Sunday, December 12, 2010

Water, Water Everywhere












It is known in Albania that the Northern areas of the country are at high risk of flooding during the winter season, particularly the Northern town of Shkodra. Last January there was a large flood in the North that was quite detrimental to the affected areas.

Last week, Albania, as well as a few other small Balkan countries, experienced the worst flood in over a century! The Northern provinces of Albania were completely under water as well as many other areas all around Albania, including: Korça, Librazhd, Fier, and Gjirokastra. Not only are these places heavily populated, but it is quite unusual for these parts of Albania to flood. Many of the roads throughout the country were closed due to the fact that they were under meters of water. In Gjirokastra, however, the roads were not the main problem. In this Southern town, the power plant was under water, resulting in a major power outage.

In Albania there are several large rivers and when it rains throughout the country for multiple days on end, the rivers begin to overflow and flood the surrounding areas. In the case of the Northern part of Albania, Shkodra and Lezhe, there is the Drini (a river) as well as Lake Shkodra that are both quite large and located in flood susceptible areas.

Due to the fact that roads were under water, boats were used as a way to get around the immensely flooded areas in order to help evacuate residents. It was pretty unbelievable how a week of non-stop rain could flood so many uniquely different terrains though out the country of Albania.

Fortunately, many aid groups from around the world have sent supplies and aid workers to Northern Albania, where the most damage was done. What is particularly frightening about this specific flood is the fact that it happened so early in the winter season. The winter months in Albania are characterized by the large amount of rainfall. I hope another large flood is not in Albania's near future as we approach only the middle of winter.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Gobble, Gobble: A FRESH Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in Albania was really quite fun. Peace Corps contacted American Embassy families to see if they would host Peace Corps Volunteers for the best holiday of the year. Luckily, some American Families volunteered to host PCV's. Those of us who decided to participate in this Thanksgiving celebration traveled to the capital, Tirana. It was great to see so many Peace Corps Volunteers on Thanksgiving. The atmosphere was quite jovial and everyone seemed to be in holiday spirits.

At 11 am on Thursday morning, PCVs and US Marines, stationed in Albania, trekked across town to the US Embassy Residential Compound for a friendly game of football, PC vs. USMC. Talk about eerie! As you walk through the gates of the residential compound it is as though you are leaving Albania and entering a suburb in the United States. When I say a U.S. suburb, I mean a Stepford Wives-like community. All of the houses look exactly the same, same layout and color and the lawns are green and perfectly groomed. It was a bit weird to walk into what seemed like an alternate universe filled with "flowers and butterflies" while just outside the gates was a country littered with trash, a web of poorly paved streets, and a culture that has absolutely no idea what a pilgrim from the Mayflower is.

The annual touch-football game was played at one of the parks within the compound. It was Peace Corps vs. the U.S. Marine Corps. One may look at this match up and think, “Wow, what an unfair competition. The Peace Corps team will get absolutely demolished!” but that person would, surprisingly, be wrong! Peace Corps was able to pull out a win. Although the football win excited and motivated the male PCVs, I couldn't stop thinking that the members of the losing team are the ones who are supposed to be protecting our country... Not going to lie, it made me a little nervous, but at the same time the whole situation was pretty comical.

My Thanksgiving dinner, or late afternoon lunch, was absolutely amazing! I was lucky enough to be placed with PC Albania's financial officer, Paul. He was a great host, had a great shower, and had a heater, which kept his place unbelievably warm. It felt really nice to have some of these amenities, especially during the holiday. The only thing missing on my Thanksgiving was the Cowboys.

Growing up, the Dallas Cowboys were the center of many family gatherings. Frequently, the time of our Thanksgiving dinner was set based on the time of the Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game. I'm sure you could imagine the empty feeling inside when we tried to stream the game over the internet and we did not have any luck. In the end, I guess it was good that I did not see the game because, according to news reports, at the last minute the Cowboys, once again, butchered their lead and lost the game.

Although I did get the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day, I had also been included in a Thanksgiving that was to take place the following Saturday in the mountain town of Burrel. This was where events began to get a little fresh...

Albania has loads of turkeys. They are bred and raised to be eaten on New Years, on of the biggest holidays here in Albania. Due to the large population of turkey farmers, we were able to find two nice sized birds for the occasion. We cooked 2 birds because of the large number of guests that would be attending this delayed Thanksgiving Celebration.

The turkeys were super fresh and tender. The night before our celebration, 2 fellow PCVs took on the task of slaughtering the 2 turkeys that had been purchased from a nearby village. What was so ironic about this particular Thanksgiving was the fact that the 2 turkeys were purchased, tied up, housed, basted, and cooked by 2 vegetarians. They both did not have any experience with cooking turkeys, nor did they eat them. Despite the fact that these two women did not know exactly what they were doing the turkeys turned out great! The rest of the food was pretty good as well. I volunteered to make my mom's corn casserole. I had to improvise with the recipe a little because Albania did not have all of the ingredients that I needed, but it turned out just as good as I had remembered. I think a few people were skeptical about the idea of my corn casserole, but I believe they were pleasantly surprised. Or that's what I concluded because there was absolutely none leftover.

Not only did this Thanksgiving dinner include great food, but it also included a few games. We all played Thanksgiving Twister and a trivia game about Thanksgiving and turkeys. Did you know that Minnesota is the state that produces the most turkeys in the U.S.? I also made it to the finals of Thanksgiving Twister; I believe I came in 3rd. Not trying to brag or anything, but I am pretty good at Twister, always have been. These games definitely added to the fun and merriment of our Thanksgiving celebration.

