BACK TO THE MOTHERLAND!
LOCATION: VANADZOR, ARMENIA
FOCUS: REFORESTATION
LOCAL PARTNER: MY FOREST ARMENIA
TOTAL DONATED: $3100.00 - reforesting over one full acre of land!
VOLUNTEERING:
I had the most amazing time volunteering in Armenia, and was able to spend six days with different members of the team - both in Yerevan, and out in Vanadzor at the tree nursery! There was much weeding, checking saplings, and getting my hands in the dirt!
WHY I WENT TO ARMENIA
My soul loved being in that place, and it immediately felt like home, but when I first got there, there were questions as to what brought me to Armenia. Two of my new friends at My Forest Armenia (MFA), Vahe and Heghine, asked the same question… "Why did you come to Armenia, and why reforestation?”
My response - "Armenia? Well, my great-grandparents (the Sheranians) left their home in western Armenia at the beginning of the genocide, and their daughter (my Grandma Hoyt) took great pride in being Armenian. She always dreamed of seeing where her parents lived and where she came from, but was never able to get here, so, I came on her behalf... and trees? When I need to center myself, my greatest sense of calm comes when I'm out in a forest - trees always put my mind to rest. So, when I googled 'Armenia reforestation’ - your organization popped up, and so here I am, outside of Vanadzor with you lovely people…"
When I originally decided to make the trip to Armenia, I contacted MFA and they were willing to meet with me when I got to Yerevan. I'm always a bit nervous before I meet a group - what if they're not legit? What if their work sucks? How do I raise money for people if I don't support their work?
I had nothing to fear with My Forest Armenia. They were incredibly kind and generous with their time, and took me around their planting sites and nursery. They are beyond what I'd even hoped for, and are an incredibly impressive organization. Not only is their work is spectacular, but they are wonderful people as well. Truly, one of the best organizations I’ve ever seen!
I learned about their needs, and created a goal for myself to plant an acre of trees on behalf of my grandmother, Irene Sheranian Hoyt. I put out the call online and my friends, family, and supporters came through for me! People donated amounts from $2 to $250, and we were able to raise $3000 to secure and plant an entire acre on behalf of the Sheranian Family!
With my funded acre, My Forest Armenia took me back out in the hills to “plant my roots” alongside the trees that were being planted, so I brought some pictures of my grandma and my Armenian ancestors, as I wanted to put them back in Armenian soil. Knowing that my roots will be mixing with new growth was so incredibly moving to me, and I can't thank this group enough for making this a reality.
If you are interested in planting trees, carbon credits, or making our planet a bit better, this is the group to work with. I highly recommend donating to them - a small shrub is $2, a planted sapling is $25, and it takes around $2500 of trees to plant a full acre. If you want to rally your family to raise $2500 for a family acre of trees, they’ll do one for you, and put your family name in the soil as well.
Thank you to the most wonderful group, you made my time in Armenia a highlight of my life!
ARMENIAN THOUGHTS AND EXPERIENCE
I loved Armenia - it felt both modern and ancient, and reminded me of Rome, Athens, or Jerusalem. It feels old and wise, full of history with a storied past, and the warmest people you'll ever meet. If it's not on your travel list, add it to Georgia and spend some time in the Caucacus Mountains!
THE BEST EXPERIENCE I DIDN'T PLAN: ARMENIAN GENOCIDE MEMORIAL DAY
Although I knew of the genocide of course, I had no idea that the largest annual holiday in Armenia is the Genocide Memorial Day. A peaceful time where thousands of Armenians come to Yerevan for a solemn walk to Tsitsernakaberd Memorial, to lay flowers in honor of those killed so many years ago.
My grandparents escaped the genocide, but many of their family were killed. As fate would have it, I arrived in Yerevan the day before the walk, and was able to walk on behalf of my family - the first Nishan and Rebecca Sheranian descendant to make the walk. It was one of my greatest honors.
YERVAN SITES
Want to see Yerevan? You should! It’s a walkable city with a bunch of things to see and do, with ancient sites in a vibrant and modern city!
Northern Avenue is the main pedestrian street - their equivalent of the Champs Elysee or Fifth Avenue, and it’s anchored by the Opera House to the north, and Republic Square to the south. It’s busy all times of the day, but especially on the weekends when it’s crowded with families, street performers, and friends just out for a stroll. I spent part of every day there, in a coffee shop, or just walking around.
At the top of Northern Avenue is the Opera House, which has an opera, ballet, or a concert throughout each week. Just above the Opera House is the Cascade Complex and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts - an amazing place with a modern sculpture garden, and a community gathering place of this massive stair complex, with places to hang out and galleries up the entire thing. I LOVED IT!
The stairs are called the Cascade Complex and consist of 5 hillside terraces connected with 572 steps. It’s 302 m high and 50 m wide, and a great place to hang out with friends or workout! I saw couples having picnics, people running the stairs for exercise, friends hanging out, and many people like me, just walking up to enjoy the view from the top.
Yerevan is full of tree lined streets with wine bars, french cafes, and little shops - and I absolutely loved it. Other highlights are Saint Gregory The Illuminator Cathedral, the Holocaust Memorial, the shopping district of Vernissage (outdoor craft market), and the History Museum of Armenia. The length and breadth of Armenian history is staggering, and there is so much to learn.
FOOD
Armenia is extremely meat heavy, and the national dish of Dolma nearly always contains meat. This made it a bit challenging for me to get in to the local foods! But, they have a special vegan dolma (stuffed cabbage) for lent, and it contains rice, beans, carrots, etc, and I found a place that sold it - IT WAS AMAZING!
