May I present....Some long overdue pictures! ;)
Come on, I know that made you smile. :)
But really, I have tons to update about (including finishing the Italy business) but it will have to be put off for two reasons. 1) A very busy first week of session 2 has left little time for computer activities. 2) I'm not feeling so great tonight and will be hitting the hay once I put these pictures up for you.
So...without further adieu, here we go.
Photo album number one takes us all the way back to 2008. December 19, to be exact. It was Emily's Birthday and it was a blast. Food, friends, funky shoes--it doesn't get much better than that!
Round two of this photo frenzy recaps December's every day adventures. Watch out for the guy with the gun! Hee hee! :)
For those of you who are afraid of heights, be glad you weren't with me when I took the pictures in the next album. We rode the teleferik (pr. tell-eh-fer-EEK), (aka gondola, cable car, or glorified ski lift) up Mt. Dajti (pr. DIE-tee) to check out the views. It was cool to actually see how big Tirana and the surrounding villages really are.
And finally, we get on to the two albums (thus far) from Italy. The first details our first day of travel and I also included the pictures of the hostel even though I took them later in our trip. It seemed like the most appropriate place for them. The second album shows all the pictures I got at Pompeii before my camera died and I found out the back-up batteries were worthless. lol I got more than I thought though, which makes me feel a little better about it. :)
So, let's continue this pause in our regularly scheduled programming. I'll call this an infomercial. ;) I really will finish the story. I promise. For now, enjoy the sights!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
We Interrupt This Broadcast...
...to bring you a public service announcement: I've been crazy busy!!! I'm very sorry for the commercial break right in the middle of my Italy stories, but I just need to explain why I've had to put that on a brief pause.
With our second session of classes starting on Monday, Emily and I held two days of registration this week and two days of orientation meetings. All of our spare time was used for creating schedules, sending students messages about meeting times and class times, preparing materials, prepping for lessons, and just generally getting organized for another session of classes.
We had 16 new people register for classes and it looks like we'll be able to fit all but one into the schedule. And only two people couldn't return to classes so we're still up 13 students. We even had to create two new levels. We will each be teaching 4 different classes. That means I have 8 classes a week. One of Emily's groups is the very young children, 7 and 8 year olds, so they will just meet once a week. So she will teach 7 classes a week. This is in addition to continuing our Friday Activity Nights, our MMM group meetings, starting a Coffee Club for those 18 and up, getting the Children's Choir started again, and just generally doing what we do. I have a feeling that time is going to absolutely fly during this session because we'll be so busy. But I'm super motivated right now and have been working non-stop today on making sure every detail is ready. I'll be doing the same tomorrow. You know me--everything has to be organized in an overly meticulous fashion. lol I can't help it! ;)
During our last session we needed to give each group a name so we could keep them straight and had a way to label them on a schedule. We took the easy route and went with colors. Simple enough. Or so we thought. Many of our students kept asking us this week if they got to move to a certain color group now when we start our second session. They had no idea which really came next, so they guessed. It was funny to Emily and I because we didn't name them based on their level. We just assigned colors at random. lol
So this time around, in order to avoid any confusion, we chose to use U.S. cities as the name for each group. We figured this was appropriate because they're learning American English, so we should pick a place that speaks American English. Plus, they ask about American places sometimes so we figured it is a good way to help them learn a little about the good ol' U.S. of A. :) We ruled out Chicago and Milwaukee, since those are the places we lived before moving here. Then we made a big list of ideas and just picked the ones we wanted. It worked out well because I'm pretty sure we didn't "fight" over any cities. lol There we plenty of interesting places to choose from. Emily chose Honolulu, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Nashville. I chose Seattle, St. Louis, Boston, and Atlanta.
For my classes, I'm going to do a few new things this semester. To limit the walking around (not that it was anywhere close to bad before) and getting in little competitions to ask who can help me with things, I'm going to have a schedule of classroom helpers. There will be one person, or helper, for each class period. We'll draw numbers during our first class to make it fair. I'm going to let them keep the American names they picked last time. I only have 2 new students, so they'll just pick a name right away. I'm also going to have a big attendance chart for each class. In general I didn't have problems with poor attendance but I got sick of kids always asking me how many they'd missed or if they were late, etc. This time, we'll make it visual. They'll get a sticker if they're on time, a "T" if they're tardy, and an "A" if they're absent without telling me. They know the attendance policy and were pretty good at following it last time.
The other new thing I'm doing is having a "Word of the Day" (WOTD) in each class. Just fun words that I use but they don't know. For example, I told one girl she was being silly and they didn't know what that meant. Guess what their first WOTD is going to be? ;) Hee hee! With my intermediate level class, we're just going to use bigger words. For example, we're going to learn "bashful" instead of "shy". And we're going to learn "adequate" instead of "good enough". Also, with each section, I'm going to be working much more on actual speaking practice. Not just repetitive speaking practice, but where they have to stand in front of everyone and say something, even if just means telling us two things they "will do" (practice with the future tense) this week.
Besides getting all of this ready to go, we resumed church services this week, now that Agron and Vitori are back from visiting their daughter in the U.S. I have to admit, it was nice to have that part of the weekly routine back. :) That should catch you up on what's been going on since we returned from Italy. I'll continue the Italy saga tomorrow.
We now return to our regularly scheduled program.....
With our second session of classes starting on Monday, Emily and I held two days of registration this week and two days of orientation meetings. All of our spare time was used for creating schedules, sending students messages about meeting times and class times, preparing materials, prepping for lessons, and just generally getting organized for another session of classes.
We had 16 new people register for classes and it looks like we'll be able to fit all but one into the schedule. And only two people couldn't return to classes so we're still up 13 students. We even had to create two new levels. We will each be teaching 4 different classes. That means I have 8 classes a week. One of Emily's groups is the very young children, 7 and 8 year olds, so they will just meet once a week. So she will teach 7 classes a week. This is in addition to continuing our Friday Activity Nights, our MMM group meetings, starting a Coffee Club for those 18 and up, getting the Children's Choir started again, and just generally doing what we do. I have a feeling that time is going to absolutely fly during this session because we'll be so busy. But I'm super motivated right now and have been working non-stop today on making sure every detail is ready. I'll be doing the same tomorrow. You know me--everything has to be organized in an overly meticulous fashion. lol I can't help it! ;)
During our last session we needed to give each group a name so we could keep them straight and had a way to label them on a schedule. We took the easy route and went with colors. Simple enough. Or so we thought. Many of our students kept asking us this week if they got to move to a certain color group now when we start our second session. They had no idea which really came next, so they guessed. It was funny to Emily and I because we didn't name them based on their level. We just assigned colors at random. lol
So this time around, in order to avoid any confusion, we chose to use U.S. cities as the name for each group. We figured this was appropriate because they're learning American English, so we should pick a place that speaks American English. Plus, they ask about American places sometimes so we figured it is a good way to help them learn a little about the good ol' U.S. of A. :) We ruled out Chicago and Milwaukee, since those are the places we lived before moving here. Then we made a big list of ideas and just picked the ones we wanted. It worked out well because I'm pretty sure we didn't "fight" over any cities. lol There we plenty of interesting places to choose from. Emily chose Honolulu, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and Nashville. I chose Seattle, St. Louis, Boston, and Atlanta.
For my classes, I'm going to do a few new things this semester. To limit the walking around (not that it was anywhere close to bad before) and getting in little competitions to ask who can help me with things, I'm going to have a schedule of classroom helpers. There will be one person, or helper, for each class period. We'll draw numbers during our first class to make it fair. I'm going to let them keep the American names they picked last time. I only have 2 new students, so they'll just pick a name right away. I'm also going to have a big attendance chart for each class. In general I didn't have problems with poor attendance but I got sick of kids always asking me how many they'd missed or if they were late, etc. This time, we'll make it visual. They'll get a sticker if they're on time, a "T" if they're tardy, and an "A" if they're absent without telling me. They know the attendance policy and were pretty good at following it last time.
The other new thing I'm doing is having a "Word of the Day" (WOTD) in each class. Just fun words that I use but they don't know. For example, I told one girl she was being silly and they didn't know what that meant. Guess what their first WOTD is going to be? ;) Hee hee! With my intermediate level class, we're just going to use bigger words. For example, we're going to learn "bashful" instead of "shy". And we're going to learn "adequate" instead of "good enough". Also, with each section, I'm going to be working much more on actual speaking practice. Not just repetitive speaking practice, but where they have to stand in front of everyone and say something, even if just means telling us two things they "will do" (practice with the future tense) this week.
Besides getting all of this ready to go, we resumed church services this week, now that Agron and Vitori are back from visiting their daughter in the U.S. I have to admit, it was nice to have that part of the weekly routine back. :) That should catch you up on what's been going on since we returned from Italy. I'll continue the Italy saga tomorrow.
We now return to our regularly scheduled program.....
Monday, January 12, 2009
Whirlwind Italy--Pompeii Day
So we arrived at the hostel. Ah, yes. It was a bit humorous when we got there. The taxi driver let us out, got our bags, and we paid him. Bing, bam, boom. We opened the door to the building which looked like either and office building or an apartment building, we couldn't tell. Turns out it was both. Anyway, we only had the address of the place but no details about where to go in the building or even what floor. So we're looking around and all of a sudden we hear a honk. I looked out the glass doors and the taxi driver was motioning for us to keep walking straight ahead. Haha!
