Travel as a privilege

On our last day in Armenia, the group of us decided to meet Lilit for breakfast at our favorite coffee shop, Hayk Roastery. We spent some time reflecting on our last three weeks in Armenia. Lilit asked many questions, including “Who was the most interesting person you met in Armenia?” 

This question seemed to stump all of us for a few moments. During our time in Armenia, we met so many interesting and inspirational people. How could we possibly choose just one person to tell her about? 

I’ll admit that the answer I finally arrived upon was a little bit of a cop out. I shared with Lilit that during our time here we had become very familiar with different taxi services, including an app that I used almost daily called Yandex. Yandex was an absolute lifesaver—rides were almost always less than $3 and the taxis were largely reliable and safe (we did ride in a few cars that were missing front bumpers, but such is life in Yerevan). Across the dozens of rides that I had taken to and from my internship, I had the opportunity to meet and chat with many different interesting individuals. Of course, as I only speak English, most of the rides were silent. However, every once in a while I would end up having an interesting conversation with someone. 

One interaction that sticks out in my memory was one of the first taxis that I had taken by myself. My driver was a Russian man who spoke very little English. Despite the language barrier, he utilized hand gestures to share his story with me. He told me that he loved America, but had been repeatedly refused a green card (he said “Green card” then took his hands off the steering wheel briefly to make an X shape with his forearms). 

It seemed that his experience was a common one, many of the individuals we talked with throughout our time told us about their troubles seeking green cards and visas. Hearing such stories definitely filled me with a sense of guilt. I have always seen travel as a privilege, but it wasn’t until these interactions that I truly understood the extent to which one’s nationality played a role in that privilege.