Day 1 & 2
As you know, we left the school on Friday. On Saturday May 16, we arrived at the Paris airport. It is very different from the Boston Logan Airport. The airport was way bigger. We were very excited. The plane was very cramped and there were a lot of people going to France. We didn’t really understand anything, because it was all in French.
When we arrived at the Paris airport, we had a little stop for breakfast.
At night our bus picked us up. We got to see the city of Yerevan;it was beautiful. We were very excited to see our motherland. Then we went to dinner. We all ate lehmejune. It was so good. The restaurant was right around the corner from the Marriott hotel, where we were staying at. The Marriott is very big, and beautiful. We were very excited, and we are ready for Day 2 at Echmiadzin.
Narine Mahserejian
Day 3
Today (day 3) was a very good opening day. We first had a great breakfast at the hotel but we were a little drowsy from sleeping so late. We first went to Oshagan village and visited the church under which Mesrob Mashdots is buried. And we took pictures next to our name’s first letter’s khachkar (cross stone). After that we went to the Cathedral of Echmiadzin and lit candles. We took an overload of pictures there, and we also got a lot of souvenirs. After that we went to an Armenian restaurant called The cross of Armenian unity. Then we went to dzidzernagapert, first we went to the saddest museum ever then we went to the memorial and took pictures and prayed, we obviously put flowers.
We went to a restaurant called Taboule and we ate taboule, kebab, ich, and after that we went to an ice cream place and had delicious ice cream especially noor ice cream. We had a great 3rd day and can’t wait until Kharapakh tomorrow.
Nareg Minassian
Day 4
I was very excited this morning, because we were going to Artsakh. We first stopped at Gomidas Aykie, where famous Armenian writers, poets, architects, etc. were buried. When I first stepped into the graveyard, I was in awe. Some graves had interesting statues, while others were as simple as a stones engraved with the person’s name. We saw the graves of Gomidas, Hovhannes Shiraz, and in front of his grave we recited one of his poems, Vorn Eh Medz Hayr Mer Hayrenik. We also saw Aram Khachadourian’s grave, Alexander Tamanian’s, and Silva Gaboodigian, where Digin Ardemis and the parents recited a small part of one of her poems. In the graveyard there were a lot of rose bushes of multiple colors. Then we headed back to the bus to go to Khor Virab, where Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 13 years for his beliefs.
When we reached Khor Virab, we went straight to the pit. When you looked down into the pit, it was very scary. But when you got to the bottom, it was worth it. The dungeon was made of stone and the ceiling was a dome. There was a cross stone and a picture of Gregory the Illuminator on the wall. Climbing back up was the scariest part of all because you always felt like you were going to fall. Once we were all safely back up, everyone took pictures of themselves with Mt. Ararat in the backround. Some of us went to the church, and after that we went to the gift shop. We then headed to the bus to visit the statue of Kevork Chavush, a freedom fighter. It was on a tall and rocky mountain.
When we got there, we had to climb up a hill. It was hard and there were many rocks in the way, but when we got to the top it was incredible. We all climbed onto the statue and took some photos. Then, we went back to the bus to go and visit Noravank.
Noravank was on a very steep hill. Hence the word steep, because, seriously, it was crazy. At one point, I tripped over a rock. There are 3 churches in Noravank, all three made by Momeeg and Siranes, both great architects of their time. The names of the churches are St. Garapet, St. Gregory the Illuminator, and St. Asdvadzadzin. The whole complex was incredible. There were very creative tricks that even some people these days can’t figure out. One of the churches had stairs on the outside that we climbed. They were very steep and small, but a lot of fun. We went up and found small doorways leading to tiny rooms. It was fun discovering the little rooms. After that, we looked at the other very interesting churches. I loved hearing the different legends. Then we went to Noravank Restaurant and enjoyed fresh lavash. We got to see how they make it in the tonir. There was also a caged brown peacock and a wild, beautiful blue and green one. We fed the peacocks lavash. Then, we ran down the hill, trying not to trip, and we got into the bus to go to Karahunge (Stonehenge).
Next came Stonehenge, which was a observatory and a scientific learning center. It is 7,500 years old. Imagine, the Armenian people were so civilized, that they made a star observatory before lots of cultures. Stonehenge is exactly what it sounds like. More than 500 rocks, spreading for at least a mile. The stones have holes in them to look at the sky. You have to be careful where you step, because there are literally stones everywhere you go. There is a trail going to the Stonehenge that stretches out 300 meters. And even worse, there are rocks everywhere. I tried to run. Didn’t go so well. When we reached the actual area, we saw a lot of stones. Tall and wide stones with holes at the top. We found a pit that was about 6 feet tall with the top open to the sky. It was made of stone and the area was really big. There was a small crevice to go through to go in. Then we saw a small hiding place that we went into. It was a lot of fun finding small hidings. The view up there was beautiful so we took pictures. After the pictures, we ran back down to the bus. We got on the bus for the ride to Artsakh.
After we crossed the border to Artsakh, I felt like I had crossed into a green house. All around me, I saw trees, bushes, hills. This is the part when we stopped to plant trees in the village Pertsor. I know what you’re thinking. No, this is not for the Armenia Tree Project. We plant trees for the Armenia Tree Project later on in the trip. There were 6 trees to plant, and we switched off on each tree. There was a very jolly man, who was basically the instructor. He and some other men had brought food and wine. The ground was very rocky and hard to dig, but we managed. After we were all satisfied with our work, we got back on the bus to go to Stepanakert, Artsakh, and have dinner.
When we got to the hotel, everyone was extremely tired. But also, we were very hungry. So everyone went up to there rooms and came down in 15 minutes for dinner. The dinner was in the bottom level of the restaurant and had a private dining room. The food was traditional Armenian food. The desert was the best. A wonderful creme brûlée.
I think we were filled up for the night. I’m excited for the next day.
Ani Belorian
Day 5
Today, after we had breakfast at our new hotel we are staying at, we headed off to the kindergarten school called Sose Mangabardez. The little kids all had a bunch of lines they performed in front of all of us and our parents. The boys and girls were singing and dancing as well, which is one of the reasons that Narine freaked out over them since they were so cute.
We sang and performed on two poems and songs for them but some of us were jealous because they were really talented. we gave treats and toys to the students.
Later on we visited Khachadour Apovian school and we met 5th grade students.There were 46 students obviously 40 more than us. Some performed individually, standing up, long poems. Some were shy but they did it very well and showed that they were really talented. We also gave them treats which they enjoyed.
After we performed a few things we headed outside and played soccer to get to know them better.
Than we headed off to Sourp Amenapergitch church. We had some candles to light and after that we went under the alter where there was a special place to confess and you could hear yourself in an awesome way.
Once we left we went to have lunch. We ate at Shoushi hotel and we had noodles, chicken, and other stuff that tasted amazing. We actually had a chance to play on a piano over there.
Then we went to one of my favorite parts, visiting the first tank that entered Shoushi. It was really cool climbing up the tank. I even saw the inside and climbed the cannon. From there I could see the bulls in the parking lot next to the bus. Luckily they didn’t get mad from Nathan’s red shirt. Unfortunately, for safety, we didn’t go near them.
After, we headed off to Amaras and on our way I met some nice girls around my age and gave them gifts.
Once we headed to Amaras, some of us saw snakes. We were told to keep an eye out around us, but we had no problems. We saw a room that was known as the wedding hall. There was a lot of writing on the wall, which isn’t good, probably for people to say they were there. I saw a pretty fireplace that had a carving of a man and women which was hard to notice at first but you get it afterwards.
There was another room that looked sorta the same, but the fire place didn’t have any carvings.
We had to climb some high stairs to see an old bathroom and it was shaped as a weird key but a bit bigger and smaller than our toilets.
