“I knew about the colors of Armenian flag, the Armenian genocide, the music group System of a Down and of course, the Kardashians”: says Tjan Ho Lai, photographer from Amsterdam, who is originated from Hong Kong and China. Tjan visited Armenia to participate in “Managing Diversity” program, implemented by EU which aims to focus on the vulnerable groups of society.
“Barev dzez, Bari luyz, Hadjogh, Im anoene Tjan, Yes kez sirum em” [Hello, good morning, goodbye, my name is Tjan, I love you]: those are the Armenian words photographer learned. But he could not manage to learn Armenian alphabet as well: “I had to practice for 3 days to pronounce “shnorhakalutyun” [thank you] correctly”.
On his way from Tbilisi to Yerevan Tjan has been impressed seeing a lot of military trucks on the road, graizers and Armenian nature: “Once I got to Yerevan I noticed that the roads were pretty wide, the architecture similar to European countries with some influence of Soviet Union. Seems like Armenian people are well mixed with different characteristics. I remember the Russian soldiers. To mention the most important it was the first time I saw black swans in my life“.
According to Tjan, the main disadvantages of Yerevan are air pollution and garbage lying on the streets: “But that was due to the abundance of cars. And rubbish heaps were also visible inside some buildings. But all this never had an impact on my excitement”.
Talking about his adventures in Yerevan, Tjan smiles remembering taxi drivers: “From time to time I had to deal with unfriendly taxi drivers. That would be my pleasure to stay in Armenia for a long time and discover more about it”.
Photographer liked the Armenian cuisine, moreover, he bought basturma [air-dried cured beef] and to take it to Amsterdam: “Dutch food isn’t that tasty. And it has almost no similarities with Armenian one.”
The Amsterdrammer has already been informed about Nagorno Karabakh conflict: “I’m aware of talks being held between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Armenia, I was told about military service to be a must. As I worked mostly with youth in Armenia I can surely say they are progressive thinkers and the main hope of future”.
Nelly PETROSYAN
