First it was her appearance - in our class Alina stood out, she did not look typically Caucasian, there was a different softness about her.

Then, the surname - it did not end in “-yan” like the rest of us, it wasn't an Armenian name. She was often asked who she was and,- her favorite answer was simply, “I am half-Armenian, half-Assyrian.” Alina was obviously proud of who she was, a child of mixed ethnicity. She had something that we didn't.

So did Karen. He was in another class, he was known as “the Russian,” and he indeed looked like one. And there is Anna, my colleague, who is always called when a translation from Georgian is needed-her mother is Georgian, and Georgian is her second native tongue".

Armenia is a largely homogeneous society and children of mixed ethnicity stick out - be it their appearance, their mindset, their traditions, or simply their favourite food. And they are aware of it, with some feeling lost in a constant state of uncertainty, others navigating comfortably their world -in-between. Yet, all of them represent the best of two, or more, worlds.