Claustrophobia and Bargaining 6/25/16

Today we went to the first church in all of Armenia/the world: Etchmiadzin. The story of Etchmiadzin is that Jesus came down to the earth and struck a spot with a golden hammer in a vision St. Gregory had. Jesus told him that this was the place where the holy Etchmiadzin be built and then St. Gregory the Illuminator built the first church. We explored the church and saw the beautifully crafted pillars and the antique architecture. Our tour guide explained that the piece of wood behind one of the crosses in the museum was a piece of Noah's Ark brought down from Mt. Ararat.

We then went underground to see the Pagan temple that the church was constructed on top of. There was a fire pit in the middle and etchings of crosses on the wall done by St. Gregory himself dating back tot he 4th century. After lighting a candle in the church we went to Khor Virap to see St. Gregory's pit. I was freaking out a bit at first saying I didn't want to go down a narrow tunnel via ladder (which is understandable) until someone told me it widened out at the bottom. Thank goodness I went down into the earth like that because it was fascinating to see where St. Gregory the Illuminator was imprisoned for 12-14 years. Afterwards, we went to a flea market near our hotel to buy souvenirs. I was on the hunt for puzzle rings. Puzzle rings are usually rings that have more than 1 loop and that fit together in a woven pattern- like a puzzle. I scoured the entire market until I finally found one. I was able to bargain for a 2000 AMD discount (about $4).

After the Verssage (flea market) we went to stand in the masses to see Pope Francis speak. Our pediatrician was asking my dad about the toenail surgery and he was demonstrating the anesthesia points on her hand and a woman next to us thought he was reading fortunes and asked for one.

Once more and more people came, we were all squished up against people we didn't know. It was hot; everyone was sweating and temperamental. A woman in front opened her umbrella to block the sun when the Catolicos was speaking and there was an uproar of people yelling at her to put it away. I would look around and saw all sorts of people: old women with fuzzy mustaches, men with cigarettes and sunglasses, foreigners holding their iPads above their heads and blocking the view of everyone behind them, and policemen wearing red berets while trying to keep the peace.

This was my homeland. It's weird to be completely surrounded, if not pressed up against, people who you share such strong cultural ties with. All those people were there to see one person, which amazed me. One person can have such a positive impact on millions of people, so much so that they leave their houses on a hot day, wait hours among the masses, and strain their ears and eyes just to catch a sound or glimpse of the pope. While standing there in that crowd, I realized that I was home. Even if I couldn't communicate fluently, even if I couldn't see over the person's head in front of me, even if someone could have pick pocketed me while in such close quarters, I knew this place would never compare to any other after it. These people were my brothers and sisters. In that moment I vowed to myself to come back to see them again with a better sense of who I was as an individual and as an Armenian. These people had hope in their faith, in the church, and in the pope.

I wanted their hope to be infectious. I wanted a person on the street to see me and see a bright future. From what I have seen throughout my life, the Armenian people have hope for a better future. The fall of the Soviet Union meant independence for the Armenian people, but it also meant millions of people out of work and a new corrupt government. I saw a lot of this hardship taking place on the medical front where people didn't have enough money to buy their medication for serious problems such as diabetes and worms. When a little kid came in with light spots on their face and body, we would give them enough medication to treat the whole family for worms. I even surprised my dad when I knew all the medication names and what they were used for by the end of the clinics, because most of the people came in with repeat problems. Being a part of their hope filled my eyes with tears and humbled me to a new level. At the end of each patient's appointment we would join hands and make a prayer circle. I would cry almost every time because while the doctor was praying the patient would mumble to themselves small little prayers to God. These people needed help, and they had the faith in us and the faith in God to provide it..