Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July to everyone. I have certainly celebrated in style here. On Saturday alot of volunteers made the trip to Tirana for a 4th picnic at the Ambassadors house. It was very interesting because the Ambassador of course lives in the American compound with many of the Embassy employees and USAID workers. It is like a little bit of America in there. Large lawns, large houses, and really nice playgrounds for the kids. Just outside the big security gate and the road deterents for suicide bomb cars is the real Albania. Lots of cement and trash and Albanian people.

Anyway the picnic was fun. They had hamburgers and beer and I was able to meet alot of other Americans that I hadn't met before. One of whom was a girl from Ft. Scott Kansas. She is a missionary and is in Albania for three weeks working with Sisters of Mercy, the Mother Teresa group. She was very nice and it was wierd to meet another person from Kansas, there aren't too many of us.

I spent Sunday cleaning my apartment. It is really dry here in the summer and so with the wind in Durres there is always dust and sand blowing everywhere. The past two weekends I have cleaned about an inch of dust of my floor and furniture. I am looking forward to the Fall with a little more rain and cooler temps. But in the fall I'll probably be wishing it was the Summer again.

Monday, my counterpart at co-plan texted me and told me take the day off for the holiday. It's not like I was doing anything anyway, so I went to the beach. The beaches here are okay to layout, but I don't swim. I'm afraid of the rashes and other various bacteria I would contract if I did. Beaches here certainly have their share of Speedos and everyone who shouldn't be wearing one usually is.

Today I spent several hours in lokale playing cards, talking, and watching a cow being butchered across the street. Albania had there national elections on Sunday, and they seem to have gone off without too many problems. It has certainly been the topic of conversation around here the past couple of months. Tomorrow I am going to start teaching an advanced english class with teenagers in Co-plan's target neighborhood with the hopes of starting a group of youth that can organize various projects for the neighborhood. It will be something to do so I am excited about it.

I think that's it for now.