Life so far

4/04/05

Time has been really slow here so far. Just language classes from 8-1 and then spending the rest of the day playing soccer, reading, or just listening to people talk shqip. Soon my group here in Belsh will have to begin working on our community project, so that will fill some of the extra time. One interesting thing has happened, though. On Saturday my host parents’ son returned home unexpectedly from Italy. He had spent four years working in the U.K. so he is mostly fluent in English. Talking to him has really given me insight into the immigrant culture that exists here. Most young men have their aspirations set on moving abroad and finding work. Mostly because there seems to be little available work here or opportunities for furthering education, but also in order to help support their families. I make this assumption from my limited perspective, but it will be an interesting issue to explore as I continue to spend more time here. I think I read before I came here that something like 30% of Albania’s annual national income comes from foreign remittances.

Other than that, the food has been good, the people are nice, and the land is beautiful (except for all of the trash), so I really can’t complain.



4/07/05

So, here is my typical day, and I have a feeling this routine will persist throughout training.

6:50 Get up. If there is hot water, I’ll take a shower, if not I won’t. Showers happen about every third day.

7:20 Eat breakfast with the family. Usually bread with jelly and butter, an egg, and Turkish coffee.

7:40 Walk a mile to school

8:00-10:30 Language class

10:30-11:00 Coffee break at the local café

11:00-1:00 Language class

1:30-2:30 Lunch at the local café. Usually chicken soup and bread or maybe pasta.

Walk back to my house

The rest of the afternoon I spend studying, reading a book, playing soccer on the road, trying to communicate with my family, and just hanging out
8:00 Eat dinner with the family. Always bread, usually either soup, fish, or grilled meat. Always olives, cucumbers, onions, yoghurt or whole milk. The food here is actually pretty good, and I haven’t gone hungry so far.

9:00-10:30 Hang out. Play dominoes.

11:00 Go to bed

I think I am finally getting over my homesickness. Homesickness is kind of a funny thing when you think about it. When I was at home in the States, I couldn’t wait to get to Albania and experience life here. Once I got here, I found myself wishing that I was back home in the States. It seems that no matter where I am, I’m wanting to be somewhere else. I didn’t really understand how long two years and three months is until I got here. I still miss home and my family, but in the past couple of days I have begun to get into the flow of a routine and I am starting to feel more comfortable with my host family and my community. My language is progressing well too. Walking home from school just now I was able to sustain a conversation with a boy from my neighborhood for about 10 minutes. Of course, the subjects were limited and I had to avoid the past tense, but he seemed to understand what I was trying to say.

Tomorrow all of the volunteers will be meeting again in Elbasan for group training sessions. We have training from 8-5, so it is a pretty long day with a lot of dry material, but it will be good to see the other volunteers, hear their stories and commiserate a little bit.

I am trying to post the pictures I have taken on the web, but I need a photo website that lets you upload your pictures without downloading a program. If anybody knows of any I would appreciate your suggestions. Once I get the pictures posted I will make sure and publish the link.

4/11/05

Today was an interesting day. The big news this morning was that one of the volunteers living with me in Belsh decided to return to the states. I’m sad that he is going. I’ve only known the other volunteers for about three weeks, but I already feel close to them. Mostly just because of all the shared experiences we have had during these three weeks. I know it was a tough decision for him, and I wish him nothing but the best for the future. It will be weird though not having him around.

Still haven’t quite adjusted to the lack of privacy and time alone. There always seems to be something going on, and many of the kids in my host family want to hang out all the time. They finish school at 1pm and then they are bored and looking for something to do, and currently I am the choice for entertainment. I think the novelty of my presence might fade soon and hopefully that will help a little. I just need to appreciate the attention and celebrity because I might miss it when it is gone.