We Got the Blues

“Gabooyd Gabooyd Gabooyd enk,

Hzor Hzor Hzor enk,

Garmirin haghtel enk,

Dziranakooynin antzel enk.”

We may not have “haghteld” or “antzeld” our competition but we definitely take gold for pride. For every one idea we have the kids have ten. Although the kids get rowdy at times and test our limits the passion in their voices as they chant their ganches or practice their songs makes up for it. Win or lose they run around chanting “gabooyd” with smiles on their faces. Be it in the gym, the classroom, or any place in between the kids figure out some way to stay entertained. But what we appreciate the most about these kids is not the fact that they love learning English phrases like “howdy partner”, or the fact they make us drawings and bring us flowers every morning. What we love most about blue group is how much they genuinely care about making jampar the best as possible. They pay attention during educationals absorbing as much information as possible. The older kids help the younger ones learn their lines for talent show and they run up to us every morning repeating the songs and phrases they learned the previous day in English class.

As our time in Armenia comes to an end, we can’t help but be greeted with a bitter- sweet feeling. Yes, its sad that we have to leave our homeland and the kids, but its so nice knowing we gave these kids an unforgettable summer and they did the same for us. Every moment we spent with our kids deepened the connection we had with them. Five weeks ago we never pictured the kids impacting our lives the way they have. No amount of picture or video would do our memories and experiences justice.

-Ani Der-Grigorian and Tamar Abrilian