Tuesday, February 14, 2012

A Winter Wonderland? I Think Not.

This past week has been extremely cold and a little miserable, weather-wise. On Wednesday, it snowed for the first time in over 12 years. The air was frigid and the wind was pretty unbearable. I am not the most knowledgeable when it comes to meteorology, but I thought that it was near impossible for it to snow at the beach/along the coast. I guess it is more likely to happen than I thought.


The weather forecast for the entire Balkans area is snow, snow, and more snow. The winter season is known to be quite chilly in this part of the world, however this year the snow fall and cold temperatures are at an extreme. There have been multiple avalanches blocking roads and trains, below freezing temperatures throughout the Balkan Peninsula, and an absurd amount of snow fall throughout the area.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Barisha, issued a "National State of Emergency" due to the worst winter in decades. In addition to Sali Barisha's announcement, Peace Corps Albania has put into place a "Stand-Fast". This means that Peace Corps Volunteers cannot leave do go anywhere. PCVs must stay put not matter if they are in someone else's site or their own. The "Stand-Fast" order has been for the past two days and it looks like it will stay like this for another day or two. Hopefully the weather will get a little better and warmer toward the end of the week so we, Group 13, can still attend our COS conference.


This season has brought heavy snow fall, below freezing temperatures, blocked roads, isolation of small villages, power outages, and deaths. It has been one of the worst winters in the Balkans in over a decade.  Lets just say, I am looking forward to spring.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It’s never too early to think about the Third Goal. Check out Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir. Oh! If you want a good laugh about what PC service was like in a Spanish-speaking country back in the 1970’s, read South of the Frontera: A Peace Corps Memoir.

Jon B said...

I am looking forward to reading your posts! I just heard that I will be going to serve in Albania starting March, 2014. I am glad to have come across you blog. Any advice for a new PCV?

-Jon