Day one - HRI Camp 2016

Contributer - Teni Bazikyan

​It seemed all so surreal until we were all in the bus seating and Tata’s song called Janaper started to play. “Janapar, gone mek mek inc hayasten e tar” which is translated as “road, sometimes take me to Armenia.”

The lyrics seem to be written for all of us, for all the fifteen young, inspirational, adventurous individuals whose roads have brought them to  Armenia to be part of the summer camp organized by Hidden Road Initiative.

During the ten long bumpy hours, that took us to the southern border of Armenia near Meghry to a village called Shvanidzor, we all had the chance to sing Armenian traditional songs while staring at the beautiful and breathtaking scenery.

As the hours passed by, we all felt more connected to each, new friendships were formed and by the end of the day, it felt like family. Armenia, the mountains, the songs, the love, the cause, our cause has brought us all together. When we were finally in the village, we were welcomed with open arms and thats when we all knew that this summer we have made the best decision. The villagers were eager to share their life-style with us and we were all interested in knowing and experiencing as much of the village life as possible.

Later in the afternoon Mais, a local, was delighted to help us experience the life of a local, took us to his house where we eat a ton of tut - mulberries, which we collected as a team. This simple activity integrated us into the village culture and we were delighted to be a part of it.

Later at night, when we were all sitting around the reflection table, we had similar thoughts and feelings. We are all determined to impact someone’s life somehow, whether it will be our fellow campers or our students, and most importantly, all of us are delighted to see how this experience will impact our lives.

​The hidden road has brought us to Shvanidzor and it’s our mission to revel the story of this hidden paradise.    

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