(note...i was waiting to post this post until i got a picture of the marines we were lucky enough to eat with, but it hasn't made it my way, so i'm posting pa-picture...)
so it's been a while..a little over two months ago I sort of realized that it was time for me to get out more..do some travelling, visit some volunteers and get to see more of the country...so in a nutshell, that's what i've been up to..
a few weeks back i went to fier..got to hang out with quite a few volunteers there and had a great time. quick thanks to susan for hosting...and chris and kristEn for hanging out...one of the things i like most about peace corps are the conversations i have with the other volunteers, learning more about them and what they've accomplished...i'm lucky to be surrounded by some amazing people...
more recently, we had thanksgiving in tirana...fortunately for the volunteers we had the opportunity to be hosted by american families or the marines for dinner...a group of four of my friends..they treated us like royalty..which was weird, because usually when you're around servicemen you want to do the work for them...the food was amazing as well...all in all it was as best a substitute for being home that i could've hoped for...
oh, and before the festivities we also got to play a little football...i think this game is an annual tradition, and the volunteers hadn't won in the past..but we put together a good squad and pulled out the win..had we played tackle i think the marines would've had the advantage...but we represented for the finessers our there...here are some pics..
so i watched this movie for the first time and the quote just stuck for me...the movie is based on a short story by f.scott fitzgerald, and i guess this sorta sparks a little interest in me to read books other than non-fiction...
"For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, start whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people who have a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."
i guess the scary thing is the thought of starting over again...but if that's what it takes, that's what you gotta do
so i have a post all good and ready for to explain what i did on thanksgiving..just waiting for a picture from a friend before i post...so don't worry..i did something..missed the normal celebration from the states...but still had fun..
in any case...it's starting to get much colder here...i woke up this morning and it was mid forties in my house...i'm guessing that means outside it was high 30's....it's been really brisk here lately...reminds me of a few winter days i've spent in nebraska...difference being, i don't have a heater in my house..i can get one..and may once it gets really cold..but for now i'm saving money on electricity, and i can stand it...as long as you guys can stand to hear me complain..
one thing i always took for granted was socal weather...i'd been in freezing temperatures before, and deserts...and i hate deserts...now i realize it's much different to visit cold...and to live in the cold...it affects a lot more things than you realize...
for instance..i workout in my apartment, using some weights i bought and a pull up bar i brought from home, with my personal trainer, tony horton...(if you don't get the reference, google it)...anyway...now that the weather is so cold in my apartment, when i workout, my tile floors gather up all the moisture in the room and get extremely slippery...i figured i could work my way around it until recently when i almost fell and busted me head open..so i bought this wonderful rug for 20 bucks, and now i feel a bit more safe...
on top of that, the cold air really does a number on my endurance, lungs and appearance...take a look at this shot, post workout, i felt and looked a bit like nick nolte from the old pic...
finally, here's a picture of my windows crying cuz it is sooooooo cold outside...haha..
i recently visited some friends in albania and one of the things we talked about are the changes we had to adapt to when we first arrived, and how we feel about those type of occurrences now...on my ride home from this short visit i began to think about things that we now pretty much percieve as "normal" and don't give a second thought about:
...i recently visited my host family - my parting gift? a bag full of oranges, and about 2 liters of homemade jelly complete with the smuckers cap on the glass bottle...why 2 liters and not say, .5 liters? your guess is better than mine...
...on my way home from visiting a few friends i arrived at the bus stop about 1/2 hour early so as not to miss the bus...i've heard of volunteers arriving only to find out the bus left early cuz it was full...so, upon arrival i see that the bus isn't there yet...
...so i stop in a little shop to enjoy some pilaf and two small sausage type things and a drink called salep, sorta like cocoa, but not...get the bill...250 leke...being that i've been in albania for 8 months i quickly realize that i'm being overcharged by at least 50 leke (about 50 cents)...and being me, i just pay and go on my way cuz i'm not going to argue about that 50 leke...next time i will just ask for the price upfront...
...while i was eating the 8 am bus arrives...i make my way over at about 7:50 and quickly notice that nobody is there for the bus besides about 4 other people..what this means here is that the bus isn't leaving anytime soon...but then a smaller bus/van pulls up and appears to be willing to take the 4 passengers on the ride home..this makes sense to me, so i grab my bag off the bigger bus and head towards the smaller bus, only to notice that nobody has gotten on...after a brief discussion, nobody gets on and the smaller bus drives away...people here have loyalty once committed to a bus or van, and will tend not to make a switch, even if it means waiting another couple hours for a bigger bus to move everyone..
...by this point i figure i should check out the taxi situation since they only cost 100 leke more (one dollar) and arrive in about 3/4 of the time...i notice that there is one lady waiting for a taxi, and this means we would only need one more person to have a full taxi and be able to leave...
...so we wait...two guys get in, only to get out about 5 seconds after we turn on the engine when they find out we'll be taking the "old road" since the new road (which isn't that much shorter or safer) is flooded...
...so we wait some more..finally we get one more person and my original 8 am bus plans have now changed to 9:30...which isn't terrible since i've spent the last hour and a half listening to "the invisible guerilla" audiobook...and now i feel much smarter and more aware....
