Wednesdays with Tatevik - February 23, 2010

Tatevik Revazian
Denmark

I cannot believe that I only have one month left! Time is passing by so quickly and everyday is special. I want to extend my stay for 3 more weeks. I would stay 3 more months, but I have to go back home and write my bachelor project for my university. But I will be back.

I have slept just a bit more this week as I promised myself. I have started to learn to write Armenian and I can read now, which is fantastic. Of course the level is like an 8 year old, but it’s quite good. I can actually play “alphabet games” with my niece and help her and it is quite fun for me too. I started piano lessons a couple of weeks ago and I am learning very quickly. I played when I was younger, but I haven’t touched a piano since, but it is all coming back to me.

Yesterday I went to a private bar and saw a funny film with Robin Williams. This is the first place I’ve seen a film in English. In the cinema, all the movies are in Russian – even the American ones.

Other than that I’ve enjoyed my time walking through the city and I am enjoying the wonderful weather. We had 18 degrees (Celsius) a couple of days ago. It felt like late spring. So I am quite happy while my family and friends are struggling with the snow in Denmark. Apparently this is a historic warm winter in Armenia and a historic cold winter in Denmark. Lucky, lucky me.

The most memorable experience this week was my first walk alone through the “shuka” (market). I was the only buyer and they were all saying: “kurik jan (sister, dear) come and buy some fruit from me.” I knew that I didn’t have any experience in this area. I was very polite which made me feel a bit obligated to buy something from everyone. Half of the things they showed me I had never seen before. Different kinds of fruits, spices and more.

They found out that I wasn’t from Armenia, which resulted in a huge interest in my talking about the far away country in Europe. And as always I had to answer the question “where do you like it most.” I kind of hate that question because it is impossible to answer. You can’t really compare two completely different countries. I feel at home in both places and comfortable in different ways in both countries.

Wednesdays with Tatevik - February 10, 2010

Tatevik Revazian
Denmark

This week my mum visited me from Denmark which was really amazing! We visited family members and went to the theatre. I would really recommend seeing the comedy “Don Juan.” It was a wonderful piece! I really did not expect it to be that good ☺.

Saturday we went to Ashotsk village which was an AMAZING experience.

I tried to ski for the the first time in my life. I have bruises everywhere now and it feels great. I was stubborn so although I fell really hard I continued. Next time I have to learn how to stop – it might be a huge help. It was so much fun to see everyone struggling to climb the mountains and as a result then falling.

While I was buried in the snow a guy helped me up and apparently he was from the team who might be going to the World Championship from Armenia. He gave me lessons and I improved very fast. Skiing is wonderful! The view was also fantastic. Being surrounded by mountains all covered in snow while the sun was shining would improve anybody’s mood.

Monday we went to the SOS Children’s Village. Most children living there have parents, but they were living under socially difficult conditions. The government does not support the Village, and the biggest sponsor is FIFA. These children have all the possibilities they could think of to be able to take care of themselves. SOS is willing to pay for any university they want to enter in the world no matter what the costs. But these children are not interested probably because what they need is a family and if they can’t have that, they don’t want anything. 6-7 children live in one house with an SOS aunt. All the employees at SOS are called aunts and uncles. These houses were in really good conditions. One of the children sang Armenian songs for us and it was just breathtaking.

Today I had my first day at the child development and rehabilitation center before going to work. I must say I was amazed by the people working there. I admire their patience because it is challenging to take care of the children, who are almost all autistic. Although there were only 4 children and two 2 employees and me working with them, it was still difficult. The children require constant supervision.

I must say I really liked their method of work. The day started of with a “welcome song” during which every child was acknowledged, then games, and at the end cooking together. The staff involved the children in the cooking process which I think is incredible although it was difficult. I felt very welcome by the children although they could not express themselves vocally. This is going to be a challenge for me!

At Mission East I am still working on the communication plan. I had a good feedback meeting and I know what the next steps are in the process.

Wednesdays with Tatevik

Tatevik Revazian
Denmark

Work is still fantastic. I have started writing the communication plan for the project and it’s interesting starting to analyze the material I have. Hopefully the output of my work will help Mission East.

Last week two diplomats from the Norwegian Ministry came to Armenia. The director of Mission East decided to bring me along to their meeting, lunch and a visit to the Matenadaran (museum of illuminated manuscripts with impressive old Armenian books).

They were very happy to meet a Danish speaking person, me, in Armenia, and it was great for me to experience how the two cultures interacted. I could see several differences and small misunderstandings throughout the day. At meetings in Armenia it is very common that people answer phones, but in Scandinavian countries, you have to turn off your phone before starting a meeting. The meeting was not as organized as Scandinavian meetings are, and it was quite fun to see such a huge difference. More examples could be mentioned!

On Saturday we went to Dilijan and stopped by Lake Sevan. Both places are quite different in the winter, but it was still very beautiful to see. We saw a very beautiful church Haghartsin that had been renovated.

We also viewed an exhibition and I was very surprised at how cold it was inside, and how the employees managed to work there without even complaining.

Afterwards we went to a small shop where a family produced different things out of clay. People in Armenia are really good working with their hands. I am impressed! After the trip a lot of us went out to a bar. It was nice spending time together in a different way.

The last update from this week is my visit to the child development and rehabilitation center in Yerevan. I was amazed to see how well disabled children were treated there. There were many experts in different areas that worked with children with both physical and mental disorders including autistic children. I was very, very touched because this is not how disabled are treated in Armenia. Most are excluded from society because of lack of opportunities of education and medical treatment. And also because families are embarrassed to have a disabled person at home. This mentality is an outcome of the Soviet mentality where the system is built on the “survival of the fittest” concept. I asked if I could volunteer there a couple of days a week and they were very, very happy. I talked to my manager at he told me it would ok that for me to do some of my work at home, so I can help out! The center is closed on the weekends. The children there were amazing and I just can’t wait to start volunteering there!

From Armenia to Denmark and back to Armenia

INTRODUCTION

My name is Tatevik Revazian. I was born in Yerevan, but my family moved to Denmark when I was 5 years old. Although I’ve lived in Denmark most of my life, gone to Danish school, high school and university, I have still felt Armenian. I study business administration and organizational communication in Denmark and this is my final semester of my bachelor. In my course it is mandatory to finalize an internship period of 3 months, which I chose to do here in Armenia. I am working at a Danish NGO, which is fantastic. The NGO has worked in Armenia since 1992 trying and changing the lives of the disabled. Since October 2009 the organization has the responsibility of combating HIV/AIDS. The numbers of people infected are increasing in Armenia. I am working on a communication plan for this new project, which is very exiting and relevant to my studies. I am working on one of the largest running projects in Armenia at the moment. It feels great converting theoretical knowledge into practice.

Enjoy the reading!

EXPERIENCE:

What an experience already! I have only been here for two weeks and I am already full of wonderful memories.

To start off the colleagues at work are great and I feel very welcome. We all went to a restaurant last Friday and for the first time in my life I experienced a restaurant with live music and people dancing. This is so normal here, but I have never experienced this in Denmark – it’s so much more fun!

I am also very happy with my tasks and although I am “only” an intern I have to work independently. For example, so far I have written an action plan and interviewed some of the stakeholders that are in the target group (NGO’s, UN agencies and the Ministry of Health). I am gaining insight knowledge to be able to build the communication plan.

I have also started taking Armenian classes through Birthright Armenia. I speak Armenian, but I’ve never learned to read or write. There are no Armenian schools in Denmark and very few people even know that our country exists. When I arrived I felt Armenian letters were Chinese for me, but after two classes, I am able to read some words and that is such a satisfaction. The teacher is working alone with me and I am learning the letters much faster than I had imagined.

My first Saturday in Armenia was spent with the Birthright Armenia participants. There was a trip organized to Khosrovian Forest. Being used to a flat country it was a very scary experience. The roads were awful and we went there in a military-like van – apparently no other car would survive a trip like that. While the guys were playing football in the van I was begging not to fall into the ditch. BUT it was so worth it. Being surrounded by mountains from everywhere was a breathtaking experience. It was so beautiful and the air was so so clean. We hiked until we reached an old church that was breaking piece by piece. This would be a perfect place for an archeologist. It’s sad that there isn’t money enough to explore places like this, there is so much undiscovered history!

Although I am very happy here there are some things that are difficult to get used too. If you have family here (as I do) please forget the privacy concept, this seems to be non-existing in Armenia. I have a lot of family here and they are all very worried about me – especially because I am a woman. It is my experience that the males in the family feel very over-protective. They feel it is their responsibility that nothing bad happens. I am very thankful for that and I am very thankful for the warmth I feel from my family members, but it is a bit difficult. I am used to taking care of myself. This does not mean that I do not have family in Denmark that worries – I certainly do, but it is not in this extend.

Although I haven’t been here for that long I am beginning to get a deeper understanding of my identity. I have learned that there is so much I love about the Armenian culture. At the same time there are many things I have a hard time accepting. The word accepting is most suitable because to a certain extent I do understand why people think or act as do, but it is difficult to accept.

Note to readers: Tatevik will be blogging each Wednesday for the next several weeks. So, come back next Wednesday!