First night of basketball open gyms!..

The boys wrote a grant through "Friends of Albania" and got 13 basketballs so the kids will
have somewhere to play during the winter months. Through the snow and ice, 7 degree below
temperature and ended by a power outage. We just want to play basketball!

We've got cabin fever..

For some reason when the power is off it feels colder. Not because it actually is but because when you go for 4 straight days with a total of about 5 hours of power your mind begins to do strange things. Neither Garrett nor Eric have wood stoves so for the last few days it’s like I’ve had roommates and we’ve taken turns cooking on my woodstove by candle light. Sure the first night is fun, the second night is annoying and it’s that third night that you begin to loose hope. I don’t remember last winter being like this. Were we just naïve? Had I lost all tolerance? No, last year power outages lasted one night max, but 3 straight nights is too much for anyone!

The only place that had power in the entire town for almost 5 days was the hotel and it was standing room only during all hours of operation. They had a generator going so not only did they have power but they had electric heat. After waiting in line to get a seat I got to charge my computer and phone and hang out inside a warm, smoke filled room instead of going to work.

We were sitting in my apartment yesterday, with out power, in the middle of the day, the schools were closed, work might as well have been closed and there was nothing to do. It was as cold in my house as it was outside and watching our breath show up in the air reminded us of that every second and laying in bed underneath all the covers was the warmest option. Huge snowflakes fell from the sky when I looked out of the window and I saw people bundled up walking around under umbrellas. Why did I love snow days back in the states? Oh, because I got out of school and could come back inside to a warm room and hot chocolate. I’ve decided I don’t like snow days anymore.

I was loosing my mind. I began to wonder if there was life outside of Bajram Curri at all. Was this the beginning of the end? Were the Mayans right and this was the start of the end of the world!? None of the buses went to the capital for 2 days. Last year that only happened once and it was in February… this is going to be a long one. All of us became very ornery and quick to snap at each other around the fourth day, making fun of everything, trying to find some sort of control in our lives. Then suddenly on Monday, the power came back on while I was cooking dinner on my gas bumble. I screamed and scared Eric in the other room but hallelujah! “The Lord giveth and he taketh away” had never felt so appropriate a few hours later because right before I laid down to go to sleep the lights flicked out again.

Today, I’ve had constant power since last night around 5:00pm. I actually got to cook dinner on my oven, talk to my parents and even download a movie! I’m sitting in a warm office with an electric heater to my right and typing with warm hands. I’m supposed to leave out on Sunday but they’re calling for more snow. I can’t wait to stay in a hotel, take a warm shower and sit in a room that I can’t see my breath in. It’s the small things.

Views without electricity..

Outside coffee and hammock time..

Creating an online presence..

So, one of my big projects recently has been redesigning the committee "Gender Equality" for Peace Corps Albania's logo, making a website and just getting a strong presence online for resources for Volunteers and Albanian's alike to help teach on gender development and make it applicable to Albania. I honestly just feel like I've been doing freelance work but I get to do whatever I want which is nice. I started with the logo, built up an entire package from that, thankfully we already had a pretty active Facebook page with Volunteers and Albanian youth, built a website from scratch (not my favorite work but I used it as a learning experience) and now I'm working on what I've titled "Gender Role Shorts."

Last year I, along with other Volunteers, interviewed over 20 Albanians, men, women and children, all with differing opinions on women's place in Albanian society, gender roles in the workplace, etc. One documentary was put together but I wanted to use these interviews to their fullest extent (a lot of the interviews weren't used in the documentary either). I thought this made a perfect opportunity to use these interviews and build our online presence even more by making 1-2 minute Youtube videos of all these amazing interviews and opinions from people all over the country.

Thankfully I've had a lot of help with the translations because I made it a goal to make all the videos in English and in Albanian. So far I have three videos uploaded and I'm working on making one every two weeks with the footage I already have. I think having these resources for students and Peace Corps Volunteers is a great way to help develop the movement of gender equality. I also believe that listening to Albanian's with varying opinions on the matter is a great way to learn and relate as well.

So, please, check out the work I've done so far:
BaraziaGjinore.com
Youtube
Facebook

Saturday walk in a village near Bajram Curri..

View of Bajram Curri from above..

Reflecting on bunker..