Days 1-3

I almost wish I had enough time to consistently update this because there is no way I can effectively communicate how amazing everything is several days later.

July 2nd, we landed at 3:12 AM in Yerevan International Airport. We purchased our visas, claimed our luggage, and took a bus to our amazing house. Before landing in Yerevan, we landed in Moscow, Russia. I was hoping to see men in snow caps and babooshkas. What I did see was incessant daylight and rude babooshkas. We were in that airport for about 5 hours. Needless to say, I was much more excited about landing in Armenia. Nothing against Russia, but Armenia is my Motherland. I felt overwhelmed with emotion as the plane descended. After years of studying Armenian history, language, and culture, I was finally there to experience it first hand. I can't even emphasize how beautiful our house is. We are in a prime location just down the street from the Armenian Parliament and a 15 minute walk from the Hrabarack (Republic Square). The house has three bedrooms downstairs and three upstairs. The girls are in doubles downstairs and the guys are in the rooms upstairs. It has two bathrooms but only one shower, which is typical of Armenian homes. Our coordinators, Armine and Sarah advised us not to sleep but to stay awake, but I crashed after my shower. Breakfast was awesome. Fresh lavash (Armenian flat bread), TOMATOES, cucumbers, Tziran (Apricots...which are native to Armenia), cheese, and sweetSWEETsweet watermelon. Believe me when I say this--but you have not tasted real fruit until you've had an Armenian apricot or tomatoe. Invest $1200 in a plane ticket just to come here and have the fruit.
After breakfast, we took a walk to the Republic Square to call our families. Everyone was staring at us because we were in shorts and flats. It's typical for women to dress in shiny skinny pants, sequen blouses, and high heeled shoes in the daytime. And all of this must be complimented by heavy evening makeup. After the breif tour of Yerevan, we took a bus to Mayr Hayastan which is a monument of a large Armenian woman holding a sword facing Turkey. It symbolizes the fact that the Turks will never again conquer and massacre the Armenian people. We also went inside the neighboring museum which was dedicated to Armenian Soviet soldiers who perished during WW2. The woman at the museum took us to the bottom level and showed us soldier uniforms and photograph of Stalin surrounded by Armenian soldiers.
We then went to Erebouni, which is the ancient city of Yerevan--where Armenia is said to have originated. We saw pagan temples, ancient symbols, and remains from the civilization that existed. I love museums and I love ancient history but something was different about seeing the remains of the Erebouni civilization. These were the remains of my ancestors. I learned that this civlization was just 38 years younger than that of Rome. We climbed down the epic hill and then went to get lunch in the city. I had a chicken chawerma (so much better than Zankou) and it only cost 350 drams (which is roughly the equivalent of $.90). After lunch we came home and I crashed....until 4 AM the next morning.



July 3rd, we took a 10 AM bus to Khorvirap, which is where Armenia's declaration of Christianity can be attributed. We climed down into the pit where St. Gregory the Illuminator was kept for 14 years prior to healing King Drtad, who declared Christianity as Armenia's official religion in 301 AD (even before the Roman Empire). We went into the church and lit a candle. Then, the priest came out and offered a brief history on the establishment of the monastary and the church. Being in the pit was surreal. This pit was the reason why many other empires and civlizations were encouraged to adopt Christianity as a state religion. Accompanying us on the trip is a professor from Pepperdine University who is studying Armenian religion and history. Seeing his fascination with this monument legit gave me butterflies. This place isn't just special to Armenians, but apparently people from around the world come to see it.

After Khorvirap, we had lunch in the city. We then went to see the Paros Chamber Choir, which is a choir funded by the Paros Foundation. It started as a group of individuals incapacitated by the 1988 earthquake and it is now made of citizens who advocate for disability rights. Their performance was incredible and some lucky person back home will be recieving the CD I purchased from them.


We had dinner at The Club, which is a gourmet restaurant. We learned that it is the favorite of the author of The Alchemist. Then, we went to Grammy Cafe and had some coffee/tea. We met up with some UCLA students and went to Aftershock club. It was completely empty when we walked in at 1 AM, but by 2 AM it was poppin! We stayed there until about 4 and took a cab home.


Happy Independence Day yallz! Today, we went to Square One, which is an American restaurant, for lunch. I ordered the Yerevan Express, lawlz. Then, we walked home and got ready for the Manana Youth Center, which is a part time school of arts for children. They teach motivated and talented students skills in animation, photography, film, and journalism. The facility is funded by the Paros Foundation, which is an NGO that supports programs like this throughout Armenia. I was so impressed by the work that these children produced. They are all so bright and refreshing to be around. We spoke to them for a while and I learned more about their individual stories. I asked one girl Diana what she wanted to become when she was older and she responded with "spiritual." Not exactly the conventional "lawyer," "doctor," or "engineer" response we are accustomed to back in the states. These kids think out of the box and their work is a reflection of that. Everything they produce has potential to touch someone or open someone's eyes. I took pictures of some of the things they have photographed and I will post them on facebook. I didn't want that visit to be the last time I had contact with these kids so I promised them I would be back to visit later on this month or when I return to Armenia in the future. A group of girls asked me for my email address so I hope to hear about their successes soon. I am confident that these kids are "Moving Mountains" now and will continue to do so in the future. Armenia may not be the wealthiest nation, but it is definitely one of the richest in culture and these children contribute to this culture in such an inspirational way.