Anoushik

It's a shame, we saw this news on local TV as well. Arpa, you said it right, some Armenians think it is perfectly ok to "make a living" like this. They seriously believe that everybody's doing it and if they are not, then they are missing out! And it's so sad that those are the same people who despise America and always look for an opportunity to denounce the U.S. All I can say at this point, reading or watching such news, is shame on us.

Wow, I've never heard of them. They're awesome!!!

lol, so true ... except, my husband and I happen to have the same last name! (I was disappointed at first because I always looked forward to changing my last name to my future husband's like other women looked forward to their weddings). So, my last name has a different spelling than his and mine ends with "ian" and his ends with "yan". We always joke that we'll have to fight about how to spell our future children's last name but one day it will be a reality

Ok, once and for all, what's the verdict then? Should it be "yan" or "ian"? Is there a consensus?

Congratulations Nane jan!!! :) (The summer flew by so quickly that I didn't realize it's been that long since I visited the forum!)

Thank you Azat jan!

Shat shnorhakal em Ed jan u Movses jan!

Nane, definitely agreed. Especially in Los Angeles, when one has such a big choice of who to include in their social circle. But one can't ignore/avoid extended family. Thus this is where I have also made my observations.

Sip, I don't agree with you. The role of marriage is still very important. Children need to be brought up in a stable environment that only marriage can provide. Yes, a small number of couples will decide to remain child-free and therefore marriage is not relevant to them. But the majority of couples will go on and have children, and thus marriage is very important.

Thanks guys for your replies. I wanted to give a few days to have more people participate (knowing myself, I tend to jump in and reply to everyone's post ) Yervant and Azat, I appreciate your views. However, I believe you both gave an idealized viewpoint, based on wishful thinking rather than reality in today's LA Armenian culture. I am not talking about individual cases (or couples) but about what is taking place generally around us. Actually Yervant, I believe the Armenian community in Canada has had the chance to blend in and adopt the best of Canada's culture (based on European ideals). The LA community has yet to catch up. The hand-holding to show affection was just an example. Of course, if a couple does not feel the need to hold hands than it is not necessary. But I believe a loving couple should make efforts to show that they care about each other, or making efforts to show that they care about each other increases the love/bond between the couple. And I'm talking about an established couple, not the newly formed lovey-dovey couple. Now, how does this fit in to the cultural norms I'm talking about? Well, if you observe Armenian couples in LA you'll see that the woman is walking many feet away from her husband. That's what I'm talking about. The separation of men and women during social gatherings - in some instances the couples don't even sit together during dinner. The ladies sit on one corner and the men sit on another corner. And a couple definitely will stand out if they insist on sitting together. Azat, I'm glad that you haven't seen Armenian women being scolded for expressing their views. It's not a surprise that your social circle doesn't involve backward, uneducated, traditionalists who believe men are above women and women should just hold their views (if they contradict men's views!). About chores: yes, that is definitely cultural. But maybe not cultural pressure to not do chores, but rather cultural reinforcement to not do chores on the men's part. And experience shows that this is not just an Armenian cultural norm, but also American. Women in America are also still struggling to get their spouse to help out more with household chores. So I guess I shouldn't have included this in the list

Thanks for your reply Em. I agree with all of your points. But what about when both the man and the woman are educated, try to do their best to regard each other with the highest respect, yet because they are still surrounded by the "culture" and its established cultural norms they feel that culture's pull in their relationship. I'd like to take this discussion into that direction. Not so much so with the couple as individuals in the marriage, but more so with the couple facing the established cultural norms. Some examples observed in the Armenian culture (of the top of my head) - Separation of men and women in social events - Lack of displays of affection in public (hand-holding) - Women scolded for expressing their views - Not sharing household chores equally etc.

Hi everyone, I'm sure this subject has been discussed one way or another in Hyeforum. But I'd like to revive it and ask this: how do you feel about the state of marriage in Armenian-American culture? Specifically first-generation Armenian-American? What does marriage mean to Armenian men and women? As immigrants to America and having "American" education? Or having "American" education yet trying to preserve Armenian customs? Are there conflicts? What are your views?

Wow Mosjan, I hadn't seen this picture! Amazing!!!

Terrible news. My thoughts are with the Polish people today.

Oh, and if we consider the man and the woman in question also being in a romantic relationship then they should also make some kind of a physical contact while walking next to each other, such as holding hands or the man offering his arm for the woman to hold. It's interesting how I don't see that happening much even among young Armenian couples here in L.A., let alone the older generation. I think it is very endearing when a couple hold hands.

I completely agree. My mom always tells the story of how she finally felt that women are respected in civilized countries when she first encountered a man (who was a mere hotel manager) deliberately holding back his steps so that she and other women could catch up in Poland, while an Armenian man that was traveling with us kept walking very fast ahead and never even looked back to see how the women (his adult daughter with a baby and my mom with us, children, were doing). She never had such a problem with my dad as my dad either always walks besides us or gently leads us ahead with his hand when there is a narrow passage or a door. But my mom thought of her general observations of growing up in Armenia and seeing men marching feet away from women, while women seemed to try to catch up.

In a conversation yesterday I was told that Hillary Clinton has always supported the Genocide resolution as long as she's held office but I seem to remember contrary. Can anyone confirm that for me?

Happy Birthday Vava!!!

Pretty well said Shaunt, I agree. Hello Zack, and welcome to Hyeforum. I wish you much luck in your endeavors

Starting in March I'll be full time student teaching, which means getting up at 6am every weekday ... and of course, I teach privately over the weekends, which means I won't be able to sleep in, EVER, for the next four months

BC - Before Christ AD - Anno Domini BG - Before Google How fast is the world really changing!

Happy Birthday Amy!!!

We watch television to escape from the stress of daily lives, Arpa jan Sometimes I have had time to only watch a rerun of "Friends", an episode that I have seen so many times, but it still refreshes me on my way to class or in between papers and assignments. I already know that life will always be filled with stress, since today there are papers and assignments and tomorrow there will be work and family responsibility, so TV is a great stress reliever. Currently I'm watching "Lost" on Netflix and the plan is to watch all the episodes before the final season airs in February. My brother watched all the seasons, got my mom really into it as well, and finally my mom convinced me to watch it. I've just started Season 2. It's pretty interesting!

ahh... then you have nothing to worry, you get to keep your crown of being the only one in Glendale My brother's in Burbank!

... and the only other one that I know of is my brother.