Once we were all done, we went to dinner and we had so much fun. There was Armenian music and Narine, Ani, me and the rest of the class were dancing so much. Now that’s a way to end the night.
Talar Panossian
Day 6
This morning, we all had to wake up at 7, have breakfast, and get in the bus fast. The first stop we made was at the Mameeg and Babeeg (Մենք Ենք Մեր Սարերը), which symbolizes not only Sdepanagerd, but Artsakh, too. This monument was built in 1976 by Sarkis Baghdasarian. To get there, we had to climb up a big hill, there were stairs, but us kids only used them coming up, coming down, we ran. At the top of the hill we all ran to the monument and stood on it, posing for pictures. Once the parents reached the top, we were ready for pictures. Unfortunately, the flash of a camera and the glare of a blazing hot sun, both getting in your eye, is not the most amusing thing in the world. And so, for most of the pictures we had our hands over our eyes. Eventually, I had the thought to get my sunglasses out of the bus, but by then, there was only enough time to take one more photo. When that photo was done, all of the kids ran down the hill to the bus like we were the most awesome Armenian kids in the world. At the bottom of the hill, a man was selling souvenirs. Nobody but Narine got anything, and we headed into the bus.
When we got to Nigol Dooman’s house museum’s street, it got too narrow for the bus so we had to get out and walk. The walk to the house museum was very rocky. There are a lot of wild sheep, geese and their goslings, roosters and hens, and cows and their calfs. While we were climbing the rocky hill to the house museum, two dogs and a cat were wandering around. We wanted to pet them, but Digin Ardemis warned us of fleas and other bad germs. At the top, we checked our shoes for poop and we took in the surroundings. The first two things we noticed were an odd looking contraption made from a half buried pot, a watering can, and a hose pipe that poured fresh water and a large tree that looked easy enough to climb. First, we washed our faces and hands with the fresh water and then we all scrambled up the tree. We took a picture of it and climbed down to explore the museum. We got to see a room full of freedom fighter’s weapons, like guns, swords, bullets, daggers, and more. Then we got to see the room were Nigol Dooman grew up, and the upstairs bedroom, too. Nigol Dooman’s last name, Dooman, means hurricane in turkish. We then went to the gift shop to see if we might find something to buy. Then we headed to the bus to go to Khantsasar.
When we got to Khantsasar, we walked through a small doorway to what some might call heaven. There was a large, beautiful church, a long wall, a bunch of little doorways leading to different little rooms, and large fields and trees. The name Khantsasar means treasure mountain or hilltop treasure. We went into the church, but there was a christening going on, so we had to be quiet. When we entered the church, our tour guide, Nuneh, explained that of you looked closely you could see that the church had been polished and that on the right and left sides above the alter had pictures of white angels on them. I could only see the white foot of the right side angel. Then we went outside to the largest tree and climbed it like crazy monkeys. Our parents took some photos of us in the tree. We then headed of to lunch.
We ate lunch at Van Gog. It was all very delicious and we ate almost all of it.
We then went to a flea market. It was full of people selling almost everything. We all got at least one thing. There were two stray, but adorable cats roaming the market and they must have been starving because they were very, very thin. Talar petted them and tried to feed them some dried apricots, but in the end, we had to leave and some of us were very sad about it. We then headed to the hotel for a free time.
For dinner, we went to Dasheer Pizza and ate pizza that was pretty good, but not as good as american pizza. For dessert we had some flavorful soufflés and european chocolate ice cream. Then we split up to the girls on the bus with the moms and the boys walking to the hotel with the dads.
Rose Tinkjian
Day 7
We woke up with the excitement of the amusement park last night, packed our bags and headed back to Yerevan. Today we would be going to Datev monastery and tramway, and Jermuk.
On the ride to Datev, we saw the town of Karin Dag, the valley where the Armenian freedom fighters climbed up the steep mountain to liberate Shushi. It was a beautiful sight with all the trees and nature.
