Author: Torgomian Varazdat

From: Katia M. Peltekian
Subject: Kenya: Armenians: Was Kalonzo Naive?
ARMENIANS: WAS KALONZO NAIVE?
Collins Apuoyo Khartoum, Sudan
East African, Kenya
March 28 2006
The admission by politician Kalonzo Musyoka that he met and even had
a photo session with the two Armenians suspected of being mercenaries
is rather interesting, if not shocking.
It is interesting because government sympathisers have quickly jumped
to the conclusion that the Orange Democratic Movement have something
to do with the Armenians. This has given pro-government ministers
and MPs a weapon with which to attack and trivialise the movement
and its leadership.
The admission is shocking in that it shows how simple actions –
such as taking an innocent photo – can have serious consequences.
There are several lessons that Kalonzo should learn from this:
1. There are people out there who are keen to make him appear to
be unfit for the leadership of Kenya. They will try all tricks and
it is up to him to make a fine judgement on his actions in order to
disappoint them.
2. His actions and utterances are important and will bring out the
real leader in him. At this point in time, he should not start claiming
imagined enemies. The real enemy is the one he would least suspect.
3. Kalonzo is presidential material and should behave and act like
one! He must vet those who want to get him into business deals before
agreeing to photo sessions. It reflects badly on his judgement.
Many Kenyans are looking up to Kalonzo and other ODM leaders to get
us out of our current quagmire. Do not disappoint us with actions
and utterances that reflect a lack of focus.

PACE TO DISCUSS QUESTIONS OF REFUGEES IN SOUTH CAUCASIAN COUNTRIES
Regnum, Russia
March 28 2006
On April 10-13, spring session of PACE is to start in Strasbourg.
Unlike other sessions, it will last three days, because on April
14 Europe celebrates Easter, stated head of Armenian delegation to
PACE, Deputy Speaker of Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosyan at a news
conference on March 27.
He said that agenda of session has two questions regarding Armenia
– conditions of refugees and deported persons in Armenia, Georgia
and Azerbaijan, and human rights in Armed Forces. Latvian MP Boris
Tsilevich will report on the first topic. The report will be made on
April 13.
Bulgarian MP Alexander Arabadjiev is the rapporteur on the second
issue. Project of the resolution after second report does not directly
concerns Armenia, but the situation in the country is described
in the report as it is described of each country of the Council of
Europe. 35th article is dedicated to Armenia, where the situation in
Armenian Armed Forced in 2001-2003 is described.
Torosyan notes that the Armenian Defense Ministry currently examines
the report project to address with possible corrections to rapporteur.
According to the head of the Armenian delegation, the agenda includes
other questions of interest, for instance, regarding fight against
corruption and poverty in the Council of Europe countries. Several
questions may be added to the agenda later. Torosyan also spoke on
visits of PACE officials in Armenia that would take place in the near
future, informs “Noyan Tapan”.

PARLIAMENTARY HEARING OF PROBLEM OF TEACHING ARMENIAN STUDIES AT SCHOOLS TO BE HELD IN YEREVAN
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 27 2006
Yerevan, March 27. /ARKA/. A parliamentary hearing of the problem
of teaching Armenian studies at Armenia’s schools is to be held
in Yerevan on April 4, 2006. The public relations department,
RA Parliament, reports that the hearing has been organized by the
standing parliamentary commission for science, education, culture
and youth affairs.
On March 21, 2006, the RA Parliament approved a package of bills on
Armenian studies in its first reading. One of the authors of the bills,
Head of the parliamentary faction Armenian Revolutionary Federation
“Dashnaktsutyun” Levon Mkrtichyan, said that under the bill the
Government is to approve programs of Armenian studies.
“We insist that two fundamental subjects, the Armenian language and
Armenia history, be taught at all the higher schools in Armenia for
at least two terms and end in tests or examinations,” Mkrtichyan
said.

PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
MARCH 23, 2006
KALOUST SOGOIAN LAID TO REST IN MICHIGAN
Kaloust (Karl) Sogoian, a long-time supporter of the Eastern Prelacy as
well as the worldwide Armenian Church and nation, was laid to rest last
Friday, March 17.
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan presided over the Homecoming (Wake) service
on March 16 at St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, Michigan. Funeral
services the next day were presided over by Archbishop Khajag Barsamian and
Archbishop Oshagan. During the services messages of condolence from His
Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of All Armenians, and His Holiness Aram I,
Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, were read.
Mr. Sogoian and his wife, Emma, were ardent supporters of many Armenian
charities and projects. Archbishop Oshagan noted that even in his final days
on this earth Mr. Sogoian thought about the church he sponsored-St. Dertad
Church in the Vayk, Armenia. Literally days before his death he made a new
donation to the church for a current building project.
Archbishop Oshagan described Mr. Sogoian as an exceptionally benevolent,
humble and kind person with unique ideas and clear ideals and goals.
PRELATE IN NEW JERSEY THIS WEEKEND
On Sunday Archbishop Oshagan will preside over the Divine Liturgy at
Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey. In the afternoon he will
attend the Festival of Schools sponsored by the Armenian National Education
Committee, which will take place at Dwight Englewood School Auditorium in
Englewood, New Jersey. The program will begin at 3 pm bringing together more
than 100 students from various schools of the Mid-Atlantic area.
PRELATE WILL ATTEND SIGNING CEREMONY FOR AID TO ARMENIA
Archbishop Oshagan will travel to Washington, DC, on Monday, March 27,
to participate in the Compact Signing Ceremony with the Republic of Armenia
and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The signing by Armenia’s Foreign
Minister, Vartan Oskanian and the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
will take place in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the U.S. Department of
State.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation was established on January 23,
2004, after President Bush’s call for a “new compact for global
development.” With funds provided by Congress, the Corporation provides aid
to “those countries that rule justly, invest in their people, and encourage
economic freedom.” Armenia will receive 235 million dollars in aid.
NAGORNO KARABAGH OFFICIALS VISIT PRELACY
Vardan Barseghian, (left), permanent representative of the Republic of
Nagorno Karabagh to the United States, and Massis Mayelian, Deputy Foreign
Minister of the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh paid a visit to Archbishop
Oshagan at the Prelacy yesterday, Wednesday, March 22. The guests enjoyed an
exchange of ideas with the Prelate about Diasporan issues as well as the
future needs of the Republic.
PRELATE AND CLERGY TO VISIT OLD AGE HOME IN FLUSHING
AND SENIORS OF ST. SARKIS
Next Wednesday, March 29, Archbishop Oshagan and V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan
and the clergy serving Prelacy parishes in the New York-New Jersey area will
visit the New York Old Age Home in Flushing where they will conduct a Lenten
Arevakal (Sunrise) Service, followed by a visit with the residents of the
Home.
In the afternoon they will lunch with the seniors of St. Sarkis Church
in Douglaston, New York.
“GENOCIDE THEN AND NOW” AT UNITED NATIONS
Archbishop Oshagan and V. Rev. Fr. Anoushavan Tanielian will attend a
forum next Thursday, March 30, at the United Nations, entitled “Genocide
Then and Now: Lessons Learned for the 21st Century.”
The forum is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Armenia to the United
Nations and the Permanent Mission of Rwanda to the United Nations and is
co-sponsored with the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU).
Speakers include: Ibrahim Gambari, Under Secretary General, Special
Advisor on Africa at the UN; Vahakn Dadrian, Director of Genocide Research,
Zoryan Institute; and Juan Mendez, Special Advisor to the UN
Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide. Ms. Andrea Kanapell,
Assistant Foreign Editor of the New York Times, will moderate the
discussion. The forum will discuss the first and last genocides of the 20th
century with respect to lessons learned for the 21st century and for United
Nations reforms.
REPRESENTATIVE OF WCC VISITS CATHOLICOSATE
The supervisor of the World Council of Church’s (WCC) Middle East desk,
Dr. Nseir, visited His Holiness Aram I last Sunday, March 18. They discussed
the possibility of strengthening the cooperation between the WCC and the
churches of the region, pursuing the accomplishment of several joint
projects related to the WCC and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC),
