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Dallas Morning News , TX
Jan 6 2012
Armenian immigrant stitches together a new life in Dallas
By CLARE MIERS
CLARE MIERS The Dallas Morning News
My Internet card was on the fritz, so it was either the library or
Chick-fil-A. Both offer Wi-Fi to those desperate to connect. Lunch was
overdue, so I opted for Chick-fil-A.
I got a chicken sandwich, then sequestered myself in a booth to meet
deadlines. School must have let out, because the place was overrun
with teens.
Suddenly, milkshakes and waffle fries exploded like a bomb. Somebody
had bumped a table, and there was a colossal mess of food, screaming
teen girls and high-pitched scapegoating, followed by the only thing
rational to those directly involved: a mass exodus.
An employee in her mid-50s came out with a bucket and mop.
`I'm not certain how this happened,' I said to break silence, using a
few napkins to blot the splatter near me.
`They are so young and carefree at this age,' Karine `Kara'
Charchoghlyan said with the patience of a saint. `They don't have many
years of that. Life will change things for them, but for now, they
have some carefree days like this.'
I was astounded by her peaceful resolve in the aftermath of a sticky,
starchy food hit-and-run. We talked as she cleaned, refusing my help.
The details of her life and strength unfolded.
Charchoghlyan's mother taught German and her father was an economist
in Armenia. Practicality and creativity are family traits. Her
grandfather was a master baker of wedding, birthday and baptismal
cakes.
`I can still sometimes smell the sweet and cinnamony smell of my
grandfather's bakery,' she said.
Born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Charchoghlyan taught Russian
grammar and literature in high school for three decades. She raised
two children. In 2007, her husband, Hamlet, passed away.
`Right after I lost my husband, I could not do anything for several
months. I lost direction,' she said. `Life had lost its spark and I
was immersed in darkness.'
Her daughter Anna, working in Dallas, suggested that her mother move
to Texas for a fresh start. Anna's family was growing; a new grandson
was coming.
`There were a lot of tears shed on my pillow before I left,'
Charchoghlyan says. `Fears like, `What am I going to do there? Where
am I going to work? Will I fit in?' were racing through my mind. Yet I
was excited and couldn't wait to start this new journey.'
In early 2010, Charchoghlyan immigrated to the United States, when
unemployment rates were near 10 percent. Still learning the language
and culture, she took the job at Chick-fil-A and later decided to sack
groceries at Tom Thumb as a second job. Both were near her Dallas
home.
`As they say in the States, when life gives you lemons, you make
lemonade,' Charchoghlyan said. `I love that saying. Did I want to take
a second job? No. Did I have to do it to make ends meet? Absolutely.'
I asked her when she rests.
`I stop only when my eyes start closing.'
Her toddler grandson Michael is close to her heart, as is her love of art.
`My art is what carried me through the tough and unbearable times of
grief. It has always been my escape,' she said.
In college, Charchoghlyan worked as a cartoonist. She still loves to
draw and paint, but today, knitting and crochet work are her creative
focus.
She loves `the peace and quiet and being in that moment when you're
creating something new,' she says. `It is like meditation. You stretch
your thinking, yet there is joy and adventure and anticipation to see
the final result.'
After crocheting for years, she started selling some items. Business
spread through word of mouth. Last fall, she opened `KarasKeepsakes'
on Etsy.com.
`At first I was reluctant, since I had never sold any of my handmade
pieces and I felt uncomfortable asking people to pay,' she said.
But people were eager to buy her knitted hats, cloches, booties and
custom orders. She is already working on Easter things.
`I get little butterflies in my stomach when I deliver or ship items
to people,' she said.
If we only could bottle and sell Charchoghlyan's energy and outlook.
Without my Internet card on hiatus, I would've missed meeting one of
the city's newest, most courageous, interesting women. When our
routines change fortuitously, some unexpected things are woven into
our lives, with the outcome being something really beautiful.
