My Road
09.12.2015
Volunteering
Armenia Chose Me
When I speak about Armenia, I can hardly contain my excitement. When I think about the first time I volunteered here in this beautiful country, only positive feelings come to mind. It is actually very difficult to highlight just a few reasons why volunteering in Armenia is beneficial and to fully explain each of them. If I were able to express my gratitude to the country of Armenia, I would express it to: all of its’ people who make this country what it is, to all those Armenians living outside of Armenia but who keep it in their heart, to those who miss and remember Armenia, to all those who come to Armenia as volunteers to bring a piece of their warmth to this land, to the everyday life happenings, and to the history and ancient heritage that makes Armenia what it is. If I had his opportunity, I would have written the following letter:
Thank you for the two best months of my life that you gifted me. Thank you for the hospitality and the care of your people that made me feel at home since the first day of my arrival! Thank you, Armenia, for giving me the opportunity to meet deep and great people who continue to prove the limitlessness of creativity. Thank you for a history that is so deep that it made your soul wider, so wide that I was able to touch it. All of this is because of you, Armenia. Thanks to you, life is bubbling in the streets of Yerevan, as well as among the rocks; you just need to look around and see the real beauty of the nature of Armenia, breathe the fresh air and enjoy a sweet apricot. Let your land always bloom. I am grateful to you for all those people I have worked with. I am sure it was the best time and place for us to meet and work on something important to you, Armenia. Thank you for your limitless art and culture, thank you for Gyumri-the cultural center and a place where many geniuses of the world have been brought up. Thank you for your diversity: you are so old, Christian, Soviet and, modern at the same time. Thanks for a piece of green heaven-Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) with its proud and beautiful people, who showed me the true power of faith, a faith that is capable of moving mountains. Thanks for a mosque in Yerevan, for your tolerance and respect towards other religions. Thanks for teaching me patience when we were only getting used to each other. Thank you for the friends I have made all over the world; we are all united by the love and admiration for you. Thank you for accepting me now and always. Thanks for choosing me, Armenia!
Dilyara Seysebayeva
Kazhakhstan, 2015
Original article in Russian: armenianvolunteer.blogspot.am
Translated by Gayane Baghdasaryan
Edited by Amy Gavroian
Edited by Amy Gavroian