I was a little nervous about what a Thanksgiving in Albania was going to be like, but it turned out to be tons of fun and I am already looking forward to next year!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Before becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer I had it in my mind that being part of the Peace Corps would allow me to go out into the world and really make a difference in peoples’ lives. I would not say that I am not making a difference, but what I would say is that what my service has, so far, seemed and felt like has been completely different than what I had imagined. I have come to learn that the tiny successes and improvements that I occasionally see are very very important to my survival here in Albania.

Upon my arrival in Philadelphia for orientation, everyone in my group looked so bright-eyed, energized, and ready to take on the world. I was excited. Here were people who want adventure, look for challenges, and feel like they should focus on others for a while, rather than themselves. I met my roommate in Philly and liked her right away. Then the following day we all boarded the plane for Albania. Luckily, I had an entire row of seats to myself for the long plane ride, while other volunteers were packed into seats right next to each other. Once in Albania, my group and I were taken to a hotel in Elbasan for a 3-day orientation to the country, prior to meeting our host families. I had, not one, but two roommates. I once again had lucked out in the roommate lottery. So by this time I was pumped about being in Albania and being in the Peace Corps. Things were looking up!

All through my life, I have had some absolutely amazing experiences, but for some reason each of those experiences came with a price. Unfortunately, so did Peace Corps Albania. My luck began to dissolve, and dissolve fast!

I would like to list just a few glitches that I have come across over the past 8 months I have been here...

1. 1st morning, ice-cold shower. Water went out once I had shampooed my hair. End up having to get out of shower and go to the room next door to finish up.

2. Upon first meeting my host family, I told my host mother that I needed to throw up. I hadn't even learned how to say, "I am going to school", but somehow I had the vocabulary and grammar to tell her that I was going to be sick. (this was not at all what I was trying to communicate)

3. Last night at host family's house I was not only locked out of the house, but a huge metal chain and pad-lock had been wrapped around the gate of my host family's yard. I had been locked out, at night, in the dark.

4. During a furgon (van) ride from one town to another I got so sick I cannot even begin to explain. I was throwing up in a plastic bag, while the furgon driver was swerving all over the road, making it nearly impossible for me to successfully aim into the bag.

5. A bus driver tried to charge me 800 leke for a 400-leke ride. To his surprise, I speak Shqip (Albanian). I refused to pay the inflated price, which resulted in me being left in the wrong town without a way to return to my village.

6. My toilet began to leak H2O around the base. Upon further investigation, I found a colony of maggots living underneath my toilet. I had it fixed about 3-4 days after this discovery. Note: I am not sure that it was completely fixed because I think it might be leaking again...

7. The water in Himare is pretty dirty. When water comes out of the faucet it is tinted brown. Due to the really "clean" water I have developed a bacterial fungus along the jaw line of my face. Why there and no place else? On top of that, I can't get it to go away because no matter how much I scrub/wash my face I am still using the water, which was the problem to begin with.

8. I had boarded a bus that was heading back to Himare. Things were looking good. I got a good spot on the bus and had no one sitting next to me. Not 5 minutes out of town does a man get on the bus with 2 dead/bloody animals in bags. He leaves them right next to my seat and proceeds to go to the back of the bus to find a seat. He was on the bus until the final and last stop.

I tell these stories not to complain or criticize, I tell them because they are good stories and, to be honest, I really can't believe some of this stuff has happened. Most of what we, Americans, may think of as interesting, weird, and/or gross, are just cultural norms in Albania. One of my favorite things about being here is all the communication errors, differences in infrastructure, and the more primitive lifestyle.

The way I deal with all these differences is just to laugh about how absurd some of these situations are, while trying to be as understanding and respectful of the Albanian Culture at the same time. I wouldn't have any stories upon completion of my Peace Corps service if things like these didn't happen. I am really happy that I am here and I really wouldn't change any part of my experience thus far, except for maybe the maggot colony under my toilet...

An Education

The Albanian education system is quite different than the United States education system. There is a definite need of improvements in both education systems, but for now I am going to completely ignore the problems with the United States education system and focus on the deficiencies of the system in Albania. I guess I should start with an explanation of cultural differences between Albania and the United States that might shed some light on the difficulties I am facing in my job as an English teacher here in Albania.

Firstly, school goes from 1st to 12th grade, 10th-12th being optional. The amount of time spent at school is an interesting topic. School runs from 8 am to 1 pm. Insert: there is also a 5 minute break in between each class and a 20 minute break in the middle of the "day". Plus each class is only 45 minutes long. This whole time schedule is a huge disadvantage to the students. Between disruptions, classroom management, and questions, there is barely any time to properly/thoroughly teach new lessons. The 12th grade has two 45 min classes a week. That is only 1 1/2 hrs of English per week. No one can be expected to sufficiently learn a language without repetition and constant practice.

Another interesting fact about Albanian classes is that all the classes are multi-level. Meaning, there could be a boy who does not know a lick of English in the same class as a boy who speaks English fluently. This creates problems for the students, as well as the teachers. First, it is hard for a teacher to create a lesson plan for a group of students that has so many different needs. This leads to the better English students receiving attention, while the students, who actually need the instruction don't get the attention that they need/teachers just give up on kids who need their help the most. Teachers, here in Albania, cater to whoever makes their job easier and that is usually the kids who do not need as much instruction.

Failing a class absolutely, positively SUCKS (for lack of a better word)! Not only do those students who fail a class have to retake that specific class, but they also must retake the entire year's curriculum. For example, if a boy failed 11th grade math and aced all of his other classes, that boy would have to re-take the entire 11th grade, simply because he failed 11th grade math. This system goes back to the problem with multi-level classes and the unwillingness to help struggling students.

