2010 AYF Summer Internship In Armenia Concludes Another Successful Session
Since 1992, the Armenian Youth Federation-Youth Organization of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Eastern Region has had an internship program in Armenia. Through this program, Diaspora youth from throughout the United States, are placed in different offices to get hands on experience working in Armenia.
The AYF is an international youth organization that works year-round to guide the social, political, cultural and moral development of young Armenians. The AYF Eastern Region operates an internship program which places ambitious youth in offices in Yerevan in order to experience our homeland and contribute to its development. The AYF Western Region operates the Youth Corps program which runs a day camp for underprivileged children in Gyumri during the summer. For more information about the AYF's activities visit (www.AYF.org—Eastern Region, www.AYFwest.org— Western Region).
Below are personal views of the internship program from this year's participants.
Name: Tevin Polatian
From: Washington, D.C.
Working at: ARF Bureau Hay Tad office
I had never been to Armenia before. To me, I had always thought of Armenia as a place I'd only get to read about in books and as a place in which I would only get to see on a map. In my wildest dreams, I could never imagine myself here, as a nineteen-year-old full-time college student, working for the summer. When the opportunity presented itself to me, I jumped at the chance. What more could I possibly want than to be in my homeland? The answer was simple – nothing.
The very moment the plane touched down at the airport is when I knew that nothing else mattered. A sense of euphoria came over me. I was in Armenia. I am where I am supposed to be and no one could take that feeling away from me.
Our weekends are filled with excursions all over Armenia. We had already been to Etchmiadzin, Sardarabad, Garni, Geghart, and many other important places before we traveled to Tatev Monastery. By far, the road to Tatev Monastery was the most rugged and difficult to get through. Our driver, unhappy with the abuse his van was getting, traversed the twists and turns, and potholes. The lack of guard-rails made the trek that much more suspenseful. But when we got to the top of the mountain, none of that difficulty mattered.
The view was phenomenal. It is truly very difficult to put the beauty I saw into words. The mountains, trees, and clouds all came together as a sort of backdrop for the monastery at the top of the mountain, creating an ever-lasting image in my mind. The thing that struck me as odd was all of the construction that was taking place. Unger Allen, from the AYF Youth Corps group, explained to us that there was a massive project underway to revamp Tatev. The world's longest teleferic was being built to help people reach Tatev Monastery easier; making it more accessible to tourists and locals alike. It is still hard for me to believe that a place like this exists. Tatev is a place not only to see, but to experience.
One of my fondest memories was when we traveled to Artsakh. The night we arrived in Shushi, it was raining like crazy. All of us were tired and the only thing we wanted to do was sleep. When I awoke, I went outside and saw a group of children kicking around a soccer ball. Back in my younger days, I was quite the soccer player so I decided
Once again Turkey is yanking our chain! Once again they have us, the hounds, chasing the plastic rabbit in a dog race—this time, in the form of a church in Akhtamar.
I had never been to Armenia before. To me, I had always thought of Armenia as a place I'd only get to read about in books and as a place in which I would only get to see on a map. In my wildest dreams, I could never imagine myself here, as a nineteen-year-old full-time college student, working for the summer. When the opportunity presented itself to me, I jumped at the chance. What more could I possibly want than to be in my homeland? The answer was simple – nothing.
