Post Dos

So hard to get used to the fact that I have access to a computer only once or twice a week.....
Anyhoo, some of my blog followers have told me that my blog seemed very pessimistic and I seemed upset. I would like to assure everyone that I was not mad at all. I am very used to the ins and outs of Armenia so I am not upset at all, I am actually very excited by the improvements taking place in Yerevan, which I mentioned in my previous blog, although briefly.
Since I do not write my blog every day I would like each of my blogs to have a theme. This week my theme has been "The return to Armenia".
On Monday and Tuesday we met with Arpi Vartanian (the country director of Armenian Assembly of America in Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh). Arpi came to live in Armenia several years ago during the "cold and dark" years when most of the Armenians did not have electricity or water in their homes. She has come to Yerevan with candles in her suitcase and has been here ever since. You can discuss anything with her starting with clothes and ending with the security issues facing Armenia. She is one of those people who has proved that it is possible to live and work in Armenia.

On Monday we had lunch at a cafe and on Tuesday we visited Parvana ( a restaurant in the Hrazdan valley). The restaurant had a dance floor and was built to resemble an Armenian village. The singers had very well trained voices and sang Armenian, Russian and Arabic songs. The song "Im axper'" (my brother/friend) was ordered at least 16 times by Edo and his friends from Iran and by Grish and his "axperner" :)
There was a belly dancer who performed well but I still think the star of the night was a little girl in a pink polka dot dress who did not leave the dance floor for a single minute. She danced to slow songs and fast songs and she enjoyed herself so much that everyone wanted to dance just by watching her. As armenians say "havesov er paroom".
We also had our first Armenian lesson on Tuesday I went by to help out as an assistant teacher.
I was assigned a student and so far I've taught her seven letters, several words and her first written armenian sentence. In the past I've taught children that were 6 - 8 years old the armenian alphabet and spoken language. Although I loved my children and they were really smart, they did not have the patience to sit through a two hour lesson or do their homework most of the time. It is so different to teach someone who wants to learn and is not running circles around the table :) Also my birthright (depi hayq) student is old enough to understand why is it important to learn this rare language that only a few million people speak in the world.

Yesterday evening we met the director of Viva Cell MTC (one of the largest mobile phone companies in Armenia). The head of Viva Cell Armenia is also an armenian who has decided to return to Armenia and has moved here with his family. As we walked into Viva Cell I realized that to this day I had not seen any company in Armenia that was built or run so well . The building was clean, it had large meeting rooms, each floor could only be accessed with a security card, the floors had spacious offices and large windows, there were security cameras in the hallways and antennas which were for wireless internet. If I did not know better I would think I was in Germany or France (not in America, because the style was too European).
We had a meeting with Mr. Yerikian (CEO of Viva Cell) and he told us about his experiences. The main message of his speech was that we can and should return to our Motherland. My main concern was the corruption in Armenia and how Viva Cell was able to overcome the corruption. Mr. Yerikian believes that if you are clean (as in you're not trying to cut any corners or bribe anyone to get ahead), have a good lawyer and you pay your taxes every year there is nothing to be afraid of.

Mr. Yerikian also discussed an interesting topic which he calls "corporate responsibility".
When I mentioned that all of my relatives and friends really like Viva Cell and wanted to thank him for all the "charitable" work he had done, the CEO of Viva Cell corrected me. He said, "What we do is not charity. We call it coroporate responsibility. We believe that as a corporation which operates in Armenia, we have a responsiblity of developing this country and giving back to it's people." ( This may not be his exact quote but this is a short summarized version of it) I was shocked and pleasantly surprised. In the US I am very used to the individualistic approach, no one really thinks that bettering the society around them will also benefit them. I usually have heated arguments with people trying to explain to people (mostly in terms of healthcare and insurance issues) that if everyone lives well around you ( has less health problems, is well educated.... etc) then you will benefit also. There are less murders, crimes and so on......
Viva Cell has done so much and has been so successful because as they say they "BELIEVE".....

Last week we saw a play in the Toumanian Puppet Theater called the "Aunt from Paris". The director of the play Narek Durian lived in France and has only recently returned to Armenia. The focus of the play was also the return of Armenians to their Motherland. It was a hillarious comedy but had a very important theme.

I think my fingers are about to cry so I will end this post, but before I end it I want to put out a question that I will hopefully further develop in my next post.
Who am I? A diasporan Armenian or an Armenian? An american Armenian or a Hayastanci?
( I was born in Yerevan lived here till I was fourteen. Then I moved to Texas and have lived there for the past nine years. According to my armenian relatives I am an American, according to anyone you ask in the US I am an Armenian.........) So which one is it really.... or am I just suspended over the Atlantic ocean somewhere????

This was post numero dos from armo-holic

toodles