Kyle’s Journey in Armenia

The next day was my Bazum host mom Layli’s 50th birthday. This summer, she always had trouble reading and I kept suggesting she get reading glasses. The thought of this did not go over well, and she exclaimed she wasn’t 50 yet and would not wear glasses until she was at least an old woman (at 50). Like any good son and 50th birthday party attendee, I made sure to present her with a new pair in a toast about the story and always staying young, even if it does require reading glasses. She looks good though, right?

The same day my host brother and new husband, Tigran, left for Russian for the summer. This time, of course, he had to leave his 20-year-old wife Hasmik, who longs to live in Russia but must stay and help Layli, back in little old Bazum. The evening was extremely emotional for everyone; I can’t imagine having to leave your new wife after only a few months. Tigo has to go to Russia every summer to send money home to Layli – they do not have any other income and there is no work for him around Bazum. It is very tragic and there was something clearly missing in Layli and Hasmik’s eyes the next morning. This was the first in a series of events over the past few weeks that have provided a lot of emotional insight into the Armenians and their daily lives.

Last Friday was the local celebration of “Vergi Zang”, or graduation day from dprots (high school). This was a very exciting time for everyone in town, and all of the students and families put on their finest whites for the event. The 10th form students (they only have grades 1-10 here) performed a variety show, of sorts. It was a lot less formal then our graduations with speakers and awards, but it was very interesting to see. However, at the heart of it all were families who feel the same sort of emotions that we feel when our kids graduate. They were hopeful, yet uneasy about their children’s futures, and above all, they had a beaming sense of pride at their children’s accomplishments. Some pictures:

The other event I was fortunate to attend was a bar-b-que in the woods for the director of the Art School I teach at. This was a really good time. It reminded me of days at home or school when we could just go to the park, have a picnic, play cards or soccer, and just relax out in nature. I took a hike down to a waterfall, played badminton, and just genuinly had a good time with the people around me. While the eating and drinking was a little different from America (our “toast master” fell asleep in the grass later that day…), it was a great experience.

I guess all of these moments put together many more pieces of the Armenian puzzle for me. While they were all great for building bonds and relationships with friends and family, they provided a genuine insight into what Armenians feel as people. This is when I realized that, aside from our political or religious or cultural differences, we’re all the same people on the inside. We are all proud of our children and their accomplishments, and want a better life for them than ours. We all truly value the time we can just relax with our friends and family, and enjoy a peaceful existence with one another, laughing and joking. We are all sad, torn, and face tough challenges (especially if it means sending someone we love away from us). But above all, it shows there is hope in all people, no matter where we are or what we’re doing or how we must live in order to survive. There are good people here, with good hearts, who want good things for their futures. It’s these kinds of things that transcend politics and religion and petty differences and give me hope in what I’m doing and that we all might just make a difference after all.

One Response: