that's our james

Weird...

2008-06-13T11:04:00.003+02:00

Today I am officially unemployed. I am no longer a Peace Corps Volunteer. I am now a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. I'm not sure if I can handle the title change.
I was trying to think of the title for this post and I couldn't decide. So many things are mixed into being done and coming home. It's basically just a little on the weird side. I'm sure I will bore you with all (well not all, that'd bore me too) the details. People usually don't really care to hear more than like 5 minutes worth of your story. As I work out the bullet points and determine which elements make for enjoyable conversation (should I leave out my stomach problems?), you'll have to humor me.

I feel good. I am excited to go home and sad that I will be leaving. It's the perfect mix.

This week I have all my goodbyes in Berat. My week is booked solid. I even had to use a little calendar to keep track of who and when. I do have two lunches available if you'll be in the Berat region.

The weather has been rain followed by rain with a mix of rain. Actually we did have three days of sun while I was in Tirana. I would have rather had those three days last week when I had planned on going to the beach. The flooding in the Midwest has made it on the news here. Indiana was mentioned and my friends told me about it the next day. So there are at least 5 people in Berat, Albania who know that the state of Indiana exists. You can understand why I am leaving Peace Corps. Obviously my work here is done.

I posted some pictures on flickr. They are not organized or titled. I hope to get to that soon. Take a gander regardless and enjoy.

I think today begins my Ten Day count down. See you soon.

tick tock tick tock...

2008-06-09T12:01:00.002+02:00

TWO WEEKS!
That's right. I am homeward bound in two weeks (technically I arrive late on Tuesday the 24th). I can't believe the time has come already. I'm taking appointments now so that I can tell you all about my two years worth of stories. Preferably we'll do this over coffee. I am certain I will be going through withdrawl and I doubt I can afford many lunches out. I'm gonna be American poor when I get bach. Waahoo!

The power just went out which means I don't know when I will be able to actually send this. We've had consistent power since mid January. I so used to it again. The funny thing is that this stuff doesn't phase me anymore. Yesterday I didn't have water. I just used some water from the bottles I keep on hand to brush my teeth (oral hygene is a must) and figured I'd shower at a later point.

Luckily I was a good little volunteer and sent in my final report before the power went out. The report was a summary of our activities for the last two years. Writing and reading my "accomplishments" felt good. Often I felt like I wasn't doing anything or at least not enough. Going over all of it, I realized I did accomplish some things in the down time between my coffees and pool time. Oh I suppose I should be honest. That report that I sent in this morning was due two weeks ago. Did you expect anything less?

Ooooh. The power is back on. So very nice. I guess it was just a little glitch.

See you all soon. First stop Taco Bell. So good. Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew, and so many more tasty carbonated beverages. I can't wait. Sorry got distracted.

Then there's Dhermi...

2008-05-30T22:46:00.003+02:00

The "Dh" in Dhermi is pronounced like the "th" in: then and there and this but not like the "th" in thin and think. That's your Albanian language lesson for the day.

Dhermi is a beautiful beach in the southern part of Albania. I have been wanting and trying to go to this beach the whole time I've been here. On three separate occasions I made plans to go but something has always come up in the past, which is weird since I generally have a pretty flexible schedule.
Recently, however, I was finally able to visit this breathtaking beach. Perhaps breathtaking is a little over the top but I had been really looking forward to the visit. Plus many of the beaches in Albania are gross. They are overcrowded, full of trash, and polluted with industrial or human waste. Oh and to reach Dhermi, you travel along a scenic road that winds up the mountains and through the forest to the pass where you are rewarded with amazing coastal views. These things make Dhermi even more awesome.
We camped two nights on the beach. The stars were amazing. Everyone must, at some point in his or her life, fall asleep while to watch for shooting stars. During the day we hung out, played cards and Frisbee, and of course some leisurely reading (D. H. Lawerence, Sons and Lovers). Of course there was some swimming too. And despite the fact that we kept lathering on the sunscreen, there was some unintentional light sun burning.

The beach, the friends, the weather were PERFECT!
I hope I can find the time to go back before I leave Albania.

Gotta jet. Marisa's jet is here. Hehehe.

It's the little things...

2008-05-30T21:53:00.003+02:00

Right now I am sitting in Rinas Airport. For those of you out there who have not made frequent flights Tirana, Albania, it's the airport in Albania. Marisa, my sitemate returns today from a nice little trip with her boyfriend. Not wanting to deal with a taxi and hotel in Tirana, Marisa hired a taxi from Berat to take her to Berat. And not wanting to ride back alone at night with a stranger, she asked me to ride up with the taxi from Berat and ride back with her. Simple enough right?

Silly you.
First, before leaving, Marisa had sent me a text message with the name and number of the taxi driver. Yesterday after having a coffee with one of my English students (the student is Ledia who was on our Model UN team if that rings a bell), I ask her to call the driver for me so that he understands exactly (Marisa has done this once already but better safe than sorry they say). I go to retrieve the number from my phone and, you guessed it, it's not there! No I did not accidentally delete the message. I opened the message and half of it had disappeared. Instead of a complete message with the needed name and number, I found *text missing*. Now isn't that helpful. No worries. I can be resourceful. I had a plan. I was pretty sure of his name. So Ledia and I went eto the taxis in the center of town and asked if anyone had his number. They did. Ledia called and everything was in place.
Perhaps you noticed this paragraph began with "First". Ready for the next part?
Second, when Mr. Taxi Driver and I arrive at the airport, he asked me if everything was OK. I said yes. I then asked if we were going to go inside and wait. He said no. He would leave now. I then chuckled and said there had been a little misunderstanding. I explained the plan and he understood.
Along the way there were clues for both of us. However, when you don't exactly speak the same language, you let some odd comments or confusing statements pass without too much question. For example, he thought it odd that I would be only traveling with a small bag (my laptop) and wearing only shorts and flip-flops. I thought it odd when he was saying that I spoke with his daughter when it had been Marisa. I am sure there were other little ones along the way but you just don't notice them.
So now I am here with still an hour to kill. Thankfully there is wi-fi and I thought to bring my laptop :)

Oh and I hate to leave you with no photo so I will tell you of my most recent gabi (used clothes market) purchase. Flip-flops! I really really liked the I brought with me but they just couldn't take it anymore.

Happily ever after...

2008-05-07T14:49:00.003+02:00

Ah an Albanian wedding. Truly an interesting experience. I recommend every person attend at least one Albanian wedding during his lifetime. Last month Marisa and I attended the wedding of our friend Ersa. Katie and I got to know Ersa pretty well during these past two years. Ersa is the one who made Albanian apple pie for my first birthday here. We've spent many wonderful evenings at Ersa's house, eating great food, drinking tasty homemade wine, and just relaxing in a very nice and comfortable house.

The bride and her family.

I should probably explain the makings of an Shqiptare (Albanian) wedding.

First and foremost, Food! Lots of food. I mean way more than could possibly be consumed. You start with a meat plate. I should be more specific. You start with the cold meat plate. Oh and the table is already set with sliced vegetables on plates and bread. Then begins the hot meat selection. The type and number of hot meats varies but at Ersa's we had shishkebab (I don't know how to spell that in English, in Albanian it's shishqebap), followed by biftek vienez. Biftek vienez is one of my favorites and it's more or less a Berat dish. It's like a cordon-blu but with veal and no ham. Same idea though, meat, cheese, and fried. Yummy. This artery clogger was followed by turkey and stuffing. Yep they have turkey and stuffing here too. Finally after all this food and beers/sodas/wine, the cake slices are delivered.

Marisa's food collection. Being a vegetarian, she didn't each much of the offerings and left before the cake arrived. I, now being experienced at Albanian meals, knew not to touch her food. I would have more than I could handle on my own.

Second must-have is music and dancing. Lots of both. The music should be LOUD, really loud and feature hardcore wailing on the clarinet. The dancing takes the form of a circle dance with the circle being overwhelmed by itself and turning into a winding line of dancers, navigating tables, columns, waiters, and other parts of the circle dance line.

Ersa looking radiant leading the dance.

Oh and another interesting tradition is the money giving. Granted in America we often give gifts of money but here they do it with so much more... we'll go with flare. You see instead of putting the money in a lovely card from Hallmark, you put the money in the bride's dress! Hehe. I had to try this out. It was quite fun. It's not degrading or inappropriate in any way. It definitely makes it more energetic. After I clumsily made my contribution, I saw that there was a basket at the foot of the couple's table where money could be given. The rest of my contributions were delivered in that manner.

Ersa being amused by my self-conscious delivery

Albanian weddings are not held in church. It's more like a reception. Another difference is that there is one ceremony for the bride and her family on one day and another ceremony for the groom and his family the following day. There are also family visits and various lunches in the days prior to the ceremonies. Since I am not Albanian, I'm not really familiar with that element.

I had a blast! The food, the dancing, the friends, and even the music. At 3:00am, I said my goodbyes and headed home. And before I finish, I should tell you that I was right on time to the wedding. Well on time according to the details in my head. When we arrived at 9:30, everyone was inside already. Turns out the wedding start time was 9:00 not 9:30. Oops. At least we got there before the bride.

Ciao Katie...

2008-04-11T11:01:00.005+02:00

Katie holding brownies made by Juliet and decorated by Me :)

About two weeks ago, Berat suffered a tragic loss. Our dear sitemate Katie headed back to her homeland of Minnesota a little early :(

Now that it's been over a week, I am fairly confident that we will survive, not thrive mind you but survive. I had my doubts but luckily I've been relatively busy and have kept myself occupied.

Before Katie's departure, we had a great night out in Berat. Several friends joined us as we had our farewell dinner, rode/drove/did bumper cars, played pool (a hobby reserved for men only), and went to our local club/bar. We danced the night away in upstairs of the bar which we had all to ourselves. And in the sense of adventure, on the our walk back, we joined a private party in another bar. We only stayed for a drink and one dance. I arrived home around 3am. That's late. I'm never out that late in Berat. My sleepy little town does have its wild side. Katie just had to coax it out.

On Tuesday of the next week, we headed to Tirana so Katie could begin all the paperwork associated with the end of our Peace Corps service. It worked out great. I had a seminar in Tirana and needed to return Honey (the dog I was watching). Katie and I got to hang out a few more days before she headed out for the last time.

Again we had a great time. The days in Tirana featured many coffees, some tasty dinners, three trips to the crepe place in as many days, and one more night out. On her last night in Tirana, Katie went hardcore. With the taxi coming at 3:30am for her very early flight, we stayed out till 2:30. I was very impressed.

Katie and our friend Lauren enjoying some nice wine before heading out

A typical moment between Katie and Diana, a PC staff member

Katie being hardcore, minutes before the taxi arrived

Maybe someday you will be lucky enough to meet Katie. She is an amazing person. Basically she ROCKS! She is definitely missed. If you're in The Cities, you should look her up. She can feed you Albanian biscuits and sing you Berat folk songs. I know I'll be stoppin by soon.

My new obsession...

2008-04-02T13:06:00.004+02:00

I have a new favorite past time. What could it be, what could it be???
Laundry. Yep. I now really enjoy doing my laundry. I've always been a little picky about my laundry. Being in Shqiperi (Albania) has taken my meticulousness to the next level. I'll spare you all the details of my procedures. However, I will say that in a land of hard, yucky water, and no dryers, fabric softener is key. I started using fabric softener, even though it's a little pricey for a Peace Corps stipend, when my landlords gave me my very own washer. That was a big day too. Before that my landlady had been doing my laundry. I think she was surprised how ofter I washed clothes. I appreciated her help and God knows I would have never done my laundry by hand but I was thrilled when I got my washer.
In the picture below you see the detergent I use. It's the good stuff. I might switch to Tide since it has become available in Berat just recently. You'll also see the fabric softener collection. My favorite is the first one (yellow), then I bought the green, then Katie gave me the orange. I can't wait to run out so I can buy more of the yellow stuff. See I told you it was an obsession.

I thought I'd also include another James peculiarity: children's toothbrushes. Years ago my dentist told me to better clean my wisdom teeth, I should use a kid's toothbrush. I brought a supply with me to Albania but I lost some and miscalculated the number of times I'd be changing them. So I had to buy a new toothbrush. I bought the pink dinosaur first. I was quite happy with my purchase so when I was without a toothbrush in Tirana, I bought the blue momma elephant, you can see her baby at her feet. Not only are they small and colorful, making brush time lots of fun, they also come with covers, another necessity for me.

I hope you enjoyed the little peak inside my head.

Running as fast as we can...

2008-03-17T10:28:00.003+01:00

The Start Line

The first hopefully annual Kucove Race happened this past Saturday. Juliet, the Volunteer who works in Kucove (which is a medium sized city close to Berat), organized a 2 kilometer race. Of course Juliet didn't do it all by herself, though I am 100% she could have. She's an amazing worker. I swear she does the work of at least 5 of us. The event was sponsored by a local bank. Getting local sponsorship is a major success in and of itself . Juliet's Girls Leadership group was the main group of organizers. She got the local municipality involved and the Youth Center, funded by Save The Children, and of course other Peace Corps Volunteers.
The race was a success. Over 200 people participated, including about 20 Volunteers, some traveling 7 hours to participate in the event. Kinda makes my 40 minute bus ride not very impressive. There were some problems too, like about half of the boys in the under 14 group cheating by cutting through a park. They weren't very smart about it. The hill in the park was steeper than the road course.
Several Volunteers ran in the race for fun. We weren't allowed to win any of the prizes, though some of us did manage to score a free t-shirt. We did our part by running at a good pace and NOT cheating. At one point I stopped to grab a kid I saw emerging from the park. I told him "No" and physically turned him around and pointed to the bottom of the road.
The race even with its problems was a great event. Physical exercise is not common in Albania. This was just the beginning. Now the foundation has been laid for future events. Baby steps, that's what we're all about.

A slightly sweaty James rehydrating while speaking to Volunteer extraordinaire Juliet

Please excuse James today...

2008-03-12T19:39:00.002+01:00

Perhaps you've noticed I've been a little lax in my blog postings. I do apologize. I have no particular reason for this. I've been busy but not busier than usual. I've been not interested in Internet but that too is common. I've had power 24/7 so I don't have that problem. Not sure really what my deal has been.

As usual, I will not try to cover everything that has happened in the past 40 plus days. I will start with the most recent.

Last week I was in Greece. I met my friend Jessica in Athens on Sunday 02 March and we hopped on a small cruise ship to embark upon our journey of the Greek islands to see the ancient sites.
After the cruise, Jessica came back to Albania to experience Berat. She was only here for three days, including our recovery day from the overnight bus from Athens. I will tell you about that another time. The short version? The bus ride SUCKED!
Due to Swiss Air being punks, Jess had to shorten her trip in Berat. We did the castle in record time and opted for a taxi ride up there. The time constraints and the crappy weather led us to the taxi. It worked out well. The taxi driver liked us and told the guard not to charge us the entrance fee. We then went to the museum to see the icons and frescoes. The tour guide was away but no problem. I know the stuff. I've been through the church a few times. When the attendant did arrive, since the people know me, we didn't have to pay. Nice.
We then headed to my tutor's house for a short visit. My tutor and her family are great people. She was a wonderful hostess and Jessica got to experience Albanian hospitality. Needing some grub, we headed to my favorite pizza place. The sisters who own the place are really sweet. I always say hi to them and they enjoy our little conversations. In addition to the best calzones in Albania, they always give me a little treat for free. This time it was ice cream with a lion and peacock for decorations.
Jess and I then returned to my house to prepare for her 4am bus departure. We packed her bags and the extra one filled with some of my stuff and some stuff from Katie. Right now Jess should be finding her way to the Athens airport. I hope she makes it.

Rruge te mbare (Have a good trip) Jess!
For today, that's all I got. Dinner is almost ready. We're having kulac pizza a Katie creation.

Albanians, Jews, and one hot American

2008-02-01T16:15:00.000+01:00

Flag on left: City of Berat
Last week I attended the opening ceremony for a conference on Albanians and their role in protecting Jewish refugees during WWII. Yeah. I didn't know they had a big part either. But this is a surprisingly little country. Berat particularly had a lot of families that hosted/protected Jewish families. Albanian hospitality is truly phenomenal. Once they take you in as a guest, they will protect you like a member of their family.

In attendance were the Israeli and American Ambassadors, local government officials, and various community members. I was not expressly invited but I just kinda invite myself to these type of things. Playing the foreigner card is so handy sometimes.

Since it was a fancy event, I decided I should try to look half way decent. My black pants were clean and didn't need ironing. My blue dress shirt matches my black pants. My black tie matches both the pants and the shirt. My recently purchased grown-up's black coat matches all the above articles. Put it together, what do you get?

One smokin hot James!
See for yourself:

mix & match...

2008-01-19T16:03:00.000+01:00

I've been pretty lame about posting recently. Though I'd like to give proper attention to the events of the last few months, I know that this happening is unlikely. I also know that you really just want to see lots of pictures (well not too many, I know you are busy people). Below are some photos from major events in my PC life.

The stage and runway inside the Palace of Culture (aka the civic center). Katie and I were there for a play about AIDS. The auditorium was packed with all high school students and about six adults. It was TORTURE! I didn't make it to the end. I had to leave for the sake of my sanity.

The man on the left is Ambassador Withers. He visited Berat to see the city and to speak at the Opening Ceremony of Katie's Teacher Training. I'm not sure what was asked at this coffee the evening before the training but I like the fact that we all raised our hands.

Who's that handsome fella in the back lookin aloof?

My fellow PC volunteer birthday lunch. I made the cake. I've never been too good at icing :(

Katie, Zaku (Katie's host grandfather), and me. Zaku is the awesomest!

Just cool full moon with a halo on a cloudless night

My ET attempt

Marisa & I participating in AIDS Week march. The poster reads: Take your destiny in your hand. The translations a little rough. Sorry.

AIDS Week activities included a candle-lit march and then creating a ribbon from those candles.

Thanks for watching.

Defeat minus the glory...

2008-01-14T12:11:00.000+01:00

I am sad :(

The Colts lost :(

I think I will go home and pout :(

behind the times...

2008-01-04T13:49:00.000+01:00

So perhaps you've noticed that I have been a bit lacking in my postings. Believe me it's not for lack of material. Quite the opposite. I've had a busy month. Things are slowing down again, which is good actually. I need a bit of breather and some time to focus on my remaining projects and the next big step. Speaking of which, is anyone looking for a guy like me to employ?

