What don't you do?

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...

progress is a slow process...

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...