Traveling to Armenia.
Hey guys,
In today's blogpost I would like to tell you a little about my trip to Armenia. I have noticed that my most visited blog posts are the ones where I talk about my Armenian roots. So, I thought that my experience in Armenia might be interesting to some of you.
Last August I finally decided to go to Armenia, my historical homeland. It was my first time visiting Armenia. Pope Francis went to Armenia last June. Kim K and Kanye visited it last year. So, I decided it was time for me to see what Armenia was all about.
My trip to Yerevan didn't start off very well. I got food poisoning right before my trip. I had to take a 14 hour long bus ride to Krasnodar (Russia) and then fly to Armenia from there. After the annexation of Crimea, there are no direct flights from Crimea to Yerevan. And let me tell you, trying to get over food poisoning on a 14 hour long bus ride in 40 C heat is not the best idea.
I had culture shock right after I landed in Yerevan. Wearing short shorts in Armenia was a bad idea, I had weird stares from people at the airport. My relatives decided to surprise me and I had a crowd of people meeting me at 2am at the airport. I didn't know what they looked like or their names but they recognized me from my photos. They took me to their village which is one hour away from the capital. I must admit I was really scared the first night I got there. I couldn't speak the language well, I didn't know my relatives and had no idea how to behave. Luckily, I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately.
But starting from the next day I had a blast! I got to meet so many relatives! They were all so excited to meet me and treated me as if I were the Queen of England. They cooked delicious Armenian food for me. I ate dolma almost every single day (my favourite Armenian dish). I would have breakfast at my cousin's place, then have lunch with other relatives and have dinner with someone else.
Armenians are very hospitable and nice. They give you their best food and try to make you feel at home. People are very genuine, simple and pretty old-fashioned there.
My relatives told me stories about my grandparents, I found some old family photos. That was actually one of the things I was looking forward to the most!
Armenians are somewhat old-fashioned when it comes to clothing and dating. I had a lot of weird stares and raised eyebrows from people when I was wearing shorts and short dresses. My summer wardrobe mainly consists of short shorts and short dresses. This is what I wear the most in summer, especially in 40 C heat! Once I went to church and some village girls didn't want to let me go inside the church in shorts. Next time I go there, I will try to bring a different wardrobe to fit in with the locals.
When it comes to dating, they are also very strict. My cousin had to go to another town to go on dates with her boyfriend. And when I say dates, I mean innocent walks in the park, holding hands, movies and ice-cream. Women "who had been around" are not considered marriage material. But of course, people in the capital are less conservative and traditional. You can even see it even in the way people dress in Yerevan. Nevertheless, Armenian culture is still very strict and conservative. I must admit I liked some aspects of it. People still cherish a lot of moral values there. Women act like women, men act like men. Armenians have very close-knit families. No matter how distant a relative is, they will treat him like a brother. I had a chance to visit some of my extended family members. I went to Talin, it's a mountain village not far from the Turkish border. That's where my family fled from Turks during the genocide in 1915. I was somewhat a distant relative for them (a second cousin) but they threw a feast for me and spent the whole day with me and my aunt. This is something that you don't see in Russia and Ukraine, unfortunately.
Food plays an important role in Armenian culture. They love to eat. Friends and families like to get together and have a huge feast. Their food mainly consists of meat, vegetables, cheese and herbs. Armenians love bonding over food.
They are also rather blunt and straightforward. People often asked me "why are you so thin?" or "why aren't you married?" and my favorite question "did you finish school?" Most Armenian women are curvy and I was considered too thin there. Besides, women get married pretty early in Armenia. A thirty year old single woman is basically considered a spinster there. They all promised to find me a "good Armenian husband". lol
I also got to experience an "Armenian dating". I went out on a date with an Armenian guy. I was 30 minutes late but he patiently waited for me in the park. The date was very conservative but I enjoyed it. The guy was talking about architecture in Yerevan the whole time. It was nice to meet a man who respects a woman and can keep an intelligent conversation.
There were a lot of other things worth mentioning but I must finish here. My 16 days in Armenia flew by really fast! But they were full of memories and experiences that I will never forget! 16 days in Armenia had more impressions and memories than a year in my hometown.
In my next blogpost, I will talk more about sight-seeing in Armenia, places that I visited and recommend.
Here are some photos with some of my family in Armenia.
