My recent trip to France and Armenia came less than a week after graduating from Fresno State. For many reasons I really wanted to go to Armenia and a trip was finally organized for this summer. Having only traveled outside of the country once before, I was anxious to see more of the world, especially my homeland. Although our three days in Paris flew by, they were packed with sightseeing and having fun. Not only did we see Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, but we also were invited to dinner at the home of Dr. Dickran and Angèle Kouymjian, who were nice enough to have us over.

Next it was off to Armenia. We arrived there late at night and the feeling after getting off the plane was indescribable. Although I had never been to Armenia and my parents were born in the Middle East, I still felt somehow connected to Armenia.

Things only got better after that, as we had many days and nights of sightseeing and having fun. Our accommodations at the Yerevan State University Hotel were great and the employees there became our good friends.

Of all of the excursions we had, the best was our time spent with the His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II at Etchmiadzin. We not only were able to visit with His Holiness, but he also blessed my wife (at the time fiancée) and I for our upcoming wedding in August. Some of the other moments that really stuck out in my mind were visiting the Armenian Martyrs Monument and attending a World Cup qualifying match between Armenia and Poland.

This experience was great in a number of ways. Not only did I make friends in Armenia, but I became closer with those in our group. It was a great culminating experience for someone who had completed an Armenian Studies Minor and a great way to learn about one’s culture and people. I would like to thank the students, faculty, and other people in Armenia who took care of us and spent a great deal of time with our group.

Finally, words can not express the gratitude I feel toward the organizer of the trip Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian. He not only made the trip possible and arranged everything but he also took care of us and taught us so much about our country and people. For those of you thinking about visiting Armenia, it is something every Armenian must do and it is an experience of a lifetime.

The Armenia trip was a rejuvenating trip for me mentally, physically, and culturally, particularly as I finished up at Fresno State and prepared for graduate school. I think it was a great way to cap off four years of Armenian Studies classes, getting the opportunity to see, hear, and touch, first-hand the things that were only mental images from the lectures in class.

My greatest memory of the trip was walking up to and down into the Armenian Martyrs Monument for the very first time. I was completely overcome by emotion, something that I have never experienced before. It was an unexplainable feeling that made me reflect on my life and my future in a way I could not have done at any other time or place.

Another great memory was our adventure up to Ambert. Even though we were passive passengers in Ghugas’ bus, the culmination of all the obstacles in our journey: the rock slide, faulty brakes, and rain and hail, made the end prize of witnessing one of the most beautiful sceneries high in the Aragats Mountains much more spectacular.

But one of the greatest parts of the trip was the opportunity to make this pilgrimage with such a close-knit group of friends that I was able to share the experiences and fun with.

Prior to embarking on another journey to Armenia, I reminded myself of a passage from William Saroyan’s The Return to the Pomegranate Trees that I knew would be important to be mindful of while abroad: "There are journeys you take again and again, like books you read or music you listen to, faces you see or people you speak to, and each time something is changed and something is the same."

For the third time, I ventured out of the United States to what I now refer to as another home for me: Armenia. This summer, however, I did not travel by myself. I was fortunate to set out on June 1st for a three-week trip with a group of eager Diasporan youth from Fresno. I am thankful to our group leader, Barlow Der Mugrdechian, for organizing and executing such an incredible study program, and for his extensive knowledge about Armenia and its countless treasures.

Our experience was not only full of excursions, cultural events, and informational history, but also of important interaction with locals (university students & professors, social workers, dance performers, talented & artistic youth, and seminarians.) If not for Barlow Der Mugrdechian and his close connections, we would have been a group of merely disconnected tourists. Rather than passively viewing our new environment, we had the opportunity to be participants in that new culture, and we were able to have an authentic and essential exchange with our sisters and brothers there.

While in Armenia for my third summer, it became evident to me as to why I return and what I gain from my time there. I know very well that Armenia is rich in culture, art, spirituality, and enjoyment of real pastimes. And although Armenia is a beautiful country with many sites and landscapes to look upon with wonder, I now believe that one’s lasting impression of the country is seemingly more dependent upon something intangible; your feelings about that distant land have much to do with the connections you harbor with those people with whom you share your experience.

For me, I was able to build bridges and create memories with fellow Fresnans and with locals. It is with their kindness that I became enriched. That process continued for an additional eight weeks, while I stayed behind as an international university student to study Armenian language in Yerevan. I returned from my time in Armenia with a lighter spirit, a new group of diverse acquaintances, a greater capacity for hope, an interesting perspective on both Armenian & American culture, and an internal, external, and eternal smile.

This was the best trip of my life. I was surprised when I got to Armenia, because it was more beautiful than I had imagined. When we first got to Armenia, I was so tired and the airport did not smell good, but as soon as we got outside, the air was so refreshing. The air in Armenia smelled differently than the air in America. The hotel was really nice too. It was modern and the people there were very friendly. I enjoyed walking around Yerevan and looking at the people. They are so friendly there and everyone that I spoke to was so happy to be talking to someone from America.

