May 20, 2014
We went to the Shushi school on Tuesday. We met the 5th graders at the school. The school was really big and looked brand new. We met the principal of the school, and she offered us coffee. We played soccer and basketball in the gym with the 5th graders. It was so fun to play. After a while we went into the school auditorium where we sang Armenia’s national anthem and Artsakh’s national anthem. We said good-bye and left the school.
After we went to «Սուրբ Ամենափրկիչ». When we got there we lit candles and prayed. We went down to the basement, it was shaped like a dome. If you stood in the middle and said something out loud you could hear the echo loudly in your ear. It was really cool!
For lunch we went to a restaurant and ate ( mante ) , it was very good. For dessert we had candy and drank tea.
Next we went to a Visual Art Museum and saw lots of valuable paintings painted by famous artists. We saw the Պարգեւ Սրբազան who blessed us. We left before an opening book ceremony.
After, we went to Amaras, the first Armenian school in Armenia, created by Mesrob Mashdots. We saw the church where we lit candles and prayed. There was a staircase leading to an old, old, basement where Gregory the Illuminator’s grandson, Gregoris’ tombstone was. We went back up and went to the bedrooms where the Mesrop Mashtots’ students slept. The ceiling was carved with the Armenian letters. There was a 1,500 year old bathroom that we looked at. The bathroom was just a big hole shaped like a keyhole.
Lastly, we went to dinner at a restaurant called NVER, the food was really good. The food was fried fish, and beef. We sang and danced in the restaurant.
Berj Chekijian