Khorovats
“I’d rather wake up in the middle of nowhere than in any city on earth.”
The rays of daylight have descended on another week in Armenia. I find myself constantly having to reflect that I am in fact here. It has ceased to feel like a destination and has become a new home. I am content in my routine with my new family of fellow volunteers as we each try our best to give our unique perspectives and backgrounds the chance to add a new flavor to an already sapid nation. As the days pass and the homesickness makes the distance between me and my family seem greater, it is the rest of my birthright cohort that brings me solace. Sometimes it is a joke that reminds me to smile or a new friend that we comfort through a heartbreak, whatever the bump may be, by being there for each other we all inadvertently help ourselves. The other day I was interviewed by the Armenian broadcasting company Shant TV. When asked about the difficulty of having a program full of people from all over the world I simply responded by saying, “What difficulty? We are a family of driven individuals. It doesn’t matter that all the volunteers come from all over the world. Much like Armenia itself we are all a big family.” Armenia is more than just a place, it is a people. As I meet more and more diaspora from the different edges of the world, I cannot help but notice how each of us possesses the drive to include those around them in a universal feeling of belonging. When I arrived, my go to icebreaker when meeting countless new faces was to ask where they were from, yet I no longer find myself doing this. We are Armenian, or friends of Armenia and that is enough. A notion that was introduced to me on my first day in Yerevan by a shopkeeper. This idea transcended into an understanding of what he truly meant and now lies deep in my soul. The harder the challenge of division is that we face as human beings, the closer it ultimately brings the divided group of us together. This cohesiveness is why I believe in the future of Armenia. It is why the ruins and ancient history of forgotten times that is often a stone’s throw away ironically is what illuminates the prospective future of this prideful land. What could never break us will shape us. As I continue to work towards my goals and grow I cannot help but include Armenia in my thoughts. I see that the more I will carry on investing in myself the more I plan to invest in this country.
I am writing this with a mind full of appreciation, a soul full of love and a stomach full of khorovats. Earlier today, my host family took me out into the woods for a traditional Armenian barbecue. This meant meat, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, an assortment of bread, watermelon, lavish, kompot, and love packed the table. I could see the excitement in my host father’s eyes as we feasted under the gazebo he had built in his youth as a gift to this astonishing countryside. He showed me a grand shrine built for a friend’s father who clearly meant a lot to the people of Gyumri. My host mother and I took a walk to a small abandoned church in the hills where she explained we will walk three times around the church and make three wishes before entering. Although I do not wish to share my wishes, I will say that they were not for myself. Of all the blessings that have come my way since stepping foot in this country I can’t help but hope that one day I will have the chance to pay them forward.
