 |
| CIA Map of Armenia August, 2019 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/attachments/maps/AM-map.gif |
Excited to announce that I will start my first site visit in the Shirak Region! I will live in Gyumri from September 1-21st collecting data for my dissertation. This is my second time collecting and conducting research in Shirak. My last study was in 2012 and since then I visited but am excited to return to conduct fieldwork for my dissertation. I chose Shirak region particularly for its location to the Armenia-Turkey border and plan to travel throughout the region. I will return to Yerevan for the Erasmus + Inclusive Education conference at the end of September but plan to return to Shirak to follow up later.
On a personal level I also recall learning about Gyumri from my childhood memories while growing up in Rhode Island from Saturday Mourad Armenian school but also our weekly Armenian Radio Hour program. Our family would tune into the Armenian Radio hour program which aired every Sunday between 9-10am as we would get ready for Sunday school and attend church services. Two members of the community Russell Gasparian and his daughter Sona were the hosts and for some reason I remember they played this song often on their program.
The other memory with Gyumri and the Armenian Radio Hour I have from my childhood is one year Sona and Russell had a contest at the time of the annual memorial of the earthquake where they asked callers to call in and tell them the exact time 11:41am and date of the December 7, 1988 earthquake. Of course, I wanted to call and win the contest and that year for my birthday I had received Lucine Kasbarian's book, Armenia: A rugged land, an enduring people. So I quickly checked Kasbarian's book for the time and called in...so silly how I was excited to have won that contest. Although Russell passed away, I'm glad Sona is still keeping up the Armenian Radio Hour program all these years. I hope you'll enjoy the song - this version by Ruben Matevosyan is the one that resonates with the version I remember hearing as a child. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ab8Rl5c0Co
On a personal level I also recall learning about Gyumri from my childhood memories while growing up in Rhode Island from Saturday Mourad Armenian school but also our weekly Armenian Radio Hour program. Our family would tune into the Armenian Radio hour program which aired every Sunday between 9-10am as we would get ready for Sunday school and attend church services. Two members of the community Russell Gasparian and his daughter Sona were the hosts and for some reason I remember they played this song often on their program.
The other memory with Gyumri and the Armenian Radio Hour I have from my childhood is one year Sona and Russell had a contest at the time of the annual memorial of the earthquake where they asked callers to call in and tell them the exact time 11:41am and date of the December 7, 1988 earthquake. Of course, I wanted to call and win the contest and that year for my birthday I had received Lucine Kasbarian's book, Armenia: A rugged land, an enduring people. So I quickly checked Kasbarian's book for the time and called in...so silly how I was excited to have won that contest. Although Russell passed away, I'm glad Sona is still keeping up the Armenian Radio Hour program all these years. I hope you'll enjoy the song - this version by Ruben Matevosyan is the one that resonates with the version I remember hearing as a child. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ab8Rl5c0Co
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment