A TRIP Abroad: Slavic Studies Department Travels to Armenia

Courtesy of Petko-Ivanov

This past spring break, myself and several other students in the Elementary and Intermediate Russian classes had the opportunity to travel to Armenia with Professor Petko Ivanov and the Connecticut College Slavic Studies Department. Through Connecticut College’s TRIP (Travelling Research and Immersion Program), we had the opportunity to engage with the culture and history of Armenia and improve our Russian skills through peer tutoring sessions. This was the second TRIP I have been on through the college, as the Slavic Studies Department received a grant to take students to the country of Georgia during spring break of 2023. Located in the South Caucasus, Armenia is a vibrant country with a rich culture and history that we had the privilege of experiencing during our two weeks there. 

While we were based in the capital city, Yerevan, we visited smaller towns like Areni, Dilijan, and Garni, giving us a look into everyday life in the country. Our time outside the city consisted of cooking classes, making traditional Armenian bread lavash, visiting monasteries, and hiking through caves and mountains. In Areni, we visited a local wine marker, where we tried a variety of traditional Armenian wines. Armenia has one of the earliest recorded wine-making processes in the world, a fact that many Armenians take pride in. Our guide walked us through the wine-making process, which has stayed relatively the same for about 6,000 years. Grapes and other fruits are held in clay pots in the ground and left to ferment for months before being ready to drink. 

Areni is also home to the oldest cave system in Armenia, which we were able to walk through and get an inside look at during the excavation. Archaeologists have been exploring the caves to learn more about the ancient civilizations that lived there. The oldest leather shoe in the world was found there, which we could see during our visit to the History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan. 

Our visit to Dilijan included a stop to Fioletovo, an ethnically Russian village located on the outskirts of the town. There, we met Natalya and her husband Mikhail, who were kind enough to make us traditional Russian foods and talk about their experiences as Russians in Armenia. It was fascinating to hear about their daily life and their stories of how their families have lived in the villages for over six generations. After filling up on pirozhki and chai, we visited the Children of Armenia Fund (COAF), a foundation dedicated to improving the education of children in rural Armenia through technology and improved infrastructure. I spoke with one of the children in the program, who explained to me that the center has allowed him to experiment with different creative disciplines like digital art and theater production, something that is not present in the traditional Armenian education system. Seeing this organization’s impact on the community was touching and a standout point of the trip. 

Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan, is rapidly expanding and becoming more popular with regional tourists. While there, we got to try various Armenian foods, a cuisine none of us were familiar with. The group’s favorites included lavash, a type of flatbread, chicken and lamb shawarma, and gata, a dense, sweet bread usually served with herbal tea. Armenian cuisine is strongly influenced by surrounding countries, which was evident in the spices and flavors of the dishes we tried. Besides Armenian foods, many restaurants in Yerevan also serve international cuisine, so we also enjoyed both Georgian and Persian cuisine during our trip.

In Yerevan, we also had peer tutoring sessions with local Armenian university students to improve our Russian speaking skills. While the native language of the country is Armenian, Russian is a widely used language, as the country was once a republic of the Soviet Union. Our peer tutors took us around the city, showing us some of their favorite places and the city’s hidden gems. 

One of our sessions was spent at the Vernissage, a large open-air market where vendors sell handicrafts ranging from jewelry to paintings to homemade wine. We were able to pick up beautiful souvenirs and treats to bring back home and share with our friends and family so they got to experience a little bit of our adventures! My favorite session was when my tutor Vika brought us to her favorite place, the Yerevan Cascade. After climbing the 572 steps of the Cascade, we reached the top and were greeted by a stunning panoramic view of the city and Mount Ararat, a national symbol of Armenia. 

This TRIP was an incredible learning experience and greatly enriched my Slavic Studies and International Relations studies. I am so grateful that the College offers this opportunity for students to turn what they learn in the classroom into real-world experiences that allow them to connect with cultures very different from their own. I will never forget this trip and would love to return to Armenia to learn more about what this incredible country has to offer!