"I am the first in our family to return to Armenia."

"Vardkis Andonian is now 93 years old and doesn’t remember much. His father and mother fled Armenia shortly after he was born in 1921. He grew up in a suburb of Detroit with a small group of Armenian diasporans. He was taught the language; could speak, read, and write but never took it upon himself to teach his children. Before I left for my trip, I told him what I was doing and the only words he could conjure up as a reaction was his infamous, “Unbelievable!”. In preparation for my departure, I had memorized “inchpes es” and “barev” as well as trying to familiarize myself with the Armenian alphabet. Before I said goodbye to my grandpa, I pulled out the sheet of paper containing the foreign characters in hopes that the visual would help explain what I was about to do. He grabbed the sheet of paper from my hands and started reciting the alphabet as if he were back in Armenian school. 

Being in Hayastan is a HUGE step for my family. I am the first to return to Armenia and speak the language since my Grandpa and his family." 

- Participant Lexee Andonian