From Motherland to Foreignland

Once upon a time, I lived in Yerevan. Every morning on my way to school, I would look at Mount Ararat and breathe the fresh Yerevan air – feeling inspired and ready for another day in the city I was born and raised. After school, I liked to stop by my favorite bakery – Grand Candy – with my classmates, where we would spend our last daily pocket money on freshly made ponchiks and hot cocoa. And on the weekends, we would meet with my friends on Abovyan Street near the green marble boutiques just across from “Yeritasardi Podzemka” (“Yeritasardakan” metro station’s underground walkway). We would often sneak into different stores in podzemka or shop for books required for our classes. Eventually, we would go to Thomas Twining Tea Café, order vanilla tea, eat crepes filled with condensed milk, and just talk about our ambitious future plans. Those were good times. Those were the times when I knew every corner and angle of Yerevan – even the faces of strangers somehow looked familiar. It felt like Yerevan and I were best friends!