Last week was our Close of Service Conference in Korce. It was the last time our entire group would get together before leaving at different times from April-June for whatever life after Peace Corps brings us. We had sessions that prepared us for the heaps of paper work we have to do and then we have fun sessions like PCV Olympics and "Turp Awards."It was my responsibility to design the group t-shirts. We decided on "gjithmone gati" or "always ready" for the front and then on the back the shape of Albania containing words that we've learned here and the towns we've all lived in for two years. The shirts were a big hit and became even more popular when we learned that "gjithmone gati" has a meaning that none of us were aware about. Apparently in the schools during communism times this had a very strong meaning. Most that were in school during that time are now in their late 30's or older. Every morning when they lined up outside for their morning exercise and to enter the school the head master would scream something that roughly translated into "We're soliders, always prepared for war... are you ready?" and the entire student body would respond, "ALWAYS READY," which is the front of our shirts. It also was the slogan for forced volunteerism.
Well, let's just say that we're the new idea of volunteers and hopefully this will spark up some interesting conversations around town in the last two or three months before we leave.