...one final detour though, before we leave town, our driver stops for a good 20 minutes at a store because he is going to do some travelling and needs to print his ticket out at some travel agency...again, par for the course...
so you may ask, is that normal? i think the answer you'll get from 90% of volunteers here is that no, that's not normal, its actually an easy morning
The most common question I get from people back home is....what do you do? At this point I can't report too much on what I've done...I've been in Gramsh since June and I've only really been working on language and integration into the community. I've developed some ideas for future projects, but nothing concrete has happened yet besides some translation projects, and assisting with the special olympics back in June...so I figured, instead of reporting on what I am doing, I can tell you what I'm not doing to give you a feel of life here:
I DON'T:
1. cross street without looking both ways twice...
Albanian drivers like to go fast..and here i'd say it's pretty clear that cars rule the road, not pedestrians, even in crosswalks.
2. walk without looking down...
Gramsh has no shortage of holes in the ground, usually from a missing cover or drain hole of some sort.poops and holes..In addition, humans share the sidewalk (on occasion) with horses and donkeys..so unless you want to step in a big pile of _____ keep your head down.
3. expect anything other then no holds barred honesty when it comes to appearance...
I've been in Gramsh for about 5 months and I've been told I have a big nose, my beard is ugly and I should shave it and I'm skinny. I also heard a girl talking on the bus say I was smelly and dirty...I don't think she knew I understood, and I actually didn't understand she was talking about me until I got on the next bus and smelled myself, and got home from my long week of traveling and looked in the mirror...I smelled, and my hair looked like I was on my way to dreads...In any event, when it comes to appearance albanians really have no fear in telling it like it is..but it's not a problem for me...i know my nose is slightly larger than normal :). I know some people don't like my beard, and I know I'm skinny at the moment...lol, and it just so happens, that day I was smelly and dirty...I was out of site for a week and hadn't been able to shower in a couple days due to the water being out one morning, and traveling early the next...haha
4. change my work outfit more than twice a week...
one custom that I've picked up on in the past week is wearing the same outfit to work, usually for the entire week straight..i like this and think we should do it in america...for one, it's not like we wash our clothes after every time we wear them...and i the only one who struggles to keep track of how many times I wore an outfit before I wash it? i don't think so...plus in the winter we don't really take off our jackets anyway...
5. shave more than twice a week..
hence the beard...there is nothing i'd rather do in the morning than not shave...call me lazy, i've never been a big fan of it...plus, in the winter i'm trying to keep my face warm...
6. expect to get money when i go to the bank...
when we first came we were told tales of people stuffing their mattresses with money, and not trusting the banks..of course it probably has a lot to do with the choas surrounding the collapse of the pyramid schemes in 1997...but it could also have a little something to do with the fact that about half the time, ATMs are out of money...at least in my experience..in my town of Gramsh i'd say I have a 50% success rate in getting money out of the ATM...
7. light a barbecue correctly
my sitemate kim made the awesome purchase of an old school barbecue..problem is, neither of us really have much experience lighting one...i mean, it's not gas, we don't have lighter fluid, and the charcoals are giving us problems...i take full responsibility for my lack of manliness...so far we're 1 for 2...
I guess I'll stop at 7...so for those who saw my last post it included a video of a performance, but it was really dark...i've updated it a bit and it's a lot lighter now..and i also made a video of our practices...so for those who would like to watch...enjoy...
just a quick note here...one of the reasons i joined the peace corps was to improve myself, to challenge myself and to put myself in uncomfortable situations...last week we had what is known as a language refresher where all the volunteers from our group got together to refresh our language skills and just hang out and see how everyone is doing...
part of the language refresher included a talent show...this was a way for us to have some fun and laugh a bit as a big group...i participated along with a few friends which is something i would have never done in the states...and it turned out to be a great time...here's the link...if anyone knows how to improve the brightness, let me know...
i've always considered myself to be a person to focus on the positive rather than the negative..and so when peace corps had me feeling like a lemon i made some lemonade...to escape the funk i had three friends over last weekend...we did what most people in albania do, eat, drink, and be merry...it was great to hang out and make fun of each other, and talk about problems/issues with work in addition to opportunities and successes...but that weekend ended and i decided i actually wanted to get out of gramsh this time...so i decided to visit my fellow group 13ers kumar and brittany...it takes about 6.5 hours of travel time plus maybe an hour or so of walking/wait time to get over to where they live fush arrez from gramsh...but it was def. worth the trip...
it was nice to hear stories from both kumar and brittany and catch up on time lost since we all went our separate ways after training...the first night kumar let me know that there were some wedding celebrations in town, and he was invited...these wedding celebrations are simply music blasting all day long, and people congregating to dance whenever there was enough around for a group...typically at night these dances grow...this particular night it happened to be raining, but it only made the dancing that much more fun...needless to say we had a couple beers and a shot or 2 of raki to get loosened up...but when we hit the dance parties we brought the thunder...haha, not really..but everyone had a good time...kumar and brittany live in a small village with about 2500 people i believe...it seems as though kumar and brittany are semi-celebrities, so the wedding parties def. appreciated our attendance...
i didn't get any pictures partly cuz the rain, and partly cuz i've never been good at remembering to take pictures, but we made our way back to kumars house and passed out shortly after...
like i said though, it was nice to see a different version of peace corps in albania...