The winter has arrived with force here in Albania. It's been COLD! I had to remember all my little tricks for staying warm. For example, when trying to watch West Wing on my laptop with its freshly installed optical drive (that's a CD/DVD drive for those who have not had to replace theirs), I shouldn't even bother using my heater. It's not gonna make much difference in my over sized living room. Instead I must simply take one thick wool blanket and wrap it around my legs while sitting Indian style and take another thick wool blanket and wrap it around my upper half. Of course, underneath my blanket cocoon I am layered with hoody and two pairs of socks. I did try to warm my cold feetsies while in this configuration and all I managed to do was singe my blankets. Oops.
I have also revived my morning ritual of preheating my bathroom. I am lucky in that I have water all the time but that doesn't do much for the really cold bathroom tiles. So I just wake up an hour before I plan to shower and move my heater into my bathroom, which is wonderfully not over sized. Without this step I cannot muster the courage to leave the warm water of my shower.
Sidenote: Albanians are REALLY REALLY REALLY bad at closing doors.
One last strategy, and it's probably my favorite. My tent. My bedroom is, surprisingly enough, also over sized. Therefore it too is impossible to keep warm (the drafty windows don't help either). I have a heater that is safe to leave on during the night but not powerful enough to heat my bedroom. So I devised this little structure to help keep the heat near me. I must say that it works like a charm. I can keep it set on low and I stay warm all night. Brilliance, I tell you, pure brilliance. Observe.

Hopefully I will catch up and post some stuff from the previous month. One thing to look forward to... Sitemates' Dance Off. I'll explain in a couple weeks :)

Third pie’s the charm…

2007-11-29T19:32:00.000+01:00

A week ago today I, like you, was celebrating Thanksgiving. For some odd reason, Thanksgiving is not that significant in Albania. I suppose it has something to do with the lack of Pilgrims and Indians. So to celebrate in proper fashion, we headed to Tirana. The Embassy and other American organizations or Americans working in Tirana do this really cool thing for us Peace Corps Volunteers. They invite us into their homes for a lovely traditional (more or less) Thanksgiving meal. Last year I had an amazing dinner with a great couple so I was very eager to replicate that experience.

I went up to Tirana on Wednesday for a presentation about careers in Foreign Service. Now one of the things that becomes of utmost concern as volunteer visiting Tirana is where to sleep. It’s just not fun to have to pay for a hotel, granted it’s not too expensive but we’re uber cheap. I thought I was going to be able to stay with a friend but that fell through. My friend Juliet, who was going to stay with me at a different friend’s apartment Thursday night, told me that she didn’t a place because her Thanksgiving hosts offered to let her stay at their house Wednesday and Thursday. Prior to be in the Peace Corps I don’t think I would have done this (though I cannot say for certain) but I asked her to ask her hosts if I too could stay Wednesday night. To my delight, they said yes.

After the presentation they drove us to their house and offered to make some pizzas, cheese dip, brownies, and even margaritas. It was great. We really do miss the food a LOT. We had great food, used the Internet, watched Harry Potter, and then went out to meet some friends. All in all, a very good night.

It got even better. The next morning they made pancakes and bacon. So good. Then since they were having Thanksgiving early, around noon, and my host was having it in the evening, they invited me to have Thanksgiving lunch with them. Of course I said yes. We had the works. Two turkeys (one oven-baked, one deep-fried), stuffing, green bean casserole, corn, cranberry sauce, and pie. It was so good. I was smart and did not stuff myself, keeping in mind that I had a big dinner to go to at 5pm.

After helping with clean-up and finishing reading Harry Potter (the 5^th book), they drove me to meet my host for my Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving #2 was a bit unorthodox. My host wasn’t able to procure turkey so he opted for four varieties of lasagna. After the power came back on, the lasagna finished cooking and I ate another large, tasty meal. The other guests were really interesting people and I enjoyed hearing about their different backgrounds. Around 10pm or so, we left.

However, my Thanksgiving festivities were not quite over. I headed over to my Thanksgiving #3, my final one for the day, to get the keys to my friend’s apartment. I was stuffed and didn’t even try to eat anymore turkey, but… PECAN PIE! My friend had made pecan pie. It was the only thing missing from my Thanksgiving day. I always eat a slice of pumpkin and a slice of pecan. I was so happy to see that. I managed to find some room in my belly and enjoyed every last crumb.

After that I went to my friend’s place and was able to call my family and talk for a while. Granted it was after midnight my time and I don’t know how coherent I was, it was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Professor James...

2007-11-20T09:41:00.000+01:00

Right now I am preparing my first lesson. I am teaching again today but this time I am preparing something extra to add to the lesson. Of course it's not a formal lesson plan or anything but I did have to prepare and put a little extra effort into it.

I've decided I wanted to teach my class the usage of "like". I'm into grammar and informal speech so I thought I'd lay some knowledge down on 'em. Realizing this might be boring to them or above their level, I have other material prepared, just like a good teacher :)

I think I am ready for this. I am like a little nervous so like wish me luck. Thanks.

Sanctuary...

2007-11-15T11:00:00.000+01:00

Today I am in Tirana. Shortly I'll head out to try my luck at exchanging my modem, again. Until then, I am enjoying the cozy comforts of the apartment of a friend of mine who is graciously hosting me today.

Surprisingly, I am still running. I do good to get out twice a week. It's really hard to find a dry day and dry-ish roads. Plus I've noticed it's harder to run my usual distance. I've been sorer (grammar lesson for the day: though "sorer" sounds funny I think it is correct. I've been more interested in proper English now that I am teaching the stuff). Today it is rainy. I got soaked last night walking around Tirana. So even though I brought my running stuff to enjoy a good trail run in the park, I am out of luck. Or am I? Now that I am a Peace Corps Volunteer I have to use the "f" word a lot, flexible :) So in lieu of running, I've found an alternative. I am going to hop on an ellipse-like piece of exercise equipment and get my workout on.

Luckily I found VH1 on the TV and it's playing Top Ten of ABBA. Love it. Don't you judge. You know you can't resist their singable pop hooks. Plus you try living in Sweden for half a year and not growing to love them. I'm betting Fernando is Number 1.

Just so you know, I am typing over, under, around a seven month old puppy that's not very puppy sized. Coincidently her name is Honey just like my sister's dog. Very cute even though she keeps farting by/on me.

down & out...

2007-11-13T10:52:00.000+01:00

So my Internet is down again. I think my modem got fried by a power surge, which are pretty common here. It doesn't seem fair that we don't have power all the time (last night I lost it for 7.5 hrs) and when do have it, its too strong. Go figure.

On a good note, we had a great early Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. I made some uber delicious pumpkin pies. I even had to find recipes that didn't call for shortening or lard. I'm sure there is some somewhere in this country but I haven't found it yet. Our spread featured four small chickens in lieu of a turkey, salads, mashed potatoes, homemade apple sauce, biscuits, and a Chilean dish featuring ground beef, raisins, olives, boiled eggs, cream corn (which we had to make ourselves), brown sugar. We had plans for more but power went out earlier than expected. Of course this was enough food to feed all of us quite well.

For now I am off to class. Hopefully I will be back online soon.

Istanbul Images...

2007-10-26T15:35:00.000+02:00

View from our hotel rooftop terrace.
Interior of New Mosque near spice bazaar
Hagia Sofia

Just finished our first day of sightseeing. I am tired after traveling and walking around so much. Here are a few pics from today.

Istanbul was Constantinople, Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople...

2007-10-24T02:30:00.000+02:00

It's almost 3am and I can't sleep. This never happens. It might have something to do with the little nap that I took at 10pm. Then again it might be the garlic I ate for dinner. My stomach no longer likes garlic and really doesn't like Albanian onions. I just ate some peanut butter and bread (yum) so my tummy should be happy soon. While I wait for sleepy time to resume, I'll tell you about two exciting things happening this week.
First, it's official (actually there's nothing official about it). I am almost a teacher. After my experiences last school year helping students with English, I decided to try out teaching in a school. I am working with a teacher named Julian. He has agreed to let me help in a few classes a week. Right now the plan is for me to observe for a couple weeks and then I would teach with him in the room. Today was my first day in the school and tomorrow I go back for more. I will probably only be teaching once a week in four or five classes. If that's not enough for me, I would start my English help sessions. I am excited about this opportunity. Last semester was my first experience in the classroom. I really enjoyed it and I think the students did too. Though my work at the municipality is picking up a bit and I have other random things that could keep me busy, I decided to give "teaching" a shot. This will be a great test-run for me. Plus I don't think schools in the US would be so eager to let me help out. Turns out a lot of people speak English in America. Anyway, perhaps a career change is in my future.
Second, I am going to Istanbul. I decided to go like two days ago. Spur of the moment trips are not usually my thing. I like to research everything, the travel, the lodging, the sites, the food, and the costs. However, in my spirit of adventure, I threw caution to the wind and I decided to go. It helps that I am joining a group of friends who had already planned on going. The trip is kinda short but I figure it'll be a good intro to Istanbul, which I have heard is worth a second trip. If there is a next time, I'll be a pro at it. Plus I'll do even more research :)
Wish me luck for tomorrow in school. I'll post some Istanbul pics after I get back so check back in a week.

Peruvian Perfection...

2007-10-21T10:54:00.000+02:00

Success!
We have finished our first Model United Nations conference. It was three days of intense debate and coalition building. The students did a great job. Though I didn't have any specific tasks during the conference, I was exhausted every day. One volunteer said he now knows what it's like to feel like a proud parent. You are thrilled that the students do so well but you know that they can do even better and just want to push them to their best.

Peru's Resolution was passed. I should add that it passed by only ONE vote. I don't mean like 5 to 4. I mean ONE. Peru was the only country who voted in favor of our resolution (shocking). The other 10 countries abstained. All we needed in our mock Security Council was a simple majority of those voting. Score.

Our girls did an amazing job. We started the conference off with a bang. Our presentations about Peru (a short trivia quiz) and Berat (a skit about the Legend of Berat) were off the chain and definitely crowd pleasers. Their awesomeness continued throughout the conference. They debated well, acted diplomatically (most the time), and worked well with the other teams. Katie and I are understandably proud.

Hopefully we will be able to repeat such an outstanding performance. For now, we are all tired and going to need a little break from Model UN.

Reunited and it feels so good...

2007-10-03T19:04:00.000+02:00

Yay for birthdays. This one is shaping up to be quite nice. Not only did I receive another birthday sms (or text message on my phone for those non-hip people out there, yes that includes me) but I got two more packages today. Waahoooo!!!
My parents sent lots of cereal, which is good because I was burnt out on my cornflakes and museuli mixture, some instant soup mixes and rice packets, very good for the upcoming cold weather, and a much appreciated twin pack of JIF Peanut Butter. Ummmmm...Peanut butter. Have I mentioned how much I love Peanut Butter? When I was home for Christmas I brought back 12lbs of PB and that supply is almost mbaruat (finished).

Another package arrived today. This one from Mona. The content of which made me oh so joyful. I showed three people as soon as I opened it. I feel like an old friend has returned. Poor Mona was afraid I wouldn't like it. Sometimes I'm hard to buy for, especially if you are trying to surprise me and not use a list provided by yours truly. And without further ado, the pièce de résistance

As you'll recall, my other Swiss Army knife was stolen during my trip to Belgrade. This one is even fancier and doesn't have a strange smell to it (I had kept my first one in my glove compartment along with some nasty smelling air fresheners, of course the knife decided to absorb the funky smell). James is a happy boy.

29.003...

2007-10-03T08:37:00.000+02:00

That's how old I am today. You could also say 29 years old and a day. Perhaps I'll start keeping track of my age including the decimal. That'd be kinda fun. It might be kinda lame too but that usually doesn't stop me.

My birthday was good. I was in Tirana during the day because we had a Peace Corps presentation on Monday. With my renewed fitness focus, I brought my running clothes with me, and here's the kicker, I actually used them. Tuesday morning I went for a run in the park. It was awesome. The park is large and wooded and there are lots of other people running too. I haven't seen another runner in a long time. Except this one time during the summer while I was running on my regular route, I saw a father and his two sons running together. It was very strange. I really enjoyed my run yesterday because I was able to run on a lot of trails in the park. I had forgotten how much I love trail running. It's way better than street or track running. Even though I ran into some dead-end trails, trip and just barely skinned my knee, and a few times ran by old men doing stretches in their underwear, I totally dug it. I want to go back to Tirana just to go running. Oh the old men in their underwear, it's not a creepy thing. For some reason it's acceptable, and a bit normal, though I was started by it the first time I came upon it.

The birthday fun started on Saturday because we had some people over for dinner after our Model UN practice. That was also the first day I received a birthday message. I got lots of birthday love. My mom called me at 1am. I was sound asleep. You know the type when you can barely form a word when woken suddenly? I think I dozed off twice while she was talking to me. I was also surprised by our Model UN team. The girls had a cake for me. I'm not even sure how they knew it was my birthday. Perhaps I told them but I swear I was purposely not telling people this year. Anyway, I had a great birthday and hopefully I can extend the fun just a little bit longer.

Thanks again for all the birthday love.

Better late than never...

2007-09-26T10:52:00.001+02:00

Recently I decided to get my lazy self back into shape. Preferably a shape not descriable as squishy, soft, pluffy, or the most vile of words HUSKY. I had to wear Husky jeans as a child and I'm still scarred by that experience. My inspiration for this renewed fitness focus stems from three different people calling me fat. Two were meant more as compliments and one was not. Regardless of how people think I look, I am getting a little more love in my handles.
I'm starting simple. One day running, next day light gym workout, with the weekends off. Hopefully I'll be able to keep this up as the cold and wet weather begins.

For now I leave you with a gorgeous picture of me modeling much-needed sweat bands, a gift from Marisa to help stop the sweat from cascading down my shaved dome.

Picture perfect...

2007-09-26T10:28:00.000+02:00

I can upload pictures again. Yay. I don't know exactly what the problem was. My best guess is that I was using Internet Explorer 7.0 and it is NOT cool.
For now enjoy my edited picture. It's currently my desktop.

trouble in paradise...

2007-09-21T10:28:00.000+02:00

Ah the fun continues. Just so you know, I'm having problems with my Internet. The providers says it's my modem. I don't believe him. It worked fine Wednesday night.

With our power schedule, trying to get anything done in a day is difficult. I spoke to the person in charge of Internet as soon as possible. He told me to bring in my modem. I was so annoyed. Why is it so impossible for them to come out to my house???

The sad part is that as I was quickly walking back to my house, I realized that really the problem was me. Of coure he's going to want to check the modem. Of course I should have brought it with me when I went the first time. Of course operating with any notion of customer service is a huge mistake on my part. Maybe someday I'll learn.

Oh and if I do get Internet working, I can't seem to load photos on to my blog. Hopefully I can resolve all this soon. Till then, wish me luck.

Ancient Apollonia

2007-09-09T18:35:00.000+02:00

I made a trip out to some nearby ancient ruins. I'd like to tell you something about the place but I didn't have my guide book and there was no information available at the site.

Northern Bound, Part Two...

2007-08-25T01:23:00.000+02:00

The next stop on our great tour of the north was Kukes. On our way into the city we crossed over the large reservoir and saw just how low the water level is. Low water level = low energy production. Along the very dry lake edge were many lines of erosion in the dirt indicating the water at its normal level and each progressively lower level. I'm not sure how many lines there were but I am guessing that due to our lack of rain and oppressive heat, and the ensuing lack of power that there are a few too many lines. The silver lining? If the water gets much lower you can walk through an ancient city and the former site of Kukes. OK, I might be exaggerating. The town of Kukes was relocated to its current higher elevation sometime in the 1970's. When they dammed the river, the first Kukes was flooded.
I didn't have my camera with me when we explored Kukes in the afternoon. Hopefully I'll get some pictures later and post them. I was surprised at how nice the city is. The setting is quite nice. The town is on a plateau, overlooking the lake with a mountain dramatically rising behind it.

The next morning our journey continued. And of course we were out the hotel by 6:30 am. The night before we had conflicting information regarding transportation, with a departure time of 7:00, 7:30, and 8:00 am. There was a mini-bus, and I do mean "a" because there was only one, that went from Kukes to Peshkopi, our next stop. When we got to the buses, we didn't see the mini-bus. We asked around and we had one gentleman offer to take us for 100Euros. Yeah. Euros. That's like a billion US dollars. I laughed in his face. I've gotta stop doing that. A little later a man rushed over and asked if we want to go to Peshkopi. I said yes. I also said we would pay only 5Euros, knowing that the price should be between 5 and 7 Euros. He looked a little insulted. I'm guessing he wanted more. He said a cup of coffee costs 5 Euros. I asked where. I then said a coffee is not that expensive in Tirana or London. No thank you sir. We'll find someone else.
Tired from our transportation search, we sat down to have a coffee, which, by the way, cost less than half a Euro. Soon Ryan spotted a mini-bus with potential to be our ride. He scoped it out and returned with good news. The driver met us 30 minutes later and off we went. Or so I thought. First we had to make a little stop. We make a few turns and then we're in the middle of some narrow street surrounded by the walls of the houses along the street. We park perpendicular to a gate which is then opened from the inside. I peered in to see what was behind the gate. I couldn't see much in the small courtyard except a large wood pile and a rusty axe (ok, ok, there was no axe but I'm trying to set the mood). Judging from the faces of my companions as we slowly reversed into the courtyard, we weren't exactly comfortable with our little detour. When the driver got out, opened the back, and removed our backpacks, I think we all got a little more nervous. Shortly thereafter however, our fears were laid to rest. A couple of guys started loading the back of the mini-bus (which kinda like a mini-van) with cases and cases of Bik Bull which is a generic version of Pitt Bull, which is a generic version of Pit Bull, which is a generic version of Red Bull, which is just gross. After loading 700Euro of Bik Bull into the back, we were off to Peshkopi.

The road was quite an experience. In fact it was barely a road. We bumped around for several hours along the way but we were rewarded with breath-taking views and glimpse at life in rural Albania. Sadly I didn't get many good pictures. It turns out that the backseat of a mini-bus is not good for comfort or taking pictures. I did get a few good shots but I missed so many others. This ride was more spectacular than the ferry ride. It might be the best journey I've been on in Albania. The views were stunning, the countryside gorgeous, and the experience amazing. Even considering how difficult it was to begin and how uncomfortable the ride was, I would recommend it and might even be willing to do it again.

Right now, it's after 2am and I have to go to the castle tomorrow morning to survey tourist. Next post will include some pictures of a place (it's too small to call it a village) where we stopped for a rest. Good night.

Fire in the hills...

2007-08-23T23:56:00.000+02:00

No really. There's a fire in the hills. It's been at least 30 years since it last rained. Everything is really really dry. I'm not sure how the fires are starting since we don't have lightning but they are all over Albania.

The fires in Berat have been hills surrounding the city. Fortunately I am far from the flames. The fires would have to traverse lots and lots of concrete communist apartment buildings before they could reach me. Yay for communist architecture.

Northern bound, Part One...

2007-08-20T21:58:00.000+02:00

Tirana at night

After yet another series of excruciatingly long, bumpy, and hot mini-bus rides, I have returned from our journey North. Prior to this trip, my travels north had been very limited. The first time I went north of Tirana was when Mona and I were traveling out of the country to Montenegro.

The North is full of mysterious beauty and isolated tranquility (not sure what I mean by that but it sounded nice). The terrain in the North is much more mountainous and therefore much harder to get to. In fact, I would say much more painful to get to. Do you remember the toilet paper commercial where the little girl stuffs her pants with lots of cushy soft toilet paper? Man do I wish I could have done that. After each leg of our journey, I wasn't sure if feeling would return.

The Fearless Five (front row:James, Katie, Brandon; back row: Joey, Dan, Jenny, Ryan) Dan and Jenny were our hosts in Puka.

A group of us decided to journey north, do some exploring, and talk some shop with fellow volunteers. We left Tirana at 6am on Thursday morning for our first destination Puka. Five or six hours later we arrived. That being the first leg of our journey, I must say I don't remember much from the bus ride. In Puka we met two volunteers and after discussing some projects and work issues we headed out to explore the beautiful landscape surrounding Puka. We took a long hike and returned to town just in time to hike to different part of town to catch the sunset. Though I was tired from our long day and my lack of a nap, when we arrived at our sunset vantage point, it was all worth it.

An Albanian boy that joined us for our hike along the way

Sunset from the hills outside of Puka

Sunset taken through a lens filter (actually Katie's sunglasses)

The next morning we again awoke before the sun. This time the bus departed at 5am. How awesome is that. This was the special part of the journey. Our goal was to take a ferry ride up one of the three lakes formed by massive damns. Of course getting to the ferry was part of the adventure. Our early bus dropped us in some nameless town where we had to figure out our transportation options. Transportation is always a struggle here. After being told all sorts of conflicting information and being offered a ride for $15 per person (at which I literally laughed in the guy's face because the trip should cost $3), we waited at a cafe. Sometime later with the help of the cafe owner, we catch a ride with a mini-bus. Actually we had to wait for one of his friends to come so that one of us could ride with the friend because there just wasn't enough room for us all. That lone person was me. After sitting there for a minute I realized that I had very very little knowledge of where we were going. Luckily we stayed in contact with text messages and arrived at the ferry without incident.

After about an hour wait, we were able to load onto the ferry. The seating options were limited and though we knew we would roast in the sun on the top deck, we figured it would be better than the smoke-filled stuffy room below. Plus the whole point of this ride was the view. And what a view it was. The mountains, the water, and the occasional house hugging the hillside were totally worth it. I had been told that this was one of the best boat rides in the world. I was not disappointed.

The beginning of the ferry ride

Oh and while we were waiting for the ferry, a woman approached me. I assumed she was going to be a tourist and was needing assistance. Not so much. After saying hello she said that her family thought that I was the husband of one of their cousins or something like that. During the ferry ride, whenever someone from their group passed me, they took a good long look, still not quite convinced I suppose.

070707

2007-08-14T11:55:00.000+02:00

In recognition of the very special date of 070707, we decided to celebrate in an oh so appropriate fashion. A beach party! Some volunteers in one of the northern beach towns organized a day of fun in the sun and a night of sleep by the sea.

We arrived around noon and headed for the beach shortly there after. The beach I usually go to is a rock beach instead of sand. I’ve gotten quite used to these rocky beaches but the beach near Lezha is a sand beach and I was looking forward to seeing some sand, building a sand castle, and just general merriment.
However, I soon remembered some of the annoying parts of sand. For example, the sand gets really really HOT. My poor little feet are not tough. They can’t handle it. I don’t know if I’m being particularly wimpy, which I am almost certain is not the case, or if it’s genetic, perhaps even cultural. I see all the Albanians walking around on sand that is on fire without even noticing. Then again, I also see them walk around the city sometimes barefoot. If I did that, I know I’d find the section of the city paved with shards of glass.
Another annoying thing about sand, it gets everywhere. You end up getting sand on your clean towel, on the beach lounge chair, on your clothes, and anywhere else you are trying to keep clean. Rocks don’t do that. They just stay put like good little rocks. Oh and the other thing, sand is basically just dirt. So within fifteen minutes, I was cursing the sand and my scorched feet and longing for my rocky beach.
We stayed for about two hours then we headed back for a late lunch and to chill with other people who had arrived. I am pretty tan currently and I was under an umbrella (brella brella brella, hey. Sorry stupid Rhianna Umbrella song infects your head) so I only did sun block on my shoulders and face. I HATE having a sun burnt face or shoulders. Of course I managed to fall asleep on my side with my arm up exposing the side of my stomach/back which up to that had been spared my sick sunshine needs. And of course I got a little red. I was afraid it was going to be bad and I wouldn’t be able to lower my arms because of my now rosy armpits. The rest of the day, I lotioned up pretty well and was fine by the next day. One of these days, I might learn.

When evening rolled around, we piled into a mini-bus, which holds legally 8 people (we were 9 I think), and headed for the beach. We went to a different area to begin our hike to a more secluded beach. I had only a large bill to pay for the 50 cent ride. I collected everyone’s money and gave the drive my equivalent $10. I was a little confused when he gave me only $3 change. We stood there arguing over the fare which should have come to $4.50 and not $7. First he was saying that he would come get us tomorrow and that was why it was more. I knew though that he was not going to give us a free ride in the morning so I was just paying extra for him to come get us, which was not necessary. Then he argued that since he dropped us off at a different spot, he was going to return to town empty. I informed him that that was his problem. Plus he could very easily drive 5 minutes down to the regular beach and pickup lots of people. He finally was getting tired of me. He showed me a bundle of bills and told me to take the change I thought was appropriate. I saw a $5 and thought that was fair and easy. He got a tip and I could easily take my close to accurate change. He was floored. He was SO not expecting that. I loved it. I know it sounds stupid to bicker about only a few bucks but I hate feeling like they are taking advantage of the supposedly rich foreigner. It’s just rude on their part so now I fight back and it makes me feel much better.

We found our way to the beach and hung out a while, built a fire, and hung out on some big boulders. One of the highlights (or a lowlight from my perspective) from the rocks was the unique rendition of some songs by Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. See what I mean, a little scary. We have video but I’ll spare you.
Our sleeping accommodations were fabricated from a mosquito net and a beach umbrella (brella brella brella, see I told you). It worked surprisingly well. All in all, 070707 was a definite highlight. I can’t wait till 080808.

Patriotic promotion...

2007-08-13T22:59:00.000+02:00

Above: Our Model UN team (notice map behind us)
Below: Officemates: Axhem, Vali, and Doni (or something like that, I just found out that I might be calling him the wrong name for the last year)

One of the goals of Peace Corps is to promote America. Of course they word it a bit better but that's at least part of the idea. One of the awesome things about Albania is that they love us. It's nice to be respected just because you were born on a particular chunk of land, especially since that's not the response my nationality might evoke in many other places.

So when the Fourth of July rolled around this year, I wanted to celebrate with a little bit of American patriotism. I carried a sheet of American flag stickers and gave them out all day. I even gave some to complete strangers who came into City Hall for business. They actually asked for one and I was happy to oblige.

You'll notice the white cups in the second picture. Those are filled with ice cream. By coincidence they had bought ice cream and by a even better coincidence, they ended up having an extra. And you know I HAD to eat it. It's was the 4th of July!

this just in...

2007-08-05T01:00:00.000+02:00

Though I am sure my infatuation with my Internet will be waining soon enough, I thought I would share with you some random news/rumor that previously would not have made it to the pages of my blog. I recently heard that it is now against the law to sell sliced bread in Albania. Yep. Gone are the days of "the best thing since sliced bread." I must say I think this is a step in the wrong direction. Seriously. Do they expect me to cut it myself? You know there are machines that can do that?

What is really sad about this possible law is that it will not be enforced for long. REAL laws don't get enforced. So what do they do? They make stupid laws ( in the interest of being PC, I don't know why they are doing this, there might be a good reason somewhere out there). A couple months ago they banned smoking indoors. That lasted like two days. It's such a joke.

So the next time you want to make a tasty sandwich or one of the other one trillion things you can do with sliced bread, think of Albania and our "pre-sliced" life.

where was I...

2007-08-03T23:13:00.000+02:00

I'll start with the biggest news. Surprisingly it's not the arrival of Internet. Our new site mate Marisa was medically evacuated almost two weeks ago. It was all rather sudden. She was having stomach pains and no determinable cause so off they sent her. Though it wasn't easy, she was cleared today to return to Albania and is due to arrive Monday. Soon our squad will be back in business.

Now I'll talk a little about me getting Internet at my house. I can't talk to much about because the pain is still to recent. Getting the Internet to work at my house was the most complicated thing I've done in this country. We (my sitemates and I) decided to get Internet and determined my house was the most logical location. Our plan was set in motion. On July 3rd, I, along with a coworker as a translator, went to the phone/Internet provider. The man in charge of Internet installations said the Internet could be operating as soon as I paid for the first month and installation. This was awesome news. So easy. We went to the bank and transferred the money to the telecom's account (that's the way they do it here, don't ask me). I showed the guy the receipt and he said it would work by the end of the day.
The day came and went with no Internet. I was fine with this. I didn't think it would work that easily anyway. We went back the next day and found out that I needed a splitter, a modem, and a router. We only had the router! Of course there were no splitters or modems in Berat nor Tirana at that time. Frustrated we ordered a modem from America.
Joyous the day it arrived, I tried to connect. I got nothing, nada, squat. Back to telecom I went. Then off to find the Internet guy. Apparently he works at his own shop till 1pm (I'm gonna assume that he is paid for full-time work at the telecom but that's probably because I am not happy with him and it's easy to assume that). His shop hours were a bit of a problem because the telecom was losing power at 2pm and he had lunch after his shop closed. He passed me along to another guy. Specialist 2 was there. I told him it didn't work. I tried to get him to come to my house and just check everything out. No luck. He suggested I bring everything to him to test at the telecom before he went out to my house (which is all of a 12 minute walk away). I brought everything he needed. Sadly I forgot to leave the converter with him for the American modem (American electronics are wired for 110v while Europe uses 220v). When he plugged our modem into the too high voltage, he blew the power supply. I was absolutely livid. We had waited two weeks to get that modem and he destroyed it in two seconds. I barely remained calm. Katie remembered that we had another power supply from a modem she had that we had forgotten about. Specialist 2 told her that he would wait an hour for her to return. This was her third trip to my house on a day when temperatures were around 105. She quickly went home and returned to the telecom only to learn that Specialist 2 had gone home. The reason? It was hot. The next day we tried the new plug and it didn't work either. Even more merzit (Albanian for annoyed, bored, angry, sometimes one word is better than three), I calmly told him that I was very very annoyed. I said that he too was to blame for damaging the plug. I pointed out that we paid over $80 for installation which amounted to nothing. This was now the last week in the month and we still didn't have Internet. I asked if he would like to pay for Internet but not be able to use it. I also mentioned that having to deal with both him and the other man was also agrevating. In rare nod to customer service, he stood there and listened to me. He told me I was right and almost apologized. That little exchange made me feel so much better.
A few days later we were in Tirana for a training. I found a modem, overpriced but at least a good brand and wired for Europe voltage. We bought it, brought back. Installed it and got nothing. I went to Specialist 2 and basically forced him to test it right then and there. He said he was busy. I said I needed him to do it NOW. After some trouble shooting he got it to work. The real problem was that they needed to configure the modem. I knew this and tried to tell them at the beginning. We finished at the telecom at 9:40. Power at my house is cut at 10:00. I rushed home and quickly setup everything downstairs in my landlord's hallway (the DSL comes through his landline). At 9:58 Internet Cafe James was online. Though it was brief, it was truly magical.
Today I setup the phone line from his house (I ran a long telephone line from his phone jack, along the wall, out the window, up to my window two floors above) to my modem and router in my house. Finally we have wireless in my house.
Getting the Internet was the most difficult thing I've had to do. I got just a small taste of dealing with incompetent institutions and service providers here. I hope that's the only time I have to do anything like that.

Because I'm so happy, so very very happy...

2007-08-03T10:06:00.000+02:00

Let me tell you why I am so VERY VERY happy. I now have wi-fi at my house. Waahoo!!!!!! Getting to this point was such an incredible headache and very frustrating but it finally works.

I'll post more about this and everything else that has gone on in the last month this evening and this weekend. I'd start now but I'm going to lose power in a few minutes. Again, I'm so happy, so very very happy :)

Turn off the lights...

2007-07-09T10:10:00.000+02:00

Ah the return to normal life has finally come. We are now without power from 10am to 4pm. Last week we had power 24hrs a day. Alas, that bit of wonderfulness is over.

I am super busy again this week with random stuff. I hope the lack of power doesn't screw everything up.
Tonight I am going to a the graduation ceremony for Katie's class and tomorrow is the big party. It should be fun.

The power is out and the Internet will be gone soon. Hopefully I'll be able to post more soon.

Meet Marisa...

2007-07-03T09:51:00.001+02:00

Marisa (left) and Jamie from Vlora

The Berati crew would like to introduce you to Marisa. She is the new volunteer in Berat. She arrived in Berat a few weeks ago. For the next two years she will be keeping herself busy, hopefully, in various health education/promotion activities.

Katie and I are excited to be the experienced volunteers in town. Now we have someone who looks up to us and cheerishes every profound word of wisdom we dispense (yeah, that's probably not the case but you don't live here so you have to take my word for it :) ).

So join me in wishing Marisa shume sukses (much success, tough one huh).

And apparently I have a theme of randomness if that's possible. This weekend I wanted to take pictures but I couldn't find my camera. Shume keq (very bad). I even cleaned my house, well at least tiddied up a bit. No luck. I remembered last having it in car of Katie's counterpart on our way back from Kucove. Yesterday I saw her and asked if I left the camera in her car. She said no. I was nervous then because if it wasn't there, then I had no idea what I did with it. After telling her that I had lost it, she smiles and tells me that indeed I did leave my camera in her vehicle. She had just now seen it. Turns out she was joking with me. Yay for being comfortable enough to joke around, boo for me getting scared. And if you haven't noticed, I am prone to losing stuff.

A little R&R, PC style…

2007-07-03T09:38:00.000+02:00

Beni, Marisa, Tiger, Ryan, Sara, and Jamie
Below: Ryan and his new best friend

I absolutely love my kiddy pool. I’m not sure if I mentioned before but while in America (said A-mare-i-kuh, somewhat in W style) I bought a large kiddy pool. Probably second only to the copious amounts of peanut butter I brought back with me, the 13 lb. pool was my best buy. When I moved to my house last November and saw the rooftop terrace and a water source, I knew what had to be done. The pool is roughly 10’ x 6’ and 30” high. Plenty big enough for lil ol’ me to relax in. Turns out it’s even big enough for a few friends too.
This past weekend I had my first mini-pool party. Marisa and Beni, Ryan, Jamie, and Sara, who came for the afternoon to relax after Ryan wrapped up a successful week-long leadership workshop, and one inflatable tiger toy all lounged in my wonderful pool. We had a great time just chilling and listening to music.
My terrace has great hosting potential. In fact I am thinking of turning my place in to a boutique hotel. I wouldn’t have any competition in Berat. I know what demanding tourists want. I have lots of room and I live in a quiet part of town. My rates would be affordable and guests would get to hang out with me. Maybe that’s what I’ll do post Peace Corps.

Random bit of news, I found my flash drive. No not the nice one that was stolen in Belgrade but rather the one I lost in October. I thought I had lost it at a language training in my hotel room. Nope. Not so much. Today I decided to wear a pair of black pants that I don’t wear too often. I feel something in the pocket. I reach my hand in assuming it is a pack of gum. Nope. Not so much. It was my flash drive. Nice. I guess I hadn’t worn nor washed these pants since the end of October. Kinda sad but at least I found my flash drive.

The not so friendly skies & all you can eat...

2007-06-22T21:55:00.001+02:00

Now I realize that America is a service based culture. Though not always practised, all businesses have the mantra that the customer is always right. I also realize that Europe is not nearly as customer-friendly. I understand that and have adjusted my expectations accordingly.
But...
Alitalia STINKS!
I have had the unforunate pleasure of flying with Alitalia twice now. I can easily say it was awful. I've never had such bad service. It's like they are annoyed that you are using their business. Sure it's not a luxurious carrier but I'm pretty sure that I should get more than two waters on an 8hr flight. Plus some decent amount of food that might come close to the size of an actual meal would be nice. Though even if they did provide more food, I wouldn't eat it. It's awful. You know it's bad if I would rather go hungry or pay inflated airport prices for some snacks.
This isn't even why I am mad now. I got over their lameness when I flew back from Christmas. No they managed to screw up again. First they forced Mona to buy a return ticket from Albania because the ticket agent was an idiot. Second when I called to see what her options were because she might miss her flight due to President Bush's visit, the agent (who I reached by calling the US number because the Tirana office was mysteriously closed) was awful and idiotic. She told me that nothing could be done. Mona's ticket could not be changed. When I told the agent that the ticket itself said that changes could be made for a fee of 50Euro, she argued with me. I told her I wanted to speak to a supervisor. She said the supervisor was going to be out for an hour or two. I said this was unacceptable. I needed to get the issue resolved. As I was being insistent, not rude yet, she actually hung up on me. I was pissed! I called back got everything taken care of and spoke to the supervisor. It wasn't even that difficult. Argh.
Moral of this story, NEVER fly Alitalia.

Oh, while I'm venting. Just because you order the "salad bar" and ask if you can get as much as you want, it doesn't mean that you will not be charged for each plate. I learned that the hard way. I ordered the salad bar at a restaurant in Tirana called Taverneta which is used to foreigners. The first time I took small portions of a few things to try them out. The next time I tried a few others. Finally I went back and got some more of each of the dishes I liked. Have you already figured out that I was charged for each plate? Yeah. Nice, huh. I said something to the waiter as we were leaving but I might go back and complain some more. Perhaps I was being foolish but at least the staff should know that there are people like me out there and you got be ready for the foreigners.

Ok. Thanks. I feel better.

Meet & Greet...

