in the long run. Tourists get mad when they find out they get ripped off and they don't want to come back to Yerevan. At the end of the ride the taxi driver didn't even want to charge me for the ride since he said he enjoyed the discussion at well. Obviously I wasn't going to let him do that so I paid for my ride and gave a nice tip as well. I stepped out of the ride and as the driver left he numerously said thank you and have a good night.
The entire time I was in this taxi, I felt like a student in a classroom listening to my professor give a lecture. But it was a very interesting lecture, not one of those lectures you nod your head to even-though you don't understand anything said. This simple cab ride made me want to interact with the local people more, whether this be with taxi drivers, colleagues at work or even some random people sitting next to you at a cafe or a bar.
Interns meet with HENQ
Yesterday, on the 22nd of June, the interns participated at a presentation by Henq, a youth organization. The presentation, entitled "The Virtual Citizen", was about civil awareness and how citizen activity can be expressed and developed in the virtual world. It raised a friendly debate among the youth and some adults present at the meeting, since the adults didn't really approve the idea of using the internet for engaging civilians in public awareness. The interns shared their ideas about the topic and got engaged in the debate.
After the presentation, HENQ presented their vision and mission.
Since the interns found the meeting with Henq very interesting and useful, we came to a mutual agreement to hold another meeting with HENQ in the near future.
In the caption below- interns Aram Kavoukjian and Diana Oganesyan with the HENQ team.
After the presentation, HENQ presented their vision and mission.
Since the interns found the meeting with Henq very interesting and useful, we came to a mutual agreement to hold another meeting with HENQ in the near future.
In the caption below- interns Aram Kavoukjian and Diana Oganesyan with the HENQ team.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Welcome Party
We had our welcome party for the interns at "Parvana" yesterday, the 21st of June.
Dances, laughter, chatter, toasting, dances, laughter, chatter, toasting, dances, laughter, chatter, toasting... the whole evening.
Dances, laughter, chatter, toasting, dances, laughter, chatter, toasting, dances, laughter, chatter, toasting... the whole evening.
(from left to right: Gaya Baloyan, Aram Bedrosian, Anush Petrosyan, Katia Hairapetian, Aram Kavoukjian, Diana Oganesyan, Alisa Darbinian, Ani Boghossian)
(dancing)
(group photo)
Ararat
Today morning I woke up at 7 a.m. to go for my everyday morning run. I was contemplating going for the run this morning since I was really tired from our "Welcome Dinner" hosted by the Assembly at Parvana Restaurant yesterday night. Finally I convinced myself that since I was already awake that I shouldn't break my habit of going for a run every morning. I started my run from the corner of Sayat Nova and Khanjian after drinking the ice cold water from the fountain and also washing my face with it. After that water hit my face I was completely awake and ready to go. My run was going great; the air was nice and cold, the streets were empty so that minimized any trouble crossing the streets, the birds were chirping, and best of all the sun was still rising.
The first destination of my run is Cascade. I had noticed I was a few minutes behind schedule so I had to pick up the pace going up Cascade. The entire time going up I wasn't paying any attention to any of the surroundings but rather just trying to get back on track and make up for the lost time in the beginning. As soon as I reached the top of Cascade I didn't even turn around to look at the city like I always do but rather said that I'll look at the amazing view when I get all the way at the top by the Monument. I kept running and running got up the final few steps by Monument and as soon as I turned around to look at the city I saw our beautiful city Yerevan with Mount Ararat showing more clearly than I have ever seen it before. There were no clouds in sight what so ever. The snow on top of Mt. Ararat was nice and clear, the city looked beautiful and I couldn't do anything else but spend an extra 20 minutes just staring at the beautiful scenery. Mt. Ararat looked as if it was standing behind our city protecting it from all troubles. It looked like a father standing behind his family protecting them from everything.
After a few minutes of just having my mind blanking out and enjoying the scenery I started thinking more in detail about Ararat and what Ararat means to me and all other Armenians all over the world. I looked at the soccer jersey I was wearing, Armenia National Soccer team's jersey, and remembered that Mt Ararat use to be part of the soccer teams logo. Whatever emblem that Armenia has, whether it is the National emblem, the soccer team's emblem, the emblem for our very own Armenian Assembly of America all have Mount Ararat as part of the emblem.
Mount Ararat has always been a part of our culture and it always will. On Saturday when we visited Stepanavan Youth Center we spend some time with a group of kids discussing the importance of preserving our environment and keeping our cities clean. Then the kids were assigned to take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle splitting it into two parts, and draw a clean city on one side that doesn't have trash all of the place and is a healthy environment, and on the other side of the paper the kids had to draw a city that was messy and had trash all over the place. When I started looking at the kids drawings I realized that most of the kids had included Mount Ararat in their drawings. This really meant a lot for me and I realized how important Mount Ararat truly is for us Armenians.
