Wednesdays with Tatevik - March 3, 2010

Tatevik Revazian
Denmark

So today I received a wonderful email. I can stay longer in Armenia. I don’t know the exact date I will be going home, but the fact is that I will be here in April to enjoy the great weather, go on excursions and see parts of Armenia I’ve never seen. I do not want to leave ”im hayrenika” (my homeland). Because of my good mood I had the need to just enjoy it. The result was that I found the Sacre Coeur of Yerevan! Right now I am sitting on the top of the Cascade with the most beautiful view of the opera, and the mountains are slightly visible in the background. On my way up couples were enjoying each other’s company and some were drawing – the only thing that is missing is a bit more sunshine (although I am not complaining about the weather here) and some music.

It should not be a surprise anymore- I’ve had a great week again. A couple of days ago I went to a concert with the other volunteers. The band, Reincarnation, is the only raggae-band in Armenia and the music and performance was awsome. We had a wonderfull time dancing like crazy and laughing.

Another great thing is that I bought a great piano (pianos are very inexpensive here), which means I have no limits to practicing anymore. This was one of my goals coming to Armenia. I’ve heard so much that the musical education is great here –and there is no doubt about that.

Friday we (all of the AVC and other Birthright Armenia volunteers) went to Sevan’s (Kabakian, Birthright Armenia) beautiful house and had a great time eating together, hearing the new volunteer from Argentina sing, seeing Sevan’s children dancing, and playing games.

I finally finished learning the alphabet, so now I can be proud to say that I can read and write Armenian. Now I just need to practice hard to be more fluent. It seems like a small achievement, but the feeling is great. Being able to speak Armenian has enhanced me a lot, but being able to read and write makes me feel even more connected to Armenia.

I went skating this week with my cousin and some friends. The Hamalir (Sports Complex) is a great place. We had a blast. Afterwards my cousin invited me to the house of his friend because the family had heard a lot about me and they wanted to meet me. We had very interesting discussions and one of the subjects was very close to my heart. The little sister in the family, 16 years old, reminded me very much of myself. I could see a special drive in her, but as is the case in so many families they saw this has a weakness, because a girl has to be modest. But I felt that the parents actually wanted to listen to me. My opinion was important to them. Because I am a girl with my own opnion, but at the same time I share their values of being respectful. It seems that they understand that being independent as a girl does not necessarily mean not respecting the surrounding environment. I think this is one of the subjects we are going to discuss tonight at the Birthright Armenia forum, which is just perfect!