2007-06-22T21:21:00.000+02:00

A big part of being in the Peace Corps and especially in Albania is the the people. While Mona was here I took her around Berat for many, many visits. We were able to meet most of the people I see regularly. Originally, we were going to be in Berat for only a few days. However, I had to stay for a training for a tourism survey project. I wasn't too thrilled to be organizing a training instead of chillin' at the beach but it worked out well.
All my friends enjoyed meeting Mona. While visiting with Katie's host family (check Mona's blog for a picture), Esti commented that it was very special for them to be able to meet the people in our lives that they have heard so much about. They all said how happy I looked now that Mona was visiting. They also insisted on calling her either my fiance, bride, or wife. They don't really have a good word for girlfriend. When asked about our future plans, you know, wedding and kids, I replied, "avosh, avosh" which means "slowly" or "easy does it."
Mona also got to meet several of my Peace Corps friends during the Midwest Mixer, including Katie's family who were visiting from Minnesota (Minnesota and Indiana, hence the Midwest name). David and his family who are part Midwestern joined in the festivities. They were in Michigan last so that counts, plus they've hung out in Fishers and shopped at Trader Joe's on 82nd Street and gone to that Chuck E. Cheese. All of which I too have done.
One of the goals of Peace Corps is to show other cultures the many different part of American culture, not just the stuff from movies and music. Another goal is to teach Americans about other cultures after we return. Mona did an excellent job as a part-time Volunteer. They miss her already and ask about her every day.

Berat Host Family Mona, Lida (my tutor), James

Albanian friends at Midwest Mixer 2007, Emiljano (my supervisor) & Axhem are my office mates, Mirela (my counterpart) is playing with her son

Summertime...

2007-06-22T21:14:00.000+02:00

Ok, it's official. It's summer. Not only does this check out according to the calendar but also with the temperature, which is the only indicator that matters. Yesterday's temperature was 37 or 38 degrees Celcius. For those not good at Celcius (which I assume is most of my readers), that works out to 100 degrees Farenheit or a little under. Yuck!
I was trying to convince myself it wasn't that hot out. I have a theory that if I deny the heat then it won't affect me. WRONG. I was sweatin' up a storm just walking around. Plus yesterday I had to walk up the steep castle road. I sought refuge in what little shade there was and took a couple breaks along the way. It wasn't even high noon or after. This was at 10:00am.
I have a feeling that this summer is going to be a beast. Good thing I have my pool.
The pool has come in handy several times already. I knew I would really enjoy it and I was right. I plan to have a pool party on Labor Day if anybody would like to come.

easy breezy...

2007-05-29T21:51:00.000+02:00

So what do you think of my new do? I figured while I was in Albania I'd try something a little different. I was really nervous when we started. Right now I am getting used to the feeling of a fuzzy head. Now we can sing an old James classic, "fuzzy wuzzy wuz a bear, fuzzy wuzzy had no hair, fuzzy wuzzy wuzn't fuzzy wuz he?" I love that song.

Below is the finished product. I opted for the complete buzz and not the mohawk. Maybe next year!
All comments welcome...

beautiful belgrade, post bummed...

2007-05-24T17:35:00.000+02:00

Now that I have had some time to heal from the losses I suffered while in Belgrade, I thought I would share with you some of the prettier parts. Lots of pretty old buildings and churches and trees, quite a lovely city. Later I'll actually describe my trip but for now pictures will do.

Saint Sava Church, under construction, will be largest Orthodox church in the world

a bombed out building from when NATO was not happy with Serbia and the Kosovo Crisis

and to finish them off, a rather unhappy little girl. I have no idea what the billboard is about.

ain't no mountain high enough...

2007-05-24T17:21:00.000+02:00

A couple weeks ago, we made a treck up Mount Tomori, which is the second highest peak in Albania at over 8,000 ft. Gorgeous views and a lovely way to pass the day :)

The first picture is of the very tippy-top point. The mountain is sacred ground for the Bektashi sect. At the peak is the temple/burial of one of their important dudes.

Bummed in Beautiful Belgrade...

2007-05-21T11:13:00.000+02:00

I just got back from a conference in Belgrade, Serbia. Upon my return I was traveling a bit lighter. During my stay and or travels, my phone, flash drive, and Swiss Army knife disappeared. Hence, I am bummed.
None of it really makes sense of course. First my phone. It's doubtful that it fell out of my pocket or that I just left it on the table in some cafe. I suppose it's possible that it was stolen out of my pocket but I keep it in that little coin pocket above your jean's right pocket. You'd think I would notice if someone removed the phone from my pocket. I suppose thieves are pretty adept thievery though.
Now for the flash drive, there's a chance that I never brought it. However I do remember writing it down on my packing list because the hostel had lots of music I could download. Borrowing some music from my new friends at the hostel was definitely a high priority!
Sadness settles in my soul for the Swiss Army knife (forgive my melodramatic tendencies today). The knife was a gift from Shawn and Shannon. Not only did it have the requisite blades and gadgets but it also had my name on it. And I love things with my name on it. The disappearance of this item is most confusing. I know I had it in my bag because I tried to carry-on my backpack but had to check it because of the knife. I kept my backpack locked in a locker the whole time I was in Belgrade. Plus, in order to get to the knife, one would have to pass some quality chewing gum, $50, and 30Euros. Was any of that missing? Nooooo.
Today I am working on replacing my phone. Getting all my contacts again will be annoying. The flash drive was not a big deal. The knife is irreplaceable.

OK, next time I will detail the beautiful part of my Belgrade trip.

Earth Day 2007, phase two...

2007-05-04T14:38:00.000+02:00

James & Katie being bouncers

Students picking up trash around the school

Though my E Day activities were a bust, I still had options. Katie and I joined in the fun in Kucove where Juliet and student board members from the youth center had planned a full day of activities for Global Youth Service Day (April 21, the day before E Day).

Juliet herself had some project drama. Somebody with a grudge and a big ego tried to get in the way of the planned events. Juliet and the students forged ahead. She handled the situation well. I told her to contact our program director and get other people involved. Luckily she didn't listen to me. She's a smart girl.
We started with school yard clean-up. Students from nine local schools picked up trash around their schools. The second picture is from the school where I helped. I was there to take pictures but I'm not gonna stand around doing nothing. If I say that they should clean up, then I should be willing to help (and help is all I should do, I'm not here to do the work for them). It was surprisingly hot and there was a surprisingly large amount of broken glass around the yard (by yard I mean a kinda small fenced-in gravel area around the school). We did one full sweep then trees arrived for planting. After the work, the kids were given hand wipes. One boy used his and promptly threw it on the ground. I reminded him of the work we did and he promptly picked it up. A small victory perhaps? I'm not sure because the boy did this same thing two more times. Each time I reminded him that littering is bad. Baby steps.
All the participants returned to the youth center for lunch and more activities. While preparations were made for lunch and the lingering participants returned from their school clean-ups, Juliet asked us to play games with the youth. I was given a hacky sack and so off I went. Ryan and I got some kids to play and kept them occupied for a spell. At one point a kid came into the circle and started to disrupt everything. I made him leave. He asked if he could join in again and I said yes if he played the right way. He did just all right. Not blatantly disruptive but definitely annoying. Before too long, another boy took the hacky sack and wouldn't give it back. I'm not going to go chasing some stupid little pre-teen punk around. I went to go get someone in charge. When I came back out, I couldn't find him. Oh well, we had a new task. As lunch time drew near the approximately 150 kids were all waiting to be let in. The youth center members were doing an ok job of keeping kids out. But when the pizzas arrived it was about to get ugly fast. I acted quick. I became the bouncer. I physically blocked the door and would not let anyone in (the group was fed in shifts,the first group of students was already being fed). As I am blocking the door and others are bringing in pizzas, guess who decides to create a little trouble by pushing, hitting me, and almost knocking a pizza box to the ground. It was my little friend from the hacking circle (not the one that took the hack but the disruptive one). I pushed him back and told him he was very bad. I was quite proud of myself. So many of these boys are never disciplined. It's infuriating. I don't understand why they spoil them so much. Too many of the children are disrespectful, obnoxious, and rude.
After a while of being bouncer, we just closed the door. The kids finally stopping banging on the door and I moved on to helping serve the pizza. As I am doing this, I see one of the youth center directors/advisers setting another table, which is good. The bad thing is that he let the little jerk and his little jerk friends in to eat. I immediately went over to him and told him that these boys were very bad and they needed to be outside. They are bad boys. He wasn't really doing anything about my concerns. I grabbed one of the student workers and had her translate. One of his replies was that if we let them in to watch, they will see good behavior and learn from it. Yeah right. I am pretty sure that the real reason is because the man knew the boy's father. The man tried telling me something about the boy's father being a good man. Well, I don't care who his father is and how good of a man he is. All I know is that his son is a pain and a jerk. For the rest of the lunch, I would glare at that kid whenever I was looking in his direction.
Ok, now this probably doesn't sound like the appropriate behavior from a Peace Corps volunteer. What can I say, I'm past the point of being overly accepting. If something is crap, I'm gonna tell you it's crap. Granted it's doubtful anything will change but at least I've said what I actually feel.
After lunch, Katie and I went back to Berat. Juliet continued with activities with the youth center, including a discussion of what the participants learned. It was a great activity and very successful. Baby steps.

gray skies are gonna clear up...

2007-05-04T14:04:00.000+02:00

Today is a good day.
It's good because it's not bad. There's nothing particularly good about today. I'm just happy that it's not bad. The last couple days, things have not been going too smoothly. Nothing catastrophic, just everything below par.
Tuesday saw the return of my tummy troubles. I had stopped taking some medication on Thursday and Monday I thought that all was well again. Tuesday I found out otherwise. I called our medical office. He's stumped. He said he'll get back to me. Obviously I didn't wait for his call (which is a good thing since I'd still be waiting), I tried tactic #23: activated charcoal. You take this charcoal powder and mix it into water. You drink at least a litre of this black, chalky liquid each day. Yummy. After drinking the stuff for two days, I saw a moderate improvement. However, this remedy also did not last. Today I am going to try #24 acidophiles (I tried it once before). You're probably wondering why I am happier today even though my troubles continue. The difference today is that I am not exhausted from doing nothing. I woke up today in good spirits and feeling awake. That's always a plus.
Another thing adding to my good day is decent Internet. Now I realize I am fortunate to have decent Internet access at my office. However, this does not prevent me from being frustrated by dial-up-esq speeds. I am trying to do a lot of planning for my upcoming conference in Belgrade and my trip with Mona. Figuring out the transportation and lodging is bad enough.
Doing it with crappy Internet is maddening.
And lastly, it's not raining today. Now it's not sunny either but remember this week I'm shooting for average not awesome. Plus I know that summer is coming. I am really looking forward to hot summer afternoons in my kiddie pool on my balcony.
I hope all of you have an awesome day and weekend. Don't forget Cinco de Mayo this Saturday.

Earth Day 2007, phase one…

2007-04-26T14:58:00.001+02:00

Where to begin? We’ll start with Earth Day (E Day) plans in Berat.
As you’ll recall, we had a discussion about volunteering during English Week. Later, during one of my after-school classes, the girls expressed interest in taking part local volunteer activities. I told the girls about our ideas for E Day. They were game.
I told my counterpart and she was excited. She was afraid that the students would not be interested. She felt bad asking them to do more clean up activities only to see the places trash filled again.
As I am writing this, there is some major drama outside. Some roma/gypsy people are really mad and they want to come into the city hall. Of course our doorman will not let them in. The roma are treated very poorly here. There is social prejudice but there’s also outright discrimination. Roma are usually refused social services and even treatment at hospitals. So they are mad about something and the discussion has escalated into a full blown shouting match.
Now nothing really gets planned in advance here. Our idea was to do an activity at a different school each day the week of E Day. On Sunday, E Day, we wanted to have a student demonstration. We started with the Artistic School because we wanted them to create a piece for display in the center of town. The vice director was very supportive and was planning to do something at his school anyway. We decided to have a meeting with the schools we wanted to participate so we could coordinate efforts between the schools and the municipality (my counterpart suggested this and of course I was all for it).
We manage to get the meeting together for the next day. The vice director from the arts school arrives late and then becomes a complete JERK. He took over the meeting and started making demands of the municipality. He wanted at least seven new trees, and not just normal trees that the city usually plants. He wanted expensive, pretty ones. He said he needed at least $2,000 for his school. If the city couldn’t deliver, he wouldn’t participate. Nice. Of course the city has extra money lying around for his school. After he disrupted everything and ruined our plans, he mentioned that he also ran a business on the side. Any guess what that business is? Yeah. He has a nursery that sells all the types of trees he requested. ARGH. What a jerk.
Due to funding and time limitations, we scaled back our plans. We decided to plant a few trees and flowers in one school (which was recently renovated and is across from the city hall) on Saturday and hold a simple student march on Sunday.
Friday rolls around and we still don’t know if we have the money to buy the trees and flowers. We scrapped the whole thing. My counterpart had been really really busy because she was in the final stages of the adoption process.
Oh well. There’s always next year. Plus Katie and I could still participate in Juliet’s Global Youth Service Day which was Saturday, April 21.
Our day in Kucove was also interesting. That’s where I got cranky. You’ll see.

Run, baby, run…

2007-04-25T09:22:00.000+02:00

Yay. I finally dragged my lazy butt out of bed and went for a run this morning. I’ve been trying (not too hard though) to start my running routine again. Several mornings I’ve woken up early, started to get ready, only to mysteriously end up asleep in my bed again. Yesterday I woke up early, actually got out of bed, had a snack, and rinsed my face and hair (ironically I get really funky bed head from the little hair I have left), went to get dressed only to find that all my running shorts were missing. Dios Mio!
I searched everywhere and located only one pair out of three. I’m guessing that I left the others Stateside. Oops. I guess I will have to go to the gabi (open-air used clothing market) shopping. That’s ok, I’m always looking for an excuse to go gabi-ing.
Gabi-ing is one of our coping strategies. The goal is to find tacky, hideously ugly, ironic, vintage, or Euro trash shirts. The second goal is to purchase these shirts at extremely reasonable prices. Personally my goal is $1 or less per shirt. Sadly the gabi in Berat is a little pricey. I usually can haggle them down to $1.50 per shirt, especially if buying more than one.
My winter gabi quest was “old man” sweaters. I found a couple good ones, two of which are argyle. If I was going for Cosby sweaters, the sky was the limit. I can do ugly t-shirts, not awful sweaters. What can I say, I’ve got standards.
In the last two weeks, I purchased six t-shirts and a sweater vest (yep, that’s right a sweater vest). These items totaled all of $11. Nice.

I’m a little behind with my posts. I will be posting about my Earth Day activities soon. I got a cranky. It was fun.

My friend...

2007-04-11T09:37:00.000+02:00

To all who have not experienced the undeniably adorable Dominique, allow me to introduce to you my youngest nephew Dominique. He is SUPER cute. It helps that he has charisma to spare (just like me when I was his age). Add into the mix the big blue eyes and you're in trouble. I heard that he is one of my faithful blog readers so I thought I'd say a special hello to my friend Dominique.

pretty pictures...

2007-04-06T12:35:00.000+02:00

Just added about 50 new pictures to my flickr page. The pictures are not organized yet. That'll have to wait till next week. They are all from January to the end of February.

I will try to put up some pictures from English Week next week. Till then, enjoy.

My new neighbors...

2007-04-03T15:00:00.000+02:00

I would like to introduce to you my new neighbors. The current count is 11 dogs, 9 of which are new and do not belong to my landlord. The dog in the picture in the top right, curled up asleep, is Mangy. He's kinda the meaner one and he is usually tied up. I like him the most because he just looks so sad and his fur is SO dirty. He approaches me with his head hung low and brushes against my leg until I pet him. I only pet his head because I am afraid to touch the rest of his dirty coat. Our other dog is pictured second from the right in the bottom row. She's cleaner so I pet her more. She has learned that belly rubs are quite nice. I don't think either of these dogs have ever been petted or actually cared for. I bought them dog treats, which are new to the country and only available in Tirana. They didn't eat them. They don't know what they are. Plus I am guessing the treats aren't that tasty.
These other dogs started showing up two weeks ago. I am not sure why. My landlord doesn't seem to think it's a problem. At first I was nervous having to pass through the gang but I was fine. I think they knew I was a good guy and wouldn't hurt them. I made sure to pet our dogs so the others could see I was nice. I think it worked. If you want a dog with character, I can try to bring one home for you. Just let me know.

English Week 2

2007-03-30T14:05:00.000+02:00

Tuesday: Fun with technology…
Tuesday was Technology Day. The original plan was to use the computer lab (some NGO donated 17 computers recently) at the school for a session on the basics of Word or Excel. After school the idea was to continue the fun with a session at a local internet café to work on the basics of searching and research. The school does not have internet.
However, we decided to keep it simple and just do an in-school session. Speaking of keep it simple, I taught Vocab session kids K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid). In honor of my father, I thought every English student should know this phrase.
Ray had a handout that taught the basics of Word. We decided to first give them the basic information about computers and then go into Word. We weren’t sure what we were getting into but we didn’t really have a lot of material or time to create any. We worked with two sessions lasting about an hour and a half with the seniors studying English.
When we began the first class, I had to still make copies of the handouts. I knew I could make them at the school for free, which is good because that is not always the case. I think since I am a foreigner, not regularly working there, and doing work for a special activity, I was able to make the copies I needed. I had a five page handout and wanted ten copies so we would have one for every two students. I didn’t know that the copier was circa Paul Williams working at Xerox (read mid 80’s). Perhaps my father even worked on this particular model. Turns out that a nearly ancient copier is not as fast as these new fangled ones. Plus they had to feed each page in separately, which would often jam at the end due to overheating. So while I took forever to make the copies, Ray covered the basic of computers.
At one point we asked how many had computers used computers to type a paper, a few hands. How many had used computers for email, internet, or chatting? Fewer hands. How many had computers or laptops? Maybe two hands. How many had never touched a computer? Way too many hands. We definitely had a lot of ground to cover.
Oh, I would like to say a special thanks to my mother. Teaching her how to use Windows, Word, and the mouse prepped me for teaching these kids the same things. Do remember learning how to use a mouse? Oh, and these kids don’t know how to type. They do the hunt-and-peck method. OMG.
We spent most of the time teaching how them how to minimize/maximize/resize windows and how to use a mouse. I had forgotten how unintuitive double-clicking with the left mouse button can be. The only Word stuff we covered was opening a new document and saving documents. An hour and a half to get to that point.
Obviously there is a great need for more computer instruction. The students do not have any open periods so I am going to teach computer basics after school. They so badly want and need this skill. Now I just have to figure out when I can do it. I am already doing after-school sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Friday is out because many of the students live in dorms and go home to their villages on the weekends. I guess that leaves Thursday but I need to split up the sessions by skill level. I guess I need another day in the week. Do you know where I can find one?