In order to graduate from high school, each senior must take and pass a set of Matura tests. The best way to describe these tests would be a national final exam that is also used for college admission. If a student wishes to continue their education by attending a university they must send their Matura test scores plus three majors (ranked) that they are interested in pursuing. Based on test scores, students are placed in majors and in universities around Albania. The university in Tirana is thought to be the most prestigious and is where the students with the highest test scores are usually placed. In the end, students don't really get a say in what they study or where they go to school. Unfortunately, it is all based on numbers.

From my experiences thus far, the Albanian education system seems to be quite corrupt, just like most “regulated” institutions in Albania. How is a country, which wants to rid itself of corruption, able to instill honest, hard work when Albanians are exposed to it at very young ages and in places, like schools, where honesty is not valued and hard work does not help one get ahead? Buying grades, hiring and firing teachers based on political views, and simply just allowing this behavior in schools is not helping the corruption problem in Albania. Not teaching kids right from wrong, and creating a society where knowledge and experience mean absolutely nothing compared to money is perpetuating Albanian corruption. In my opinion, the only way Albania is going to be able to eliminate corruption is by starting with a younger generation, holding students responsible for their actions, educating them about morals and ethics.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

My First Animal Slaughter

Baktashi is one of the three sects of Islam. This specific sect can only be found in Albania, Northern Greece, and very few parts of Kosovo. The Baktashi tekke is at the top of Mt. Tomori, Albania's second tallest mountain. A tekke is a building that is usually round and is used for spiritual retreat and character reformation. The Baba (which literally means "father") lives in and is the head of the tekke as well as, has the authority to give spiritual guidance. Near the tekke there is a long, stone walkway that leads to an area for prayer, a small cemetery for previous Babas, and at the end of the path is where animal slaughter takes place. A festival is held each year during August/Ramadan and is when the Baktashi ask for peace and luck in the new year.

All along the newly cobblestone walkway there are small herds of sheep. Each family picks a sheep to buy and sacrifice. A sheep costs about the equivalent of $100 US dollars, which is a lot of money for Albanians. Once the sheep has been chosen it is taken to the slaughtering area. When approaching the slaughtering area one can see two long rows of butchers butchering sheep one right after another. It really is quite a site. The way the sheep are killed for this specific sacrificial festival is by slitting a sheep's throat then allowing the animal to die by all the blood spilling out of it. Once the blood begins to seep out of the sheep, it is customary to put a bit of the sheep's blood on one's forehead while reciting a prayer. After the blood has left the animal, the butcher hangs the sheep up by it's hind legs and begins to prepare the sheep for eating.

One of the most interesting things I learned, while observing the slaughtering process, was that all the insides of a sheep are bundled together in a ‘bag’. The ‘bag’ contains all of the organs and is neatly packaged up inside the animal. This bag looks exactly like a white, GLAD, plastic garbage bag. The fact that all the organs and everything else are in this ‘bag’ it makes butchering a sheep a quite easy and a pretty fast process. No offense to my dad, but it took these butchers about half the time it takes my dad to gut and fillet a fish. It's pretty unbelievable!

Once the sheep is ready to be cooked, the owners take it to an area where there are numerous spits. The spits are low to the ground and are manually rotated. The entire hillside was covered with people roasting sheep. Not only was this experience very interesting and unlike any I have had so far in my life, but all the meat was really good. For lunch and dinner that day I ate lamb/mutton shish-ka-bobs. And they were awesome!!

The festival lasts for 10 days, but most families only go up for a day and a night, which is what my group did. All the Albanians were interested in why we came to the festival and were very welcoming. It was fascinating to see a religious animal slaughter with my own eyes. It was definitely an unforgettable experience!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Beer and Albanian Bumper Cars

The Paris of Albania. That is what Korçë is considered to the rest of Albania. It is a larger town on the Eastern boarder of Albania (next to Macedonia). The streets are clean and there are well kept parks and green areas all around town. There is also a big, beautiful Greek Orthodox church in one of the main intersections in the town. The town is also home to the first school in Albania. Korçë not only has beautiful parks and historic buildings, but is also has tons of small neighborhoods that can be found on small side streets and in between the larger/main roads. These neighborhoods are composed of small dirt roads (almost trail-like) with home made of stones that have been white washed with a paint made from limestone dust. The homes also all have flowers and/or vines growing on top or on the sides of the buildings. Most Albanian towns or villages do not have distinct neighborhoods like Korçë does.

Just getting to Korçë was quite an adventure. A small group of volunteers from various areas of Albania met in Elbasan. From Elbasan we rode a train to Pogradec. It was an absolutely beautiful ride, but it was also painfully slow. What was so unbelievable was that it only cost 120 leke (about $1.20), which is pretty cheap for a ride from the middle of Albania to the Eastern boarder. Once we arrived in Progradec, we had a nice lunch and then continued on our journey to Korça in a furgon (small van). We got to our final destination around 2:30 or 3:00 pm. It was a long trip, but the experiencing the train was really fun. We were able to start celebrating a friends birthday, as well as see some pretty spectacular views.

While in Korçë, a group of friends and I stayed in an old Ottoman boarding house that was literally in the middle of Korçë's large open-air market. The building was round and several market vendors were even set up in the center (hole) of the building. The second floor was where all the rooms were. Each room faced the center of the "circle" and opened to the outside. The rooms were quite small, which really wasn't an issue because we only slept there and spent most of our time exploring Korçë and enjoying the Beer Fest. The bathrooms, on the other hand, were a completely different story. There were two "toilet" rooms, one for girls and one for boys, on one side of the boarding house. There was also a sink/shower room next to the two "toilet" rooms. The sink did not connect with any type of drainage system so when you turned the water on, the water when through the hole in the sink and onto your feet. That was quite a surprise on my first visit to the bathroom! The "toilet" rooms each had one turkish toilet. A turkish toilet, for those of you who have not had the pleasure of using one, are fancy (if you could really use this word in this context) holes in the ground. Because of this set up, the bathroom area reeked! The whole boarding house experience made me feel like I had traveled back to Medieval Times. I am not one to complain about dirt and grime, but this place was just plain nasty! Needless to say, I will probably not be staying there again.

