pune = work

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 I  are 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 is  actually 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 things  to 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..

sometimes when you fall, you gotta get up and run your ass off...

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 4^th floor of a brand new apartment building (in fact I think I’m the only one in the entire 7 story 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 down  flat…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….

All for now…