the upcoming meeting in Geneva for evaluating the 9th Assembly of the WCC
and other issues.
DELEGATION FROM CHURCHES OF WALES VISIT CATHOLICOSATE
A delegation representing the Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches
in Wales visited the Catholicosate on March 18. The delegation met with His
Holiness Aram I and gave him a letter from the Most Rev. Dr. Barry Morgan,
Archbishop of Wales. The delegation included senior spiritual leaders and
members of the European Parliament.
The purpose of the delegation’s visit to the region is to get closely
acquainted with the churches of the Middle East. His Holiness briefly
reported on the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East, encouraging
discussions about the region’s political, religious, social and economic
circumstances.
NEW TITLES AT PRELACY BOOKSTORE
The Prelacy Bookstore receives new books regularly. This week we call to
your attention “Armenian Identity in a Changing World,” by Levon Abrahamian.
The 406-page softcover volume discusses the old and the new constituents of
Armenian identity, such as language, religion, or shared history in broader
Transcaucasian and former Sovet Union context. The 16 chapters in the book
are based on lectures the author gave at Columbia University in 2001. The
Preface is written by Professor Marc Nichanian. To order contact the
bookstore, 212-689-7810.
ANEC SCHOOL VISITS PLANNED
Ms. Nayiri Balanian, chair of the Armenian National Education Committee
(ANEC), will visit the Armenian Sisters Academy and St. Stephen Elementary
School in Massachusetts, on Friday, March 31.
LENTEN SERIES CONTINUES
The Prelacy’s Lenten series, sponsored by the Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC), and the Prelacy Ladies Guild, continued last night
with Rev. Fr. Nareg Terterian, pastor of St. Sarkis Church in Douglaston,
NY, presenting a thoughtful mediation on verses 15 to 18 of St. Nerses
Shnorhali’s prayer, “In Faith I Confess.” The Lenten programs take place
Wednesdays during Lent at St. Illuminator’s Cathedral, 221 East 27th Street,
New York City. Husgoom Service starts at 7:30 pm, followed by a short
meditation at 8:00 pm.
Next week’s meditation on Wednesday, March 29, will be based on verses
19 to 21 presented by Rev. Fr. Mesrob Lakissian, pastor of St. Illuminator’s
Cathedral in New York City.
The author of this popular prayer, Catholicos St. Nerses Shnorhali (the
Gracious), was born in 1102. He was Catholicos from 1166 until his death in
1173. “In Faith I Confess” has been translated into 36 languages and is the
most popular of the prolific writings of this noted theologian, poet and
musician. Comprised of 24 short verses, this small prayer book is reverently
carried by many of the faithful to strengthen faith and hope. The small
prayer books are available at the Prelacy Bookstore, 212-689-7810.
DATEV SUMMER PROGRAM FOR YOUTH AGES 13-18;
20TH ANNIVERSARY TO BE MARKED THIS YEAR
Plans are underway for the 20th annual St. Gregory of Datev Institute
Summer Christian Studies Program. Sponsored by the Armenian Religious
Education Council (AREC), the weeklong program will take place at the St.
Mary of Providence Center in Elverson, Pennsylvania.
FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTIA
This Saturday, March 25, the Armenian Church commemorates the Forty
Martyrs of Sebastia.
Although the background and identity of the forty young soldiers are not
known for sure, it is believed that they came from Lesser Armenia. They
served in the Roman army in the region of Cappadocia.
During a general purge of Christians from the ranks, it became rumored
that in Sepastia there was an elite military unity whose members were
Christians. Forty youths of the unit confirmed being Christians and remained
steadfast to their faith.
The young soldiers were tried and condemned to death by stoning.
Miraculously, when the sentence was being carried out, the stones would not
reach the intended targets, but rather “boomeranged” striking those throwing
the stones. The young soldiers were then thrown into a frozen lake and
forced to stay there, with the admonition that should they renounce their
faith they would be allowed to come out of the cold water and into a warm
bath. Of the forty, one chose to accept this offer, but he died
nevertheless. As one by one the youths died, halos came down upon them.
Seeing this, one of the guards threw himself into the lake and joined the 39
bringing the number to 40 again.
Subsequently some of our great church fathers, such as Basil, Gregory of
Nyssa, Ephraem the Assyrian, and Sisian of Sebastia, wrote panegyrics about
the forty martyrs.
Their memory is commemorated each year during Lent on the Saturday
following the median day of Lent (Meechink), The Armenians have also built
and named churches in their memory in various parts of the world.
SUNDAY OF THE JUDGE
This Sunday, March 26, the fifth Sunday of Lent, is the Sunday of the
Judge (Datavori Kiraki).