The actual Beer Festival part of the weekend was really fun. There were lot of people from all over Albania, as well as quite a few Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV's). It was also nice to see some of the volunteers I hadn't seen in a while, as well as, get to know a few I really hadn't spent much time with. The festival featured Albanian beers, with a few Greek ones thrown in for fun. Each beer cost the equivalent to .50 US cents. What a bargain, right? There was also great live music and group grilling out. There were also bumper cars, along with other carnival-like activities. Of course we all took part in the bumper cars. We had to show the Albanians the REAL way to do bumper cars. What is so fascinating about Albanian bumper cars is that everyone drives around and makes a huge effort not to hit each other, but while driving real cars Albanians are pretty wild and not many driving laws are enforced. Lets just say us PCV's showed them how to do it right. All and all is was a super fun weekend!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Mr. Toad's Wild Ride!


For those of you who went to Disney World as a young child or a parent of a young child, I am sure you already know about Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, thanks to my sister the Diers Family definitely knows all the ins and outs of that ride. For those few of you who have not gotten the pleasure of experiencing this ride, I would strongly recommend that you take the time to travel to Disney World specifically to experience this ride. Not just for the awesomeness of the ride, but it would also give you a sophisticated topic to bring up at those cocktail parties when you no longer see any of the over-sized coffee-table books to steal a conversation topic from.

I feel a brief description of the ride is in order, for those few who have no idea what I am talking about. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride can be ridden by small children and adults, alike. The premise of the ride is that you are traveling through Mr. Toad's magical world on a track in a roller coaster-esk cart that looks quite similar to Ford's Model-T (a really old car). The ride is full of sharp twists and turns, that absolutely tickled my sister to death! I don't think it's too presumptuous to say that this ride is my sister's favorite ride of all time. Due to this weird, but endearing, obsession my parents and I have ridden on this ride quite a few times. This is how I came to know so much about this ride and why this specific ride has had such a HUGE impact on my life.

Ok, now for the Albanian connection. As I have explained before, I live on the Ionian Coast in a small village that is smack in-between extremely tall mountains and the sea. In order to go anywhere I must travel on windy roads through the mountains. Normally, I ride a large, "normal", size bus, but on my way to Saranda a few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to ride on a short bus. Let's just say it was an experience. The driver drove extremely fast, continuously whipped around sharp curves, and I think he purposefully hit every bump and pot hole between Himare and Saranda (and let me tell you, there are quite a few of them).

The driving in Albania is, needless to say, BAD. None of the driving laws or speed limits are enforced and 2 lane roads are frequently turned into 3 lane roads, by a vehicle simply driving down the center line in-between the 2 lanes of cars. Many times it feels as though the furgon (small van) or bus drivers are playing "chicken" with the car coming from the opposite direction in order to pass the "slow" car in front of them.

After the quick trip down to Saranda, I happily got off the bus, my heart still racing and my legs still a bit shaky. I explained my adventure (if one would call it that) to a few friends I was meeting down in Saranda. This is the HONEST TRUTH, the only words that came out of my mouth were "It was Mr. Toad's Ride getting down here!" I didn't have to say any more.

The connections that Americans have with each other, no matter how obscure they are, have pooped up randomly since I have been in Albania. I really didn't know anyone in my group before arriving in Albania, but simply because we all have the experience of being American there are so many things that we just get. When you're living in a foreign country, constantly speaking a foreign language, it is so nice to say some common saying from the US and have everyone listening to you understand what you mean without an explanation.

Lesson of the Story: If you have not ridden Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, it is imperative for you to do this ASAP. What can I say? Experiencing this ride can help you bond with your future comrades.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Home Sweet Home

Housing is very difficult to find in Albania. There are no real estate companies and there is not a way to look up available apartments or houses in various cities, towns, or villages. Every place that was found for Peace Corps Volunteers was found by word of mouth. "oh, my sister's, husband's, boss's brother owns a building with an empty unit." That is usually what it sounds like when the Peace Corps or other volunteers find housing.


Living and finding a place to live in Himarë is both easy and hard. Since Himarë is a beach and vacation town there are lots of housing options that are not full unless it is pushime (vacation/holiday). This is great news when trying to find an apartment for the fall, winter, and spring. The summer, on the other hand, can create a problem for someone who would like to live in an apartment year-round and who has a very low budget to work with. It was easy to find a landlord that was interested in having an American live in one of their units during the fall, winter, and spring, but not many of them were too keen on having me live in one of their apartments and pay a low rent during the summer. Eventually, Peace Corps was able to work out a deal with a woman here in Himarë.


After a long day of traveling I arrived in Himarë at around 6 pm. The sun was beginning to set and I had to lug my large bag from the bus that I had just got off to my new apartment, which was on the other side of town and up lots and lots of steps (yes, the town is small, but it felt like I had to walk 100 miles!!). My landlord had been informed when I would be arriving and a Peace Corps staff member had made it quite clear what apartment she wanted me living in. Even though all of this had taken place, I still had to deal with a major issue upon my arrival in Himarë.


Carrying my large suitcase up a flight of stairs that are built into a hill, I excitedly knocked on the door of my landlord ready to finally move into my home for the next two years. Unfortunately, she had another idea. She told me that she didn't want me to live in the apartment she and the Peace Corps had agreed upon because she wanted to rent it out during the summer. Ok, let me explain something before I go on. I pay rent every month to my landlord, however, I guess she would have made more for two months out of the whole year if tourists stayed in those apartments. But think about it, I will be paying rent every month of the year and the tourists would only be paying for two months. She would still be making money off of me and be able to rent the rest of her apartments out to tourists. Needless to say, I was pretty upset when she confronted me with this "idea". Fortunately, after a few calls and shumë time on the phone, my living situation was ironed out, again.