English Week 2007: Tuesday = Success!!!

Monday: Crisis averted…

2007-03-30T08:57:00.000+02:00

English Week 2007
From 26 March to 30 March, we are celebrating English Week at Katie’s school. Now don’t worry. You didn’t get your dates mixed up. This is NOT an internationally recognized week of English. It’s just a week where activities in English are planned for the English students. The project was started by Katie and her counterpart, with some limited brainstorming contributions from yours truly. However, when Katie had to leave suddenly, we agreed that I would take over for Katie and help organize and participate in a different activity every day.
From LtoR: Ray, Juliet, Katie's counterpart, guest from Mjaft, guest from Prefektur (former teacher)

Monday (go figure) was the kick-off of our English week. The focus was Life Skills. The plan was to have a panel of guest speakers talk about a variety of topics in English. The original plan was to have two guests from Mjaft, an Albanian youth activist group, Benedikt, a German who manages two local banks, David and his family, and one volunteers from the Peace Corps working in the Berat area. The goal was to expose the students to a wide variety of community members who use English daily. We also wanted to briefly introduce the students to the ideas of activism and debate, personal finance and money management, and volunteering and civil society. So that was the plan.

Glitch One: Wednesday David informs me that he is unable to attend due to an unexpected but important meeting with new regional director of his organization. This wasn’t a problem. We had too many speakers. One less just gave more time to the others.
Glitch Two: I didn’t want to be on the panel. Remember, I’m shy. Plus I had to take pictures, the specific request of Katie. I warned Juliet that she might be called upon to talk for about 5-10 minutes on the topic of volunteering.
Glitch Three: Sunday was Daylight Savings Time for us. Guess where this is going. I remembered to change my phone and everything went fine on Sunday. However, I failed to change my alarm clock. When I got up at 7:30 AM to be ready for the presentations at 10:00 AM, I actually got up at 8:30AM. Man I despise Daylight Savings. Ok, no worries. I was able ready in that amount of time.
Glitch Four: Just as I am about to start shaving (gotta look so fresh and so clean, clean), Benedikt calls at 9:00. He is unable to attend due to an unannounced inspection/audit at his bank. Plus he was unable to borrow a projector (which I wanted to use for Tuesday). I call David to double check his availability. No luck. I call Juliet and tell her that I do need her to present. I tried to call Katie’s counterpart but she was teaching and didn’t answer her phone.
Glitch Five: I arrive at the Cultural Center at 9:40. No one is there. It’s twenty minutes before show time and I am locked out of the room, standing alone, and short a main speaker. Mentally I wish that something major comes up and we have to scrap the whole thing.
Glitch Six: Katie’s counterpart arrives and informs me that one of the speakers from Mjaft isn’t able to come. I tell her that Benedikt cancelled too. A horrible sinking feeling starts to set in.
With about five minutes to the scheduled start time, I see Juliet get off the bus and jogging over to the Cultural Center. Now at least if the presentations are a bust, I have Juliet to share it with. As I am talking to Juliet, I see Ray walking from a café. I ask him if he would also be on the panel to discuss volunteering. At 10:15 everyone is in the meeting room ready to begin. The panel is comprised of Katie’s counterpart, one woman from Mjaft, one woman from regional government office who was a former English teacher at the school (she was added to the panel fifteen minutes before it started), Juliet (added to the panel forty-five minutes before) and Ray (added ten minutes before the start time).
The impromptu panel proved to be a huge success. The students were attentive and engaged. Several asked questions and reflected on the topics presented. The students were very intrigued by some of Juliet’s previous work and volunteering experience, especially working with convicted criminals.

Afterward, Ray, Juliet, and I went to lunch. Ray and I discussed Tuesday’s Technology Day, crafting a plan to teach basic computer instruction to the senior English students. Juliet then accompanied me to Monday’s usual Vocab session at the school. The students didn’t have their handouts so we worked on whatever came to my head. We also talked about the topics presented in the Life Skills discussion. Again, the students were responsive and receptive. We even talked about some activities for Earth Day.

At the end of the day Monday, I was exhausted. Despite our best efforts, many things went wrong. However, through the efforts and willingness of others, the day was saved.

English Week: Monday = Success!!!

new news...

2007-03-16T10:19:00.000+01:00

Let's see. What's been going on in my neck of the woods?

I've been busy and the weather has been good. My initial projects have yet to work out but I am now helping with the organization and implementation of English Week at Katie's School.

Katie is in DC right now for medical reasons. Though treatable, the time needed is a bit of an issue. Please keep her in your thoughts and pray for a speedy treatment and recovery. I am sure she would appreciate. As would I, her friends, her co-workers, her Albanian friends, and all the people she comes into contact regularly in Berat.

A new hobby is filling my evenings. Mona and I will be travelling around in the month of June. We plan to hit up Albania (of course), Dubrovnik, Zagreb (due to transportation routes), Ljubljana, and whatever else we can squeeze in. I have been reading my freshly delivered, by Evan, Lonely Planet Guide to the Western Balkans. Trying to figure out where to go, when to go, where to sleep, and how to get there is quite a chore. But I am loving every minute of it.
It's funny to read about Albania in guide books. I especially love the mistakes. Included are two words for greetings that I have never heard of. Lonely Planet did get most of it right though. The book recommends Tirana and Berat as the key places to see. I must say that I thoroughly agree. Oddly enough there was no mention of having coffee with James, the American. He can be found hanging out at the Bashkia in Berat. A simple oversight I am sure.

In anticipation of the coming summer social season, I bought a dart board the other day. It was relatively cheap, around $12. I was doubting its quality but so far I am pleased, though I have yet to hang it at the end of my lengthy corridor. That's this weekend's project.

Oh, and my tummy troubles are improved now. I still have a week's worth of medication to take. I am almost used to having to take a pill four times a day. I hope this treatment sticks.

The sun is shining and I need some caffine. I am going for a coffee.

Speaking of coffee. Please recall the waiter/cafe owner who has no butt. Again Axhem and I were having coffee at his establisment. Axhem asked him if he knew how to say gezuar (cheers) in English. He thought for a moment, turned to me and said, I Love You. I just laughed. When I translated, all laughed. Next time you want to say cheers, just turn to the person next to you and say, "I love you."

snail mail...

2007-03-06T11:56:00.000+01:00

My day just turned awesome.

I am now the proud possessor of the Colts vs. Patriots game (thanks Jane) and several dvd's (thanks Kirk&Casey). Plus I got some postcards which will be promptly displayed on the walls of my cavernous corridor (thanks Jessica). I also think I have a small package from Mona coming but I am trying not to think about that. I like the surprise. The movies are well timed. As I am trying to stay in Berat more, I need more things to watch and I just finished watching a friend's season 1 & 2 of West Wing.

On the downside, I am still having "tummy troubles." I could go into details but I'll assume you don't want to read them. Suffice to say, this has been an ongoing battle. The truly annoying part is that I am constantly tired. The current theory is that the antibiotics I took for the pneumonia did a number on me and things still aren't back to the balanced levels. Avosh (Turkish term for slowly).

And back to the upside. The weather here is AWESOME! It's been sunny and warm since Saturday. I am loving it. I hear some people still have snow. Nanna nanna boo boo :P
Yesterday I sat on the terrazzo reading and relaxing in the sun. Terrazzo is what I decided to call my roof which is flat concrete slab with 4' high wall around it. Apparently it's a good idea to know the meaning of words before you use them. Terrazzo has something to do with either mosaic or polished marble. Neither of which are present on my roof top terrace, though I do have an abundance of extra clay roofing tiles for some reason. Oh and a bathtub. Don't ask me. Now I'm gonna have to come up with another term for my terrace.

Yesterday I taught an after-school vocab session. Last week we covered food but yesterday I brought in pictures of the foods because a lot of them are not available in Albania. I taught at least 4 girls the difference between pumpkin and squash (they use the same word kungull for both). I also taught them about vs. and explained the definition of versus.
I have my Homework Help club later today and again tomorrow.

My audio project is still on hold. I will keep you posted. Thanks again everyone.

discouraging days in Berat...

2007-02-28T10:26:00.000+01:00

I'm a little glum today. I've had quite the roller coaster week, and it's only Wednesday.

I wanted to do a project to create audio tour guides for Berat using mp3 players. Berat does actually get tourists. One of the major issues is a lack of information. Hence a portable, easy-to-use mp3 player with multiple languages would be a great addition. The plan was to work with the Institute of Culture and Monuments, the Bashkia (municipality), and a tourism information office. Not so simple.

After doing some research as to devices, Ray and I settled on one with speakers and a well-known brand. Next question, where's the money? I decided to apply for a grant through the Peace Corps. The only catch is the proposal would be due by March 01. Then the fun started. We thought we could use a tourism office that conveniently just opened. Then I found out that it was a private business. Plan scrapped. The next day I find out that a tourism information office through the Bashkia is opening sometime later this year (after tourist season but we won't get into that, it's still a step in the right direction). Plan resumes, this time with the idea of using the private tourism office/agency until the actual tourism information office opens. We speak with the people involved only to find that due to some mistrust or lack of acknowledgement of previous work one person in particular is not willing to work with the others.
Plan Scrapped.

Argh. I tried. I guess getting different agencies to work together really is an accomplishment here. Man do I have some work ahead. Wish me luck.

good times in Gjirokaster...

2007-02-27T10:54:00.000+01:00

Fog blankets Gjirokaster with wall of mountains peeking through

One of many abandoned and decrepit houses in Gjirokaster.

On Friday I ventured down to Gjirokaster and had a grand ol' time. Thanks in no small part to the hospitality of my friends Kate and David. They are amazing hosts, providing not only good conversation but also good, and I mean real good, food. Staying with K&D is just relaxing. I am very peaceful while I am there. I am not sure why. It reminds me of spending time at my grandmother's apartment in Westerville, Ohio (and her house in Heath/Newark but that could be something to do with my awesome grandma), the Smith's house in Knightstown, and Mona's house on Park St.
I really like hanging out in Gjirokaster. Like Berat, it's an old city with a castle/fortress/citadel (I don't know what to call these structures in English any more) and unique architecture. Of course Berat is WAY better but that might be cuz I am here.
As Katie and I explored the winding paths, we saw some interesting "fence" material.

After seeing more than one fence like this, it dawned on me that the fence was created from sheets of metal used to make spoons. We also found examples of fork sheets and knife sheets. Apparently, during communism, there was a large silverware factory nearby.

Katie and I were also fortunate enough to catch a ride from Gjirokaster to Tirana in a private vehicle. Albanian lesson for the day: I often say private vehicle now instead of the word car because in Albanian the word car sounds the same as the crude term for a part of the male anatomy. This not only made the ride much shorter, from around 7 hrs to 4hrs, but also gave us a chance to have some great discussions with some of Kate's Albanian co-workers. This was possible due to their strong English skills and their open-mindedness and some hours to kill. I really enjoyed it.

elections, Shqiptare style...

2007-02-20T11:29:00.000+01:00

The election season is winding down. Last Sunday, February 18th, local elections were held across Albania. I can't say that I really understand elections or politics in the US. Not surprisingly I am pretty much clueless here. I think the results are pretty finalized in Berat. The incumbent mayor won. In fact, according to early results I have seen, most of the cities from Tirana south have chosen Socialist candidates. Wait, I suppose that doesn't mean much to you. Like I said, I don't really understand the politics here so I can't really explain the different parties and their platforms.
I do, however, know a little bit about marketing. Now I realize that you cannot apply marketing strategies across all countries or societies but I am confident in saying that the PR campaigns for local elections could be improved. Across the country the main political promotion vehicle is candidate posters. Each poster is comprised of three elements: the candidate, the slogan, and either a scenic background of the appropriate city or a colorful background used for all candidates of the same party. Locally our guys look fine but in some cities the candidates posing in awkward positions with pained expressions. I should focus. I'm not here to glitz up the political campaigns.

The candidate to the right, Fadil Nasufi of the Socialist Party, won the election. I am not really sure how the vote counting works so I don't know if the results are final.

Roses are red...

2007-02-16T10:32:00.000+01:00

Happy Valentine's Day.
I had a great Valentine's Day even though I am far away.

Through the tireless efforts of Terralyn, I was able to send the lovely flowers pictured above to my Sweetheart Mona. Terralyn had to order (my request proved too complicated for online ordering) and pick-up the flowers to deliver to Mona. A bit incovenient but not a big deal unless you factor in the "blizzard" like conditions in central Indiana. Terralyn got stuck twice while playing her role as Cupid. Much, much thanks to Terralyn.

We had a lovely dinner with some friends. It was quite the feast. We even used a no-bake cheesecake dessert with freshly puréed strawberries drizzled on top. I also shared my bounty of Necco Sweethearts with my Albanian (and American) friends. Surprisingly Albanians already know about Valentine's Day but the candy was a new treat. I loved explaining the words on the hearts, I Love You, Go Girl, Awesome, etc.

Week of accomplishments...

2007-02-08T10:35:00.000+01:00

Recently I mentioned that I had had my most awesome week in Albania. I should have also mentioned that the awesomeness applies to my work week. Yes, that's right, I had an entire week of goodness on the work front.
Please note that small things are considered huge milestones for me now. I am not so sure that was different before but now I care more about them.
The week went like this:
Sunday.
I am having coffee at Katie's house and I tell her I would like her help in setting up an English class. I didn't really want to teach English per se so I (or Katie, but since this is MY awesome week, I'm gonna take credit) suggested having an after-school group where students can bring in homework from the English class and I could help them. This is a great fit for many reasons. I don't have to mess with creating lesson plans (yay), I am not competition for private English courses (yay), I will be able to give the students more individual attention than they receive in the classroom (yay), oh and the students "should" have a decent level of English already (yay). Later that evening while having another coffee (it's a frequent occurence) I mention my plan to my supervisor Emiljano. He says we can check with the director of the library to see if a room is available. I was a little doubtful about this even though a previous volunteer had used the library because the director had told Katie that the room could not be used.
Monday.
I wake up early and feel refreshed. I make it to the office on time. I think I might have even shaved that morning. That combination of events never happens which makes me doubt the factuality of my recollection. Oh well, this is my awesome week. Later that day Emiljano and I head over to the library. We find the director, which is not as easy as it sounds. We, I explain in English and broken Albanian, Emiljano translates the Albanian part (I may be generous on some of the details but I am not delusional), and to my surprise the director agrees. Awesome.
Katie tells me later that day that she talked with her English classes. The Homework Help Club (lame name but I have to focus my energy here) will happen on Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm to 4pm.
Tuesday.
I have a coffee with Ray, the other volunteer living in Berat. We discuss a plan for a project. At the suggestion of a friend at UNDP (United Nations Development Program), we begin to craft a project to create audio guides for tourist in Berat. The project is pretty doable and funding, though not easily, is available.
Tuesday is also tutoring day. I am never really prepared for it. I don't really do any homework and I often don't feel like going but my tutor is so sweet. She always makes me feel like I am making progress, though my need for actual progress is always apparent. But wait, I forgot this is my awesome week. Now I remember that I spoke fluently without even a trace of an accent. Ok, that's a complete lie.
Wednesday & Thursday.
Homework Help Club happens. That's pretty awesome. I would also like to point out that I managed to get the room unlocked. A seemingly simple task but such an accomplishment here. I went over around 2pm and the director was gone. I saw a lady from my neighborhood and told her what I was doing. She then talked to the cleaning lady who fortunately had the keys to the room. Thursday, even though I had said I would be needing the room, the keys were with the director and he had left early. Is it still leaving early if you leave a few hours before you are suppose to EVERY day? We end up using the break room and then head to the internet cafe to do some research, so that worked out.

Sidenote: A man came in asking for someone. He then realized I was American and insisted that we had spoken on the phone. Since I never answer the phone here I doubted his claim. He said we had talked and met on a bus. Granted I have trouble remembering everyone I meet but none of this was ringing a bell. He asked me to give him my number. I am hesitant to do this so I played dumb, though I wasn't really playing since I had no idea what he was talking about and only understood part of what he was saying. Luckily a coworker comes in and provides a distraction. He shows me my supposed cell phone number and it wasn't mine. I tell him that we have not met and that he probably confusing me with the Americans that were here before. On that news, he relents and leaves. I am just not comfortable giving out my number to any and everyone.

Friday.
Ray and I meet with Eva from the Municipality about our project. She's on board. She's great so I am excited to work with her. Plus she speaks English, always a plus. That evening some friends come over and we had a great time just chilling at my place. We also ate great food that we prepared by ourselves. Yummy.

That was my most awesome week yet. Things just clicked. That never happens. It was such an awesome feeling. I accomplished something, I contributed, I had fun, I was recharged. Now if that's not an awesome week, I don't know what is.

Colts 29 Bears 17

2007-02-06T12:04:00.000+01:00

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...

2007-02-01T17:33:00.000+01:00

Go Colts!
I did some fenagling and now I will be viewing the Super Bowl in a couple days. Yaahoo!
Myself and 9 other volunteers will be in Tirana on Sunday to see the Big Game. Our director arranged something for us. I am not sure what the set up will be. I don't even care if we watch on a 13" black & white TV. I just gotta see the game.
Right after the game, I have to head back to Berat for work. I could stay in Tirana but then I'd have to use a vacation day and that's no fun. It'll be a long day but I am sure I will be able to ride the adrenalin rush and work through the day.

Which reminds me, I had the most awesome week last week. I'll tell you more later.

Blue with envy...

2007-01-19T19:46:00.000+01:00

GO COLTS!!!
I really really really want the Colts to win on Sunday. I am sad that I will not be there to experience the game. In my absence cheer extra loud for me and eat and drink a little extra for me too. Now you have an excuse.
Go Colts.

9 to 5...

2007-01-19T11:50:00.000+01:00

Some pictures of my office. The first picture is the building where I work. It's in the beautifully detailed style of Communist architecture. My office is on the first floor. I stare out of the two windows on either side of the "P" sign. I have actual natural light which is nice when it's overcast and we don't have any power.
The second picture is of me chilling at my desk. That's basically how you will find me everyday, sitting at my desk with my laptop in front of me. We actually have two computers in my office already but I like using mine better than the outdated one that sits behind me.
The third picture is of my supervisor Emiljano. He's awesome. His English is good so that's really helpful. He's a hard worker and a good friend.
I will later post a picture of Axhem my other office mate.

Random question posed by Axhem yesterday. As we are sitting in a cafe, he asks me in Albanian, pointing to our waiter, "Do the waiters in America have butts?" I just laughed. Maybe I didn't understand the question. Emiljano translates and then to make sure we are clear, Axhem tells the waiter, who is a friend of his, to turn around and show us his lack of a posterior. I had no answer for him.

