Showering: once a luxury, now a chore...

Eric's shower, water heater & toilet...

I used to look forward to showering in the States... now I absolutely dread it. As I've alluded to before, I don't have hot water in my apartment and have been told just to boil the water and sponge bath. I'm probably down to one or two showers a week, in Eric's apartment because he has hot water, or by sponge in my kitchen. It wasn't really that big of a deal in the Summer and was actually somewhat refreshing but now I can barely wash my dishes without going numb.

No worries though, because my wood stove keeps my living room nice and toasty. I've also moved into just my living room, I sleep on the pull-out couch and do everything in here. It's easier and more practical just to heat one room than the entire apartment and is typical here. When I lived with my host family, they had an electrical heater in the living room and would keep the door closed to trap all the heat. It gets really toasty right after I cook too and I just leave the oven open. I'm trying to go as long as I can without using my wood stove all the time though because I don't want to run out of wood.

My bathroom: Shower, water depot, toilet and water to flush.

Anyways, I took my first warm shower since Thanksgiving and I soaked up every minute of it. During pre-service training one of the things the current volunteers told us is that in some apartments "you can shit, shave and shower, all without moving," and in our bathrooms in Bajram Curri, that's held true. But as Peace Corps promises: "Everyone's experience is different," so don't think all volunteers in Albania have these shower situations. Most have hot water and a western toilet. I've actually been told by other volunteers to make a stink about not having hot water but I think it's kinda fun to figure it out on my own. Turkish toilets are more popular in the Northern part of Albania and I would say less than 1/3 of the volunteers have one in their home. It's been said that in the north, volunteers get a more rugged experience because of these facilities.

Shower curtains are a thing of the past, moving your toilet paper so it won't get wet during your shower, a thing of the present. Eric and I joke, that between the two of us we have a full apartment, while he has hot water, he doesn't have a water depot and today I had to wait until 4:00pm until we had water to rush and fill up all my buckets in my apartment and run downstairs and take a shower in his apartment. When the water is on we usually have about 30-45 minutes of water. I've also started drying my clothes in two different phases because it's so cold: 1. Hang dry outside for a day. 2. Move inside and hang dry in my living room over night. It's too cold for them to actually fully dry outside so I have a system that's been effective so far. A hair dryer is used sometimes to speed up the process if necessary.

Panoramas I made from Rome...

Successfully celebrating Thanksgiving abroad..

It's way harder than it sounds, especially when you only have one oven, three ranges and limited food resources. We successfully cooked the following for 19 people: 2 turkeys, 1 large pot of chili, around 10 lbs. of macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole, artichoke dip, homemade stuffing, buttered peas & carrots, homemade biscuits, mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, cranberry sauce, snickers salad, apple crisps, 4 pumpkin pies, lemon squares, brownies, peanut butter cookies... I think that's it.

Now, for most traditional Thanksgiving day dishes key ingredients aren't sold here in Albania, so we cheated a little and asked for care-packages containing Thanksgiving ingredients, but for the most part, they were found in Albania. We made about 8 trips to various stores, bought some stores out and spent 2 full days cooking. We used Emily's host-mom's oven downstairs for every dish baked which was over 10 different yummy items.

Since being here, not only have I learned about other parts of the world but I've also learned a lot about America too by being around people from different parts of the states. Talking to people about their holiday traditions and what they usually do. The common tradition we celebrated before eating was holding hands, praying and going around the circle and telling what we were thankful for.

We all share the commonality of being thousands of miles from our families, no matter what part of the states we're from and I think we have all created a really strong bond with each other from living here and sharing this experience together. When we do return to the states, we'll try to explain our experience here but no one will really understand fully and for me having them as a support system during my service is really important. I remember the first days of training the PC staff said to look around and this was our new family... I finally realized on Thanksgiving that this had become true.

The dessert line..

Just a look of all the yummy..


Lots of chefs in the kitchen...

Happy Thanksgiving from Albania...

This year I am so thankful for my Peace Corps family, without their support I probably still wouldn't be here. I'm also so thankful for my support back home from my friends and family, I love you and miss you all terribly. 

Thanksgiving in Divjakë..

Gobble until you wobble...

Making Thanksgiving decorations...

Picking up some eggs...

Gerti & Brune..

Far left: Emily's counterpart, cooked one of our turkeys. Next to her: Emily's host mom and brother, who without their oven Thanksgiving for us would have not been possible. They were served dinner first and loved the deer jerky..

