19 replies to this topic

[Sako_Aper]

I was in Armenia in the summer of 2006 for six weeks. There I met cousins for the first time, some I had seen but I was less than two years old, so it was like meeting them for the first time also. I loved them very much and we all had a close bond with each other.

I currently live in Salt Lake City and live far away from all relatives. Before it didn't matter to me as much, I didn't know what it meant to miss someone, I couldn't remember the last time I had cried, however, the day at the airport on August first when it was time to leave, I felt the greatest emotional pain I had in my life. For the first time in a long time there was a tear from my eye, not just one though, I was crying like a little baby. There I was, an 18 year old at Zvarnots airport crying. I couldn't keep it in. Ever since, there have been many nights that I have cried myself to sleep.

It has been very difficult for this past almost three months. I continually look at pictures of me and my cousins. Until that day I thought I was an almost emotionless man, and I would not dread over anything. But this continual sadness feels like it's killing me.

I am going to go again next summer, I cannot imagine living another day without seeing my relatives, especially my cousins.

I'm a freshman in college at the University of Utah, does anyone have any ideas of how I can participate in a study abroad program in Armenia, or an internship, so I can lengthen my visit to Armenia next summer, also, so I can find out if it will be possible for me to relocate to Armenia in the future.

Has anyone else experienced similar feelings as mine? It's very difficult, it makes me tear just writing this.

Here are some pictures of me and my cousins.

http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3206.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF4343.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3215.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3633.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3907.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3940.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3207.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3937.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/4-1.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/2-1.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/1-1.jpg

[MosJan]

Sako it's all normal after all it's your home and your land it's Armenia !!!

if you wish to move back to Armenia / finish your education / become some of useful then move back / altlist Armenia and Armenians can benefit from you and your area of expertise / you still have an long way to go brother
i wish you best of luck in any case

[aSoldier]

I was in Armenia in the summer of 2006 for six weeks. There I met cousins for the first time, some I had seen but I was less than two years old, so it was like meeting them for the first time also. I loved them very much and we all had a close bond with each other.

I currently live in Salt Lake City and live far away from all relatives. Before it didn't matter to me as much, I didn't know what it meant to miss someone, I couldn't remember the last time I had cried, however, the day at the airport on August first when it was time to leave, I felt the greatest emotional pain I had in my life. For the first time in a long time there was a tear from my eye, not just one though, I was crying like a little baby. There I was, an 18 year old at Zvarnots airport crying. I couldn't keep it in. Ever since, there have been many nights that I have cried myself to sleep.

It has been very difficult for this past almost three months. I continually look at pictures of me and my cousins. Until that day I thought I was an almost emotionless man, and I would not dread over anything. But this continual sadness feels like it's killing me.

I am going to go again next summer, I cannot imagine living another day without seeing my relatives, especially my cousins.

I'm a freshman in college at the University of Utah, does anyone have any ideas of how I can participate in a study abroad program in Armenia, or an internship, so I can lengthen my visit to Armenia next summer, also, so I can find out if it will be possible for me to relocate to Armenia in the future.

Has anyone else experienced similar feelings as mine? It's very difficult, it makes me tear just writing this.

Here are some pictures of me and my cousins.

http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3206.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF4343.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3215.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3633.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3907.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3940.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3207.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3937.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/4-1.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/2-1.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/1-1.jpg

I just got goosebumps.

Replace Armenia with Glendale, Zvarnots with LAX and 2006 with 2005.

Now that is my story.

Let's say I know EXACTLY how you feel.

Edited by aSoldier, 30 October 2006 - 05:28 AM.

[Sako_Aper]

Sako it's all normal after all it's your home and your land it's Armenia !!!

if you wish to move back to Armenia / finish your education / become some of useful then move back / altlist Armenia and Armenians can benefit from you and your area of expertise / you still have an long way to go brother
i wish you best of luck in any case

Thanks, are you currently in Armenia?

Maybe you might be able to better answer my question better than most folks here in the U.S.

