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Feel the Love from Haiastan – U. Ani Sarajian

June 26, 2014

So this is my first blog post. I’ve never blogged, but I’m going to try to make all of you feel the love I have for being in Armenia, even though I’ve only been here for a week and a half.

Where do I even begin to describe what an amazing and exciting adventure this has been for me so far? I guess the first thing I should discuss is how hard it hit me that I’m finally in Armenia, when I drove extremely close to Mt. Ararat I had the most breathtaking realization. I’m not lying; I grabbed my friend’s hand and gasped because I was so taken aback at the beauty of it.

I thought that being in Armenia for the first time, let alone living and working 5,000 miles from my home in New Jersey, was going to be slightly intimidating at first. However, I find that I’m not intimidated at all by being here; I feel at home, I feel completely comfortable. And as I wander through the streets of Armenia, I find myself feeling incredibly grateful for having this opportunity. I truly believe another reason I felt so at home, but being so far away is because I am exceptionally lucky to have family here in Yerevan. Though I had never met my cousin Vardan, as soon as we did meet, he took me in and was constantly making sure I was doing well here. Vardan took me out to dinner with the rest of my family living here. At first I was nervous to meet my family I had only heard of, but I immediately felt love and comfort when I was with them.

In a short week and a half, I’ve learned so much about this country. To me there is one important thing I’ve learned thus far; That is to step out of my comfort zone and go with the flow. I’m working on trying new things and doing things that may not be what I would typically do. For example, while just letting things play out for themselves, some could call me a picky eater. I don’t like much meat aside from chicken and a few other things; but while I’ve been here along with encouragement from other interns and our director, I’ve been pushing myself to try new foods. One instance of this was from our excursion to Haghpatz and Sanahin. On our way home we stopped for a bite to eat at this small restaurant. I was nervous to try some of the food on the table but our director, Nairi, told me to take the opportunity while I have it- I ended up really liking the kebob!

Here in Armenia I’ve noticed people do not seem stressed or run around frantically, which is so different from many others, including myself, who live in America. I guess that’s where I’ll leave you all for now! But don’t worry, next post you’ll get an inside look at our first excursion to the Haghpatz and Sanahin monasteries along with how my first week at my internship went!