When we got to Datev to experience the longest reversible tramway in the world, we were a little late for our ride… but we made it. We got on the little cable car and started off into the valleys and hills. It was a beautiful site to see. The scenery was spread out all around us. We saw three waterfalls sprouting out of the mountainside. We arrived at the other end of the cable and got off the car.
We had to walk up a bumpy set of steps to get to the base of the monastery. First, we went into the stone building where they made vegetable oil. They used to crush the seeds of the vegetables (especially sunflower seeds) with a big circular rock.
We got out of the small building and entered the large walls of the monastery. We went into the church first, that had undergone slight renovation. The church was called St. Boghos Bedros. The whole monastery was named after the saint Krikor Datevatzi. He was a teacher and preacher at the monastery. His grave was in a little room off to the side of the church. We said a prayer near his gravestone.
Outside, there was a big tower about 20 feet high. It was supposed to shake with hinges when a earthquake was coming. Now, it is immobile.
We also met some backpackers that were on a trip for college. They were from a farming and agriculture college in North Carolina. One of them was originally from Boston. We took some pictures with them and left the monastery with the tramway. We went to lunch at a restaurant on the Datev grounds. I had chicken soup and french fries. We got back on the bus to go to Jermuk, an unscheduled stop.
Jermuk is a city filled with hot springs, waterfalls, and streams. First, we went to the small hot springs in front of a big building with columns. Each fountain was flowing with mineral water at a different temperature. It started with 30 degrees Celsius and ended at 53. It felt so good to wash your face with the warm water of Jermuk. We also walked down a trail that led to a small pool of hot water. We all put our feet into it and enjoyed the warmth. After that, we walked down another trail that was showing off a number of statues of the faces of freedom fighters like Kevork Chavush amongst others. I also saw a crocodile in one of the ponds (not a real one).
We went back to where the bus was parked but we were stopped by the parents. They said that we were going in Jeeps to the big waterfall on the more mountainous side of the town. When we got there, we started to walk on the trail that led to the waterfall and that was along the banks of the rapids.
We saw a number of large snails sliding around slowly on the cliffs and walkway. We got to the waterfall and took so many pictures. It was such an awesome view. The rapids were so strong and fast. They sprayed mist over everyone.
We got back into the Jeeps after more pictures and drove back to our bus so we could start our journey back to the Yerevan Marriott.
Nathan Kefeyan
Day 9
This morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then left with the bus for Lori. We would be making some visits to important sites on the way there. We were going to first stop at the Letter’s Park, where all the Armenian letters that are engraved with beautiful designs are placed. On the way there, we saw a beautiful view of Arakadz Mountain and Ara Mountain. The fields were filled with yellow flowers and nice green grass. We finally got there. In front of all the letters was a man-made lake with a little fountain. Some letters were next to each other, and some of them were by theirselves. There were also statues of famous Armenian people. We took a picture next to the letter’s the Armenian S and V for Soorp Stepanos and Varhjaran. Then, we all took pictures next to our letter.
After, we left the park for Abaran, the place where the battle of Pash Abaran, lead by General Tro. We saw the monument for the battle while driving through the town. We stopped at a bakery, where you could smell the wonderful scent of the bread from far away. There was a huge tonir where we got fresh bread from. We all got something from the store and went into the bus for Haghpat.
To get to Haghpat, we went through lots of different provinces and villages. We saw donkeys and other different farm animals. The Haghpat Monastery complex was on a hill, like most of the places we went. I saw the dome of the main church as we got closer. The engravings were very cool. I loved hearing the stories of how the buildings were made and what all the pictures and khatchkars meant. The main church is called St. Nishan. There is a small church that we didn’t pay much attention to, but it was nice. The view from up there was very pretty. There was something really cool about the library that they had there. There were a bunch of holes in the ground that they used as hiding places for there most precious things: Books and manuscripts. There was also a music school with a small alter. Then, we saw a secret passage, that every church has to sneak away. After, we went to have lunch.
