Middle Seats and Tennis Rackets (6/16/16-6/17/16)

Our first day in Armenia was today, and the process to get here was unimaginable by me. We took a 12 hour flight from Los Angeles to Moscow, and I, of course, got the middle seat. Middle child AND middle seat, go figure. So there I was, sipping on apple juice while the man next to me shouted things in English with a heavy accent, sufficiently waking up everyone in the vicinity. The flight was long and WiFi-less, but when we finally arrived in Moscow I was in awe. It was my first time out of the country and I couldn't believe that Russian was everywhere (and thankfully so was English). After our layover of a half an hour we hopped onto our flight to Yerevan. An Armenian man with ten tennis rackets as a carry-on was sitting in my assigned seat and I was terrified. The gentlemen in the seats next to him helped me convey to the poor guy that he was, in fact, in the wrong seat. I was the proud (temporary) owner of an aisle seat and I started to get comfortable. That didn't last long as my dad came strolling along and told me to switch seats with him because more people from our Medical Mission were in the front. I quickly got up and claimed my seat at the front of the plane next to a sweet woman named Looseeneh. She spoke to me in Armenian and English to tell me about her life and to welcome me to our homeland.

"I am Armenian. My country is very interesting with beautiful people who are very kind. Our hearts are open to all. We try to keep our tradition because we have a very old culture. Armenians have many contributions in the human value. So welcome to Armenia."

Our flight ended with a safe touchdown in Yerevan, a few tears shed by me (which I am admitting is due to "dry weather"), and a round of applause. The clapping at our arrival confused me, as I had never actually seen it before. My confused look got Looseeneh's attention.

"It's an Armenian tradition," she said with a smile. "To give thanks for a safe landing."

I got off the plane with GoPro in hand, ready to capture the moment I first set eyes on my homeland. Yerevan, Armenia was even more beautiful than the pictures. On our bus ride to the hotel we passed Republic Square--lit up in the night with dancing water everywhere. We passed regal looking buildings that I have yet to learn the names of, and well-dressed Armenians going out for a night on the town. This was the Armenia I want to remember.

The view of Yerevan from our room: