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?

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.

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?!

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.

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!

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.