Mount Ararat means so much for us Armenians, it is an important religious place since Noah's Ark landed on it. It has been part of our history for thousands of years and within the last century it has seen the cruelty the Armenian people went through during the years of the Armenian Genocide. But the Armenian people still dream and hope that one day Mount Ararat will once again be part of Armenia. This is why Armenians keep on fighting for this and one day our dream will become reality.
The first destination of my run is Cascade. I had noticed I was a few minutes behind schedule so I had to pick up the pace going up Cascade. The entire time going up I wasn't paying any attention to any of the surroundings but rather just trying to get back on track and make up for the lost time in the beginning. As soon as I reached the top of Cascade I didn't even turn around to look at the city like I always do but rather said that I'll look at the amazing view when I get all the way at the top by the Monument. I kept running and running got up the final few steps by Monument and as soon as I turned around to look at the city I saw our beautiful city Yerevan with Mount Ararat showing more clearly than I have ever seen it before. There were no clouds in sight what so ever. The snow on top of Mt. Ararat was nice and clear, the city looked beautiful and I couldn't do anything else but spend an extra 20 minutes just staring at the beautiful scenery. Mt. Ararat looked as if it was standing behind our city protecting it from all troubles. It looked like a father standing behind his family protecting them from everything.
After a few minutes of just having my mind blanking out and enjoying the scenery I started thinking more in detail about Ararat and what Ararat means to me and all other Armenians all over the world. I looked at the soccer jersey I was wearing, Armenia National Soccer team's jersey, and remembered that Mt Ararat use to be part of the soccer teams logo. Whatever emblem that Armenia has, whether it is the National emblem, the soccer team's emblem, the emblem for our very own Armenian Assembly of America all have Mount Ararat as part of the emblem.
Mount Ararat has always been a part of our culture and it always will. On Saturday when we visited Stepanavan Youth Center we spend some time with a group of kids discussing the importance of preserving our environment and keeping our cities clean. Then the kids were assigned to take a piece of paper, draw a line down the middle splitting it into two parts, and draw a clean city on one side that doesn't have trash all of the place and is a healthy environment, and on the other side of the paper the kids had to draw a city that was messy and had trash all over the place. When I started looking at the kids drawings I realized that most of the kids had included Mount Ararat in their drawings. This really meant a lot for me and I realized how important Mount Ararat truly is for us Armenians.
Mount Ararat means so much for us Armenians, it is an important religious place since Noah's Ark landed on it. It has been part of our history for thousands of years and within the last century it has seen the cruelty the Armenian people went through during the years of the Armenian Genocide. But the Armenian people still dream and hope that one day Mount Ararat will once again be part of Armenia. This is why Armenians keep on fighting for this and one day our dream will become reality.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Yerevan City Tour: Museum Day
Yesterday, on the 20th of June, the interns visited some of the museums in Yerevan and toured Yerevan.
So, the first stop was the Erebouni museum....
So, the first stop was the Erebouni museum....
(from left to right: Anush's cousin Ani, Anush Petrosyan, Gaya Baloyan, Vram Karakeshishyants, Aram Kavoukjian, Diana Oganesyan, Aram Bedrosian)
Next, they visited the ruins of the old Erebouni fortress on the hill above the museum, took pictures of archaeologists working at the site, jumped from one wall of the fortress to the other and did many more exciting stuff....
(from left to right: Anush Petrosyan, Diana Oganesyan, Aram Kavoukjian, Aram Bedrosian, Gaya Baloyan)
After that, they went the Genocide museum and put flowers at the Genocide Memorial.
In the end they visited the Cascade museum and saw the works of Tarkowsky. They had a longer stay at the top of Cascade, enjoying the view and taking pictures of the city...
Friday, June 18, 2010
Past and Present Interns Meet
Yesterday two interns from the Internship Programs in 2008 and 2009 had a visit to AAA Yerevan Office. They were Zaven Sargsian from the 2008 Internship Program and Sarkis Karapetyan from the 2009 Internship Program. Zaven, who is from Utah, was visiting Armenia for summer and Sarkis, who is also from Utah, now lives here with his fiancee. They shared their experiences and impressions as interns with the current AAA interns in Armenia. The meeting was really fun and motivating. Their discussed topics ranged from politics to the World Cup Championships.
Below is a picture taken at the AAA Yerevan Office during the meeting.
Below is a picture taken at the AAA Yerevan Office during the meeting.
(from left to right: Zaven Sargsian, Sarkis Karapetyan, Vram Karakeshishyants, Armina Darbinian, Aram Bedrosian)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
First Meetings
Today, early in the morning, Anush Petrosyan arrived.
"From the day I left my country I wanted to go back and live there again. With this internship I hope to gain more insight about my country and have another chance to self-actualize myself as a human being. I was very young, when I came from Armenia and didn't apprehend the importance of my country. Now, I have come to a critical time to choose a path in life. To be able to do this, I need to go back to my roots and have an enriching experience about political, economic, cultural, foreign affairs of Armenia."
