In one of my early posts, I made a comment about how slowly time was passing in Albania. Our first week in Bishqem crawled by at a snails pace and left me wondering how I would ever make it through...
I need to interrupt things for a moment here. There are so many things about life in Albania that define the experience but are all to easy to forget to mention when talking to people back home or when making these blog posts. One of those things is the soundtrack in Albania. Shqiptars have fantastic (-ally hilarious, at times) taste in music. Just to give you a taste, I'll keep a running tab on the music that is playing in the internet cafe. Right now, we're being serenaded with "Ridin" by Chamillionaire. Back to the program...
...ten weeks of training. After that week, though, life found the accelerator pedal and put it to the floor. We are now almost finished with week SIX. It feels like we should be at week two.
New song: Rihanna, S.O.S... wait, they didn't get their fill of Ridin, so we have skipped back at that. Thug life, yo.
This past week, we finished up with our community project. During pre-service training, everyone works with the other volunteers in their respective villages to plan and execute a small project in their community. With no money and little time, (Ridin. Again. Did I say fantastic taste in music? Huh. Also, yes... I do type this slow)we had to think small. Our project ended up being a poster competition that we organized at the school in Bishqem. Our objective was to help foster a great sense of community identity in the village, which, although quite charming in its own regard, is easily overshadowed by its larger neighbors. It's a pretty idealistic goal for a 30 minute art project with 13 year old kids, but hey. What are the peace corps if not idealistic? I'm not sure if we inspired the next generation of Bishqemers to take a firm grasp on their village and drive it into a prosperous future, but they did seem to enjoy themselves. Afterwards, we went out to the school yards and played with the kids. (Ridin. For the fourth time. It seems that I was a bit too easy with my praise. Most of the time, though...) I hadn't played a game of soccer for years and my skills were not improved by my jeans and the loafers that I was sporting. Still, though, it was all kinds of fun.
Now, we have transitioned into some bad balkan pop music. It doesn't talk about some fellows trying to catch other fellows riding in a less than sanitary manner, though, so I'll take it.
In other news, how about hokie baseball?! I was concerned by the prospect of potentially missing a title game appearance by the football team (hey, a man can dream) or a tournament appearance by the basketball team, but I never thought I'd be in danger of missing a college world series appearance by the baseball team. But as of now, they have taken series from THREE top ten teams this season. Who'd a thunk.
It looks like we get to wrap up this visit to the internet cafe with some albanian folk music. Honestly, I am a fan. I will certainly be buying some during my stay here to take with me back to the states. Catchy beats, nice melodies, and a healthy appreciation for the clarinet. Healthy in the way that John Candy was healthy. What more can a guy ask for?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Pogradec, part II
Seeing as how Friday's blog post was a bit- shall we say- brief, I thought that I would try to take a minute to elaborate on the news.
After I complete pre-service training, I will be moving to Pogradec, Albania, where I will be living and working until June 2012. Pogradec (pronounced Po-grah-dets) is located in southeastern Albania. The center of the city is only 5 km away from the Macedonian border. It is home to about 35,000 people-- small by American standards, but a major city by Albanian standards. It is located along the shores of Lake Ohrid, a huge (138 square miles), deep (mean depth: 508 ft!), and crystal clear lake located high in the Balkan Mountains. It is a very popular tourist destination, especially in the summer.
While I am there, I will be working for the municipal government. I will initially be placed in the Economic Department, but they told me that I can expect to become involved in projects with several different departments during my employment there.
I will have two site partners in Pogradec. One, named Connie, is a part of Group 12 and, has thus been living there for one year already. She is also a Community Development volunteer, but she works with a local NGO that acts against domestic violence. She is an older volunteer (she has children that are slightly older than I am) whose personal history is remarkably similar to my own mother's. She grew up in a small town in Iowa (my mom grew up in South Dakota) and then moved to Austin for many years for college and work. Austin! Well, Austin and Cedar Park for all of you that may know the difference. My other site partner is a fellow group 13-er named Stacy. Stacy is a health volunteer from Denver who was going to school up in DC for the last couple years. She has all those qualities that you would want in a site partner-- fun, easy to talk to, hard worker, etc. All in all, I am very excited about my future site family.
So that's Pogradec in a nutshell. If you had asked me last summer where I expected to be living if I was in the Peace Corps in a year, I think that "a resort town next to a beautiful Alpine lake" would have been on my list right around "Canada." I am sure that I will have plenty of challenges, but really, I feel pretty lucky. Plush Corps, I think the industry term is. And yes, you should definitely visit.
