Belsh

Sunday I moved in with my host family in Belsh. I am living with a couple who live by themselves named Nezir and Gushe Tafali. They have two older children who no longer live at home. Nezir is one of six brothers, though, who all live next door to each other, so there is a constant flow of people through the house. The first night was a little stressing because I think my family didn't really believe that I didn't speak Albanian. I think they thought that I was just mentally slow. Every day I am understanding more of what they are saying because we are all getting better at finding new techniques besides words to get our points across. It is kind of frustrating not being able to really talk to the family and get their whole story, though.

Belsh is nice. It is a small town placed around a small lake. Lots of cafes where the men sit and drink raki (local moonshine) and turkish coffee. Belsh has a big trash problem just like the rest of Albania, but it doesn't detract too much from the charm.

We have officially started our training, which consists of daily language classes, cultural training, safety and medical training, and culminates in the completion of a community project. It's hard to find time to do all that PC asks us to do because the family is always wanting to sit and chat and besides there are better things to than study.