so for those of you who haven't noticed...i gave my blog a little makeover...it had been a while since i posted anything, actually, since before new year's...so i had to get a post in before i let an entire month go with nothing...and while i was at it...i changed the layout a bit..
in any case...the new year has been good thus far in albania...i have had a few grant writing projects to work out, which although the translation part is a bore, improving the language, and the idea that i may be able to help this city acquire some funds does make me feel good...doing any kind of work really...
in january i also continued my quest to visit all the volunteer sites while i'm here in albania...so, i went with my sitemate kim to erseke where we visited with katie and marie...we had a good time there...its always nice to see what other cities have to offer...erseke is very small compared to gramsh, and not many people were out when we were there..it's supposed to be one of the colder cities where volunteers are placed, but we lucked out, and the weekend we were there i only needed to wear one pair of long johns..
the latest news in albania has been the demonstrations over the control of the democratic government...i'm not going to pretend to know the entire history, but i was able to watch things unfold live on television at my counterparts house...needless to say, it wasn't pretty...there were plenty of peaceful demonstrators, but there were also those who were throwing rocks, tipping over cars, and burning things...the question now looms whether or not the protests will continue, or if things will die down...today should be telling if the demonstrations continue, and how large they are...
for the time being the demonstrations have been limited to tirana, and i haven't had any concerns over my own safety (for those concerned)...
here are some articles on the news:
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/uneasy-calm-returns-in-albania-following-deadly-clashes
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albania-opposition-protester-clash-with-police
in any case...the new year has been good thus far in albania...i have had a few grant writing projects to work out, which although the translation part is a bore, improving the language, and the idea that i may be able to help this city acquire some funds does make me feel good...doing any kind of work really...
in january i also continued my quest to visit all the volunteer sites while i'm here in albania...so, i went with my sitemate kim to erseke where we visited with katie and marie...we had a good time there...its always nice to see what other cities have to offer...erseke is very small compared to gramsh, and not many people were out when we were there..it's supposed to be one of the colder cities where volunteers are placed, but we lucked out, and the weekend we were there i only needed to wear one pair of long johns..
the latest news in albania has been the demonstrations over the control of the democratic government...i'm not going to pretend to know the entire history, but i was able to watch things unfold live on television at my counterparts house...needless to say, it wasn't pretty...there were plenty of peaceful demonstrators, but there were also those who were throwing rocks, tipping over cars, and burning things...the question now looms whether or not the protests will continue, or if things will die down...today should be telling if the demonstrations continue, and how large they are...
for the time being the demonstrations have been limited to tirana, and i haven't had any concerns over my own safety (for those concerned)...
here are some articles on the news:
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/uneasy-calm-returns-in-albania-following-deadly-clashes
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albania-opposition-protester-clash-with-police
