By Samuel Armen

There was one intern among our group who was quite shy and reserved. In the first week of knowing him, I heard him say perhaps a handful of full sentences. On the night of our 13th day our group had dinner together in several groups throughout Yerevan, and had altogether decided to go out to a particular club.

By this night – which was our almost the completion of our second week – we had gone out nearly every evening. This festive pattern would continue all the way to Day 40, largely due to the adamant determination and tireless motivation of a female intern. Often times she would only have to stand over a lazy group or individual and say "Are you REALLY staying in?! In Yerevan?!"

In a sense, we all owe her thanks because of all those crazy things we did on those nights "those will be the best memories."

Despite all of this, on Day 13 I decided to stay in alongside the aforementioned shy intern. For at least three hours he and I spoke of everything, with my hidden intention of locating the root of his shyness and withering it away. I humbly say that reading people's actions and reactions is my best talent.

In the three hours he opened up to me, revealing changes in his life, his dedication to Christianity, his desire to be more sociable, and his newfound hunger for a nirvana-like perfection.

The only thing I said worth mentioning here was explaining to him that "the difference between courage and boldness is fear. Boldness does not see fear – either from stupidity or some other reason. Courage, on the other hand, sees fear and is afraid. Nevertheless, courage moves towards fear anyway. The more fear you pass in a journey, the more courage you obtain. And like everything, courage is a habit; one must practice courage."

I know for a fact that this intern had several revelatory and remedial conversations with other interns before and after this one, but it was the very next night when we all went to a club where I saw him begin a month-long transformation.

By the end of the internship, his sociability had progressed so far that several interns, including myself, raised glasses in recognition of his revolution.

Now, my intention in this specific article was not only to reveal how YSIP's mission in bringing ambitious Armenians together can help individuals develop progressively, but also to elucidate factors of our nightlife.

It was usually during our visits to 3 of these 4 clubs where I saw leaps in the aforementioned intern's social openness. The following is my review of 4 very popular clubs in Armenia:

Giza:

Giza is located on the East side of the Opera house, and has the most potential out of any of the clubs, due to its size. However, it is quite a shame that most of the staff is inefficient. They made the absolutely inexcusable mistake of demanding a high cover charge for a few men who were accompanied by about three times as many girls. Now this wouldn't seem so frightfully amateurish if it wasn't for the fact that the actual club was EMPTY. The staff actually turned on the lights and music for us. If it wasn't for the fact that we were particularly lazy one night, they would have lost most of their service. It wasn't until after our group literally livened the place when locals and tourists started popping in.

I say this wholeheartedly: this club is run by an inexperienced staff, which is why we never returned again. It should also be mentioned that the bartenders looked as if they were being bothered every time someone ordered a drink. In any case, the club is huge, has a spacious dance floor, and the bar and seats are properly located. The music here is good, and is comprised mostly of catchy remixes of American and European pop songs. My Advice: If you ever choose to go here, coordinate with as many people as possible, as it may be empty. Also, be prepared to pay a cover no matter how foolish it seems. (Or be ready to go to the other 3 [much better] clubs in walking distance)

OneClub:

OneClub is located on Koryun Street and is a bit further than the other 3 clubs which are one block away from each other. This club happens to be my personal favorite. The dance floor here is medium-sized, the bar and stage are on opposite sides, and there is a chic area for seating. There is one large stage and several smaller platforms where one can dance if they're feeling particularly invigorated. There is never a cover charge here, and the music here is absolutely incredible. I consider myself fairly updated when it comes to club and house music, however, out of the hundred or so songs we danced to here, I knew only 3 or 4.

I give sincere kudos to the DJs. Also, the lightshows are awesome – the place is very dark, so the strobe lights blinking and the multicolored-laser beams look amazing. The only downfall of this club is the fact that alcohol is far too expensive. A redeeming quality, however, is the fact that the club is located only 1 block away from two different stores where one can purchase alcohol. My Advice: If you are one of those people who need to get drunk before dancing, you should definitely pre-game or purchase alcohol from the sellers across the street. Also try and remember lyrics so you can update your music libraries.

iBar:

iBar is underground, located on Northern Avenue, beneath Segafredo and across the underground street from That Place. If there is a cover charge here it is only for men, it is never above 1,000 dram (~2.85 dollars) and it is such a rare occurrence that one needn't worry about it. The drink prices are about average and the dance floor space is slightly small. However there are multiple booths and tables all around which makes this place a very chic and very high-energy lounge. There are two stages – where only women can dance (or male staff).

This venue is much brighter than OneClub yet, the lightshow here is even more impressive. At times it appeared as if different colored lights were pouring onto dancers. The music here ranges, but is always danceable – there are club remixes of 80s and 90s songs, a few hip hop and R&B songs (no rap), and there is the usual house music. With its location, style and energy this place stands out. My Advice: Because the dance floor isn't too large, one shouldn't go with a group of over 20 people on a crowded night. On weeknights this place is best.

That Place:

Though more of a bar than a club, That Place was a favorite among many of the interns. It is here where there is the least amount of locals and most amount of Diasporans. Like iBar, That Place is underground. The light show consists of strobes and a disco ball, which is more than enough for a venue that is actually a pub. The main complaint here was the heat. One would only need to walk in to be covered in sweat. One could excuse this for the fact that it is underground.

However, iBar – which is also underground – is not nearly as hot. A very cool perk of this club was the fact that almost anyone could DJ. If one walks in with pretty women the DJ booth is pretty much yours. If you know what music gets everyone moving, the staff will remember you. We were treated with an especially high amount of hospitality because one of the interns quickly became friends with the owner. Needless to say, the music varies tremendously here. This is definitely a place to check out. My Advice: Dress for a desert escapade and get to know the staff – it will pay off. They are great people.