What surprised me the most in Yerevan was the metro. It was so beautiful with all of the chandeliers. It was so clean too. I loved taking the metro.

I also loved taking our bus when we went on trips. The rides never seemed long. Everytime we would visit a church, the scenery on the way was so nice. A lot of it reminded me of Fresno. The churches were beautiful and unique. It was very exciting when we went down in St. Gregory’s pit at Khor Virap. I was very scared, but after seeing the rest of our group go down, it didn’t seem that bad.

My favorite place that we visited was Garni. I had seen so many pictures of it, but actually seeing it up close was much different. It was so much bigger than I had expected it to be. I was amazed by it, because it was so beautiful.

What changed me most about this trip was visiting Gumri. It was so sad to see all of those people, especially the elderly people, begging as soon as they saw tourists. It made me appreciate what I had much more than I did before the trip.

I loved going to Armenia. It was exciting to see our homeland and interacting with the people and the University students. Before our trip, I was hesitant to go, but now I can’t wait to go back.

Going to Armenia was one of the best experiences of my life. While pursuing an Armenian Studies Minor, I always wondered what it would be like to visit the monuments and sites I have been studying for some time. I am now able to say that I have been to my homeland and as a result can better understand my culture. I really enjoyed the visit, and it was not only fun but a great educational experience for me.

One of the main reasons why I had such a good time was because of the people I went with. I knew just about all the students on the trip, and many of them were already my good friends. The entire group got along with each other really well, and Professor Der Mugrdechian did a great job in giving us a productive tour of the country.

I definitely want to visit Armenia again in the near future. Maybe I will go again in a couple years with a few friends. I highly recommend to any Armenian who hasn’t yet visited Armenia to do so. Visiting the country gave me a better understanding of my culture, homeland, and people. This trip was an experience I will always remember.

All I have to say about Armenia is that it is a beautiful country and that anyone who is of Armenian descent or has any affiliation with Armenians should visit Armenia at least one time in their lives.

However, let’s not forget that Armenia is a very backward country and still needs a lot more time to get on pace with the rest of the world. Hopefully this can happen sooner than later. They can start by getting rid of the corruption that rears its ugly head all throughout the nation.

Today there are an estimated eight million Armenians in the world. Out of the eight million, more than half live in the Armenian Diaspora. The main reason for this is the genocide of 1915, and also the poor economic conditions in the country of Armenia after the break up of the former Soviet Union. I am one of those Armenians that are from the Diaspora; during the genocide my family fled and took refuge in the Middle East. As a child growing up I heard many stories of my "Mayr Hayrenik" or Mother Homeland. I heard that the air smelled of fresh apricot and the natural beauty of the country was astonishing. After hearing these types of stories from different individuals, I felt that it was essential to visit my homeland, one to see my people and two to see our beautiful land.

My dream came to reality when in June of 2001 myself as well as eighteen of my friends from Fresno State went on a study tour that began in Paris, France and ended in Yerevan, Armenia. We spent three days and two nights in Paris mainly touring the major sites in the city. We saw the Mona Lisa, we saw the Eiffel Tower, but the highlight of the city was Notre Dame Cathedral. When looking at the Cathedral I couldn’t believe the expert detail of its architecture. It had statues carved out of the building that were three-dimensional and they looked so real that it was simply amazing. However, this was only the appetizer. The main course was when we left Paris and landed in Armenia on the morning of June fourth.

It was early morning when we reached Armenia. We were all tired but there was so much excitement that it turned into energy. When I got off of that plane I remember saying to myself, "Well Sevag this is it, you are in Armenia, the country that your people came from." We then got on the bus and headed to our rooms. The night was dark, the bus was quiet and everyone was just looking outside to get a first glimpse of the small country that has a place in many people’s hearts. When we stepped off of the bus many of the student’s faces, including my own, had a look of amazement and disbelief on them, that we had finally arrived in Armenia.

For the next three weeks we toured the country of Armenia. We saw the churches, we saw the people, and we saw the students of the University there. The trip was full of excitement, happiness and joy. However, on two occasions some students including myself had tears in our eyes. As we walked into the Cathedral of Etchmiadzin, I couldn’t help but begin tearing up from the excitement of being in the first Christian church in the world-the church that my grandparent’s told me all about-the church that is a symbol to all Christians in the world.

On this trip I learned many things. I learned about my people, I learned about my land and I learned about my history. Armenia is a place that every Armenian should travel too. It will be an unbelievable experience that one will never forget and, they will come back with a whole new way of thinking about life.

The Fresno State Armenian student group with His Holiness Karekin II at the Veharan.

Students with Shahen Katchatrian at Saryan Museum.