When I told Raffi K. I was thinking of moving to Armenia, I was surprised and happy he asked me to do a guest log. After all, to be associated with the Armenian �Real World� cast equivalents is not easy and a tall order to live up to ;-) Therefore, I will try my best to give you the most accurate portrait of my experiences in Armenia as a visitor from the dates of May 18-June 1, 2001.
But first, a little about me. I am a 31 year old MBA candidate at UMASS-Boston and a part time DJ. I currently reside in the Boston area and grew up in an Armenian- American environment as a member of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). As with most of us, I was thrilled when Armenia became independent again in 1991. However, as with most of us, the mixed reviews coming from Armenia made me want to seek out this newly independent country for good or for bad. During my 1998 trip, I had the typical �first time diasporan experience�. The emotional highs and lows were tough to describe and left me in a dazed state of mind when I returned to the States. So many problems, but so much hope. With this trip, I came in with more of a level head and with a built in friend base to plug into. This really helps for all of you thinking about either visiting or living in Armenia.
It was certainly great to see my old friend Aram (Hajian) at the airport to pick me up on May 18th at Zvartnots. As we drove from the airport to the City Center, the familiar scenes of Armenian street life jumped out at me. Products on stands lined the streets at two in the morning. Flowers, soda, candy, furniture, beer, wine and the like were featured. The streets seemed very clean as evidenced by old women with brooms in the street sweeping away. What a change from the littered streets of yesteryear in Armenia. Indeed, Armenia had changed dramatically since 1998. During the light hours of my first day back, I was stunned as to the high number of bars, caf�s and shops that had gone up since my last trip. Places such as Marco Polo, Cactus, Don Pepe�s, Thomas Twining, and others seemingly came out of nowhere to occupy some or Yerevan�s most posh streets.
My first few days were spent meeting Aram's spiurk and local friends, like Gor Mkhitarian, Minas, Anna, and the rest of the gang. It was refreshing to see other diasporan Armenians there making Armenia their home. In addition, the process of meeting Hayastanis became easy with the help of my new circle of friends. The first order of business was to scope out the music scene in Armenia. As a music buff, Armenia and Armenian music has always held a special place in me. While Armenian music is strangely absent from everyday Armenian life, seeing Armenian musicians play Western music was even more intriguing.
As it turned out, our group had musicians among us. To celebrate Gor Mkhitarian�s birthday, a good-sized crown ended up at a �blues bar� in the third district of Yerevan on Davidashen. Ashot Margaryan�s blues bar featured Gor�s band consisting of his long time collaborator, Mher from Lav Elie (one of Armenia�s most famous rock bands of the late 90�s) Jason on drums and non-Armenian Peace Corp volunteer Aaron on the axe. I did not realize that there was such a strong Peace Corp presense in Armenia. The bar
was packed with about 40 people listening to the band play as �Stansies�, odars, and spiurkahyes danced and drank until the wee hours of the morning. In Armenia, the bar closes when the last man standing leaves. The music played by the band ranged from classic rock, Armenian rock, blues, and jazz. A young woman accompanied by her mother sang some standard American jazz
pieces in the middle of the celebration. Her voice reminded me of the great Datevik Hovhanessian from Armenia who now lives in NYC. It was interesting because she had an entourage and certainly a captive audience. Among the wild ones in the crowd were Minas, who was preparing for a �business trip to the States� and Ashod, who knows how to dirty dance, man...
To be continued...
-Raffi Meneshian
But first, a little about me. I am a 31 year old MBA candidate at UMASS-Boston and a part time DJ. I currently reside in the Boston area and grew up in an Armenian- American environment as a member of the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). As with most of us, I was thrilled when Armenia became independent again in 1991. However, as with most of us, the mixed reviews coming from Armenia made me want to seek out this newly independent country for good or for bad. During my 1998 trip, I had the typical �first time diasporan experience�. The emotional highs and lows were tough to describe and left me in a dazed state of mind when I returned to the States. So many problems, but so much hope. With this trip, I came in with more of a level head and with a built in friend base to plug into. This really helps for all of you thinking about either visiting or living in Armenia.
It was certainly great to see my old friend Aram (Hajian) at the airport to pick me up on May 18th at Zvartnots. As we drove from the airport to the City Center, the familiar scenes of Armenian street life jumped out at me. Products on stands lined the streets at two in the morning. Flowers, soda, candy, furniture, beer, wine and the like were featured. The streets seemed very clean as evidenced by old women with brooms in the street sweeping away. What a change from the littered streets of yesteryear in Armenia. Indeed, Armenia had changed dramatically since 1998. During the light hours of my first day back, I was stunned as to the high number of bars, caf�s and shops that had gone up since my last trip. Places such as Marco Polo, Cactus, Don Pepe�s, Thomas Twining, and others seemingly came out of nowhere to occupy some or Yerevan�s most posh streets.
My first few days were spent meeting Aram's spiurk and local friends, like Gor Mkhitarian, Minas, Anna, and the rest of the gang. It was refreshing to see other diasporan Armenians there making Armenia their home. In addition, the process of meeting Hayastanis became easy with the help of my new circle of friends. The first order of business was to scope out the music scene in Armenia. As a music buff, Armenia and Armenian music has always held a special place in me. While Armenian music is strangely absent from everyday Armenian life, seeing Armenian musicians play Western music was even more intriguing.
As it turned out, our group had musicians among us. To celebrate Gor Mkhitarian�s birthday, a good-sized crown ended up at a �blues bar� in the third district of Yerevan on Davidashen. Ashot Margaryan�s blues bar featured Gor�s band consisting of his long time collaborator, Mher from Lav Elie (one of Armenia�s most famous rock bands of the late 90�s) Jason on drums and non-Armenian Peace Corp volunteer Aaron on the axe. I did not realize that there was such a strong Peace Corp presense in Armenia. The bar
was packed with about 40 people listening to the band play as �Stansies�, odars, and spiurkahyes danced and drank until the wee hours of the morning. In Armenia, the bar closes when the last man standing leaves. The music played by the band ranged from classic rock, Armenian rock, blues, and jazz. A young woman accompanied by her mother sang some standard American jazz
pieces in the middle of the celebration. Her voice reminded me of the great Datevik Hovhanessian from Armenia who now lives in NYC. It was interesting because she had an entourage and certainly a captive audience. Among the wild ones in the crowd were Minas, who was preparing for a �business trip to the States� and Ashod, who knows how to dirty dance, man...
To be continued...
-Raffi Meneshian
posted by ArmeniaLog at 10:14 PM
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