Lunch was great. It was in a hotel, and the hotel was in a nice village. We saw kids playing outside. We finished our lunch and went to tour the hotel. The hotel was wonderful. The rooms were huge and the view was amazing.
After we had lunch, we went to one of my favorite authors house museum, Hovhannes Toumanian. We first took a picture next to a small statue of him, then went inside the house. Hovhannes Toumanian had 5 brothers and 3 sisters. The house was very big for a house in their time. We saw different tools that they used back then and different books and poems he wrote. There were two levels. These rooms and levels were added on as time passed by in that house. What I thought was really cool was that his heart was buried in the front yard of that house. Not his body, his heart. Then we left the museum and went back to the bus to have dinner.
To dinner, it was probably 3 hours. On the way there, we saw Lake Sevan, but we didn’t stop. That’s for another day. We also saw the statue of Akhtamar, a statue of a girl named Tamar. We learn the story in class. Meanwhile, it was pouring outside. It was all thunder and lightning, and at one point, it started to hail.
The restaurant was called Derian Kebab and it was great. They made traditional Armenian food. It was really good. We had a lot of fun today, and I’m really excited for tomorrow.
Ani Belorian
Day 10
When we woke up, we had to have a quick breakfast so that we could go to the best candy store in the world, Grand Candy! It was a five minute bus ride to the shop, and when we got there all of us tried to get through the door at once. The ceiling had little remote controlled planes and helicopters flying around. Once we got into Grand Candy we ordered 10 vanilla and 10 chocolate bonchiks. A bonchik is like a small Armenian version of fried dough. It has either vanilla or chocolate cream on the inside and powdered sugar on top. We each were only aloud one bonchik, but we devoured them. They were so good! Then we went next door to the chocolate store and bought many boxes of delicious candies. We also bought many of their famous truffles and enjoyed them while we were getting on the bus. Then we dropped the parents off at the hotel and then kept driving to the statue of Sasountsi Tavit.
We took some group pictures in front of the statue and then some by ourselves. The statue of Sasountsi Tavit wears an angry and fierce expression to represent that we Armenians want our land back and that we are brave and will fight for our lands. Then we got into the bus to go to the Erebouni Fortress. The name Yerevan came from the word Ereboni which means victory in Ourartian.
In Erebouni we got a tour of the museum and learned about our culture. We got to see the original birth certificate cuniform of Yerevan, found in 1950 by Rafael Gazarian. This year we will be celebrating Yerevan’s 2,797th anniversary. We got to see many weapons and a very big shield used for decoration only because it weighs 30 kilograms. We got to see royal silver cups that dated back to 700 or 800 bc. They had designs of horses and bulls on them. We also got to see some stones that had frescos using the colors red, blue, and orange. The Oorardagan kings used these colors. We also got to see some of the ruins from the fortress, but none of them were the original. The ruins had all been rebuilt but in the same design. Then we took some pictures and got into the bus to go to the statue of Vartan Mamigonian.
Once we finished our five minutes of fame by the statue, we went across the street to Vernisage. Once in Vernisage, we split into two groups. We all went to buy stuff for our friends and family back in Boston. We shopped for four hours. Then we went to Mr. Barbecue’s, a restaurant that served food like the food in America. Then we went to the hotel to get ready for a dance and song show that night.
The show was very beautiful. It was full of pretty dances and nice Armenian songs. It was a good concert.
Then we went to dinner at Mezzo, a nice jazz restaurant, and we had to wear nice clothes. They had a great six person band that played good jazz music. We loved it there.
Rose Tinkjian
Day 11
We started the day with breakfast at the hotel then hopped on the bus. Then we headed off to
Keghard. Once we arrived in Keghard, we had to climb a small hill. At the top, there was a big, rocky, thin hill where there were 5 holes, big and small, sorta at the bottom nobody can reach, like higher than a giraffe. We had to grab three rocks and try to throw them in a hole for our wish to come true. Even the grownups did it. Unfortunately, nobody made a rock in but some were really close, they just bounces off from the inside and came out.
