Wednesday, March 28, 2012

From Shivering to Sunscreen



SPRING IS HERE!

Whether it's freezing cold or sweltering hot, the fun is always around the corner. 

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Being American in Albania


Many people around the world do not know where Albania is located or that Albania is a real place. To be completely frank, it is quite amazing that so many people are unaware of this small, but beautiful country. Albania, the Albanian people, Albanian culture, and the Albanian language have been around for centuries, yet due to the fact that it was a 'closed' and isolated country for so long many are unaware of it's existence. Since the fall of communism the United States has taken an interest in the development of Albania. Over the years the United States has shown it's support of Albania in many ways, aiding Kosovo, aiding in the transition from communism to a democracy, etc.

Being an American living in Albania is similar to what I think being a celebrity would be like. I, along with the other Americans I know who are living here, are treated with great respect and everyone wants to talk and spend time with us. Upon first arriving in Albania the constant stares, requests to meet for coffee, and the high frequency of random people wanting to know about my personal life seemed rude and nosey. However, now that I have lived here for 2 years I have learned that this attention is the way Albanians show that they care about you.

Living in Himare makes traveling a bit more difficult because of it's remote location. In order to get to Himare one has to consciously work to get here, there is no such thing as 'passing through' my town. Because of Himare's isolation, there really are only a few bus drivers that I into contact with when traveling to or from Himare. I have gotten to know them all quite well.

The way Albanians treat Americans is best exemplified by how I have been treated when traveling by bus to and from Himare. When I was traveling back to Himare from the COS Conference, which was held in Korça, it took me 2 days to get home. The second day of travel was from Fier to Himare. It was early in the morning and I was waiting alongside the national highway waiting for one of the only buses to Himare to pass through. After about 30 minuets of waiting the bus came flying around the round-about and stopped as I hailed it down. I boarded the bus and was immediately greeted by my bus driver friend. He then turned to the man sitting in the front seat and asked him to please move to the back of the bus (where there was the only seat left) so they (the people on the bus) could show some respect to this American girl. The bus driver proceeded to tell the man, who gladly gave his seat up for me, and the rest of the bus that I have been living in Albania for the past 2 years, live and work in Himare, and that I am a very good girl.

Yes, I have worked diligently to integrate into my community and abide by the Albanian code of conduct. And yes, I have tried to create a good reputation for myself, Peace Corps, and the US within Himare and Albania. The fact that I have put in the time to get to know locales and become part of 'my' Albania has allowed me not only to be respected because I am American, but I have also gained the trust of many people within my community.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Gëzuar Ditën e Verës!

Happy Summer Day! This holiday celebrates the lunar spring. The town of Elbasan is the center of the celebration and has preserved the holiday in it's purist form. Although Elbasan is where the most celebrating goes on, many other cities and villages throughout Albania celebrate this big and festive holiday. There is lots of music, dancing, and ballakume! Ballakume is a large cookie that is made from butter, sugar, corn flour, and egg yolks and baked in a wood oven. The wood oven is the most important part because one of the characteristics of this ëmbëlsirë (dessert) is the presence of ash in the cookie. These cookies come, but once a year and they are most definitely a special treat, and good!

Ballakume
Last Ditën e Verës, my friend Nathan and I were traveling back down south from Elbasan after a great day of celebrating in Elbasan. In order to get from Elbasan to the more southern region of the country one travels through the village of Pajove, where my host family lives as well as Nathan's. Upon approaching the center of Pajove, a woman on the side of the road hailed the furgon. The furgon stopped, the Albanian woman slid the van's door open, handed Nathan a large plastic bag, had a quick exchange in Albanian with him, and slid the van door shut. It all happened so fast I didn't really know what was happening. After the furgon started up again and we were enroute to Vlore, Nathan opened up the bag and it was full of ballakume! I looked at Nathan after making this discovery and all he said to me was, "What? I really like my host mother's ballakume."

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Furgon Culture

14 People in a Furgon...Pse Jo?
Traveling throughout Albania is treacherous, inefficient, unpredictable, and always an adventure. Over the past two years the roads in Albania have become much much better, however there is still much room for improvement. In addition to the inadequate roads, traffic laws are not well enforced, nor are they followed by many drivers. Speeding, constant passing on two-lane roads at inopportune times, no wearing of seat belts, and over crowding of vehicles is quite common.

The majority of the population uses public transportation, which includes taxis, buses, and furgons (vans), to move around the country. While buses are on schedules and can usually be relied upon, furgons are a much faster and easier way to travel. The way furgon travel works is that there are usually furgons waiting for passengers at their designated spots. Once the entire van is full, then the furgon will leave. This is where traveling by furgon gets to be frustrating. Because drivers will not leave until their vans are completely full, it is not uncommon for one sit and wait for hours before the furgon is full and ready to leave. Passengers are really at the mercy of the drivers. What's great about traveling by furgon is that they are much faster than buses. I live six hours from Tirana, the capital, and any time I can find a furgon I jump right on it because A. we don't have furgons in Himare and B. I am always ready to speed up the traveling process.

