by Amber Neri
Staff Writer
St. Petersburg, Russia, is a memory of home for La Verne student Anna Ayvazian.
Currently a junior, Ayvazian came to the United States with her mother when she was 12 years old. She remembers her arrival well.
“The lights, I will never forget the lights. We don’t have a lot of lights in Russia. There are so many cars here too. We don’t have as many cars in Russia either.
“The buildings here are small. When we came here I was expecting something like Russia, tall buildings. The shortest building in Russia is 15 stories, and when I came here and saw all of these one and two story houses, I felt like I was in the Russian countryside,” reminisces Ayvazian.
They came to be reunited with her grandmother and uncle who had been living here in the states for quite some time. Before they left Russia, Ayvazian’s uncle told her to order a Sprite instead of Coke on the airplane when she was traveling. She found out why when she did it.
“When we went on the airplane there were a lot of Russian people, and when the stewardess came over, she asked us what we’d like to drink. I told her Sprite, and everyone looked at me,” said Ayvazian. “‘What’s that? What’s a Sprite?’ They’d ask me. Everyone was looking at me, and they didn’t know what I was drinking because we only have Coke in Russia.” That experience was a memorable one for Ayvazian.
She moved to Glendale with her mother, and attended Glendale High School. Her older sister, Marianna, moved to the U.S. four years ago, with her two young daughters.
Ayvazian learned to speak English in junior high. In Russia she was in the sixth grade before she moved, and she was advanced up to the eighth grade upon arrival in the U.S. public school system.
It was a struggle for her to learn the language. “It was so hard. I was learning English and Armenian at the same time,” she said.
She had to learn Armenian because none of her classmates spoke Russian.
Ayvazian’s basic foundation in the language was due to the fact that she interacted with many Armenian students. So, instead of just being bilingual, she’s trilingual.
Class time was a challenge, though. “I couldn’t take notes, I’d copy stuff off of the board at school and translate with my dictionary when I went home, word by word,” said Ayvazian.
She remembers a teacher’s help. “My English teacher was wonderful, she stayed with me extra time.”
Being a philosophy major takes some time, but Ayvazian also manages to keep up her grades along with balancing school activities, a work study job at the Child Development Center and a part-time job at Robinson’s May in the Eagle Rock Plaza. She works on the weekends and holidays in the children’s department of the store.
She is an Iota Delta sorority sister, a mentor for the Mentor Program, and she has also been involved with the Theatre Department’s Haunted House for the past two years.
An International Student Organization (ISO) member, and a former member of the French Club, Ayvazian has been actively involved with campus life from the beginning of her stay here.
That first year at ULV was challenging for her.
“It was hectic, I knew only people from my O.W.L. (Orientation Week) group, it was hard to get to know people. I love it now,” she said.
Ayvazian chose the University of La Verne because she wanted a small college after attending such a large high school.
“I wanted a small school so that I could be closer with the professors,” she said. “I also like the campus. It is so pretty. Everyone here is so nice.”
Differences that she sees now in comparing the United States to her homeland are numerous.
“Everything is here for the people to make everyone’s life easier,” she said. “That, along with the freedom of speech is what I like about the U.S.”
In Russia, poverty is commonplace. “It was weird, all the lines that they have, it is very sad there. You see all the homeless people sitting on the streets begging for stuff. They sell everything they have for money,” she shakes her head sadly.
Ayvazian’s mom keeps track of the latest Russian news for her. She has mixed feelings about even going back to visit her country.
“I do and I don’t miss Russia. I get sad because I remember my friends and how much fun I had back there. St. Petersburg is the most beautiful city in Russia. It is so gorgeous,” she said. “I miss the seasons. We had harsh winters though. We used to all go in one room and put all the heaters in there to keep warm.”
Now that Ayvazian is a junior, and it is almost time to make post-graduate plans, she is looking forward to attending graduate school. She is interested in applying at the law school at the University of Texas.
As for now, she is content with La Verne life and the pleasantries of small campus living.
“I like the people at La Verne. They are really nice and helpful. They are here to help you get educated.”
Amber Neri
