Friday

Compare the U.S. to Albania..

IfItWereMyHome.com compares countries around the world to America. Infancy rates, availability of electricity and clean water, health care, etc. It's interesting to see them compared as countries to each other because Albania has the population equivalent to Iowa (around 3 million). Regaurdless, it was interesting to see and they also had a very in depth look of Albanian history and why they are where they are today. Click here to see how Albania stacks up to the U.S...

Albania in the news elsewhere:

The EU or a Greater Albania?

Greek Shepard Attacked when going to Albania to claim his stolen livestock

Documentary seeks to explain why Albanians sought to save Jews during the Holocaust

Former Gitmo dentainee, now cooking pizza in Albania


Thursday

The 23rd year of my life..


It finally came full circle and I spent an entire (fiscal) year of my life in Albania. I had my 23rd birthday in Albania last summer and last week celebrated my 24th birthday. Last year about 15 other PCV's came up to celebrate mine and another PCV's birthday but this year I laid low and celebrated with the boys and Sara and Kim came up from Durres to celebrate with us. Garrett and Eric made us delicious nachos from a package from Garrett's parents that included nacho cheese and a 3 pound box of tortilla chips (we inhaled them).

In a lot of ways I feel like I've learned more this year of my life than any of the years before. Okay, except when I was learning to walk and talk and stuff. But during this year of my life I have been exposed to, I know this is going to sound corny, but the world. We Googled "how many Americans travel outside of America" and we found that only 34% of North Carolinan's actually have their passports issued to them. California has the highest percentage and Mississippi has the lowest at 19%. Only about 1/3 of people in my state even own a passport. Here, people are amazed by the American passport, claiming you can go anywhere and do anything that you want to. During communism Albanian's couldn't leave their town, let along the country and an American passport could be sold for over 3000 Euros during that time.

I actually now have a grasp on the geography of the world, because I've had the opportunity to go there, where countries are in relation to me now (Egypt and Syria are not that far), that Singapore is something called a City-State. Most European's I meet can speak at least three languages: their native language, English (of course) and at least one or two bordering countries languages. The feeling that I'm less than never seems to go away when I meet people who are tri-lingual. In America if you speak two languages I feel like you're considered accomplished but three here is the bare minimal. World geography, foreign languages, foreign history.. all are things that I didn't get from my 15+ years of formal education, but in one year I feel like I have a better grasp on it than I have in my entire life. I've met people from all walks of the world, sat at a table for Christmas Eve dinner with people from 5 different countries (all communicating in English, which was their 2nd or 3rd language), found commonalities between myself and a shepherd who had lived in the Albanian Alps his entire life..

I guess what I'm trying to say is how blessed I feel to have this experience. Being a Peace Corps Volunteer has not only allowed me to submerge myself fully in a culture other than my own but learn and experience so others as well. It's also made me realize how fortunate I am to be an American citizen. I was born an American citizen but after this year of my life I now feel more like a citizen of the world.

Tonight I learned from two Germans the word for cheers "prost" and that if you don't make eye contact with everyone that is cheering that you will have a bad sex life for 14 years. This can be counter acted however by attending a wedding and breaking a lot of your old dishes. Also, there is one very small part of Germany that you go door to door for Christmas, compliment people on their Christmas trees and then you are offered vodka from the host. Then you compliment their lights and are offered vodka. You get the idea.

Albania takes you places..

So after doing some traveling around Albania I finally made it back to my cozy apartment in Bajram Curri. My apartment is one of my favorite things about where I live. It's comfortable, safe, the perfect place for 3 person dinner parties every night, has ample amounts of seating and sleeping surfaces and has become my home; my first apartment by myself. Although it does have those minor quirks I've had to get used to: Water only once a day, no working refrigerator, no source of centralized heating or air conditioning, a turkish toilet, no hot water and probably other things I've just gotten used to and don't realize anymore. Anyways, it's my home and probably the place I feel most comfortable in Albania.