In today's blogpost I would like to tell you a little about my trip to Armenia. I have noticed that my most visited blog posts are the ones where I talk about my Armenian roots. So, I thought that my experience in Armenia might be interesting to some of you.
Last August I finally decided to go to Armenia, my historical homeland. It was my first time visiting Armenia. Pope Francis went to Armenia last June. Kim K and Kanye visited it last year. So, I decided it was time for me to see what Armenia was all about.
My trip to Yerevan didn't start off very well. I got food poisoning right before my trip. I had to take a 14 hour long bus ride to Krasnodar (Russia) and then fly to Armenia from there. After the annexation of Crimea, there are no direct flights from Crimea to Yerevan. And let me tell you, trying to get over food poisoning on a 14 hour long bus ride in 40 C heat is not the best idea.
I had culture shock right after I landed in Yerevan. Wearing short shorts in Armenia was a bad idea, I had weird stares from people at the airport. My relatives decided to surprise me and I had a crowd of people meeting me at 2am at the airport. I didn't know what they looked like or their names but they recognized me from my photos. They took me to their village which is one hour away from the capital. I must admit I was really scared the first night I got there. I couldn't speak the language well, I didn't know my relatives and had no idea how to behave. Luckily, I was so tired that I fell asleep immediately.
But starting from the next day I had a blast! I got to meet so many relatives! They were all so excited to meet me and treated me as if I were the Queen of England. They cooked delicious Armenian food for me. I ate dolma almost every single day (my favourite Armenian dish). I would have breakfast at my cousin's place, then have lunch with other relatives and have dinner with someone else.
Armenians are very hospitable and nice. They give you their best food and try to make you feel at home. People are very genuine, simple and pretty old-fashioned there.
My relatives told me stories about my grandparents, I found some old family photos. That was actually one of the things I was looking forward to the most!
Armenians are somewhat old-fashioned when it comes to clothing and dating. I had a lot of weird stares and raised eyebrows from people when I was wearing shorts and short dresses. My summer wardrobe mainly consists of short shorts and short dresses. This is what I wear the most in summer, especially in 40 C heat! Once I went to church and some village girls didn't want to let me go inside the church in shorts. Next time I go there, I will try to bring a different wardrobe to fit in with the locals.
When it comes to dating, they are also very strict. My cousin had to go to another town to go on dates with her boyfriend. And when I say dates, I mean innocent walks in the park, holding hands, movies and ice-cream. Women "who had been around" are not considered marriage material. But of course, people in the capital are less conservative and traditional. You can even see it even in the way people dress in Yerevan. Nevertheless, Armenian culture is still very strict and conservative. I must admit I liked some aspects of it. People still cherish a lot of moral values there. Women act like women, men act like men. Armenians have very close-knit families. No matter how distant a relative is, they will treat him like a brother. I had a chance to visit some of my extended family members. I went to Talin, it's a mountain village not far from the Turkish border. That's where my family fled from Turks during the genocide in 1915. I was somewhat a distant relative for them (a second cousin) but they threw a feast for me and spent the whole day with me and my aunt. This is something that you don't see in Russia and Ukraine, unfortunately.
Food plays an important role in Armenian culture. They love to eat. Friends and families like to get together and have a huge feast. Their food mainly consists of meat, vegetables, cheese and herbs. Armenians love bonding over food.
They are also rather blunt and straightforward. People often asked me "why are you so thin?" or "why aren't you married?" and my favorite question "did you finish school?" Most Armenian women are curvy and I was considered too thin there. Besides, women get married pretty early in Armenia. A thirty year old single woman is basically considered a spinster there. They all promised to find me a "good Armenian husband". lol
I also got to experience an "Armenian dating". I went out on a date with an Armenian guy. I was 30 minutes late but he patiently waited for me in the park. The date was very conservative but I enjoyed it. The guy was talking about architecture in Yerevan the whole time. It was nice to meet a man who respects a woman and can keep an intelligent conversation.
There were a lot of other things worth mentioning but I must finish here. My 16 days in Armenia flew by really fast! But they were full of memories and experiences that I will never forget! 16 days in Armenia had more impressions and memories than a year in my hometown.
In my next blogpost, I will talk more about sight-seeing in Armenia, places that I visited and recommend.
Here are some photos with some of my family in Armenia.
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