oh yea, my beard is starting to fill in pretty good as well...
so if you broke out time here into four classes we'd just be entering our sophomore year...(7th month of 27)...prior to coming to peace corps i read extensively about the difficulties of living in a different culture and a different country and with a different language...and pretty much everything i read talked about a magical sixth month mark where around that time homesickness really sets in...i think i had my hard period shortly after arriving back from the states, and then again a couple weeks ago...but so far i've gotten through it, and i know i'm not going anywhere...
recently i spoke to other volunteers about the challenges they're facing as well, and low and behold...the sophomore slump pretty much holds true...not everyone goes through it...(i didn't think i would)...but many do..and it's normal, and i guess that's the most important thing to keep in mind..it's normal to question our choices...
the challenges in Albania are very different than many other peace corps countries i'd guess...although we all share the new culture...new language..seclusion...in albania we have hot water...we have internet...we have phones...so it's not all bad...but just cuz our challenges are different doesn't make them any easier...for instance...quite possibly if i was in another less developed country, i wouldn't quite mind if the pace of work was so slow...but being here, it can get really frustrating, because being the optimist that i am, and that i know other volunteers are as well...i see great opportunity for albania...and the people here...but sometimes i'm not quite sure they see the same...it's hard to always keep things in perspective and remember that the borders here were closed for so long...and they lived in a communist govt until the early nineties....and then they had the terrible ponzi scheme crash in the late nineties...and i'm sure all these things add to the reason things are the way they are....
but i'm not on here to complain...just wanted to lend some perspective to those curious about what we go through here, and the challenges...if you want details of course feel free to send me an email...
so, what to do? well, i'm going to keep working...i'm going to branch out a bit and work with other individuals and organizations outside of the bashkia while still spending the majority of my time at the bashkia...i think this will rejuvenate me a bit and allow me to take on some small projects...
as for what projects: one idea i've thrown around is working on getting some funding for the local gym...how convenient you might think since i'm a gym rat...well, p90x has brought the gym home..but before i got the p90x videos i did go to the gym, and i noticed that a slight upgrade to the equipment would be nice..then, in telling my sitemate kim about the gym she asked if any girls ever go...and having the gender roles and separation that albania does, girls do not go...so my idea is to try and secure some funding for some equipment upgrades on the contingency that they set aside a certain amount of time each day so that only women, or girls can go in and use the equipment...of course i have to see if this is something the girls are even interested in...and it might take quite a bit of legwork...but that's the what's what of what i am looking to do as far as branching out goes...
i'd like to apologize to myself, my friends and my family for something i regularly took part in not to long ago...rocking a wifebeater to the gym....what was i thinking? my mom recently sent me a package which included one of those old school wifebeaters...i put it on shortly after, wore it around the house, and began thinking what a tool i must have looked like at the gym in a pair of shorts and this undergarmet...prime-time, i was ready for jersey shore and gtl before jersey shore and gtl....for those who don't know (Gym, Tan, Laundry)...
So I’ve had this idea for some time now to write a blog about my desire to marr (to take/get) certain things from home…before going to albania I had seen people’s peace corps blogs from all over the world, including Albania, and many time they had a small wish list on the side of things they want, but can’t seem to get here…or are just too expensive on a volunteers “salary” maybe tidings would be a better word? Maybe not…
Anyway, after being in Albania for six months I’m finally ready to post my address and make some requests…so here goes:
Xhefi Knoche
Vullnetar ne Korpusin e Paqes
Bashkia Gramsh, Qyteti Gramsh
Albania
What I want…
…
pictures – pictures of you, pictures of me, pictures of us…I currently have a wall that I’m turning into a monster collage, and I can’t do it without your help…so please print out your favorite pics of you, me or us over the years and send them my way…in fact, it doesn’t even have to be a picture of you me or us…just a picture that will trigger a memory of you me or us…
in addition to the shrine on my wall….i’d like to put together a slideshow on my computer when I get time here, so if you can, send me a disc if some pictures as well….thanks!
the great news about this wish is that you’re coming off easy on the wallet if you were planning on sending me a package…I think you can get away with a few pictures and cd in a regular size envelope for about 1/20th the price it would be to send a package…
videos of my nieces/nephews/cousins/even friends and family I guess dancing or singing to new popular music – why do I want this? For one, I’m missing out on popular music, and I was just introduced to Justin bieber’s “baby” today when watching a video of my neice on youtube doing her American idle addition….it was awesome! My heart melted…needless to say I watched it about 3 more times, and not just cuz I like the Justin bieber song….
I guess that’s about it for now…thanks again to everyone for all the support!
