Who is Zachary Antoyan?

Sparing you the details of my average childhood, perhaps the best way to explain who I am is to go through why I am here and what I am doing(but I’ll keep it short I promise). Six months ago I had no idea what Armenian Assembly or Birthright Armenia were. In fact, I hadn’t even been outside of the United States at that point, so you can imagine what stepping off of the homeland meant for me. Admittedly, coming back to my “roots” here was not something that ticked very high on my “where I want to go”-o-meter. I had always imagined my first experience outside of the US to be in China or Europe, and yet it seems almost poetic that I am the first of my family to step foot in this country in over 75 years. My parents, whom I consider to be the greatest sources of knowledge, could offer no advice, no wisdom on what to expect. I was(am) in uncharted territory.

        So, coming to Armenia was like jumping into the middle of the ocean when you have only ever been told what swimming is like, and never actually done it. Jet lag didn’t hit me very hard, but culture shock? Well, that punched me square in my Armenian nose. To put it simply, I was just not prepared, and to tell you the truth, it was fantastic. Never have I been challenged in that specific way, and I realize now, four weeks into my stay, that getting punched in the face(metaphorically of course) was and is the reason I am here.

        Currently, I am working on my undergrad in two majors at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; political science and philosophy. If you were to ask anyone in the philosophy major, at least in my program, what they learn as a student of that part of academia, they will tell you: “Philosophy teaches you that you know nothing.” I believe this to be very accurate, and it also holds true of my experience here. The amount of things I know, pale in comparison to that which I don’t, and being in Armenia has helped me to stay humble, in all aspects of my life. What Armenia is teaching me, all the knowledge that I take from it and use to feed my hungry mind, I would not want to take without giving something back. Working at the Armenian Center for National and International Studies, as well as Orran, the children’s center has allowed me to give back, and I am very proud of that. Two months is not a long time, and it is not enough to learn all that I can. Not enough to learn about my culture, about this country, about simply being where you are in the world(especially if you can’t speak the language, like me). But when I leave, I will take much with me, and bring it all back someday, maybe with some company. I owe this place much.

        But please, don’t be a stranger; you’ve read about me, and now I’d like to learn about you. Fell free to contact me in any way, we could chat over tea and talk of everything and nothing.