Some favorites from Rome...

First full day in Rome, at the Vatican...

320 stairs later, at the top of St. Peters Basilica... 

Outside the Vatican at night...

The outside of  the Coliseum...

Inside of the Coliseum...

Standing in the Coliseum, the Arch of Constantine...

First McDonalds experience in 9 months...

Packing up, ready to head back to Albania...

Our hostel in Rome...

In Rome for a few days...

When in Rome...

Here I sit again, different town, different hotel, still the same wireless internet provider, still the only female in the bar. Except this bar/hotel/restaurant has become somewhat like a second home to me in Bajram Curri. Hotel Vllaznimi or "Hotel Brotherhood" is probably my most frequented establishment in my small little mountain town. I think at first it was because it was the only place with wireless internet but now it's because the wait staff and owner are my friends and I feel really comfortable passing the time here. I've been living in Albania now for 8 months (just thought I'd throw that out there). Oh, something else I thought I'd just throw out there, I haven't taken a shower in 5 days. Don't judge. I have no hot water and my bathroom is probably the coldest place in my apartment. Every time I go to Kukes I take a shower, Emily makes sure to have her water tank full for me. I'm leaving for Rome tomorrow and I'm so incredibly excited. I am honestly kind of nervous to be around "straight off the plane Americans" as we've started calling them, or SOP for short.. Are they going to think I'm weird? Am I going to think they're weird? Or are we just going to be so in awe of being in Rome to not give a crap and enjoy the city. Probably the latter of the three. Tourist here just get on my nerves in Bajram Curri because everyone wants us to take care of them, and now, I revert back to being one, which I have no problem doing in Rome. When in Rome... be a tourist. I got my overnight pack and everything. Lets do this.

Obituaries on power poles...

In most Albanian towns this is how deaths are announced in the community.. A picture is attached, village/town, date of birth and date of death.. They're posted on power poles around the town, sometimes flowers are attached as well..

Just another day in the office...

Piece by piece, step by step..

Yesterday, I spent my entire day carrying up wood from downstairs.
Three flights of stairs, three meters of wood. 17 trips.

Boys will be boys...

I really actually hate that saying.. But that song is playing by Gloira Estefan (bad bad bad boys, you make me feel so good) while I sit in Bar Amerika as the only woman in a room full of about 50+ men waiting to meet the mayor of Kukes which is kind of stressful in general because I don't know what he looks like and I think he walks in every time the door opens (okay, run on sentence stream of thought done). I hope I get to work with him, he wants some design work for the region and speaks English which is always a plus during business meetings here. Here's another saying that's applicable in this situation "walking into a room and feeling like everyone is talking about you" but this isn't just a feeling, it's reality. Being the only woman (and foreign and on my laptop) here of course I'm the center of curiosity. And the fact I can actually also hear them talking about me because they assume I don't speak any Shqip. I've gotten used to this and it actually doesn't bother me that much anymore but since I was throwing out sayings I thought it was appropriate.. Any who, This weekend I'm attended a seminar on CSS and web maintenance for the new Bashkia website of Bajram Curri.. learning CSS in a different language is actually kind of easier than I found it in college.

Autumn in Bajram Curri...

Fallen leaves in Bajram Curri, November 2011.

If you change nothing, nothing will change..

You know when you look back at your life and reflect to how different things are then how they used to be.. but you never really can pin point when things changed or how they changed.. well, this is the week that I think marks the change for me here. I guess that's the amazing thing about journaling in general, it's easier to look back and see when the difference happened, but I may or may not be on the spot but I think this is the week.

We got a new mayor when we moved into site and I had met him and he knew that I was working at the Bashkia and I thought we had a good professional relationship. The head of my sector for the Peace Corps called me last week and told me that she was going to meet with him and the Vice Mayor in Tirane to discuss my work thus far and the Peace Corps in general. She came up here the next day to meet with me and told me that they knew that Garrett, Eric and I were here to work but weren't aware of our mission or that we were assigned to places in Bajram Curri. She kept saying how excited they were to work with me and that they wanted little things like English classes for the municipality and small grants. I think I have really connected with her and she feels like my Albanian mother and even calls herself that.. and I really like my nickname, "Bajram Curri Princess." Anyways, I was very excited to hear this about the mayor and v. mayor and was ready to come to work the next day to talk to them. I was invited to the 8:00am staff meeting every morning and the mayor said I should have known about it all along but he didn't know my mission. With a lot of 'shume respekt's thrown around and business cards exchanged, I sat through my first Albanian staff meeting.