Around 10 am in the morning Aram and Diana were at the Yerevan Office, both formally dressed, for their first day of internship at the Armenian Development Agency. They had a brief conversation with country director Armina Darbinian at the AAA office then left for the Armenian Development Agency for their instructions.
Below is a photo of Diana and Aram with Armina Darbinian at AAA Yerevan Office.
At the Armenian Development Agency they met with ADA director Robert Harutyunyan.
Also, they all went to ACNIS, where they participated in a discussion and met with Richard Giragossian, the head of ACNIS.
"From the day I left my country I wanted to go back and live there again. With this internship I hope to gain more insight about my country and have another chance to self-actualize myself as a human being. I was very young, when I came from Armenia and didn't apprehend the importance of my country. Now, I have come to a critical time to choose a path in life. To be able to do this, I need to go back to my roots and have an enriching experience about political, economic, cultural, foreign affairs of Armenia."
Around 10 am in the morning Aram and Diana were at the Yerevan Office, both formally dressed, for their first day of internship at the Armenian Development Agency. They had a brief conversation with country director Armina Darbinian at the AAA office then left for the Armenian Development Agency for their instructions.
Below is a photo of Diana and Aram with Armina Darbinian at AAA Yerevan Office.
At the Armenian Development Agency they met with ADA director Robert Harutyunyan.
(from left to right: Diana Oganesyan, Aram Kavoukjian, Robert Harutyunyan, Armina Darbinian)
Also, they all went to ACNIS, where they participated in a discussion and met with Richard Giragossian, the head of ACNIS.
(from left to right: Richard Giragossian, Aram Bedrosian, Armina Darbinian, Diana Ogensyan, Aram Kavoukjian)
Aram is to do his internship at ACNIS (Armenian Center for National and International Studies). So he received instructions from Richard Giragossian.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Aram Bedrosian, Diana Oganesyan, Aram Kavoukjian arrive
On Sunday, around 6 AM the airplane which carried Aram Bedrosian, landed at Zvartnots Airport, Yerevan. Five minutes before boarding Aram wrote in his Facebook page "Boarding in 5min". Yep, Aram was counting the days, the hours and the minutes till his arrival to Armenia... "7 days" "5 days" "ready set hayastan!" :)Now he is here.
Diana Oganesyan and Aram Kavoukjian arrived this morning. Now they are probably asleep in their rooms, or maybe awake... who knows. But they're here, at home.:)
Both, according to their FB statuses, are very excited.
Diana had previously written in her essay "I have been dreaming of a summer as an intern in Armenia for as long as I could remember. Many roadblocks have emerged each summer, such as no passport, and age limits. All obstacles have been lifted this year..."
And Aram..."During my last visit to Armenia, summer of 2008, we visited an Armenian day care for underprivileged children and the elderly named Orran. Here after spending a few hours with some of the kids we were making a collage with, hearing their stories and seeing these kids very happy was one of the best parts of my visit to Armenia. That day was one of the first days that I can truly say I volunteered my time to help out my Armenian brothers and sisters, and I enjoyed every part of it. After that experience at Orran I was trying to find another opportunity to go back to Armenia and work as a volunteer or an intern for my homeland."
Me and Katia are very excited to meet them this afternoon.
I will later send them co-author invitations so that they themselves can write about their arrivals, their anticipations and thoughts.
Diana Oganesyan and Aram Kavoukjian arrived this morning. Now they are probably asleep in their rooms, or maybe awake... who knows. But they're here, at home.:)
Both, according to their FB statuses, are very excited.
Diana had previously written in her essay "I have been dreaming of a summer as an intern in Armenia for as long as I could remember. Many roadblocks have emerged each summer, such as no passport, and age limits. All obstacles have been lifted this year..."
And Aram..."During my last visit to Armenia, summer of 2008, we visited an Armenian day care for underprivileged children and the elderly named Orran. Here after spending a few hours with some of the kids we were making a collage with, hearing their stories and seeing these kids very happy was one of the best parts of my visit to Armenia. That day was one of the first days that I can truly say I volunteered my time to help out my Armenian brothers and sisters, and I enjoyed every part of it. After that experience at Orran I was trying to find another opportunity to go back to Armenia and work as a volunteer or an intern for my homeland."
Me and Katia are very excited to meet them this afternoon.
I will later send them co-author invitations so that they themselves can write about their arrivals, their anticipations and thoughts.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Barev & Welcome
Barev!
This is the first of the many posts that are going to appear in this blog.
This is where AAA's interns in Armenia are going to write about their everyday activities, their experience as interns, or just share thoughts.
If, hopefully, our interns become active in posting things here then this blog will eventually become a little cozy Armenian corner of good memories and inspiring stories about a journey home.
This is the first of the many posts that are going to appear in this blog.
This is where AAA's interns in Armenia are going to write about their everyday activities, their experience as interns, or just share thoughts.
If, hopefully, our interns become active in posting things here then this blog will eventually become a little cozy Armenian corner of good memories and inspiring stories about a journey home.
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