End of First Semester, start of Birthright Armenia experience.

Having just concluded my first semester of medical school in Armenia, I can finally look back on the last few months and reflect a little at the significant personal and educational growth I've encountered. It was an interesting experience studying in Armenian with subjects that I've taken 12/13 years ago. Although I've forgotten practically everything in subjects like biochemistry and physiology, trying to relearn it in Armenian, as well as concurrently in English was quite a challenge. As the final exams rolled near, the focus and attention required for studying the massive amount of information, especially the first semester of which I was absent, was quite exciting and at times, formidable. Unlike most final exams in the United States, the exams in Armenian are oral exams in format, called "banavor". Basically, before the start of the exams, 80-120 questions are given to us to study. On the day of the exam, we blindly pull a piece of paper that has 3-4 of these questions on it. These are what we must explain. The purpose of the exam is to see how thoroughly we've learned it, and how well we can present that information orally, as though we were trying to teach that particular subject. Because it's a vastly different process than what I'm used to, it was difficult to imagine what the exam would be like until I actually had to participate in it. Partly due to luck, considering the draw of exam questions, and partly to the glut of information we've studied, the answers we give to those questions can then be followed up by our instructors with more questions that we must think to answer. Considering the fact that the exams were in Armenian, and I'm still tackling that steep learning curve, I didn't perform too badly. The final grades I received were acceptable to me, and I hope by the conclusion of next year, my Armenian will be sufficient as to be less important than the amount of information I've learned. Now I know what total and complete immersion feels like. Though the amount of information one needs to learn is vast, the process of learning is exciting and interesting. I had forgotten the joys and tribulations of formal education.

Realizing that after the end of my semester, I still had the whole summer in Armenia, I decided to prevent a wasteful experience and join Birthright Armenia as a volunteer (through the Armenian Volunteer Corps--AVC program). What BR does is basically provides the means for Diasporan Armenians from around the world to come to Armenia and experience as much as they can in the amount of time they can provide. To participate, one has to have some Armenian blood (1/8 I believe), and devote anywhere from 2 months to perhaps years. The program has a few rules and criteria that if followed, pays for the ticket, as well as housing. The participants are placed with host families to fully realize the Armenian experience and immerse themselves in the culture. They also have free language lessons twice a week if necessary. Finally, BR organizes excursion throughout Armenia for its members that can provide a sense of familiarity and homeliness to the participants. Through any of the various volunteer service programs, BR participants are then placed in areas of interest to work for the duration of their stay. The volunteer service programs, such as AVC, are also important in that they provide the volunteers a working experience that further enhances their stay in Armenia. They don't require BR participation, and are more flexible in terms of terms and conditions. For AVC's case, there's no age limit (32 for BR) and the volunteers themselves can be completely non-Armenian if they wish. With this, there's a summer full of interesting activities and I look forward to writing about my personal and general experience within the framework of BR/AVC programs.