Across Armenia: Yerevan and Beyond

When I landed in Zvartnots over two months ago, I was overwhelmingly excited to live in Yerevan. I hadn’t been to Armenia for over twelve years, and although my memories of it were vague and hazy, my clearest recollections were the spectacles of the capital city. Cascade, the Opera, and Republic Square were just as beautiful as I had remembered, if not more so. Now that I was here as an adult, I could roam around as I pleased, wander through museums, haggle vendors at vernissage, and sit for hours at any restaurant I wanted, fully enjoying everything the city had to offer.

Coming with Birthright Armenia meant I would be volunteering with organizations doing important work that I could contribute to, and meeting new people, fellow volunteers or otherwise, who were just as excited as me to be living and working in the heart of our homeland. While being in Armenia certainly means a great deal more to me than simply being able to live in Yerevan, I will admit that to me, the city seemed like the pinnacle of what Armenia had to offer, as an artistic and cultural hub, as well as being the center of political discourse and entrepreneurial innovation. I have grown to love Yerevan just as much as I expected. The mix of Soviet, European, Western, and of course, uniquely Armenian influences, as well as the myriad of people I interact with on a daily basis, have cemented in my mind just how special it is that I have the opportunity to live here.

Leaving Yerevan

Yet, what I did not expect was just how much I love the rest of Armenia. Leaving the city every weekend for excursions has absolutely been the highlight of my Birthright experience (outside of my very interesting work, and all my new friends, of course). Even when we are stomping through mud and drenched from the rain in Marmashen or packed into the back of a rickety pickup truck driving through the bumpy countryside of Vayotz Dzor, every time I leave Yerevan, I feel like I’m adding new colors to the picture of Armenia in my mind.

Beyond just experiencing the breathtaking natural beauty, visiting local museums, and touring centuries-old monasteries and cathedrals, Birthright has given me the opportunity to meet people that I would otherwise never have interacted with. From the soldiers at Azatazen to the locals and villagers who feed us during our lunchbreaks, to the craftsmen who taught us how to carve our very own khachkars, seeing how people in Armenia live and work, how similar they are to me and my friends, and how this really is a real country with real people (as director Sevan likes to say during our orientations), I have never felt more connected to a place, or to my own cultural identity.

Two Day Excursion

Spending a night in Khatchik is something I will never forget. When we arrived in the village, we danced for what felt like hours without tiring before meeting our host families and having dinner. Two of the other volunteers and I stayed with a family of six, where we all stayed up late having lengthy conversations. Since I spoke the most Armenian, I translated back and forth as we shared about our lives and families, and they told stories about their children and the other people they had hosted before us.

We watched Ladaniva’s Eurovision performance with them before bed. In the morning, we ate jam they had made from fruit they had grown on their land, drank warm milk from their cows, and had eggs from their chickens. They told us that we were always welcome to stay with them and that we must visit again. Their warmth and hospitality will stay with me, and I cannot wait until I am passing through Khatchik again and I get to say hi.

Armenia and Me

My name, Beaina, is the name that the people of the ancient pre-Armenian kingdom of Urartu used to refer to their land and people. My entire life, growing up in both the US and Canada, every new person I met struggled to read and pronounce my name. Since being in Armenia, I haven’t encountered a single person who didn’t already know the meaning and spelling of my name. The way that they say it just as my family does, I have never felt so instantly at home or welcome anywhere else.

My most precious memories in Armenia are now set both in Yerevan and beyond, in the gorgeous countryside, in our mountains, and on the banks of our lakes. I am beyond grateful for the chance I have had to explore, and I cannot wait to see and experience even more of our homeland in the future. I believe that every Armenian should be able to experience our people and country to the fullest, as I have, and I would highly encourage them to do it through Birthright.