Vlasti Earth-Festival

Amy, her friend Jess, and I took off early on a Thursday morning, catching a ride to the border from Gjirokastёr’s crowded national road. At the border Amy sweet-talked us a lift from two elderly xhaixhai [“uncles”, an endearing term we like to use a lot] on their way to Athens. The men, dressed smartly in their woolen suits and newsboy hats, happily dropped us off in Ioannina, where we passed the morning exploring the downtown castle/ lake area. This was the town where the infamous Albanian tyrant, Ali Pasha of Tepelene, actually resided— before modern borders. What remains is an old city wall encompassing a labyrinth of aging stone and modern homes, a Byzantine mosque, an Orthodox church, Pasha’s tomb, and various other ruins. The Old City is set against the lake, separated by a nicely paved biking/jogging path and promenade, with one end stretching out to a street of large, plush cafes.


Panoramic of the lakefront; Amy and Jess sitting on bench at left, nut-seller's stand on right



Sweets shop in Ioannina-- look at all that baklava! So enticing with various shapes, sizes, and stuffings... definitely my guilty pleasure!



Discarded Byzantine-era tombstone

We wandered around the outer castle walls, under the shade of the trees, and enjoyed the breeze blowing over the water. Inside the walls I played photographer and made some wax rubbings of discarded tombstones on my handmade paper, some of beautifully carved Arabic script and others of delicate Byzantine tulips and motifs. Afterward we sat for lunch on an open street where Amy and Jess split some souvlaki (meat skewers) and I sipped a watermelon smoothie, and we happened to catch the attention of a young Greek man at the next table. He wondered if we were couch surfers and what we were up to, when we mentioned that we want to get to Meteora he offered to drive us out to the new autostrad. Free lift? Of course! Just had to grab some ice cream to cool down on such a hot day while he finished his food, then we were off.


Former mosque during Ali Pasha's reign, now Byzantine Museum


Amy and Jess "Yiamas!"-ing with local wine (that's "to our health!")

We made our way into the mountains (and I mean literally INTO, because the new road is a super highway filled with tunnels, some that stretch as far as 5 km!) via a string of friendly drivers, one including a truck driver who simply could not comprehend my attempt at speaking Greek. Finally he pointed his thumb to his chest and bellowed “Turqishte!” Ohhh, Turkish… hmm… I looked over at Amy and said “we know some Turkish don’t we?” after which she exclaimed (shoulder shake and all) Marshallah! Kizmet! And a string of random words used through the once-Ottoman region. We all laughed at such silliness, an instant friendship was born.

Eventually we arrived at Meteora and settled comfortably in a simply-built family camp ground with full facilities. Not what I was expecting because of the complete normalness—really I’ve forgotten what developed countries have available. The grounds were small but cozy, with a shaded, grassy area for tents and campers, a tiny restaurant/café in a courtyard covered in grapevines, showers, a cooking/eating space with grills, and a swimming pool. I actually have no desire to swim in man-made chemical pools, but the sheer novelty of it and surrounding scenery made it too tempting to pass up. So we took a dip—under the towering pillars of the Meteora and surrounded by multilingual European families. After showers, we somehow met up with a neighboring Englishman—Bill—who we ended up spending the next 36 hours with.



Shady restaurant/cafe at the campground


Despite my hatred for cats, this one was pretty silly and softened my cold black heart... I only sort-of wanted it to fall in...

Bill is a Grekophile. To the max.

We decided this immediately—not based on his endless stories of Greek vacations, nor his adoration for Greek food, life, history, etc., but in fact due to his constant references to the things Greece has given to the world.

For example, “I studied anthropology” “Oh! That’s a Greek word you know! Anthro, meaning MAN.”

“In Albania they sing polyphony-“ “ Oh! From the Greek, Poli, meaning MANY!”

I could go on but it would be easier for you to imagine the father in the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, only replace the heavy-set, black-haired actor with a crinkly-faced, chipper bloke from Old Blighty. Needless to say Bill is pretty eccentric, and quite a talker. He liked to point out the obvious, simply noticing them and commenting out loud. “Oh look, trees.” But he is also super sweet and carefree and desperately wanted to be our friend. Luckily, Bill travels by motorcycle (*fantastic* way to make friends with 20-something year-old ladies!) and generously toured us around the mountains on the back of his bike. I think it we all enjoyed this equally; he played the suave aficionado zipping us up and down the hills, stopping to show us his favorite special viewpoints, while we soaked up the panoramic views and the wind whipping our faces.



Our Brit friend Bill, chauffeuring us around the Meteora

Perhaps I should step back and explain what IS the Meteora?
Meteora refers to the unique mountains formations that jutted up from the seabed millions of years ago as the plates were cooling and shifting. The immense pressure has caused giant pillars to project upwards, which now lay uncovered in an open valley in the Western Macedonian region of Northern Greece. However, tourists don’t come here to look at the mountains. They come to see the beautiful and ornate monasteries built in the tips of the pillars, thousands of feet in the air. Dubbed the “Hanging Monasteries”, they were built in the 1700’s by Catholic priests trying to escape Islamic persecution. Originally the clergy worshiped inside caves in the mountains (circa 16th century), it was later that they upgraded to stone structures, which could be accessed only by lowering a rope with a basket down from above. One of the monasteries striking beauty has earned international fame, getting featured in a James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (I am told) as the evil nemesis’s secret lair….



