My name is Aren Andrews,  I am 17 years old and play soccer and live in New York City. I do enjoy lacrosse for fun however my goal is to be a student athlete and compete in soccer at college. Returning to Armenia after working with Johnny the previous summer I really knew what to expect when it came to teaching the kids as well as the level of lacrosse.

However, this past summer my role as a leader teaching the kids dramatically increased. Instead of assisting Johnny, many times I was the leader instructor for the lessons teaching the kids basic lacrosse skills like scooping, catching, and throwing the ball. 

I grew up learning to speak Armenian, so I really enjoyed teaching lacrosse to the kids in their native language and helping Johnny with his Armenian as well.

The more I would speak Armenian the more I would remember from early years and of course new words and sentences as well.  Speaking Armenian really helped me meet a lot of new friends my age and  I was happy to give two of my new camp friends a new soccer ball each, they were so thankful.

Johnny and I were in Armenia for nearly a month.  During that time, I learned so much more about my Armenian culture and traditions. One of my favorite experiences from this summer was going to the Akhtala village, meeting Father Hetum and visiting the Akhtala Monastery and learning about its long complex history. We also loved playing with the young boys from Akhtala.

Trip to Armenia

Overall, this trip to Armenia has taught me how strong Armenian culture is and how much the Armenian people embrace having Armenians from America come to their communities and engage with the children.

I am so grateful for being able to go to Armenia and I am excited to return next year to play soccer with the kids, teach lacrosse, learn more Armenian and emerge into my Armenian culture that I love so much!

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