My apartment is pretty small. It only consists of two rooms (three, if you count the bathroom) and a small balcony. The main room serves as the kitchen, hang out room, breakfast/lunch/dinner "nook". The other room is my bedroom/hangout room/room with a fireplace in it. My balcony is probably my favorite part of the whole place. It is right off of my bedroom and from the balcony I have an amazing view of the water, beach, and even the mountains around Himarë. The location is great. I am very close to the center of town and only a 5-10 min walk from the high school. Now that I have finally settled in, I think that I will be happy living there for the next couple of years. I mean how bad could it be? I have an amazing view, hot water, and it's right by the beach. Who could ask for more?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Dhermi - Camping in Paradise



A camping trip was planned for the weekend after our swearing in. Apparently, this is an annual trip and happens after every group swears in. Dhermi is a small beach town that is only about 30-45 min north of Himarë. In order to get there we all took a bus from Elbasan to Vlore and then hitch-hiked along the coastal road to Dhermi. I was traveling with a large group of volunteers so we made the decision to break up into pairs and spread ourselves out along the highway. It didn't take long for me and Kyle to get picked up. The man that gave us a ride was very nice and wanted to know all about us, what we were doing in Albania, and what the United States was like. Luckily, our "driver" was headed to Dhermi so he was able to give us a ride directly to where we wanted to go.


When driving south along the coast road from Vlorë, you must climb a mountain and then go down the other side in order to get to the small villages along the coast. To get to or from Himarë it takes about 3 hrs from Vlorë. It took us, Kyle, myself, and our driver, only about 30 min to get to Dhermi. Needless to say, he drove like the wind. Once over the mountain pass, the road becomes very steep and turns into switchback after switchback. This part of the ride, whether you are in a car or a bus, is not the most comfortable part of the ride. Although at this point in the ride some may get sick, it is also the most beautiful part of the drive from Vlorë to Himarë. Because you are up so high, the view is absolutely fantastic! The water is so blue and the beaches are completely white.


Upon coasting down the winedy road, our driver wanted to stop and have us take pictures of all the beautiful sites and at all the look out points. He was proud to show off his beautiful country. Hitch-hiking proved to be a great way to travel along the coast road because it takes much less time to go over the mountain pass and we were able to practice our Shqip with our driver. (mom and dad-don't worry, I would never hitch by myself and I have not made a habit out of this kind of travel)


After Kyle and I said our goodbyes to our delightful driver, we set out to find camp. We, along with the rest of our group, camped on a small beach (almost cove-like) on the outskirts of Dhermi. The beach was made of smooth white stones and the water was so clear that you could see to the bottom, even when out swimming in it. The group that came down to Dhermi was a lot of fun! We were able to have a fire on the beach and while sitting around the fire we, the newly sworn-in Peace Corps Volunteers, were able to get to know the other volunteers that have been in Albania for one-two years. It was great to get to know some of the other volunteers as well as spend time with our group in a relaxed and fun environment.


Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I am Finally a Peace Corps Volunteer!!


The last two weeks of PST went by so fast. Once we returned from our site visits we facilitated community projects, had our language exams, attended exit interviews, and had to learn about the administrative side of being an official Peace Corps Volunteer. These past two weeks went by in a flash!

The community project that my PST site group and I worked on was a talent show at the local high school. Students are not exposed to any of the fine arts during their time in elementary or secondary school. We figured that a talent show would be a great way for students to be exposed to and show off their talents in other mediums other than the classroom or a sports field. Luckily, most of the students wanted to participate and were excited about the event.

Our project turned out to be a great success! There was a student interested in being the M.C. and all the performances were really wonderful. After all the acts had gone we put on some Albanian music and all circle danced in the school yard. Students, P.C. Volunteers, and even teachers participated in the circle dancing. The whole event was lots of fun and the students seemed to have a blast, which was one of the main goals. What was also great about our projects was that even other community members were interested and gathered around the school yard to watch the performances and the big circle dance at the end. I don't think this project could have gone any better.

Another hoop that P.C. Trainees have to jump through before becoming full fledged volunteers is the language exam. After 10 intensive weeks of learning and studying Shqip, we were tested on how much we actually learned. I thought my language exam went horribly wrong. Apparently I did very well because I was told that I was at the intermediate level. I am just amazed that I have been able to learn, understand, and comprehend such a difficult language in such a short period of time. I know you all remember taking a language in middle and upper school and some maybe in college. I have studied Spanish for a large portion of my life and I am better at Shqip after 10 weeks than I have ever been at Spanish. How is this even possible?

Once we had completed and passed all the requirements of Peace Corps Albania, we were ready to be sworn-in. This ceremony took place in Elbasan last Thursday, May 27th. Ambassador Withers, the PC Country Director, the Mayor of Elbasan, and 2 of my fellow group members all spoke. It was nice, but not too long and there was a short reception afterward. This day was definitely bittersweet because it was super exciting to be sworn-in and be one step closer to starting work in our sites, but we were all being scattered across the entire country of Albania.

During the first 10 weeks of PST my group became very close, which I'm sure happens with most groups. At first, we all started out not knowing anyone, the language of our host country, and our host country's culture. We all were placed with host families and began to learn the language. Going through these experiences together made everyone in the group closer to each other. Because we were all living through these difficulties together we understood and could sympathize with what people were feeling and why.