The Gospel read on this day describes the parable told by Jesus about a
widow and a judge (Luke 18:2-5). In a certain city there was a judge, who
neither feared God, nor had respect for people. In that city there was a
widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my
opponent.” For a while he refused, but later he said to himself, “Though I
have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps
bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by
continually coming before me.”
Jesus told the parable of the stubborn widow to encourage his followers
to persevere in prayer and to never cease to struggle against injustice.
Through this story Jesus assures us that God will do justice in the end.
AND NOW.A MODERN DAY PARABLE
We here are Crossroads admit that we are big fans of a special feature
printed every Monday in the New York Times, called “Metropolitan Diary.” The
column prints little vignettes sent in by readers depicting life in The
City. Last Monday’s edition had the following story (sent in by Aaron
Garretson) we just cannot resist sharing with you:
The other day on the A train, a large man dressed in a camouflage
sweatsuit was being grilled by a woman about not going to church enough.
He defended himself, saying he showed his devotion to God through his
actions, but the woman wasn’t satisfied.
She said he had to go to church to win his place in heaven.
Just then, a young woman about 30 feet away doubled over and collapsed.
The man in camouflage was the first on his feet to help her. He propped
her head with his backpack and sat on the floor to hold her hand while he
directed others to alert the conductor.
When the train stopped at 14th Street, the conductor announced that
there would be a delay for a sick passenger, and the man’s church friend
rushed across the platform to catch a local train.
Meanwhile, he continued to sit with the young woman, holding her hand.
After the police helped her off (she was a cancer patient), the man put
on his earphones and returned to his pew in the greater church of New York.
IT IS SPRING!
Spring arrived this past Monday afternoon. It’s still cold and windy,
but there definitely is the “feel” of spring with daylight already
noticeably longer.
Yes, as so many of you have reminded us, “it is planting season, what is
happening in your garden.”
Right now, not much. We are late.the cool weather crops like sugar snap
peas should have been planted by last Friday, St. Patrick’s Day. We will
give you an update next week.
Calendar of Events
March 26-School Festival presented by the Armenian National Education
Committee (ANEC), at Dwight Englewood School, Englewood, New Jersey. Watch
for details.
April 2-Annual Ladies Guild Lenten Luncheon, Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church,
Whitinsville, Massachusetts. Immediately following church services.
April 2-Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church, 635 Grove Street, Worcester,
Massachusetts, traditional Lenten Dinner in Danielian Hall immediately
following church services. For additional information, 508-852-2414.
April 8-Ladies Guild Annual Bake Sale, 10 a.m., Soorp Asdvadzadzin Church,
Whitinsville, Massachusetts.
April 17-“The Armenian Genocide,” a new documentary will be shown on most
PBS stations. Please check your local listings.
April 23-Commemoration of the 91st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at
Times Square-the crossroads of the world. Organized by the Mid-Atlantic
Knights and Daughters of Vartan, co-sponsored by ArmenPac and with
participation of area Armenian organizations. Featuring Prof. Israel W.
Charny, Andrew Goldberg, Edward Korkoian, Asien Surmeian, Annie Totah, Aram
Hamparian, Curtis Sliwa, and more. More details to follow.
April 29-Presentation by comedian Vahe Berberian at St. Sarkis Church,
Douglaston, New York. For details 718-224-2275.
May 5-Reunion of all students beginning from the 1930s who attended St.
Illuminator Armenian School in New York. Dinner Dance at Terrace on the
Park, Corona, NY. For reservations or information contact the St.
Illuminator’s Day School, 718-478-4073.
May 7-Mothers’ Day celebration at St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New York.
May 8-Mothers’ Day Luncheon by Prelacy Ladies Guild, St. Regis, New York
City.
May 12-Exhibition of the works of artist Emma Gregoryan at the Prelacy, 138
E. 39th Street, New York City.
May 13-Dinner-Dance organized by the St. Sarkis Church Ping-Pong Club. For
details 718-224-2275.
May 17-19-National Representative Assembly (NRA), hosted by Sts. Vartanantz
Church, Ridgefield, New Jersey.
May 16 and 17-Conference of Yeretzgeens in conjunction with the National
Representative Assembly, hosted by Sts. Vartanantz Church, Ridgefield, New
Jersey.
May 20-Saturday School year end Hantes, St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New
York.
May 21-Sunday School year end Hantes, St. Sarkis Church, Douglaston, New
York.
Visit our website at

