Am I Getting Boring?

I began writing this blog, along with my other blog, years ago and have kept up with it pretty regularly. For some reason lately I have had no desire to write because I don't feel like there is anything worth writing about. If this mean what I THINK it means, then horror of all horrors....I am getting boring! Yes, you heard it here first...my LIFE is getting BORING.
For those of who know me, you know that my life has always been anything BUT boring. There is always something percolating. Up, downs, and always sideways, a normal life for me has always been on the sillier side of "you won't believe this but...". The one remedy I can think of is to simply sit down and write and see what pops up. Oh, and photos...I got plenty of those. I am going to string a few of those together to make up a mini-film about what life is like in Burrel so stay tuned for that.
What have I been doing since I last wrote? Hmm. I need to consult my notes. I met 4 high school English teachers here in town and 1 out in a tiny village about 20 miles from here. I visited them while they were teaching classes and I observed their teaching methods. It was interesting and I learned a lot. All are willing to work with me in the new semester so that means I will be putting together some trainings for next year. This coming week I am meeting 6 more teachers and although classes are pretty much done, I will be meeting them for coffee to get to know them a bit. So far so good as far as the job goes.
I moved into my apartment a few days after coming here and am all settled in. It's a nice place and I have pretty much everything I need here, which is a big change from my last PC apartment. I even have a washing machine!!! Woo hoo! And a microwave!! Double score!! It's all good in the hood here. Take a look at my new place.

So Barb and I have been spending lots of time together. Everyday we get together to study Shqip (Albanian). We also have a tutor that we see 3 times a week for an hour each lesson. I think it has been really helpful so far. My language has been improving, albeit slowly. There is another PCV in my town. Gene is a health volunteer. He's a pretty cool guy and does a lot with the youth here. Yesterday the 3 of us ate lunch together. Speaking of foodstuffs....
I have been having a really tough time finding the things I enjoy. In particular, tea. Albania is a coffee culture and there is a coffee bar every 5 feet. Sometimes they occupy the same building! But try to find some tea...it's been a huge challenge. I really need to get some decent tea..the loose-leaf kind so I can move forward with my next tea bag project. Luckily I got me a tea connection in Rehoboth, Massachusetts (Thanks Manette!!!) who is willing to ship me some.
Now, a little about the food. I'm having a hard time finding food I like as well. Chicken, although abundant here, is not something I can just go and buy at the grocery store. I have to go see the chicken people and pick out a bird. I'm sure they would be kind enough to kill it for me but can you imagine me plucking and cleaning it?  Ugh. Just the thought puts me off. I've been to the butchers and have yet to see pork. All I have ever seen are dead cows hanging on hooks. I am sure that I will one day figure out how to order up some cow. Mind you, the language barrier is bad enough but even in English I don't know the exact words for asking for a certain cut of beef. Here they just cut off a slab and hand it over. What the hell can I do with that? What if I end up with the cheek or something? Or the tail? Or a leg?
So, it looks like meat is off the menu for a while. I guess I'll stick with cheese and eggs...and nuts. Although REALLY expensive, I can always eat more nuts.
Enough for now. Signing off with a "bon appetite" to all you meat-eaters in America.

Burrel, Albania

My site mate Barbara and I arrived in our small town of Burrel yesterday and we are just blown away! The road in is long and winding....up through mountains and curving alongside a beautiful river the entire way. Our apartments aren't quite ready to be lived in yet so the Peace Corps has put us up in a very nice hotel called Vila Bruci. It's more like a family run inn with a nice restaurant and an unbelievable view. Here is your first glimpse of Burrel.

Albanian Culture

What have I learned so far about Albanian culture? Maybe a smidgen. Or an iota. Perhaps not a whole hell of a lot in the mere 6 weeks I’ve been here. And I missed the first 2 weeks, which is the time that the Peace Corps staff gets you well acquainted with the culture which is another reason I know so little. So far this is a little bit about what I have learned:

• Albania is largely agrarian. There are farms everywhere except the cities.
• Family is everything. Number one, always. They are connected not only by blood, but proximity. Here in my village families live in compounds or next to each other. And they rarely leave their place of birth.
• Shaking of the head means yes and nodding means no. (This has understandably caused us all a lot of confusion).
• It’s a coffee culture and a cup of coffee is really an event that can last anywhere from 1 hour to half the day.
• Older people get a lot more respect (hooray!) which has led me to go gray all the way. (Yes, mom. You heard me). I don’t know how long this will last but for now it’s fine.
• When someone tells you a banana costs 300 lek, they really mean 30 lek, because there is a system of new lek in place. When you ask the price you have to ask people “is that in old lek or new lek”?

Now, a bit about gender:

It’s a patriarchal society and men have all the power. There is still a clear distinction between “women’s work” and “men’s work”. In villages women and girls do not “go out” unless accompanied by a male family member or parent (not that there is any place to “go out” to). The younger gals in our Peace Corps group have to be really careful about going anyplace alone. They are told to stay out of bars (coffee bars too) unless it’s designated a “family” place. Most bars are men’s bars and you really don’t want to go there. Surprisingly enough, in order for me to open up a bank account, I had to give them my father’s first name. According to the bank, my designation is now “Joanne Giovanni Luongo”.

I’ll write more on Albanian culture as I come to experience and understand it better.

Phase 1: Finishing Line

Hard to believe but next Monday I'll be swearing in as a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). The first stage of training is a mere 8 weeks (6 for me, since I was 2 weeks late)...unlike the grueling 12 weeks I endured the first time around in Ukraine. Training is Albania has been a breeze. I still feel like I have only arrived here yet Monday I am finished with Phase I. Phase II will find me in a town just 60 miles north of the capital city. Burrel will be my home for 6 weeks of independent living and training, then it's back to my host family in the village of Thane for 2 more weeks of training (Phase III). My group in Thane consists of 8 folks....three of us are teacher-trainers, one is in community development and the others are university teachers. Everyone was assigned to a big city except for me, but to my mind I have the best site for connecting with my community...not an easy thing to do when you live in a big city. I have more opportunities to do some grassroots projects in my town and perhaps the surrounding villages because of its small size. One special thing of note is I have site-mates! A second-year health volunteer is already in place, and a woman from my training group will be placed in my town as well..she is a COD volunteer (Community and Organizational Development). Barbara will be working for the Mayor...who is...wait for it...a women! (A HUGE deal in this patriarchal country). This is a huge coup for me as I will be wanting to do all sorts of community projects and having a PCV with the mayor's ear will come in handy for sure.

                                                         The Village People. (Group Thane)

 Mike. Erion (teacher), Bill, Nate, Adrian, Lindeta (teacher), Cristin, Polly, Me and Julie

Saturday in Tirana

The entire group went to Tirana on Saturday. All agreed it was a beautiful city and a lot of fun. The scenery in this country is unbelievable...hills, valleys, mountains and streams...just lovely. I'll take some pictures when I have a better view (a moving bus is not conducive to good photography). Here I am with some of my fellow travelers.

Jake and I (sorry...poor quality)

Pier and Alyssa

Eric and I

There are ten of us in the group that will be living north of Tirana and this is the group I traveled around the city with today. We went to the PC office then toured around the city a bit looking at stuff and ended with a nice lunch and coffee (and) afterwards.

Famous pyramid landmark...a solute to communism back in the day.

Museum

Crazy architecture...a round-cornered building

More crazy architecture