How Demirjian's Russian roots have made her who she is
Could you imagine leading two very different lives? Traveling from one country to another every year? Or how about being away from more than half of your family?
Well, one of our very own
Greenmen leads a life just like this. Vera Demirjian was born here in the United States yet her mother moved from Russia to the U.S. not long before she was born.
While leaving behind family Demirjian opens up stating, “ My mom’s whole side of the family is in Russia. It gets hard, but it is all I have ever known. I facetime and call my family every week. Keeping in touch helps with me missing my family.”
After being born here in the United States, Vera Demirjian and her mother built a life here. However, a life in Russia was not left behind. Every summer since she can remember the Demirjian's travel back to Russia in order to see family.
Demirjian explains, “ I have always enjoyed traveling back to Russia , but sometimes the cultural barrier gets difficult. My favorite thing about going there is walking downtown Moscow because there is nothing in America like it”.
The culture barrier is one of the most interesting questions for Demirjian. There are many different aspects of the Russian culture that many would find intriguing. However, with living in the United States many believe the distance would create another barrier for Demirjian to understand her roots. Would you believe it if I said Vera Demirjian's everyday life leads with Russian culture?
Demirjian shows us the influence of Russia by answering, “ The way I live definitely is a fuse of russian and american values. The food I eat is influenced by Russian food. At home, I speak two languages rather than one, my religion is different, and the daughter mother relationship I have is very different than the ones here. Living in two cultures can be hard and confusing, but to answer your question, yes, everyday my life is influenced by Russian culture.”
While learning about how Demirjian's life is affected by the Russian culture, it poses the question, Is Russia really much different from the United States? The simple answer is, yes. Yet, nothing about any culture or country is simple. A country is made up of many things that make it unique. Attire, Language, cuisine, religion, amongst many other characteristics. When putting this idea into perspective one may ask , how does Russia compare to the United States?
To answer this question Demirjian explains, “ The most apparent difference is Russia is more of a family centered life and stricter on its values regarding gender roles and religion. There are some similarities like youth culture but there are a plethora of differences. Life is just simply not as independent as it is here.”
To further emphasize the differences of Russia compared to Demirjian's daily life here she looks at the daily differences of wardrobe. Demirjian emphasizes, “ The style in Russia is typical to European fashion. A lot of younger people are wearing high fashion clothing and older women just wear long skirts/dresses. When Sunday comes around (many of us are Russian Orthodox) there are babushkas and skirts down to the ankles. Weather is pretty similar to here, so we dress accordingly. One of the hardest things about traveling to Russia every year is the separate wardrobe I have to pack to fit in. My shorts and dresses are all a bit longer than what I might wear here. Russian mothers tend to be strict about what their daughters wear.”
The Russian roots Demirjian grows from is part of who she is. As one can see there are many differences between the two cultures in her life however this is a gift. All of us have different roots may it be Italian, German, Irish etc. yet many of us are not lucky enough to have our lives extremely impacted by these cultures. For Demirjian this is not the case.
Demirjian reflects deeply on the impact Russia has had on who she is explaining, “ Due to my russian background, I have qualities you find in all Russian people. My mother has not instilled American values throughout my life. For example, I have many of the rules my mom had back in russia. However, I do enjoy being bilingual. So there are bittersweet aspects of having my background instilled in who I am”.
Our backgrounds and cultures impact all of us in many different aspects. Vera Demirjian has had the unique opportunity to have two very prominent cultures instilled in her all of her life. This is an opportunity many of us could not even begin to imagine. Although there are endeavors faced with having two very different cultures influencing Demirjian's life. These two cultures have shaped her into the person she has become.
