Rendahl: Unsettled

On Feb. 22, I visited the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Don’t ask me to explain all of the administrative, political, geopolitical, ethnic, and religious divisions within BiH—it’ll make your head spin, even if I get it half right. Starting with the most recent of the country’s dark history is the three-and-a-half year [...]

Rendahl: No!

My great-grandmother was a suffragette. She was born in 1886 and is said to be the longest serving woman legislator in the country, having been elected to 19 terms in the New Hampshire state legislature. Does anyone remember what it means to be a suffragette? Have we forgotten how many decades and droves of people [...]

Rendahl: Who Moved My Reindeer?

I asked my eight-year-old niece Sydney for a topic to treat in this column space. She sat cross-legged on the kitchen island and thoughtfully considered my request. With little hesitation, she suggested weaving a “fantasy narrative” (her words, not mine) about evil reindeer that kidnap Santa’s legitimate reindeer in order to destroy Christmas. The real [...]

Rendahl: Touchy-Feely

Someone recently asked me what I miss about Armenia. People must see the nostalgia in my eyes or hear it in my voice, because I’m asked some version of that question on a regular basis. But to ask what I miss, specifically, takes it to another level.

I had an answer to the question, but not [...]

Rendahl: First Place

I meet Armenians wherever I go, usually the first place I enter. It’s like…it’s like…well, I’d say bees to honey, but I hate to compare myself to honey at the risk of suggesting I’m sweeter than I really am. But you know what I mean.

I meet Armenians wherever I go, usually the first place I [...]

Rendahl: Hayrenik

“I’m going to the hayrenik” (fatherland) a friend said. “Yegur hon yertank” (Let’s go there).

Whether it’s hos or hon, aystegh or ayntegh, the hayrenik is a powerful image. (Gantsasar, Artsakh; photo by Khatchig Mouradian)

There were assumptions in the statement. That the homeland is home, that the homeland is theirs, that the homeland is the cherished [...]

Rendahl: Survival?

I’ve noticed a disconcerting trend recently. People across the Armenian World have been saying, “If Armenia is going to survive, then…” The sentence is generally concluded with a shake of the head and instruction to no one in particular that something needs to be done. In conversations from Salt Lake City to New York City, [...]

Rendahl: Hope Has Two Daughters

Society in the U.S. says that we become adults at age 18 or 21, depending on whether you want to drink a beer or fight for your country. Car insurance rates for men drop once they turn 25. A study by the National Institutes of Health found that changes in maturity levels between the ages [...]

Rendahl: Sticky People

A friend of mine describes many non-Western cultures as being “sticky.” Sticky people don’t recognize arbitrary boundaries of personal space. They assume carte blanche to invade, intrude, and otherwise insert themselves into any given situation, whether with family or a perfect stranger, and everyone expects it. No matter how you slice the world—East and West, [...]