Beautifully manicured gardens inside the monastery (there's a nun hiding from my camera behind the left wall)

Presently, two small villages [Kastraki and Kalambaki] straddle the foothills of the mountains, with enough small hotels and restaurants to accommodate the millions of tourists who pass through each year. The monasteries are impressively well-maintained and still used by an order of nuns, housing landscaped gardens, walkways, and museums. Since we had our own transportation we could wait and watch waves of tour groups flood in and out; sometimes the clatter of indecipherable languages would grow loud and then suddenly disappear leaving us with a hollow breeze.


Amy, Jess, and me, perched on the rocks, overlooking Kalambaki


One of the big monasteries


This was the evil hideout in For Your Eyes Only


Greek pride!

In the afternoon we backtracked about 40 km to the highway for Thessaloniki, en route to an eco-fest organized by a Greek environmental NGO Ecotopia. Once again meeting a string of kind drivers, we pieced together lifts from the big city (Kozani) to a small town (Ptolemeida) to the village (Vlasti) to our camp site up in the mountain. Upon arrival we set our tent up amidst the already present clusters, then explored the grounds and began meeting friends. Except for a Canadian volunteer, we were the only non-Europeans present, with virtually everyone else being Greeks, specifically from nearby Thessaloniki.


Daily percussion ensemble at the festival

The festival turned out to be less environmentally-conscious/awareness-raising than I had expected, but all of the elements that I was hoping for were provided in the end so I’m very happy. Meaning, at first I was disappointed to see people carelessly littering the *disposable* food tins/wrappers (!), and there was a definite lack of organized spoken word / info sessions about how to be more eco-friendly… However, I really wanted to meet cool people [ check ], eat tasty organic vegetarian foods [ check! ], hear some awesome music [ double check], and discuss at least some environmental concerns with other interested persons [late coming, but check nonetheless—thanks Zoi!]

Each night around 9:30 the village filled with people from the upper campground to listen/dance/mosh to the bands. Night one we stayed uphill getting to know people and just chill out. Night two there was an amazing Greek percussion group that opened for Kulture Shock, a (quote) “gypsy, Balkan, punk-rock band”—they put on a good performance full of energy, but it was waaay too heavy-metal for my taste. I wouldn’t say punk at all. They must be transitioning to another genre with that reputation trailing. I will say, though, their violinist (from Tucson AZ!) is a super-cute fem that rocked the stage and had every guy (and girl!) drooling.

The final night opened with a hilariously terrible Greek rock band of sorts—something pitifully reminiscent of a 70’s wedding band. We’re pretty sure the singer was the heart-throb straight out of Empire Records (Cory Feldman?). I was entirely blown away by the next group, Rupa and the April Fishes, a San Fran based collection of Indian-born/French-American singer, super chill accordionist, cellist—a very unique sound! Listen to their samples on their site:

www.cumbancha.com/albums/extraordinaryrendition/

During the day we hung out mostly at the campground, talking with people circled around a morning fire (sipping cardamom-spiced coffee and sage tea), or in the grass soaking up the sunshine. One of the groups we befriended was a group of Israeli and German hippies, currently roaming across Europe in their junker van, selling homemade vegetarian creations—hummus salad wraps, chickpeas or lentils in chapatti bread, tahini and jam wraps, etc. They have a colorful poster announcing “Falafel Family” and appropriately decked out with butterflies and mushroom clouds. Hehe!



Amy contemplating the delicious creations at the Falafel Family stand


General Hippie-ness. Note the hammock, hand-sewn leather bags, and gallons of organic taxhini for sale (in the white jugs). Oh yeah and the guys busting out the musical tunes...


Another "Yiamas!", this one in honor of Olga's Saint's Day


Greek hippies. They were the loud ones next to our tent.


Kulture Shock


Rupa and the April Fishes

So all in all well worth the trip, I’d love to go back next year.

We ended up taking a bus back out to a nearby city and from there hitching our way back to Ioannia. Along the way we met several Jorgo’s, “call me George!”, who ironically all seemed to speak German. Jorge Number Two was so excited to meet us and absolutely appalled to hear we live in Albania (still a very big stereotype of Albanians as wild, violent people—- absolutely the wild west of the Balkans) that he took us out for a coffee at a hotel whose pool/café area looks like it was built for MTV Cribs. It was there that we discussed his upcoming trip to the States; he’ll be singing with his Greek band in NYC in December.

After a series of expressways and drivers we found ourselves waiting at a ringroad outside Ioannina, searching for Albanian license plates. Several cars and semi's passed us by, shaking their fingers at us to indicate "No, you don't want me. I'm going to Albania." with us desperately crying "Yes! That's where we want to go! Ne jemi per Shqiperia!"

Eventually we talked two very skeptical Albanian semi drivers that we wanted a lift, and in fact we live in Gjirokaster. They didn't believe us, which is weird because I was speaking in Shqip to them and NO ONE speaks Shqip unless they have a darn good reason to. Trying to call my bluff they asked what neighborhood I'm in. Then what family I'm staying with. When I replied the Hashorva's they shook their heads and asked "Do you know Ermal or Alma?" [that's my landlord's son and his wife]

Well of course. Turns out they are Ermal's friend and Alma's uncle. ;)
So that was it! We jumped into the passenger seats and cruised to the border. Kizmet fare...

