A weekend of memories

On October 1, 2024, I came home from soccer practice to a text from Christiane, one of my Junior advisors, on behalf of the Central Executive, inviting me to a meeting held by the Bureau of Office Youth Affairs in Montreal, Canada from November 1-3. Already I was very excited about the experience I would have and the friends I would make in Canada, but I grew even more eager after finding out that my friends Sarhad Melkonian, Anna Donabedian, Garo Tarbinian, Kohar Baronian, Carine Markarian and Karine Najarian, as well as two seniors Raffi Sarafian and Vartkaes Pamboukian, would be going, too. Sarhad and I attended Hovnanian School in New Jersey together. Anna, Sarhad and I also serve on New Jersey’s Junior Executive. I know Carine from “Zrutsig Mruytsig” and Garo, Karine and Kohar from Camp Haiastan. We have all known each other for a couple years and get along well. Before the conference, our Canadian ungers sent us guidelines to prepare. Via FaceTime and Zoom, we all worked together on a one-page report of our region’s activities, strengths and weaknesses, which we later presented. On November 1, Sarhad, Anna and I arrived at Newark airport to board our flight. We arrived in Montreal early for our hotel check-in, so the Canadian unger who picked us up took us to their agoump and gave us a tour. After a few hours, we arrived at the hotel. The delegates from the West Coast had arrived the day before. Sarhad and I settled into our room while the other delegates played the piano and sang heghapokhagan songs in the lobby. After some of our ungers from the East Coast arrived, we went over our presentation and returned to the agoump. Friday was the easiest day, in my opinion. We opened the conference and ate dinner, then Sarhad and I were interviewed by Horizon, the Canadian-Armenian newspaper. Afterwards, our ungers from the West Coast, Montreal, Toronto, Cambridge and Australia went over their presentations, and we ate dinner before returning to the hotel. On Saturday, Garo, Sarhad and I woke up at 6:50, got ready in five minutes, went down to the lobby and waited for everyone else. At the agoump, we ate a nice breakfast with fruit, cheese, bread and zakhtarov hats. All the educational sessions were about 45 minutes long with 15-minute breaks in between, though some went a little longer. The educationals for that day included several topics about Hai Tahd and being a Badani. After a lunch of traditional Canadian poutine, we toured old Montreal and visited Mount Royal Park, the Museum of Illusions and the Old Port, where we enjoyed some Beaver Tails. On Sunday, we finished with an educational about Artsakh and the importance of making Armenian friends. We then said goodbye to Garo and Kohar, who had early flights. The Canadian ungers were nice enough to gift us some of their AYF merchandise. Delegates from Montreal had prepared games for us to play, which my team won. After lunch, we sadly had to close the conference. We helped Montreal clean up their agoump then left for the airport. Throughout the entire weekend, I made plenty of memories and friends with whom I still talk regularly. Most importantly, I brought back notes and new ideas to improve the AYF in the Eastern Region. This weekend will forever stay with me, and I am grateful for the opportunity that the Central Executive gave me.

A weekend of memories

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Haig Adishian

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Haig Adishian

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