I thought blogging in Armenia would be so easy. "There will be so much to describe! So much to write about! So much to expound upon!"
There is, truly. My head and heart seem full of ideas, full of questions, full of frustrations, full of things I want to discuss and pinpoint, highlight and delineate.
Fortunately (for the growth of my noggin' parts) and unfortunately (for the growth of my Google analytics page), the stuff I want to write about just isn't easy to write about. To be honest, I don't even know how to answer the question "So, how is it?" let alone discuss anything worth value. I'm still so new to this country, and I don't want to come off as expanding on something I don't understand (or ever will understand). So here's what I'd like to write about--and tell you all about--once the mental sediment calms down and condenses. If it ever will?
- The palpable, tangible pallor of revulsion that washed over my students' faces when I told them I believe gay people should be allowed to adopt children;
- The way the temperature in the room changes when the topic of Turkey or Azerbaijan comes up, as if sadness, hatred, and anger are particles that can fill the air;
- The idea that your country of origin dictates your religion, your traditions, your beliefs, the way you will bring up your family, and your sexuality--and God forbid if you ever question that;
- The insistence on a flat, one dimensional (and often contrived) narrative of "ARMENIA" as a country/identity, and its effect on the country's future economic/political growth (as well as its tourist industry)
TL;DR:
As an Armenian, I have lived at different times on both sides of the divide: the contrived, simplistic, narrow, comforting, self-pitying, self-absorbing, 1D narrative that makes up my earlier identity, on the one hand, and the current self-aware, otherly-aware, reality-based, science-based, modern, apostatic identity. Back here in Glendale, USA, the Seat of Armenian population outside motherland Armenia, I come across many Armenians, some from my school years, who, despite having lived in this country for a lifetime, have hardly changed their views, identities, and awareness along the lines (of frustrations) you mentioned above. Before you entangle yourself with barbed topics like Turkey, Homosexuality, etc., realize that your sanity will be seen as an absolute oddity. Just be careful! (BTW, you should write a book about your life in Armenia. Develop a system to manage the collection and organization of all sorts of data and info (photos, audio, video, written, etc.) so that later on you can write your book with greater success. Good luck!)
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