I've realized that you don't go anywhere in Albania, Albania takes you places. You don't decide to do things, Albania decides you do things. You don't order what you want on a menu, Albania decides what you're going to eat that day. This is one of those scenarios. I was four days late on paying my electricity, which you would think would be a big deal, but since I'm one of probably 20 constant costumers, I wasn't worried about getting my electricity cut off. I usually carry my receipt book around the day and pay just to spark up conversation with people because 9 out of 10 of them laugh at me for paying and tell me not to.

Anyways, I was waiting to be helped and my landlord comes up to me and tells me she wants to come to my apartment at 3:00 (when we're supposed to have water) and clean my blankets and sheets. Okay I thought, I haven't been home in a while, maybe they do need a little cleaning, no big deal. Let me also throw this little bit of information in there; because I'm a woman there is a lot of pressure from other women in the town to keep my apartment clean. Albanian's standards of clean compared to mine are very different. I take pride in keeping my house clean but even when I think it's at it's best I still get comments on how it should be cleaner.

So sure, I'll have a cleaning day with my landlady, no biggie. She comes over and to my surprise doesn't want to have a girls day in cleaning with me, just wants to rip up my carpet to take to the car wash to be cleaned and take off all of my covers off of my couches to be washed. Except we didn't have water all day. So now, my lovely, humble abode has been stripped down to what feels like a dingy basement. Now, this is a huge offer of help and she continues to do an amazing job at being my pronar but it was definitely beyond my control when this was going to happen. She said she's been wanting to do it since the new year.. 8 months later it happens.

Back to that whole Albania takes you places and feeds you things, this is another example.

Pogradec & Lake Ohrid..

Lake Ohrid is the largest lake in Albania. It is split between Albania and Macedonia.


The view from another PCV's apartment..
The sunset in a nearby village..

6th Annual Beerfest in Korçe..

50L a piece (about 50 cents)..

My new best friend.. we danced for hours.




Tuesday

GAD Committee Campout in Voskopoje..

Gender and Development Committee 2012





Sunday

But it's pushime!..

One thing that I think Europe claims superiority over America is summer vacation. It isn't atypical to take a month or two for vacation time! Now in Albania, where work flow is typically slow, it is almost non existant during the summer months. Last year I spent most of the summer in my community, meeting people and making work relationships in my town. This summer, I have adopted this Pushime (vacation) month in August and have been enjoying myself, as well as getting a little work done here and there. I think one of the unique things that the Peace Corps offers you is the opportunity to learn almost everything there is to know about your host country. I feel pretty confident, after a year and a half of living here that I have a firm grasp on Albania as a people, where they've come from and the geography of the country. There are however a lot of places I have not traveled and whether it's because it's a 15 hour bus ride that defers me or not, I haven't decided yet.

We just finished our Mid-Service Conference in Tirana where the 45 Americans left in country that I came here with in March 2011 came together, reflected and planned for what we want to have accomplished before we start to go home next spring. As I've said before, opening a site like I have done with my two sitemates, there usually isn't that much pressure to really accomplish anything to big, except making relationships and paving the way for the next Volunteers. I think that the "Bajram Curri Kids" as we've been deemed, have done nothing but break down these low expectations and have have had some huge accomplishments, even though they didn't seem like it at the time. I think just being in your community has so much to do with your successes with work because I think the people that are motivated and want to work and see change will find you if you don't find them first.

So as I spent most of my last summer in my community, hosting huge groups of Volunteers traveling up north to do the most beautiful hike in the country, and meeting people in my community, this summer I've decided to branch out for myself and adopt the "pushim" mentality. With almost everyone in my office practicing this "pushim mentality" and not having anything going on in my host agency, I don't think I should be punished. I don't have any huge projects planned for this next year but I know that if I just put myself out there and make myself available like I have been, something will inevitably fall into my lap. Besides, when am I ever in my adult life going to get vacation leniency like I am now. Probably never again.

I made the realization that I haven't been in an English speaking country in over a year and a half which is pretty amazing and daunting all at the same time, especially with my upcoming trip to America for a few weeks. Being able to understand the table beside of me at a coffee stop usually tips off that I'm sitting beside some foreigners.

Thursday

Call Me Maybe, music video of the summer..

Last summer it was Ke$ha and Miley Cyrus, click here for this year..