poghosyan

Great site, thank you for letting us know about this. I have visited the gallery when I lived in Armenia, and always enjoyed it. The site looks really good and is very well organized, although it takes a while to open the pictures. I will definitely go back to this web-site again.

You just said there no such thing as perfect. And then you come up with this. I guess it never hurts to dream.

Լավ մի անգամ էլ էմ փորձում ու վ»րջ: Եթե էս անգամ էլ չեղավ՝ էլ չեմ փորձելու:

Ok, I know this has already been discussed, but I still can't post anything in Armenian. I type it in MS word, but as soon as I copy and paste it in the reply window, it turns into jibberish. I tried to change the encoding of my browser, but it doesn't help. Is there some kind of trick that I'm not aware of?

Here's some more.

My pictures are too bug. I'm trying to make them smaller. Let's see if this works.

OK guys, great thread. I just read the whole thing and kept smiling throughout. Although at the end it got a bit depressing. I just wana post some pictures that I took before coming to the US, in summer of 2000. I am sooo sorry I didn't take any of my native Yerevan. But here are some of Garni and Geghard.

I don't know what exactly you are talking about, phisical obstacles or emotional distance, but of course it happens. I think almost everybody sooner or later feels like that. I know it doesn't feel good, but it's life. You just have to take the best out of it and let go (if there's no possibility at all to remove this restriction of yours). Think more positive, look at the bright side of things. That' s what helps me go on every day.

it's pretty much like 'I dare you' in english. I can't find a closer translation. I have no idea about the origin of the word/phrase, though.

I don't really get this. How are you gonna ensure a 'democratic' election. Is it possible in Armenia? The same parliament members you are talking about are also supposed to be democratically elected.

I love Will and Grace too. Back to the topic, though. You guys sound really liberal and most of you have no problem with interracial marriages. Neither do I, you should marry whoever you love. But try telling that to y family. I get attaced for making the slightest comment on the possibility of and Armenian woman(or a man for that matter) even liking somebody of another nationality. I don't know how I can make them undertand my point of view. And as far as I know, this is the situation in many Armenian families. I was surprised to see everyone supporting the idea here. Pleasantly surprised.

And they did achieve it. Sad or not, it's our reality. There are many groups of Armenians, and this is not the worst part of it all. The saddest thing is that they 'hate' each other. I don't think this can be changed just by talking about it. In fact, I can't think of any way to change it.

This sounds really Armenian. I really feel for the poor girl, being told that she's not going only the day before her trip. Can you imagine how humiliating that should have been? And also what's the point of having a Miss Armenia peagant at all if the winner is not going to be represented in larger events. We are just picking a girl out of so many beautiful ones and admiring her all by ourselves. Others need not see her, that's not really important. Armenian mentality. When the organizers were deciding on the budget for the contest, they didn't know about this fee? Did they just find out two days ago? Pathetic, as always no planning and no thought is put into something that people are so proud of and that could represent Armenia to the world in a different aspect (as the only thing we bring to the world now is Genocide).

I don't know where all this negativity is coming from. I can't help wondering if you people don't feel at all sorry for the author of this article, armenian or not. You came up with all differnet reasons trying to make fun and to put down the person who has encountered such horrible experiences. Why? Are you really on the side of the evil businessmen described in this article? I am not saying this to contradict any of you and I don't want this whole thing turning against me, I just was very surprised to see the reaction of all of you.

I agree with all of you on this issue. I really don't think that it's a good thing to cheat and steal, but I can understand where people are coming from the way they think. By the way there are a lot of Armenian newcomers that are very educated and very active in the society, it's not just the bad ones. I think it's just an Armenian trait to try to outsmart everybody else. They don't think of it as stealing, they don't think of it as cheating. They are so good that they can outsmart the whole big bad American government. The solution to this problem is time. Armenians are a very educated nation, and they like to be talked about in a positive way. So, it will happen. In the meantime, I like Vava's suggestion of the more established Armenians trying to help the new ones to understand the system and how you can survive in this country without cheating your way to the money. I don't see this interaction at all. Look at the Jewish communities. Very smart, they support their newcomers until those get strong enough to support others. This chain works for them. I'm not saying the exact thing would work with Armenians(we all know how unique we are), but something like that would sertainly help. What I see though is reluctance on the part of the 'old' Armenians to have anything to do with the 'new' Armenians, automatically assuming they are criminals or whatever they assume. If we don't see the differnece within ourselves, how are other nationalities going to?

About moving from a traditional to a modern society. In Armenia this is gonna take a while. And the culture and traditions will take much longer to change, even if the economy starts growing. I don't consider Armenia in such a bad shape where people grow their their own food (maybe in villages), but the traditions are still going very strong there. You are talking about young people not wanting to have kids because they feel like going out and having fun longer. I don't think this is true for the Armenian society. Although it's not as bad as having arranged marriages at the age of 13 and 14, young people are expected to get married by the time they are in their twenties. Not like in the more modernized countries in the Western Europe, there is a pressure from the society to get married and have children. What concerns the people in the villages that have children in order to have helping hands for the agricultural work. In Armenia the farmers don't have enough land and resources even for themselves to keep busy and to feed themselves. Having kids means feeding them, and when they grow up there won't be any work for them to do anyway. Now, why the downturn in the birthrate in Armenia? First of all you have to take into consideration that a lot of families decided to have more children after the earthquake in '88, so the birth rate during the late 80s and the early 90s was higher than normal. It was bound to go down after a while. Second, as we all know people have been leaving the country and not always with the whole family. We have many many families that are split up with the wife taking care of the children at home, and the husband working out of the ocuntry to support the family. I think we have a better view of our Armenian women than to think that they would be having babies while their husbands are away. Third, the country has been in a war for years. I think this fact just speaks for itself. Nobody wants to have babies during such a time, even if the men in the family are not fighting and are still home. And finally the economic situation that you were talking about. People can't even support themselves. How are they gonna support several children? OK, this came out to be really wrong, but I think I said everything I menat to. I hope this clarifies some of your concerns.

I agree, I can't really think of anything that comes out of a government investment in Armenia right now. I would like to know what kind of consumer goods is the government investing in. I personally haven't heard of any. <_<

The Greatness of Men Men are like Laxatives ... They irritate the shit out of you. Men are like Bananas ... The older they get, the less firm they are. Men are like Vacations ... They never seem to be long enough. Men are like Weather ... Nothing can be done to change them. Men are like Blenders ... You need one, but you're not quite sure why. Men are like Chocolate Bars ... Sweet, smooth, &they usually head right for your hips. Men are like Coffee ... The best ones are rich, warm, &can keep you up all night long. Men are like Commercials ... You can't believe a word they say. Men are like Department Stores ... Their clothes are always 1/2 off. Men are like Government Bonds ... They take soooooooo long to mature. Men are like Mascara ... They usually run at the first sign of emotion. Men are like Popcorn ... They satisfy you, but only for a little while. Men are like Snowstorms ... You never know when they're coming, how many inches you'll get or, how long it will last. Men are like Lava Lamps ... Fun to look at, but not very bright. Men are like Parking Spots ... All the good ones are taken, the rest are handicapped.