Hello, my name is Hrug. I am 11 years old and from Maryland. This summer, I spent an amazing 12 days at Camp Petag, an Armenian immersion camp hosted by the Hamazkayin USA Eastern Region, and I want to tell you all about it.
Once I got there, I felt excited but nervous, because this was my first time being away from my family for a long time. I was worried about making friends, but the very thoughtful counselors helped the other campers and me make new friends within hours of arriving there. There were only 27 campers, so it was easy to get to know everyone. The staff, counselors and educators were very friendly and caring, which made me feel very welcomed.
The campers were divided into four groups, each named after famous Armenians, and each day, we participated in workshops, activities, games and competitions. My group was named after the writer and poet Shahan Natalie. One of my favorite activities was making a poster about his life, family and work. My group worked very hard together, and we won the competition and earned a trip to Wawa!
Karaoke was my favorite competition, because it made us stronger as a team and brought lots of laughs. We chose an English song and had to translate it to Armenian and perform in front of the other groups and judges. Each group got creative with costumes and funny dance moves. My group performed “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, and we got second place! Also, learning Armenian traditional dances like kochari, tamzara and papuri made me feel so proud to be an Armenian. Another cool activity we did was learning the history of the Artsakh Carpet through a video call, and during the workshop, we got to weave our own carpets. At another workshop, we burned our initials in Armenian on a piece of wood, and I sewed my name on a bag.
I enjoyed the workshop about first aid, where we learned how to help when someone has a stroke, chokes, passes out, breaks a bone and much more. One day, ungerouhi Meghri from Boston, who has climbed Mount Ararat, talked to us about her experience and shared the books that she wrote for children. We then made our own book.
Each day, we visited the pool and had fun splashing each other and playing pool games. During our 12 days there, we went on two field trips. The first one was to a guitar factory and museum, where we got to learn about how guitars are made. Our second field trip was to an ice cream factory where I got to make and name my own ice cream flavor: cotton candy cookie dough!
At Camp Petag, we were encouraged to speak Armenian at all times. One day, ungerouhi Ani caught me speaking English with my friends and took three points from my group’s total points. She noticed that I was upset and offered me a deal. She said she’d give the points back if I memorized an Armenian poem that day. I couldn’t let my team down, so I learned this poem as fast as I could.
Ով Արարատ ունի սրտում՝ իր հայ լեզուն չի մոռանայ,
Ում բերանում է հայ լեզուն՝ Մասիսն անտուն չի մոռանայ,
Մասիսն հայոց աստուածն է վեհ, Սիսը՝ Հայոց աստուածուհին,
Հայն անաստուած այս դարում էլ իր աստծուն չի մոռանայ։
Հովհաննես Շիրազ
When my parents and brother came to pick me up, ungerouhi Ani asked me to recite the poem, and I made my parents very proud.
I never felt bored or lonely at Camp Petag. This experience was life changing, and I can’t wait to go back next summer to reunite with my friends and make new ones. I hope my experience encourages other kids to go next year and make their own amazing memories.
Hrug Tatarian
Latest posts by Hrug Tatarian (see all)
- My immersive experience at Hamazkayin Camp Petag - September 24, 2024
Ապրի՛ս ընկեր Հրակ👏🏼❤️
Ապրիս ընկեր Հրակ։ Շա՜տ հպարտ եմ քեզմով։
Շատ Ապրես Հրակ ջան
Ապրի՛ս Հրակ, ես շատ հպարտ եմ քեզմով։ Շարունակէ այպիսի գեղեցիկ գրութիւններ գրել։
This is an amazing article, Hrug. Bravo.