I am planning on declaring my major this month, I'm going to declare a double major, Finance and Business Administration with an International Emphasis (Can it go well in Armenia?). In high school I participated in a two year internship working at a bank and I believe I'm a very capable individual to be able to do many jobs. Before visiting Armenia my goal was to be rich, I was always reading biographies or bibliographies of rich people, and from it kind of sketched out what I want to do in my life and how I'm going to achieve those goals, however, now I believe it will be much more satisfying for me to be close to family, yet still live a comfortable life without having to worry about what to eat next week.

Do you personally think my majors after I graduate will be a fairly good major to major in if I want to live in Armenia?

Are there firms in Armenia that will demand individuals like me? Because everyone that I speak to that is here in the United States only say "Gordz chka Hayastanum axper, vonts pidi apres?" I know it is much harder finding a job in Armenia, but the constant telling me that there aren't jobs makes me skeptical.

I did not know how to read or write in Armenia, but with very little help from my mother, in an attempt to surprise my parents, I taught myself how to read and write in Armenian. My writing is not that well right now, but my reading is fairly well, sometimes I have to slow down though on big words.

I was a world class athlete, and still have world records in powerlifting for my age and weight group, but school and the internship pretty much forced me to give up my sport of powerlifting. I was a very inexperienced wrestler with only two seasons, no one expected me to place in the state tournament, however, I placed fifth place in the Utah State Tournament. I say this to give you an example of what type of person I am, if I want something, I am very determined to get it and do everything I can to get it.

Thank you very much for your help and suggestions.

[Sako_Aper]

I just got goosebumps.

Replace Armenia with Glendale, Zvarnots with LAX and 2006 with 2005.

Now that is my story.

Let's say I know EXACTLY how you feel.

So you were in my shoes visiting family in Los Angeles from Armenia?

It is very difficult isn't it?


I don't know, I just wish my family from my mother's side was close.

My poor mother, she doesn't have anyone here, no family at all. She is all alone. That is another reason why I want to move to Armenia, my mother will be close to her sisters and cousins again. I realized after my visit to Armenia, what is life without my family, I don't know how to say it, but it really sucks.

I liked my cousins so much and vice versa, they try to go to an internet cafe once a week so they can e-mail me, it is very nice for them to do that and I get so happy when I get an e-mail from them.



I sometimes look at my cousins younger pictures, and think of days of laughter and fun that we have missed out already. Their ages 22, 20, 17, 16, 14, 13, 11. All their lives I've been gone, so many memories that we could have made, good and bad, will never happen because we were 6666 miles away (That's the estimate from Salt Lake City, Utah to Yerevan, Armenia). Our lives are only as good as the memories we make, what good is your life if you're going to live it missing someone. You never know what can happen to someone and you may never see them again. I can be involved in a car accident and die, and never see my family again, why should we live so far away and miss people?

Karot@ shat vat bana.

[MosJan]

SAKO i'm in USA

but all i know is Ashxatogh@ misht el gorts k@gtni

PM Armen hi s in Armenia he might be abel to help you

[Sako_Aper]

Thank you, I just PMed him.

I also think the same way, "Ashxatogh@ misht el gorts k@gtni"

[Eurocentric]

Anyone who says gorts chka is an utter fool. Hakarak@ shat gortsa ka, ashxatogh chka. The same people who were saying gorts chka 10 years ago are the same people who say it now.
You can find a pretty good job in Armenia with your qualifications an earn close to a 1000 a month. With that amount you can support a family and buy a pretty good car. Now that's if you work as a local, you can also try to find a job at one of the many foreign NGO's and work as an American, if you earn a US salary in Yerevan you'd essentialy be a demigod.

