A Nation Within Words

So I have realized something this evening. I was debating on whether or not to blog and if anyone would care what I wanted to write about. And I thought about how this blog is my connection with a lot of people back in the US. However, I had a larger revelation. I realized this blog isn’t for me. Not at all. Quite different actually, this blog is for you. This blog is how you can see how life is in Armenia. That may be my life, that may be my Host families’ life. Or that even may be just the description of the landscape and their traditions. But for whatever reason this blog is meant to be a resource for everyone not in Armenia, to see what Armenia is like. And I hope you know I will try to do my best and show you the true side of a life in Armenia. With that I mind I will try to describe more things in full that way you get a full feel of the situation here. I hope you will take even a little bit away from this, and see that even though most of you reading this don’t know where Armenia is, Armenia knows where America is. And they have their own inclinations and ideas about Americans. Obviously one of my tasks here will be to show them what a true American is like, and not this fake, airbrushed version of what they see and think we are all. So I will do my part. All I ask is that you do your part. Look up Armenia. Take a moment to realize who they are and what they are all about. I will do my very best to put into words what I see and do, but that can only be a part of it. I ended my last post with a quote saying "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page", well I am here to at least give you a small caption on that page, or maybe a photograph that you can add to that page. Hopefully I can paint you a picture well enough that the scope of this nation and its people make you realize how great a small, landlocked, former-soviet nation can be. This is a country of tradition, belief, and they are a current state of transition. They are still trying to find their place in the region and in the world. With so many nations to learn about, why Armenia? Well being here 3 weeks, I can already tell you why. This country has some of the most stunning landscape, and if my picture loads, you can see that. The people will drop everything to help you, and wont even flinch to accommodate you. They invite you in to their homes every chance they have, and feel honored to have you at their house. They want you to learn about Armenia, but they also want you to learn about where they came from, which includes and long and dark history. But you cant know Armenia without knowing these things. And once you think you know about them, then you really see you will never understand what they have gone through. All you can do is observe from as a 3rd party participant. And it really is great to be in a country with so much history, because it draws you in, and you feel like with every story at each persons house you go to for coffee, you are walking in history daily. And you are constantly learning, questioning, and re-learning.
I hope that this blog is a informative, educational resource that whoever reads it can feel like they have experienced life in Armenia. Or that it may inspire you to even travel here one day. They say experience is the best teacher, and I cant teach you everything about this country, you have to experience it. Taste it, smell it, laugh in it, squat in it, speak in it, smile in it, play in it, and just feel it. Once you do that, then they will likely call you family. And no matter where you go in the world, you can always return to you Hayaren Entanik. (Armenian Family)

Hajotsutsun

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”