Challenges, challenges, challenges….coming into my sixth month in albania I’m facing a new kind of challenge…a new kind of distraction….myself...it’s like I’m taking care of a 4 year old kid that I keep telling no, but he keeps doing what I don’t want him to anyway…sorry mom, now I know what you must have felt like when you always asked me to do the dishes, and I said “no problem” and then never did them…
I’m trying to maintain a balance....some work, some play…and some nothing…just for my brain’s sake…but I’m currently struggling to find the balance…on occasion I can’t resist watching a good old American movie…I tell myself, well, I’ll watch about 30 minutes of a movie while I eat dinner…then two hours later I’m kicking myself…or I watch an American movie with Albanian subtitles to try a new form of “studying” only to realize thirty minutes into the movie that I look at the subtitles about once every 5 minutes...or how about telling myself I’ll wake up early in the morning to do my workout, that way in the afternoon I’ll have more time to spend our “IRB’ing” intentional relationship building….well, that doesn’t quite work at 6 in the morning when I’m cold, and convince myself that I’m tired and I should head back to bed so I’m not tired at work…or telling myself I’m going to write a blog when I get home from work, and upload it the next day, only to find that I haven’t done either…
Fortunately, the idea for this blog came up about a week or so ago when I was getting frustrated with myself and my lack of discipline…even more fortunate is the fact that so far I’m one day into my new found discipline….blog, done…morning workout, done…
when coming to Albania this wasn’t one of the challenges I expected to face, but I guess it makes sense…we’re at the “6-month” mark…the mark that is notorious for making volunteers head home…I didn’t think much of it prior to experiencing it…I haven’t truly wanted to go home..but I have noticed a struggle..not just within me, but within other volunteers….this six month thing is no joke…but I think we’ll get through it…one day at a time….tomorrow’s plan for discpline? – workout….review flash cards…add thirty new words… I’ll let you know how it goes…
4663 might look strange to some people…but if you put it in your old-fashioned phone, you know the kind without the keyboard…the simple kind with predictive text, not an entire keyboard on something that fits in your pocket and tends to be too small for even a baby’s fingers, you’ll get a series of words…the two most important for this blog are “HOME” and “GONE”…oh how very ironic that as I was texting some of my friends that I was now “home” in the predictive text 1st was “gone”…even more ironic since I was just contemplating whether or not I was really “home” now…I’m not really sure I know for sure…but for the time being, I think Albania is my home…what makes it my home? My routine…the one thing that has brought me comfort for so long…ROUTINE…I love routine and the comfort it affords…i used to love the fact that everytime I shaved I would start on the right side of my face, just underneath my sideburn and go from there…I used to love the fact that everyday afterwork I’d do some sort of exercise and get home around 8 pm…but that’s not what I came to Albania for..a while back I never even noticed that I always shaved the same way..but then I was reading a book, or more likely watching a movie..probably a comedian who said that I probably did…and he was right…and all the sudden…I didn’t like my routine? Why? Because it’s the routine that makes the days seem like a blur…it’s the routine that turned my 1st week at site to my 10th week at site before I knew it…it’s the routine that leads me one week away from being 28….i came here to be uncomfortable…I came here to break my routine…but my oh so short trip back to the US allowed me to look at my time here and realize that I’m breaking into routine again…as soon as I got home and had some time to think I realized how uncomfortable I felt…not with my friends, or my family..but with being “home” in America…all of the sudden I had these urges to live like I once had…to spend money like I used to make it…shortly after arriving home I did some grocery shopping to pick up some things people requested and a few things that I figured I’d bring back for myself..and 3 bags later (ONLY 3 BAGS)…I had spent almost two hundred dollar…thank god I’m a ralph’s club member and the big wigs at ralph’s now know everything I put in my cart..otherwise it woulda been $230 bucks..it didn’t hit me until a day later…but that’s just not me anymore…that can’t be me….i’m used to eating rice and beef for breakfast for about a dollar twenty and thinking that’s expensive…I’m used getting a scoop of icecream for 30 cents…I’m used to seeing a feather on my egg and thinking “wow these eggs are fresh”..and not “oh somebody didn’t clean my eggs”…these differences lead me to believe that Albania is currently my home, but my oh too comfortable home…I don’t want it to be comfortable..i don’t want my days to be routine, and I don’t want to finish these two years thinking “oh where did the time go?”
so now I’m going to make it a point to shave in some random spot on my face…I’m going to make it a point to spend some time working with Albanians in their fields to truly understand where my fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat come from…maybe I’ll sleep in the living room every now and again…and maybe sometimes I won’t sleep at all and watch the sunrise…I want to continue to grow and learn and to make my days mean something more than what’s presented to me…I want to present something to myself…
Soooo…it’s wedding season in Albania..and yes, this reminds me of one of my favorite vince Vaughn movies of all time…although, I think I’ll have to go with the darkhorse and say “Made” is my favorite…
Anyway, it just allows me to talk about cultural context a bit…something that is going to start happening every week for the rest of the summer is a procession of cars driving down the main roads honking their horns while driving about 3 mph….i have yet to see anybody ghost ride the wip, although I’m sure it would be a hit, I’m not going to introduce the idea because of the inherent danger behind it, I have seen a 3 or 4 year old sitting in the front seat on the fathers lap steering while the father controls the acceleration….but back on topic..initally I was shocked by this practice, and surprised that none of the villagers were annoyed by such an event…
But two things hit me today that helped me put things back cultural context…1st off, somebody was bumping a wedding song this morning at about 7 pm…and by bumping I mean I think their apartment was down the street but I could still here it…the important thing here is that it’s a song about weddings/marriage and nobody in town seemed to mind…I figured if nobody would mind, I wouldn’t either, and decided that would be my alarm clock for the day…
The second occurance happened while I was getting my first real deal Albanian haircut…I believe I have the traditional American fade, with the Albanian twist of the hair in the back bottom not being cut but rather matching the top of the fade to create a semi Mohawk…I’m not sure though since I don’t have a mirror to check the back…but anyway, the traditional celebration of cars driving past, honking their horns announcing the marriage of a new couple (which reminds me..quick insert…gay marriage is legal in Albania…that’s not to say that no discrimination occurs…but hats off to Albania for getting that done and for future progress)…but what I noticed was not only the barder and the people in the shop not annoyed, but they stopped what they were doing to smile, watching the procession and wave to the newlyweds....