I found a sign that said the Bella Capri Hotel & Hostel was on the 6th floor. We got in the elevator and rode up. Things improved drastically from there. The desk manager was awesome. He was so helpful throughout our entire stay, but especially that night. He gave us a map of the city and showed us where things were and how to get there from where we were. He even helped us order pizza, which was super cheap and amazingly delicious. There's nothing like a real Neapolitan Margarita Pizza. Mmm mmm good!
We settled in by making our beds in the all girl dorm that we'd reserved. It was just a big bedroom with six beds and a bathroom, but it was clean, safe, and relatively warm. We were happy to just relax. We chatted a bit with some of the people there and decided to hit the hay. We were exhausted from our extra long travels and the little ordeals we'd encountered along the way. So after decided to check out Pompeii the next day and deciding on a time to get up, we crashed.
The next morning did not get started as early as we'd planned, but that turned out to be a big blessing in disguise. We got up around 9 instead of 8 but we felt more rested which was very important since Pompeii turned out to be incredibly massive. We had not predicted that. But I'm jumping ahead. Let me back up.
While we were eating breakfast, we started talking again to two of the guys we'd chatted with the night before. Vince and Edmund were brothers it turns out, and were originally from New Zealand. Though Edmund still lives there since he's in school, Vince now lives and works in England. They were traveling together and stopped in Naples just to go visit Pompeii. It was decided that the four of us would go together.
After walking to the train station, we figured out where to buy tickets for the commuter train that went to the Pompeii stop, found the right platform, took the right train, and got off at the entrance to Pompeii. We bought our tickets and also paid for the little electronic gadgets that act as a self-tour. Those things has so many time wasting sound effects that we started mocking them after about the second recording we listened to. lol Don't misunderstand me, they were very informative but it was just a little cheesy at the same time. :) They really were vey informative and I did enjoy the detail the voice provided.
Before I get to all of the good stuff about Pompeii, I just have to say the two downsides first. I warned you that there were ups and downs on this trip. We didn't realize how big Pompeii was and therefore should've planned another day to really see it all and take everything in. But since our time was limited, we did as much as we could during one day. Also, the maps that they give you when you buy your ticket have places labeled, which help you. However, the places have numbers on the map and on the side are only described by their names. (ie. Temple of Venus, House of so-and-so, Large Theater, Villa of so-and-so, etc.) What the information does not do, however, is tell you what you will see at each of those places. So there was artwork that we missed and sections of town that we missed, and most importantly, the people that Pompeii is known for. Since there was no time for people to flee, they were buried as they were and died doing whatever they were doing. We did see a few of these, but not the ones that are shown in textbooks. You know, the ones that make every kid either fascinated or repulsed. For me, I have been fascinated with it since I first learned about it in second grade.
That being said, we did get to see some absolutely incredible things! When Mt. Vesuvius erupted and wiped out Pompeii in 79 A.D., it wiped out one of the leading and most important cities of the Roman Empire at the time. In fact, Pompeii and it citizens wanted to rival Rome for the most important city in the empire. (See? I really did appreciate the self-tourgide gadget.) Because of this, everything we saw absolutely captivated me. There were many very large homes that had atriums and gardens and fountains and frescoes and mosaics and other interesting features which made it obvious that the people who had lived there were important and quite wealthy.
We saw the bath house and were able to tour the men's side where we learned about each different room and why it was designed the way it was. We saw temples for the different Roman gods--Venus, Apollo, etc. We saw the marketplace area, and the court. We saw the large theater and the small theater, which were both outdoor amphitheaters, complete with backstage areas and under stage areas as well. We saw the arena (aka a colosseum) where actual gladiators competed.
I think that was my favorite part of everything we saw there that day. Go figure, I like the sports related part the best. lol :) But gladiators are so impressive! The fought not just other men until the death, but beasts, too! No one dares to do that today. And not just because PETA would throw a fit, but because it's crazy to fight a ferocious live animal. I got to see the seats where people sat to watch that. I got to walk through the same entrance where the gladiators walked, to the chants, shouts, jeers, and cheers from spectators. I can only imagine the things going through their heads at the time. They must have had pure ice water running through their veins. Or irregularly high levels of adrenaline coursing through their bodies. The pure guts and determination it would have taken just walking into that stadium knowing you could die a terrible painful death with thousands of people looking on, cheering it on. It really honestly gave me chills. Such competitions took place on the very ground under my feet! It was awesome!!!
Right behind this stadium was the athletic area for the rest of the men in the city to use. It had a swimming pool in the middle and was surrounded by grassy areas used for wrestling, archery, and other athletic and military training. The two went hand in hand because one provided a means for a man to do the other. For example, if a man wanted to be in athletics but wasn't the sort people thought to be athletic, he could join the military for his chance to be athletic. And for the man who had athletic ability but wasn't thought to be disciplined enough to join the military, he could use his athletic strength and ability to show his physical toughness for military activities.