Techie Alert

This morning I went walking up the hill, like I’ve started doing almost every day if possible, listening to podcasts on my ipod. As I was qepem- larte [lit: sewing myself up] the twisting cobblestone roads, dodging stares from passersby (crazy! She’s walking for fun?), and grinning my teeth to cut back the pain of my shin splits, I got to catch up on some comical news with Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. All the way to the dilapidated mosque-turned-kindergarten-turned-church in the Dunavat neighborhood, then back down to the house to get ready for a full day’s work.

Morning routine has become something along the lines of: wake up walk (or lately, running around the lake in the morning and hiking back over the hills with Chris, passing through an old military compound where we do exercises on the pull-up bars and ladders, and throw rocks at the angry dogs), stretch, shower if necessary (yeah summer!), tea + muesli, and try to get down to my office by 9:30 or so. Today I had a meeting with an Albanian nursing professor who needs my help filing his Fulbright application. He’s done all the paperwork, just needs an encouraging push and a little support. After that, an environmental lesson with kids from the nearby elementary school, then to the youth center to help translate a grant. Most days I make a trip to the market and stock up on fruits & veggies, and check my email/ download news.

Break! I usually have free time from 2-5 where I go home, or maybe meet with people for whatever help they need, or I just try to put in face-time with friends. Mostly I go home and eat lunch and clean the house (oh god, I AM becoming an Albanian shtepiake!), then get things ready to do at the Red Cross social center. Some nights I also co-teach an English discussions course with Greg at another youth center. And if there are no visitors in town with whom we are cooking/dining with, Chris and I might meet Allan and Greg for a late-night drink up in the Pazar at Hajri’s café. Sometimes. This is a very flexible schedule.

Well anyways, back to this morning. On my way to the office I was listening to NPR’s Technology Now podcast, and I became overwhelmed once again by the incredible advances America and the rest of the world is making (without me!), specifically in consumer goods. I felt this wave of dumbfoundment last fall, when I discovered Twitter. Not that Twitter is useful in any way to me right now, but the whole social-networking phenomenon and its little quirks seem to be both an amazing revolution and a huge waste of time. The latest gadget I heard of that shook me was about phone applications—“Oh yeah, there’s an app for that”. They say you can get an app on your phone for virtually anything—over 160 *pages* of travel-related apps alone. Check into the airport; find the nearest AAA locations; even the ‘Sit or Squat’ app, where you can find ratings on bathroom toilets! (Can I take business leave to document Albanian toilets along the coast?)

I think because I’m in a country where most people do not know how to type their names on a keyboard, let alone search for consumer information or upload a photo, that the conditions to knock my socks off are significantly lower than normal. In any case, I’m thoroughly wowed. I wonder how long after my return home will it take me to give in and buy a fancy smart phone, complete with camera, video, internet, widgets, and yes, dozens of frivolous applications..? What else is being developed? What’s with the new Kindle? Are people really reading books and newspapers on a digital screen? My 3rd grade teacher predicted we’d get rid of school books and paper, now it looks like she was right!

I once had a dream that after the Peace Corps I returned home to discover that everything had advanced to futuristic Jetsons-like society, where everything runs off of a computer and robots do all of our work. For now, I’ll stick with podcasts, trying to stay afloat in the current ocean of technology … :)

OA Camp Erseke!

Our first official Outdoor Ambassadors camp took place in Erseke (slightly south of Korce and near the Macedonian and Greek borders) this last weekend! Such a blast!

I’m so proud to have gotten together with such wonderful kids from all around Shqiperia. Having so many interested and engaged Albanian children lifted my spirits and has given me more hope for Albania’s brighter future.

The camp consisted of several small PCV-lead OA groups that having been forming over the last year. Many of them were also English students, since it is easier to start a club of any theme if the kids can also learn and practice speaking English. We’re really hoping to get a solid group of kids formed in Gjirokastёr, and though we have tried several times it has not yet worked out. After school activities here consist almost solely of private courses— kids who want to learn anything or even pass class must pay private teachers and work with them after the regular school day ends.

So, needless to say, band, sports, journalism, hobbies, debate, etc. do not exist here, and quite frankly kids find extracurricular activities to impede on their free time (ie coffee-time). They do not take well.

But we’re really hoping to find a few kids with an interest in the environment, nature, and excursions, and maybe if we can lead weekly meetings throughout the summer we’ll be ready to bring some kids to the next Big Camp in August!

OK, so back to the camp: this place was built and is run by a missionary man and his family who moved from Chicago to Albania something like 15 years ago. The facilities are fabulous! Its not terrible large, but has enough space to comfortably fit the 50 + students we brought, and they are soon expanding the sleeping quarters. Outside the main facility exists an outdoor dining area surrounded by a volleyball court (which doubled as a Frisbee field for us), rock climbing walls, a ropes-course gym—complete with zip-lining!!--, and an enormous bonfire/trampoline pit.


Climbing Wall Fun!


***Zip-line***

The students were kept busy throughout the weekend with outdoor activities, games, sports, project planning sessions, trust- and team-building exercises, and a grand hike out of town (almost) to a waterfall.


"Team Building" They had to reorganize themselves in alphabetical order without falling off the bench, shume per te qeshir!


My favorite game: "Train Wreck", could also be called "Scrambled Eggs" I think.

To their great disappointment we didn't have time to make it all the way to the steep falls, but we got pretty darn close and had a great time hiking and jumping across the rivers. Albania really does have some breathtaking scenery; I recall being struck on the stroll back through the fields at dusk just how much like 'Old World Italy' it can appear here. You know when the light strikes just right and you get a fuzzy sense of just how postcard-esque the landscape is? Truly beautiful.

Ugh. Such a great time.

So, after the camp Meghan and I escorted her campers, a group of really great young djem [boys], back to the south through the windy, lush mountains via furgon. We were a little nervous for awhile because the buses went on pushim, and we absolutely had to get back that night in order for her to get her boys in school on Monday. Everything worked out in the end and we made the return trip safely and on time for them to catch another bus out to Sarande and then by taxi or furgon back to the village.


Peace Corps Volunteers/ Camp Leaders, what a team!

Akullore Season!

Conveniently, akullore [ice cream] season coincides with sandal season, and has sprung overnight! One of my favorite images here is when the street fills with young school children meandering home, bracing arm-in-arm, and clutching a drippy, white blob of ice cream goodness in the outer fist. That goes for people of all ages, from sprightly kindergartners to drugstore cowboys to hunchbacked gjyshias [grandmothers]. Soon the evening xhiro (public promenade, like in Spain) will begin and we’ll have loads of people strolling up and down the new town road; boys checking out girls, old men and women making small talk with lifelong friends, people munching on popcorn, newspaper cones filled with sunflowers seeds, and roasted corn on the cob…

Dukemi si Sardele!

[We appear like sardines!]

Several friends came to visit this week, including the much-anticipated arrival of Kate and David, another PCV couple who lived and worked here for 2 years before us. They rented the same apartment space in the Hashorva house where Chris and I live now, and spent their service plowing a route for Gjirokastёr’s tourism offices, where Chris is assigned. All things being Albania, we have been constantly compared to Kate and David, so it was oh-so interesting to finally meet the infamous couple. They are of course wonderful, fun to hang out with, and graciously cleared up all sorts of questions we had been bottling up. They were obviously very close with the Hashorva’s, so we spent some time all together and then various moments scattered throughout their busy schedule of coffees with old pals. Some PCV friends of theirs—a couple who recently finished service in Romania—also came to visit, so we got to show them around and learn about their service and future plans. Word to the wise: joining the PC after you retire can be a fantastic adventure!


Hashorva's + Kate and David + me

Over the weekend we hosted a plethora of volunteers in our shpie, some from Vlore, Elbasan, students in Tiranё, and even some more PCVs from Romania. There were 11 of us total so we folded out all the couches and spread cushions across the floor-- hence me title about sardines. I’m really excited for my friends from Elbasan, who are going on a COS trip to SE Asia. They’re going to follow pretty much the same route Chris and I took before coming here, so we told them about some highlights /unfortunate downers and showed pictures, just to give an idea. The group from Romania was on a tour of the region (pushim!); with them we bounced ideas back and forth about PC projects (they have an environment sector instead of a health sector, so it was cool to learn how they are approaching issues there).


Circle-dancing at the GCDO!

Besides being a little cramped, we had a great time. After everyone left I had one night to totally decompress before more chaos began. Traveling for a few nights followed by a whole week of visitors makes me kind of crazy, not because I don’t LOVE people and friends (I do! Hajdeni!), but I just need some quiet “me” time, which I can’t really get too much here. It seems that with so many projects, coffee-dates (face time is a MUST), friends to meet, classes to teach, etc., I am feeling stretched pretty thin. As Hajri said about Greg: he’s a towel being squeezed dry by everyone (Greg is a superstar volunteer, absolutely devoting 23 hours each day to the Albanian community) which is how I feel sometimes, too, when I get requests to Please translate this grant or Oh can you teach me English? But I at least take time to go running (kind of selfishly maybe, though now that Hajri and I run together I consider it health promotion) and I do pass on occasional bar-nights with the boys to stay in and read. Anyways, summer is on its way, and that means we can start going to the beach and camping with friends! But for now, we’re basking in the glory of bright, sun-shiny days, fields of blooming red poppies, cherry blossoms, and the general awakening of spirits…


Berti, Greg, Allan, and Chris at Bojkin's Birthday/ Housewarming Party

Another one bites the dust!

Can you believe, almost a quarter century under my belt? I turned 24! Business leave took me to Elbasan where, unfortunately, Chris wasn’t able to come with, but that only resulted in getting two celebrations for the price of one! I stayed with my friend Maggie, who baked a delicious chocolate birthday cake and graciously hosted a crowd of volunteer friends for a dinner with us in her house. The reason I ended up in Elbasan was to teach an early morning environmental lesson with the new health PCVs, as well as a sexual health role play in the university, so I needed to arrive by Thursday night. I came in from Korçe, where I spent a whirlwind 24 hours meeting with various environmentally- focused groups and people to learn more about what they are doing and in hopes of expanding efforts in here Gjirokastёr. Korçe is a large city near the Greek and Macedonian border in the east, and it is hands-down the most progressive Albanian city in the country. They almost don’t even need volunteers because ‘they’ (especially the bashkia, or city government) work so well, and are known for being forward thinking. Highlights of the city’s numerous community and cultural events and activities are published in a monthly magazine, including the annual Beer Korçe Festival (Albania’s most popular beer factory), an annual byrek making contest (national food, on par with Greek spanikopita), sports, music, scholastics, environmental awareness, etc. Just the fact that they have a fantastic and functioning city website (in English too!) speaks for itself:



PCVs outfront Korce's big kisha


Well, I was able to meet with various people to talk about recycling programs, plastic bag taxes, waste management, environmental education campaigns, and development organizations, as well as see and learn about their current recycling efforts. They have some very admirable initiatives starting up (hooray! I can sleep easier), and because they are mostly all being undertaken by Albanians themselves I hope they will be successful and influence other cities. Some people stay in bed with a hot drink and read on their birthdays; I wade through waist-high piles of garbage and try to make peace with stray dogs.

Another major goal of the trip was to meet with (my PCV friend) Kysha’s women’s group, and to show them some ideas of handy-crafts they might be able to make and sell. This group of women gathers every afternoon to do crafts, projects, and basically share life and support one another, ta mam! Alissa (from Shkoder), our knitting aficionado, also presented to the group some cute models of her own hats/gloves/scarves and stitches that I think they will easily be able to pick up, and who knows, maybe create a cottage industry… [ Look for Fair Trade Shqiperia coming to a store near you ]

My contribution was two-fold: after showing a power point on plastic bags and their effects on the environment, we talked about how they can get a leg-up on the city’s soon-to-be BYOB campaign, by making reusable bags out of discarded t-shirts and selling them in the local dyqans. The women were all really receptive to the topic, and I’m hoping that they take on more projects involving community awareness and education if they continue to feel so passionately. From there, I switched to a demonstration on how to make artisan paper by hand, that they might use to sell as greeting cards, wedding invitations, or stationary, etc., which they were really impressed with. I’ve been making more batches of paper now that the weather is warmer, and am experimenting with incorporating flowers and will soon try out fruits and vegetables as pulp!

Alissa and I caught a late-afternoon furgon to Elbasan, arriving in time to spend the evening with Maggie and other friends in town, as well as the G12 PCVs (before they had to scurry off to their host-family villages). I really like the incoming group—so fresh and enthusiastic!-- and am so psyched that we get 6 more friends in the south! Specifically, we’ll have another young guy near our town, in the nearby fshat (village) called Asim Zanelli, just across the valley from us. He’ll be working with the local kommuna and helping with the development of their ancient archaeological park that the government wants to focus on, but will most likely spend a good chunk of time in town with us.

Due to convenience, we also had a GAD (Gender and Development) meeting, and began more concrete plans to organize a gender conference in the fall. Stay tuned!



Cobanet! Greek women with the community sheep!

I made the long trek back to Gjirokastёr late Saturday afternoon, and ran into my recently acquainted friend Matt (from Novacele, the smallest volunteer village I have seen yet), who was rounding out his southern tour. We crossed paths in Korçe days before, and, like many from the group who is leaving in May, he’s spending some time touring Shqiperia one last time and saying goodbye. Now that we’ve breached the “hill” I’m already feeling nostalgic for my life here. Only 1 year left… then what?
On Sunday Hajri and the guys organized a grand picnic! Half in celebration of my birthday and half because of the beautiful spring weather, we piled a bunch of friends and food into cars and drove out near the Greek border. They grilled chicken, fish, and mussels (from nearby Lake Butrinti) and after exploring the area, picking wildflowers, and several rounds of volleyball, we settled down on our blankets and feasted with a bounty of fresh Mediterranean vegetables, boiled eggs, fresh baked bread, and beer and/or sodas. I’m so glad my friend (and neighbor), Eni, was able to make it; for many weeks we keep promising to go out together but our plans always seem to get canceled.



Picnic toast: Gezuar!

The day could not have been more perfect, it was really amazing to savor life with good friends, fun, and food!

Run for Your Health!

This is a poster Greg made for our Run for Your Health project. We've ordered t-shirts for the first 200 hundred runners, and the bashkia is prepared to block the street from the lake to the city center, where non-runners can welcome the finishers.


Underneath the image it reads: Why run? and lists 11 reasons we think might encourage people to get tie up their laces and come out with us. Look for pics!

Nje Vit!

My oh my where has the time gone? Hard to believe we celebrated One Year in Albania last week! Over the weekend several PCVs gathered in Elbasan (our training site will always hold a special place in our hearts) to give a toast to the wonderful friendships and experiences gained during our time so far, to bask in the glory of our endurance (hey by this time last year the previous group had lost 12 people, whereas we’ve only lost two, and gained 7!), and to greet the newbies! G12 arrived in Elbasan on Wednesday, spending the first few days locked up at Hotel universe on the edge of town-- getting acclimated to their new group, time zone, foods, and PC staff. We were originally inspired to welcome them, square them up, and try to alleviate their anxieties through cheap beer, however, our plans were foiled by PC staff. Instead, we took cover from the pouring rain at Beer Gramelli, where a mug sets you back 60 leke (ie 60 cents)—think about that next time you hit the bars in Scottsdale. :)

Earlier in the day Chris and I took a bus up north with Allan (Gjiro), Meghan (Ksamil), and two French couchsurfers. I’m pretty excited to hear about their trip because they are going to Istanbul to purchase bicycles and from there traveling to Astana, Kazakhstan. We’re pretty excited about potentially COSing next June and pedaling our way from Turkey to Tunisia, specifically because we have heard from countless travelers how much more you can see/do/learn when you take the slower, more eco-friendly route, and also because I’ve been itching to do a long-distance bike trip for a few years now.

