The year before my mother passed away, she taught my son a song about a little boy and his toy ship. Every time I hear the song (“Im pokrik navak” here), I remember my childhood. I remember my mother and her words here and there that in hindsight seem to all have had a purpose. She would sometimes make a comment about something that seemed irrelevant or unimportant at the time…

Before I continue my story, I need to tell you about an Armenian cartoon called կախարդական լավաշ which means “the magic lavash (flat bread)”. It gives me great pain that this superb work of art loaded with life’s lessons can only be understood by Armenians. In many ways, my life is the story of the little boy in the cartoon who decides to explore the world to find his destiny. His mother gives him her blessing along with the magic bread which replenishes itself during his journey…

Spring of 1994 was as full of hope as the spring of 1993. I had applied to a few colleges in the US but the question of financial support still remained unresolved.

At school I had a friend whose parents had emigrated from Poland. He used to be in my physics class. During one of the labs he offered to drive if I’d be interested to go check out the international fair in St. Petersburg. A few days later…

It was a sunny day in August of 1993. I was all worried. How does one greet his new family? Would the Armenian hug and kiss be accepted? Who would be meeting me at the airport? As I walked down from the plane, I saw a group ahead of me with a banner held up high welcoming me. My new family welcomed me with open arms and hugs. It was the absolute best welcome anyone could ever expect. Two of the best people I have ever met were appointed…

It was the winter of 1993. Yerevan was covered with a white freezing blanket of snow. It was serene and peaceful outside, no cars, no people, nothing. Just the snow… and the occasional smoke emanating from a makeshift tin exhaust vent built into the kitchen or living room window, a pipe on a wall made black by whatever people had been burning to stay warm…