Yerevan, Bye
I was in Yerevan, Armenia, for two weeks as an instructor for TUMO Learning Labs.
Yerevan is the first place where I did not feel like a resident nor a tourist but a genuine outside—since I was, for obvious reasons, not a plausible resident, and Yerevan is also not a tourist town like the European cities I’ve been to. Thus, I found that places just exist here, not “authentic,” not “touristy.” They just are, and I happened to be exist alongside them. They had an “is-ness” to it, a comfortable comportment.
I spent Christmas here. Christmas became very special to me after I met (name redacted). And it is the first time since I met her that we did not spend it together. I miss her very much. Perhaps to fill in some of the emptiness, I started to crave art. I spent most of my free time immersing myself in image models, crafting an interface that helps me capture the fleeting resonances I get from a good collection of pixels.
Sketches
Tashir’s Pizza
I lived on Isahakyan Street, next to a charming underground mall called Metronome. The semi-fast food restaurant, Tashir’s Pizza, had the strongest “is-ness” out of any place I’ve been to at Yerevan, and there I had my best memories. To others, Tashir’s was nothing special. They were sitting, chatting, enjoying their company and the food. Whilst for me, every bite was novel, every bite showing me new ways food can be arranged, every bite amazing. What made Tashir’s whole is that I was payed no extra attention as anyone else (this being a fast food restaurant after all). I was there as an outsider, one happy to be ignored, and I got what I wanted. I left a 5-star rating at Tashir’s Pizza. The Google Maps’ average rating is 1.9.
Metronome’s Staircase
As I sat in Tashir’s Pizza, eating the whole assortment of food, I could observe my second favorite memory about Yerevan: Metronome’s staircase. People sat there and stanchions, for inexplicable reasons, blocked others from walking up the stairs. No matter why, this gave sitting there a feeling of eternity, as if the lord hath approved our sitting.
The Cascade
Outside of Metronome’s “is-ness”, I also fell in love with the Cascade Complex. Itself spectacular, the Cascade Complex was more striking as the backdrop to the couples in its crevices, doing what lovebirds do. And when I climbed to the top, I saw sunlight landing on Yerevan old town through the fog, and felt wholeness.
Symphony of Stones
Whilst “is-ness” and wholeness is good and wonderful, the spectacular revealed itself in the Symphony of Stones. I have been to places that may be more “impressive”, but I felt something in the Symphony, amongst the streaks of organ-pipe shaped stones; the barren, dry landscape; and the knowledge that Mount Arafat—where Noah landed his Ark—is not far away, that I could only call divine. I started humming Silent Night, I had to.
Republic Square
The last feeling I will take with me is the Christmas lights of Republic Square. It is not the expensive luxury of Regent Street, but a glamour that shines with faith and the everyday. Christmas decorations were all around Yerevan, and I had the strange feeling that they all emigrated from Republic Square. Apparently the lights were lit the day I landed was the day the lights were lit. On the taxi into Yerevan Old Town, I saw them, and believed in Christmas.
Background
Traveling
Quite literally, I didn’t know where I was going. First, I initially applied to TUMO because I thought Tbilisi was in Armenia: I’ve always wanted to go to Tbilisi after taking Slavic 148 with the wonderful Stephanie Sandler, where I read My First Fee by Isaac Babel; it’s first line is “To live in Tiflis in the springtime, to be twenty years old and not to be loved is a terrible thing. It happened to me.” I’ve resolved to goto Tbilisi since then.
I also thought Armenia, like London, was 5 hours time difference from the US, with the flight duration similar. It is 9, and the flight took 20 hours including transfer. I vomited on a plane for the first time in my life.
Teaching
This will be the last times in the near future where I have such free time. I am glad I spent it on the two things I enjoy: teaching and traveling. (The other three being eating, building, and spending time with loved ones). I enjoyed getting to know each student, sharing my experiences and growing with them, and hopefully being a force of encouragement and goodness in their worlds. I hope I may continue to be such to others.
I am also very touched and grateful for my students at TUMO. They are committed, energetic, filled with character and personality, and just the most wonderful people to be around. They are also very sweet, and touched me deeply for their appreciation for me. They made me very happy. Thank you Alec, Angel, Ares, Aren, Arman, Astghik, David, Edo, Gev, Hasmik, Lusine, Maria, Narek and Narek, Samvel, Vardan, and Vrezh. And thank you Davit, my TF, for being a kind, patient, and positive presence.