[MosJan]

Anyone who says gorts chka is an utter fool. Hakarak@ shat gortsa ka, ashxatogh chka. The same people who were saying gorts chka 10 years ago are the same people who say it now.
You can find a pretty good job in Armenia with your qualifications an earn close to a 1000 a month. With that amount you can support a family and buy a pretty good car. Now that's if you work as a local, you can also try to find a job at one of the many foreign NGO's and work as an American, if you earn a US salary in Yerevan you'd essentialy be a demigod.

ov vor huys@ drel e ir artasahmani barekamneri "shriyl" ognutyan@ n@ra hamar gorts yerbeq el chka
isk of ashxatel tsankanum e dzirq uni ashxatelu yev kam sovorelu n@ra hamar misht el tegh ka

yekeq hamadziynvenq or menq spyurqi barekamner@ e or p@cvhatsretsinq mer sireli barekamneri shateri kyanq@ Hayastanum n@rants glxi tak papuk barts dnelov amis@ mi qani $$$ ugharkelov n@rants divanin / TV araj kapetsinq

isk ov vor xelatsy er / yev $$$ statsav yev ashxatets / yecv sovorets / hima el qich te shat barekarg kyanqi ter e

d@jvar e n@rants hamar ov 60~65 tarekan kam verev e - ov ashxatel e CCCP jamanak yev iysor anashxatunak e / miyayn yev miyayn Toshaki huyson e - iyi irents hamar e djvar

[MosJan]

Saqo im @enkeroj Yeghpayr@ arden 2 tary e Hayastanum e
Tsaxkadzorum Xoz Ajetsnelu Ferme a vertsrel / arden bavakan araj e gnatsel eyv bavakanin asxhatoghner uni / tes te mek hogin inch tarberutyun e m@ttsnum mi poqer qaraqum inchpisin Tsaxkadzorn e

[Eva]

I was in Armenia in the summer of 2006 for six weeks. There I met cousins for the first time, some I had seen but I was less than two years old, so it was like meeting them for the first time also. I loved them very much and we all had a close bond with each other.

I currently live in Salt Lake City and live far away from all relatives. Before it didn't matter to me as much, I didn't know what it meant to miss someone, I couldn't remember the last time I had cried, however, the day at the airport on August first when it was time to leave, I felt the greatest emotional pain I had in my life. For the first time in a long time there was a tear from my eye, not just one though, I was crying like a little baby. There I was, an 18 year old at Zvarnots airport crying. I couldn't keep it in. Ever since, there have been many nights that I have cried myself to sleep.

It has been very difficult for this past almost three months. I continually look at pictures of me and my cousins. Until that day I thought I was an almost emotionless man, and I would not dread over anything. But this continual sadness feels like it's killing me.

I am going to go again next summer, I cannot imagine living another day without seeing my relatives, especially my cousins.

I'm a freshman in college at the University of Utah, does anyone have any ideas of how I can participate in a study abroad program in Armenia, or an internship, so I can lengthen my visit to Armenia next summer, also, so I can find out if it will be possible for me to relocate to Armenia in the future.

Has anyone else experienced similar feelings as mine? It's very difficult, it makes me tear just writing this.

Here are some pictures of me and my cousins.

http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3206.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF4343.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3215.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3633.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3907.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3940.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3207.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...er/DSCF3937.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/4-1.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/2-1.jpg
http://i9.photobucke...ko_aper/1-1.jpg

Which kindergarten ( mankapartez) did you go in Yerevan,,,?

[SanVal]

Sako, if you want to spend an extended period of time in the country, you should take advantage of Birthright Armenia.

See www.birthrightarmenia.org.

Also, if you participate in the Armenian Assembly of America program in Washington, DC (in the summer), then the following summer you can do the same program in Armenia. You'll do an internship in Yerevan, though; it's not a study abroad program. Check out the AAAt website.

There are several study abroad programs. One of them is sponsored by the Glendale Community College. http://www.glendale....broad/index.htm
I just looked at that website and it has a message that urges you to "apply now," so I'm guessing they have a deadline coming up.

Good luck.

[Sako_Aper]

Which kindergarten ( mankapartez) did you go in Yerevan,,,?

I was less than two years old when we moved to the U.S., I did not go to Kindergarten when I was in Armenia.

[Sako_Aper]

Sako, if you want to spend an extended period of time in the country, you should take advantage of Birthright Armenia.

See www.birthrightarmenia.org.

Also, if you participate in the Armenian Assembly of America program in Washington, DC (in the summer), then the following summer you can do the same program in Armenia. You'll do an internship in Yerevan, though; it's not a study abroad program. Check out the AAAt website.

