Arts Lab 6.0: Sona Tamrazyan - Month 1

Week 1 

Me and Salma met at the airport in Istanbul, it was so exciting to meet a very new person somewhere away from home and traveling with her. We talked a lot, 2 hours on a plane and 7 hours on bus was tiring but we had a funny, mesmerizing trip we will remember for a long time. Saleh and Yasser were awake to meet us, the moment we entered the house it felt like home. 

First 3 days me and Salma were exploring the town and sharing our adventures with others. Everybody was sweet and warm, I adapted very quickly. 

Crafters festival. This was the first day I worked with others in a team and enjoyed every moment of it. We created, argued, laughed, danced and lived all the emotions in one day. 

Week 2 

The week started with a free day so I used the moment to spend some hours with my new housemates. On Tuesday Mihaela took us to the Jewish Cemetery and created the “Mission Impossible” contest between us. We came back home tired and emotional but the “Romanian night” was waiting for us, we got energized. Dances, food, drinks and a lot of fun. This was my first night of working hard with a lot of drink in my blood. Well it seemed like everything was possible with motivation. So we all surprised Mihaela with completed missions and the friendship won :) 

Trip to Iași. Such a full day: Galleries, French Institute, Museums, a lot of walking and talking. At first I thought “Oh no my social battery will not handle this”, but guess what, I made friends and was so proud of myself. It was a nice day. 

School residency. “These kids are so talented” was my first thought when we started talking to them. We all were excited, scared and happy at the same time.

Trip to Todiresti. So 13 people can fit in the van for 9. The trip was fun and full of emotions. We managed to do 2 projects on that day, it was a lot of effort and energy but at the same time it was energizing. We started spending more time together and opening up to each other, the balcony connected us and we made it a ritual called “Balcony session”. At the end of the week housemates became family. 

Week 3 

School day 1. Scary and exciting. Me and Nikola were working together and I can surely say, it was a pleasure to share a project with her. We had the same vision and everything went smoothly. On the first day we were a bit panicked. The plan was not working well and we needed to improvise and keep the kids interested. 

School day 2. We improved our plan and made a nice schedule. Compared to the last day we had 6 more kids and the plan was working. I felt really happy and was proud of us. 

School day 3. “I think I love these kids, and they are getting attached to us”. They are so smart and so talented. We are happy with the results. 

Gallery night in Iasi. Some of us went to the gallery night on Friday. It was a lot of fun, exhibitions and dances. Nikola and I made it! We visited all the galleries. I loved every single one of them. Eventually we danced the whole night in Iași and came back only in the morning. No regrets, it was one of the best days. 

The first birthday in the house. Yasser “grew up in front of our eyes”, that's how we say in Armenia. It was a heartwarming birthday full of surprises and the first “hot chair”. 

Week 4 

The last 2 days at school. We really got attached to those kids, till this day they are sending us drawings and that's so sweet. The project itself was really challenging and emotional, but Nikola and I had the same ideas and it was the best part of the hard work. Another birthday in our big family. Saleh did not expect that much attention. I hope from now on he will be happy to celebrate his day :) 

Day 1 of Folkloristica. That day was a loooot. We met the people from the village and introduced ourselves to the Mayor. I think he was really excited to see us. We also visited a very talented crafter and got a cute gift - a wooden stool, we love that stool. Museum was interesting and the curator kindly told all the stories of the items. In the end we went to a newly opened restaurant with hospitable owners. Of course we did a great promotion for them and I made a logo for the restaurant. In the end we got a lot of singing and dancing. 

Day 2. I have never worked with 80 kids in one day before. That was a bit exhausting but Sinem and I had an engaging workshop. Going to nature after working with so many kids was the most refreshing idea. I felt reconnection with nature when we visited the shepherd and went to the forest. So beautiful. But the festival was not over, the day ended only after 3 more hours of dancing and singing folkloristic songs. We celebrated Ziad’s birthday on the stage with a lot of noise. 

Day 3. Rating the villages as a foreigner felt so strange for me. It was a new experience. Also listening to folklore music the whole day was a bit tiring, but still it was really fun and we learned some more details about Romanian villages and culture. After all these draining but productive weeks I finally found a few days to bring to life the trip I’ve been planning for weeks. 

I went to Cluj Napoca to meet my friend. It was so necessary for me to be a little bit by myself and digest all this information since I’m in Romania. Cluj welcomed me with beautiful and a little bit cold weather. It was a relaxing trip with a gorgeous view. I’m ready to go back to the crazy, busy and artistic schedule. That's it for now, see you in a month.

Report written by Sona Tamrazyan, she's from Armenia and she's one of the 14 volunteers participating in Arts Lab 6.0, a project co-funded by the European Union through the European Solidarity Corps program.