It has been a little hard moving to my new site, not knowing anyone, and without a site mate. I am confident, however, that I will be able to successfully integrate into my new community. I know that I have the support of my PC group and if I was able to live with a host family who half the time I was unable to communicate with and endure freezing cold showers for several weeks, I will be able to make it on my own in a new town. I mean how could I not be happy living on the Ionian Sea were the water is bright blue and the beaches are clean and white?!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Site Visit: Himarë

The coastal road to Himarë is long and very curvy. It took my counterpart and I about 4 1/2 hrs to go from Vlorë to Himarë, but that also included a coffee break for the driver at about the halfway point. The road provided me an amazing view of Albania's Ionian Coast or should I say "The Albanian Riviera."

Himarë is a small beach town that is located right on the Ionian Sea. The beach and the water are absolutely beautiful. The water is bright blue and extremely clear. There is a small "boardwalk" that runs alongside of the beach which has a lot of nice cafes and bars. If I haven't already explained that Albania has quite the coffee culture, let me explain now. Everyday there are about 4 or 5 coffee breaks during the workday. From what I have observed, Albanians spend almost as much time drinking coffee as they do working. In most European countries, iced coffee does not exsist and is completely unheard of, but in Himarë it is a different story. This is because Himarë is close to Greece and it is always pretty warm there.

Himarë is considered to be one of the oldest towns in the world. It has been controled by the Greeks, Italians, Turks, Ottomans, and, of course, the Albanians. Because so many groups hav had Himarë included in their empires at one time or another the culture in Himarë is very eclectic and includes traditions from all of the groups that were once in control of Himarë. Not only does Himarë have an eclectic culture due to it's history, but its location also contributes to the life style and language spoken in Himarë.

Himarë is located in the far south of Albania, very close to Greece. Many inhabitants of Himarë are from Greece or have family that are from or living in Greece. Because of this towns strong connection with Greece, it is quite common for people to speak Greek in this area of Albania. From what I experienced on my vist was that many people do speak Greek, but they also speak a dialect of Albanian. The Albanian that they speak is mostly Albanian with Greek words and phrases thrown in here and there. It looks like I will be learning quite a bit of Greek over the next two years.

The town is beautiful, the people and community in Himarë are very welcoming, and the students/school I will be working with all seem very motivated and interested in learning English. My visit to Himarë was pretty positive, but I am still a little nervous about moving to a new area without knowing anyone. It is a bit intimidating to move to a brand new site, open it yourself, and really don't know what all is expected of you. It is exciting and nerveracking all at the same time. I think things will be great once I settle in and get comfortable speaking Albanian/Greek with the community members. Wish me luck!

Camping in Belsh

Belsh is a small town about 1 hr. southwest of Elbasan. It is just over the hill on the south side of Pajove, but there is not a road that goes directly from Pajove to Belsh. The town of Belsh was built around a large lake and in the middle of some beautiful rolling hills. On one side of the lake there is the main part of town and there are houses/neighborhoods that surroun the rest of the lake.

Our campsite wat at the tope of one of the hills that surround Belsh. The top of the hill was pretty flat, almost like a mesa. Up there we were able to play frisbee and I also got the chance to teach a few young Albanian boys how to throw and catch with baseball gloves and a ball. Laster, once the sun went down, we had a great bonfire. A few of the other volunteers brought their guitars, which made life around the fire even more fun and exciting. The stars that were out that night were also pretty unbelievable. There were so many and they were all very bright!

Another interesting fact about our campsite was that it is the spot where shepherds bring their flocks of sheep everyday to graze. Upon our arrival at the campsite, there was a large flock of sheep just hanging out with their shepherd sprawled out on a large rock, asleep. The sheep along with their shepherd left once the sun began to set, but sure enough, they were all back the next morning grazing in the middle of our campsite.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Ok, so the past couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy! Because I am going to be teaching English in elementary and secondary schools, I had to teach several classes over the past 2 weeks. Some of my lessons went very well while others were complete messes. The first week I taught in the Pajove high school. I quickly learned that teaching a multi-level class is a huge challenge. This past week I taught in a 9-year school (1st-9th grade). My favorite class and grade I taught was 4th grade. The kids were so excited, wanted to learn, and really tried their hardest. My lesson I created was also tons of fun to execute. Because schools begin teaching English in 3rd grade, the 4th graders only know the basics. The lesson I taught was on possessive pronouns. I was so much fun to think up games and activities that the 4th graders would enjoy, but would also help them learn all the possessive pronouns and how/when to use them.

The language has definitely proven to be difficult, but I now can have conversations with Albanians, get to where I need to be, and know what is generally going on around me. I really thought that there was no way I would be able to conquer this language, but I am slowly but surely being able to integrate. Understanding and learning the language has helped me with my host family as well. My host family is only a "father" and a "mother" so there really isn't a lot going on in the house at night or should I say after sun-down. Since I now understand Albanian I can communicate much better with my host family and being at home is not as lonely as it has been these past 7 weeks.

My host father is a farmer and he has a huge orchard with cherry, pear, plum, apple, and orange trees. I got the opportunity to visit the orchard and he walked me though it telling me where each kind of tree was located. I have heard that the cherries here are absolutely amazing so I am super excited for cherry season, especially because it is coming up and my host family will have tons of them!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Paradise Here I Come!

I have finally found out where I will be living and working for the next two years! I will be living in a small beach town by the name of Himarë. It is located in the south west coast of Albania on the Ionian Sea. The town is south of Vlorë and north of Sarande. Apparently, the tall Llogara mountains steeply cascade down to the beautiful beach and sea. How much better could it get? I have the mountains and the beach/bright blue sea!