PanARMENIAN.Net
Armenians of Poland to Mark Armenian Genocide Anniversary at Turkish
Embassy in Warsaw

23.03.2006 01:01 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ April 23, on the eve of the 91st anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide of 1915, the Armenians of Poland will hold a silent
action at the Turkish Embassy in Poland, shepherd of Armenians of
Poland Tadeus Isahakian-Zalezski told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his
words, April will be rich in events dedicated to the anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. April 4 an exhibition of
Armin Wagner’s photos dedicated to the Genocide will open in
Krakow. To note, these photos caused attacks of Turkish diplomat last
autumn and the exhibition was dismantled on the third day. April 10
discussions on Genocide will be held. Masses commemorating the victims
of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire will be chanted throughout
Poland in April. Program titled `Ethnic climates’ to be shown on
Polish TV March 26 will be dedicated to the Armenian community in
Poland.

A1+
A UNIQUE DICTIONARY
02:01 pm 22 March, 2006
Tsoghik Grigoryan’s name became famous for those interested in
English in 2002 when the 21-year-old author published her first
dictionary `English-Armenian Synonyms’. Today her second dictionary
has already been published under the name of `English-Armenian
Dictionary of Synonymic Groups’. The book has been written for 6
years. It is the first in its type and has a number of
peculiarities. It includes three thousand headwords with their
synonyms.
`English is reach with polysemantic words, and in many cases the
synonyms are difficult the understand for non-native speakers. In this
book every polysemantic word is represented with its synonyms and
examples of usage’, the author mentioned. One of the peculiarities of
the book is that it will help the non-native speakers to think
English, to enrich their vocabulary and to get acquainted with 300
American, English, as well as a number of the other famous European
writers.
At the same time it can serve as a dictionary of English sayings and
winged expressions. There are over 150 English sayings and winged
expressions in the book. The Dictionary is meant for students,
translators and those who want to deeply study the language.
By the way, author of two dictionaries 25-year-old Tsoghik Grigoryan
is member of the AELTA.

WORLD ARMENIAN CONGRESS TO SIT IN PARIS SEPTEMBER 3-6, 2006
Yerkir
20.03.2006 17:29
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The World Armenian Congress will for the first
time sit in Paris September 3-6, 2006.
The event has for the object the assertion of the territorial and
national interests of Armenians via the activities of All-Armenian
organizations. The agenda includes the discussion of the problems of
Armenians and the analysis of the state of the Armenian Diaspora.

DANIEL FRIED REFERRED TO ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RECOGNITION ISSUE IN ANKARA
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.03.2006 19:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ “The issue of acknowledgement of the Armenian
Genocide is a complex question, which should be daringly discussed by
the two parties,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of
European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried said during his visit to
Ankara. Following the meeting with representatives of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Daniel Fried declared that it is necessary to evaluate
the tragedies of the past years, since the people should think about
their future. The American diplomat underlined that “the position of
the Unites States on this issue is known. US President George Bush
will most probably make a traditional annual statement on the issue
in April.” Daniel Fried added that the issue of Washington’s demand
to open the border with Armenia was addressed during the discussions
in Ankara.

