The time has come for one last blog post in 2008. I sounds crazy to say it, but 2008 has already come and almost gone. Wow! What a year it has been, huh? :)
The time has also come for me to talk about Christmas. Our children's service went smoothly, for what it was. It was by no means orderly or well-rehearsed like all the programs I've seen and the ones I participated in as a child. But, it went ok and everyone who came seemed to enjoy it. I'll admit that personally, because I'm ridiculously organized and because I love order, I wasn't all that happy with it. But as it finished and the kids were happy and as people were talking about how much they enjoyed it, I felt a little better.
People clapped after every song and ever reading/recitation the children did. I kept thinking, "Just wait 'til the end, people." lol But it was reassuring for the kids and they did do well. But the thing that was strange was that Laura (Agron's great niece, the one who plays violin) played two songs at the end of the service. She hadn't come to any practices, hadn't rehearsed with us at all, but Vitori told her she could play. So um, we just kind of let her at the end of the service. But only once it was completely finished because she wasn't playing sacred songs. She played Jingle Bells and We Wish You A Merry Christmas. So overall, it was by far the weirdest Christmas Service I have every been to, or probably will ever go to, but it was good because I will always remember it.
For Christmas Eve we stayed at our place and had our own festivities with Aida. She came over and we had some snacks--bruschetta that Emily made, sausage, mandarins, kiwis, and wine--followed by cheesy potato soup that I made. Then we had a Christmas devotion so we could explain the advent wreath and candles to Aida and then we read the Christmas story. It was very nice. Simple and definitely not fancy, but very nice.
Then we opened presents. :) We took a bunch of funny pictures to capture our reactions to everything. lol Aida did lots of picture taking and even more laughing at us. The funniest thing of the whole night was that Emily and I both got each other long green necklaces. Haha! We are definitely related!
After that was over, we got out the cookies and chocolate and played Ticket To Ride. Of course that was fun, too. But then we quit so that Emily and I could take some time to call our families and since it was late, Aida went home.
On Christmas Day, we hosted Olsa, Neda, and Ledio in the afternoon. They also decided to bring two extra people. We weren't exactly prepared, but we arranged things to make it work and found a quick last minute gift for each of them from things we had at our apartment. lol The two extra guests were Sara and Danja, two of Emily's students. They are just so darned cute. They also have an interesting story because their dad was/sort of it Muslim, but their mom isn't, and they don't appear to live that way or really follow any of the traditions. Sometimes they even come to church with Neda, but they always come to Activity Nights and always stop in to see Emily and I, even when it's not their class time.
So we kind of pretty much repeated the same activities as the day before with left over snacks, soup, and cookies. They opened the presents we gave them, we put on some Christmas music and danced a little, and then watched a movie that was on TV. It was very fun and I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all. ;)
Since then, I've just been doing a lot of relaxing because I know that once the New Year gets here, things will start to get busier again. We have plans to have dinner with the Huna family (Olsa, Neda, and Ledio's family) and then we're meeting some friends in the city center for the fireworks. Then we'll see where the night takes us. It will be interesting because here, most people stay home until it actually reaches midnight and the new year, and then they go out and celebrate. It's typical for people to be out until 5am or later. Oh, man. I'm not so sure how I feel about that, but Emily and I are both thinking that 3am sounds late enough for us. lol :)
After that, we're leaving at 11pm on the 4th to go to Italy for a few days. We're taking the ferry across the Adriatic Sea from Durres, Albania to Bari, Italy. The ferry ride is overnight so that we have a larger portion of our day the next day to spend checking things out. From Bari, we'll take the train to Naples. We've booked a spot at a hostel in Naples, near the center but right on the coast. We're planning on taking a day trip to go to Pompeii and see the ruins left from Mt. Vesuvius. We'll also spend another day and a half in Naples before we head home. I'm so excited!!! I'm just praying that I feel good because with this dumb giardia business, I never know how I'll feel from day to day, even though I usually just feel kind of generally yucky overall.
Once we get back from Italy on the 8th (or maybe the wee hours of the morning on the 9th), we will have to start some serious planning for classes. It will be good to get lessons planned out for the first few weeks and we'll have to start calling kids and reminding them about registration and orientation. I'm sure we'll have a few more days to relax and such, but it will be time to get back to work as well.
Oh! There's one other noteworthy thing we've done. We went to another birthday party. Sara turned 11 and we were invited to her house for snacks and cake and a little party with just a few kids. Her mom was explaining to us that last time (at Danja's birthday) things got too crazy and there were too many out of control kids, so Sara's party was smaller. But she kept telling us she was so happy and it was a very good birthday. Awww. :)
So...without further adieu and because I've had time, here are a bunch of photo albums for you to look at. :) One I get more savvy about this link business, I'm hoping that I'll just be able to type the name of think album for you to click on and be taken directly to the pictures. But we'll see. I may not have enough time to figure that all out. lol Anyway, enjoy what I have to share for the time being.
Here are the pictures of events leading up to Christmas:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=52C42ZQ3443M5FCGYK23RW
These are the pictures from when we baked cookies with the girls in the MMM group:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=54ETYYPXU24M5FCGYK23RW
Sara's birthday party was fun. See for yourself:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=65ETYX56R22M5FCGYK23RW
The Christmas Eve photos can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=54AXX5R44V6M5FCGYK23RW
And the pictures for Christmas Day can be seen at:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=Z6LUZZT4P4YCUC1GVJVXQWR
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Letter 2008
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Hebrews 13:8
I admit, it's not usually a verse I think about at Christmas. But, being here, it has been the one that has come to mind the most often during this Christmas season. Day to day life, traditions, cultural norms, and socially acceptable behavior here are not the same as they are at home in the U.S. And Christmas definitely isn't the same. In fact, here it's just another regular old work day. But as I helped children prepare for a program, as I shared my Christmas plans with those curious inquisitors, as I did some Christmas shopping, as I taught people how to make Christmas decorations, as I baked Christmas cookies with first-timers, and even as I drank coffee, I have realized that though so many things about my life are different this Christmas, one thing--the most important thing--remains the same: the reason for celebrating.
I admit, it's not usually a verse I think about at Christmas. But, being here, it has been the one that has come to mind the most often during this Christmas season. Day to day life, traditions, cultural norms, and socially acceptable behavior here are not the same as they are at home in the U.S. And Christmas definitely isn't the same. In fact, here it's just another regular old work day. But as I helped children prepare for a program, as I shared my Christmas plans with those curious inquisitors, as I did some Christmas shopping, as I taught people how to make Christmas decorations, as I baked Christmas cookies with first-timers, and even as I drank coffee, I have realized that though so many things about my life are different this Christmas, one thing--the most important thing--remains the same: the reason for celebrating.
The story of our Savior's birth is timeless. Unchanging. Enduring. The baby born in Bethlehem was born in a simple place to common people. His first visitors were regular people, shepherds in fact. But here's where things are different. His birth announcement was spectacular! I don't know about you, but I certainly don't know anyone whose birth was announced twice by angels. First the angel Gabriel came to tell Mary that she would give birth to the Savior. Then, when he made his appearance as a baby on that night in Bethlehem, an angel told the shepherds the good news and was then joined in chorus by a whole host of angels. WOW!!!
For me the biggest joy this Christmas is knowing that around the world there really are people celebrating for the same reason. I think of Emily, myself, and our friends here. I think of my parents and David and the rest of my family at home. I think of my aunt and uncle and cousins in Grenada. I think of a high school friend who now lives in Zambia, Africa. I think of college friends who are in China. I think of other friends in England, Thailand, and Australia. I think of friends and family around the United States. All of us are celebrating the same thing no matter what time zone we're in or what culture currently surrounds us. The news of our Savior, his birth, and his work will never ever change. Not in my lifetime nor throughout eternity. What he did started when he was born a tiny baby, just like you and me. Praise God for that little life born to Mary on a silent night in Bethlehem!
So to all of you around the world, I send my love and wishes to you all for a very merry Christmas from Albania. :)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Brand New Vocabulary
Now that I am officially done with teaching classes until January 19, I'd like to take time and recap some new words I have learned from my classes. That's right--I have a brand spankin' new (but limited) Albanian vocabulary. Get ready for a random list. :)
1. ulu (pr. OO-loo) = sit down
This comes in very handy. I had no idea how useful this word would be when I first learned it.
2. një minutë (pr. NEE mee-NUTE) = one moment, in a minute
I say this all the time because students really like to interrupt me while I'm helping another student. lol Sound familiar to anyone else?
3. pritje (pr. PREET) = wait
No other word is as useful as this. Hands down, it is the best word I have learned yet!
4. patatina (pr. pah-tah-TEEN-ah) = potato chips
I really don't have any use for this word, but I learned it when one of my groups had "potato chips" as one of their vocabulary words. It is my favorite Albanian word because it's just so fun to say. :) Patatina!
5. gezuar krishtlindjet (pr. geh-ZOO-are kreesht-LEEN-deeyet) = Merry Christmas
You had to know I was going to learn this one, right?
6. gezuar ditëlindjen (pr. geh-ZOO-are deet-LEEN-dyen) = Happy Birthday
This was a must-learn as well, but I'm sure you suspected as much. ;)
7. dasmë (pr. DAZ-may) = wedding
You didn't see that one coming! Haha! Again, it was a vocabulary word. I know all sorts of wedding words. Here's a few more:
8. nuse (pr. NOO-seh) = bride
Vocabulary word.
9. dhëndër (thain-DARE) = groom
Vocabulary.
10. fustan (foo-STAHN) = gown, wedding dress
Thank you, wedding lesson.
11. kostum dasme (KOS-tume, DAZ-may) = tuxedo
Ok, enough with the wedding words. But thanks to the yellow and green groups for helping me learn them.
12. mesatare (pr. mess-ah-TAR-eh) = average
I learned this one in a lesson I taught about sports and the future tense.
13. papritur (pr. pah-PREE-tur) = suddenly
Don't remember how or when I learned this one, but I know it was with my blue group.
14. albitër (pr. al-BEE-tare) = umpire, referee
Another sports word, obviously. Hmmm, what are the chances I'll use this in every day conversations? lol
15. vesh (pr. VEHSH) = to wear
This was a popular vocabulary word in all of my classes. Our books like to talk about fashion.
That list doesn't include all the words I've learned, it's just a sampling of what I can remember off the top of my head. You know--the ones that just stick in my brain. I also know the days of the week, months of the year, numbers, and other daily words (Hello, goodbye, thank you, see you later, please, you're welcome, etc., etc.).
As my classes ended, I held off on the little speech about cheating and copying. I figured I should end on a positive note and add some consequences of those actions to my list of rules which I will review at the start of the next session of classes.
On another positive note, I got all the cookies baked for my classes, I'm ready for Christmas practice and activity night tomorrow, and am looking forward to the Christmas Service on Saturday. Plus, Emily and I had time to go see a movie tonight. Nights of Rodanthe was cute. We liked it. :) One step closer to vacation and all's well. Except the never-ending rain. lol But that will change eventually.
For now, natën e mirë! (pr. NAH-ten eh MEER) "Good night!"
1. ulu (pr. OO-loo) = sit down
This comes in very handy. I had no idea how useful this word would be when I first learned it.
2. një minutë (pr. NEE mee-NUTE) = one moment, in a minute
I say this all the time because students really like to interrupt me while I'm helping another student. lol Sound familiar to anyone else?
3. pritje (pr. PREET) = wait
No other word is as useful as this. Hands down, it is the best word I have learned yet!
4. patatina (pr. pah-tah-TEEN-ah) = potato chips
I really don't have any use for this word, but I learned it when one of my groups had "potato chips" as one of their vocabulary words. It is my favorite Albanian word because it's just so fun to say. :) Patatina!
5. gezuar krishtlindjet (pr. geh-ZOO-are kreesht-LEEN-deeyet) = Merry Christmas
You had to know I was going to learn this one, right?
6. gezuar ditëlindjen (pr. geh-ZOO-are deet-LEEN-dyen) = Happy Birthday
This was a must-learn as well, but I'm sure you suspected as much. ;)
7. dasmë (pr. DAZ-may) = wedding
You didn't see that one coming! Haha! Again, it was a vocabulary word. I know all sorts of wedding words. Here's a few more:
8. nuse (pr. NOO-seh) = bride
Vocabulary word.
9. dhëndër (thain-DARE) = groom
Vocabulary.
10. fustan (foo-STAHN) = gown, wedding dress
Thank you, wedding lesson.
11. kostum dasme (KOS-tume, DAZ-may) = tuxedo
Ok, enough with the wedding words. But thanks to the yellow and green groups for helping me learn them.
12. mesatare (pr. mess-ah-TAR-eh) = average
I learned this one in a lesson I taught about sports and the future tense.
13. papritur (pr. pah-PREE-tur) = suddenly
Don't remember how or when I learned this one, but I know it was with my blue group.
14. albitër (pr. al-BEE-tare) = umpire, referee
Another sports word, obviously. Hmmm, what are the chances I'll use this in every day conversations? lol
15. vesh (pr. VEHSH) = to wear
This was a popular vocabulary word in all of my classes. Our books like to talk about fashion.
That list doesn't include all the words I've learned, it's just a sampling of what I can remember off the top of my head. You know--the ones that just stick in my brain. I also know the days of the week, months of the year, numbers, and other daily words (Hello, goodbye, thank you, see you later, please, you're welcome, etc., etc.).
As my classes ended, I held off on the little speech about cheating and copying. I figured I should end on a positive note and add some consequences of those actions to my list of rules which I will review at the start of the next session of classes.
On another positive note, I got all the cookies baked for my classes, I'm ready for Christmas practice and activity night tomorrow, and am looking forward to the Christmas Service on Saturday. Plus, Emily and I had time to go see a movie tonight. Nights of Rodanthe was cute. We liked it. :) One step closer to vacation and all's well. Except the never-ending rain. lol But that will change eventually.
For now, natën e mirë! (pr. NAH-ten eh MEER) "Good night!"
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Surprise, Surprise
Surprise! It's me again. I'm back so soon. I was making myself frustrated by only updating once a week. How boring is that? So I'm going to change. Simple. Look at my good efforts lately. *Pats self on the back.* lol
First of all, Christmas practice on Sunday was not so hot. The kids must've eaten pure sugar for breakfast because most of them couldn't sit still and/or be quiet. The best behaved was the youngest one--an adorably cute just turned 6 year old boy named Rinaldo. Seriously one of the cutest kids ever! He comes running past the door to the church when we're there working, stops and looks in, and as soon as we look up, he waves and runs away. So adorable!