Before we went into the church were we lit our candles we saw a rock that had fallen from the top of the rocky hill. Everywhere around the place, you can see carved crosses on the walls. And in a church you can see the walls have been carved into. The ground was not muddy but rocky, but there was little puddles of water. In a separate small room was some water came from that we drank. It tasted like regular spring water. We got to go upstairs from the outside to. We took a lot of pictures around the small waterfall we passed by and then headed to the bus down the hill. Before we got on the bus, there were some carts were people were selling things. Some people got key chains with scorpions for there little siblings(dead) and some necklaces with crosses.
After that we went to the Karni temple, but to get to the top we had to climb high stairs. The stairs are high because you are supposed to bow on your way up and down. Inside was a guy playing a beautiful flute, playing songs written by Gomidas. Then we saw an awesome view where there was a gorge. We also saw a bathroom where there is rocky showers.
Finally we went to lunch, where we ate outside at Sergay. We ate pork, potatoes, and fish. There I saw an adorable little kitten with green eyes so young it meowed so many times. It came table to table, and I bet it belonged to the people working there. Once it came to me, it rubbed its furry little cheeks on my legs and it felt so soft. And after dessert we headed off to the bus again.
Then we went to Sevan School where we had tons of fun. We played games, most of them involved dancing but some very different. One was a scavenger hunt where two people race to find an item on a person, steal it, and return it to the teacher. Lets just say a boy took my shoelace. Then we had a snack they had ready, which was very kind and tasty. At the end we went outside to take pictures of the whole group and went in the bus.
Once we were on the bus we left to Lake Sevan. There was a church as well where we lit our candles and saw a cross stone that was very important and had Mongolian eyes to protect it from the Turks destroying. When we went down to the lake, we started skipping stones and taking pictures. The water was cold but not like freezing. When we headed to the bus we stopped buy to see some souvenirs.
Talar Panossian
Day 12
Today we ate breakfast and walked to the Metro station to take the train to Madenataran. We got our tokens and got on the train. When we arrived at the next stop, we started to walk toward Madenataran. It was a long and tiring walk, but we finally got there. We took some pictures next to the big statue of Mesrob Mashdotz and his student. We went into the building and met our tour guide. We started to look in the main hall, which was designed to look like Geghart monastery. We saw the manuscripts Msho Jarndir and Donatsouyts or Hsgah and Tuzoog. We saw the first translated bible and book. One manuscript was so old and rotted, that if you touched the parchment it would shatter. I couldn’t even read the writing on it. The pictures in the books and manuscripts were drawn so elaborately and carefully with the colors from natural sources. We got to see those sources in another display cases. There were plants, such as herbs and wheat, that were mostly found in the fields of Ararat mountain. One display showed the Vortan Garmir, a bug that gives off red dye. That was it for the tour; I loved it a lot.
We got on a mini van or bus and set off for TUMO center. We bought some snacks on the way. When we got to TUMO center, we first went into a theater room, where our guide explained what TUMO was and how it worked. We had chosen to do the activity of film-making. After the guide finished explaining, we had lunch in the cafeteria. I had a sandwich and mashed potatoes. After lunch we went back into the theater room this time led by the film-making director, Shoghig. She got into the details of film-making itself. We had to make a short film with video cameras about the TUMO grounds with no dialogue, like a documentary without words.
We had to go outside and take short videos of the scenery. We stayed out there in the scorching sun for an hour taking videos of the beautiful park. After shooting, we got a break where we had croissants and bananas. Then it was time to edit and combine our videos to make a one minute video. On the computer, we cut and combined the shots we wanted to be in our video. It took a long time, and it was extremely hard to make the one minute clip. Luckily, we all finished our videos in time. We also added music to it. Everybody, even the parents (who showed up at four o’clock) watched our videos on a projection screen. After that, we took some group pictures outside the building with the first staff member we met.