And that’s where cultural context comes in….in albania, from what I’ve seen..many woman, and even many men continue to live with their families until they get married…so not only is it a great day that two people decided to spend the rest of their lives together…but, you also have all these other life changing events/coming of age ceremonies happening…this in addition to how close knit the communities are (I’m a bit ashamed to admit at times during my life I didn’t even know the names of my neighbors)…it all makes sense in the context of culture…
so i've been pretty unimpressed and unmotivated in my blog writing..turns out, i'm not much of a writer if i can't even get through my posts...so i'm thinking of trying something new..summarizing better and keeping it short and simple...
today's list..things to get used to in albania
1. sweating in the morning, at work, in the afternoon, and at night - the summers are hot, and there isn't much ac around...just one of those things i've gotten used to...it's not uncommon to show up to work and litterly have to wipe sweat from my brow for about 15 minutes before i cool down, and wait for the next sweat session to begin..
2. extra long handshakes - it is not uncommon for an albanian to hold your hand for an extended period of time after shaking it and talking...this can be awkward, but i'm getting used to it..
2a. the bro shake - this is the handshake where each party invovled fingers are pointed toward the sky rather than parallel to the ground...sort of like a grip for an armwrestling match...this is only awkward when i don't know it's coming and i motion for a regular shake and get the bro shake..it's especially unexpected when it comes from an elder, although that's not uncommon here..fortunately i have plenty of practice with awkward handshakes in the states, and i can just play the american card here...
3. sitting, waiting, wishing - there can be a lot of downtime in albania...sometimes i'll go to a cafe with my counterpart and we'll sit for a bit in silence after we finish our drinks..typically, i like to get up and go do what's next, and i initially thought we only sat in silence because of my relatively limited shqip...but after sitting with my counterpart and his friends, i noticed this is common...just something to get used to..after long it won't be awkward silence..it'll just be time to think...
4. buying fresh vegetables, fruits, and bread - back home i'd go to the grocery store about once every two weeks...here, it's necessary to go about once every three days..but this isn't a problem since everyday when i walk home from work i pass all the food stands i need to stop at...and i'm actually getting fresh, organic food for cheap...(i think)....my diet has changed a bit..and there isn't much fast food here, but this is something i can grow to love...
5. understanding half the words of a sentence, and trying to decode it as soon as possible...if you've read my blog posts you know i constantly talk about studying..even so..no matter how many words i know, my ear hasn't quite caught up to my brain..when an albanian speaks at a normal speed the word tend to blend together..so i do my best to pick out the words i understand and decipher the meaning of the sentence...this tends to work most of the time, but i need to be careful with certain conversations to make sure i understand...in due time though..i will understand everything...or i'll waste all my time trying..
It’s been a bit of time between blogs so I figured I’d hit you all up with the latest happenings in gramsh and Albania in general…got to do a little bit of camping last week on a beach in a town called divjak with some fellow peace corps friend…about 12 of us..it was a good time..we had our mini 4th of july party complete with sparklers and even some fireworks..it was cool to do something to celebrate the 4th although it is hard to live up to the traditions I’ve gotten used to in el Segundo..pregaming at drews…finding a way to Hermosa and making it back to el Segundo to see the awesome fireworks show…blurry or not….
Anyway, that was last weekend…things at work have been going pretty much the same..i spend the days studying the language and interacting with my Albanian collogues…I’m picking up more and more of the language, and feeling more and more comfortable using it…I’m thinking when I come back to visit for haas’ wedding in august I’ll give you guys a little taste on what I’ve aquired so far…
I guess that’s the next piece of major news..i was granted special permission to leave the country a bit earlier than the “3 months after training” policy thanks to my program manager and our country director…it comes with a slight penalty, but it’s bearable and I’m excited to make it back for the wedding… and see as many people as I can in the short 5 or 6 day window I’ll have in the states..planning on making it down to the tavern on Friday, august 6th if you want to catch up for a minute..haha
I’m getting more and more settled into my apartment and slowly but surely it’s becoming my home..i’ve also been trying to establish some sort of routine..peace corps says it helps with the homesickness/sadness/etc. during the 1st 6 months of service, which are supposed to be the worst…I’ve fared pretty well so far and am thankful of that…living and working in another country is hard enough as it is without the added sadness of missing home…so, that’s been going well…
Soccer is huge all over the world, and it’s pretty huge in Albania as well…all the café’s/restaurants put up tvs especially for the world cup..you might not think that’s such a big deal, but keep in mind that a tv here is a lot more expensive relatively than a tv in the states…so I’ve done my far share of watching the world cup..it’s unfortunate that the US lost, but it just didn’t look like they were ever really ready to play…from an amateurs perspective at least…
Gonna try to post some pics on facebook and update the blog more regularly so keep checking back!