Most furgons are old, rickety, and frequently don't always start on cue, but on the plus side the drivers try to squish as many passengers as they possible can for each trip they take, (the more passengers the more money they make)  so no one has any personal space. This is particularly invigorating during the hot summer months when people are the smelliest. Due to the lack of personal space and the fact that us Americans are pretty much all celebrities here in Albania, I am always meeting my new "best friend."

Recently I was traveling to the mountain village of Erseke in the front seat of a furgon along side the driver and one other man. Upon learning that I know Shqip (Albanian) the driver and the man sitting next to me did not stop asking me questions. At first it was the usual questions, 'why are you here?', 'how long have you been here?', 'where is your mother and father?', 'are you married?', etc. However, once we crossed over into the 'old pals' zone it went from 'normal' to just plain odd. My furgon driver whips out a couple of Golden Eagle energy drinks (Which if you haven't ever tasted one, don't even bother trying it out. They are horrible!) and offers them to the few passengers in the front of the van. Then, not too long after the energy drink episode the driver begins to offer me the opportunity to drive the rest of the way to Erseke. Keep in mind that we are on a narrow, curvy, mountain road in an old, manual transmission van full of about 12 other Albanians. Obviously I declined the offer, but this man was not taking no for an answer. Finally I just had to bite the bullet and say, 'I don't know how to drive." This was clearly a mistake when he proceeded to tell me that he would teach me right then and there.

Traveling within Albania is super frustrating at times, but overall it is a pretty neat experience. You get to see all parts of the country, explore new pilaf stops, and meet some great characters. I have definitely learned a lot about the Albanian language and culture on the many 'trips' I have taken over these past two years. 

Monday, March 5, 2012

COS Conference: Korça

Group 13 after 2 Years 

After much anticipation and a week postponement, due to serious snow storms and road closures, the COS Conference finally happened! 

This conference was 3-4 days long and designed to educate us volunteers on the process, procedures, and paper work that needs to be completed by the time we are scheduled to leave the country. We were also informed about our re-adjustment allowances, the Peace Corps medical insurance options, and were even given some tips for re-integrating back into the US culture. I am making this sound short and sweet, but these sessions took up most of the days with a few lighter and fun sessions thrown in the mix. 

There were a few sessions that were organized, created, and run by fellow volunteers. No offense to PC Staff, but these were much more exciting and fun. Two of my closest friends, Laura H. and Kim, created an Albanian Olympics. During this session we broke up into groups, according to our site locations (I was in the southern coastal group), and competed against each other in order to complete or be the best at various Albanian tasks. One of the challenges was to see who could squat the longest in the position in which one would take when using a Turkish toilet. Another was completing the lyrics to various traditional and pop Albanian songs. The Olympics was a fun way for us to blow off some steam while reminiscing on all the crazy and funny things we have encountered over the past 2 years. 

Toward the end of the conference, there was a volunteer-led session that focused on the cultural differences between the US and Albania. This was also a competition-based exercise (I don't know if you have gotten the hint by now, but we are all super competitive and anytime we get the chance to make it a head to head challenge we are game!). It was set up like the game show Family Feud. An example of one of the questions is, 'When you ask for buke (bread in Albanian) in the US, what will you get?' Answer: 'a book'. Many of us made silly mistakes when answering these questions because a. we were on a time limit and b. because we have become so used to the Albanian way of life that it has become second nature to us. It was a pretty creative way to jog our memories of what day to day life is like in the States. 

The few nights we had in Korça were fun and (I know this sounds corny, but it's true) filled with tons and tons of laughter. We went to a couple great restaurants that I had never been to before. One night we went to a place that served 'modern' Albanian food. The food was absolutely delicious and it was a new perspective of traditional Albanian food. This restaurant also distills it's own raki (a strong, hard liquor that is commonly made from grapes). What was different about this raki was that it was made from honey. The honey gave it a much sweeter taste and a dark amber color, as well as made it much more enjoyable than any other raki I have tasted while in Albania. The last night my whole group met up at a traditional Albanian bar/restaurant, had some beers, and circle danced till the wee hours of the morning. Some of the staff joined us later on and showed off with some of their fancy traditional Albanian dance moves. It was a party, to say the least!

The conference concluded with a slide-show made by my friend Jeff. This video included all aspects of the 'Peace Corps Experience' as well as everyone from my group. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone and everything that we, as a group, have accomplished since we arrived in Albania two years ago. COS was a wonderful experience and a lot of fun. It was great that we, Group 13, got to spend a few more days together in one place, all at the same time. 

Created by Jeff Knoche