Our time in Elbasan was short but sweet, from there we caught a furgon to the lovely little village of Thane (and by lovely village I mean muddy street dotted with houses) to visit our host family. They adopted a new set of volunteers, and this was the couples’ first night. I had been worried about visiting on the same day that they arrived—I texted everyone first to make sure that would be kosher and there would be plenty of room for us. I just wasn’t sure if we would taint their whole experience. On the other hand I recall that first weekend being the most horribly awkward time, when we couldn’t speak a single word of shqip besides ‘faleminderit’, and our new “family” was still just a bunch of strangers whose names we couldn’t pronounce. Luckily everyone was able to breathe easier with us there, translating to the best of our abilities and giving cultural advice to our new friends, from here on out referred to by name: James and Jen. [On a side note, James commented on my blog a few weeks ago, and he also has a blogspot page: http://jamespeacecorpsalbania.blogspot.com/]

After saying our goodbyes to the family, our very-American foursome walked into town (Cerrik) to meet Karen for lunch at our old time favorite restaurant, the one next to the mental hospital where we used to sit outside during our training, getting covered in a snowy downpour of fluffy white tree pollen. Unfortunately it was still too chilly to eat outside, so we huddled in the small side room with a propane heater. Chris and James were almost immediately rounded up by a table full of gents next door, invited to sit down for a few shots of raki, however, they didn’t stay long because I was instructed to come drag them away. I think the motherly owner was afraid they would be corrupted-- if only she knew…

Once stuffed with salad and ‘fresh village eggs’, we caught a Fier-bound bus with Karen to stay the night visiting our friend Stephanie. Steph, who is a community-development volunteer, lives in a tall sparkling new pallati (apartment) with her adorable puppy, Jack. We had a pretty calm night, toasted savory grilled cheese sandwiches (Fier has many European import stores so cheese, though expensive, is widely available) and fresh tomato soup, then departed for Berat all together in the morning. Chris was gifted a bunch of Arabic language books from Andrew, a G10 volunteer in Fier who happens to have studied at ASU, so we passed time in the furgon going over the Arabic alphabet and trying to pick out letters in the various forms. If we do end up going to Tunisia after our service Chris hopes to be refreshed and has been trying to convince me to learn with him. While I’m totally content with my Shqip-speaking ability at this point, and would be happy to focus on something else, I’m not sure I can learn from a book— do te shihemi.

Upon arrival in Berat we found Lauren in full birthday celebration swing, drinking cheap champagne and eating scones & cheese on her balcony with Marissa. The sheer site of them-- bundled up in scarves and sunglasses, sprawled out on beach lounge chairs and guarded by her 3-legged dog, Clara, absolutely cracks me up. Its soooo PCV Albania, and I hope I remember it always.

So it was Lauren’s 26th birthday! What to do? Well, as Lauren is the PCV queen of care-package Betty Crocker mixes, we of course baked a cake-- yellow with chocolate frosting. We got to spend almost the whole day with her, hanging out around her shpie, enjoying the comforts of her glorious wooden stove… Lauren’s house is always full of entertaining materials, magazines of all sorts, a roomful of odd treasures left behind by the volunteer before her, funny music playlists (she has been known to have midnight dance parties featuring Meatloaf), and somehow kicking back with friends as they knit and chat and draw makes the time fly by. Eventually we made our way across town to a cute little traditional restaurant, where we ate dinner upstairs on the covered balcony with a view overlooking the river. Chris wolfed down a steak that was wrapped in cheese and then deep-fried, and some french fries. I simply don’t know how his heart can handle that stuff. For awhile we were keeping a food journal to reflect on our dietary habits and see if we were really practicing what we preach to the kids at the Red Cross, when we taught them about the food pyramid. I bound a little book made from a recycled food container and hand-made paper, and each night we were diligently recording our meals and snacks. It’s interesting to see what one honestly eats, since we all believe we are healthy but might be shocked by reality. Like always, Chris reports more-than recommended amounts of fatty foods, whereas I OD on sugar…

And *speaking* of sugar, our cake was waiting for us back at Lauren’s house, along with some Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies she was kind enough to share. :)

Chris and I took off early the next morning, catching an 8 am bus straight to Gjiro. During our "pilaf stop" I had my first encounter with a bear! Actually, it was a big cub, and locked up in a cage. Supposedly there are many bears around Shqiperia, in Berat's castle for example, but I've never seen one. [Rumor has is there's an owl in Shkoder, and I've seen peacocks in Tepelene] There were also cages full of wolves, an eagle, and about 2 dozen wild dogs untethered on guard.

We had wanted to catch up with Monica and her visiting friend’s from LA, but since they changed their plans to come a day earlier we could only meet for a quick coffee before they took off. There trip here was short but Monica seemed to beam with glee
so I think it was well worth their effort.

Then of course the week began: meetings, talking, coffees, talking, translating, talking… you get the idea. I was super excited to move past talking and finally get to teach my plastic bag lesson in school. Aida (from Red Cross) and I got permission from the Director of Education to go to Naim Frasheri, the city’s model 9-year school up in the Old Town, and talk to the kids about the effects of plastic in our environment and oceans, and to introduce the concept of reusing bags/using cloth alternatives. I showed them some environmental PSA’s from YouTube before and after the lesson, for fun and to get their attention. At the end the teacher’s decided they would help collect t-shirts to be sewn into shopping bags [ very easy: simply sew the bottom straight across, and cut off the sleeves—voila! ] and if I can copy the lesson onto a DVD they would teach the lesson in other classes. Small victory, hope it takes off!