We left and got in the mini van to go to the hotel before dinner.
At seven o’clock, we left for dinner at Lagonid. I ordered chicken shawerma. It was scrumptious.
We set off back to the hotel after the awesome food.
Nathan Kefeyan
Day 13
Today in the morning we went to Alexander Tamanian’s statue. Alexander Tamanian was the person who in 1923 drew the map of Yerevan that would later in 1924 be approved. They still continue Alexander Tamanian’s lay out until this day. Next to the statue there are other little statues donated by Gerrard Gafesjian. They are all over the place they are mostly metal and some rubber. And after the statue you see the prettiest part of Yerevan (in my opinion) the longest stairs I have seen in my life, they are called the cascades. We went up and down them, they are really pretty.
When we got to Kupalian school we entered a classroom and a teacher greeted us. There were people of all the classes 2nd to 8th grade. They talked about what we would be doing after this. We would be planting trees.
After some talking and getting to know each other we went to a little garden 10 minutes from the school (walking). When we got there we started an interview with the Armenia Tree Project main person that was there. We explained what we have been doing in Armenia so far and what it feels like to plant trees. After we were done planting 20 trees or so the boys played some soccer then we left. It was a very hot and dry day and when we entered the bus it was super hot. It felt like Africa in the bus. We left for Karin it was about a 30 minute ride from Kupalian school, me, Nathan and two fifth grade boys in the back row (we picked the coldest spot).
When we got there we sat in a room and took our seats. We waited until a lady came and told us to do an activity with the other school so we get to know each other. After that we created a paper tree with our wishes for trees in Armenia and all around the world. When we went out of the building there was a man named Samuel who gave us a tour of all the trees they planted and grew in their nursery. There were a lot of fruits and other kinds of trees. We also went to the most humid tent I have ever been in. We also had some snacks at the end of the tour.
At seven o’clock, we left for dinner at The Club. I ordered onion soup and mantee. It was so good.
We set off back to the hotel after the awesome food.
Nareg Minassian
Day 14
Today was definitely bittersweet. It was bitter, because it was our last day in our amazing Armenia. It was sweet, because 97 years ago today Armenian generals, freedom fighters, and more fought for Armenia, and its independence. That shows how Armenian people fight for there country and religion. All of the fighters are our heroes today. One very important person was Aram Manougian, who announced “Ոչ մի քայլ դէպի ետ, միշտ առաջ։” to all the Armenians.
In the morning we woke up, got to breakfast, and drove straight to Sardarabad. On the way there we sang a bunch of songs.
When we got to Sardarabad, there weren’t a lot of people yet, so we decided to get front row spots. When we were settled in, waiting for the president Serj Sarkissian, we saw the little military scout kids in their uniforms. Then came the interviews. We all got interviewed a bunch of times. They asked us where we were from, and what we knew about May 28th. After that, all the soldiers were in there straight lines walking and practicing for the president. One group was practicing with drills and they were amazing.
Then came the time the president came. All the soldiers marched and performed with the drills and more. It was wonderful how many people came to celebrate. Mer Hairenik was playing too. The monument was my favorite monument out of all we have seen in Armenia.
At night we got a couple hours to pack. Then we went to dinner, it was awesome. There was a beautiful waterfall. We all had a lot of fun. We sang, and danced. It was a great night, and celebration for Armenian Independence day.
After dinner we went to the hotel and relaxed. We would have a long trip tomorrow to Boston.
Our wonderful trip had finally come to an end. We had the best time in this beautiful country and we all will remember this trip forever. We are all very thankful that St. Stephens provides this trip for us. We got to see a bunch of churches, monuments, and more. We have all spent years and years learning about these churches and we finally got to see everything. We all remember the stories Digin Ardemis would tell us, and we couldn’t wait till we got to Armenia and live those stories.
We will see you on Monday and we will share what we loved most about Armenia. Thank you.
Narine Mahserejian