This small town has been occupied and ruled by the Greeks, Italians, Germans, Austro-Hungarians, and Albanians and dates back to antiquity. It seems like this town has tons of history and that there will be lots to see there. The piece of information that most interested me what the language that is spoken in this town. The language of Himarë is a dialect of Greek. Can you believe this?!?!? Once I read this information all I could do was laugh. I have been frantically studying Albanian and have been worried about how I will be able to communicate with the locals in the area that I will be living in and now I find out that they don't even speak Albanian!! I guess I will have to switch my efforts to learning Greek.

There, I will be teaching at a 9-year school and high school. These two schools are joined together, which is not very common for Albanian schools. I have learned a little about my counter-part and she seems like she will be a great person to work with as well as a great resource. I am pretty excited about my assignment. I mean, it can't get much better than living in a small beach town for the next couple of years.

I guess that now I (and now all of you) know where I will be living for the next 2 years I should be expecting visitors.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Real Work

The past few days have been super busy and stressful. We have had a lot to accomplish, lots of confusion, and frustration with my novice language level. At the end of this week we will all find out what site we will eventually be living and working in for the next two years. It will be great to finally be able to learn more about our living situations and our working conditions.

Learning the Albanian language has proved to be quite a difficult task. At first, I was doing well with the language and now I am able to create simple sentences and communicate on a basic level with my host family and various Albanians. The first 10 weeks of being in the Peace Corps is devoted to training, and part of the training includes learning the language. The goal is to master the Albanian language in 10 weeks. We will see how that goes...

My host family believes that because I have been in Albania for about 4 weeks I should be fluent and able to communicate about pretty much everything they want to talk about. The biggest issue with speaking and communicating with my host family is that they speak in a village dialect. Many small villages have their own dialect of the Albanian language. Because my host family speak in dialect it is frequently difficult to understand them and for them to understand me. But overall, communication in Albania is becoming easier and easier each day.

As a volunteer, I will be teaching English as a second language (TEFL). Part of testing you and your knowledge of the Albanian classrooms and education system is a two week long practicum where you teach and observe 14 classes. Therefore, next week and the following week I will be teaching English to various grades/years. I have begun to start to prepare for these lessons. It will be interesting to see other volunteers in a more professional setting.

Current volunteers have assured me that training is the most stressful and busiest you will ever be in the next two years. It is nice to know that I won't want to go to bed at 9 pm every night for the next 2 years.

Singing in the Rain


The day before yesterday, yesterday, and today it has been raining. Traveling to and from the "big city" (Elbasan) and back was messy and difficult and walking to and from town has been quite an adventure. The roads to and around my home have completely turned to mud. Not only is there tons of slippery and suction cup like mud everywhere, but there are huge holes that are filled with water. I don't know if I have mentioned it or if you already know, but Albania has a serious trash problem. There is trash everywhere, very very few landfills, and by taking out the trash people simple walk to the river and throw their bags of trash into the water. Great for the environment huh? In the small farming village I live in people have cows, horses, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and dogs in their front yards, backyards, roaming freely, and along the side of the roads. You add all the rain, trash, dirt roads, and all kinds of farm animals and I am sure you can imagine the smell of my walk home from school. No worries, I have a picture of my road I will be posting (once I can) so you can see a visual. This morning I was alone on the road and making the 30 min. trek to school. It was as the sun was rising, the rain was falling, and the mud suctioning my feel to the ground, I finally felt like I was experiencing what I thought the Peace Corps was going to be like. It was pleasant, nasty, and adventurous all at once. In a way a kinda enjoyed the experience.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Rreshen

Since I have been in Albania I have not heard very many positive things about the north. Mostly that It is very cold, it is difficult to travel around up there, and that it is one of the more dangerous areas in the country. Last week I had the chance to visit a current volunteer and see what life is like once you are done with training. I was to travel to the north to the small town of Rreshen. At first I was a bit disappointed that I would be going to the north, rather than the south, but once I experienced Rreshen, my feelings about northern Albania have completely changed.

Rreshen is a small village that is located east of Shenkoll. It is right in the middle of what is considered to be northern Albania. The village is up in the mountains. The views from Rreshen are absolutely beautiful. Although Rreshen is quite a small town, the town is actually pretty liberal. There are lots of young women out on the streets, even after dark. I had the opportunity to speak with a few high school aged girls and they told me that they frequently go out with their friends after it gets dark. The town is very small, but in comparison to Pajove, it is huge.

The point of my visit to Rreshen was to learn what life is like for a current TEFL volunteer. Because of this I stayed with a girl who teaches high-school English classes. She also works with students outside of school to help them study for the SAT's, TEFL exams, model UN, and various other activities. I got the opportunity to observe a few English classes at the high school in Rreshen. In comparison to the classes that I have observed in Pajove, Elbasan, and Besqim the kids in Rreshen behave very very well during class.

This visit really made me excited to finish training and to move to my site. I am so ready to get into the classrooms, become part of a community, and live in my own space. Visiting the north also made me realize that I would be happy wherever I am placed in Albania. The west and south have the beach and heat, while the north and east have beautiful mountains with lots of hiking and mountain biking trails. I am really glad that this was part of training because it got me even more excited to move to my permanent site and begin to get involved with my community.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Eggs

Eggs are a huge part of Albanian culture. They eat at least two hard-boiled eggs for breakfast. Everyone of my fellow Peace Corps volunteers show up to info sessions, language classes, and various activities with at least 2 eggs in their hands. It is pretty funny. Everyone is always trying to give away their eggs so their host parents feelings are not hurt.

Not only are eggs a large staple in the Albanian diet, but they are also used when celebrating holidays. For Easter, Albanians dye eggs, much like we do in the United States. The process is a bit different though. The eggs are placed into boiling water and while the eggs are boiling there is colored powder poured into the hot water along with the eggs. By dying the eggs this way, they come out in very bright colors and the color is pretty even on all areas of the eggs.

