Welcome to the AYF Canada Youth Corps 2015 Diary!
Here you will find posts from our 2015 volunteers about their experiences during their time at Camp Vanadzor.
SECOND TIME AROUND
Sossé Haroutounian
It’s been almost a decade since I first arrived in Armenia for the first time, an exceptional
opportunity which was given to me through the channels of AYF Canada. What I learned
in these past few days is that my past experience was just a slight taste of what this
country has to offer; Armenia has a lot to offer besides the Beautiful churches and the
touristic sites I got to visit during my first trip.
It’s been a week since I landed in Yerevan, & I’ve had the opportunity to experience
Armenia from a different perspective. As I’ve matured over the years, I seem to better
grasp and understand my environment and my surroundings. There seems to be more to
see, more to learn and in general a lot more to take in. It feels as though I hadn’t seen
what my country had to offer and I have finally opened my eyes to all its wonders. This
time my visit to Artsakh was a lot different. I was able to meet different AYF Ungers
from different parts of the world and share with them the indescribable feeling of being a
part of something that is bigger than us.
Over the past few days, we have had the opportunity to interact with one another and
have gotten to know each other so well. Starting today, we have become one big family
and shared all of our feelings with one another.
As we have entered into our third day of Camp Vanadzor, everyone seems to be finally
settling in. The campers are excited to learn about different subjects. They want to learn
in depth about Tashnagtsoutioun, our culture and our land. Throughout the day, we have
prepared many activities such as drawing our flag, making their own name tags, stealing
the bacon, singing songs they have learnt, reading and reciting poems.
So far, my experience has been amazing. If the opportunity occurs again in the future
years, I would never think twice about it. In the beginning, it may be a little hard and you
may feel overwhelmed, however as the days go by and everyone settles down, the smiles
of the children make it all worth it. I would be lying if I were saying that this is easy,
however seeing the change we are making makes it all worthwhile. I can’t wait to see
what the coming days will bring and the progress we will all make as a group.