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Why I Went To Armenia

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  • Why I Went To Armenia

    WHY I WENT TO ARMENIA
    by Tom Cavanagh

    Sherbrooke Record (Quebec)
    August 31, 2009 Monday

    My family has never been keen about my overseas projects and the
    latest one to Armenia was no exception. I'm getting older, my health
    is not as great as it used to be, and Armenia is a place with new and
    different challenges in about every sense imaginable. It borders Iran,
    Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan which says quite a bit in itself. I
    will need a translator and there is no guarantee about conditions and
    amenities in Armenia. Yet they chose me, and as I said to my wife,
    this will probably be my last one. Probably. Her reply: "Now where
    have I heard that before?"

    Well, for those who can recall that wonderful children's classic The
    Wind in the Willows, Mr. Toad of Toad Hall - and Mole, Badger and
    the others also had periodic urges to break away from the sameness
    and routines of life. "Let us away to a life of Adventure in faraway
    places," Mr. Toad might cry - or something like that. Let us drink to
    opportunities for discovery and change. The chances do not come often
    and once gone they can never be taken back. Like Badger and Mole,
    Toad never followed his dream but he was great at rhapsodizing.

    Those who never experienced The Wind in the Willows may remember
    comparable thoughts expressed in a more nuanced manner by poet's like
    Robert Frost whose famous work "The Road Not Taken" ends with these
    three lines:

    Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by,

    And that has made all the difference.

    I apologize for such a roundabout route to explain why I chose
    to go to Armenia on a CESO (Canadian Executive Services Overseas)
    project. It was a chance to break away from the quotidian, it was a
    short assignment, it looked fairly straightforward, and I had always
    wished to visit that part of the world. But like every project I have
    been on, there were difficulties. There are always problems - and
    sometimes they are incredibly huge. I used to think it was a matter of
    bad luck but there is more to it than that. I now finally accept that
    serious difficulties are part and parcel of overseas work. Something
    will go wrong. If it was a straightforward and problem-free issue,
    the requesting country would probably never have contacted CESO in
    the first place.

    When I arrived at Gugark Summer Camp in Armenia two plus weeks
    ago there were over 200 campers ranging in age from about seven
    to sixteen. During my few weeks there, the camp was winding down
    operations and in just a few more days (August 31) the 2009 Summer
    Camp operations will be finished.

    Armenians are a friendly people and there were waves of young
    campers periodically climbing onto departing trains or buses during
    my visit. Campers came for various lengths of time - two weeks,
    one month, two months. Hugs and kisses are the order of the day when
    the time comes to say goodbye. Even a few tears were in evidence as
    campers bade farewell to old friends and new, and to the unexpected
    late arrival, Mr. Tom (that's me). On Sunday morning last, before the
    remaining one hundred or so campers lined up at attention with their
    hands on their hearts, I raised the flag myself at morning assembly
    with the national anthem blasting out behind me. Then a few words
    of salutation and goodbye (translated into Armenian), followed by
    singing and dancing which is an essential characteristic of Armenian
    society. Finally I am in the car and away to the capital city and
    my flight home. The sun sparkles brightly as we pass through the
    forested canyons, crowded happy memories fill my mind - and all's
    right with the world. A memorable two weeks which came and went too
    quickly. They always do. And I am so glad I came.

    There is one relativity new reason for turning down the other road -
    the one not taken - the one with the better claim "because it was
    grassy and wanted wear." When I was very young, I loved going to
    our local library and looking up stories of exploration. I was even
    frustrated that just about every place in the world had already been
    discovered and explored. How unfortunate I had not been born in an
    earlier time I used to think (in the forties no one - at least no one I
    ever encountered - dreamt of exploring the moon and outer space). But
    there were always those magical names of places that someday I might
    visit myself. There actually was a song titled Far Away Places With
    Strange Sounding Names. One brief quote from a childhood song for
    those readers who have stayed with me this far.

    "Goin'to China, or maybe Siam I want to see for myself Those far
    away places I've been readin' about in a book that I took from the
    shelf. I start getting restless whenever I hear the whistling of
    a train, I pray for the day I can get underway and look for those
    castles in Spain ... "

    Well, that partially explains why traveling to foreign lands is
    something I cannot resist. But I did mention an additional more recent
    reason that has come into my life: retirement and aging. I could
    extrapolate on and on about these items, but there is a simpler and
    shorter way to do so. I turn to another writer, Henry James, who in
    just a few words explains it all. In his later years he volunteered
    to raise money and visit and talk to wounded soldiers during World
    War I. When asked, he said it made him feel less irrelevant, "less
    finished and doddering when I go on certain days and try to pull the
    conversational cart up the hill for them." Finished and doddering
    are not admirable qualities. But making an effort to avoid them is
    in order. It is worth the effort. I helped no wounded soldiers but
    there was the sense of involvement - the bringing of your gift.

    What was I actually doing in Armenia? A subject for another article.
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