ANCIENT MEDICAL PRACTICE OPENS WORLD OF CULTURE
China daily.China
March 17, 2006 Friday
Seven years ago, Gayane Tsaturyan came to Beijing from Armenia hoping
to fulfil her childhood dream of helping others through medicine. She
is moving closer to her dream as her graduation from Beijing University
of Chinese Medicine is coming up in August. In the meantime, the
22-year-old student is working as an intern at Dongzhimen Hospital
in Beijing’s Dongcheng District.
>>From the first day she worked at the outpatient wards last November,
she attracted the attention of curious patients as well as many funny
incidents, she told China Daily.
“They took me as a foreigner at first sight, but later on they would
rather believe I was an Uygur from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region, Northwest China,” said Tsaturyan.
In the mind of those patients, she explained, they don’t believe
that a foreigner can serve as a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
doctor in a Chinese hospital.
This gives her supervisor extra work to explain several times a
day that the quasi-Xinjiang woman is actually an intern student
from Armenia.
“However, they didn’t expect that I could understand nearly every
word they said about me, like my big nose, fair skin and deep eyes,”
said Tsaturyan with a laugh. “They chatted in public with each other
while I was walking by. I picked up Chinese because I wanted to
study TCM.” Language course To learn TCM, she said people must study
Chinese language well. It is through TCM that the world of culture
and language opened up for her, allowing her to know China and its
people more intimately along with the ancient traditional medical
practice. Tsaturyan came to China in 1999 at the age of 16 and entered
the Beijing Language and Culture University to undergo two years’
intensive Chinese language training. Unlike many foreigners who fear
Chinese, Tsaturyan said she enjoys it.
“The Chinese characters look very beautiful,” she said. “Writing
characters is just like drawing pictures.” To enrich her understanding
of Chinese characters, she signed up for a calligraphy course,
learning how to use the soft brush and black ink to write Chinese
characters and strictly following the traditional routine.
“Calligraphy helps me deepen my understanding of the basic the
structure of Chinese characters, like different dots and strokes,”
said Tsaturyan. “The more complicated structure a character has, the
more beautiful it looks.” In her eyes, the classic Chinese characters
look prettier than the simplified ones. She dislikes memorizing a
new word by rote, however. So, she tries to catch it in contexts. She
owed this good habit to her Chinese teachers.
“They taught me Chinese simply in a pure Chinese environment,” she
recalled. “Though they could speak English, they never used it in
teaching Chinese. They use gestures to help us understand meanings.”
She still remembers her teacher’s gestures at her first Chinese class.
“My teacher acted as if throwing something out, to let us understand
the word of xiake (dismissal when class is over), and then we realized
that we could leave,” she said. “Gesturers are way more important than
anything else in the initial phase.” Rich body language, accompanied
with several commonly-used Chinese words like zhege (this), nage
(that) and duoshaoqian (How much it costs), she recalled, helped her
handle routines in Beijing.
However, she had trouble making out the right tones of the Chinese
characters with the same pronunciation.
“Taxi drivers drove me to the wrong place, simply because I couldn’t
utter the right tone as perfectly as Chinese,” she said.
To get more interaction with the Chinese, she went out of the small
campus and registered in a salsa dancing course at a club named Latino
Fly. Now she has been learning salsa for almost a year.
“In this dancing course, I meet with people of different ages and
jobs,” said Tsaturyan.
Besides dancing together, she said she may chat with them during the
break and even travel with them during holidays.
Medical studies She began to study TCM in the fall of 2001. For
Tsaturyan, Chinese language learning is much easier than TCM study.
“Though I could use Chinese in my daily life after two years study,
I understood almost nothing when I took the first medicine course,”
she said. “Chinese in the field of TCM is much more complicated than
the daily Chinese.” Courses like Fundamentals of TCM and Ancient
Literature in Medicine are filled with jargon like yin and yang
(the negative and the positive in nature), wuxing (the earth’s five
fundamental elements), and qi (vital energy), said Tsaturyan.
To tackle these abstruse words, Tsaturyan bought dictionaries
specialized in TCM and looked up those new words one by one.
“The dictionary is a treasure full of knowledge,” said Tsaturyan.
“With the help of the dictionary, I can improve my understanding of
Chinese as well as Chinese medicine by myself.” The language difficulty
also lies in names of Chinese herbal medicines. “There are too many
herbal medicines in awkward-sounding Chinese characters,” she said.
“We must memorize the medical function of each one, and combine them
into a subscription for patients in the manner of TCM like feeling the
pulse, watching colours of the upper side of the tongue, and asking
about the previously-contracted disease of patients.” She added that
foreigners may encounter the language barrier along with the great
difference in beliefs.
“To study TCM well, I have to change many things that I had believed
before I came to China,” she explained. “The philosophy in religion
and biology that I accepted as truth are in sharp contrast with the
fundamental ideas promoted by TCM.” Six and a half years of living
in China, she said, has made her feel that she has already turned
from a foreigner into a native Beijinger. “I am afraid that I may
miss China very much after I go back to Armenia,” she revealed.

DEMAND OF LAW “ON PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION” CONCERNING SALARIES NOT FUNCTION IN TAVUSH
Noyan Tapan
Mar 16 2006
IJEVAN, MARCH 16, NOYAN TAPAN. The demand on salaries fixed in the
law “On Pre-School Education” come into force from January 1, 2006,
doesn’t function in the marz of Tavush. It’s particularly fixed by
the law that the minimum wage of pedagogues of kindergartens under
state and community subjection must be in double size of the minimum
salary fixed in the republic, thus, 30 thousand drams (about 67
U.S. dollars). But at the sitting of the Regional Council, Robert
Nersisian, the Chief of the Finance and Economy Department of the
Tavush regional administration advised the village heads to appoint
salary of pedagogues arising not of the demands of the above-mentioned
law, but of financial possibilities of communities. Some village
heads mentioned at the sitting that the state is obliged to allocate
for that purpose money to communities from the budget what isn’t
done. R.Nersisian informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent that soon
changes may be done in the law “On Pre-School Education” for the
above-mentioned principle concerning pedagogues’ minimum wage relates
only to state pre-school institutions.