brenna journeys.: 6/1/12

Friday

Mediterranean cruise with my mom..

Thoughts on Taken 2..

So basically the only thing that the majority of Americans know about Albania is that they were the bad guys in the movie Taken, starring Liam Neeson. In this movie, Neeson plays a retired CIA agent who's daughter is kidnapped in Paris and sold into sex slavery. The main characters in this field of work, represented in the movie, are Albanians, from Tropoje, where I currently live. Did this make me a little nervous when I found out where I was going to be living for two years, sure. But I've also been pleasantly surprised by the quality of people that live in this place where "the speciality is trafficking women (according to this movie)."

While some people say 'any publicity is good publicity' I would argue against that in this case. Albania is such a small country, lost among the borders of Western Europe and the Middle East. It's the size of a small New England state in America and has a population of about 3 million and will forever be known as "oh yeah, that country where those sex traffickers were from in the movie Taken." For this to be the only idea of what Albania is for most of the western world, in my opinion, is doing the country an injustice. While these things do and have happened here, it's not who the majority of the Albanian people are. Most of the time while living here I'm overwhelmed with the hospitality and kindheartedness that I run into everyday.

While I'm guessing most movies that are produced in Hollywood about third world countries choose the most 'interesting' aspect of that community, I'm sure more times than none they people of that country would disagree with the way that they're portrayed. I think too as I post these blogs, it's always in the back of my mind that I want to get the good out about Albanians, I want people to know more of these amazing people that I've been living and working with for over a year now. I hope that that has been portrayed in this journal. I want to share my experiences, positive and negative alike but just teach people that Albanian's aren't all sex traffickers or car thieves. While these things are an unfortunate reality in Eastern Europe, it's not the majority of the population.

Does this mean I'm not going to watch Taken 2? No. I watched the first Taken in the hotel that I hang out in all the time, with my Albanian friends. Their comments included: "Hollywood messed up with the name. Marco is a Catholic name and his last name is Muslim. That would never happen." and "You can tell they actually got Albanian actors because the dialect from Tropoje is perfect."

Wednesday

Concrete Mushrooms..

Little insight on the left over bunkers..

Tuesday

The Cow Conflict of 2012

For the past three weeks, as a part of the morning meetings, we have been discussing the cow problem of our town. I've posted pictures before of the cows in the garbage and just roaming around, seemingly wherever they please. Well, the Summer of 2012 marks the stop of that. Although, for the most part the cows are harmless, they are causing damage to the town. Breaking parts off of the steps, spreading garbage everywhere and being an unwanted attraction for tourist and passer throughs. Some towns in Albania have the same problem with pigs. Property rights, land and other, are very blurry here.

Now before the cows were addressed, the stray dogs were. At one point in time I counted a pack of 23 dogs, all together. When night falls, for some reason these dog's pack mentality becomes stronger and their brains are set on full on attack mode. One day I went into work and wasn't strongly advised not to go out after dark that week but was downright ordered not to because after the clock struck midnight, workers would be on the hunt for the dogs. I spare you the head count but needless to say, the stray cows can't be handled like that because they actually belong to someone. Luckily, the little puppy I feed hotdogs to is still around. Unluckily, the dog outside my bedroom window that likes to bark at 5:00am every morning to get fed is still there. And the rooster that crows at 3:00am.

Today's meeting became a little dramatic because the police feel like it's not their job to keep watch over the cows they do collect and place in a fence area 24/7. Some people think the cows aren't a problem and actually like them. Some people think they should be handled like the dogs. Either way, visible change is something that the new administration has been very successful with and wants to keep it that way. Hopefully the Cow Conflict of 2012 will be taken care of and addressed properly before it becomes pushimë or vacation time for the summer.

Monday

10th Annual Sofra Dardane in Bajram Curri..

One of the most rewarding experiences..

Last weekend was the Paralympics in Albania. Six different cities in Albania participated with men and women athletes. Wheel chair basketball, Topi Ball, racing and ping pong were all events that the athletes could participate in. Topi Ball is for visually impaired athletes. Three members on a team and each acts as a goalie for a separate region of the court. Using their hearing only, athletes listen to wear the ball is coming from, how fast it's coming and dive for the ball in order for it not to go through the goal and score a point for the other team. There were over 100 athletes from all over Albania and almost 50 Volunteers, PCVs and Albanians alike.

In America I had volunteered for the Special Olympics some and was reminded of how much of a rewarding experience that was while we were helping this weekend. In a developing country such as Albania the mentality towards disabled people isn't always the best but being around able bodied Albanians who had a since of how important this was was truly inspiring.

Although the gym was probably over 100 degrees, everyone was full of smiles the entire three days of competition. I was lucky enough to be assigned to the Tirana basketball team who ended up winning the championship after going undefeated in 5 games. I was able to shoot around with them and tell them about my experience playing basketball in America and even played one on one with some of the players.

I feel like when you're a part of any event like that athletes, family members and volunteers alike have a since of pride and feel 100% comfortable in a judgement free zone. After talking with some other PCVs that were there we determined that was one of the most gratifying experiences we've had in country thus far. Talking to an Albanian volunteer who had attended a training abroad had realized how far behind Albania is in regards to importance of events like this and recognized Americans, in general, have a bigger understanding of it. It was so much fun to talk to people who were genuinely interested in the volunteer work I'm doing as a PCV here and rewarding to hear how grateful they were.

Paralympics Albania 2012..

Topi ball, athletes listen to the ball to try and save it before it goes through the goal..

All the volunteers!

Peace Corps girls..

Our championship basketball team from Tirana..

Receiving his trophy!..

Saturday

Things just happen..

Living in Albania rapidly goes from having absolutely nothing to do to being so busy that you don't have time to do it all. Last week was one of those weeks where I didn't have enough time to do everything. One of the most important things I've learned during my experience as a Volunteer is that you have to make yourself available. Just being in your community and spending some time doing nothing in your town opens you up to having a lot of opportunities you would have missed out on otherwise. Being involved with the shooting of this movie is a perfect example. Garrett was at the one copy store we have in town getting some copies and runs into the director and producer of this independent film. They have coffee together, come to find out, he's Bajram Curri raised, studied film in London and is going to be shooting a film about a Jewish woman traveling to Albania to escape Nazi persecution. This opened up the opportunity for Eric, who has a background in acting and playwriting, to have a speaking role in the film. It also opened up the opportunity for me to be the lead photographer on set and web designer for the film. Come to find out, both boys had a small acting part. It was such a learning experience being on set for a few days of a film. Watching the directions from the camera man, listening to feedback from the director and seeing how many people are really standing around on the other side of the camera. I think it was defiantly a feit to shoot a movie in Albania, with limited provisions, dead batteries and hungry crew members were bigger problems than in America. But I can't wait to see the finished product and will absolutely post it on here.