S’ka frik, s’ka turp…

“No fear, No shame.” That became my motto for the events surrounding our language refresher held in Pogradec, Albania.
For some reason, when we all meet for a workshop or training, the Peace Corps staff feels led to schedule a Talent Show. I did not participate in the first one. However, the language refresher training was originally going to be held in Berat. Being the good hosts that we are, Katie and I wanted to prepare a little duet for the show.

After narrowing down the list of possibilities to the following three, “Don’t Go Breaking My heart” by Elton John, a classic Frank Sinatra “Something Stupid” and Meatloaf’s “I won’t do that.” After leaving Meatloaf as a possibility for Juliet and Ryan, and trying one time to do “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (wow, is that way hard without the vocals), we opted for “Something Stupid.” Here I must confess that I was forced to do business with evil-incarnate Wal-mart (don’t get me started why I don’t like Wally World but suffice to say my reasoning is shaky at best, after all, I do openly frequent Meijer or Target). Wal-mart was my only source for my karaoke needs.

My “talents” were not limited to “Something Stupid.” Swept up in the “fun” that is karaoke, we decided to also perform part of “Afternoon Delight” as inspired by Wil Ferrell’s Anchorman. Oh and the “we” in this case is The Berati Boys, featuring yours truly, Ryan, Evan, and Ray. We all live in the Berat Region in case you hadn’t put all the details together. Ray also requested a performance of “Tirona” which is an Albanian rap song.

Needless to say the performances were a huge hit :) If there was a Language Refresher King & Queen contest, I bet Katie and I would have won. We’ve got to be the cutest site mates EVER!

The inner entertainer in me also led to special attire for my “Afternoon Delight” performance. Oddly enough, the stage costume easily transitioned into a costume for our Halloween night out. In the picture of Katie and me, you’ll notice I appear in normal clothes. Our “Afternoon Delight” performance was after “Something Stupid” and I didn’t want to ruin my debut. I wore borrowed khakis and my blue hoody (man I love that thing) over my 70’s outfit.