There are several study abroad programs. One of them is sponsored by the Glendale Community College. http://www.glendale....broad/index.htm
I just looked at that website and it has a message that urges you to "apply now," so I'm guessing they have a deadline coming up.

Good luck.

Whoa, that is a fairly expensive summer study abroad from Glendale Community College.

Thank you very much for the information, I appreciate, I'm looking at the web-site right now.

[Sako_Aper]

I like the CSUF program through Birthright Armenia, I think that will defnitely suit me best, however, it is only open to Juniors and Seniors, I'm a freshman right now, but I will still contact them so they know me and who I am, that way I will increase my chances of being accepted for the program two years from now.

I am going to go to Armenia this May again, until August, approximately 12 weeks, I will look around for jobs and such to see what there is out there for me.

I do not want to stay in the U.S., if I have a family, they will lose all customs, culture and values. My older brother already has, and I know I'm still young, but I don't want my kids to be the same way. Also, armenia is my homeland, it is where I am supposed to be, it currently has a negative population growth rate, there will be no Armenia if every continues to leave.

[Sako_Aper]

yekeq hamadziynvenq or menq spyurqi barekamner@ e or p@cvhatsretsinq mer sireli barekamneri shateri kyanq@ Hayastanum n@rants glxi tak papuk barts dnelov amis@ mi qani $$$ ugharkelov n@rants divanin / TV araj kapetsinq

Hamadzaynem, yes misht el dra masin mtatselem.

[aSoldier]

So you were in my shoes visiting family in Los Angeles from Armenia?

It is very difficult isn't it?
I don't know, I just wish my family from my mother's side was close.

My poor mother, she doesn't have anyone here, no family at all. She is all alone. That is another reason why I want to move to Armenia, my mother will be close to her sisters and cousins again. I realized after my visit to Armenia, what is life without my family, I don't know how to say it, but it really sucks.

I liked my cousins so much and vice versa, they try to go to an internet cafe once a week so they can e-mail me, it is very nice for them to do that and I get so happy when I get an e-mail from them.
I sometimes look at my cousins younger pictures, and think of days of laughter and fun that we have missed out already. Their ages 22, 20, 17, 16, 14, 13, 11. All their lives I've been gone, so many memories that we could have made, good and bad, will never happen because we were 6666 miles away (That's the estimate from Salt Lake City, Utah to Yerevan, Armenia). Our lives are only as good as the memories we make, what good is your life if you're going to live it missing someone. You never know what can happen to someone and you may never see them again. I can be involved in a car accident and die, and never see my family again, why should we live so far away and miss people?

Karot@ shat vat bana.

omgosh...

Every thing you just said happened to me in the exact same way. I live in australia though, visiting family in los angeles really made me realize the same thing as you.

It took me about 8 months of depression to finally start living again. I hope you can recover quicker than that because I know what a horrible feeling it is.

I am now trying to get a green card so I can go to USA & live with them. You said it right when you said "what is life without family".

If I was you, I would move to Armenia as soon as I can.

[Sako_Aper]

omgosh...

Every thing you just said happened to me in the exact same way. I live in australia though, visiting family in los angeles really made me realize the same thing as you.

It took me about 8 months of depression to finally start living again. I hope you can recover quicker than that because I know what a horrible feeling it is.

I am now trying to get a green card so I can go to USA & live with them. You said it right when you said "what is life without family".

If I was you, I would move to Armenia as soon as I can.

Wow, someone else that is just like me. It'll be three months tomorrow and I just got done looking at all 1200+ pictures with a tear in my eye.

I will go see my cousins again this summer, however, I know that this time it will be much much, more difficult. I don't know what is going to be of me a year from now after my second visit. Are you going to come to the U.S. soon?

Really, it is true, it feels like who are you living for without your family.

[Proud EXPAT]

Sako I'm in Armenia and have many friends that have moved here from all over the world.
If I can be of any help message me buddy. I'll be glad to help.

[Armenak]

Sako I'm in Armenia and have many friends that have moved here from all over the world.
If I can be of any help message me buddy. I'll be glad to help.

You will soon be joined by L.A. television host Stepan Partamian. He will be visiting this December and permanently settling in Yerevan in 2008. I'm going to miss his show.