HRI 2017 - Day 5

Contributor - Michael Abassian

It’s already Friday, June 30th. When I first committed to this summer trip with HRI, I didn't know what to expect. After 5 days of teaching health and science topics in the village of Shvanidzor, I now have to say being a part of this team has been one of the best decisions I’ve made. Getting to know all the children and parents of the village has been an emotionally transformative experience. The community is so welcoming and understanding and strong friendships, unlike any I’ve observed in a while, form the bedrock of this community.
 
In the past week and a half, I have been pushed out of my comfort zone physically and mentally, but the friendships and experiences I’ve made make these sacrifices seem trivial. The HRI team is so supportive and the leadership of Nanor and Hasmik make our camp so productive and impactful. Thank you for being so kind, persistent, and for not giving up!
 
Today, we made it to Halidzor, where we’ll be spending the weekend at a nice little resort in wooden cabins. The place is gorgeous and is surrounded by beautiful mountains.  We had a nice group dinner where we also propped up Nanor’s mobile projector onto a wall to display lyrics to traditional Armenian songs as we all sang along. Good music, food, vibes and friends. It truly doesn't get any better. Yet, I’m excited to head back to Shvanidzor to continue our lessons and to continue getting to know the children better as we observe all kinds of rocks, leaves, bugs and microbes with our foldscopes: the origami paper microscopes donated by Manu Prakash and his team at Stanford.
 
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Shvanidzor
 
The van stops.
You open the door.
You’ve been waiting for hours.
Under the hot sun,
You made balloons,
You pass them to each of us
And remember our names
Immediately
 
The van stops
You open the door
At night we sit together
Watching the rain pour
One week has gone by
But there’s one more
Showers in tents and bug bites
I think we all feel sore
 
 
Bittersweet moments
Never a bore
And although I’m far
Far away from home
I’m never alone
The van stops
We open the door
And in the rearview mirror
I see nothing but Shvanidzor