Barev Sireli Ungerner

BY ALEXIA ANI MARDIAN
splitsensation@yahoo.com

I have been in Armenia now for almost three months. For all of you who do not know, I have taken a year off from Northridge to study in Armenia for the year. I am here studying in the Armenian Studies faculty (department) studying
Armenian as well as Armenian Literature. I will be obtaining some credits towards my Armenian Studies minor at CSUN, but my two main purposes for coming here is 1: to perfect my Armenian language and 2: to pause my life for a short time and experience something different! I know to many of you it may sound strange. “Why would she leave sunny Southern California, Americana, Mi Piace, Palm Springs (God forbid someone actually took a year off from these things) etc… to go to ARMENIA of all places!?” Some days here in Yerevan, I think the same... “It’s freezing,” “I
don’t want to take the marshutka today filled with 30 people when it really only seats 10,” “I don’t want to hear anyone arguing over someone accidently stepping on their shoe or drivers honking their horns for hours when everyone else is in the same amount of traffic as they are.”

But then I go outside of my building at 8:30 am for school and breathe the cool Yerevan air. I am greeted by one of the many tatiks sweeping my street, asking me how I am, how my classes are going and if when I get back from school I can stop by their home and have some coffee. I take the #38 marshutka to Avan, where I study; it’s about a 30 minute ride (if it doesn’t break down that is) and although it’s not always the most comfortable, I get to pass by an amazing view, near the top of the Cascade, of our beautiful Ararat and our kharnevads but one of a kind capital. On my short walk from the marshutka stop to the school campus, I pass by the army base located next to our class’ building and listen to the solider’s “dzagh ach dzagh” marches or their shooting exercises. At our break I go with some of my class friends to the small market/buffet next to our school’s building where the Russian soldiers and their families take their meals. Although not the most presentable place, it is one of my favorites , and by far the warmest! Here I get to practice some broken Russian with the women in the kitchen or even give a quick English lesson. some days we are obliged to have a shot of vodka or champagne by the cooks and soldiers and then we go off to our second half of class. In the afternoons after school I come back to my apartment, make myself something to eat, study awhile and maybe go walk to the Hraparak or meet a friend for coffee at a café. Some evenings, I go to one of the many theaters to see a play or go out with friends and enjoy the evening fountains or an outdoor concert..

Some days I miss home, miss my family, miss my friends, miss what I am used to. But then I stop and realize that life is short and the days pass quickly. At home and in our familiar and comfortable surroundings, it can be easy to forget the simple things, the important things. For the majority of people living in Armenia it is the simple things that they live and work each day for. Instead of hearing about whose Louis Vuitton bag is real or not or which club we’re going to go to next and spend $500 on a bottle of vodka, people choose to think and talk about things that we have completely forgot about. Although, on average, the working person makes only about 2,000 drams a day ($6) and would never imagine or be able to spend $80 on an Ed Hardy T-shirt, they are happier and more satisfied than ever. With healthy families, good education, beautiful parks to walk around, free concerts and plays, loud but passionate conversations, life is meaningful. I have about 7 months left of my of stay in our beautiful Hayastan but even after only 3 months I can say that my life has more meaning and makes more sense to me. Maybe not enough to write a book about the meaning of life or conquering the world, but enough to be truly thankful and satisfied with my life so far. We have so much in our lives that we take for granted and sometimes don’t even remember, but to be truly happy and have a better understanding of life we have to take a pause. We have to separate ourselves from our cars, our clubs, restaurants, cell phones, wallets and all the things we don’t think we have enough of and start to appreciate and realize the simple things.

Although in America most of us make more money in one month than some people make in a year here in Armenia, although most of us have cars (one’s expensive enough to equal several years of work for the average person), heated classrooms and bedrooms, vacations spots, fancy clubs and restaurants… we don’t seem that happy with ourselves or each other. Instead we seem continuously stressed out, tired or unsatisfied. I’m not writing to you guys to point my finger or shake my head in disappointment, I myself am easily guilty of always being on-the-go and being unappreciative sometimes. I just want to share with you my experiences so far being in our motherland, meeting and sharing enlightening conversations with people all over Hayastan. Just because the people here may not have all of the material things that we fill our lives with, does not make them strange. Armenia is not some far off backwards bubble as many of us may think. In fact it is more real and more beautiful than you can imagine or perhaps remember. I encourage everyone I know to put their life on pause, to stop and realize how much we are blessed with and how often we forget. I also encourage you to come back to Hayastan if you haven’t for awhile and experience with an open mind how beautiful and satisfying the simple things are here.