Anyway, I got off the track. Little kids are so fun but distracting. ;) It didn't help that they were getting their costumes two at a time with Emily while the rest of them were practicing the songs with me. Then once everyone had their costumes, they just couldn't focus or listen or anything. So we had to plan time for one more practice. We're going to do it Friday before Activity Night.
We were at church until 3 or 3:30 that day. Got there at 11:30 so it was a long noisy few hours. We hadn't eaten and were so hungry that we decided to go out for an early dinner. We went to Gloria Pizza, which is really an Italian restaurant not just a pizza place. It's really really nice and very fancy. They take off your coat for you, set your purse down for you, pull out your chair, put your napkin on your lap, pour your drinks for you, and by our standards, it's totally affordable! Emily had soup and a salad and I had soup and pasta and then we both ordered salep after we were though and the total wasn't even $20. CrAzY!!! When you finish eating and stand up to leave, people race over to you to help with your coat and bag. Wow! And, like most places here, once they realize we speak English, they try to practice with us or immediately tell us how they've learned English. lol It's funny. Every. Single. Time.
Then we came back and I had a very late night writing tests. I did as promised and wrote different versions of the same test for each student. But I didn't even get to give the tests on Monday. About an hour before I had to leave, I was suddenly bombarded with a bout of giardia. It was so out of the blue. I hate this stupid parasite! Luckily, Emily is a gem, and since I was prepared, she volunteered to hand out my test and then sit through it. I haven't corrected the tests yet, but I did glance at them. Since I know handwriting, I can see who cheated. They are not going to be too happy with my little speech next class. Honestly, they didn't cheat that much, but they still cheated. Not good! Just because their teachers in school may let them get away with it doesn't mean I'm going to. No way, Jose!
Last night I was feeling better than in the afternoon so Emily and I went on with our plans. We met at the Stephen Center to grab a bite and do some planning. It was our version of a "lunch meeting." We were actually very productive and got everything decided regarding registration and orientation for our second session which starts in January. We'll have all the papers, notes, and details ready for our students this week so we can give it to them on their last day of class. Then we can remind them again at Activity Night and again after the Christmas program when we can also talk to their parents. Whew! Chalk one up for productivity. ;)
There's still plenty to be done this week: tests to be corrected, Christmas cookies to be baked for my classes' Christmas parties, music to practice for the Christmas program, Activity Night to prepare for, Christmas Practice on Friday, the Christmas Service on Saturday and then comes the best part.......BREAK!!!!!! I'll update you on those plans later, but right now, it's looking pretty jam packed considering it's a break. Fun stuff though--don't worry! :)
I wish I knew how to make my blog look cool. I know other people who use this site to blog. That's how I decided to make mine here. But their blogs all look way better than mine. More fun and interesting, nicer backgrounds, better links to photo albums, more pictures, different fonts, etc. etc. If anyone knows how to do these things and can teach me without actually being present at my side (since that would be kind of impossible right now) please share! I'd love to make this more exciting for the readers. :) Plus, this is the sort of thing I love to putz around and play with. Help a sister out, would ya? lol
First of all, Christmas practice on Sunday was not so hot. The kids must've eaten pure sugar for breakfast because most of them couldn't sit still and/or be quiet. The best behaved was the youngest one--an adorably cute just turned 6 year old boy named Rinaldo. Seriously one of the cutest kids ever! He comes running past the door to the church when we're there working, stops and looks in, and as soon as we look up, he waves and runs away. So adorable!
Anyway, I got off the track. Little kids are so fun but distracting. ;) It didn't help that they were getting their costumes two at a time with Emily while the rest of them were practicing the songs with me. Then once everyone had their costumes, they just couldn't focus or listen or anything. So we had to plan time for one more practice. We're going to do it Friday before Activity Night.
We were at church until 3 or 3:30 that day. Got there at 11:30 so it was a long noisy few hours. We hadn't eaten and were so hungry that we decided to go out for an early dinner. We went to Gloria Pizza, which is really an Italian restaurant not just a pizza place. It's really really nice and very fancy. They take off your coat for you, set your purse down for you, pull out your chair, put your napkin on your lap, pour your drinks for you, and by our standards, it's totally affordable! Emily had soup and a salad and I had soup and pasta and then we both ordered salep after we were though and the total wasn't even $20. CrAzY!!! When you finish eating and stand up to leave, people race over to you to help with your coat and bag. Wow! And, like most places here, once they realize we speak English, they try to practice with us or immediately tell us how they've learned English. lol It's funny. Every. Single. Time.
Then we came back and I had a very late night writing tests. I did as promised and wrote different versions of the same test for each student. But I didn't even get to give the tests on Monday. About an hour before I had to leave, I was suddenly bombarded with a bout of giardia. It was so out of the blue. I hate this stupid parasite! Luckily, Emily is a gem, and since I was prepared, she volunteered to hand out my test and then sit through it. I haven't corrected the tests yet, but I did glance at them. Since I know handwriting, I can see who cheated. They are not going to be too happy with my little speech next class. Honestly, they didn't cheat that much, but they still cheated. Not good! Just because their teachers in school may let them get away with it doesn't mean I'm going to. No way, Jose!
Last night I was feeling better than in the afternoon so Emily and I went on with our plans. We met at the Stephen Center to grab a bite and do some planning. It was our version of a "lunch meeting." We were actually very productive and got everything decided regarding registration and orientation for our second session which starts in January. We'll have all the papers, notes, and details ready for our students this week so we can give it to them on their last day of class. Then we can remind them again at Activity Night and again after the Christmas program when we can also talk to their parents. Whew! Chalk one up for productivity. ;)
There's still plenty to be done this week: tests to be corrected, Christmas cookies to be baked for my classes' Christmas parties, music to practice for the Christmas program, Activity Night to prepare for, Christmas Practice on Friday, the Christmas Service on Saturday and then comes the best part.......BREAK!!!!!! I'll update you on those plans later, but right now, it's looking pretty jam packed considering it's a break. Fun stuff though--don't worry! :)
I wish I knew how to make my blog look cool. I know other people who use this site to blog. That's how I decided to make mine here. But their blogs all look way better than mine. More fun and interesting, nicer backgrounds, better links to photo albums, more pictures, different fonts, etc. etc. If anyone knows how to do these things and can teach me without actually being present at my side (since that would be kind of impossible right now) please share! I'd love to make this more exciting for the readers. :) Plus, this is the sort of thing I love to putz around and play with. Help a sister out, would ya? lol
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Fun, Fun, Fun
"And we'll have fun, fun. fun 'til her daddy takes the t-bird away." Ok, so I don't really have a t-bird and my dad isn't here to stop my fun. Just kidding, Dad! :) You wouldn't do that anyway. So in light of those circumstances, we had ourselves a good ol' time with a visitor from down under.
Let me back track a week. Last Saturday we met our new friend Nicola. She found me on a site called couchsurfing.com which is specifically for the purpose of finding people to stay with while traveling. You literally surf their couch. Hee hee! So she asked if she could stay with us while passing through Tirana. We said sure! It's always fun to have extra English speakers around. It makes our lives more entertaining and it's quite amusing to hear other English comments on daily life around here.
So we met Nic in the city center and went back to our apartment. That first day we didn't do anything too awfully exciting around town for two reason. First, it was raining (of course!). This must be like monsoon season around here or something. December has been soooo rainy! Aaaaahhhh!!!! But I digress....Reason number two was that Nic was tired from all of her traveling. She's been traveling for four months and has three more to go, but the last few days had been continuous traveling with only overnight stops. She was looking forward to spending two nights in the same place. Well, the two nights turned into four because we all had so much fun. :)
That first day we took Nic out for a quick lunch of sufllaqe because we wanted her to have something authentically Albanian. She liked it. :) Then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a James Bond movie, Golden Eye, that was on TV. Then we went down to Pastor's apartment and had game night. We ate tons of snacks--trail mix and mandarins--and chocolate (because it wouldn't be game night without chocolate), and then ordered pizza. We taught Nic how to play Ticket To Ride and just had a fun night. We didn't stop the games until 12:40am.
Sunday we took her to the Christmas Bazaar held at the Sheraton hotel here in Tirana. It's put on by the international community here so it's not really something Albanian, but they did have some students singing Christmas songs. It turns out they were students from our friend Lori's school so we listened to that with her for awhile, then browsed the tables, bought small orange chocolate torts to sample, and sat down at a cafe to introduce Nic to the goodness that is salep. I mentioned this drink in an earlier entry and I really do love it!
After that we went to Sky tower for an afternoon dessert and tea, but mostly to enjoy the views of the city during the day. You can really see all of the city from there and it's quite enjoyable. I'm still amazed that it's free to go up there. It's one of those places that if it were in the States, you'd have to make a reservation and/or pay a cover charge before going.
We stayed there for about an hour before heading back to our place to get ready to go to the Opera. As I've mentioned, Agron's niece is an opera singer who sings in operas in Albania, Italy, and France. She got extra tickets for Agron and he gave them to us. So Pastor, Emily, Nic and I ended up sitting in the front row! I kid you not--the front row! We ended up enjoying the show immensely. It was like a three in one opera. That's how Agron translated the title for us. lol The actual title is Il Trittico (The Triptych) by Giacomo Puccini and, as most operas are, was in Italian. The only translation there was in Albanian. Pastor knew this, so before we went, we read an online synopsis so we would understand it better.
It was three shorter shows combined to make one long performance (4 hours with intermissions between shows). The first show was called "Tabarro" and was lovers on a ship that was docked and being loaded. Basically, two guys love the same girl and one guy kills the other. It ends with the killer guy making the girl look at her dead lover. It was good.
The second one was much more slow moving. Entitled Suo Angelica, it was set at a 17th century convent and was about a nun named Sister Angelica. Agron's neice, Eva, played this role. So she was the star of this show. And star she was! It was a slower opera, much more somber than the first, but it was a perfect show for Eva's voice! Wow, can she sing! So clear and brilliant! Nothing screechy or sounding like real effort to reach a note. She sang smoothly and effortlessly and it was a joy to listen. The story goes something like this: Sister Angelica is a very fervent nun, she never has any visitors, she is very private and no one knows what caused her to take the vows. It's kind of the big secret around the convent. One day, very suddenly, her aunt comes to visit her. Angelica knows what's coming--news of the son she'd given birth to seven years earlier. It turns out the boy had died and Angelica is overwhelmed with grief. She commits suicide but she realizes the error of her ways just as she finds that heaven is closed to her, but then a miracle happens (thanks to the virgin Mary in the show, of course) and then she's let in with a welcome from a chorus of angels.
The third one was the best because it was the funniest. It was called Gianni Schicchi. It's about this old guy named Buoso Donati who has died. His family is pretending to grieve while they are really looking for his will to see what they each get. The nephew finds it and agrees to let them see it on the condition that they allow him to marry the neighbor, Gianni Schicchi's daughter. They agree. The will states that all the rich dead man's possessions are to be given to convents and monasteries. No one likes this. Plans change when Gianni comes in and has the bright idea that one of them should pretend to be Buoso Donati, then call the notary in, change the will, and all get the inheritance. This seems well and good to everyone since those in the room are the only ones who know he's dead. Gianni takes the place of Donati in the bed, the notary is called in, and Gianni proceeds to leave everything to himself! After the notary leaves, the relatives are furious so they steal what they can and run off. But Gianni, seeing the nephew and his daughter together, gives them the property. It was hilarious and was very well done. We all enjoyed this one a lot and couldn't stop laughing!
That was a fun night. The only two bad parts were that before hand, the four of us (Pastor included) were going to go for dinner at the crepe place Aida had taken us to a few weeks ago. But when we got there, it was closed! So we opted for a sufllaqe again since we all like it. :) And afterwards, we were going to go to Behari to get ice cream, but it was closed too! Some luck! So we ended up just going home. But it was still a fun night.
Monday was a holiday here (the small Bajram celebration) but didn't really seem any different than a normal day except that there was no school. We all slept in and then started watching movies on TV. Around 3:30 or 4 we decided we should take a walk and at least get some fresh air. We decided to walk to the French pastry shop in the block area. We got treats and tea and had a few laughs. On the way back, we decided a movie marathon was in order so we bought some snacks and wine and rented four movies. We watched three of them (because one that they gave us was not what we wanted) and then we watched two of my movies. We were up til 3am but it was a blast! Nic was so relieved to just be enjoying some down time relaxing and so were Emily and I.
Tuesday Emily and I cancelled our classes because for the last two Mondays there have not been classes due to holidays. We need our groups to stay at the same level and the Tuesday classes were starting to get ahead. We cancelled that day to keep everyone at the same place. It worked out nicely because it gave Nic another day to relax and time to figure out when and where her bus was leaving the next morning. I made chili for dinner that night and we just stayed inside because it was cold. We also taught Nic how to play Settlers Of Catan. :)
Wednesday morning Emily made pancakes for breakfast, we hopped on the bus, and bid our new traveling friend adieu. It was fun having her around but Emily and I needed to get some work done, so before our classes that day, we did some prep work and then got back into our regular routine.
I told you I had interesting stories to share. ;) I'm not a liar. lol I did take an extra day writing this though, so I broke a promise. Sorry. I was exhausted yesterday and crazy busy and honestly just didn't have time to do this.
Activity night last night was really fun! The pictures went over really well and some of the kids really colored them beautifully! Then again, there is an angel with blue hair and orange wings and a Mary with blue hair. lol But they tried their best to make them beautiful so I put them all up on the wall. We added some homemade tinsel to the tree and made a red and white paper chain that was long enough to stretch around the whole room! And Agron bought some balloons that turned out to be birthday ballons so we put them up anyway since Christmas celebrations are kind of a birthday party for Jesus. :) This morning as Emily and I were finishing putting up the paper chain, Agron told us with a huge smile, "Our church center has never looked so beautiful." Well that just warmed my heart! It made me feel so good about what we're doing. And then, church was so full today we had 4 people sharing 3 seats in two different rows. :) Many of the kids came before Christmas practice so it was really nice to be in a full decorated church. :)
Christmas practice went well and Emily has done an awesome job teaching them their lines and the songs. They are also getting pretty good at singing one verse of Silent Night in German. I did a lot of echoing with them to help learn it. lol I've got the music all figured out: I'm going to play Silent Night and Joy To The World, but then for O Little Town of Bethlehem and Away In A Manger I'm just going to play the melody because we split the kids half and half. Then for the two hymns where the congregation joins in, Oh Come, All Ye Faithful and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, we'll use the computer program that plays the hymn because for the last verse of each, I will join in and play the descant part on my flute. Tomorrow is our final big rehearsal to test out the costumes (We have Mary and Joseph and the rest are divided into shepherds and angels. Think pageant style.) and work out the final kinks.