Around this area was a colonnade. People could walk around this area (though for us it was roped off) and it was used as an area where people basically trash talked or promoted their favorite gladiators and politicians. They would leave messages about who they liked and why or who they didn't like and why. They way I pictured it, it was a graffiti area for the public to discuss the events of the day. Now we call them "discussion boards" and the internet is full of them. On these walls there were even inscriptions from gladiators about how they were so great and women couldn't refuse them and the fans adored them. But if I were a gladiator (especially if I were a good one), I think my ego would get pretty inflated, too. lol
The one other big downer of the day was that Emily and I both had bad luck with our cameras. Our batteries died and the extras we'd bought the day before didn't work. Can you believe it? They died in the cemetery of all places. Oh, the irony. This devastated me for awhile. I was so upset that I literally fought back tears. I was in Pompeii and saw world history at it's most impressive and would have only a few pictures to show for it. Nothing to show people, nothing to visually explain the amazing sights. This is one of the reasons why it ended up being such a huge blessing that Vince and Edmund were with us--they said we could have their pictures. So they added us to facebook and said that when they post their pictures, we can copy whatever we want. Wow! That was awesome! Plus, it was a blessing because we could travel in a bigger number and had more people to share the experience with and discuss it all with.
The thing that surprised me was that even as we were walking around, Mt. Vesuvius wasn't that visible. In some places it was, but back then, with the city completely built up--multiple stories on building, with roofs and all--it still would've been hidden. Granted that with volcanic eruptions the volcano changes shape. It spews itself over the surrounding earth, burns paths down its side, and some of it sinks into its own crater. So Vesuvius, since it has erupted other times as well, looks much different today that in did way back then. And even though it's smaller, it still makes a big impression when you see it because it stands alone. It is not part of a mountain range. It looms over everything around it as this single solitary imposing presence.
One thing that amazed me was the brilliance of the Roman architects. We think things are so advanced today, but these people built huge stadiums that can seat thousands and are still standing. We replace stadiums after a few decades for safety reasons. But these buildings were built out of stone. A much more sturdy and less destructible material than some we use today. At the same time, stone is material that is slow to build with. They had raised sidewalks along the sides of the streets so that the streets acted like aqueducts to carry the water through the city and to keep the walking areas drier when it rained. To cross these mini street-rivers, they had raised stones to step across. It kind of puts the curb-and-gutter philosophy to shame, huh?
When we'd either felt we had seen all we could or felt we couldn't walk any more, we left to go back to the hostel. We were utterly exhausted after all day walking in the sun. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. For what we were doing, it was perfect weather that day. That, however, would be the only day of ideal weather for the entire trip. lol We got back, ate pizza, watched a movie with those guys and a few others (with our feet up, of course!) and went to bed early.
I can't believe I've been to Pompeii! I read a book about it in second grade (thank you Scholastic book orders!) and have wanted to see it ever since. In all honesty, I hope I will be fortunate enough to go back some day with people who haven't seen it so that I can explore it in more detail, but also to share the experience with a first timer. :) It's just so impressive that it just makes me stop and think how though times were different then, they're very much the same now. People were going about their daily business when that happened. They were working, laughing, talking, crying, arguing, caring for children, learning, shopping, and trying to get by. They had families and friends just the same as we do. They had road systems and entertainment. They had business and court records. They had temples and baths. When it comes down to it, the basics haven't changed much. And we call ourselves "modern."
This visit in itself would have made a fantastic trip. But we had the good fortune to be able to afford a longer stay. So you'll have to wait for the rest of adventure. :) Stay tuned! And excuse the lousy proof-reading all the time. Most days I just spellcheck and that's it. Hee hee! ;)
I found a sign that said the Bella Capri Hotel & Hostel was on the 6th floor. We got in the elevator and rode up. Things improved drastically from there. The desk manager was awesome. He was so helpful throughout our entire stay, but especially that night. He gave us a map of the city and showed us where things were and how to get there from where we were. He even helped us order pizza, which was super cheap and amazingly delicious. There's nothing like a real Neapolitan Margarita Pizza. Mmm mmm good!
We settled in by making our beds in the all girl dorm that we'd reserved. It was just a big bedroom with six beds and a bathroom, but it was clean, safe, and relatively warm. We were happy to just relax. We chatted a bit with some of the people there and decided to hit the hay. We were exhausted from our extra long travels and the little ordeals we'd encountered along the way. So after decided to check out Pompeii the next day and deciding on a time to get up, we crashed.
The next morning did not get started as early as we'd planned, but that turned out to be a big blessing in disguise. We got up around 9 instead of 8 but we felt more rested which was very important since Pompeii turned out to be incredibly massive. We had not predicted that. But I'm jumping ahead. Let me back up.