Pictures! Look at them!
http://www.pogradec.info/pgallery_s/index.htm
After I complete pre-service training, I will be moving to Pogradec, Albania, where I will be living and working until June 2012. Pogradec (pronounced Po-grah-dets) is located in southeastern Albania. The center of the city is only 5 km away from the Macedonian border. It is home to about 35,000 people-- small by American standards, but a major city by Albanian standards. It is located along the shores of Lake Ohrid, a huge (138 square miles), deep (mean depth: 508 ft!), and crystal clear lake located high in the Balkan Mountains. It is a very popular tourist destination, especially in the summer.
While I am there, I will be working for the municipal government. I will initially be placed in the Economic Department, but they told me that I can expect to become involved in projects with several different departments during my employment there.
I will have two site partners in Pogradec. One, named Connie, is a part of Group 12 and, has thus been living there for one year already. She is also a Community Development volunteer, but she works with a local NGO that acts against domestic violence. She is an older volunteer (she has children that are slightly older than I am) whose personal history is remarkably similar to my own mother's. She grew up in a small town in Iowa (my mom grew up in South Dakota) and then moved to Austin for many years for college and work. Austin! Well, Austin and Cedar Park for all of you that may know the difference. My other site partner is a fellow group 13-er named Stacy. Stacy is a health volunteer from Denver who was going to school up in DC for the last couple years. She has all those qualities that you would want in a site partner-- fun, easy to talk to, hard worker, etc. All in all, I am very excited about my future site family.
So that's Pogradec in a nutshell. If you had asked me last summer where I expected to be living if I was in the Peace Corps in a year, I think that "a resort town next to a beautiful Alpine lake" would have been on my list right around "Canada." I am sure that I will have plenty of challenges, but really, I feel pretty lucky. Plush Corps, I think the industry term is. And yes, you should definitely visit.
Pictures! Look at them!
http://www.pogradec.info/pgallery_s/index.htm
Friday, April 16, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Fill the belly
Not too many new things to report this week. We didn't return home from the volunteer visits until Tuesday, so the rest of the week itself went by in a flash. In other news, I got to lay around in bed like a bum this morning for the first time in three weeks. It was fantastic.
For lack of other excitement, I thought that this would be a good time to talk about food. Albania, as you may have noticed, is hanging out in a neighborhood with countries that boast very tasty cuisines. Italy. Greece. Turkey. Lebanon. As such, I was expecting dishes that were bursting with new and exciting flavors.
That, actually, couldn't be further from the truth. I should point out immediately that I haven't had anything that I would classify as "bad." It is all good, but is good in the same sense that Campbell's Chunky Soup is good. Pleasant. Filling. Not exciting. Quite simply, they just don't use seasonings here. Some end up on their meat roasts, but the cooking tools of choice here seem to be oil and salt. And bread. Lots and lots of bread.
It certainly isn't all boring. Some highlights: more fresh citrus than you could ever ask for. Fig Jelly (does this exist in the states? If so, why did nobody tell me about it? It is wonderful). Fantastic seafood on the coast. And really good hot chocolate in all the cafes.
Back to the original topic, however. Several people asked me what they should send in care packages while I'm over here. If you are ever in a quandry, just send some seasonings. Coriander. Cumin. Curry. Taco Seasoning. Any of the italian herbs. Really, just surprise me.
Final news of note: we find out our official site placements on Friday! So much rides on this news- where I'll be living. What work I'll be doing. Who my peace corps site partners (if any) will be. To say the least, I am eagerly awaiting Friday afternoon.
For lack of other excitement, I thought that this would be a good time to talk about food. Albania, as you may have noticed, is hanging out in a neighborhood with countries that boast very tasty cuisines. Italy. Greece. Turkey. Lebanon. As such, I was expecting dishes that were bursting with new and exciting flavors.
That, actually, couldn't be further from the truth. I should point out immediately that I haven't had anything that I would classify as "bad." It is all good, but is good in the same sense that Campbell's Chunky Soup is good. Pleasant. Filling. Not exciting. Quite simply, they just don't use seasonings here. Some end up on their meat roasts, but the cooking tools of choice here seem to be oil and salt. And bread. Lots and lots of bread.
It certainly isn't all boring. Some highlights: more fresh citrus than you could ever ask for. Fig Jelly (does this exist in the states? If so, why did nobody tell me about it? It is wonderful). Fantastic seafood on the coast. And really good hot chocolate in all the cafes.
Back to the original topic, however. Several people asked me what they should send in care packages while I'm over here. If you are ever in a quandry, just send some seasonings. Coriander. Cumin. Curry. Taco Seasoning. Any of the italian herbs. Really, just surprise me.
