Now I Know

Ever since the day we arrived in Yerevan and started touring, I was never able to see Mount Ararat clearly. It was always foggy, smoggy, or cloudy. In Proshyan, that quickly changed. The second day there, I woke up to a clear view of Mount Ararat. I stood there staring at it for a few minutes. It was so beautiful. I couldn’t keep my eyes away from it.

Thus far, we have completed 2 jampars and are now doing the third one. As we go through each Jampar, I learn a lot about Armenia, its people, and its history. While in Proshyan, I feel as though I started loving Armenia more and more There is so much more history in the village than I had originally expected. I heard stories about heroes like Bedo, Hrach, and Garod every day.

Although our stay in Proshyan was short, the Jampar that we did in this village meant so much to me. The feeling you get when meeting the family members of “azadamardiks” is hard to explain. It’s different. Hearing the story of each person, the sacrifices they made, and the heroic things they did for our country was amazing, and it created a fire within me that never existed before.

Honestly, I never thought that I would love Armenia this much. I have loved it so much, that I am really considering moving here. My friends in America told me that I would have the time of my life in Armenia, that it’s going to be a memory that I will never forget, and it’s a feeling that they couldn’t explain to me. When they told me these things, I never understood them. Now I know. It seriously is a feeling you cannot explain. It’s just something that you have to do and experience for yourself.

Thank you Proshyan and AYF Youth Corps for giving me this experience.

Sincerely,

Arin