This (last) Month in Pogradec: July

Technically speaking, my first stab at This Month in Pogradec is reaching you a little late. The categories could also use better organization and a little work, but thus it is. Please consider this a test run.

July Weather

-Do te besh plazh? Do te lash? (Literally: Will you do the beach? Will you bathe? Meaning: Will you go to the beach? Will you swim?)-

It is definitely time to go to the beach. The days are warm and there is plenty of sun. Swimming is hit or miss, however. The days have been warm, but it is often the warm that is closer to cool than it is to hot. A dip in the lake could be a little chilly.

-Shorts, Capris, or Jeans?-

Capris. Symbolically, of course. This is the time of year that you can comfortably wear shorts during the day, but you might get a little chilly wearing them in the evening. To hot for jeans but too cool for shorts? Yep. There's only one answer for that.

-You should polish those shoes. They are very: (a) muddy/ (b) dusty.-

B

-Cun Roll Height/Number of layers over this cun-

Roll that shirt, son! To the belly button.

-Cops: Albania comes to my house and busts down the door. The viewers at home get to see me wide eyed and staring into the camera while wearing my usual home attire, which consist of:-

Boxers and an undershirt.

Xhiro Crowd Watch-

Neighborhood in Detroit (Abandoned)

The crowd at a Duke football game (Sparse)

The evening performance of your local orchestra (Social)

Your favorite college town bar on a random Thursday night (Full) <----- July

Like a shopping mall on Black Friday (Overflowing)

Market Watch: Produce Edition. What's fresh?

Nectarines, Peaches, Tomatoes, Honeydew, Watermelon

Sunset?

7:30-8:00

Notes-

I was gone for most of the first two weeks of July and when I returned, the town was distinctly different. You start seeing some tourists and summer residents appearing in June, but July is when they begin making a noticeable impact on the city. Most of the changes are good. It is always fun to see a full beach or the busy xhiro or the live music in the evenings. Others, however, are not so good. The main roads are filled with traffic and the trash bins are overflowing with waste from all the new users. All in all, though, there is a fun energy that comes to Pogradec in the summer. While the climax of the tourism season won't come until August, July is the month when all the wheels start turning and all the lights are turned on.