While we were eating breakfast, we started talking again to two of the guys we'd chatted with the night before. Vince and Edmund were brothers it turns out, and were originally from New Zealand. Though Edmund still lives there since he's in school, Vince now lives and works in England. They were traveling together and stopped in Naples just to go visit Pompeii. It was decided that the four of us would go together.
After walking to the train station, we figured out where to buy tickets for the commuter train that went to the Pompeii stop, found the right platform, took the right train, and got off at the entrance to Pompeii. We bought our tickets and also paid for the little electronic gadgets that act as a self-tour. Those things has so many time wasting sound effects that we started mocking them after about the second recording we listened to. lol Don't misunderstand me, they were very informative but it was just a little cheesy at the same time. :) They really were vey informative and I did enjoy the detail the voice provided.
Before I get to all of the good stuff about Pompeii, I just have to say the two downsides first. I warned you that there were ups and downs on this trip. We didn't realize how big Pompeii was and therefore should've planned another day to really see it all and take everything in. But since our time was limited, we did as much as we could during one day. Also, the maps that they give you when you buy your ticket have places labeled, which help you. However, the places have numbers on the map and on the side are only described by their names. (ie. Temple of Venus, House of so-and-so, Large Theater, Villa of so-and-so, etc.) What the information does not do, however, is tell you what you will see at each of those places. So there was artwork that we missed and sections of town that we missed, and most importantly, the people that Pompeii is known for. Since there was no time for people to flee, they were buried as they were and died doing whatever they were doing. We did see a few of these, but not the ones that are shown in textbooks. You know, the ones that make every kid either fascinated or repulsed. For me, I have been fascinated with it since I first learned about it in second grade.
That being said, we did get to see some absolutely incredible things! When Mt. Vesuvius erupted and wiped out Pompeii in 79 A.D., it wiped out one of the leading and most important cities of the Roman Empire at the time. In fact, Pompeii and it citizens wanted to rival Rome for the most important city in the empire. (See? I really did appreciate the self-tourgide gadget.) Because of this, everything we saw absolutely captivated me. There were many very large homes that had atriums and gardens and fountains and frescoes and mosaics and other interesting features which made it obvious that the people who had lived there were important and quite wealthy.
We saw the bath house and were able to tour the men's side where we learned about each different room and why it was designed the way it was. We saw temples for the different Roman gods--Venus, Apollo, etc. We saw the marketplace area, and the court. We saw the large theater and the small theater, which were both outdoor amphitheaters, complete with backstage areas and under stage areas as well. We saw the arena (aka a colosseum) where actual gladiators competed.
I think that was my favorite part of everything we saw there that day. Go figure, I like the sports related part the best. lol :) But gladiators are so impressive! The fought not just other men until the death, but beasts, too! No one dares to do that today. And not just because PETA would throw a fit, but because it's crazy to fight a ferocious live animal. I got to see the seats where people sat to watch that. I got to walk through the same entrance where the gladiators walked, to the chants, shouts, jeers, and cheers from spectators. I can only imagine the things going through their heads at the time. They must have had pure ice water running through their veins. Or irregularly high levels of adrenaline coursing through their bodies. The pure guts and determination it would have taken just walking into that stadium knowing you could die a terrible painful death with thousands of people looking on, cheering it on. It really honestly gave me chills. Such competitions took place on the very ground under my feet! It was awesome!!!
Right behind this stadium was the athletic area for the rest of the men in the city to use. It had a swimming pool in the middle and was surrounded by grassy areas used for wrestling, archery, and other athletic and military training. The two went hand in hand because one provided a means for a man to do the other. For example, if a man wanted to be in athletics but wasn't the sort people thought to be athletic, he could join the military for his chance to be athletic. And for the man who had athletic ability but wasn't thought to be disciplined enough to join the military, he could use his athletic strength and ability to show his physical toughness for military activities.
Around this area was a colonnade. People could walk around this area (though for us it was roped off) and it was used as an area where people basically trash talked or promoted their favorite gladiators and politicians. They would leave messages about who they liked and why or who they didn't like and why. They way I pictured it, it was a graffiti area for the public to discuss the events of the day. Now we call them "discussion boards" and the internet is full of them. On these walls there were even inscriptions from gladiators about how they were so great and women couldn't refuse them and the fans adored them. But if I were a gladiator (especially if I were a good one), I think my ego would get pretty inflated, too. lol
The one other big downer of the day was that Emily and I both had bad luck with our cameras. Our batteries died and the extras we'd bought the day before didn't work. Can you believe it? They died in the cemetery of all places. Oh, the irony. This devastated me for awhile. I was so upset that I literally fought back tears. I was in Pompeii and saw world history at it's most impressive and would have only a few pictures to show for it. Nothing to show people, nothing to visually explain the amazing sights. This is one of the reasons why it ended up being such a huge blessing that Vince and Edmund were with us--they said we could have their pictures. So they added us to facebook and said that when they post their pictures, we can copy whatever we want. Wow! That was awesome! Plus, it was a blessing because we could travel in a bigger number and had more people to share the experience with and discuss it all with.