Party like it's 2007...

2007-01-16T09:55:00.000+01:00

Due to my tummy troubles/ walking pnuemonia, I was in Indy for New Year's Eve. Awesome! My sister and I hit the town with my friends Bryan & Angie, Denise, and some new friends.
The evening ranks high on my list of Way Cool New Year's.
My friends were brave souls and experienced a little bit of Albania in the form of raki (Albanian moonshine). We had to be creative to get into the soldout event at a hotel downtown but once inside good times were had by all. I unexpectedly ran into my friend Lydia who was with her good friend Carissa, who I hadn't seen since 2002-ish. Kicking around a few of the 20,000 ballons that fell at midnight was fun. At the end of night we, through persistence, charm, and a little machismo from Bryan, we piled into a taxi and headed home.

The night had it all, friends, fun, and merriment.
Picture of the gang at the end of the night (LtoR)Zach, Denise, Dani, Angie, Terralyn, Penny, Bryan (above), Pat, and me

Cold shower...

2007-01-15T10:02:00.000+01:00

I have been back in Albania for about a week now. The readjustment has been as I expected, not terribly difficult but not the most enjoyable thing either.
My friend David picked me up at the airport and informed me that power had been out a couple days from 9am to 9pm. What would you do when you heard such news? I don't know if it was the combination of sleep deprivation and jet lag or a general coping mechanism but when I heard this, I just laughed. Think about it. What would you do during your day if you had no power consistently? I recall asking David if I was suppose to even go to work, not that my "work" requires power but at first I wondered if companies and institutions were still open.

Fret (sp?) not, city hall is still alive and kicking (that sounds like a bit of an exageration). The power schedule has improved. We have power from 8pm to 9am, then two hours of power during the day. I am still trying to figure out the exact times. I think city hall gets a little extra time. We have power till around 11am and often again around 3pm. Half the day we have power at the office. That's pretty good right?

After finally returning to the realm of consciousness after 12hrs of sleep, I encountered my first "Albania adjustment." Feeling the funk from extensive travel, I wanted to relax in a nice warm shower. I made all the necessary arrangements. I had water, which now that I live in the district with 24hr water is a given. I remembered to plug in my water heater the night before and the tempurature guage indicated hot water. All systems a go. I turned on the shower and waited for the water to change from ice cold to nice and warm. I waited some more. Standing naked except for my surprisingly resilient green flip flops (a random gift from my friend Jessica many years ago, these suckers are circa dorm living), I check the water and wait some more. I move the faucet to the other side. In my house some of the faucets are plumbed correctly, hot water to the left. Some however are switched. After being gone for so long, I had forgotten particular details for my shower. So with faucet to the right, I stood with my hand in the shower anxiously awaiting the arrival of my hot water. Again I waited. With my frustration growing, I was wondering if there was some new secret to getting hot water. Perhaps something had changed while I was gone. I thought back to the daily, dependable, frustration-free hot showers I had in the States. Welcome back to Albania I thought.

Then another thought entered my head. The valve from the water heater, had I opened it, allowing the wonderfully warm water to enter the pipes? Perhaps this was not Albania error but rather James error. Would you believe it? I goofed. Once I opened the valve, I enjoyed the refreshing hot shower I so desparately needed.

After my shower, I headed to the office. It was noon (please recall jet lag and lack of sleep as reason for tardiness), the power was off. Oh well, guess it's time for a coffee.

Welcome back.

home, sweet home...

2006-12-12T16:56:00.000+01:00

Image one: sunset and corn field. I miss corn fields. I am definitely a Hoosier
Image two: me, Terralyn, Mona making the buckeyes

I made it! I am home again. It feels great. I am really excited to spend Christmas with my family.
Traveling went pretty smoothly, including some unexpected diversions the night before we left Tirana. I'll post about that later. Let me just say the Hashers are an interesting group. I travelled with my neighboring site mate Juliet. It was nice to travel with a friend.
We arrived at the airport using a taxi because the shuttle between the central square in Tirana was not running every hour on the hour despite what the sign in th bus window said. The nice thing was that the taxi driver gave us a fair price and did not try to charge us more. I would have argued with him if he had. He wasn't even a real taxi driver but rather just a security guard at the Sheraton where our friend dropped us off at 3:45am.
The lines went smoothly and Juliet didn't get charged anything for her bag being a little heavy. I even had fun in line. Albanians don't really do lines. It's more of a crowd in front of a counter and shout out orders or push your way to the front. I still haven't managed to adopt this style but I have come up with some defensive tactics when I see it coming. The line was beyond the small rope off section. A lady came up and stood right at front of the line going into the ropes. Unfortunately for her, she would have to cut in front of me to get in line. HA! So not gonna happen :) I forced my foot between her bag and the guy in front of her. She retaliated with a more forceful push of luggage and self. I stood my ground. The line opened. I looked and her as she started to move forward and said in Albanian, "I am next." She just looked at me. It was awesome. What can I say, it's the small things.

Though Alitalia was crappy with the food service and lacked drink service but one time other than with the meal and snack on a 10.5 hour flight (I will ignore the fact that I only got one meal and SNACK for ten plus hours), they did not damage any of the fragile contents of my luggage. I was very worried about that. I brought home a bottle of wine for my sister's birthday. I have had a bad experience with packing a bottle of wine. It ended with a wasted bottle of expensive wine and a couple of articles of clothing completley ruined.

We celebrated my sister's birthday last night and attempted to make buckeyes (chocolate covered peanut butter balls). She LOVES them. We had a slight problem so we have to compelete the chocolate phase tonight.

It feels good to be home.

Grape Expectations...

2006-12-06T09:32:00.000+01:00

Image One: Bottles of wine at Cobo
Image Two: James & Katie sharing a toast
Image Three: Ryan with a "come hither" look and a glass of wine

First of all forgive me for the awful pun. What can I say, I have been away from English for a while so that little gem seemed slightly clever. Rest assured that the reality quickly set in.

Katie, with the help of one of her freinds in Berat, arranged a tour and tasting at a local winery. A group of us went out to see the Cobo Winery. Berat is known for its wines locally and Cobo is one of the better ones. The winery is building facilities for tours and tastings. They are not quite finished with the work but they gave us a tour anyway.

Local wines and vineyards are great for tourism. Berat apparently has the right ingredients but hasn't developed them yet. Berat is also know for its walnut flavored raki. Raki is the national moonshine basically. It's powerful stuff. Do NOT make the mistake of drinking it like a shot! Raki must be sipped and slowly slipped at that. I often describe raki as a cross between rubbing alcohol and paint thinner. Tasty and smooth. Berat raki is actually tasty and smooth with a taste similar to Jägermeister.

We had a great time. They showed us around and explained some the wine makeing and bottling process. We had ordered wines and snacks which we ate after the tour. They refused to let us pay for the wine and food we ate. We were then forced to buy wine and walnut raki to make ourselves feel better :)

It was a great little expedition. Plus it's encouraging that Cobo was doing all this on their own. No one told them to build this or to start bottling the local raki. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive. Albania needs more of that and with local success it will come.

Stick a fork in me…

2006-12-01T19:09:00.000+01:00

Mos merak! (Don’t worry)
Thanksgiving was AweSome!
I had a great dinner at the home of woman who works at the Embassy. I was there with Kate & David who don’t get to see enough since they live in the far south. We were the only ones from Peace Corps. It was nice to spend some time outside of our instant group. Another couple joined us with their two kids. We feasted on all things Thanksgiving. I really had a great time and am very grateful for the hospitality of our hosts. The other couple even offered to let me stay at their house if I wanted. That turned out not to be necessary but they went out of their way to drive me to where I was staying.
Speaking of where I stayed, whew doggies. It too was AweSome. A large group of us, around 11 volunteers ended up crashing at this guy’s house. He has lots of room and he had lots of leftovers. And “had” is mos def the right word. You’d be impressed at how quickly freeloading volunteers can polish off all the leftovers and then sum. Our host was amazingly hospitable and even invited us back. The day after Thanksgiving I left only to go to the PC office for a required flu shot. Otherwise I would have been completely content to stay and be a big ol’ bum. What can I say, I stick to my strengths.

Momma I’m comin home…

2006-12-01T19:05:00.000+01:00

I tend to be bad at notifying people about major life events, for example, moving to Albania to join the Peace Corps. Here is your heads up. I am coming home for two weeks for Christmas.
Of course two weeks won’t be enough time but I want to see everybody I can. I don’t really have any set plans. If you are available for a lunch or dinner, what am I saying, I will do coffee, snacks, dessert, and breakfast, email me. I will figure out my schedule and see what I can do.
Oh, you should know that I am craving Mexican food somethin’ fierce. Viva la Mexico!

Gobble, Gobble...

2006-11-22T14:32:00.000+01:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Like many of you, I will be doing some traveling and enjoying a generous feast. Families from the American Embassy volunteered to host volunteers for Thanksgiving. I do not know the family I will be dining with but I have been told they are great people. I will also be joined by Kate & David (from Peqin days, they're good people) and some others.

I assume we will we eat the meal at the family's home which is located in the American compound. Talk about surreal. The heavily guarded area looks like a normal suburb in the States, with it's grassy lawns, attached garages, and SUV's in the driveways. It's very Pleasantville-esque.

There's a chance I will get to watch some American football too. That would be awesome. I miss football.

Oh and remember that regardless of your situation, you have something to be thankful for. Just the other day I said that after Peace Corps I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going. The world is open. My Albanian friend looked at me and said, "No, for us, it is closed." We ARE forunate to live in the Land of Opportunity.

Miscommunication: Part 148

2006-11-21T09:12:00.000+01:00

One of the subtle but constant difficulties of living in a country without truly fluent English speakers is the misunderstandings or uncertainties that arise from using English. Last Wednesday I found out that the Bashkia (city hall) was going to Macedonia for the weekend. I was invited and it was going to cost me nothing, nada, zilch.

I said I wanted to go. I got permission from PC office. Thursday comes and I am talking with my counterpart about the price. We go to check with the finance lady to see if the trip was in fact free for me. The finance lady didn’t know. The head finance lady was out sick. The mayor was gone. No problem, we would get to the bottom of this Friday morning before the bus left at 10:00. Along the way my supervisor got involved in the discussion as well. The whole thing became a bit of production.

After work on Thursday, I decided that I wanted to stay in Berat and spend some getting settled into my new house. Going to Macedonia would have been a good bonding experience but I just wasn’t up to it. I hadn’t stayed in Berat for weeks.

Thursday evening I sent a text message to Emiljano, my supervisor, telling him not to bother people about whether I had to pay. I was going to stay in town. Problem solved.
Or so I thought. I got to work and found out Mirela, my counterpart, was upstairs talking to the mayor and the finance lady. Noooo. I dart up the stairs only to find Mirela coming down. But wait, the mayor was out. She hadn’t talked to him yet. Whew. I told Mirela that I didn’t want to go, even if it was free (I had told her that if I had to pay $90 I wouldn’t go). It was no problem. I wanted to stay in Berat. Problem solved.

An hour later, I am walking with Katie and Ryan and my phone rang. Mirela had talked to the mayor and the vice-mayor. They agreed that I should be able to go for free. I said I didn’t want to come. She told me, “Yes, James you must come.” Argh. She had gone out on a limb for me. It would be rude for me not to go. It was a free trip to Macedonia I should’ve been happy. Ah the joys of miscommunication. I relented and went home to quickly pack my bag.
I returned to the Bashkia to scan and send the permission form to PC office. At this point everybody is ready and getting settled in the bus. I knew that I was not going to enjoy the trip. I told them that I couldn’t get the internet to work, which is partly true. The power went out for a minute or two so I thought I wouldn’t be able to send the form. Therefore I couldn’t go out of the country without permission. Finally problem solved.

S’ka frik, s’ka turp…

2006-11-20T12:51:00.000+01:00

“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.

Booo!!!

2006-11-16T10:16:00.000+01:00

Happy (belated) Halloween!
Halloween is still a very American holiday. I’ll ignore the fact that it is a day centered on evil, scary things and instead be proud of our creativeness. Other than a few skeletons and monsters decorating the mall in Tirana, Albania has not yet taken advantage of our candy depravity. In keeping with the Peace Corps goal to spread/share American culture, we introduced Halloween to two cities.

Granted we didn’t actually celebrate Halloween with any Albanians, they were able to observe our odd attire and the displaying of a Jack-O Lantern.

On Halloween, I ventured over to Kucove to celebrate with Ryan and Juliet. We made a tasty stir-fry dinner with items purchased at EuroMax (the comparatively enormous grocery store I like to call Heaven) in Ryan’s new apartment. It was his first hosting duties in his new place. His new place is an upgrade in almost every way. Before he had one room and a small room/area in front of the bathroom. His “kitchen” consisted of the sink in the bathroom, the cabinet in the ante-bathroom, and the stove on the balcony. Now he has, well, a kitchen. All the kitchenesque things all in one room. Crazy. He now has a western toilet instead of a shower head directly over a Turkish toilet (squatty potty if you prefer). The new apartment even comes with a room for entering (aka foyer), a room for sleeping (aka bedroom), and a room for entertaining (aka living room). Nice. Where was I?

With me I brought from Berat the lone pumpkin in town. It was small and mostly green with a huge funky spot on one side, but it was the only one I could find. I was put in charge of designing our Jack’s face. Luckily my creativity was fueled by a box of Good & Plenty that Juliet brought, knowing that I am quite the fan of licorice (sp?). Juliet worked on the gutting of Jack. Ryan, hmph, I don’t know what Ryan was doing. Big bum. For some reason I was also in charge of implementation of the facial reconstruction I had designed. Using a rounded-tip steak knife, I created my masterpiece. Behold.

Simply Sublime Samara...

2006-11-14T09:50:00.000+01:00

Congratulations are in order to my sister Tamara. On October 20, she gave birth to Samara Elyana Edith Duquette. Weighing around 8 lbs 8 oz, she made her debut into this world after finally deciding to give mom a break. She was originally due on the 14th I think. Apparently Tamara is great hostess, her kids tend to want to stay inside her belly.

Oh, do you see all that hair? Obviously she didn't get that from me :)

Goodbye Black-haired Grandma…

2006-11-14T09:06:00.000+01:00

“I’ll behave, if you behave,” that’s what my grandma would always say. Luckily my grandmother rarely behaved so I was free to raise a ruckus if I so desired. In fact she was rather spunky. I don’t think I have ever met someone so feisty, both in the good way and the troublesome way.

My grandmother did not have an easy life. She was a fighter. Her mother died when she was barely a teenager and she took over as caretaker for her 4 siblings. She was practically blind but that never stopped her. She was smart and figured out how to live without sight and without letting most people know.

Living through the depression and raising two daughters while my grandfather fought in World War II, where he was taken as POW, my grandmother learned the value of frugality. However when it was birthday time for one of us grandchildren, she would send $5 to the birthday kid and $1 to each of the other siblings. Generous though she was, she didn’t really keep up with inflation :)

During the last couple of years I was able to grow even closer to my grandmother. I will cherish those memories forever. She is an inspiration to me and I miss her dearly.

Fortunately I was able to attend her funeral services in Columbus, Ohio. My family was very supportive and everything went well. For the viewing there was a picture of her wearing her grey Ball State sweatshirt. I love that picture.

Goodbye Grandma, I love you

Hello, Hello, Hellooooo…

2006-11-14T09:04:00.000+01:00

Yes I know it has been a while since my last post. I apologize. It’s been a crazy month. In fact I can’t even remember exactly what happened.

The three main events were language training in Pogradec, Halloween, and the sad one, my trip back home for my grandmother’s funeral. I’ll give you details about each happening in separate posts.

I am now back in Berat and trying to get settled into my new place. Oh yeah, I moved to a different house. I had such a whirlwind of a week before returning home and then to be gone for a week. My routine is really messed up. Hopefully I can spend the next week getting resettled.

Birthday Bliss...

2006-10-17T09:17:00.001+02:00

Day four (Thursday, October 5) of James’s Birthday 2006 was awesome.
For the third day in a row, I received a birthday card. I even got another text message from Ryan, the volunteer living in the nearby city of Kucove. He was a little confused on the day because Thursday was the day we were observing my birthday with friends.

Juliet, also from Kucove, came to Berat around 3:00 and so we began the celebrating with a coffee, in keeping with the customs of my new home. Around 4:00 we met Katie and her visiting boyfriend Ben and headed over to the house of our friend Ersa.

When we arrived at the Ersa’s, we began to prepare the feature the special treat for the evening’s festivities, apple pie. Now I realize that apple pie is not the traditional birthday treat but it’s quite the treat here. Sadly Albania does not have pie. Yes I know. I too have asked myself how a society can survive without pie. I must say they are a strong people (living without pie and not their life of communist isolation clued me into their heartiness). So pie, especially such an American classic of apple pie, was very special.

I like baking pie so I really wanted to help. First Ersa and her mother protested. For three reasons, first I am male and males don’t do kitchen work, second it was my birthday, and third I was a guest in their home. Wanting to learn how to make the pie, I insisted. I helped by washing the apples. Half way through thoroughly washing the apples, I realized that the next step was peeling the apples. Did I stop giving each apple such an intense scrubbing? Nope.

As Ersa was peeling I went out to the living room where I was distracted by TV. Not just regular TV. Beautifully displayed on an oh-so pretty widescreen flat panel TV were music videos. I was in heaven. Once I discovered the TV and Jesse (that’s the dog), I never made it back into the kitchen. I was further distracted by the “snack” of tomato byreck (Albanian dish made with layers of thin dough and various fillings), a plain cake thing, and chocolate cookies. By the time the pie had finished baking, Ryan and Evan arrived. We feasted on all the wonderful food and homemade wine.

We continued the celebrations at a local hotel. Before having such a spread at Ersa’s, Katie and I had planned to buy some yummy cake. However, being pleasantly full, we decided to forgo the cake and to just have drinks at the hotel. We split up to run some errands before arriving at the hotel. During this time I realized that this was my birthday and was exactly the time for gluttonous excess. After buying candles, we went by the bakery and I picked out an assortment of slices.

The night concluded with presenting of birthday cards, presents, and a special birthday poem written by Juliet. I had a great time. I hope my future Albanian birthdays are as good.

Photos taken by Katie or Ben.
In the photo of the pie being prepared, notice the size of the pan used and that the rolling pins they use here are long and thin like dowel rods.
The dish front and center in the photo of the spread of food is byreck.

Hallmark was a little out of the way...

