Seasons' Greetings!
Parev parev sireliner,
So, my last exam was over yesterday, and I am now a stay-at-home student bum for the holidays...feels good! Besides the fact that I dreamed last night that I had received an L on my last exam (which I assume is the grade much, much lower than an F), exam season went by pretty well, and the holiday season will be spent with friends and family, as well as a lot of (non-legal) reading... I may even give writing a shot, as there are a few ideas burgeoning in my head. And of course, the hunt for a summer job shall already begin. I initially had plans to return to Armenia this summer for another internship somewhere else, but that has been put on hold for now, as I will seemingly be leaving on exchange to Groningen (Netherlands) in September for a semester, and raising money this summer seems like a good idea. I'll hopefully find something human rights-ian to get involved in.
Bon, enough of Vrouyr life stories. What's happening in Montreal? Weather is abnormally mild (I went out with a sweater and no jacket today), and there is no snow. Kinda freaky 5 days before Christmas. Of course, as good Armenians, we do not celebrate Christmas (except maybe a dinner with cousins), and do the traditional gift exchange on New Year's. I find it important for (non-Catholic) Armenians to maintain this tradition, and the money saved on gifts (woo for Boxing day!) is an added incentive.
Robert Fisk was in town last night to give a speech at McGill, invited by the university's ASA I believe. I did not attend because, frankly, a lecture is not what I felt like doing after my last exam. In any event, I hope that those in attendance who were not aware of him and his work enjoyed it. He's definitely done a lot for us Armenians, and for justice in general, over his career. Adgé zad, all sorts of Armenian Christmas/Santa Claus parties are popping up, and I think Sourp Hagop has this mega-night with Armenchik and a whole bunch of other singers coming to town on Christmas eve.
There is also a fundraiser going on for the building of a new church in Laval. While I know that it will only replace the really crummy small church of Laval, this once again highlights our community's ineffective management of its ressources. The greater Montreal area, with its total population of max 35 000 Armenians, has, to my knowledge, at least 7 churches. There is the Apostolic Church in Montreal, the "other" Apostolic Church in Montreal, the Apostolic Church in Laval, the "other" Apostolic Church in Laval, the Protestant Church in Montreal, the Protestant Church in Laval and the Catholic Church in Laval (you can choose which one of Echmiadznagan, Antliasagan qualifies as the "other" one).
For those of you unaware of Montreal's geography, you can get from Montreal to Laval in about 10-15 minutes, so there is no real necessity for all these churches, which remain mostly empty for most of the year. Are these mushrooming churches a sign of devotion to our faith, or just a grandiose waste of money? I'd vote for the latter. Trying to understand how our adenabeds find it wiser to invest in building more walls (pun very intended) instead of developing adequate and necessary programs for the preservation-of-culture/participation-of-youth is an intellectual luxury that neither sensitive nor logical souls can afford. Inch vor e, perhaps with the next generation... (please, no comments about "why don't you DO something instead of yapping about it".. I do all I can with what I have)
New Year's will be spent with family and friends at AGBU, and will probably continue with other friends at Sourp Hagop, and end in a cheap diner at 7am. Nothing like kef with a whole lot of Armenians!
Shnorhavor Nor Dari yev Sourp Dznoont Polorin. May the new year bring health and success to you all, to all our communities worldwide, and to our Republic!
(I'll try to post some pictures once I figure out how that works)
So, my last exam was over yesterday, and I am now a stay-at-home student bum for the holidays...feels good! Besides the fact that I dreamed last night that I had received an L on my last exam (which I assume is the grade much, much lower than an F), exam season went by pretty well, and the holiday season will be spent with friends and family, as well as a lot of (non-legal) reading... I may even give writing a shot, as there are a few ideas burgeoning in my head. And of course, the hunt for a summer job shall already begin. I initially had plans to return to Armenia this summer for another internship somewhere else, but that has been put on hold for now, as I will seemingly be leaving on exchange to Groningen (Netherlands) in September for a semester, and raising money this summer seems like a good idea. I'll hopefully find something human rights-ian to get involved in.
Bon, enough of Vrouyr life stories. What's happening in Montreal? Weather is abnormally mild (I went out with a sweater and no jacket today), and there is no snow. Kinda freaky 5 days before Christmas. Of course, as good Armenians, we do not celebrate Christmas (except maybe a dinner with cousins), and do the traditional gift exchange on New Year's. I find it important for (non-Catholic) Armenians to maintain this tradition, and the money saved on gifts (woo for Boxing day!) is an added incentive.
Robert Fisk was in town last night to give a speech at McGill, invited by the university's ASA I believe. I did not attend because, frankly, a lecture is not what I felt like doing after my last exam. In any event, I hope that those in attendance who were not aware of him and his work enjoyed it. He's definitely done a lot for us Armenians, and for justice in general, over his career. Adgé zad, all sorts of Armenian Christmas/Santa Claus parties are popping up, and I think Sourp Hagop has this mega-night with Armenchik and a whole bunch of other singers coming to town on Christmas eve.
There is also a fundraiser going on for the building of a new church in Laval. While I know that it will only replace the really crummy small church of Laval, this once again highlights our community's ineffective management of its ressources. The greater Montreal area, with its total population of max 35 000 Armenians, has, to my knowledge, at least 7 churches. There is the Apostolic Church in Montreal, the "other" Apostolic Church in Montreal, the Apostolic Church in Laval, the "other" Apostolic Church in Laval, the Protestant Church in Montreal, the Protestant Church in Laval and the Catholic Church in Laval (you can choose which one of Echmiadznagan, Antliasagan qualifies as the "other" one).
For those of you unaware of Montreal's geography, you can get from Montreal to Laval in about 10-15 minutes, so there is no real necessity for all these churches, which remain mostly empty for most of the year. Are these mushrooming churches a sign of devotion to our faith, or just a grandiose waste of money? I'd vote for the latter. Trying to understand how our adenabeds find it wiser to invest in building more walls (pun very intended) instead of developing adequate and necessary programs for the preservation-of-culture/participation-of-youth is an intellectual luxury that neither sensitive nor logical souls can afford. Inch vor e, perhaps with the next generation... (please, no comments about "why don't you DO something instead of yapping about it".. I do all I can with what I have)
New Year's will be spent with family and friends at AGBU, and will probably continue with other friends at Sourp Hagop, and end in a cheap diner at 7am. Nothing like kef with a whole lot of Armenians!
Shnorhavor Nor Dari yev Sourp Dznoont Polorin. May the new year bring health and success to you all, to all our communities worldwide, and to our Republic!
(I'll try to post some pictures once I figure out how that works)
posted by Vrouyr at 1:12 AM
2 Comments:
Coincidence or not, but Groningen happens to be my hometown. I knew the world is not such a big place!
which is better: glendale or yerevan? what are the benefits and disadvanteages of both glendale and yerevan?
some people say yerevan is a soviet city in the middle of hayastan. other people say the glendale is an armenian city in the middle of odarstan. which one is better? which one is worse?
i do not mean to use odar as a disrespectful term. it is just easier to type than "non-armenian"...
shout out to all! happy holidays...
ANI
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