The Dream Came True

1 min read

When I arrived here with Birthright Armenia, people asked me if it is the first time for me. Then, I'd say that it is the second first time for me; the first time was 20 years ago with my family. It was definitely the time to come back, it has been too long, I don't remember a thing!

Before my dad passed away, my sister and I were very much engaged with the Armenian community in Geneva thanks to his huge involvement in many associations and events. Since he is not with us anymore, we cut the connection with the community.

But what our father left is more than this connection. We were and still are really proud of our Armenian roots and culture that is transmitted to us, to our family.

When I was young, I always wanted to learn Armenian, to speak with the other children, and later with adults. Unfortunately, I had this language barrier to communicate and I felt excluded in a way...

Moreover, on my passport, I have two names but I only use the French one Jérôme and yet I like a lot my second one, Mihran.

Then the time passed.

I figured out that it is time to come back to Armenia. Alone. To learn the language and the culture from inside. Through local families and volunteer sites; to discover the Armenia of today that I will remember and keep in my mind.

On September 1st, I came without any expectation or judgments, except one: the Armenian language is easy. I tried to start learning at home before coming... at least to review the basics.

I planned to go to Gyumri first because many recommended so to me, but also because it is a small city and more traditional than Yerevan. More importantly, few people spoke English there.

After 10 days in Yerevan, I took the road to Gyumri.

Volunteering in Gyumri

Then, here is the second expectation I had: I recorded the number of my host mother on my phone in order to contact her through WhatsApp. She has a picture on it, so I expected that it was her on it. What a surprise when I arrived home, and it wasn't her at all. Where am I?! At Anush's pace. (So I figured out that it was her daughter in the picture...).

During the first week, Anush didn't speak that much so I decided to take the initiative. It was a good exercise for me to practice Armenian. I prefer to be practical than theoretical.

Then few weeks passed, I progressed slightly; "kamats-kamats," as we say. Then two months passed and I could feel the improvement. The more I tried the more I learned and the better relationship I built with Anush. After three-four months, I could speak and learned enough to have hours of discussion with Anush.

Learning Armenian

I could never imagine everything that happened during this time. We build a relationship that I don't want to forget and lose. Anush is so kind, so careful, so joyful it was more than a pleasure to be with her and Fenia (the grandmother) and to cook, to sew, to speak, and tell stories with them. I wasn't helping around the house, just living with them as much as I could. I had so many good moments with Anush and Fenia, with neighbors and friends or their relatives.

I had to push myself more often not to stay behind my phone or a movie screen, but I am not in Armenia to have the same bad habits as I had in France.

My reward today is that I have a new family and friends waiting for me here.

And of course, I can speak and understand Armenian and, even better, I can read and write a bit!!! This is just the beginning that I want to advance.

I am still wondering if my help really helps people. In some way, I can say yes. But for sure, the country and the people gave me back much much more!