The thing that surprised me was that even as we were walking around, Mt. Vesuvius wasn't that visible. In some places it was, but back then, with the city completely built up--multiple stories on building, with roofs and all--it still would've been hidden. Granted that with volcanic eruptions the volcano changes shape. It spews itself over the surrounding earth, burns paths down its side, and some of it sinks into its own crater. So Vesuvius, since it has erupted other times as well, looks much different today that in did way back then. And even though it's smaller, it still makes a big impression when you see it because it stands alone. It is not part of a mountain range. It looms over everything around it as this single solitary imposing presence.
One thing that amazed me was the brilliance of the Roman architects. We think things are so advanced today, but these people built huge stadiums that can seat thousands and are still standing. We replace stadiums after a few decades for safety reasons. But these buildings were built out of stone. A much more sturdy and less destructible material than some we use today. At the same time, stone is material that is slow to build with. They had raised sidewalks along the sides of the streets so that the streets acted like aqueducts to carry the water through the city and to keep the walking areas drier when it rained. To cross these mini street-rivers, they had raised stones to step across. It kind of puts the curb-and-gutter philosophy to shame, huh?
When we'd either felt we had seen all we could or felt we couldn't walk any more, we left to go back to the hostel. We were utterly exhausted after all day walking in the sun. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. For what we were doing, it was perfect weather that day. That, however, would be the only day of ideal weather for the entire trip. lol We got back, ate pizza, watched a movie with those guys and a few others (with our feet up, of course!) and went to bed early.
I can't believe I've been to Pompeii! I read a book about it in second grade (thank you Scholastic book orders!) and have wanted to see it ever since. In all honesty, I hope I will be fortunate enough to go back some day with people who haven't seen it so that I can explore it in more detail, but also to share the experience with a first timer. :) It's just so impressive that it just makes me stop and think how though times were different then, they're very much the same now. People were going about their daily business when that happened. They were working, laughing, talking, crying, arguing, caring for children, learning, shopping, and trying to get by. They had families and friends just the same as we do. They had road systems and entertainment. They had business and court records. They had temples and baths. When it comes down to it, the basics haven't changed much. And we call ourselves "modern."
This visit in itself would have made a fantastic trip. But we had the good fortune to be able to afford a longer stay. So you'll have to wait for the rest of adventure. :) Stay tuned! And excuse the lousy proof-reading all the time. Most days I just spellcheck and that's it. Hee hee! ;)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Whirlwind Italy--The Beginning
On Sunday at around 9pm, Emily's phone rang. That signified the official start of our trip to Italy. The voice on the other end was Dorien who was calling to say he was on his way to pick us up. Bring on Italy!
Oh, Italy brought it on alright. We had no idea about that when we first started out. Dorien picked us up and drove us to the port where we got the printed version of our ferry tickets that we'd purchased online. Our plan was to take the ferry from Durres across the Adriatic Sea to Bari, Italy. From there we'd catch a train to Naples. We should've known how things would go before we set foot on that boat.
Clue number one that things would be a little crazy: As we were approaching the first set of guards upon entering the port, Dorien says to his friend who was riding with us, "Get out your money. Maybe we should give him money. That will help." Turns out we didn't need any money. There was very little speaking and then we were allowed through. Seemed simple to us but Dorien seemed a little surprised.
Clue number two: At the first passport check, they didn't even open ours, let alone touch them. They saw the words, "United States" on the front and just said "American" followed by a smile and a wave through. That thing is more valuable than gold here in Albania, I swear. Well, really its powers have been quite impressive every place we've gone. They see that and no one gives us any trouble. What a HUGE blessing! I wonder how Albanians feel when they see that happen? They have to have passport clearance and visas and everything which is super hard to get just to go to a teeny tiny neighboring country.
When we got to the "line" to have our passports stamped at the exit point before stepping on the boat, things continued to be crazy. I used the word line in parenthesis because Albanians don't really stand in lines. It's just a huge crowd and people push their way, eventually, to the front and have their turn. This is how it is done at the market. This is how "lines" work before the cashiers at stores. This is how you have to do it to buy movie tickets. Even going to the opera things progressed this way. They just aren't organized at all. It would've taken half the time to get our passport exit stamp if there had been lines.
The guys ahead of me were pretty interesting though. There were three of them, but about half way up to the front one of them, the one who was a little older than the others, reached deep into his coat and pulled out three passports. After observing what happened next, I became fairly certain (and I remain fairly certain) that they didn't belong to the other two men at all. I say this because the other two men opened them and immediately began looking through them and appeared to be memorizing information because they'd look at something, close the book, say something to the other, then open the book again to look at it. They made it through with much questioning. And though I couldn't understand any of it, I think the guard lady with the stamp was questioning whether they were legit because even after she stamped mine and a few others, the quizzical look remained on her face.
