Aline Banboukian

My name is Aline Banboukian. I'm a Lebanese Armenian exchange student from Lebanon. Lebanon is a small country in the middle east by the Mediterranean Sea, where the official language is Arabic but English and French are spread also, as well Armenians living there speak Armenian. For example I come from a very old Armenian town from Lebanon which is called Anjar and we speak Armenian there as well we have our own dialect. The capital of my country is Beirut and the name Lebanon comes from the word LBN in Canaanite language which means "white" and refers to the snow capped Mount- Lebanon. The symbol of my country is the Cedar tree as you see it on the flag. Lebanon has a unique political system which is called confessionalism since there are 18 recognized religions there. The name of my town Anjar comes from the Arabic word "Ain Gerrah" which means the source of water. Anjar has a special beauty because of the ruins of the Umayyad castle in it and its waterfalls. Lebanon attracts large numbers of tourists to the point that the capital Beirut become widely referred to as the "Paris of the East." This country is known as the green country because of the forests of cedar trees. I'm here in the united states as an exchange student and I live here with a host family, the Youssef family, my host father is Lebanese and I have 2 host brothers Stephen 16 and James 13, back in Lebanon I have 3 sisters Armig, Arina and Araz and of course my mom Ashkhen and my dad Garo. I love to be the best I can be and I do work hard to reach my goals and aims. I believe that if you try hard enough you succeed no matter how difficult what you're trying to do is. I like reading, writing, trying new things, doing anything that makes me happy and is fun as well singing, dancing and drawing on peoples faces smiles.I adore family life and feel like they are the treasure of life and the best thing in the world. I totally dedicate myself to my works and responsibilities, I like taking challenges and risks because I don't believe in regretting on things I never did, I rather regret on things I tried and learnt a lesson from my experience which makes me closer to my goal and success.