International Day - Decorations

For the International day, we all were supposed to decorate our country room so that we could represent our country and the essence of our traditions and cultures the best we could.

What were my aims?

My objective and aim for this activity was to develop myself as an open-minded person who appreciates her own culture and history. Secondly I was hoping to be more of a thinker, to be able to critically approach and solve some problems. Moreover I was aiming be more balanced in order to be able to balance and manage my time between doing my studies and the decorations.

The door of our country room

What did I do?

Every country was a given a room to decorate, in order to represent their culture and traditions.  I used my designing experiences and skills to change the room, creating a traditional mood.

 This year we were also supposed to decorate the door of our country room, so after a lot of brainstorming and discussions we came up with an idea. We covered the door with cotton pieces and panted them with the same colors as our national flag: red, blue orange.

 I thought it would be a great idea to make a small model of Mount Ararat. Mount Ararat is the saint mountain of Armenia, and the inspiration for most Armenians. Therefore having the model of the mountain in our room will let other people to know more about our country and our beliefs.  

What difficulties did I encounter?

I was really afraid to start making the mountain, as there was firstly I thought I won’t have enough time, and also I was lacking the appropriate skills that will be needed for accomplishing the construction. As I didn’t know how to make it I decide to try some ways to see how it goes. It required a lot of time thinking about various methods and ways that we could do it. I tried to make Mount Ararat with wires, but then it didn’t. I started to panic as I was in despair. Fortunately those of my friends who were doing Design and Technology offered me their help, and after thinking critically we decided to use a newspaper and do paper mashie. Thus we could all combine the different skills that we to reach the desired result.

Making Mount Ararat

 I was really worried because only I and one of my friends (Gagik) were supposed to decorate the room (as the rest of Armenians went for shopping for the International day). It was very challenging. We didn’t have a lot of time but there was plenty of work for us to do. So instead of working separately we decided to work on and finish one thing first and then go on. I thought that it was more productive and effective in terms of managing the time.

 What did I achieve?

  I thought I meet the objectives that I have set at the beginning. As I felt that I had developed myself as an open minded person. I do understand and appreciate Armenian culture and personal histories more. I am sure that the experience that I gained will grow, as I became more open to others perspectives and views.

  I saw myself growing as a thinker, because during the activity I gained critical and creative thinking skills, and was able to approach some complex problems.

Everyone likes the delicious Armenian food

This activity also made me realize that if something goes wrong I am not supposed to panic but to think and make reasoned, ethical decisions. I should calm down and find another ways to approach the problem, as There is always a light in the end of the tunnel.

  Also I became more balanced as learned how to control my time, and use it effectively in order to manage and succeed.

Mount Ararat in our country room