I actually go to work now.. and have work. I have people asking me to help them, even though I offered to help with anything I could but wasn't taken up on it but by the people in my office. I feel like I'm actually a worker there now, like I'm accepted. I knew it was going to take a while and I was prepared for that and it's so satisfying to actually feel like I have a place there now. We're planning to have an English course for all of the Administration of the bashkia, write a small grant to help fix up the basketball courts in the center of town and have been working a lot with the Ministry of Sports and developing the new Bashkia Webpage. I'm going to training in Kukes on Thursday for training of maintenance with my counterpart and I'm so excited to actually be working and feeling like I have a place.

Anyways, avash avash, but this is a great step and I hope I'm not wrong, but I think this marks the week that changes everything for me in Albania from here on out.

Help support Outdoor Ambassadors Leadership Training..

I'm a committee member of the volunteer run committee, Outdoor Ambassadors that promotes environmental learning for high school students in Albania. This year has been a full one with a dynamic array of projects and programs. Our summer camp in Erseke and Earth Day grant program both were a great success, and OA clubs have completed numerous environmental projects and excursions at the local level. With the help of student veterans of these programs, existing clubs are growing in size and new clubs are starting in several cities around Albania.

The Outdoor Ambassadors Committee is currently organizing and seeking support for its third annual youth Leadership Training, to be held in February 2012. The training will bring together 30 students from across the country to participate in a 3-day conference to network with environmental experts and community leaders and participate in a project design and management workshop. By the end of the training, participants will have identified their community needs and designed a small project which they can implement upon their return home.

To fund the Leadership Training, Outdoor Ambassadors has been selected to take part in the Peace Corps Partnership grant program. Currently, support for the Leadership Training can be given online via the Peace Corps Partnership Program's website. All donations are tax deductible. We are asking for $3,793 in donations, but the remaining 25% of the total project budget will be funded by community cash and in-kind donations. Though the total grant amount may be large, our individual costs per participant are minimal: 

• $25 will fund round-trip transportation for one student;  
• $50 will cover all food and lodging costs for one student; 
• $100 will fully sponsor one participant.

To support this project, we hope you'll consider donating a small amount via Peace Corps Partnership. We strongly believe in providing this training free of cost so that any and all youth who have demonstrated their interest and commitment can participate in this unique opportunity. For more information about our current programs, please visit the OA website. We appreciate your ongoing support and hope that you will help us make this project a reality, helping build the environmental awareness and leadership capacity of Albanian youth!


Thank you from the Outdoor Ambassadors Committee of Albania.
Brenna Mickey, Outdoor Ambassadors Materials/Website Coordinator

Email me if you have any further questions! Please email me your mailing address if you do choose to donate so I can send you a thank you from Albania! BrennaisinAlbania@gmail.com

Please email me with a mailing address if you do choose to donate so I can send you a thank you from Albania!

Step one on attacking the winter, check!

Okay, not going to lie, Garrett helped me start the first fire in my stove of the season.
It's amazing how much heat this thing gives off. 

Morning cup of Joe...

I was told by my Aunt Shell that what I use to make coffee every morning resembles some evidence that she saw during her career at the police department.. I just use it to make my pre-coffee before leaving the house to have at least 3-4 more coffees before lunch with co-workers and friends..

A popular wafer snack...

Made in Turkey and only sold in Romania & Albania, these popular snacks can be found in small stores everywhere. My curiosity finally got the best of me and I bought one. Not really impressed but I did find out they come in "white chocolate dipped" as well.. but are still called Black Man.

The little things..

Modern conveniences are a thing of the past, well my past.. at least for now. I've made it thus far with no centralized heat, AC, running water 24/7, microwaves, clothes dryers, dish washers, I don't know if a Western toilet would count as a modern convenience but I'm going to count it anyways, credit cards, debit cards.. At first it was somewhat of a hassle, but now it's normal and somewhat refreshing to know that I can go without.

