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Mery Sharoyan's Stories

• “About Myself” (About Me)
• “Angela” (Life In Nor Hadjn)
• “Grandma Marietta” (Life In Nor Hadjn)
• “Parallels” (Life In Nor Hadjn)

Mery Sharoyan's Page

“About Myself” (About Me)

My name is Mery and I am 12 years old. I am learning in the world's worst (in the teachers' opinions) and best (in my opinion) class. I like being social and I am optimistic (that is my good side). I am a little nervous (that is my bad side). From the outside, perhaps, I appear very smart; however I am not that smart. Also, I am silly--which to one person is a good thing and to another is bad. For 12 years now I've been noncommittal; I don't have any goals yet. At certain times I'll like two people very much, and other times I can't decide who I could care less about. To keep it short, I won't continue, so that you're not disappointed by me. It'll be better if you tell me about yourselves.

Wrote at 12 years old age

“Angela” (Life In Nor Hadjn)

We were on a walk in the dormitory yard looking for new people. At that time a boy approached us and invited us over to his house. We happily agreed to go.
The boy's house was on the third floor of the dormitory. His family’s room was very different from the other rooms. It was so well furnished, with carpets hanging from the walls. The boy introduced us to his mother, Angela. She told us Hajn is full of problems; for instance, she didn't have a job. "Now everyone is insolvent. If there was any opportunity I'd get away from here." My attention was caught by her date palm that was growing quite healthily.
Angela, noticing that I was looking at her tree, said that there wasn't a tree like it in Armenia and that her brother had brought it from Africa. She was weaving very skillfully.
"Are you going to sell what you weave?"
"No. I just weave for myself."
Angela has lived in this dormitory almost all of her life. She offered us coffee.
"In the evening the boys play games with their friends in the house," Angela told us, "and during that time I prepare our meals on the stove in the common hall."

Wrote at 12 years old age

“Grandma Marietta” (Life In Nor Hadjn)

My friends and I were walking down the hall and we knocked on a door. The door was opened by a woman of about 50 years old.
"Hello. Can we ask you a couple of questions? We are writing a report."
"Certainly. Come in," said Grandma Marietta.
She lived by herself. She had no husband or children. "I worked at one time at ‘Shoghag.’ I was a storekeeper, and a diamond polisher." But then they closed ‘Shoghag.’”
Grandma Marietta came to Armenia from the village of Kedashen in Azerbaijan in 1985.
"At the time that I came to Armenia there were no massacres in Azerbaijan yet. And later, during the massacres, my relatives came. Thank God that none of my relatives were killed on account of the massacres."
We noticed that on the foot stool in her house there were spools of thread and yarn.
"Are you weaving?" I asked.
"Yes, I feel at ease when I’m weaving. And I still sew," then she showed us the sewing machine. "I sell my weaving and my sewing piece by piece."
Later Grandma Marietta showed us pictures of her nieces and nephews by her sister, who live in the neighboring village.
Grandma Marietta has the most unique and cheerful personality in Nor Hajn and, despite difficulties, doesn't get depressed.
"I am proud of my life. There are difficulties, certainly, but I don't let them get to me," she told us.

Wrote at 12 years old age

“Parallels” (Life In Nor Hadjn)

When we went to the dormitory in Nor Hajn, I started to make comparisons between them and me. I saw that a bunch of people were living there in small rooms. And I'm unable to share a large room with my sister; almost every day I kick her out. There, almost all of the people have one pair of clothes. And I, who have a dozen dresses, still protest to my mom that I have no clothes. Most of the people in the dormitory only eat potatoes, but I obey my whims and eat only my favorite foods...
The youth in Nor Hajn are the very best. It's true that it's a little cramped, but everyone is warm-hearted.

Wrote at 12 years old age