Another wonderful accomplishment at the school was my approaching some classes to survey student interest in joining our Outdoor Ambassadors club. This is a country-wide network of PC-led groups who focus on environmental education and preservation, with an emphasis on outdoor excursions like hiking, camping, picnics, etc. [This is a project we are all trying to get going in Gjirokastёr, and for which we went to the conference in Tiranё a few weekends ago] About half of the kids at this school are learning English, and undoubtedly would like the opportunity to practice their skills, but to be fair we’re opening this for everyone. We had tried to start the group in one of the high schools a few months ago and it received mild interest from a handful of kids, but nothing lasting. However this time the kids were literally falling out of their chairs trying to get my attention to call on them and accept them to come. We’ll have to go back with applications. That’s a very good sign!

Viroi

Here's the lake I've been running around every afternoon with Hajri!


Its about 3 km outside of town, and we run around and back to complete 3.5 circuits of 3 km each-- or 10 km total. Nothing compared to marathon training but its nice to get out and MOVE!

Oh yes, and there are dogs there but they are stuck on the other side of the water and can't get to us. :)

Chris is now a PLAKU!

Plaku is the shqip term for ‘old man’. Plaka is ‘old woman’, but I have many more years before he can call me that. We celebrated Chris’ 26th birthday in Delvine, a small hidden town about 1.5 hours south of us, in the company of our friends Monica (Del), Alexi (Del), Allan (Gjiro), Greg (Gjiro), and Meghan (Ksamil). Monica put together a delicious Mexican-Albanian style feast of beans, salad, spit roasted chicken, fruits, and to top it all off: Betty Crocker’s very own Funfetti cake. Ahhhh cake in a box. America.

On Saturday afternoon we went walking out of town (not far) to an old mosque that has been kept up very well. There is a nice woman who lives adjacent to it and owns a cafe next door. She maintains the mosque and surrounding grounds and opened it up to our posse, happy and excited to meet a group of shqip-speaking Americans. Especially Monica-- I've decided its her dimples Albanian women seem to fall in love with, or perhaps the way she's mastered the sideways head bob to indicate 'oh yes of course I agree'... ;)



View from the outside

Monica and Alexi are participating in the Model UN conference with a group of students from their high school, which will take place next weekend. Their group was chosen to represent Vietnam, and will be debating their resolutions with other Albanian students regarding Climate Change, Anti-Trafficking, and Deforestation. Because of their newfound interest in Vietnam, Monica asked Chris and me to give a presentation based on our trip there. We ended up showing them some photos, a small peek into modern culture and geography, which seemed to open their eyes to a larger world beyond the policy decisions they have researched for months on the internet. The next day we went back and actually stood in as 'expert witnesses' in order to allow them to practice debating and prepare for outside questions, which was a lot of fun and hopefully helps them in Tirane!


This is from Day 1 practice session, there are actually 13 kids in the group. But you get the idea.

Ahh well the trip was short but fun, its nice to get out of Gjirokaster every once in awhile. We took a 7 am bus back over the mountain on Monday morning, arriving just in time to march into the office. I am a little 'merzit' in my office, having "communication" problems with my counterpart. I can't spill the beans publicly but oh man sometimes its hard not to spontaneously combust... We're working on a sexual health seminar with the university students and well.. I just can't even explain why its so frustrating to try and get people to think outside the box. 'Nuf said.

Oh yes, and Monday morning the guys in Chris' office organized a party in his honor-- complete with a breakfast shot of raki! [this is the traditional Albanian moonshine]




And later that night Hajri hosted his own party



This is Chris, Hajri, Adrien (waiter and friend), Allan, and Greg

Now its back to the grindstone.. I'm more interested in working on environmental awareness projects and March is here! Now how can I get the ball rolling....?

Some ways winter in Albania has changed me:

I crave shredded red cabbage with lemon juice for lunch, every day, and boiled beets for breakfast.

My splotchy red hands have sausage-fingers. [I thought this was a medical reaction to extreme salt intake or something, but after conferring with other volunteers it turns out this is a freaky winter phenomenon in which fingers swell due to the inescapability of super cold weather. Or possibly there are invisible bugs that bite our joints at night. We’re not sure.]

I cannot get out of bed before 7 am. Its too cold and I don’t want to move!

The increased presence of stray dogs keeps me on guard 24/7.

Having a wood burning stove seems like a much better idea, despite the obvious deforestation it promotes.

My blow drier has become my best friend.

Smelly people no longer bother me. That's probably because I might be one of them.

My hair is actually starting to dread itself.

Romantic candle dinners are no longer a choice.

Bore?

So I woke up last week and lifted the shades to our living room— it had been an especially cold day and night so I insisted we sleep in the slightly warmer TV/kitchen room. I was surprised to reveal a yard covered in SNOW! In February?? I thought we were passed this! Well, it’s back, and stronger than ever.
______________________________________________________________
I insisted to my friend Alissa, who came from Shkoder to stay with us during her country-wide tour , that the sky is falling—a heavy downpour of thick white puffs, like sheets of dandruff. The snow fell for two days—nothing like our peaceful Christmas layer—then finally the rain washed it out.
The snow did finally melt, but ice-covered cobblestones proved dangerous! I slipped on my way to the bus station with Alissa— imagine a cartoon character who slides on a banana peel, feet shooting straight out in front. I semi-braced my fall by landing hard on my palms, which later swelled and turned purple. Sadly, my computer also landed hard on the ground, though at this point it seems to be in working order still… (teeth grinding)

Obama Rolls

I just found these sushi creations from http://www.geekologie.com/-- so cool!