There are also things that I have come to appreciate that come along with not having these modern day conveniences. Example #1: I went to my bread lady the other day and only want two rolls; people think I don't buy or eat enough food because I'm only buying for one and they're used to people buying for entire families. All I had was a 1000L bill which is the equivalent to a $10 bill. She couldn't break it and told me just to take the bread and come back tomorrow or next week to pay her. That would never happen in the States, I would have been told tough luck, put the bread back. Example #2: Hanging my clothes out to dry. Luckily, I hang my clothes on a third story balcony so the entire neighborhood doesn't have open access to my underwear, but a lot of people don't have that luxury. I do sometimes miss the smell of fresh clothes straight from the dryer, it would really help during these winter months as well. Example #3: I went to go buy some dish washing soap and once again only had a 1000L bill, the bank just loves giving those out, but my total came to something weird like 380L.. This time the owner was short about 20L and instead of shorting me, which I tried to explain was no big deal, came back with three different candies for me to chose from that equaled 20L. So instead of getting my change back I got 2 pieces of orbit gum.

Okay, the turk situation.. I've gotten used to and some people tell me they end up preferring a turk but I don't think that will ever be me. It is nice though, when you have to go to a public bathroom (and I don't care what country you're in, you never know what you're getting yourself into) and you don't have to line the seat or hover.. you just squat. But don't forget you are responsible for your own toilet paper and the owners can't be held responsible. Oh, and remember not to flush the toilet paper, there will be a trash can strategically placed near the turk and or western toilet. Okay, not having a microwave is sometimes a big pain. It just takes so much longer to prepare anything which I guess in the end is good because I'm learning to cook a lot better but it's hard to get a quick meal around here which is also a good thing because all I have is time. I had coffee with Endrit's wife last week and she lives in America and she said that was one of the main differences she noticed from living in Albania to moving to America less than a year ago, the ability of pre-made, processed, already cooked food.

For the winter months I am equipped with a wood stove and an electrical heater. I hear that running the electrical heater will jack my power bill up really high so I'm going to try and forge through the winter with the wood stove so I've been googling how to kindle fires. It's amazing what you can do without and how much my day to day life has changed since living on my own in Albania. I haven't driven a car in almost a year and I'm rarely in a personal car, usually just public transportation (minibuses, ferries, furgons).. Oh and just incase you're wondering, there is now only one way out of Bajram Curri because the ferry doesn't run during the winter but one day a week.. and I have no idea what day that is..

If it's official on Facebook, it's official in my book...

 

I've been in Albania for about 8 months now and have received more offers to marriage that I ever expected to get in a lifetime. Now this may be because I am American.. or it may be because I just radiate wife material, who knows really? But as I regretfully decline these offers day after day, I come home to my viral American world to realize how many of my friends and people my age, even younger, are actually tying the knot. Maybe I should reconsider my "jo faleminderit, une nuk dua te martohen djalin tuaj" or "jo faleminderit, une kam deshurin ne Amerik" and really think about weighing my options.  

Now I know Facebook has opened up an entirely knew window of letting people know exactly where you are, what you're doing, who you're with, what new dress you bought 4 minutes ago, what creepy guy was staring at you in line while you were waiting to be rung up buying the new dress, what the creepy guy was wearing while he was checking you out... do I need to continue? 

The other PCV's and I always joke about coming home and everyone being married but us and a lot of people even go home just for weddings while they're here. Maybe that says something about where PCV's have to be in their lives in general, or what they want for their life. Some people called me selfish for wanting to work and live abroad for two years, saying I was only thinking about myself and what I wanted.. well, maybe to an extent that is right. I look at the person I was 8 months ago compared to who I am now, not that I've drastically changed but just how much I've learned and not from books or news articles but by living it. One thing about being here is you do learn a lot about yourself. What you cling to, what you completely accept as reality, what you fight off for a while and then just give in to.. My alone time is something I value more than ever before. 

I was Skyping with my dad and we were catching up on the latest Facebook gossip together (don't act like you don't do the same thing) and as we were looking and talking about all the new babies, marriages and dogs I joked to him how I might never get married in real life or on Facebook and his response was, "Brenna, whenever I get on Facebook I'm looking at pictures of people getting married, of people with their dogs, of the new mattress for their new triple king bed and then I turn to your page and look at what you're doing, whose lives your affecting and how much you're sacrificing and growing and then I realize that I'm the lucky Dad, even if I don't get to walk you down the aisle yet." I guess Dads always do have a way of putting things back into perspective for you when you're feeling a little lost.. well at least mine does.. most of the time. More or less, I think I'm going to stick to declining the oh so ever flattering marriage proposals.