Clare Miers is a Dallas freelance writer.
http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/headlines/20120106-armenian-immigrant-stitches-together-a-new-life-in-dallas.ece
Jan 6 2012
Armenian immigrant stitches together a new life in Dallas
By CLARE MIERS
CLARE MIERS The Dallas Morning News
My Internet card was on the fritz, so it was either the library or
Chick-fil-A. Both offer Wi-Fi to those desperate to connect. Lunch was
overdue, so I opted for Chick-fil-A.
I got a chicken sandwich, then sequestered myself in a booth to meet
deadlines. School must have let out, because the place was overrun
with teens.
Suddenly, milkshakes and waffle fries exploded like a bomb. Somebody
had bumped a table, and there was a colossal mess of food, screaming
teen girls and high-pitched scapegoating, followed by the only thing
rational to those directly involved: a mass exodus.
An employee in her mid-50s came out with a bucket and mop.
`I'm not certain how this happened,' I said to break silence, using a
few napkins to blot the splatter near me.
`They are so young and carefree at this age,' Karine `Kara'
Charchoghlyan said with the patience of a saint. `They don't have many
years of that. Life will change things for them, but for now, they
have some carefree days like this.'
I was astounded by her peaceful resolve in the aftermath of a sticky,
starchy food hit-and-run. We talked as she cleaned, refusing my help.
The details of her life and strength unfolded.
Charchoghlyan's mother taught German and her father was an economist
in Armenia. Practicality and creativity are family traits. Her
grandfather was a master baker of wedding, birthday and baptismal
cakes.
`I can still sometimes smell the sweet and cinnamony smell of my
grandfather's bakery,' she said.
Born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, Charchoghlyan taught Russian
grammar and literature in high school for three decades. She raised
two children. In 2007, her husband, Hamlet, passed away.
`Right after I lost my husband, I could not do anything for several
months. I lost direction,' she said. `Life had lost its spark and I
was immersed in darkness.'
Her daughter Anna, working in Dallas, suggested that her mother move
to Texas for a fresh start. Anna's family was growing; a new grandson
was coming.
`There were a lot of tears shed on my pillow before I left,'
Charchoghlyan says. `Fears like, `What am I going to do there? Where
am I going to work? Will I fit in?' were racing through my mind. Yet I
was excited and couldn't wait to start this new journey.'
In early 2010, Charchoghlyan immigrated to the United States, when
unemployment rates were near 10 percent. Still learning the language
and culture, she took the job at Chick-fil-A and later decided to sack
groceries at Tom Thumb as a second job. Both were near her Dallas
home.
`As they say in the States, when life gives you lemons, you make
lemonade,' Charchoghlyan said. `I love that saying. Did I want to take
a second job? No. Did I have to do it to make ends meet? Absolutely.'
I asked her when she rests.
`I stop only when my eyes start closing.'
Her toddler grandson Michael is close to her heart, as is her love of art.
`My art is what carried me through the tough and unbearable times of
grief. It has always been my escape,' she said.
In college, Charchoghlyan worked as a cartoonist. She still loves to
draw and paint, but today, knitting and crochet work are her creative
focus.
She loves `the peace and quiet and being in that moment when you're
creating something new,' she says. `It is like meditation. You stretch
your thinking, yet there is joy and adventure and anticipation to see
the final result.'
After crocheting for years, she started selling some items. Business
spread through word of mouth. Last fall, she opened `KarasKeepsakes'
on Etsy.com.
`At first I was reluctant, since I had never sold any of my handmade
pieces and I felt uncomfortable asking people to pay,' she said.
But people were eager to buy her knitted hats, cloches, booties and
custom orders. She is already working on Easter things.
`I get little butterflies in my stomach when I deliver or ship items
to people,' she said.
If we only could bottle and sell Charchoghlyan's energy and outlook.
Without my Internet card on hiatus, I would've missed meeting one of
the city's newest, most courageous, interesting women. When our
routines change fortuitously, some unexpected things are woven into
our lives, with the outcome being something really beautiful.
Clare Miers is a Dallas freelance writer.
http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/headlines/20120106-armenian-immigrant-stitches-together-a-new-life-in-dallas.ece