2006-10-16T16:56:00.001+02:00

A Birthday Poem by Juliet The Awesome

Today we celebrate the birthday of James, our buddy
He has a lot of luck, just ask him how he kept his new white shoes from getting muddy

He takes it easy, going in late, taking a long lunch, napping and maybe returning to work
I guess when your Bashkia is not as good as Kucove’s, you can get away with this perk

He knows how to use the system, maneuvering through bureaucracy’s intricate weave,
Claiming he’ll do an English club, he’s going to Macedonia on business leave

He’s not always on time, the last to arrive at our swearing-in event
And to finish his bachelor’s degree, for six years he went

But really his nature is that he is very friendly and sweet
Whenever I had a mortgage payment, he bought me an ice cream treat

Normally he’s quite a gentleman and a reliable escort at night
But when his host mother said he can’t help clean my shoes, he didn’t put up a fight

But then there are instances where his host family said he was rude,
He should have known better since he hasn’t been paying for food

He has many luxuries compared to the rest of us by living in Berat
But he’s frustrated when men water the street while he has no water when it’s hot

Then there’s the missionary with a car, such a contact is really the best
It lets him take advantage of things far away, like the annual Tomori blood fest

His new place will be a mansion, three bedrooms, two baths, and a gym membership
Now guests don’t have to worry about upsetting nena when silently out the door we slip

They tell us to integrate, adapt, and always be alert
James, on the other hand, draws attention wearing his gabi “Kelly” shirt

His hobbies here are napping, Shqipopoly, Frisbee, and of course ping pong
He was going to run a marathon but that didn’t last long

Peanut butter, muesli, and smoothies make him grin with joy and nod,
As well as 50 cent pizzas, hummus, and animal crackers made by God

He’s a good dancer and he likes to sing quite a lot
Mostly Meatloaf’s, “Hose me down with Holy water, if I get to Hot, Hot!”

We’re going home for Christmas to spend time with family
It’ll be good to eat foods we can’t get in good ol’ Shqiperi

With that to look forward to, the next couple of months will be a breeze.
Until then, dear James, each day you must seize

Bedankt..

2006-10-12T10:21:00.000+02:00

That's Dutch for "thanks."

A huge Thank You to everyone who sent me birthday love. I had a good birthday. It was rather odd because on the actual day, I didn't do much at all.

I went to work, they surprised me with some cake. I received a package with some treats from Peter and when I returned to work after lunch, my counter-part gave me a small carved wooden plaque of the city. That's all.

I was sick that day so once I was home I didn't leave. I just spent the evening at home relaxing. It was a bit of treat because I was house sitting, enjoying the surroundings of a beautifully restored house from the late 1700's.

I celebrated my birthday with friends on Thursday and had a grand ol' time. I will tell you more about that once I get the pictures from Katie. Suffice to say, desserts were consumed a plenty :)

Thanks again for the cards and calls. It meant a lot to me.

Movin on up, to the Eastside...

2006-10-12T09:42:00.000+02:00

To a Delux apartment in the sky-igh, movin on up
Beans don't burn in the kitchen, fish don't burn on the grill<
something something about gettin up that hill.

Yes I know I am amazing with lyrics. That's from The Jefferson's in case you didn't recognize it. By the way, I am typing on what looks to be an Italian keyboard. Some of the keys have been moved, for example apostrophe is à and the shift key is shorter and it took me five minutes to find and use the @ key.

At the end of the month, I will be moving out of my shpi (shortened form of the word shtepi which, you guessed it, means house). The house where I live now is actually pretty nice. The only thing keeping it from being great is the Turkish toliet. After three months of living with such facilities, I really have no problem with it. Granted I still won't use one any place other than my shpi.

So why am I moving? Well, you see, the new place is better in almost every way. I will be leaving my 2 bedroom, Turkish for a 3 bedroom, western. Here's the kicker. The place has two, count 'em, two bathrooms with western toliets. The bathrooms are small and right next to each other and should be combined to form on larger bathroom but yet again people forgot to hire me a design consultant.
The corridor is even larger. Large enough to house a ping pong table (I plan to fashion one out of plywood, any suggestions?) I have a nice large covered balcony at my front door ( I am on the third floor of a house, each level is a separate house). Oh, how could I forget. I will have water 24/7 because this district has a separate contract with the water supply company. Yay! I will also be able to easily access the roof terrace. I already have some ideas for spring/summer usage. The family owns a small gym next to the house and I will have free usage, saving me $20-$30 a month. Plus this house is close to Katie's new place.

Another benefit is that I can come and go as I please. At my current place, the gate to the compound doesn't lock using a key, instead there is a bar that slides across to secure it. During the day, I usually enter and exit through the attached dyqan (doo-chan = small store). However, when they close the dyqan, my only option is to ring the bell and have someone let me in. It hasn't been a problem when I have come home late. They don't seem annoyed but I just don't like it. Especially now that winter is coming. They are closing the dyqan before 8:00. It feels like I have a curfew.

Now all that's left is to inform the family that I will not be staying there. I an NOT looking forward to this. A couple times before, we have had some communication problems so there seems to be a residual tension. Plus, the house is nice (other volunteers have it far worse) and they have been generally good to me. Though we agreed that me choosing to stay or them wanting me to stay was not a forgone conclusion at the beginning, I bet they are going to be surprised and annoyed. They will have put up with me for 4 months with the definite benefit of me paying $100 rent for two years on an otherwise unused house.

Like I said I do not want to tell them. Is it too awful to just let them know when I am moving my stuff out? Hopefully I will have a chance to tell the father today. Wish me luck.

Pics for Clean City Day...

2006-10-12T09:28:00.000+02:00

Strolling in Struga...

2006-10-10T13:48:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I returned from a conference in Struga, Macedonia.
Struga is located near the Albanian border in the central part of the country. It's a nice town on the large Lake Ohrid.

The conference was for TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). I might do some English courses or discussion groups and had hoped to get some tips or strategies from the sessions. I did get some ideas but most of the sessions were geared toward advanced students. The session on Modal Verbs was fun. I have come to realize that I am a bit of dork. I like grammar.

I am getting better at doing something like traveling to another country without any plans or information. Things just work out (mostly because they have to but you gotta put a positive spin on it). For example, luckily I had looked at a map of the city and knew the hotel conference location. We took a taxi from the border to the hotel and then went to the center of town in search of a bank and possibly cheaper accomodations.

Near the end of the pedestrian shopping street, we came across a tourist map/sign. As we stood there searching for some guiding information, a woman came up to us and asked if we needed any help. Not wanting to miss such a wonderful offering of assistance, I told her that we were looking for a bank, a place to eat, and a cheap hotel. Realizing that it was a bit much to ask a stranger for all this, I also threw in the option of the local Tourist Info office (the lady said that she worked in hospitality in the city, I thought she might know all of this). Perhaps a little overwhelmed at my requests or just plain scared by the site of the three of us, she told us to wait there. She would return after purchasing some apples. After 10 minutes, which is enough time to doubt the return of someone just buying apples, she did in fact come to our aid. We mentioned that we were PC volunteers and we were here for a conference. At this point, she said that she too was a volunteer and that we could stay at her place. Sweet!

She was a great host. She took us to a local bar that played great music, helped us order at restaurant, and we even cooked a meal at her apartment.

Despite the constant rain, the miscommunication over the conference fee (we thought it was free, they informed us it was $65), and the complete lack of speaking Macedonian, we had a good weekend.

Plus Macedonia has all these little cars leftover from it's Yugoslavian days. They're awesome. I want one.

Smile...

2006-09-23T11:39:00.000+02:00

Finally, I have added more photos to my flickr page. I still have more waiting to load but the power will be cut in about 15 minutes and it has taken an hour to load the ones I did today. I guess I should have maybe gotten up before 9 and started the process before 11.
The photos are not yet organized but I hope to work on that next weekend.

Guide to Turkish toilets…

2006-09-22T15:20:00.000+02:00

As I have mentioned before, one of the differences between life in America and life in Albania is the presence of Turkish toilets. A Turkish toilet is a bit of mystery to me. From what I can tell, it consists of basin set into the floor with a large whole offset from the center of the basin. In the whole one can see standing water beyond which I am guessing is a great abyss that I hope to never explore. Usually the basin has a slotted area along the side or toward the front (see picture). These areas are, I believe, where your feet are suppose to be. For you see, a Turkish toilet, being basically just a whole in the floor is lacking a “seat.” Therefore the user must provide his or her own seat by simply working those leg muscles and squatting. The technique regarding positioning and other elements are varied and dependent upon concerns I would rather not discuss. If you really want to know just ask and I can provide you with complete instructions.

Step One: Taking Care of Business
Approach the toilet with caution because it can be a crafty and vile creature. Once the environment is deemed safe, place feet on said rest with your back facing the wall/whole. Lower yourself into a squatting position and then do your thing.

Step Two: Paper and Plastic
As for personal cleaning, you have two options. You can choose to clean yourself with a pitcher of water. If several splashes of water don’t quite do the trick, other devices may be utilized. I believe the primary tool is the hand as I have noticed a lack of toilet paper in almost all cafés and some private residences. This brings us to your other option, good ol’ TP. However I must caution you that the toilet paper can not be placed in the Turkish toilet as it will clog. As on volunteer learned after living in his new apartment. The other residents came knocking on his door informing him that their toilets were backing up. He is now known as the guy the clog all the toilets in the building. Great first impression I’d say. Since the toilet itself is not a disposal option, you will find a small trash can with lid of some form for discarding of tissue.

Step Three: Clean Up Aisle Two
Last but definitely not the least significant is the “flushing” of the Turkish toilet. Since a tank holding an adequate amount of water to remove certain undesirables is not part of the composition of a Turkish toilet, flushing falls short of its full potential. Usually a pitcher of water is used to clean the basin and to add more water to the dark whole. I am not sure of the protocol for the amount of water to use and the exact goals. You see, I have developed my own flushing technique. I am fortunate in that my Turkish toilet has a large area. The secret though is a plunger. You place the plunger over the whole and form a seal by pressing down. Next you take a large bucket of water and while holding the plunger with one hand and dumping the bucket with the other, you fill the basin with water. Quickly remove the plunger and the water rush down the whole thus flushing the contents of the whole/pipe out to sewer land. In my case that’s the river but I’ll save that for later.

Water Two...

2006-09-22T10:10:00.000+02:00

You are aware of my problems with my lack of water or more specifically my lack of water pressure. Worry not for Necessity just gave birth to a wonderful and oh so cute little Invention. David, my American missionary friend, suggested I try using a cloths pin to hold up the plunger knob thing on the faucet. All the plumbers reading my blog (do I have any plumbers reading my blog? Kristy ask Greg what that’s called :) ) do we have a name for that thing? The result was glorious. Assuming I fill my reservoir, I can now take a shower without either holding the shower head and/or the knob. Granted it’s no high pressure massage but I’m not high maintenance. I’ll take what I can get. Perhaps you noticed the yellow string. That’s my dental floss. I tried to tie the knob to a nearby shower shelf. No luck. I’m no MacGyver but I try. I was going to fashion something out of a small piece of folded paper but David’s cloths pin works quite well. So now I can always be so fresh and so clean, clean.

Snail mail and care packages...

2006-09-20T10:04:00.000+02:00

Now that you have purchased the perfect birthday card for me, you still have to address it and get it the mail. Let me help you there. Instead of having you search through your address book, I thought I'd give you my mailing address:
James Williams
Bashkia Berat
Lagja "28 Nentori"
Bulevardi "Republika"
BERAT
ALBANIA

If you have already sent your various mailings or packages to my other address. No worries. I still live there. I might be moving the first of November but that's for a later post.

Thanks.

My first wedding...

2006-09-20T09:41:00.000+02:00

Last week I attend my first Albanian wedding. Good Times.
The picture is of me taking part in the traditional circle dances done by Albanians. To my left is the groom Redi. These circle dances are not reserved only for weddings but form almost on their own and then take over the dance floor, or whatever space is available. It's quite fun.

Weddings here are much more involved. It's not a one day affair. I am still not sure what all is involved. There are separate parties for the bride and groom. The party together is the largest festivity. I'm not sure about this but depending on where the wedding taking place or the traditions observed by the families, there might be some ceremony when the groom comes to the house of his new bride to take her away from her family and to begin their life together. I am pretty sure I am missing lots of details and finer points. Sorry.

This particular wedding event was for the groom Redi. He works at the Bashkia. Last Thursday we all went to the restorant across from the castle and had a lunch with lots of eating, drinking, and dancing. Generally just a quality way to spend an afternoon of work.

They say it's your birthday...

2006-09-19T09:42:00.000+02:00

Do you have the sneaking suspcion that a very important date or event is forth coming?

Are you having trouble figuring out what exactly this date/event is?

Alas, let me put your troubled mind at ease.

JAMES' BIRTHDAY!!!

You have just shy of two weeks to get those wonderful cards in the mail. And you're right, that will work out perfectly because it takes between a week or two to get snail mail. Don't procrastinate too long or you'll have to make it a belater card. Not that I would have a problem with that.
Remember I am HUGE fan of my birthday. I've been so distracted that it almost snuck up on me. Sadly I don't have any bday plans, other than decorating my room with all my newly received birthday cards/postcards/stationary/plain pieces of paper (preferably with something at least written on it).

All right, gotta go. I've got work to do. Don't laugh! It's true. I'll tell you more later.

I Heart Peanut Butter...

2006-09-15T15:03:00.000+02:00

That pretty much says it.
I really really really like peanut butter.

Why would I torture myself with talk of such a divine creation when I now reside in a country s'ka peanut butter? btw, s'ka is translated in this use as "There is no."

You see, last week I was visited by the Care Package Angle. Mona sent a few small things including one jar of JIF. Ah Heaven. I figure if I am careful and only share sparingly, I can make it last for a month. I would rather eat a PB and Banana sandwich like every day but I'll make do. Oh and though I am only sparingly sharing, I'm impressed that kind of almost selfless giving is still in me regarding PB.

James Trivia:
It's my personal theory that God made a deal with my mom. You see, I used to be pretty picky with food and everything else for that matter. But I loves me some Peanut Butter. I like it in all forms. Cheap, expensive, sweet, natural, salted, unsalted, whatever you got I will eat. To balance my preference for let's say more sophisticated things, God made me with a fondness for peanut butter that is hard to match.

Today as part of my lunch I had a banana with a teaspoon of PB.
SO GOOD!

Water One…

2006-09-15T15:01:00.000+02:00

Jam merzit (I am annoyed, merzit also means bored so you have to know from context whether I am bored or annoyed but this is not about the language). I’m calling this Water One because I have a feeling that this is only the first of many water themed entries.

Let’s start off by saying that I really enjoy showers in the morning. Not only are they a good way to maintain certain levels of hygiene but a shower has the power to bring me back to life and helps start the day off right. Being in the Peace Corps, I knew I would have to make some adjustments. My showering is less frequent and I am more inclined to take a shower in the evenings when it’s convenient.

Last night when the water came back on around 9 p.m. and after finishing dinner at 9:45, I was too tired to take a shower. You see a shower isn’t a simple act of turning on the water. I have to first turn on the water heater and wait for about 20 minutes to ensure an adequate supply of hot water. Then the whole shower process can begin. Not feeling up to it, I decided to take my shower in the morning.

Sorry I have to leave my office because someone is smoking and the particular type of cigarette burns my nostrils. BRB. I’m back but now the other guy is smoking. I give up. Sorry nose and lungs.

A morning shower didn’t used to be much of a problem. However, lately the water has been turned off before 7:30 a.m. instead of the 8:00 or 8:15 which is a totally workable time for getting ready for work. Aware of my new water “schedule” I was prepared to wake up early to shower. I set my alarm for 6:00. I woke-up at 3:00 a.m. to go to the bathroom and the water was off. No worries. It’s normal to be turned off during the night. I return to bed and quickly fall back to sleep. It’s a gift I have. Give me five minutes and I’ll be sleeping like a baby. I wake at 6:00, find that I still don’t have water but that’s ok. I turn on the water heater to warm the water that is still in the tank and set my alarm for 6:30. Soon enough my alarm is ringing and I am up anxiously turning on the faucet. Nothing. Ok, back to bed with the alarm now set for 6:45. Again the alarm sounds and I wake up hopeful. Again I am disappointed. Nothing. All right, I’ll try for 7:00. I wake up to the now extremely nerve-wracking sound of my alarm. I am a little nervous. If the water is on, will it then be shortly turned off again, keeping with our frustrating 7:30 cut-off? Plus at this time of morning, everyone is up and fighting for the water, reducing the water pressure to barely adequate to flow through my shower head. Turns out none of this matters since the water is still OFF. ARGH!

I did manage to shower in a way. I do have a reservoir that holds at least a day’s water. The only problem is that the reservoir does not have enough pressure to force through the shower head. Solution? I have to hold the shower knob up to force a small stream of water through. Honestly I would be happy, ok happy isn’t right, satisfied with this if only I didn’t have to hold the knob with one hand the whole time thus making an enjoyable shower of both the right and left sides of my body impossible!

I guess this is the “roughing” it part of the Peace Corps. If the water worked liked it should and all the other random things, I guess I wouldn’t be here. It’s just frustrating, especially when it doesn’t have to be like that. The resources they have could be managed so much more efficiently. I know, I know, that’s why I’m here. Perhaps another time I will tell you about those problems but I’ve complained enough for now.

I swear I was going to keep this short but it got away from me.
Thanks for listening :)

An apple a day…

2006-09-13T11:30:00.000+02:00

I guess I’m a little behind on my apple consumption. Sunday morning I woke up with a sore throat. I was hoping the sore throat had something to do with my less than superb night of sleep. I should have known better. My colds generally start with a sore throat in the morning.

By Sunday evening I had a full blown cold. I took a Nyquil. I’m not the biggest fan of random medication but Nyquil has won me over. Whenever I get sick, if I take one and get a good night’s sleep, I am my way to recovery. Really I think it’s the sleep that is the most beneficial so I cheat a little to get some.

Monday morning I woke around 9:00. Actually one time I woke up at 7:15 to get a shower before the water is turned off but was too late. The water situation however is another story :) Around 9:00 I thought to send a text message to my supervisor. In my Nyquil stupor I managed to get to the appropriate function on my phone. Then I promptly fell asleep. I woke to a blank screen on my phone, a clear indication that the well thought out message I had typed was only in my dream. I began to write the message in the real world. Trying to be clear and concise, I have to keep the message short to save money on my phone and I can’t abbreviate since the recipients are non-native English speakers, I thought about each sentence. Apparently I thought too hard because I fell asleep while thinking about the third sentence. I woke up a few minutes later with phone still in hand. I continued with my chore only to fall asleep one more time before managing to send the message. Did I mention that Nyquil really knocks me out?

