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Two neighbouring countries

I have returned from our educational trip to Tbilisi. I am not going to tell you about what we did, where we went, what meetings we had or anything about our hosting families. I will try to draw some parallels between last year's trip to Tbilisi and this one. I will try to make some comparisons and write about phenomena that worried me. Last spring Tbilisi was new, exciting and unexpectedly beautiful. I saw many changes this year. One year doesn't seem to be such a long time for so many changes, but the fact is that there have been changes both in my feelings and in Tbilisi. When we get to the Armenia-Georgia boarder line, we immediately realize which part belongs to Armenia and part belongs to our neighbouring country. Only a few-kilometer-line separates the two countries but the differences are huge. The roads on the Armenian side are not taken care of. I don't like to blacken my nation, but I feel sorry about many questions. We are not real patriots; we are selfish; in our country the barrier between the state system and common people is immense, whereas Georgian people are more patriotic. Before making a step they think about the stability and development of their country. Communicating with Georgians and Armenians in Georgia I understood that they love their history, traditions and state system. The Armenians living in Georgia don't seem to miss Armenia. They consider Georgia to be their homeland and thus they connect their future with Georgia.

The architecture in Tbilisi has its own peculiarities: old beautiful streets with old buildings which preserve their old style after having been reconstructed. These architectural solutions make Tbilisi more beautiful. The synthesis of old and new is so beautiful in this city that I envy them. Yerevan is also beautiful but all the new buildings here have been built at the expense of green zones and old houses and the architecture of old Yerevan has been shattered.

I would like Armenia to change for the better and I will gladly write about these changes after my next visit to Tbilisi.             



 The Armenian text by Marina Mnatsakanyan

Translation into English by Susanna Avetisyan