So we're at the port, we have our luggage, our passports are stamped and we are heading to the boat. As you stepped on, there was one more person checking tickets and passports. Again, he saw the words "United States" on the front of Emily's, let her though, and didn't even bother to glance at mine. He just let me pass with her since we were together. That made me feel secure. lol
We had just purchased deck seats because getting a sleeping room was a little more pricey than what we wanted to spend. However, as hindsight is 20-20, we should have splurged. I try to be positive, but that ferry ride was the worst bit of travelling I have ever encountered. We sat in hard plastic chairs at a table all night, couldn't sleep, and the boat rocked so much that both of us (who don't get sea sick ever) felt jittery for hours even after getting off.
If it had just been those three things, we could have just chalked one up for uncomfortable travel. But no. First of all, the ferry was jam packed with people traveling back to places after their New Year's travels to be with family. We were supposed to leave at 11pm. No. We didn't leave until 12:50am. The ferry travels across the sea during the night and you lands at the next port in the morning to make traveling from there easier. Ha!!! I'm pretty sure everyone who hand another form of transportation to catch other than their own car had to change all their plans. Arrival time was supposed to be 7am. We left so later that Emily and I added the extra two hours and assumed around 9am. Nope. We didn't get off that stupid boat until just after 11:30am! We were on that stupid boat for over 12 hours!!!
The changes in schedule, as annoying as they were, weren't even the worst part. The worst part was all the skeezy men on that boat. Like I said, I try to be positive, but I just have to be honest about something. Before I say it, just remember that the truth isn't always kind or pretty. Here it is: Albanian men have absolutely no respect for foreign women. They are skeezy and call out "hey baby" or "hey lady" or click their tongues to get our attention, yell to us in Albanian, etc. etc. etc. Even our female Albanian friends have said that most guys have limits and values that they look for in Albanian girls but when they seen foreign women, they throw it all out the window. Albanian men stare (at anyone, all the time, because it's not considered impolite or rude for men to stare at stuff here, but it's rude if women do it) all the time. We couldn't get any sleep all night because they were knocking on the windows by where were sitting, they sat across the room staring at us (one guy for over 2 whole hours!), clicked their tongues every time we moved in our chairs, tried talking to us, even telling us we only had a few minutes left to "see their room" as the boat was pulling into the port at Bari. I don't think either of us as ever been so eager to depart a mode of transportation in our entire lives. lol Oh man, was it a relief to be off of that boat and to be able to find food. We were starving since they'd closed their "cafeteria" at 1am right after the boat took off.
Things went a little more smoothly after this. We went through Italian passport control without anything crazy happening. (Score one for a European Union country.) We got food there, used a clean bathroom with toilet paper and even soap (woo hoo!!!), and went outside to see Bari. Well, we didn't get to see a lot of it. We went outside to find a taxi to take us to the train station. :)
It wasn't a long ride, but we got to drive past some of the old city and then through shopping areas. It looked just like any American big city, which felt very comforting after the ferry ride. We got to the train station, got tickets for our train ride to Rome, and then we spent a little time walking around that area of Bari just to stretch our legs and take in the fresh air and see a little of what Bari has to offer. We saw a McDonald's and I was so excited, the first thing I did was take out my camera to get a picture! Hahahahaaaaa!!!! I didn't even get food. In fact, I didn't even go in. I just wanted a picture. :) Then we walked to a little park with a really pretty fountain and sat on a bench to people watch for a bit.
We did that, then decided to grab a cappuccino before going back to the station to find our platform and wait for our train. The caffeine boost did us a decent amount of good because we were so tired from not being able to rest peacefully on the boat. (Have you ever tried to sleep knowing someone is staring at you? I don't recommend it.) Then we found out platform, waited for our train, and hopped on when it arrived.
The train had little compartments that fit 6 people each. For most of the ride, we share it with one girl, and then for the last bit, a guy came in and sat down too. We didn't talk to them. I don't really know if they spoke much English. Emily and I chatted a bit, did some word searches, looked out the window, I listened to music, Emily slept a bit, and we chatted some more. Some of the ride was very close to the coast so it was pretty. I didn't realize how flat that part of Italy was. We passed some fields and even when it got hillier, if you couldn't see any buildings--just the fields--it would've looked just like parts of Wisconsin. :) We had to get off the train in Caserta to switch to a commuter train that would take us to Naples. We got on there and about 45 minutes later, we arrived at "Napoli Centrale" and got off.