Final news of note: we find out our official site placements on Friday! So much rides on this news- where I'll be living. What work I'll be doing. Who my peace corps site partners (if any) will be. To say the least, I am eagerly awaiting Friday afternoon.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Lazy in Lezhe
This weekend, the Peace Corps office arranged trips for us to spend a few days with volunteers from previous groups who are currently working in Albania. This allows us to get a first hand account of the peace corps life and to see a couple new places in the country. It also gave me a brief brush with internet. I didn't get to upload all of my pictures, but I do have a couple to share.
This is the view out of the back of my host family's home. The view from the bathroom window, to be exact. Nice way to start the day.
This is the bar that we stop by after most of our meeting days in Elbasan. The beer is brewed in-house, the big glasses that you see cost 60 lek (about 60 cents), and the bar itself is set back in a quiet, shady courtyard-- complete with vine covered stone walls. It is a great place to unwind, catch up with friends, and play a few games of cards. Perhaps the best way I have ever found to spend said 60 cents.
On the first leg of my journey to Lezhe, I had to take a furgon from Elbasan to Tirana. The two cities are only about 20 miles apart, but those twenty miles are straight over a rather large mountain range. This is getting close to the top of the mountain, overlooking the valley that contains Elbasan. It was somewhat scary at times, but very beautiful all the same.
After arriving in Lezhe, our first activity was a hike up to the 1,400 year old castle that overlooks the town. It is one in a series of castles that was built down a large section of the coast of Albania. In the event that one was attacked, they could light a signal fire that could be seen by the neighboring castle. In that way, news of an attack could travel across the entire territory in about 30 minutes. Anyway, the castle is in rather good shape (considering its age) but is not really a tourist destination. Once inside, you have free range over the entire structure. Back home, they didn't even let us go into all the rooms of the farmhouse at Pioneer Farms. The first picture is of the outside wall. The second picture is taken from one of the inner yards, overlooking the sea.
On Sunday, we took the 10 minute ride to the coast town of Shengjin. Again, rather pretty.
And there is that! I promise that I do have more pictures than this but, per usual, I just haven't had a chance to upload all of them. We leave Lezhe tomorrow to head back to our host families.
This is the view out of the back of my host family's home. The view from the bathroom window, to be exact. Nice way to start the day.
This is the bar that we stop by after most of our meeting days in Elbasan. The beer is brewed in-house, the big glasses that you see cost 60 lek (about 60 cents), and the bar itself is set back in a quiet, shady courtyard-- complete with vine covered stone walls. It is a great place to unwind, catch up with friends, and play a few games of cards. Perhaps the best way I have ever found to spend said 60 cents.
On the first leg of my journey to Lezhe, I had to take a furgon from Elbasan to Tirana. The two cities are only about 20 miles apart, but those twenty miles are straight over a rather large mountain range. This is getting close to the top of the mountain, overlooking the valley that contains Elbasan. It was somewhat scary at times, but very beautiful all the same.
After arriving in Lezhe, our first activity was a hike up to the 1,400 year old castle that overlooks the town. It is one in a series of castles that was built down a large section of the coast of Albania. In the event that one was attacked, they could light a signal fire that could be seen by the neighboring castle. In that way, news of an attack could travel across the entire territory in about 30 minutes. Anyway, the castle is in rather good shape (considering its age) but is not really a tourist destination. Once inside, you have free range over the entire structure. Back home, they didn't even let us go into all the rooms of the farmhouse at Pioneer Farms. The first picture is of the outside wall. The second picture is taken from one of the inner yards, overlooking the sea.
On Sunday, we took the 10 minute ride to the coast town of Shengjin. Again, rather pretty.
And there is that! I promise that I do have more pictures than this but, per usual, I just haven't had a chance to upload all of them. We leave Lezhe tomorrow to head back to our host families.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Bishqem
Last Sunday (right before I went to the internet cafe to make my last post, actually) the five of us volunteers who live in Bishqem made the short 15 minute walk over to the neighboring village of Pajove to meet the volunteers living there for a picnic. One of the volunteers in Pajove had a birthday that day, so we used the occasion to celebrate, get out of our houses on our one day off, and enjoy the fabulous weather that Albania has been kind enough to provide us with so far. We bought some food supplies in town (my contribution? The Albanian equivalent of jumbo graham cracker sticks and a jar of nutella. Always thinking of health, I am.) and hiked a little way up a ridge next to town into an abandoned group of homes. During communist times, the homes apparently belonged to some of the poorer people in the area who were not allowed to live down in the valley itself. Once the communists left, they all moved down off the ridge, leaving behind a scene that looks straight out of a Mediterranean wall calender. Here were the small homes with tiled roofs, thick wooden support beams, and meandering paths that I had imagined. Small yellow and purple flowers covered much of the ground. The homes' position on the ridge was undoubtedly inconvenient, but it offers a wonderful view of the Shembin (spelling?) River Valley below-- it floor covered with fields of crops in their spring yellows and greens and its surrounding hills/mountains with their orchards and the dull green trees that are natural to the area. From that height, all the trash was a distant memory and you were able to enjoy the beauty that the land has to offer.