So, “pune” in Albanian is “work” in English…so far I’ve been in to work at the local municipality a handful of times…currently my counterpart and Iare waiting for our office to be completed…originally we were waiting for computers…now we’re waiting for tables..the computers were supplied by USAid, an NGO that does a lot of work around the world, and has done a lot of work in Albania..Gramsh is also part of another USAid project that I hope to collaborate with once I get my feet wet here and have a better understanding of the city and the people…
So far my days are spent learning Albanian (which I’m very lucky to be able to do at work, otherwise I’d have to spend 3 hours at home after work studying), going to coffees with my new coworkers, and sometimes grabbing a bite to eat with my coworkers..the work culture in Albania is much different than in the US in many ways, but in many ways is also very similar…whereas in the US people will take time for themselves at there desks to surf the internet, or take personal phone calls under the radar, in Albania, these breaks are with their coworkers, whether for coffee, a bite to eat, or a quick trip to pick up some shoes…
Maybe by American standards this wouldn’t be acceptable to do something like this out in the open…but what makes American standards the holy grail?I’m beginning to really appreciate many aspects of Albanian culture that are quite different from what I’m used to…it’s not rare for my to walk into a store only to find the shop owner/worker in the store next to his conversing with a fellow shop owner..it seems that personal relationships are very important here…more important than work…sometimes I think people lose sight of that in the US...just food for thought…
In the same vein, I was at the local gym (it’s no 24 hour fitness, but I’m lucky to have one at all) and I was talking to a couple of high school kids who know the current volunteers in gramsh who are leaving…anyway, while talking they asked me if I liked Albania..I said yes, and they had a hard time believing me…then they asked me what my favorite city was in Albania, and I said that I really like gramsh…again, they had a hard time believing me…What about Tirana?? The kid asked me. Tirana is Albania’s capital and isactually very similar to many big cities in the US or around the world…not exactly LA, but close..anyway, I explained to him that Tirana was my least favorite city that I’ve been to in Albania..he didn’t understand why since there are so many thingsto do in Tirana..i explained that I don’t like crowded places, I don’t like traffic and I don’t like heat associated with big cities…”but there’s so much to do…” I guess it’s one of those grass is greener things…or maybe not, maybe that’s just his preference and not mine…
Anyway, over the next few weeks if not months I expect to do a lot of studying, start on a few small projects at work, and try to integrate into the community…will keep you posted..
so, I cant remember if I mentioned this in my last blog, and I’m not currently online so I cant check, but I am now at site in gramsh..i made it to site on Sunday, unpacked, cleaned a bit and worked on Monday..unpacked and cleaned some more..then needed to head for the capital city to help assist with the special Olympics. It was a great experience and I’m already looking forward to next year when my shqip is better and I can communicate with the people there that much more…the events they had were basketball, soccer, bowling and running…they had different groups from cities across the country…I assisted with the younger kids from a large city called durres..i had a lot of fun..and will be back to participate next year for sure..
funny story though, in order to make the games in time on the first day my site mate and I had to take the 5 am bus to Tirana…normally this wouldn’t be a problem…but with all the travel, and all the activities taking place over the last few weeks..including moving into my apartment that I had to clean..i was exhausted..my intention was to wake up at 3:50, plug in the hot water heater…go back to bed..wake up at 4:20 and shower…then bounce for the bus stop at about 4:40…my first alarm worked fine..i woke up, went into the bathroom, but then decided that I’d rather sleep than shower…so I went back to my room and thought I changed my alarm..and went back to bed…then at 4:50 I get a text from my sitemate kim (she’s awesome btw)..that she had to get on the bus since it was raining..realizing I was super late and would have to run across town I quickly jumped out of bed…
I live on the 4th floor of a brand new apartment building (in fact I think I’m the only one in the entire 7story building since the apartments aren’t quite done yet)…with marble floors..well, it had been drizzling that morning and when I got to the steps leading to the streeet (full sprint)..there was a lady entering the building, she turned right in front of where I was going..i tried to change direction on slippery stairs and went downflat…she proceeded to yell at my in shqip..i finally got up and realized she was telling me to go to the hospital…I told her (Jam mire) I’m fine…got up and ran across town to the bus…made it to the bus a couple minutes after 5…I think I was running a six minute mile pace with a backpack packed for 3 days on..lol..needless to say..my lower back is still a bit sore…
I’ll try to post pics of my pad and my pain on facebook soon now that I have an internet café relatively close…which also means I’ll be on skype..so if any of you guys wanna hollar let me know when you’re on..it’s looking like during the week I’ll typically be on around 7 pm my time when I go to internet…I can make appts. For the weekend….
i feel like it's been an eternity since my last post..these last few weeks of training have been pretty hectic and nearly all of our time had been accounted for until just last week..this week we've had a bit more free time on our hands, and as such, we've spent a lot of it together..there are 50 of us, and we know that once we all leave for our permanent sites we won't be seeing each other nearly as much..it's definitely bittersweet..we're all ready to get started working, but it'll be hard to just leave these 49 other people behind after spending so much time with them over the last 10 weeks...
so, we have our swear in this thursday...then i get to go to my future site...once i get there i'll have fairly regular internet access, so i'll be able to e-mail/skype more regularly....and will definitely be expecting some calls...
anyway, just wanted to give everyone a quick update since it had been a while...
