Far and Hye #2

I’m back! Today is Armenia’s Independence Day, which I’ve celebrated so far by FaceTiming my family, eating a delicious breakfast prepared by my host mom (who did not allow me to make my own coffee this time), and attempting to convince said host mom that I am capable of doing my own laundry. Then, I asked for advice from three different people regarding where to buy a raincoat. Truly, it’s fitting that despite the deep attachment Armenians have to their country’s independence, it is perhaps the least independent culture I have ever participated in.

My big wins of the week:

• showing my host dad NFL Redzone: He had no grasp of the rules or concept of the game and definitely didn’t realize it was showing four different games, but he would lean very close to the screen during every slow motion replay of a tackle and nod his head. Then, he would lean back, sip his vodka, and wait for the next one. I offered to explain it to him and he shook his head, saying “I understand enough.”

• I got asked for directions! Forever grateful to the group of Slovenians that believed in me, and forever unsure that I was helpful at all. Nevertheless - big moment.

• New job at a children’s support nonprofit gave me a big girl desk in the big girl fundraising office… On my first day, I found a “hot lead” for a potential donor, leading my boss to announce to the entire fundraising department that I am a lucky charm for attracting American money.

• I made friends! Feels kind of weird to write about, but long story short, spent the week navigating a social scene I can only compare to the beginning of college, but if each person in college spoke three languages that may or may not overlap with yours and if the college doubled as a cultural dating pool slash professional development networking conference.

In other news, one of my greatest fears was realized this week, when my new friend referenced an interaction we’d had last week that left her with the impression that I was “very shy.” There’s a first time for everything, but this is actually the SECOND time that someone has called me shy. I am embracing this new identity by publishing details of my life onto the internet and allowing my mom to send it to everyone she knows.

This week, I went on two Birthright excursions, the first to an archaeological museum just outside of Yerevan. This museum is famous for its collection of ancient “dragon stones” that naturally could be nothing else but giant phallic stone pillars that left the entire group in shambles as the tour guide valiantly tried to educate us on their historical and cultural significance. To access the ancient jewelry exhibit, we took a mirrored staircase (think tunneling through a disco ball) down into a basement with black walls and black ceilings decorated with LED light strips, leading us to conclude that the architect was someone’s cousin with a background in nightclub design.

“Dragon stones” and proof that Armenians have always had the nose

The second excursion was an all day (7am -8pm) adventure to Smbataberd, an ancient fortress on a hilltop in the middle of Armenian wine country, two hours south of Yerevan. This day started off extremely strong with Armenian dancing in the bus aisle as we climbed up winding canyon roads towards Areni, whose famous cave boasts the world’s oldest shoe and an ancient virgin sacrifice altar. Here, we stopped for a “very very short” bathroom and coffee break with extremely strict instructions to return to the bus in one hour.

The rest of the day continued on a similar schedule, as we hiked up a mountain and then were gifted a 3 hour lunch break at the fortress, where we were joined by an Armenian middle school field trip. Together with the middle schoolers, we did some traditional Armenian line dances, and then sang the national anthem. If there is one thing about Armenian children, it is that they can be ready for performance at a moment’s notice without complaint. Then, we hiked down, stopping for a brief hour and half at a village chapel for some more dancing.

I was having trouble silencing my American internal clock, especially due to the fact that we were reaching our 6th hour without access to a restroom, but then I found an informational plaque. I learned that the chapel, called Zorats (Soldier) Church, was built to only have the altar located indoors, so that soldiers and their horses would fill the courtyard outside the altar to be blessed before battle. This reinforced my strong opinion that informational plaques are never a bad idea, especially in a country that builds churches designed to include the protection of horses in religious ceremonies.

Basically, this week was not unlike an episode of the Bachelor. There were group activities requiring everyone to step outside of their comfort zones (dancing on a mountain, touching giant penis statues, holding in your pee for a whole day), one-on-ones where everyone practiced being vulnerable and explaining the events of their life that led them here, and heavy encouragement to fully commit to the journey (the back of the Birthright hoodies literally have “journey of self-discovery” printed on them). Conversations were full of determining whether or not someone was here for the right reasons (finding a spouse/learning the language/partying/work experience, depending on who you talk to). I’ve often wondered if I am being filmed for television, like when my host sister knocked on my door holding up her plastic potty asking if I wanted to try using it, or when I had to stand up on a moving bus and introduce myself to 70 strangers, or when my taxi driver lit a cigarette inside the car with the windows up.

Without Armenian Independence, none of this would be possible, and I would be completely unaware of my apparently shy personality, the existence of horse blessing churches, and how to say “can you please roll my window down” in Armenian. But, to be serious, Armenian Independence is a precious thing that has only been reality for 34 years, something difficult but necessary to remember when standing in thousand-year old fortresses. This country, a cradle of both evolutionary and religious civilization, gained their independence after people walked on the moon, after the internet was created, after Back to the Future 1 and 2 came out, etc. Experiencing their so far very quiet and solemn Independence Day feels really wild as someone from a country whose independence is literally carved into a mountain and used as an excuse to get day drunk. Today has been a good reminder that for many, independence is hard won and even harder maintained.

Anyways…. If you’ve made it this far I’m honored, and I’ll leave you with homework: listen to the song “Yerevani Aghchiknerin” which translates to “Yerevan Girls” and imagine hearing it at full volume on a bus at 8am! Armenians may not really want their girls to learn to drive or own keys to the house, but they WILL hype them up as the prettiest coolest best ladies on the planet, and that’s gotta count for something.

Until next week,

Arev/Արեւ