On an unrelated note, I have made one more Christmas in Albania observation. Here in Tirana, I would say that at least 90%, maybe even at least 95% of all the Christmas lights I've seen displayed or for sale are blinking or moving lights. Just as the colors and patterns or designs painted on building here, I guess they like their Christmas lights to be extra stimulating, too.
The great cookie bake with the MMM group was today at our apartment. We had 5 girls that came! Woo hoo! Neda had some problems though, but we're working through those. Thankfully the other girls are much more mature and handled it well. But overall everyone had fun. The cut out cookie dough I made yesterday wasn't chilled enough to roll last night. So instead of frosting them, the girls rolled out the dough and cut out the cookies and sprinkled them with powdered sugar. Well, we thought it was powdered sugar at least. Emily bought it and checked out one of the little packets. It was indeed powdered sugar. However, the rest of the packets she bought, which were right behind the one she checked that was on the shelf, turned out to be baking soda. Hahaha! It tasted gross! So I got the idea to make a little assembly line to save the cookies. Some girls used water and paper towels to wipe off the cookies and the other girls took the damp cookies and sprinkled regular sugar on them. It worked and they tasted just fine. Too funny though!
Then we made the kind of cookies where you take a bite sized piece of candy bar and put it inside the dough. Well, the dough wasn't cold enough to form a ball with and we didn't have extra time to wait so we just stuck the candy bar in the middle and baked them. They tasted awesome! But the girls hadn't quite put enough flour in the dough so they spread out a lot but luckily I noticed before the first batch was burned so we just baked them for a minute less than the recipe said. It worked perfectly. They look like a mess but they really do taste awesome!
After that we made chocolate dipped pretzels. But the only chocolate squares we could find were ones that Laura's parents had sent last year and were unsweetened. So once they were on aluminum foil to cool we sprinkled sugar on those too. Now they taste just fine. :) I figured at home people dump sprinkles or colored sugar on things like that for fun so why not use what we have here to do the same. So, since regular sugar is pretty much it, that's what we used. The girls had a lot of fun and are so excited to get their plates of cookies tomorrow. It's nice to be able to have this small group time with them. We really feel like we're getting to know them!
I had fun too, but I'm exhausted! Emily and I just relaxed tonight after cleaning up. We ate some cookies and Em made some dip for the pretzels so we munched on that while we played two games of Ticket To Ride. Then she worked on some last minute things for the costumes, I started writing this, and it's already 11:20pm! I can't believe it. And I still haven't started writing my tests yet. Oh boy. Tomorrow is going to be jam packed. I'm seeing a late night in my future tomorrow....Good thing I can sleep in on Monday! :)
We're having a good time here and now that we've baked Christmas cookies it's really starting to feel more like Christmas. :) I'm actually getting excited about the Christmas program and I'm really excited about having a break to travel, relax, and do some planning. The first day of our break, Monday the 23rd, I've already decided I'm going to make it a pajama day and spend the whole day in comfy clothes, relaxing by watching movies, reading, playing games, listening to Christmas music and surfing the internet all day. You know, just relaxing stuff. A real, true, day off to do nothing in particular. :) I can't wait! Til then, it's going to be a week of fun, fun, fun as we get ready for everything .
Let me back track a week. Last Saturday we met our new friend Nicola. She found me on a site called couchsurfing.com which is specifically for the purpose of finding people to stay with while traveling. You literally surf their couch. Hee hee! So she asked if she could stay with us while passing through Tirana. We said sure! It's always fun to have extra English speakers around. It makes our lives more entertaining and it's quite amusing to hear other English comments on daily life around here.
So we met Nic in the city center and went back to our apartment. That first day we didn't do anything too awfully exciting around town for two reason. First, it was raining (of course!). This must be like monsoon season around here or something. December has been soooo rainy! Aaaaahhhh!!!! But I digress....Reason number two was that Nic was tired from all of her traveling. She's been traveling for four months and has three more to go, but the last few days had been continuous traveling with only overnight stops. She was looking forward to spending two nights in the same place. Well, the two nights turned into four because we all had so much fun. :)
That first day we took Nic out for a quick lunch of sufllaqe because we wanted her to have something authentically Albanian. She liked it. :) Then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching a James Bond movie, Golden Eye, that was on TV. Then we went down to Pastor's apartment and had game night. We ate tons of snacks--trail mix and mandarins--and chocolate (because it wouldn't be game night without chocolate), and then ordered pizza. We taught Nic how to play Ticket To Ride and just had a fun night. We didn't stop the games until 12:40am.
Sunday we took her to the Christmas Bazaar held at the Sheraton hotel here in Tirana. It's put on by the international community here so it's not really something Albanian, but they did have some students singing Christmas songs. It turns out they were students from our friend Lori's school so we listened to that with her for awhile, then browsed the tables, bought small orange chocolate torts to sample, and sat down at a cafe to introduce Nic to the goodness that is salep. I mentioned this drink in an earlier entry and I really do love it!
After that we went to Sky tower for an afternoon dessert and tea, but mostly to enjoy the views of the city during the day. You can really see all of the city from there and it's quite enjoyable. I'm still amazed that it's free to go up there. It's one of those places that if it were in the States, you'd have to make a reservation and/or pay a cover charge before going.
We stayed there for about an hour before heading back to our place to get ready to go to the Opera. As I've mentioned, Agron's niece is an opera singer who sings in operas in Albania, Italy, and France. She got extra tickets for Agron and he gave them to us. So Pastor, Emily, Nic and I ended up sitting in the front row! I kid you not--the front row! We ended up enjoying the show immensely. It was like a three in one opera. That's how Agron translated the title for us. lol The actual title is Il Trittico (The Triptych) by Giacomo Puccini and, as most operas are, was in Italian. The only translation there was in Albanian. Pastor knew this, so before we went, we read an online synopsis so we would understand it better.
It was three shorter shows combined to make one long performance (4 hours with intermissions between shows). The first show was called "Tabarro" and was lovers on a ship that was docked and being loaded. Basically, two guys love the same girl and one guy kills the other. It ends with the killer guy making the girl look at her dead lover. It was good.
The second one was much more slow moving. Entitled Suo Angelica, it was set at a 17th century convent and was about a nun named Sister Angelica. Agron's neice, Eva, played this role. So she was the star of this show. And star she was! It was a slower opera, much more somber than the first, but it was a perfect show for Eva's voice! Wow, can she sing! So clear and brilliant! Nothing screechy or sounding like real effort to reach a note. She sang smoothly and effortlessly and it was a joy to listen. The story goes something like this: Sister Angelica is a very fervent nun, she never has any visitors, she is very private and no one knows what caused her to take the vows. It's kind of the big secret around the convent. One day, very suddenly, her aunt comes to visit her. Angelica knows what's coming--news of the son she'd given birth to seven years earlier. It turns out the boy had died and Angelica is overwhelmed with grief. She commits suicide but she realizes the error of her ways just as she finds that heaven is closed to her, but then a miracle happens (thanks to the virgin Mary in the show, of course) and then she's let in with a welcome from a chorus of angels.
The third one was the best because it was the funniest. It was called Gianni Schicchi. It's about this old guy named Buoso Donati who has died. His family is pretending to grieve while they are really looking for his will to see what they each get. The nephew finds it and agrees to let them see it on the condition that they allow him to marry the neighbor, Gianni Schicchi's daughter. They agree. The will states that all the rich dead man's possessions are to be given to convents and monasteries. No one likes this. Plans change when Gianni comes in and has the bright idea that one of them should pretend to be Buoso Donati, then call the notary in, change the will, and all get the inheritance. This seems well and good to everyone since those in the room are the only ones who know he's dead. Gianni takes the place of Donati in the bed, the notary is called in, and Gianni proceeds to leave everything to himself! After the notary leaves, the relatives are furious so they steal what they can and run off. But Gianni, seeing the nephew and his daughter together, gives them the property. It was hilarious and was very well done. We all enjoyed this one a lot and couldn't stop laughing!
That was a fun night. The only two bad parts were that before hand, the four of us (Pastor included) were going to go for dinner at the crepe place Aida had taken us to a few weeks ago. But when we got there, it was closed! So we opted for a sufllaqe again since we all like it. :) And afterwards, we were going to go to Behari to get ice cream, but it was closed too! Some luck! So we ended up just going home. But it was still a fun night.
Monday was a holiday here (the small Bajram celebration) but didn't really seem any different than a normal day except that there was no school. We all slept in and then started watching movies on TV. Around 3:30 or 4 we decided we should take a walk and at least get some fresh air. We decided to walk to the French pastry shop in the block area. We got treats and tea and had a few laughs. On the way back, we decided a movie marathon was in order so we bought some snacks and wine and rented four movies. We watched three of them (because one that they gave us was not what we wanted) and then we watched two of my movies. We were up til 3am but it was a blast! Nic was so relieved to just be enjoying some down time relaxing and so were Emily and I.
Tuesday Emily and I cancelled our classes because for the last two Mondays there have not been classes due to holidays. We need our groups to stay at the same level and the Tuesday classes were starting to get ahead. We cancelled that day to keep everyone at the same place. It worked out nicely because it gave Nic another day to relax and time to figure out when and where her bus was leaving the next morning. I made chili for dinner that night and we just stayed inside because it was cold. We also taught Nic how to play Settlers Of Catan. :)
Wednesday morning Emily made pancakes for breakfast, we hopped on the bus, and bid our new traveling friend adieu. It was fun having her around but Emily and I needed to get some work done, so before our classes that day, we did some prep work and then got back into our regular routine.
I told you I had interesting stories to share. ;) I'm not a liar. lol I did take an extra day writing this though, so I broke a promise. Sorry. I was exhausted yesterday and crazy busy and honestly just didn't have time to do this.
Activity night last night was really fun! The pictures went over really well and some of the kids really colored them beautifully! Then again, there is an angel with blue hair and orange wings and a Mary with blue hair. lol But they tried their best to make them beautiful so I put them all up on the wall. We added some homemade tinsel to the tree and made a red and white paper chain that was long enough to stretch around the whole room! And Agron bought some balloons that turned out to be birthday ballons so we put them up anyway since Christmas celebrations are kind of a birthday party for Jesus. :) This morning as Emily and I were finishing putting up the paper chain, Agron told us with a huge smile, "Our church center has never looked so beautiful." Well that just warmed my heart! It made me feel so good about what we're doing. And then, church was so full today we had 4 people sharing 3 seats in two different rows. :) Many of the kids came before Christmas practice so it was really nice to be in a full decorated church. :)
Christmas practice went well and Emily has done an awesome job teaching them their lines and the songs. They are also getting pretty good at singing one verse of Silent Night in German. I did a lot of echoing with them to help learn it. lol I've got the music all figured out: I'm going to play Silent Night and Joy To The World, but then for O Little Town of Bethlehem and Away In A Manger I'm just going to play the melody because we split the kids half and half. Then for the two hymns where the congregation joins in, Oh Come, All Ye Faithful and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, we'll use the computer program that plays the hymn because for the last verse of each, I will join in and play the descant part on my flute. Tomorrow is our final big rehearsal to test out the costumes (We have Mary and Joseph and the rest are divided into shepherds and angels. Think pageant style.) and work out the final kinks.
On an unrelated note, I have made one more Christmas in Albania observation. Here in Tirana, I would say that at least 90%, maybe even at least 95% of all the Christmas lights I've seen displayed or for sale are blinking or moving lights. Just as the colors and patterns or designs painted on building here, I guess they like their Christmas lights to be extra stimulating, too.
The great cookie bake with the MMM group was today at our apartment. We had 5 girls that came! Woo hoo! Neda had some problems though, but we're working through those. Thankfully the other girls are much more mature and handled it well. But overall everyone had fun. The cut out cookie dough I made yesterday wasn't chilled enough to roll last night. So instead of frosting them, the girls rolled out the dough and cut out the cookies and sprinkled them with powdered sugar. Well, we thought it was powdered sugar at least. Emily bought it and checked out one of the little packets. It was indeed powdered sugar. However, the rest of the packets she bought, which were right behind the one she checked that was on the shelf, turned out to be baking soda. Hahaha! It tasted gross! So I got the idea to make a little assembly line to save the cookies. Some girls used water and paper towels to wipe off the cookies and the other girls took the damp cookies and sprinkled regular sugar on them. It worked and they tasted just fine. Too funny though!
Then we made the kind of cookies where you take a bite sized piece of candy bar and put it inside the dough. Well, the dough wasn't cold enough to form a ball with and we didn't have extra time to wait so we just stuck the candy bar in the middle and baked them. They tasted awesome! But the girls hadn't quite put enough flour in the dough so they spread out a lot but luckily I noticed before the first batch was burned so we just baked them for a minute less than the recipe said. It worked perfectly. They look like a mess but they really do taste awesome!
After that we made chocolate dipped pretzels. But the only chocolate squares we could find were ones that Laura's parents had sent last year and were unsweetened. So once they were on aluminum foil to cool we sprinkled sugar on those too. Now they taste just fine. :) I figured at home people dump sprinkles or colored sugar on things like that for fun so why not use what we have here to do the same. So, since regular sugar is pretty much it, that's what we used. The girls had a lot of fun and are so excited to get their plates of cookies tomorrow. It's nice to be able to have this small group time with them. We really feel like we're getting to know them!
I had fun too, but I'm exhausted! Emily and I just relaxed tonight after cleaning up. We ate some cookies and Em made some dip for the pretzels so we munched on that while we played two games of Ticket To Ride. Then she worked on some last minute things for the costumes, I started writing this, and it's already 11:20pm! I can't believe it. And I still haven't started writing my tests yet. Oh boy. Tomorrow is going to be jam packed. I'm seeing a late night in my future tomorrow....Good thing I can sleep in on Monday! :)
We're having a good time here and now that we've baked Christmas cookies it's really starting to feel more like Christmas. :) I'm actually getting excited about the Christmas program and I'm really excited about having a break to travel, relax, and do some planning. The first day of our break, Monday the 23rd, I've already decided I'm going to make it a pajama day and spend the whole day in comfy clothes, relaxing by watching movies, reading, playing games, listening to Christmas music and surfing the internet all day. You know, just relaxing stuff. A real, true, day off to do nothing in particular. :) I can't wait! Til then, it's going to be a week of fun, fun, fun as we get ready for everything .
