Firstly may I encourage readers to send a brief thank you note to ngsforum@nationalgeographic.com for the excellent article in their March issue of the National Geographic. The pictures are great and the article is great, we need more coverage for Armenia so a little thank you, might go a long way.

There are 5 young (16 year old) Aussies in Yerevan who arrived 2 weeks ago. Only one of them is half Armenian, the others are just Aussies. These kids have been chosen to come to Armenia for 9 months for soccer training as part of an elite group to train with the local kids. The initiative comes from an Australian Armenian to send these kids to Armenia while they do their schooling via correspondence with the aim of competing in the European field together with the Armenians. There will be another 3 youths arriving soon. Can you imagine, 8 youths plus their coach living and spending their money in Armenia for 9 months? That's not all though, these kids' family and friends are all coming to visit them during their stay and will be taken to the regions for sightseeing.

Of course the kids are all sick due to the weather and the altitude (it is still snowing on and off and they did come from the Australian summer afterall). They tell me they find the training here much harder than what they are used to. Poor kids, I feel for them, our bodies are just not used to it, but they're young and they'll get over it.

Now why can't there be more initiatives like this and did I mention these kids are not Armenian? Think of the experiences these youths will share with the local youths and the friendships they will walk away with.