The weather couldn't have been better. A big storm had come through the night before, clearing the air and leaving behind that refreshing spring weather that balances perfectly between warm and cool. We sat on the weathered patios and steps of the village, ate our food, talked, sang some songs (one of the volunteers brought along a travel guitar), and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on our shoulders. After staying there for a couple of hours, we made the descent back into Pajove to a cafe, ordered espresso, and chatted the afternoon away on a shaded patio. It was the type of day that I'll probably remember years from today, not because of any single moment, but because of the overwhelming peace and happiness that it provided.
That was certainly a highlight of the trip so far, but it is reflective of much of the experience up to this point. Life moves at a different pace over here-- especially in a small town like Bishqem. Bishqem has a population of about 1,600 people. Nearly every business in town-- the two gas stations, two restaurants, a clothing store, the general store, a pool hall, and a few other odds and ends are scattered directly along the main highway that runs through town. The school and community health center are also on this road. The Shembin river runs just south of the highway. Between the highway and the ridge line on the north side of the valley are most of the homes that make up Bishqem. As best as I can tell, most people in the town are farmers-- many of them at the subsistence level, I'd imagine. The town provides for all of your practical needs, but not too much more.
As it is, our schedule stays plenty full. We have language classes four days a week in Bishqem itself at the school (want to feel like a celebrity without all the hassles of fame? Be the American walking through a school yard in the developing world. Problem solved.), after which we get lunch and then spend most of the afternoon and evening studying the language. Two days a week, we take the 25 minute ride into Elbasan to meet all of the volunteers and have classes on culture, health, and, of course, language.
In amongst all this, though, there are many coffee breaks, the lazy lunches, the Elbasan happy hours, and then a couple more coffee breaks. Aside from the stresses that come with living in a new place and learning a new language, I find myself very relaxed nearly all of the time. Life certainly isn't perfect-- I crave moments away from the sounds of the highway, the five feet that separate me from death by semi-truck on every walk through town don't exactly enhance my state of zen, and the trash-- guh, the trash-- gets old. But all told, this has been a wonderful introduction to my new (temporary) home.
The weather couldn't have been better. A big storm had come through the night before, clearing the air and leaving behind that refreshing spring weather that balances perfectly between warm and cool. We sat on the weathered patios and steps of the village, ate our food, talked, sang some songs (one of the volunteers brought along a travel guitar), and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on our shoulders. After staying there for a couple of hours, we made the descent back into Pajove to a cafe, ordered espresso, and chatted the afternoon away on a shaded patio. It was the type of day that I'll probably remember years from today, not because of any single moment, but because of the overwhelming peace and happiness that it provided.
That was certainly a highlight of the trip so far, but it is reflective of much of the experience up to this point. Life moves at a different pace over here-- especially in a small town like Bishqem. Bishqem has a population of about 1,600 people. Nearly every business in town-- the two gas stations, two restaurants, a clothing store, the general store, a pool hall, and a few other odds and ends are scattered directly along the main highway that runs through town. The school and community health center are also on this road. The Shembin river runs just south of the highway. Between the highway and the ridge line on the north side of the valley are most of the homes that make up Bishqem. As best as I can tell, most people in the town are farmers-- many of them at the subsistence level, I'd imagine. The town provides for all of your practical needs, but not too much more.
As it is, our schedule stays plenty full. We have language classes four days a week in Bishqem itself at the school (want to feel like a celebrity without all the hassles of fame? Be the American walking through a school yard in the developing world. Problem solved.), after which we get lunch and then spend most of the afternoon and evening studying the language. Two days a week, we take the 25 minute ride into Elbasan to meet all of the volunteers and have classes on culture, health, and, of course, language.
In amongst all this, though, there are many coffee breaks, the lazy lunches, the Elbasan happy hours, and then a couple more coffee breaks. Aside from the stresses that come with living in a new place and learning a new language, I find myself very relaxed nearly all of the time. Life certainly isn't perfect-- I crave moments away from the sounds of the highway, the five feet that separate me from death by semi-truck on every walk through town don't exactly enhance my state of zen, and the trash-- guh, the trash-- gets old. But all told, this has been a wonderful introduction to my new (temporary) home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)