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Not So Winter Wonderland
From what I hear, everything back at home is really starting to look like a winter wonderland, just as the song describes. Well, I've been listening to that song and other Christmas music a lot lately, but it's just not quite as picturesque here. There is definitely something to be said for a white Christmas. It just adds so much to the holiday. I miss it. There are more signs of Christmas here than last time I wrote--Christmas trees are up in some stores, businesses, and homes, and some of those have Christmas lights as well--yet I have not heard of any real Christmas traditions or plans. In fact, most people just tell me it's pretty much a normal workday like every other day. That is depressing to me. But then again, no one does Christmas quite like America! :)
Emily and I are making an effort to emphasis Christmas and celebrating the Savior's birth. We've been meeting with the kids to practice the Christmas Program, we made invitations to the program with the MMM group, we put the advent wreath (thanks again for the candles, Mom!) up at church, we added the manger scene to the alter (thanks for that, too, Mom!), and put up the Christmas tree. This Friday we'll add to that at Activity Night. We're going to have a whole hour (or a little more) just for decorating. :) We've got pictures to color, cut out and put up including angles, the nativity, and a maze that helps the shepherds find the baby Jesus. We will make a paper chain to put up and we'll also put up some garland. All this will be done while listening to some sacred Christmas music. I'm telling you, Santa is waaaayyyy too important to society. When we said we were going to have a Christmas program one little girl, Doris, told us she has a Santa costume and asked if she could be Santa in the program. lol Funny, but it shows how important it is that we celebrate the real emphasis of Christmas.
On Saturday, we're teaching the MMM girls a true American holiday tradition--baking Christmas cookies! They're coming over to our apartment after the program rehearsal. We'll decorate cut-out cookies that Emily and I are making tomorrow, and then we'll make candy bar cookies (the one with candy bar bites baked in the middle) and chocolate dipped pretzels. Then each girl will be able to put a little collection of cookies together to take home and share with her family. We'll also have a devotion of course. I'm thinking one about love and generosity, but I have to see what ideas Emily has yet, too.
Our Christmas plans aren't set in stone yet, but we know that on Christmas Eve we'll have a "family Christmas" with the two of us, and probably Aida. We're planning to make a big dinner. I guess we gained some courage and confidence in the kitchen since Thanksgiving turned out to be a success. :) We haven't made our menu yet, but we're aiming for something somewhat impressive. That's our goal at least. Now we just have to decide what would fit those qualifications....Hmmm......Anyway, for Christmas Day we're planning to be a bit more active. We invited Olsa, Neda, and Ledio over for a game night/movie night where we'll have Christmas cookies and other snacks. During the morning and early afternoon we'll probably go to a smaller town with them and view a very old but beautiful church. It's very well known here in Albania. It's popular for both locals and tourists to see and is apparently extra beautiful at Christmas.
The part of our upcoming weekend that isn't consumed with Christmas activities and preparations for church will be consumed with preparations for our last week of classes before the holiday. Next week is our last week and so we have final tests to write. Since my classes decided to be truly Albanian and talk to each other and ask for answers all through their last test, they are each getting an individual test this time. They will all have the same sections to the test, but the actual questions will be different. This time we'll see who actually studies. *Evil laugh!* Just kidding. I'm not the mean teacher, I just need to know who, if anyone, is learning anything. ;)
Also since our last classes before our second session starts in January are next week, it means that we have to plan our our registration and orientation for January already this weekend. Then we have to put all the information together so we can get it to kids and their families next week. Lots of planning and calendar-checking and forms to prepare. Think we'll be busy at all this weekend? lol
Oh! I have some more crazy bus stories to share. There are just so many interesting situations on the buses here. I never have a clue what will happen. The first crazy story took place on Saturday on my way to church. The bus had to stop twice because of arguments. Not dangerous ones or anything, but it's never stopped for conversations before. The first stop was because a man was trying to use a bus pass that was expired. It started as just a conversation between he and the ticket-taker guy. Then the guy next to me joined in. Then two more other guys did. Then the girl in front of me wanted to see the pass. In the end, the guy ended up paying the 30 Lek for the ride like everyone else. The second stop was because a man wanted to bring two live chickens onto the bus. People can buy live chickens from the market so it's not unusual to see that. What's unusual is that he wanted to bring the live chickens on the bus. People have brought dead chickens on the bus before, but after the argument ended, the guy was allowed to bring his two live chickens on the bus. He was holding them by the feet (or ankles, if chickens have ankles. Anyone know?) and every time we went over a bump or stopped quickly, they flapped around and squawked loudly. What a ride!
Then on Sunday as I walking to the bus to come home after English church, there were a bunch of kids lighting firecrackers in the bus lane. They'd light them right before a bus came and then run off. Or they'd light them really close to the street. As I got on the bus, I saw the kids getting ready to light some for our bus. Their timing was perfect. They went off just as our bus went over them. I thought the bus was going to explode or something because after that, it smelled like fire smoke the whole ride. I'm telling you, these bus rides are insane some days! Haha! Never a dull moment!
Then, another funny bus ride happened yesterday. I was riding home after class and there was an old drunk guy on the bus. You don't see people drunk in public all that often here. Well, I'm sure if I was out late at the popular bars I might, but all in all, it's not nearly as common here as it is in the States for people to be drunk in public. Anyway, this guy was. He wasn't annoying or anything, but he was singing. lol Everyone was chuckling at him even though he didn't know it. He was signing the Albanian hymn (aka national anthem) and some other songs I didn't know. And then he couldn't remember the words to the song he had in his head so he just started singing "Bum, bum bum..." and looking at the guy next to him for help. As if he hadn't provided enough entertainment, we all had to switch onto a different bus because the driver of our bus was done with his shift. (Weird way to end a shift. Why not just have the driver get out and a new one get on? But whatever. lol) So when we got onto the new bus, there was a whole new set of people who chuckled in amusement.
I have much more to tell, but as it is late and the story is long, I will save it for tomorrow. Yes, that's right, two blog entries right in a row. It's been so far between them that I bet you thought I forgot about this thing or abandoned it completely. Not the case, my friends! I've simply been super duper extra busy, as you can tell. I'll give the rest of the report tomorrow. It involves a four day visit from our new Australian friend, the Opera,game night and a movie marathon. :) Don't you love my life? I do! :D
Emily and I are making an effort to emphasis Christmas and celebrating the Savior's birth. We've been meeting with the kids to practice the Christmas Program, we made invitations to the program with the MMM group, we put the advent wreath (thanks again for the candles, Mom!) up at church, we added the manger scene to the alter (thanks for that, too, Mom!), and put up the Christmas tree. This Friday we'll add to that at Activity Night. We're going to have a whole hour (or a little more) just for decorating. :) We've got pictures to color, cut out and put up including angles, the nativity, and a maze that helps the shepherds find the baby Jesus. We will make a paper chain to put up and we'll also put up some garland. All this will be done while listening to some sacred Christmas music. I'm telling you, Santa is waaaayyyy too important to society. When we said we were going to have a Christmas program one little girl, Doris, told us she has a Santa costume and asked if she could be Santa in the program. lol Funny, but it shows how important it is that we celebrate the real emphasis of Christmas.
On Saturday, we're teaching the MMM girls a true American holiday tradition--baking Christmas cookies! They're coming over to our apartment after the program rehearsal. We'll decorate cut-out cookies that Emily and I are making tomorrow, and then we'll make candy bar cookies (the one with candy bar bites baked in the middle) and chocolate dipped pretzels. Then each girl will be able to put a little collection of cookies together to take home and share with her family. We'll also have a devotion of course. I'm thinking one about love and generosity, but I have to see what ideas Emily has yet, too.
Our Christmas plans aren't set in stone yet, but we know that on Christmas Eve we'll have a "family Christmas" with the two of us, and probably Aida. We're planning to make a big dinner. I guess we gained some courage and confidence in the kitchen since Thanksgiving turned out to be a success. :) We haven't made our menu yet, but we're aiming for something somewhat impressive. That's our goal at least. Now we just have to decide what would fit those qualifications....Hmmm......Anyway, for Christmas Day we're planning to be a bit more active. We invited Olsa, Neda, and Ledio over for a game night/movie night where we'll have Christmas cookies and other snacks. During the morning and early afternoon we'll probably go to a smaller town with them and view a very old but beautiful church. It's very well known here in Albania. It's popular for both locals and tourists to see and is apparently extra beautiful at Christmas.
The part of our upcoming weekend that isn't consumed with Christmas activities and preparations for church will be consumed with preparations for our last week of classes before the holiday. Next week is our last week and so we have final tests to write. Since my classes decided to be truly Albanian and talk to each other and ask for answers all through their last test, they are each getting an individual test this time. They will all have the same sections to the test, but the actual questions will be different. This time we'll see who actually studies. *Evil laugh!* Just kidding. I'm not the mean teacher, I just need to know who, if anyone, is learning anything. ;)
Also since our last classes before our second session starts in January are next week, it means that we have to plan our our registration and orientation for January already this weekend. Then we have to put all the information together so we can get it to kids and their families next week. Lots of planning and calendar-checking and forms to prepare. Think we'll be busy at all this weekend? lol
Oh! I have some more crazy bus stories to share. There are just so many interesting situations on the buses here. I never have a clue what will happen. The first crazy story took place on Saturday on my way to church. The bus had to stop twice because of arguments. Not dangerous ones or anything, but it's never stopped for conversations before. The first stop was because a man was trying to use a bus pass that was expired. It started as just a conversation between he and the ticket-taker guy. Then the guy next to me joined in. Then two more other guys did. Then the girl in front of me wanted to see the pass. In the end, the guy ended up paying the 30 Lek for the ride like everyone else. The second stop was because a man wanted to bring two live chickens onto the bus. People can buy live chickens from the market so it's not unusual to see that. What's unusual is that he wanted to bring the live chickens on the bus. People have brought dead chickens on the bus before, but after the argument ended, the guy was allowed to bring his two live chickens on the bus. He was holding them by the feet (or ankles, if chickens have ankles. Anyone know?) and every time we went over a bump or stopped quickly, they flapped around and squawked loudly. What a ride!
Then on Sunday as I walking to the bus to come home after English church, there were a bunch of kids lighting firecrackers in the bus lane. They'd light them right before a bus came and then run off. Or they'd light them really close to the street. As I got on the bus, I saw the kids getting ready to light some for our bus. Their timing was perfect. They went off just as our bus went over them. I thought the bus was going to explode or something because after that, it smelled like fire smoke the whole ride. I'm telling you, these bus rides are insane some days! Haha! Never a dull moment!
Then, another funny bus ride happened yesterday. I was riding home after class and there was an old drunk guy on the bus. You don't see people drunk in public all that often here. Well, I'm sure if I was out late at the popular bars I might, but all in all, it's not nearly as common here as it is in the States for people to be drunk in public. Anyway, this guy was. He wasn't annoying or anything, but he was singing. lol Everyone was chuckling at him even though he didn't know it. He was signing the Albanian hymn (aka national anthem) and some other songs I didn't know. And then he couldn't remember the words to the song he had in his head so he just started singing "Bum, bum bum..." and looking at the guy next to him for help. As if he hadn't provided enough entertainment, we all had to switch onto a different bus because the driver of our bus was done with his shift. (Weird way to end a shift. Why not just have the driver get out and a new one get on? But whatever. lol) So when we got onto the new bus, there was a whole new set of people who chuckled in amusement.
I have much more to tell, but as it is late and the story is long, I will save it for tomorrow. Yes, that's right, two blog entries right in a row. It's been so far between them that I bet you thought I forgot about this thing or abandoned it completely. Not the case, my friends! I've simply been super duper extra busy, as you can tell. I'll give the rest of the report tomorrow. It involves a four day visit from our new Australian friend, the Opera,game night and a movie marathon. :) Don't you love my life? I do! :D
Thursday, December 4, 2008
It's Raining, It's Pouring
Literally, it's raining and it's pouring. It has been raining with very few breaks since around 11pm on Tuesday. Everything is wet, making the air damp and chilly. The thunder storms are really loud here because cement walls and tiled roofs don't provide any sort of sound barrier or buffer the way insulated walls and ceilings and attics do in the US. Normally I sleep through thunderstorms. Not here though. I lie awake trying to sleep, but if that fails, I've been using the time to read or listen to my iPod. Anyway, right now we're in the midst of a break from the rain. How long or short it will be remains to be seen.
When it rains here, many events or activities are cancelled. If they aren't, the attendance is usually poor. Why is that? Because people have to walk in the rain to get to the location of the activity or event. Yesterday, when it was pouring all day, Neda told me her teachers asked the students why they even came to school at all that day. The teachers proceeded to tell the students that if tomorrow was the same, don't come to school. Most kids have a decent length walk outside, which means they'd get soaked, then spend all day at school in soaked clothes only to have to walk back home again in the rain. That makes it way to easy to get sick.
My classes still had good attendance yesterday, even though the weather was crappy. I found out that next Monday is another holiday here. It's the other Bajram celebration so they have off school. They have more national holidays here than they know what to do with! lol It's funny because that's one of the things Albanian was told by the European Union that they have to fix before they can become part of the EU: reduce the number of national holidays. Too funny!
On Tuesday we received an invitation from Agron. His great niece, Laura, is around 9 or 10 years old but is an outstanding violinist. Her mother, Eva (Agron's niece), is a relatively well known opera singer in Albanian as well as Italy. Her father is an orchestra conductor. As you can see, Laura's musical inclination comes naturally. Anyway, she had a recital that evening and Agron invited us to attend with him. So Pastor, Emily, Agron and I all met at the Opera House a little before 7pm for this recital concert.
I had no idea how impressive this would be! There was a small string orchestra to accompany those giving recitals. We learned from Agron that this orchestra was made up of music teachers, mostly from the School of the Arts, which Laura attends. The father, Agron's neice's husband (nephew-in-law?), was the conductor for the recital. They played one song and then Laura came out and played her violin. She played the first part and performed all of the solos. She was incredible!!! Lady Catherine from Pride and Prejudice would have called her "a great proficient." I mean, they were playing actual symphony type pieces! I couldn't understand the names of the songs because they were written on the program in Albanian, but the three composers whose work was performed during the recital were Bach, Vivaldi, and Hayden. That right there tells you how amazing it was!
The interesting thing was that people kept talking and whispering throughout the performances. That must not be a no-no here because the people in Durres talk and whisper all through church, people at the movies do the same thing, and kids talk about constantly talking and whispering through tests at school. Despite the distractions, I enjoyed the little concert immensely. It took about an hour and was a truly excellent performance. Laura looked like nothing phased her at all. The other girl who was a violinist, probably around 15 or 16, looked the same. Cool as a cucumber. Then, this one girl, probably 16 or 17, came out to play the piano. Holy cow!!!! WOW!!!! She even looked bored, if I can dare to say it! When she had rests in her music, she'd look out at the crowd, flip her hair out of her face, or fidget. But you could still tell she was counting and when she played, her fingers just flew across the keys! The whole thing was awesome!
