I went with zero expectations. I was composed and surprisingly calm when we approached the land border crossing between Georgia and Turkey. My heart was not all aflutter, my brain was not in a state of readiness to absorb what I was about to see, there were no butterflies in my stomach. I assumed it would be a life-changing journey, but little did I know that it would take me almost six years to write about the experience. It has been and continues to be a process, both intellectual and spiritual.

Armenia has become a meeting point, an intersection where old friends and acquaintances meet up, sometimes through careful planning, sometimes even unexpectedly on a busy street corner in Yerevan or at an ancient church or in a forgotten, remote border village.

Every city has a particular smell. It penetrates through your pores and settles underneath your skin so you can’t escape it.

If you need to pull together a large dinner party on short notice, I’m the person to come to. Seriously. Just ask my sisters.

In 1932, writer James Kieran used the term Brain Trust in the “New York Times” when referring to the close group of experts that surrounded United States presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt.

Springtime in Yerevan is my favorite season. As the city crawls its way out of winter, spring reveals itself with such grace and splendor in our city.