I don't know who this guy is, but he has uber vlere!

Mardi Gras, Poker Night, Valentine's, and Birthdays

Do we really need an excuse to party? If so, this weekend we had at least 4. Not only did we have double and triple shared b-days, but on Valentine’s night a bunch of volunteers got decked out in Mardi Gras apparel (well, sort of, it was 40 degrees after all), put their dancin’ shoes on, and played Texas Holdem’.



Chris and I caught a direct furgon from Gjiro to Berat on Friday afternoon— joining up with Monica, Alexi, and Meghan who started out from Sarande. The twisted and bumpy road seemed humorously similar to a Disneyland ride—forcing me to sit upright, gripping the seat handle in front and peering quizzically over the edge. I was half wondering if and when we would go teetering over the edge; however, after so many months here I’ve given up the anxiety of impending death on the roads.

We’ve spent the weekend crashing at Lauren’s lovely apartment, which is on the third floor of a pallati [post-communist style concrete apartment] with a body-building gym underneath. Its really quite spacious, with two parallel bathrooms [labeled SEAT UP and SEAT DOWN] and several storage rooms. In the summer she puts a kiddie pool on the roof and sunbathes—I plan to come back a lot more for that!

There is quite a large crew of us here left in the wake of the party, 13? Last night most people crashed at the party (Corrine’s apartment) though we left around 1 am or so, after a series of unfortunate events involving out-of-town futbol players who couldn’t seem to keep their hands off the girls. Today has been a pretty subdued day, allowing hangovers to lift, and by 3 we were all our chipper selves again, ready to go out for coffee and crepes, and then begin a string of goodbyes while friends dispersed back to their hometowns.



For now we’re relaxing near the wood burning stove; various volunteers are reading, cooking, playing with Clara (Lauren’s 3-legged dog). Tonight’s menu includes homemade spinach pasta with garlic tomato sauce and salad, veggie delight! I think we’re gonna take off tomorrow and brave the road at 9:30, giving us enough time to get to work in the afternoon if we want. It’s been a nice break from G-town, too short. I realize how much I miss the other volunteers, and luckily we’re having a new group arrive next month! So there will be several meetings throughout their training (ahhh.. training! Has it been a full year already?) --luckily we will see each other again soon, when we come to meet them in Elbasan and share stories.

Adventures in Permet

Last weekend the guys and I took a day-trip with Hajri and his wife, Lori, on what turned out to be an unexpectedly worthwhile adventure. Hajri, who has become our newest closest Albanian friend, owns the lokale in the Old Town, under Chris’ office. He speaks a little English (learned from working in Greece for a few years), and is absolutely in love with all things American-- like most Albanians I know.
The six of us piled into Hajri’s station wagon at 8 in the morning and drove to Permet, which is a small town about 1.5 hours on the opposite side of the Lunxheri mountain range. Along the way we stopped for tea at a beautiful restaurant set over a spring with many cascading waterfalls surrounding. For now it’s still cold and dreary but in the spring/summer this area is breathtaking—I can hardly wait for the flowers to bloom and the bright sunshine to return!



Once in Permet we took a ‘xhiro’ [promenade] straight through town and ended up climbing a steep path to visit an old church. I’m not the biggest fan of churches but this one I will admit is beautiful—completely covered in Byzantine-style icons and frescos, delicately fading in color… Unfortunately most of the icons have been defaced, with words/ marks etched across the sacred motifs, and with their eyes completely scratched out…






After our church visit Hajri drove us about 10 km out of town and then down a desolate, unpaved and unmarked road to a hot spring! The spring is located alongside a small river, with an old Ottoman stone bridge crossing overhead. The churning pool of water is a milky blue-white, with a very faint sulfur smell, and absolutely no trash! [this is a rarity here!] We only dipped our hands in the warm water, vowing to come back for a longer picnic or even a camping trip—there are even nearby caves in which we could pop some tents.



From there we headed back to a big restaurant near the main road. I think its cute how there are so many glorious restaurants scattered in the middle of nowhere-- literally-- which seems like terrible business sense. In America all about location, right? But here these big isolated cafés cater to a surprisingly steady stream of customers, which has led me to conclude that for Albanians who cannot leave the country (due to visa restrictions and lack of money) they provide a fun road trip for people who want to kill an afternoon with their families or lovers. Like us! We went for a weekend jaunt and ended up there for lunch. :)




In fact that lunch turned out to be a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner rolled into one—so much food! Typical Albanian fare: salad, cheese, bread, salse kosi (thick, garlicky yogurt), grilled and pickled veggies… and meat. This place specialized in leper [rabbit], so they brought out a kilo of charred bits, followed by a kilo each of baby pig, baby sheep, and village chicken stuffed with walnuts and breadcrumbs! Between the guys, at least 4 carafes of red wine were also consumed, thus we had an excitingly loud meal followed by a quiet, sleepy car ride. Overall, the amount of food was sickeningly gluttonous, but a lot of fun. I don’t understand why guys haven’t gained weight here?