What is tradition on Easter is to visit all of your friends and family. During these visits children say Gazuar Pashket (Happy Easter), and then receive a brightly colored egg (much like our Halloween). Once visiting their family and friends the children gather together and play a game with the eggs they have collected. One person holds the egg in their fist with an end of the egg showing, while another hits the end of their egg on the end of the egg that is sticking out of their opponents fist. Whosever egg cracks is the loser. The winner wins all of the eggs that he/she is able to crack. It is a pretty fun game to play and it was very exciting to see all the kids in the streets playing this game last Sunday.

Most of the eggs that are eated and dyed are from the chickens that are EVERYWHERE! My family along with everyother volunteer's family has quite a few chickens walking all over their host family's property. Not only do they walk around in inclosed areas, but they are at the school, walking along side the road, in the middle of the cities, and everywhere else. One thing I have learned since being here is that roosters crow during all times of the day, morning, noon, and night.

I was walking home not too long ago and a line of chickens crossed the road infront of me. All I could think of at that moment was, "how did the chicken cross the road"....

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Please Sir, I DON'T Want Anymore

Albanians eat a lot! Food is a huge part of the culture and most people in Pajove (the village I live in) are farmers, so their lives revolve around food. The traditional Albanian dishes are: pilaf, any kind of meat (or mish as they call it), salad, and gjele. Gell is a type of soup that is served in every household in Albaina. Each gjele is different, but there are a few similarities that make gjele, gjele. First of all, gell is always an orangy-red color. I have no idea how this color is created (and I don't think I want to know), but every gell I have seen since I have been here has been orangy-red. In the colored broth there can be potatoes, rice, onions, animal fat, and meat. The meat can be from lamb to duck to chicken to beef. The Albanians really are not particular about their meat. The meat is served as a huge hunk (bones included) in the soup. The first time one is served gell it looks like the meal is going to be a war between you and your fork and spoon against the hunk of meat (they don't use knives when eating gell). And believe me, it is war! This is served just about every night at my host family. It is not that I do not enjoy it, but it would be nice to change things up every once in a while.

My host mother is very concerned about my food intake. Every time I walk in the door, walk into the room, leave the house, and around dinner time she always asks or maybe I should say commands "ha buke!" (eat! eat!) I have had to learn a lot of different Albanian phrases for, thanks, but no thanks, I am full, I usually don't eat this much, ect. Last night, my host father asked me why I was not eating very much. I politely explained to him that if I continued to eat at the pace that he and my host mom wanted me to I would gain A TON of weight. He then laughed and said, "you are not fat, my wife is fat!" no joke. (side note: being called fat in albania is not rude) Let's just say eating is a religion to these people.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Albanian Homes

I pulled up in front of my host family's house in a van pack full of other Americans and lots of luggage. There is no telling what they thought at first. Still, my host mother and father greeted me at their front gate with open arms. They rushed me into the house to show me my room and the other areas in their house. My room is completely white. I have a white bed, white walls, and a small table with a white tablecloth. Apparently they are into white. The house is pretty big, has three stories, and the outside is painted bright yellow and orange.

My host family consists of a mother and a father. They were quite excited to see me and have been pretty nice so far. The one amazing thing about my house is that I have a western-style toilet! No turkish squats for me.

Albanian houses are constructed in a very unique way. The house is built on tall stilts. The bottom part of the building (the area around the stilts) is usually made into a home for the family's son and daughter-in-law. There are many houses all over Albania that look as though they are still under construction because the homes are built tall stilts.

A home is created under the husband's family's home because the tradition in Albania is that the whole family lives together. The grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren all in the same place. Of course, there are many houses which are multiple stories beause of the size of the families. Traditionally, the bride moves in with her husband's family once married. What is also interesting is that the youngest son of the family does not ever move out of his parents home. This son is responsible for taking care of his parents in their old age.

The idea of a whole family living together is quite convenient and helpful because most of the homes are located on farms. The family works together to maintain the farm. As my grandmother says, "many hands make light work." It is also quite common for the men to move to Greece or Italy in order to make enough money to provide for their families. By living with the whole family there are other men around that can make important decisions for the family when some of the men are working in other countries. It has become quite clear that the men are the head of the house, while the women do the house work and raise the children. While living in an Albanian village it looks as though the men just sit in coffee houses all day and talk with each other.

Nightlife for Women or Lack There Of

Upon arrival in Albania, it became quite apparent that women do not have a similar lifestyle to American women, or even the men in their communities. Women do not go out after dark. Can you believe this? Men go out and have a good time with each other at coffee shops and bars while the women sit at home. Even women who are married to not go out after the sun goes down.

During my short stay in Elbasan I ventured out of the hotel one evening to check out the "scene". I left the hotel at around 6 pm, as the sun was beginning to set. At first, I felt completely comforatble out on the street as the sun went down. As I traveled further and further from my hotel I began to notice that there were ONLY men out on the streets and in coffee bars. Once I connected the dots, I immediately felt out of place, embaressed, and even a little uneasy. I could not believe what I was seeing. There were men everywhere! I mean hoards of them. Upon noticing this I quickly returned to my hotel and discussed what I had experience with the other girls in my Peace Corps group.

Later that night, after dinner, a few of the men in our group went to a bar. Luckily for them, their server spoke English. They asked him all sorts of questions about Albanian Culture. One of them asked if the next night they could bring women with them or if it would be completely inappropriate. The server answered them by saying, "Do not bring women into bars." He continued with, " Women do not go out after dark."

Once I had heard this story and experienced the streets crowded with men, I, sadly, came to the conclusion that while I am in Albania I will not be going out after dark. I am going to have to learn how to knit or some other domestic skill.