talk to you all soon!
ps..almost forgot to mention, with all the time i spent on studying shqip, i actually somehow did a fairly decent job on the language test..i scored in the "intermediate medium" range...not sure how it happened, but i'll take it...
finally got to put my newly bought basketball to use with some other volunteers and one albanian kids...good time..it was nice to just get out, run, and play a fun game...nice stresss free sunday...
as part of our training we have to do a project in our home town...my group put together something at the local school with the 8th and 9th graders...we're going to have them draw pictures of their favorite things about their town...we didn't have a lot of time to put the project together, but the idea is to get them thinking about their community as a home and place to stay and have a community...our town is so small it doesn't have it's own government offices, and many business are actually in the town next store...many of the people go to other cities to work, so hence the idea of getting them to think about their own town as a place to live and work...obviously it's a lot more complicated, and if there are no jobs in town they can't really stay...but i think peace corps wants us to get used to planning, mapping, and then executing projects...
many more projects to come...have met a few more of the current volunteers and they are all pretty cool....SOOOO FAR SOOOO GOOOD...
one last note, i might be getting a dog at my site from the current volunteer there that is leaving..we shall see, but that might be kinda cool...i was hesistant until i heard the phrase, he'll keep you warm in the winter...i'm nearly sold...
just went to my first albanian wedding...took a few pictures and a few videos..hopefully you can see the circle dancing in one of my videos..here, or on facebook....about the 4th circle dance into the wedding (turns out there were about 30..no really, 30)...my host mom got me up and she had the band play a song, and she made me lead the circle dance...oh dear was it tough trying to learn the foot movements on the spot...but, whatever is clever..i wouldn’t even have done that in america...but now maybe i will...haas and brit..watch out for my circle moves at your wedding....anyway.after the circle dance we had food...about 5 courses..and for some reason, i got two of every course...maybe cuz i’m american....or maybe everyone did and i didn’t notice...either way, everyone was very nice..and we cheers’ed (gezuar’ed - yes mikey you were right) a bunch of times...the wedding was lots of fun...very similar and different from an american wedding...the groom (and i presume his family) were there for about 3 hours of the 5 or so hour event...i think there are actually two or three separate ceremonies..i believe this was the first one...the first is for the bride’s family.my host mom was the sister of the father of the bride...anyway...it was a lot of fun, and i’m glad i made it there..check here or my facebook for videos/pictures of the wedding, and picture me leading a circle dance....
4/19/10
short and sweet..my blogs have been sparse and short because i spend every waking moment i have trying to do something productive..mainly learn the language..a couple of my trainee friends have blogs as well..i will try to post the links before you guys lose interest, i just haven’t had the time...
noticed the dodgers aren’t looking too good..haven’t heard anything about the nba playoffs other than garnet getting ejected or something...
speaking of sports...been watching a lot of great soccer over here...very talented players...i just cannot handle all the dives....it’s almost embarassing to see a premier player, on a premier team, in a premier league fall down and grab his ankle when the reply shows he wasn’t even touched...such is soccer, still some exciting moments i guess
travelled to elbasan today to check the internet/mail/etc. and saw that a few people had commented on my blogs to keep me updated on what's happening in the states! thanks...
also purchased a basketball...which is a little out of my price range as a volunteer, but i can manage to be frugal in other areas over the next 3 weeks..and i figure the purchase will be well worth it...once i get back to my small town and go to the school i'm guessing after about 5 minutes of shooting around there will be enough kids there to play a full court game...it'll be good for a little cross cultural exchange..community integration...and i'll be able to practice my albanian...
as usual, things are going good...training is filled with events...lessons..and presentations...so i'm staying busy..add in studying and i'm pretty much working from morning until night...
we learn our site placements next week..which will be cool...my counterpart (my main contact at work) will most likely not speak much english...so learning albanian is even more important...some people are nervous, some are excited...i'd say i'm more excited than anything...i'll keep you guys posted on where i'm posted...
on a sad note..one of the volunteers broke her ankle while on a site visit, and since we're in the first stage of training she actually has to go home...it was a freak accident and it will be sad to see here leave...but i've already told her she has to come visit..and since there are 49 volunteers in our group, she'll have plenty of places to stay...
i’m having a tough time posting blogs since internet is sooo hard to come by...reliable internet at least..the internet cafe in town isn’t trusty enough to use my flash drive to upload blogs anymore..and as you can see from the format of my previous blogs, navigating the albanian keyboard and the albanian internet results in blogs posted with whatever title they’d let me use...
in any case..the only thing that may be harder to come by than reliable internet to post my blogs, is the time to actually write my blogs..my days are fairly simple, but full...basically it works like this...language class from 8-1...then either more training in other sectors after lunch, or more studying language after lunch...there simply isn’t enough time in the day...
i’ve tried to maintain some sort of physical activity so as not to drive myself crazy..i probably eat more calories during dinner here than i did all meals throughout the day in the US...i’m very lucky to have the fresh food that i’ve had from my host family...every dinner includes a salad with all the vegetables i could ask for...i usually get two separate plates with different meet and a carb to go with each meat...pilaf, potatoes, or spaghetti...some volunteers aren’t so lucky to have all the options i do...so i figure for the next ten weeks i’ll probably gain about 10-15 pounds..but once i get to site i’ll get back to my normal weight and hopefully a semi-normal workout routine...
communication with my host family and albanians has come a long way in the last few weeks and all of the studying and language classes are paying off, so that’s a plus...hopefully by the end of the 10 weeks i’ll be able to take my host dad out for “kafe” and hold a semi-decent conversation....that’s my goal..to know enough albanian to really thank my host family...
anyway..just wanted to give you guys a quick update..missing everyone, haven’t been to espn.com in weeks, lol, so i’m out of the loop on all my sports...
this weekend we’re having site visits with currently serving volunteers and apparently i lucked out and am going to a pretty cool city...sooo, we’ll see how it goes...that’s all for now...
