Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 06/00) - A job in the diamond industry has already taken Stefanie Sanguez halfway around the world.

In mid-September, Sanguez returned from a three-week trip to Armenia, a country that borders Turkey and Iran. In the Armenian capital of Yerevan, she and several co-workers from Arslanian Cutting Works were enroled a diamond cutting and polishing course.

"It is so amazing just how much work it is to actually brillianteer the diamonds. It takes patience and accuracy," she said, "My trainer, the way he taught, I can just close my eyes and think how he was so precise, 'You have to do it this way.'"

A former bank employee who has been living in Yellowknife for four years, Sanguez said she saw an ad for diamond cutters and polishers in the newspaper and decided to apply.

"I've been thinking about it for quite some time. You know how diamonds are going to be the future of the North... I just wanted to be part of that future," she said.

She was hired on Aug. 15 and boarded the plane for Armenia three days later, knowing that she would miss her fiance and baby daughter.

"On the ride to the airport it was like, 'Oh my God, I'm leaving," she said of the rapid succession of events.

It was an exhausting trip with brief stops in Edmonton, Calgary, London, Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam and then finally to Armenia.

While overseas, Sanguez got a chance to do some sightseeing in the city, which has many stone buildings, and at nearby Lake Seven, the only lake in the tiny country, she said. The water is an incredible shade of blue and it's considered a sacred area, she noted.

"And we got to see some sort of mass in this little church. It was really nice," she said. "It was quite interesting... the hospitality we got from the Armenians was just awesome. They were so nice to us. I would never forget them."

She won't soon forget the cuisine either. Most meals are accompanied by lamb, beef or pork, but they are prepared differently, she said, adding that goat cheese is popular. In all, she lost eight pounds while she was away.

"I went to a lot of restaurants there in Yerevan city; I could not even find a cheeseburger the way Canada makes a cheeseburger," she said. "The only thing I advise if anyone were to go to Armenia is to pack French's mustard and Heinz ketchup. Their ketchup is like tomato sauce."

Despite the poor quality of the condiments, Sanguez is glad she made the trip.

"All my friends were telling me, 'Just go. It's the chance of a lifetime. It was the best thing I've ever done."