Goodbye Hayastan
Hello everyone!
First I want to thank everyone who has been reading the posts and leaving comments, I appreciate them alot :). Today is our last day in Armenia. Although I woke up today feeling sick, I still managed to get up and explore Yerevan and the Armenian lifestyle one last time. I can’t believe 18 days have already passed, time flies by so fast when your having a great time with friends! When I first came on this trip, I was a complete stranger from the group; the girl from Arizona. I have bonded with everyone here and can honestly say that I will be leaving Armenia with 23 new friends.
The trip to Karabagh was VERYYYY long, but so worth it :). Our hotel was very cute and had great food (surprise surprise). Datev and Geghart have to be my two favorite churches that we have visited, besides Etchmiadzin. During the ACYO-I conferences, we got to talk with Vehapar and Surpazan, which was exciting all on its own. The only thing that DROVE me crazy, literally, throughout this trip was the drivers. No one follows the lanes and they are constantly cutting each other off. Oh well, its still a story for everyone back at home :).
Our coordinators have done an amazing job. Sarah, who has been my roommate on this trip, always put others before herself. Whether it was taking care of someone who was sick at the hotel, or coming out at night with us to make sure we were ok even though she was tired, she has been a wonderful leader. Aside from everything, she is a very genuine, sincere person who wants to make sure us pilgrims are having fun and experiencing a spiritual journey. Whenever we go to different churches and sites, she makes sure we grasp the understanding behind the history and connect with our faith and culture. She has touched my heart and I want her to know that she is a great, strong leader. Through the ups and downs, she has always kept a smile on our faces and made sure we have had a great time. I LOVE YOU SARAH!! Mkrdich has done a great job, also. he has made sure we are respecting our surroundings and behaving ourselves, kind of like a dad 
.
All in all, this trip was everything it could have been and more. I thought it would just be making friends and hanging out, but I have connected with my faith on a whole different level thanks to our coordinators and Der Vartan. Sure there were a few miss communications with the tours and bus driver, but we had a great time with everything we did and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible, I appreciate all the hard work and dedication so that we could all have a great time. To all of you back in the states, SEE YOU VERY SOON!
-Liana
July 20th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I love you my fellow brow downer =)
I miss you more than you know woman!