I've been busy planning for classes this week and for other activities this week including Activity Night and Christmas Practices. But I have had a little free time which gave me the opportunity to put all of my random fall fun pictures into an album. So, for your enjoyment, here is the link to view some Fall Fun In Tirana:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=XXL3P3PSWVWM5FCGYK23RW
It hasn't started raining again (yet!) and I'll even be bold enough to say that I think it's gotten lighter out. Hopefully it won't rain any more today! I have to teach later and then this evening we're meeting Lejda for coffee. It would take a lot of the fun out of it if we have to battle the rain to make it from place to place. Luckily, I have rain boots! :) They're wearing out already though because I've used them so much. Crazy, right? But they still keep my feet warm and dry.
I think that's all there is to report for the time being. Don't worry though--I will continue to keep you updated on anything interesting that happens. Please feel free to do the same. Don't be a stranger to my inbox. :) Thanks to everyone for keeping it fairly full!
When it rains here, many events or activities are cancelled. If they aren't, the attendance is usually poor. Why is that? Because people have to walk in the rain to get to the location of the activity or event. Yesterday, when it was pouring all day, Neda told me her teachers asked the students why they even came to school at all that day. The teachers proceeded to tell the students that if tomorrow was the same, don't come to school. Most kids have a decent length walk outside, which means they'd get soaked, then spend all day at school in soaked clothes only to have to walk back home again in the rain. That makes it way to easy to get sick.
My classes still had good attendance yesterday, even though the weather was crappy. I found out that next Monday is another holiday here. It's the other Bajram celebration so they have off school. They have more national holidays here than they know what to do with! lol It's funny because that's one of the things Albanian was told by the European Union that they have to fix before they can become part of the EU: reduce the number of national holidays. Too funny!
On Tuesday we received an invitation from Agron. His great niece, Laura, is around 9 or 10 years old but is an outstanding violinist. Her mother, Eva (Agron's niece), is a relatively well known opera singer in Albanian as well as Italy. Her father is an orchestra conductor. As you can see, Laura's musical inclination comes naturally. Anyway, she had a recital that evening and Agron invited us to attend with him. So Pastor, Emily, Agron and I all met at the Opera House a little before 7pm for this recital concert.
I had no idea how impressive this would be! There was a small string orchestra to accompany those giving recitals. We learned from Agron that this orchestra was made up of music teachers, mostly from the School of the Arts, which Laura attends. The father, Agron's neice's husband (nephew-in-law?), was the conductor for the recital. They played one song and then Laura came out and played her violin. She played the first part and performed all of the solos. She was incredible!!! Lady Catherine from Pride and Prejudice would have called her "a great proficient." I mean, they were playing actual symphony type pieces! I couldn't understand the names of the songs because they were written on the program in Albanian, but the three composers whose work was performed during the recital were Bach, Vivaldi, and Hayden. That right there tells you how amazing it was!
The interesting thing was that people kept talking and whispering throughout the performances. That must not be a no-no here because the people in Durres talk and whisper all through church, people at the movies do the same thing, and kids talk about constantly talking and whispering through tests at school. Despite the distractions, I enjoyed the little concert immensely. It took about an hour and was a truly excellent performance. Laura looked like nothing phased her at all. The other girl who was a violinist, probably around 15 or 16, looked the same. Cool as a cucumber. Then, this one girl, probably 16 or 17, came out to play the piano. Holy cow!!!! WOW!!!! She even looked bored, if I can dare to say it! When she had rests in her music, she'd look out at the crowd, flip her hair out of her face, or fidget. But you could still tell she was counting and when she played, her fingers just flew across the keys! The whole thing was awesome!
I've been busy planning for classes this week and for other activities this week including Activity Night and Christmas Practices. But I have had a little free time which gave me the opportunity to put all of my random fall fun pictures into an album. So, for your enjoyment, here is the link to view some Fall Fun In Tirana:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=XXL3P3PSWVWM5FCGYK23RW
It hasn't started raining again (yet!) and I'll even be bold enough to say that I think it's gotten lighter out. Hopefully it won't rain any more today! I have to teach later and then this evening we're meeting Lejda for coffee. It would take a lot of the fun out of it if we have to battle the rain to make it from place to place. Luckily, I have rain boots! :) They're wearing out already though because I've used them so much. Crazy, right? But they still keep my feet warm and dry.
I think that's all there is to report for the time being. Don't worry though--I will continue to keep you updated on anything interesting that happens. Please feel free to do the same. Don't be a stranger to my inbox. :) Thanks to everyone for keeping it fairly full!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Holiday Weekend
Well, our 5 day weekend has turned out to be more work than relaxation. lol :) Thursday we were pretty much busy all day. First we had to run a few errands to make sure we had everything we neede for cooking the Thanksgiving meal. Once that was taken care of, we got right down to business.
Well, sort of. See, we were going to shower in the morning to start our day like normal, but since our water works a little differently here, we had a complication. First of all, when we're not in the shower, we have to turn the hot water heater on so that the water gets hot for when we do need to take a shower. Then, when we need to take a shower, we have to turn that switch off and turn on the switch for the water pump so we have enough water pressure. When both switches are on at the same time, it uses too much electricity, which causes problems later on. Anyway, when Emily went to shower in the morning, she realized she's forgotten to turn the pump back on after her shower the day before. So we had to turn it back on and wait a few hours until we had some hot water. To pass the time, we started cooking instead.
Emily made pie crust while I peeled potatoes. Then she finished the whole pumpkin pie and I was still peeling and cutting potatoes. lol But by the time the pie was completely cooked, all the potatoes had been cut and peeled, ingredients for the next items had been set out, our dinner clothes had been laid out, we washed some dishes to be ready for round 2 of cooking, and had a snack to satisfy our tummies until the feast. :) After that was all done, the shower was ready. So we showered, and got mostly ready, then went back to the cooking.
I made the mashed potatoes, from scratch, made my right arm stronger than my left in the process. Haha! :) I also made stuffing (of the Stove Top variety, straight from the Sates thanks to Pastor) and then I made gravy from scratch. Emily made biscuits froms scratch and then heated up the green beans and got the cranberry sauce all set. In between all this cooking we took things down stairs to Pastor's apartment where we'd be eating. His apartment is right below ours but it has a different layout. It's more open so it has more room for socializing. We took down wine, water, juice, wine glasses, dessert plates, whipped cream for the pie, napkins, and a few other little items. Then we came back up, finished the cooking, finished changing clothes, and took all the food down to the other apartment.
It looked so good and smelled so good, too! We didn't have turkey because of the hassle it would have been, so Emily made a run to Mr. Chicken to pick up 3 small rotisserie chickens. They were quite tasty! Aida was with us and helped us set up everything so then all we had to do was wait for Agron and Vitori to arrive. When they did, we poured wine and water or juice, sat down, gave thanks, and toasted to Thanksgiving. We had an excellent meal and excellent company to share it with. Emily and I are truly blessed to have an Albanian family to celebrate our American holiday with us. What a gift to be thankful for!
After wards, our kitchen was a mess and so was Pastor's. Emily headed up to our place after the guests left and we took everything back upstairs. She started in on our kitchen while Pastor tackled his dishes that we'd used and I started in on the floors, counters, sticky spots, and linens. Amazingly, the clean up process went quite quickly! But after it was all said and done, Emily and I were ready to just relax for what was left of the rest of the night. (We ate around 6:30 since our non-American guests still had to work that day as Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here.)
I promised to document the process and document I did. Here are the pictures: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=RVE35WV5T54M5FCGYK23RW
The best part of me though was that I got to talk to my family on Skype. :) Mom, Dad, and David were all home so I got to talk to them and see them all at once. What a hoot! We are so funny sometimes! I'll admit it. I think my family is funny. :) We had a good chat and had lots and lots of laughs. It was like we were all in the same place. I'm so thankful that I can still communicate with them from so far away!
So far our 5 day weekend has flown by! No joke. It's like we blinked and now we only have one day left. Friday we did some work around here during the day and then met Aida because she wanted to take us to this place she likes that makes crepes. So we went there and they make every kind of crepe imaginable. There were dinner ones with "real" food fillings. Think of an omlette but substitute a crepe for the egg. Then there was another gigantic assortment of dessert ones. We all opted for the dessert ones. Aida got chocolate with crushed cookies, Emily got chocolate, crushed cookies, and Bailey's Irish Creme, and I got white chocolate, hazelnuts, and Kahlua. They were all quite tasty! We also played a game of Settlers of Catan while we were there because we'd brought it with us. I won again. :) That board really is lucky for me! lol
Saturday was church, followed by Christmas practice with the kids, followed by our first MMM. The MMM (Mary and Martha Meeting) went well. We only had two girls who came, which was a little disappointing, but it was a good start. The weather was rainy and that always makes attendance low. Most people have to walk, bike, or bus here so when the weather is yucky no one really goes out unless they have to. Emily did a little devotion about Mary and Martha help explain whey we gave our group that name. Then I got them started on the project. We made invitations to the Christmas Program. We made enough for each student's family to have one, plus a few others to share with people. It was fun! We talked while we did the craft and listened to Christmas music and ordered salep from the bar kafe next door. So we even had a warm drink to enjoy while we worked. :) Salep is something that we do not have in the States but definitley should! It's a white drink that's creamy, well thick really, that is best "drank" with a spoon. It tastes a lot like rice pudding and has a very warm and cozy effect. We finished the project, cleaned up, and let the girls pick their favorite invitation to take home to their families.
After that, we went back home and crashed. We curled up on the couch and watched movies from 4pm until around 8pm. Then we did a little facebooking to check people's Thanksgiving pictures, and decided it was time to decorate our apartment for Christmas.
It's not what you're thinking. Albanians don't observe Christmas the way we're used to. It was a communist country for many years and during that time, people couldn't celebrate Christmas. Celebrating the New Year is the most popular and important holiday here. That is the time when everyone gets together with family and that everyone goes out to celebrate. They even have two full days off--New Year's Day and January 2. From what I understand, there really aren't any Christmas traditions here. That seems so sad to me! Emily said that last year it seemed like any other regular day with people working and going about their business like a normal working day. Kids don't have school and I guess some families celebrate with a meal at their house. But I'm told people don't have Christmas trees. I have no idea about Christmas presents. I'll keep you posted on whatever traditions (or lack thereof) I come across as the day draws near.
Therefore, our Christmas decorations are rather limited. We have a teeny tiny fake tree that we put up and added our 4 ornaments to. The only reason we had any ornaments is because Mrs. Ahlers left them for us. I also added a the keychain that Dorien gave me upon my arrival in Tirana. Then I got the bright idea to use earrings as ornaments! lol :) They were the perfect scale for our tiny tree and I won't wear them over the break. Then we put out some Christmas cards Emily had saved from last year. We also put out a Christmas tin that she had and an advent calendar that my mom sent us. Emily had an advent calendar that Laura's parents had given them last year. Since it's magnetic, we put that one on the fridge. Then we found a little snowman snowglobe and put that by the tree. Emily also got a mini Charlie Brown Christmas tree and the pocket sized versioin of the "A Charlie Brown Christmas" book in her care package from Laura so we put those out too. We have a set of lights but have yet to figure out where or how to put them up. Cement walls really make decorating a challenge! Nailing is such a pain because the wall chips away.
Anyway, that brings us to today. We are now having English services on Sundays at church during the weeks that Pastor is here. So we did that this morning, even though it was just me, Emily and Vitori. I playing the piano. Mostly, that just means that I plunked out the right hand part of the liturgy songs and the hymns. But Pastor let me pick the hymns for this service. :) He just said to pick advent hymns so I picked, "Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates," "On Jordan's Banks The Baptists Cry" and "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel" because I like those ones alot. :) That was fun to pick the hymns!
After that, we again had Christmas practice with the kids. It was a little hectic, but they are starting to get pretty good at the songs. They rush them a bit, which makes playing along a little difficult sometimes, but they'll get it and so will I. I even practiced piano for an hour when I got home. If I have to learn 5 new hymns, I need to practice!!!
Tonight we had game night again downstairs at Pastor's house. This week we played Ticket To Ride. No one else was in the mood to play Settlers after my 3-peat last week. Hee hee! ;) But this week Pastor won all three games. Poor Emily! lol I guess next week will be her lucky week.
Tomorrow we're planning to do some Christmas shopping in the morning. We want to get our friends here something little. It won't be anything expensive and we're going to split the costs so it will be fun to browse. However, Albanians shop differently than Americans. Whereas Americans go into a store and browse until they find what they want, or simply go in a store just to look without buying anything at all, Albanians are quite the opposite. When you go into an Albanian store, people ask you what you want. And they follow you around. You can't really just browse and look. Albanians only shop when they know what they want. It's annoying to me and Emily because for one, we don't always know where to get things so we need to look just to find out if they even have what we want. Secondly, we don't know how to tell people we're just looking. Thirdly, sometimes we don't even know the Albanian words for what we're looking for. And fourthly, sometimes we really just want to look around and browse and enjoy seeing everything. But just as the culture here seems to be generally blunt and to the point, so shopping is here as well.
After that, we plan to grab a bite for lunch and once again hit up the Monday 12:30 matinee at the movie theater because it's the cheapest movie of the week and it's a good quiet 2 hours of downtime during the middle of the day. The new James Bond movie "Quantam Solace" is playing. See? We're not too awfully far behind the States. However, the movies here are pirated, but I didn't do it, so it makes no difference to me. lol :)
Then we'll just finish up the day getting ready for the rest of the week. Mostly we'll be planning lessons, but I think we might manage to end the 5 day weekend by playing a game or curling up with some tea and watching a movie. Maybe we'll even go to bed early since it's been such a busy "vacation" from work! lol I'll let you know how that turns out. ;)
Well, sort of. See, we were going to shower in the morning to start our day like normal, but since our water works a little differently here, we had a complication. First of all, when we're not in the shower, we have to turn the hot water heater on so that the water gets hot for when we do need to take a shower. Then, when we need to take a shower, we have to turn that switch off and turn on the switch for the water pump so we have enough water pressure. When both switches are on at the same time, it uses too much electricity, which causes problems later on. Anyway, when Emily went to shower in the morning, she realized she's forgotten to turn the pump back on after her shower the day before. So we had to turn it back on and wait a few hours until we had some hot water. To pass the time, we started cooking instead.
Emily made pie crust while I peeled potatoes. Then she finished the whole pumpkin pie and I was still peeling and cutting potatoes. lol But by the time the pie was completely cooked, all the potatoes had been cut and peeled, ingredients for the next items had been set out, our dinner clothes had been laid out, we washed some dishes to be ready for round 2 of cooking, and had a snack to satisfy our tummies until the feast. :) After that was all done, the shower was ready. So we showered, and got mostly ready, then went back to the cooking.
I made the mashed potatoes, from scratch, made my right arm stronger than my left in the process. Haha! :) I also made stuffing (of the Stove Top variety, straight from the Sates thanks to Pastor) and then I made gravy from scratch. Emily made biscuits froms scratch and then heated up the green beans and got the cranberry sauce all set. In between all this cooking we took things down stairs to Pastor's apartment where we'd be eating. His apartment is right below ours but it has a different layout. It's more open so it has more room for socializing. We took down wine, water, juice, wine glasses, dessert plates, whipped cream for the pie, napkins, and a few other little items. Then we came back up, finished the cooking, finished changing clothes, and took all the food down to the other apartment.
It looked so good and smelled so good, too! We didn't have turkey because of the hassle it would have been, so Emily made a run to Mr. Chicken to pick up 3 small rotisserie chickens. They were quite tasty! Aida was with us and helped us set up everything so then all we had to do was wait for Agron and Vitori to arrive. When they did, we poured wine and water or juice, sat down, gave thanks, and toasted to Thanksgiving. We had an excellent meal and excellent company to share it with. Emily and I are truly blessed to have an Albanian family to celebrate our American holiday with us. What a gift to be thankful for!
After wards, our kitchen was a mess and so was Pastor's. Emily headed up to our place after the guests left and we took everything back upstairs. She started in on our kitchen while Pastor tackled his dishes that we'd used and I started in on the floors, counters, sticky spots, and linens. Amazingly, the clean up process went quite quickly! But after it was all said and done, Emily and I were ready to just relax for what was left of the rest of the night. (We ate around 6:30 since our non-American guests still had to work that day as Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here.)
I promised to document the process and document I did. Here are the pictures: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=RVE35WV5T54M5FCGYK23RW
The best part of me though was that I got to talk to my family on Skype. :) Mom, Dad, and David were all home so I got to talk to them and see them all at once. What a hoot! We are so funny sometimes! I'll admit it. I think my family is funny. :) We had a good chat and had lots and lots of laughs. It was like we were all in the same place. I'm so thankful that I can still communicate with them from so far away!
So far our 5 day weekend has flown by! No joke. It's like we blinked and now we only have one day left. Friday we did some work around here during the day and then met Aida because she wanted to take us to this place she likes that makes crepes. So we went there and they make every kind of crepe imaginable. There were dinner ones with "real" food fillings. Think of an omlette but substitute a crepe for the egg. Then there was another gigantic assortment of dessert ones. We all opted for the dessert ones. Aida got chocolate with crushed cookies, Emily got chocolate, crushed cookies, and Bailey's Irish Creme, and I got white chocolate, hazelnuts, and Kahlua. They were all quite tasty! We also played a game of Settlers of Catan while we were there because we'd brought it with us. I won again. :) That board really is lucky for me! lol
Saturday was church, followed by Christmas practice with the kids, followed by our first MMM. The MMM (Mary and Martha Meeting) went well. We only had two girls who came, which was a little disappointing, but it was a good start. The weather was rainy and that always makes attendance low. Most people have to walk, bike, or bus here so when the weather is yucky no one really goes out unless they have to. Emily did a little devotion about Mary and Martha help explain whey we gave our group that name. Then I got them started on the project. We made invitations to the Christmas Program. We made enough for each student's family to have one, plus a few others to share with people. It was fun! We talked while we did the craft and listened to Christmas music and ordered salep from the bar kafe next door. So we even had a warm drink to enjoy while we worked. :) Salep is something that we do not have in the States but definitley should! It's a white drink that's creamy, well thick really, that is best "drank" with a spoon. It tastes a lot like rice pudding and has a very warm and cozy effect. We finished the project, cleaned up, and let the girls pick their favorite invitation to take home to their families.
After that, we went back home and crashed. We curled up on the couch and watched movies from 4pm until around 8pm. Then we did a little facebooking to check people's Thanksgiving pictures, and decided it was time to decorate our apartment for Christmas.
It's not what you're thinking. Albanians don't observe Christmas the way we're used to. It was a communist country for many years and during that time, people couldn't celebrate Christmas. Celebrating the New Year is the most popular and important holiday here. That is the time when everyone gets together with family and that everyone goes out to celebrate. They even have two full days off--New Year's Day and January 2. From what I understand, there really aren't any Christmas traditions here. That seems so sad to me! Emily said that last year it seemed like any other regular day with people working and going about their business like a normal working day. Kids don't have school and I guess some families celebrate with a meal at their house. But I'm told people don't have Christmas trees. I have no idea about Christmas presents. I'll keep you posted on whatever traditions (or lack thereof) I come across as the day draws near.
Therefore, our Christmas decorations are rather limited. We have a teeny tiny fake tree that we put up and added our 4 ornaments to. The only reason we had any ornaments is because Mrs. Ahlers left them for us. I also added a the keychain that Dorien gave me upon my arrival in Tirana. Then I got the bright idea to use earrings as ornaments! lol :) They were the perfect scale for our tiny tree and I won't wear them over the break. Then we put out some Christmas cards Emily had saved from last year. We also put out a Christmas tin that she had and an advent calendar that my mom sent us. Emily had an advent calendar that Laura's parents had given them last year. Since it's magnetic, we put that one on the fridge. Then we found a little snowman snowglobe and put that by the tree. Emily also got a mini Charlie Brown Christmas tree and the pocket sized versioin of the "A Charlie Brown Christmas" book in her care package from Laura so we put those out too. We have a set of lights but have yet to figure out where or how to put them up. Cement walls really make decorating a challenge! Nailing is such a pain because the wall chips away.
Anyway, that brings us to today. We are now having English services on Sundays at church during the weeks that Pastor is here. So we did that this morning, even though it was just me, Emily and Vitori. I playing the piano. Mostly, that just means that I plunked out the right hand part of the liturgy songs and the hymns. But Pastor let me pick the hymns for this service. :) He just said to pick advent hymns so I picked, "Lift Up Your Heads, You Mighty Gates," "On Jordan's Banks The Baptists Cry" and "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel" because I like those ones alot. :) That was fun to pick the hymns!
After that, we again had Christmas practice with the kids. It was a little hectic, but they are starting to get pretty good at the songs. They rush them a bit, which makes playing along a little difficult sometimes, but they'll get it and so will I. I even practiced piano for an hour when I got home. If I have to learn 5 new hymns, I need to practice!!!
Tonight we had game night again downstairs at Pastor's house. This week we played Ticket To Ride. No one else was in the mood to play Settlers after my 3-peat last week. Hee hee! ;) But this week Pastor won all three games. Poor Emily! lol I guess next week will be her lucky week.
Tomorrow we're planning to do some Christmas shopping in the morning. We want to get our friends here something little. It won't be anything expensive and we're going to split the costs so it will be fun to browse. However, Albanians shop differently than Americans. Whereas Americans go into a store and browse until they find what they want, or simply go in a store just to look without buying anything at all, Albanians are quite the opposite. When you go into an Albanian store, people ask you what you want. And they follow you around. You can't really just browse and look. Albanians only shop when they know what they want. It's annoying to me and Emily because for one, we don't always know where to get things so we need to look just to find out if they even have what we want. Secondly, we don't know how to tell people we're just looking. Thirdly, sometimes we don't even know the Albanian words for what we're looking for. And fourthly, sometimes we really just want to look around and browse and enjoy seeing everything. But just as the culture here seems to be generally blunt and to the point, so shopping is here as well.
After that, we plan to grab a bite for lunch and once again hit up the Monday 12:30 matinee at the movie theater because it's the cheapest movie of the week and it's a good quiet 2 hours of downtime during the middle of the day. The new James Bond movie "Quantam Solace" is playing. See? We're not too awfully far behind the States. However, the movies here are pirated, but I didn't do it, so it makes no difference to me. lol :)
Then we'll just finish up the day getting ready for the rest of the week. Mostly we'll be planning lessons, but I think we might manage to end the 5 day weekend by playing a game or curling up with some tea and watching a movie. Maybe we'll even go to bed early since it's been such a busy "vacation" from work! lol I'll let you know how that turns out. ;)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thankfulness
Tonight is the beginning of a 5 day weekend for Emily and me! As I mentioned last time, we cancelled classes for tomorrow so we can celebrate Thanksgiving. (There will be more about that, along with pictures later this weekend. ;) Keep your eyes peeled!) Friday is Albania's Independence Day, Saturday is Liberation Day and when a holiday here falls on a Saturday, they observe it on the following Monday. Woo hoo!!! Lot's of time for fun and relaxation! There will be plenty of work done, too, but I'm excited for 5 whole days to plan according to my every whim. :)
Being that it's 1:30am here, it's technically already Thanksgiving. One of the things I am most thankful for is my family. Without their support and unconditional continuous love, moving here would have been a lot harder and I would be super lonely right now. But I know that they think about me, just as I think about them. I know they love me and that I love them. And every time I talk with them or get an e-mail or note, I am reminded of their continuing support through the encouraging words they send my way.
My Thanksgiving started with a "visit" from family too. I got to Skype with David!!!! I was sooooo excited! I still am, which is why I'm wide awake and writing this instead of in bed sleeping. It was the first time I have seen his face since the day I bid him adieu, August 9. I've "visited" with my parents via Skype, but since David's computer has some audio issues, he can't Skype. Now that he's at home for Thanksgiving, he called me on Skype. It was fun! He said they'll call tomorrow too when their all at home. :) Oh, how I wish I could be there with them! But no matter where I am--Wisconsin, Albanian, Timbuktu, Antarctica, or wherever--I love them the same and they love me the same. :) God is good!
I have many things to be thankful for this year. The obvious include God, family, and friends. But I also have new Albanian friends and surrogate family to be thankful for. I have had no serious health issues this past year (things could be a lot worse than giardia). I've had safe travels here and been blessed with the opportunity to see and experience new places. I'm thankful that I am able to observe a new culture. I'm thankful that I have gained understanding and respect for people culturally different from me and that I've gained a new found pride in and respect for my own country and culture. I am thankful that God is using me and Emily here in Albania to be an introduction to his word for people. And I am even more thankful that it's up to the Holy Spirit, not us, to cultivate faith in people's hearts. I am thankful for everyone who has sent an encouraging word and/or kept me in their thoughts and prayers. Our Heavenly Father truly is a loving God!
Tomorrow (or later today, if you want to get technical), I will get to celebrate all of this with a feast! God has given me everything I need, even when I'm far from home. Emily and I are thankful for having people to celebrate with. We're thankful for having so much food to cook, but are a little nervous about how it will turn out. ;) We've never tried something of this proportion or importance before. lol Wish us luck! There is no doubt that we will document the day with pictures. Whether the food will appear appetizing or burnt is the million dollar question. ;) Just kidding! There will be so much that if one thing isn't so appealing, we'll eat more of another thing instead! Haha!
But until those pictures come around, here are a few others to keep you occupied. Remember way back in October when we took a sunrise drive through the mountains with the Ahlers? Well, I've got pictures from the road to Elbasan. Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=X21434TX34YM5FCGYK23RW
There are only a few pictures, but the scenery really was quite beautiful, especially at that time of day. The problem was that because the road was so narrow and was right, and I mean right, on the edge of the mountains that there weren't many spots to pull over for photo opportunities. Anyway, enjoy them! The sights reminded me of Bible stories. :)
Being that it's 1:30am here, it's technically already Thanksgiving. One of the things I am most thankful for is my family. Without their support and unconditional continuous love, moving here would have been a lot harder and I would be super lonely right now. But I know that they think about me, just as I think about them. I know they love me and that I love them. And every time I talk with them or get an e-mail or note, I am reminded of their continuing support through the encouraging words they send my way.
My Thanksgiving started with a "visit" from family too. I got to Skype with David!!!! I was sooooo excited! I still am, which is why I'm wide awake and writing this instead of in bed sleeping. It was the first time I have seen his face since the day I bid him adieu, August 9. I've "visited" with my parents via Skype, but since David's computer has some audio issues, he can't Skype. Now that he's at home for Thanksgiving, he called me on Skype. It was fun! He said they'll call tomorrow too when their all at home. :) Oh, how I wish I could be there with them! But no matter where I am--Wisconsin, Albanian, Timbuktu, Antarctica, or wherever--I love them the same and they love me the same. :) God is good!
I have many things to be thankful for this year. The obvious include God, family, and friends. But I also have new Albanian friends and surrogate family to be thankful for. I have had no serious health issues this past year (things could be a lot worse than giardia). I've had safe travels here and been blessed with the opportunity to see and experience new places. I'm thankful that I am able to observe a new culture. I'm thankful that I have gained understanding and respect for people culturally different from me and that I've gained a new found pride in and respect for my own country and culture. I am thankful that God is using me and Emily here in Albania to be an introduction to his word for people. And I am even more thankful that it's up to the Holy Spirit, not us, to cultivate faith in people's hearts. I am thankful for everyone who has sent an encouraging word and/or kept me in their thoughts and prayers. Our Heavenly Father truly is a loving God!
Tomorrow (or later today, if you want to get technical), I will get to celebrate all of this with a feast! God has given me everything I need, even when I'm far from home. Emily and I are thankful for having people to celebrate with. We're thankful for having so much food to cook, but are a little nervous about how it will turn out. ;) We've never tried something of this proportion or importance before. lol Wish us luck! There is no doubt that we will document the day with pictures. Whether the food will appear appetizing or burnt is the million dollar question. ;) Just kidding! There will be so much that if one thing isn't so appealing, we'll eat more of another thing instead! Haha!
But until those pictures come around, here are a few others to keep you occupied. Remember way back in October when we took a sunrise drive through the mountains with the Ahlers? Well, I've got pictures from the road to Elbasan. Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=X21434TX34YM5FCGYK23RW
There are only a few pictures, but the scenery really was quite beautiful, especially at that time of day. The problem was that because the road was so narrow and was right, and I mean right, on the edge of the mountains that there weren't many spots to pull over for photo opportunities. Anyway, enjoy them! The sights reminded me of Bible stories. :)
Monday, November 24, 2008
The Wheels On The Bus
The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round according to the song. But here in Tirana, they stop at the strangest places. Like the other day for example. I was riding home from church after my late class. It was around 7:30 and we were about half way between church and the stop where I get off. We had been creeping at a snail's pace, no joke, the whole ride. All of a sudden I realized: the bus is stopping and it's not a regular stop. We weren't even at a stop light or at a stand still because of traffic or anything. We stopped so the bus driver could get out and run into the bar kafe. He came back out with some sort of drink for himself and a macchiatto for the ticket guy. He then proceeded to drive even slower so he wouldn't spill his drink! lol Then, all of a sudden, right when we got to the corner where we turn onto the street where my stop is, the driver floored it and started honking at everyone and everything in sight! I had no idea what was going on. I was just relieved that my stop was next. That was one crazy ride! lol Only in Tirana. :)
See? I told you every day here is a new adventure! Haha!
Our activity night on Friday was a good one. It was rainy that day, and rain here always means lower attendance for events. However, this one was fun because we had another parent come! Yay! One of the moms who has started coming with her son to one of Emily's beginner classes showed up with her son and her young daughter. It was good to see them there. We had a little Thanksgiving Celebration. I gave a very brief story of the origin of Thanksgiving. Then we all wrote a list of things we were thankful for. The catch was that they had to start with the letters in Thanksgiving, as I had written that word down the page. We shared a few of the things on our lists.
After that, Emily told about the Thanksgiving meal and we handed out cranberry sauce (the typical goodness in a can :) that Americans love) for people to try. Most of those in attendance liked it. Except Danja. She was funny. She made a nasty face and told Emily "Ewww!" Hee hee!
Finally, I taught them how to draw turkeys by tracing their hand. So we made Thanksgiving pictures to give to the people we're thankful for. Emily and I got many pictures. lol So sweet! Sometimes I feel like the kids forget about everyone else when they're at Activity Night. They just swarm us for attention, but it's cute. They are always so excited to be there and in class they're so excited to learn English. It's just fun to be around them!
I let my small class choose American names during class. I now teach Ruby, Natalie and Jasmine instead of Xheni, Enxhi, and Sasha. lol They are so silly! It took them so long to pick the names because they were so happy they got to pick their own that they wanted it to be just perfect. I remember being like that in Spanish class in high school. lol Some things never change. :)
Pastor came back this weekend and brought some goodies with him for Emily and I. (Thanks, mom!!!!) I now have a replenished supply of Ramen noodles. Is is sad that I could still live off of those even though I'm out of college? Haha! Anyway, she also replenished my chocolate chip supply, sent some peanut butter, brown sugar, sent advent candles and a nativity for church, sent my flute back so I can play in church, piano music, an advent devotion book, an advent calendar, Christmas cards (not to be opened until Christmas, of course!) a Thanksgiving card, candles for our smelly bathroom (the pipes don't quite drain as quickly as in the US so some days it smells like sewer), and a few other great odds n ends. Then, Sunday night when we went downstairs to Pastor's apartment (he's living underneath us when he's here) for game night, he had an early Christmas present for each of us from he and Mrs. Ahlers. Emily got the game Ticket To Ride and I got the game Settlers of Catan. We were so excited!!!! It was perfect because it gave us a much better game supply to chose from for game nights now. lol I'm telling you, it was like Christmas came early! We were so excited! What made it even better was that we played three games of Settlers and I won all three! That board likes me! It's lucky for me! Hee hee! ;)
This week we're having a meeting to catch Pastor and Agron up on our future plans for English class and to talk more about outreach and home visits. We're also having our first Mary and Martha Meeting. That's the group we're starting for girls ages 13-17. We'll do devotions and an activity. This week we'll do a craft. We're making the invitations to our Christmas Program. Should be fun! We're also continuing our Christmas Program Practices. I need to start practicing the piano a lot because I'm accompanying the songs. I volunteered so I better be ready. :)
We cancelled our classes on Thursday so that Emily and I can celebrate Thanksgiving. We invited Agron, Vitori, Dorien, Pastor, and Aida to come here for a Thanksgiving meal. Turkey is hard to get this time of year since that's what they traditionally eat for New Years. Plus, even if we did find one, we'd have to buy it live, kill it ourselves, and pluck it ourselves. Um, no thank you. I've never even made a frozen turkey before so I somehow think it would be even more difficult if I had to start with a live one. So we're settling for rotisserie chickens instead. They can be found easily around here and are quite tasty. So Thursday will be a busy but fun day off.
There is no Activity Night this week because Friday is Albanian Independence Day. Then Saturday they celebrate Liberation Day, or Nata e Bardhe (pr. NAH-tah EE BAR-the) which means White Night. It's when the Albanian flag was first raised to show their independence. It was raised in Vlora, a city in the south of Albania, so the biggest celebration is there. But everyone everywhere stays out all night to celebrate. Ay ay ay. I'm counting on some interesting observations. ;) And when a holiday falls on a Saturday here, they observe it on the following Monday. Therefore our students don't have school on Monday so we don't have English classes on Monday either. Emily and I have a five day weekend! Woo hoo!!!
Christmas isn't a huge holiday here like it is in the States. Being a communist country for so long, people couldn't celebrate Christmas. That's why Albanians go all out for New Years like we do for Christmas. So there are no Christmas decorations up here, no Christmas lights, no candy canes in shops, and no bell ringers. I can't lie....I don't miss those bell ringers. It always gives me a headache. lol In absence of this Christmas spirit, my iPod has become my new best friend when I'm out walking around town or riding the bus to church. I listen to Christmas music because when it is combined with the crisp chilly air, it makes me feel a little closer to home at this time of year. :) Emily and I are planning to decorate our place for Christmas though before Thanksgiving. We want our apartment to look festive when our dinner guests arrive. :)
Despite a long weekend ahead, I have plenty of work to do! I have worksheets to make for my classes, "bulletin board" stuff to prepare (mostly things to cut out so they can be taped to the wall), words to translate, piano to practice, meeting notes to prepare for tomorrow, supplies to gather for making the invitations, and I need to come up with an idea for a Christmas gift to my students. So if any of you have ideas for that, please share! I'm most definitely open to suggestions! As you can see, I have plenty keeping me busy. ;) Hope you're not getting overwhelmed back at home. This time of year always seems to start piling on the stress. Be sure to enjoy it a little extra for me, ok? ;) Thanks!
See? I told you every day here is a new adventure! Haha!
Our activity night on Friday was a good one. It was rainy that day, and rain here always means lower attendance for events. However, this one was fun because we had another parent come! Yay! One of the moms who has started coming with her son to one of Emily's beginner classes showed up with her son and her young daughter. It was good to see them there. We had a little Thanksgiving Celebration. I gave a very brief story of the origin of Thanksgiving. Then we all wrote a list of things we were thankful for. The catch was that they had to start with the letters in Thanksgiving, as I had written that word down the page. We shared a few of the things on our lists.
After that, Emily told about the Thanksgiving meal and we handed out cranberry sauce (the typical goodness in a can :) that Americans love) for people to try. Most of those in attendance liked it. Except Danja. She was funny. She made a nasty face and told Emily "Ewww!" Hee hee!
Finally, I taught them how to draw turkeys by tracing their hand. So we made Thanksgiving pictures to give to the people we're thankful for. Emily and I got many pictures. lol So sweet! Sometimes I feel like the kids forget about everyone else when they're at Activity Night. They just swarm us for attention, but it's cute. They are always so excited to be there and in class they're so excited to learn English. It's just fun to be around them!
I let my small class choose American names during class. I now teach Ruby, Natalie and Jasmine instead of Xheni, Enxhi, and Sasha. lol They are so silly! It took them so long to pick the names because they were so happy they got to pick their own that they wanted it to be just perfect. I remember being like that in Spanish class in high school. lol Some things never change. :)
Pastor came back this weekend and brought some goodies with him for Emily and I. (Thanks, mom!!!!) I now have a replenished supply of Ramen noodles. Is is sad that I could still live off of those even though I'm out of college? Haha! Anyway, she also replenished my chocolate chip supply, sent some peanut butter, brown sugar, sent advent candles and a nativity for church, sent my flute back so I can play in church, piano music, an advent devotion book, an advent calendar, Christmas cards (not to be opened until Christmas, of course!) a Thanksgiving card, candles for our smelly bathroom (the pipes don't quite drain as quickly as in the US so some days it smells like sewer), and a few other great odds n ends. Then, Sunday night when we went downstairs to Pastor's apartment (he's living underneath us when he's here) for game night, he had an early Christmas present for each of us from he and Mrs. Ahlers. Emily got the game Ticket To Ride and I got the game Settlers of Catan. We were so excited!!!! It was perfect because it gave us a much better game supply to chose from for game nights now. lol I'm telling you, it was like Christmas came early! We were so excited! What made it even better was that we played three games of Settlers and I won all three! That board likes me! It's lucky for me! Hee hee! ;)
This week we're having a meeting to catch Pastor and Agron up on our future plans for English class and to talk more about outreach and home visits. We're also having our first Mary and Martha Meeting. That's the group we're starting for girls ages 13-17. We'll do devotions and an activity. This week we'll do a craft. We're making the invitations to our Christmas Program. Should be fun! We're also continuing our Christmas Program Practices. I need to start practicing the piano a lot because I'm accompanying the songs. I volunteered so I better be ready. :)
We cancelled our classes on Thursday so that Emily and I can celebrate Thanksgiving. We invited Agron, Vitori, Dorien, Pastor, and Aida to come here for a Thanksgiving meal. Turkey is hard to get this time of year since that's what they traditionally eat for New Years. Plus, even if we did find one, we'd have to buy it live, kill it ourselves, and pluck it ourselves. Um, no thank you. I've never even made a frozen turkey before so I somehow think it would be even more difficult if I had to start with a live one. So we're settling for rotisserie chickens instead. They can be found easily around here and are quite tasty. So Thursday will be a busy but fun day off.
There is no Activity Night this week because Friday is Albanian Independence Day. Then Saturday they celebrate Liberation Day, or Nata e Bardhe (pr. NAH-tah EE BAR-the) which means White Night. It's when the Albanian flag was first raised to show their independence. It was raised in Vlora, a city in the south of Albania, so the biggest celebration is there. But everyone everywhere stays out all night to celebrate. Ay ay ay. I'm counting on some interesting observations. ;) And when a holiday falls on a Saturday here, they observe it on the following Monday. Therefore our students don't have school on Monday so we don't have English classes on Monday either. Emily and I have a five day weekend! Woo hoo!!!
Christmas isn't a huge holiday here like it is in the States. Being a communist country for so long, people couldn't celebrate Christmas. That's why Albanians go all out for New Years like we do for Christmas. So there are no Christmas decorations up here, no Christmas lights, no candy canes in shops, and no bell ringers. I can't lie....I don't miss those bell ringers. It always gives me a headache. lol In absence of this Christmas spirit, my iPod has become my new best friend when I'm out walking around town or riding the bus to church. I listen to Christmas music because when it is combined with the crisp chilly air, it makes me feel a little closer to home at this time of year. :) Emily and I are planning to decorate our place for Christmas though before Thanksgiving. We want our apartment to look festive when our dinner guests arrive. :)
Despite a long weekend ahead, I have plenty of work to do! I have worksheets to make for my classes, "bulletin board" stuff to prepare (mostly things to cut out so they can be taped to the wall), words to translate, piano to practice, meeting notes to prepare for tomorrow, supplies to gather for making the invitations, and I need to come up with an idea for a Christmas gift to my students. So if any of you have ideas for that, please share! I'm most definitely open to suggestions! As you can see, I have plenty keeping me busy. ;) Hope you're not getting overwhelmed back at home. This time of year always seems to start piling on the stress. Be sure to enjoy it a little extra for me, ok? ;) Thanks!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Older And Wiser
Isn't that how the saying goes? Another year older, another year wiser. Right? Well in the few days since I turned 25 I haven't had any major catastrophes so maybe it's true. :)
My birthday was a blast! In the afternoon I baked cookies to take with me to Activity Night. Once we got to church I was totally stunned when kids started giving me gifts. I couldn't believe it. We'd never told them we'd be celebrating my birthday, but it was on the calendar so they knew when it was. They gave me gifts and I was so touched! People here have much less than Americans, but they are so genuinely generous with what they have. I was a little overwhelmed because I hadn't expected anything. It wasn't necessary either.
We had a game night that night so the kids played games and colored pictures and ate my cookies. They even sang Happy Birthday twice! lol Then they watched me open my gifts and started to clean up. As they were leaving, something kind of strange happened. They all asked me to write my name and my sign (aka signature) on their hands. Then they asked me to write my birthday too. So I did. Then they started asking Emily to do the same thing. I honestly have no clue what this was about. We still can't figure it out. Maybe they were trying to ask for our autographs? Maybe it's a tradition? Either way, we found it quite amusing.
After that, we headed out to meet some friends at Sky Tower. We went up to the top and had a drink while we waited. We chatted and enjoyed the views of the city. And then we saw some fireworks! You can probably find fireworks somewhere in this city on any given night of the week, but I've never had fireworks on my birthday! :) I love fireworks so I was very excited. When the rest of the gang got there, I was serenaded with the song again before we headed out to our final destination.
We went to this place called Flares Bar for karaoke. It was so much fun! They played songs in Albanian, English, and Italian. We sang along regardless of the language and even took our turn singing a song. We went with a classic artist, Neil Diamond, and sand "Sweet Caroline." Except we forgot how low some parts of the verses get but who cares. It was loud in there and other people were singing along anyway. lol :) After a little while Emily and I went up to pick another song (which we never ended up singing) and right as we got back to the table, Emily started saying, "We have to go back up to the front! We have to go back up to the front!" Just as we got back up there, I simultaneously heard it and saw it: Everyone in our little group was up at the front singing Happy Birthday to me. lol The whole place joined in and when they finished singing in English, they sang in Albanian. That made a total of 5 times. lol
The next day we had church and it was the first time the children's choir was going to sing. Well, Agron forgot about it so at the very end, Vitori interrupted him to remind him. lol So they got to sing at the end of the service instead of the beginning as they had been promised. But they did really well! I was proud of them. They got up there and sang even though the naughty boys came to church just to see what was going on with this group of kids. I'm pretty sure they were surprised that they ended up sitting through a church service instead of being rowdy during an activity. Haha! Joke's on them!
Later that day Emily and I met Olsa and Neda at an ice cream place called Behari. It's supposedly the best place to get ice cream in Tirana. Considering Emily and I have been there a few times already, I'd have to agree. :) We met them there to celebrate my birthday since I hadn't gotten a chance to see them the day before on my actual birthday. We decided that while we enjoyed our ice cream we needed to take at least 25 pictures since I turned 25 years old. lol We took all sorts of ridiculous shots. lol All of my birthday photos can be seen at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=X3BU2XP64X5M5FCGYK23RW
Emily has a bunch too so maybe I can get those from her to post on here as well. We'll see.