4/3 i think/10
just got to an internet cafe that has wireless...movie on in the background...1 st movie...see no evil, here no evil...a classic with richard pryor and gene wilder that not many people know about, i brought it to albania...next movie, freddy got fingered, staring, tom green..gotta love it
first day of class...4 hours of language didn’t get me quite as far as i’d expected, and only reinforced the fact that i’m going to have to work even harder outside of class to get this language down...i can’t imagine having to learn an entirely new alphabet like volunteers in other countries...only 1 different letter, and 9 other combinations of english letters make up the 36 letter albanian alphabet...
so after language class today and brief walk around our town...bisquem.i was back home studying more language..for about 3 and a half hours...fortunately my host mom sat with me the entire time to help me pronounce the words correctly...the second part of memorizing the language is actually pronouncing it right...i was so thankful to have her next time me correcting me and helping me along the way...turns out she is very very smart and used to work as a doctor or a nurse....she pulled out the stethoscope to help me understand..one day i’ll be able to get that information from a conversation...
regardless, originally i thought joining the peace corps would give me some time to reflect and spend on myself...that time has yet to come..i’ll be diligently studying language with all my extra time in hopes of understanding the conversations that occur when i go out with my host father for kafe...
as for kafe...this is a major part of albanian culture..and this is one thing that i’ve merged into my life as a calbanian...in america i never drank coffee...here, i’ve had at least two small cups a day...i think they’re called expresso shots, maybe?i add a whole packet or sugar (sometimes two)..before i even think to drink it...btw, the packets are about twice the size of the american equal/splenda packs...pure sugar...haha...so far so good though...plus, i’m trying to socialize...
another alteration to my life as a calbanian has been the removal of working out...peace corps has encouraged us to continue some sort of a workout routine if we had one in the states...so as soon as i can settle in i’ll get back on it..possibly when i have been waking up (at 5 am, i’ve been going to bed at about 9 pm)....
that’ll be all for now...
actually, scratch that..while looking for a title song i decided i wanted to comment on something americans can learn from albanians...not once in my host family’s house have i seen a light on in a room they weren’t in....albanian tip for americans number 1...if you’re not in the room, turn off the lights...tv...etc..don’t be lazy
i’m just people watching other people watching me - jack johnson
so it’s 7:35 am on sunday morning...i’ve been up since about 5 am...got into my host family’s house yesterday afternoon and so far so good...my host father, Nazmi, is retired, he’s 62, and my host mother, Hava is a housewife, she’s 58...they call me jeffrey since that is how i filled out my peace corps app. and that’s how my name is written everywhere...
everything i had read about in blogs so far has been true...to recap:
*albanians are super hospitable...from the looks of things, my host family gave me their room and they’re sleeping in the guest room...pictures of my room to come...
*albania is cold..we’re not even in winter, and one of the PC staff was commenting on how great the weather is, and i, along with a few other volunteers, am cold...
*albanians love to feed you...so far i’ve had two meals with my host family, and i’ve walked away full both times..no need to worry about lack of food here...
*no central heating or insulation? no problem...i’m sitting in my room and it feels as if my window is open
*update: i was just in my room studying..and it’s sorta cold..so my host mom and dad set me up in the living room and they have the stove going to heat me up...they are tooo nice and i feel bad because i know in a normal circumstance they’d be saving that wood...once i learn how to speak better i will tell them that hosting me is nice enough and they don’t have to do all these extra things
other interesting things:
*my host family doesn’t speak a word of english..they have two boys who are between 24-28 (both married) who immigrated to italy to work...its been said that i will stand a better chance at learning the language since my host family doesn’t speak any english...so i’m excited for that...i’m also excited that i came to albania knowing about 500 words...these have proven to be extremely useful so far...
*there are 3 other voluteers within walking distance of me..no more than 10 minutes away..two within about 3 minutes...so i’m not too isolated...i’m sure we’ll get together at various points during training..
anyway, we just finished our staging in philidelphia...and are now sitting at the JFK airport waiting a few more hours for our flight to Albania...staging went great...i had heard different stories about it possibly being boring or long and tiresome...fortunately i sat at some pretty fun tables and met some pretty cool people..and i'm sure many other volunteers would agree that the MC kept it interesting...all in all it was a good time and has me pumped to go to albania..
a bit about my blog..i'm going to try and keep it short and sweet...i'm not big on reading, so i'm going to try not to be big on writing...expect a lot of bullet points..incomplete sentences, and bad grammar...hope you all enjoy..i also hope to put up more pictures to give a better idea and hope to make myself a cribs video at some point..we'll see when i have the time...