I fell asleep again only to be awoken by my host grandmother who came up the stairs to check on me. My counterpart Mirela had called my host family to see why I wasn’t at work (she didn’t get the message in time). Later my supervisor Emilijano called to check on me. Then a neighbor who frequently hangs out at the small shop at the entrance to our compound courtyard came up with the older son to make sure I was doing ok. Katie came by bringing me a cold soda (which grandmother didn’t think was a good idea since it’s a cold beverage) and to keep me occupied for a spell. After returning home from work, the host father came and checked on me. In the evening Katie returned after taking care of some errands this time bearing the next disc of The West Wing Season One. While we were watching an episode, my host father stopped by with dinner for me, including a special soup prepared just for me.

I must say the attention is comforting. It’s also not at all what we would do back home. I mean, come on, I didn’t go to work or leave the house because I have a cold. All the attention seems odd but it’s nice too.

To really prove my point, Mirela just dropped by with another coworker. She just wanted to make sure I was doing all right. She brought two bananas and a jar of olives and gave me some advice for a speedy recovery.

I feel well enough to go back to work but I may stay one more day just because I don’t want to infect anyone else. I’ll probably just go in late and sleep off the Nyquil.

Thanks for watching…

2006-09-13T11:19:00.000+02:00

You would not believe the incredible find I found (there’s gotta be a better way of saying that). I was walking in the neighboring town of Kucove with Ryan the volunteer who lives there. As we were walking down the long hill from his apt to the center, there on the side of a road was a gem of a throw-away. What could it be, what could it be? You guessed it, a TV-less Tv. The tube was gone and only the shell remained. I was stoked. I’ve seen better but it was clean and seemed to be exactly what I wanted that night. I convinced him that if the Tv-less TV was still there on our ascent, I could take it back to his apt. Low and behold, my fine piece of electronics (does is still count as an electronic if all the electrical parts have been removed?) was valiantly waiting for me.
Ryan and I proudly carried the TV shell home. In all honesty, I’m not too sure that he was impressed with my find, let alone proud. The next day I was returning to Berat by bus so I was unable to take the TV with me. Lucky Ryan got to enjoy the TV for a little while longer, though I do not believe that he thought of this experience as a matter of good fortune.
As a week of antagonizing anticipation, last night I was reunited with Stevie the TV (yeah, that’s a blatant Friends rip-off). This rapturous reconciliation was possible because of another exciting development. My friend David, a missionary living with his family in Berat, purchased a vehicle and had decided to take Katie and myself for a ride. We ventured over to Kucove to get some Ballash Diesel (I’ll explain later) and to have a drink. While in Kucove, we met with Juliet and Ryan. Ryan asked if I wanted to take Stevie back with me. How perfect is this. Not only do I have free transportation to Berat, with David old school Land Rover, I had a vehicle to do all the work of climbing the hill for me. BTW, the bus usually costs $.70 one-way, cheap by American standards but not so cheap when you only make around $200 a month. Also the bus takes 40 minutes but in a car the trip takes 15 minutes. Man I need to get a chauffer. I’d drive myself but that’s against the rules.
Around 9:00 pm Stevie was introduced to his new home. Now all the remains is to determine the most totally rad way to reuse him. I am open to suggestions. Already on the list are: place fish bowl with fish inside, do puppet shows in the winter, hang pictures I color, place the laptop inside and pretend it’s a TV, books, plants, and maybe a shrine (to whom or what TBD).

Tasty…

2006-09-08T10:01:00.000+02:00

After five months, I have gotten used to the dietary offerings of Albania. For example, when I eat dinner with my host family, I am often served an ochre dish. Ochre is in season and the dish is easy to make and keeps relatively well.

Due to visiting other cities the last two weekends and having many visitors in Berat for the week between, I had only eaten with my host family one time in the last 11 days.

Monday evening I was in Berat and didn’t have any guests. Perhaps I was going to have a normal night and settle back in to my routine. I was looking forward to talking to my host father who I usually only see at dinner and I had a hankering for some of my standard dinner fare. For example, I am often served a “salad” comprised of only cucumbers and tomatoes, and onions that are so strong I can’t eat them. Now I totally dig this salad. I believe that lettuce has no business being in a salad and only gets in the way of the vegetables that are tasty and have some nutritional value ( I know leafy greens are nutritious, my issue is with the standard Iceberg lettuce).

After exchanging pleasantries with my host father, we set the table for dinner. Sadly my hoped for salad was not on this evening’s menu. Tonight’s dinning options consisted of the ochre dish, plain yoghurt (also a standard I have grown fond of), bread, some cheese and what I believe to be the small intestines of some poor sheep. Yep. Small intestines.

I cannot say with confidence what I was eating because my knowledge of edible animal parts is limited to, you know, the meat. All the other stuff is a mystery usually reserved for hot dogs. As is standard with the other innards I’ve consumed, the texture was the main difference. Other than that difference I didn’t really notice anything. I can however say that if given the choice, I would recommend the stuffed intestines (made from the larger part of the intestines due to the difficulty one would encounter in trying to stuff small intestines but perhaps I am erroneous in my deductions, like I said I’m no expert). Though the large taste the same as the small, the stuffing is pretty darn good.

Perhaps I will learn how to prepare such delicacies and will have a feast upon my return to the States. Shall I put you down for the large or small intestines? :)

Great Expectations…

2006-09-08T09:59:00.000+02:00

Oh what was I thinking? I found out that I would have a chance to go to Tirana with a colleague for a meeting. I jumped at the chance because while we were there, I would be able to use the wi-fi at one of the cafés. I quickly ran home before we left so I could take my laptop and upload lots of new photos. And we were off.

After fighting through the miserable traffic of Tirana and the meeting, I made it to the café. I stayed while my colleague went to a nearby computer store. I got all cozy in the back of the café, sitting comfortably in the air conditioning watching music videos on the flat screen. Have I mentioned that Tirana is not like the rest of Albania? I mean come on. A/C, wi-fi, Chinese food, a French bakery, lots of foreigners, well you get the point. Go figure, PC will not place any volunteers in Tirana.

Where was I? Oh yeah.
Ok, comfy seat suitable for a solid hour or so of internet time? Check.
Pleasant environment to provide distractions while high-speed internet is too slow uploading my pictures? Check.
Power outlet nearby just in case I need more power? Check.
Overpriced drink ordered (I know the rules, internet may be free but you gotta pay to stay)? Check.
Connection to internet? NOTHING.
Reconnect to internet? Nothing.
Poke around internet settings as if I actually knew what I was doing? Nothing.
Sit there frustrated savoring the thick second hand smoke. CHECK.

Long overdue...

2006-08-28T17:40:00.000+02:00

Oh yeah, that’s why I’m here…
28 August 2006
This past Friday I observed a class/activity led by a volunteer who has been living here for over a year now. The class took place in a small village outside of Vlora, the 3rd or 4th largest city in Albania, with a comparatively sizable tourist and shipping industries. The class was geared toward children or teenagers of the Roma community (similar to gypsy community). The Roma community is often discriminated against. The problems found throughout Albania are frequently in greater numbers within the Roma community.

The original plan for the class that day was to discuss goal setting and then have a connected activity. As is often the case, plans change. Since the kids that were there were too young to get much out of a goal setting discussion, we went cut that short and started the activity involving a small parachute and wiffle ball. Of course the kids loved it.
Working with the kids and seeing the volunteer interact with them was awesome.

The best part though was the greeting we received. As we drove up next to the field, the kids just started running to the field and to the vehicle, with bright smiles beaming the whole time. They chanted the name of the volunteer and were simply ecstatic to see him. Though his intended lesson may not have gone as planned, the volunteer and his host organization certainly made a huge impact by being there. That’s what I’m hoping for.

Work, work, work…24 August 2006
Yes! I have my first project. September 22nd is International Clean City Day, or something like that. During that week we are going to have little clean-up projects around the city, probably around the schools or parks. On the 22nd we will close one of the main roads in town to vehicular traffic. There will be a banner and people passing out pamphlets. Here’s where I come in. Not only will I probably be passing out the pamphlets, but I will the designer extraordinaire behind the masterful pamphlets. Ok, they’re not going to be that special but it’s a start. It’s good to work on a project.

Then there were 39…22 August 2006
Sad news :(
We officially have our first early termination. One of my fellow volunteers is heading back to the States. I am gonna miss her. We were becoming pretty good friends. The decision was a very difficult one. In addition to the normal considerations that one would deal with when making such a decision, the fact that this was the first volunteer to go home created more pressure. Nobody wants to be the first one to quit. It’s a shame. She didn’t have much control over the situation. If not for some extenuating circumstances, I know she would have finished out her whole two years.
I’ll be honest. There have been times when all I wanted to do was go home. For better or worse, my pride got in the way. Plus I knew that the situation or feeling would pass. I wonder when we will lose our next one. The winter isn’t exactly pleasant here. The whole lack of heat makes it pretty much impossible to ever be warm from like November to February. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to that.
Respect to our group though. We started with 40 and five months in, we lose our first volunteer. The rule of thumb is that you lose about 25% of the group by the end of the term. I was impressed that nobody bailed during the first initial shock from the three months of training. Maybe we’ll buck the trend. I am sure we will have some more. Medical problems and family troubles back home are likely to claim a few.
My respect to her and the difficult decision she made. I wish her strength in her readjustment back home and the transitional period she will be struggling through.

Two weeks…21 August 2006
I am trying not to get my hopes up but too late. The last couple of weeks some workmen have been drilling in the hall outside my office. By the way, this ain’t no simple little drill through drywall or even wood. I’m talking concrete block walls. Now that’s serious, ruckus making drilling. I never thought to ask what they were doing. I just knew they were loud.

Last week when they were working in my office, my supervisor informed me that they were putting in ADSL lines, which I assume are just DSL with an “a” in front. Do you realize what that means? Unlimited, non-dial-up internet access. Woohoo. That would be awesome. Not only would it save me some leke by not going to the internet café but it would also be very useful for researching topics, grants, and project ideas.

Now we still have to work out the contract with the provider but there are at least lines ready and waiting. I’ve noticed that when something big is coming, the timeframe often given is two weeks. For example, when we were in Peqin, I was told that internet was coming to the town in two weeks. Sadly those two weeks never passed while we finished the remaining two months of our training. I have heard however that an internet center, open to the public, has opened recently. Two weeks, two months, two years, whatev :)

Shume vap (very hot)…21 August 2006
HOT!
MISERABLE!
DEATHLY!
LIFE-DRAINING. I figured that wasn’t really an exclamation deserving word. I mean come on, it has a hyphen.
EXHAUSTING!
WRETCHED!
CRUEL!

Words that describe life in Albania when the temperature sufficiently surpasses the 100 degree mark for countless days in a row. Today is supposed to be the hottest yet, around 109. The heat was already present at 6:00 am when I was out for my morning run. I think I am going to go hang out in the one café with A/C. Hopefully we will have electricity today so that I can truly appreciate the wonder that is climate control.

Accommodations provided by…
20 August 2006
This past weekend I set a new record for the number of people staying at my house. I had four guys plus myself. At one point two female volunteers were going to crash at my place too but Katie was able to put them up for the night. I’m sure they had quite the little girly slumber party, including the obligatory late night chats and pillow fights. The bad part for them is that I do not yet have access to the spare bedrooms so all I could offer them was floor space. One lucky person did get the 3 inch thick pad that goes over my bed thing. My hospitality supplies are also limited to 2 flat sheets and three pillows. I do however have a decent supply of towels. What can I say, I’m such a gracious host.

In addition to the 6 guests mentioned above, we had Criss and Carol in town. We were having a little Peqin (training city) reunion for August birthdays. Sadly, Kate and David were unable to attend, which really sucked because David and Juliet were the birthday guests of honor. Without them I still ended up having 11 people hang out at my place Saturday evening. It was good times.

The only problem was the incredible amount of body heat generated by 11 people. OMG it was so hot in my house. The body heat in combination with the 100 degree weather and the electricity being out, which meant no fan, made for a rather uncomfortable spell. Have no worries, we were tough and fought through the heat.

the big picture

2006-08-15T11:33:00.000+02:00

Shqipopoly pics

2006-08-15T11:15:00.000+02:00

I had a little trouble loading the pics for the game.

2006-08-15T10:50:00.000+02:00

Shqipopoly…This may be the most amazing game ever. True, it’s a complete rip-off of Monopoly® but it’s way cooler. Shqipopoly is our version of Albanian Monopoly® (Shqip is the word for Albanian language in Albanian).
The game was created one Wednesday afternoon when fellow volunteers were passing through Berat and staying the night at my place. They arrived in the middle of the day, just as it was getting really hot. After we hiked up to my place to drop off luggage and for me to eat lunch, we didn’t feel like leaving for anything.
I suggested Monopoly® because the visiting family now living in Ohio had brought it with them. We were pretty excited by this prospect. However when I went to borrow it, I found out that they had taken the game with them while visiting the beach. With our spirits crushed, we sat devastated in the heat of the day. At one point I suggested we make our own Monopoly® board but make it better by Albanianizing it. However, without the game to copy or any real office supplies, we decided it would be a good winter activity one day. We continued in our misery of heat and lack of electricity trying to figure out what we could do that did not require venturing outside and down the hill (which then requires a return hike up the hill).
Finally, the draw of Monopoly®, even a ghetto, hand-made version, was too powerful. We started with a sheet of graph paper and some colored pens I had. We called Katie and gave her the mission of finding poster board (She was given that task because she had not yet come up the hill to my place). Katie was a trouper and trekked down the street and found a large sheet of paper, roughly 36” x 48”. When she arrived we got to work. First we decided which properties should be on the board. Katie was in charge of the creating graphics for each property. Ryan (from neighboring Kucove) and I worked on creating “Fat” cards, which means luck and is our combined Chance and Community Chest. Through the guidance of the visiting volunteer, we were able to make property cards with the prices and rents, with houses or hotels.
With the game board complete, we started our game. It was an intensive game that lasted for about four with a break in there for dinner. Katie had a run of luck, landing on Free Parking, with a kitty of $1100, drawing the Fat card, “Your family pays for your plane ticket home, Collect $500”, right after Ryan had drawn the opposite Fat card requiring him to PAY $500 (guess who made those two cards), and to seal the deal, she acquired a large number of properties in a trade for The Block in Tirana (that’s Boardwalk to you guys). As the game continued, and as Katie grew more and more tired, I staged a stealthy comeback and won the game. Woohoo. I love winning at Monopoly®, just ask my sisters.

Be Aggressive, B-E Aggressive…Congratulations are in order to my niece Mariah. She is the newest member of the cheerleading squad at Carmel-Clay Middle School (I think that’s the name). She loves cheerleading. I think she even practiced during the summer to be ready, which is even more impressive because she was at her dad’s most of the summer. My sister wasn’t there to make her train. She’ll be awesome. She loves cheerleading and has dabbled in gymnastics in her childhood years. Plus I am sure the squad could use the addition of my little ghetto white girl niece. Respect. Got nothin’ but luv4ya Riah.
On a completely different note, I have some more exciting news. My sister Tamara who had been living in Bemidji, Minnesota has moved to the South Bend area in northern Indiana. She will be about 3.5 hrs away, which is much better than the 14hrs she was before. Her husband will be working in private dental practice (he had been doing dental work on a reservation for the Navy). The job sounds like a great fit. He will be able to work in some underserved areas and will still be able to do mission work.
In September of last year, Terralyn moved from Orlando to Indianapolis, where she had lived for the last 17 years. Now Tamara is back in the state of Indiana, which is much more convenient than north central Montana. Now that was a pain to get to. Except for the little problem of me being on a different continent, we are all back in the same state for the first time since I was 13 years old and my parents and I moved to Indiana from Florida. Hopefully, everybody will hang around in roughly the same place for the next two years.

Preposterous processing power…
If you can’t buy the foods you’re craving somethin’ fierce, you might as well just make them yourself. This culinary quest is exponentially aided by the proper equipment. A couple weeks ago Katie and I decided to go crazy and split the cost of a food processor. Now we are both out $12, which reminds me I still owe her for my portion.
The first fabulous fabrication was fruit smoothies. The second endeavor yielded a fantastically frothy Frappe (cold coffee drink).
Thanks to the kindness of my friend David, a missionary now living in Berat, and his generous gift of pseudo nacho chips, I was inspired to make some fresh salsa. One day when I had a couple people over, I felt the time was right for my first attempt at salsa. I used tomatoes, less than half an onion (they’re really strong here), cucumber, and the actually hot peppers we were lucky enough to find at one of the produce shops. I sliced and diced the fresh ingredients, added a small bottle of the closest thing to salsa you can find here (trust me, it leaves some room for improvement), and viola, we had fresh, homemade salsa.
You know me and my love affair with salsa. How many times did Nick come home to find me sitting in front of the TV eating my dinner of blue corn chips from Aldi and my favorite salsa from Kroger? Though it wasn’t perfect, it was close enough. I thought it was super good. I got compliments and I was not the only one eating so I think they actually liked it. The whole bowl was quickly consumed with me licking the bowl clean. Yummy!
Next on the list for the crazy concoctions? Peanut Butter. I’m already excited thinking about it. I LOVE peanut butter. Cross your fingers for me.

Hard hearted…Good job Dad! My father had a triple bypass last week. He did quite well I believe. He was supposed to get a quintuple (whatever the word for five times is) bypass. Once the docs got to the ol’ ticker, they only needed to do three. Now the hard part comes in. My father, who is a fan of all things fried, will have to adopt a new healthy lifestyle. First he’ll have to endure the recuperation period. I think he said he can’t leave the house for a while and then he can’t drive for two months. That’s gonna be very strange for my father. The man is always working. He won’t know what to do with himself. Can you catch up for a lifetime’s lack of sleep in two months?
Though I am sure the recovery will be difficult, I am very happy the surgery went well. I know my dad is a strong man but it still made me nervous. Plus I didn’t like the fact that I was an ocean away while some doctors were playing with his heart with the potential for many things to go wrong. I guess God thought my dad had some more work to do down here. I’m not gonna lie, I’m glad that he’s still around :)

bad blogger...

2006-08-08T19:15:00.000+02:00

I cannot figure out how to get rid of the disclaimer at the top of the page. I don't want it there. It took me a couple of guesses to get it at the side where my Profile is. I just spent an hour trying to figure it out. It's a shame I can't even handle simple website "editing". Hehe. The quote key " and the AT symbol @ are switched. Random.
Speaking of random. The internet guy recently sprayed the bathroom and the trash can with air freshener. I appreciate the thought but now it smells like a locker room, not a dirty stinky one rather one where they are trying to cover up the smell of it being a locker room. Lovely.