Besides that, I ate my weight in zingalovhats, a thin flatbread stuffed full of greens and herbs, which became one of my favorite things to eat (maybe ever) along with all the amazing bread, fresh fruit, and vegetables. I also found a stellar vegan restaurant called Future Diner that rivals any vegan place in NYC, which I’d highly recommend!
For any of you thinking about going to Armenia - the food is amazing, and they have absolutely anything you could ever want.
CULTURE
I don’t know that I’ve ever been anywhere with more national pride than Armenia. They have an enormous sense of community, and are one of the warmest groups of people I’ve ever met.
I have two examples of that, I was invited by my new friend Heghine to join her in a local park, where there would be dancing. I got there a bit early, and there were a bunch of students already dancing to traditional music. College aged kids, teenagers, and pre-teens, all dancing together. There were certain dance steps for each song, and most everyone knew them. As the evening wore on, more and more people came to join until the entire square was full - with old and young dancing together. There was a guy running around teaching those that didn’t know the steps, but there was not an ounce of hesitation, or embarrassment. EVERYONE, was trying - dancing, learning, and laughing together. It was such a stunningly beautiful site and evening - I can’t imagine seeing that kind of community anywhere else on a random thursday evening!
Sidenote - Armenia is one of the safest destinations in the entire world. There is very little crime or theft, as evidenced by how the crowds interacted while dancing in the public square. I obviously didn’t know the dances, so just stood on a little raised section of the park, and watched as everyone ran into the park and left their purses, wallets, bags, phones, etc at my feet, or under trees, or on benches, and no one was even the slightest bit worried that they’d be stolen. Women would enter the park, run to where I was standing with the other spectators, drop their bags and keys and wallets at our feet without even looking up, and then run into the circle to dance.
SITES and DAYTRIPS
First, get a good guide and see as much as you can, and I had the best guide imaginable. Arman was recommended to me, and he was SPECTACULAR. I’d recommend going to Armenia just to see it with him - he has a political science and international relations degree, he knows EVERYTHING you could want to know about the history of Armenia, and loves it. Great conversationalist and makes each day interesting and fun. I could not recommend him more. Book him when you go to Armenia: https://en.tripadvisor.com.hk/Attraction_Review-g293932-d25295698-Reviews-Arman_The_Guide-Yerevan.html
I took a few days to explore the country (it’s about the size of New Jersey), and hit all the main sites - Garni Temple (Pagan), Khor Virap and Mt. Ararat, Noravank (looks like Southern Utah), and Geghard (half carved in solid stone, half church built against it.
Since Armenia was the first Christian nation (pre-dates Rome), some of these churches are over a thousand years old, but for me, the highlight was the oldest freestanding Pagan/Greco Roman temple - be still my Pagan/Stoic heart!
There are so many amazing churches, sites, and historic things to see - including where the oldest shoe in the world was found, and where wine was invented - yes, Armenia is so ancient, it’s a land of many firsts! It’s also one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth, and is a mix of Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem - with writing carved in stones in 700 B.C., talking about how powerful the king is - just sitting in the park!
One more thing, if you say the flag is red, blue, and orange, you will be quickly and sternly corrected - it’s red, blue, and APRICOT, based on their national fruit - duh.
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT ARMENIA
Politics are tough…
Armenia is smack dab in the cross roads of Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Georgia - with those nations bordering its West, South, East and North, and all four nations want control of that crossroads.
I had no knowledge about current Armenian politics, and my only understanding was that my great grandparents fled due to the Turks and the genocide. Turkey borders Armenia on the west, and come to find out, there is still a huge problem between countries - the border isn’t even open between them. They have been enemies for centuries, and that is still the reality today.
Also, to the East, Armenia has been in a standoff over disputed territory with Azerbaijan for decades (borders that were created by Russia when they left). Azerbaijan attacked six months ago, they had a brief war, and Azerbaijan took (or reclaimed - depending on which country you ask) a chunk of that land. As of THIS WEEK, they are still trying to draw borders that both countries can recognize, and the threat of war is ever present - TODAY.
So, their enemies to the east and the west want Armenian lands - and their enemies are allies of America and the west. To the south is Iran - and we all know about Iran and their politics. BUT, Iran absolutely does not want their borders changed, so have threatened both Azerbaijan and Turkey to not mess with Armenia’s southern border. So, Iran is Armenias protector in a way.
Also, Armenia historically has been allied with Russia, with an agreement that Russia would protect them if Turkey (backed by NATO) or Azerbaijan attacked. Last fall when Azerbaijan attacked, Russia was nowhere to be found and abandoned them. So, Armenia is now looking west, with recently made agreements with France, and still trying to appease Iran to protect their southern border, while trying to avoid war with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Their northern neighbor is Georgia, which is anti-Russian (going through political challenges of their own), and although friendly with open borders, has had historically frosty relations with Armenia due to Armenia being allied with Russia for protection.
More than anything, Armenia just wants to be left alone to build their own country and future, and form their own economic alliances, but no one seems willing to allow them to do that. It’s hard to see an easy way forward politically.
RANDOM
Many prescription drugs are cheap and over the counter - I got all my blood pressure drugs filled by just showing the pharmacist the name of it on my phone.
Swearing is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN around women in Armenia, and you'll be called out immediately, even if it's just a casual conversation with a male friend and a woman walks by. Trust me, DON'T SWEAR in Armenia!
Their stores feel much more eastern European, than from the west. Russian goods, brands, and a bit more sparse than stores you'd find in Western Europe. But, I loved trying all the new foods and wandering down thr grocery store aisles!
What a beautiful place, and what remarkable warm and hospitable people - well, until you swear...
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