After the ice cream festivities, we met Aida. Then the three of us went to meet Xhuli for coffee since we hadn't seen her for a long time and so she could practice her English with us. We had a good time with her. We always do. She's so sweet. And this time, I got to meet one of her boys, too. He was there because he had English class at a place next door.
After the coffee, Emily, Aida, and I realized we were hungry. Aida mentioned a qofte (pr. CHOF-tay) place that she knew of through a friend from work. Since qofte is cheap and filling we decided to go there. Qofte are little sausages that are kind of spicy but really really good. Probably not so healthy, but it's a good thing that they're so filling. That way you only need to eat a few. So anyway, we got qofte and bread from this place. It's so cheap! And yummy! While we were there, Emily decided that I needed to try Raki. It's some sort of alcohol that is apparently quite potent. It has a kind of strong effect on the mouth, sort of like whiskey, but it goes down smooth. And it's clear like vodka and has a faint smell for how potent it's supposed to be. It came in a little glass and the portion was about the same as two shots. You sip it though. I'm not the biggest fan, but if it was a special event and someone said, "Let's go for a glass of Raki," I would. lol
On Sunday we did a home visit for church. We went to visit the home of two of my best students, Kesi and Klea. Agron is friends with their uncle and he knows their father well, too, because when their father was a student at the university, Agron was his professor. :) We had a nice visit. Agron, Emily, and I went, and Olsa went too as an Albanian representative of the church. We were there for a little over two hours! We had tons of snacks from pretzels, to candy, to desserts (I tried a new one that was amazing!), to cookies, to fruit. I couldn't believe it! Every day I find myself amazed by the generosity of the people here. While we were there we talked with them a bit about family and class and then we saw a bunch of their family photos. It was fun to get to know the parents of my students. They are an awesome family! They really are. The parents care about the kids and watch out for the kids and the mom and dad were friendly and they all were so sincerely happy to have us there. They gave us a parting gift--homemade prune jam--and invited us back whenever we want.
Other than that, the week started out like normal with classes and they went really smoothly. At least so far. ;) The week's not over yet! Just kidding! Monday afternoon Emily and I hit up the cheap matinee movie. It was Get Smart. We liked it. It was funny. On the way to the movie, I passed a car on the road in the far right lane that started to make a U-turn. Since the road was two lanes in each direction, I thought to myself, "That's going to cause problems." Sure enough, just then we heard the crash. I looked behind me and sure enough, he'd caused an accident. Good thing I was past him when it happened!
After the movie we had extra time so we went to visit Aida at her new job since it's close to the theater. After that, we went for a treat at a little pastry shop for a snack. On our way to the pastry shop, I saw a girl probably a little younger than me who was about to cross the street. She wasn't paying attention and didn't look in any direction. She was doing to run into me, so I stopped and put my hand out so she wouldn't hurt herself on my bike. She looked startled but kind of laughed and then walked away as I said, "Me falni." (Which translates as both "excuse me" and "I'm sorry/My fault.") It was funny though because I'm pretty sure she'd totally been daydreaming and was embarrased after it happened.
That's been the excitement for the week so far. Well, except that we didn't have electricity all day today. lol Anyway, once there's more to report, you'll hear from me. :)
My birthday was a blast! In the afternoon I baked cookies to take with me to Activity Night. Once we got to church I was totally stunned when kids started giving me gifts. I couldn't believe it. We'd never told them we'd be celebrating my birthday, but it was on the calendar so they knew when it was. They gave me gifts and I was so touched! People here have much less than Americans, but they are so genuinely generous with what they have. I was a little overwhelmed because I hadn't expected anything. It wasn't necessary either.
We had a game night that night so the kids played games and colored pictures and ate my cookies. They even sang Happy Birthday twice! lol Then they watched me open my gifts and started to clean up. As they were leaving, something kind of strange happened. They all asked me to write my name and my sign (aka signature) on their hands. Then they asked me to write my birthday too. So I did. Then they started asking Emily to do the same thing. I honestly have no clue what this was about. We still can't figure it out. Maybe they were trying to ask for our autographs? Maybe it's a tradition? Either way, we found it quite amusing.
After that, we headed out to meet some friends at Sky Tower. We went up to the top and had a drink while we waited. We chatted and enjoyed the views of the city. And then we saw some fireworks! You can probably find fireworks somewhere in this city on any given night of the week, but I've never had fireworks on my birthday! :) I love fireworks so I was very excited. When the rest of the gang got there, I was serenaded with the song again before we headed out to our final destination.
We went to this place called Flares Bar for karaoke. It was so much fun! They played songs in Albanian, English, and Italian. We sang along regardless of the language and even took our turn singing a song. We went with a classic artist, Neil Diamond, and sand "Sweet Caroline." Except we forgot how low some parts of the verses get but who cares. It was loud in there and other people were singing along anyway. lol :) After a little while Emily and I went up to pick another song (which we never ended up singing) and right as we got back to the table, Emily started saying, "We have to go back up to the front! We have to go back up to the front!" Just as we got back up there, I simultaneously heard it and saw it: Everyone in our little group was up at the front singing Happy Birthday to me. lol The whole place joined in and when they finished singing in English, they sang in Albanian. That made a total of 5 times. lol
The next day we had church and it was the first time the children's choir was going to sing. Well, Agron forgot about it so at the very end, Vitori interrupted him to remind him. lol So they got to sing at the end of the service instead of the beginning as they had been promised. But they did really well! I was proud of them. They got up there and sang even though the naughty boys came to church just to see what was going on with this group of kids. I'm pretty sure they were surprised that they ended up sitting through a church service instead of being rowdy during an activity. Haha! Joke's on them!
Later that day Emily and I met Olsa and Neda at an ice cream place called Behari. It's supposedly the best place to get ice cream in Tirana. Considering Emily and I have been there a few times already, I'd have to agree. :) We met them there to celebrate my birthday since I hadn't gotten a chance to see them the day before on my actual birthday. We decided that while we enjoyed our ice cream we needed to take at least 25 pictures since I turned 25 years old. lol We took all sorts of ridiculous shots. lol All of my birthday photos can be seen at the following link:
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=X3BU2XP64X5M5FCGYK23RW
Emily has a bunch too so maybe I can get those from her to post on here as well. We'll see.
After the ice cream festivities, we met Aida. Then the three of us went to meet Xhuli for coffee since we hadn't seen her for a long time and so she could practice her English with us. We had a good time with her. We always do. She's so sweet. And this time, I got to meet one of her boys, too. He was there because he had English class at a place next door.
After the coffee, Emily, Aida, and I realized we were hungry. Aida mentioned a qofte (pr. CHOF-tay) place that she knew of through a friend from work. Since qofte is cheap and filling we decided to go there. Qofte are little sausages that are kind of spicy but really really good. Probably not so healthy, but it's a good thing that they're so filling. That way you only need to eat a few. So anyway, we got qofte and bread from this place. It's so cheap! And yummy! While we were there, Emily decided that I needed to try Raki. It's some sort of alcohol that is apparently quite potent. It has a kind of strong effect on the mouth, sort of like whiskey, but it goes down smooth. And it's clear like vodka and has a faint smell for how potent it's supposed to be. It came in a little glass and the portion was about the same as two shots. You sip it though. I'm not the biggest fan, but if it was a special event and someone said, "Let's go for a glass of Raki," I would. lol
On Sunday we did a home visit for church. We went to visit the home of two of my best students, Kesi and Klea. Agron is friends with their uncle and he knows their father well, too, because when their father was a student at the university, Agron was his professor. :) We had a nice visit. Agron, Emily, and I went, and Olsa went too as an Albanian representative of the church. We were there for a little over two hours! We had tons of snacks from pretzels, to candy, to desserts (I tried a new one that was amazing!), to cookies, to fruit. I couldn't believe it! Every day I find myself amazed by the generosity of the people here. While we were there we talked with them a bit about family and class and then we saw a bunch of their family photos. It was fun to get to know the parents of my students. They are an awesome family! They really are. The parents care about the kids and watch out for the kids and the mom and dad were friendly and they all were so sincerely happy to have us there. They gave us a parting gift--homemade prune jam--and invited us back whenever we want.
Other than that, the week started out like normal with classes and they went really smoothly. At least so far. ;) The week's not over yet! Just kidding! Monday afternoon Emily and I hit up the cheap matinee movie. It was Get Smart. We liked it. It was funny. On the way to the movie, I passed a car on the road in the far right lane that started to make a U-turn. Since the road was two lanes in each direction, I thought to myself, "That's going to cause problems." Sure enough, just then we heard the crash. I looked behind me and sure enough, he'd caused an accident. Good thing I was past him when it happened!
After the movie we had extra time so we went to visit Aida at her new job since it's close to the theater. After that, we went for a treat at a little pastry shop for a snack. On our way to the pastry shop, I saw a girl probably a little younger than me who was about to cross the street. She wasn't paying attention and didn't look in any direction. She was doing to run into me, so I stopped and put my hand out so she wouldn't hurt herself on my bike. She looked startled but kind of laughed and then walked away as I said, "Me falni." (Which translates as both "excuse me" and "I'm sorry/My fault.") It was funny though because I'm pretty sure she'd totally been daydreaming and was embarrased after it happened.
That's been the excitement for the week so far. Well, except that we didn't have electricity all day today. lol Anyway, once there's more to report, you'll hear from me. :)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Full Moon
Growing up in a teacher's household, I would often hear my parents or other faculty comment on the relationship to a full moon and the behavior of their students. I never really put any thought into that. Until today, that is. After today, I fully understand the connection.
To spare you a long story that just gets me frustrated, I'll put it this way: some days are just better than others. My classes had tests today and I learned that test environments are not the same in Albanian classrooms as they are in American classrooms. At least, I'm assuming that, since it's the more positive approach. Otherwise I would have to say my students were unusually talkative and disruptive today.
And my later class had some very unruly visitors. There is a group of boys that live in the apartments around church who are quite rowdy. It's the same group that sort of bothers our Activity Nights. Well they were back tonight and caused a good five to ten minutes of immature rebellious punk behavior. Four of them just busted right into the middle of my class. It took three of my students to get them to leave. One of them kicked over the garbage can so it spilled all over the place. Then when we locked them out, they knocked on the glass door. When I still ignored them, they pulled down the gate which caused a loud and terrible noise. Think nails down a chalkboard plus screeching metal. They didn't stop there. They went next door to the hallway area and yelled through the fans/vents in the wall.
When that class was over, I was happy to get home! lol You win some, you lose some, right? ;) The good news is that these kind of days are few and far between. There are the usual disruptions to class--parents coming in, general talking among students, and knocks at the door--but today was out of the ordinary. It's nice to think that I probably won't have this kind of day again for awhile. :)
I'm excited for Friday though. It's my birthday! :) I'll be 25, which sounds so old to me because I can't believe it. But it's said that age is just a number. And guess what? I don't mind 25. It will be a year of new and exciting things. I've gotten a few cards in the mail but I haven't opened them yet. As a kid, it was always the tradition in our house that we had to wait until our actual birthday to open cards. I stuck to this tradition in college and I'll carry it on overseas as well. :) It just adds to the excitement! Plus, I love surprises and each note inside a card is a surprise!
I'm going to make my "famous" cookies to take to Activity Night that night as a birthday treat. I think people will like them. I haven't received any complaints yet! (Mom, Dad, and David, I know you're jealous! lol) So we'll have cookies for treats and we'll play games. It's a game night. We have Skip-Bo, Uno, Guess Who, Cards, Spelldown (similar to Scrabble), Boggle, and I think we'll use the whiteboard for Hangman. Plus, I'll print some mazes and things like that from the Internet. I think it will be enough to occupy the time. They might have some ideas for games as well.
Other than that, I have one last thing: I promised pictures from Danja's birthday party, so here they are. Remember to click on the link, then on the name of the album. You shouldn't have problems, but if you do, let me know. If you are asked to create a facebook account or to sign in before viewing the pictures, something went wrong or you clicked on the wrong words, so try again. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=X212Z5SSP4ZM5FCGYK23RW
To spare you a long story that just gets me frustrated, I'll put it this way: some days are just better than others. My classes had tests today and I learned that test environments are not the same in Albanian classrooms as they are in American classrooms. At least, I'm assuming that, since it's the more positive approach. Otherwise I would have to say my students were unusually talkative and disruptive today.
And my later class had some very unruly visitors. There is a group of boys that live in the apartments around church who are quite rowdy. It's the same group that sort of bothers our Activity Nights. Well they were back tonight and caused a good five to ten minutes of immature rebellious punk behavior. Four of them just busted right into the middle of my class. It took three of my students to get them to leave. One of them kicked over the garbage can so it spilled all over the place. Then when we locked them out, they knocked on the glass door. When I still ignored them, they pulled down the gate which caused a loud and terrible noise. Think nails down a chalkboard plus screeching metal. They didn't stop there. They went next door to the hallway area and yelled through the fans/vents in the wall.
When that class was over, I was happy to get home! lol You win some, you lose some, right? ;) The good news is that these kind of days are few and far between. There are the usual disruptions to class--parents coming in, general talking among students, and knocks at the door--but today was out of the ordinary. It's nice to think that I probably won't have this kind of day again for awhile. :)
I'm excited for Friday though. It's my birthday! :) I'll be 25, which sounds so old to me because I can't believe it. But it's said that age is just a number. And guess what? I don't mind 25. It will be a year of new and exciting things. I've gotten a few cards in the mail but I haven't opened them yet. As a kid, it was always the tradition in our house that we had to wait until our actual birthday to open cards. I stuck to this tradition in college and I'll carry it on overseas as well. :) It just adds to the excitement! Plus, I love surprises and each note inside a card is a surprise!
I'm going to make my "famous" cookies to take to Activity Night that night as a birthday treat. I think people will like them. I haven't received any complaints yet! (Mom, Dad, and David, I know you're jealous! lol) So we'll have cookies for treats and we'll play games. It's a game night. We have Skip-Bo, Uno, Guess Who, Cards, Spelldown (similar to Scrabble), Boggle, and I think we'll use the whiteboard for Hangman. Plus, I'll print some mazes and things like that from the Internet. I think it will be enough to occupy the time. They might have some ideas for games as well.
Other than that, I have one last thing: I promised pictures from Danja's birthday party, so here they are. Remember to click on the link, then on the name of the album. You shouldn't have problems, but if you do, let me know. If you are asked to create a facebook account or to sign in before viewing the pictures, something went wrong or you clicked on the wrong words, so try again. Enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=125600102&k=X212Z5SSP4ZM5FCGYK23RW
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