Admittedly, we were tired and cranky by this point, and had has a little disagreement about reading the board at Caserta to find out what platform the commuter train would board from. So at this point, our moods weren't the best, but we were both trying to be patient and figure things out. We knew we weren't mad, just exhausted. lol So we lugged out suitcases through the station and out to the front to grab a taxi. We found on fairly easily after walking around the corner and got in. He knew right where our hostel was located so we didn't have to try an explain anything to him. Whew! By this time, it was around 8pm. What a day!
This would be a good place to stop. I can continue with the rest later, but hopefully after reading this, you have a good idea of how we were feeling and why we felt that way at this point. lol As if this hasn't been exciting enough, there is more to come. Not quite as crazy, but just as jam packed. Just you wait! :)
Oh, Italy brought it on alright. We had no idea about that when we first started out. Dorien picked us up and drove us to the port where we got the printed version of our ferry tickets that we'd purchased online. Our plan was to take the ferry from Durres across the Adriatic Sea to Bari, Italy. From there we'd catch a train to Naples. We should've known how things would go before we set foot on that boat.
Clue number one that things would be a little crazy: As we were approaching the first set of guards upon entering the port, Dorien says to his friend who was riding with us, "Get out your money. Maybe we should give him money. That will help." Turns out we didn't need any money. There was very little speaking and then we were allowed through. Seemed simple to us but Dorien seemed a little surprised.
Clue number two: At the first passport check, they didn't even open ours, let alone touch them. They saw the words, "United States" on the front and just said "American" followed by a smile and a wave through. That thing is more valuable than gold here in Albania, I swear. Well, really its powers have been quite impressive every place we've gone. They see that and no one gives us any trouble. What a HUGE blessing! I wonder how Albanians feel when they see that happen? They have to have passport clearance and visas and everything which is super hard to get just to go to a teeny tiny neighboring country.
When we got to the "line" to have our passports stamped at the exit point before stepping on the boat, things continued to be crazy. I used the word line in parenthesis because Albanians don't really stand in lines. It's just a huge crowd and people push their way, eventually, to the front and have their turn. This is how it is done at the market. This is how "lines" work before the cashiers at stores. This is how you have to do it to buy movie tickets. Even going to the opera things progressed this way. They just aren't organized at all. It would've taken half the time to get our passport exit stamp if there had been lines.
The guys ahead of me were pretty interesting though. There were three of them, but about half way up to the front one of them, the one who was a little older than the others, reached deep into his coat and pulled out three passports. After observing what happened next, I became fairly certain (and I remain fairly certain) that they didn't belong to the other two men at all. I say this because the other two men opened them and immediately began looking through them and appeared to be memorizing information because they'd look at something, close the book, say something to the other, then open the book again to look at it. They made it through with much questioning. And though I couldn't understand any of it, I think the guard lady with the stamp was questioning whether they were legit because even after she stamped mine and a few others, the quizzical look remained on her face.
So we're at the port, we have our luggage, our passports are stamped and we are heading to the boat. As you stepped on, there was one more person checking tickets and passports. Again, he saw the words "United States" on the front of Emily's, let her though, and didn't even bother to glance at mine. He just let me pass with her since we were together. That made me feel secure. lol
We had just purchased deck seats because getting a sleeping room was a little more pricey than what we wanted to spend. However, as hindsight is 20-20, we should have splurged. I try to be positive, but that ferry ride was the worst bit of travelling I have ever encountered. We sat in hard plastic chairs at a table all night, couldn't sleep, and the boat rocked so much that both of us (who don't get sea sick ever) felt jittery for hours even after getting off.
If it had just been those three things, we could have just chalked one up for uncomfortable travel. But no. First of all, the ferry was jam packed with people traveling back to places after their New Year's travels to be with family. We were supposed to leave at 11pm. No. We didn't leave until 12:50am. The ferry travels across the sea during the night and you lands at the next port in the morning to make traveling from there easier. Ha!!! I'm pretty sure everyone who hand another form of transportation to catch other than their own car had to change all their plans. Arrival time was supposed to be 7am. We left so later that Emily and I added the extra two hours and assumed around 9am. Nope. We didn't get off that stupid boat until just after 11:30am! We were on that stupid boat for over 12 hours!!!
The changes in schedule, as annoying as they were, weren't even the worst part. The worst part was all the skeezy men on that boat. Like I said, I try to be positive, but I just have to be honest about something. Before I say it, just remember that the truth isn't always kind or pretty. Here it is: Albanian men have absolutely no respect for foreign women. They are skeezy and call out "hey baby" or "hey lady" or click their tongues to get our attention, yell to us in Albanian, etc. etc. etc. Even our female Albanian friends have said that most guys have limits and values that they look for in Albanian girls but when they seen foreign women, they throw it all out the window. Albanian men stare (at anyone, all the time, because it's not considered impolite or rude for men to stare at stuff here, but it's rude if women do it) all the time. We couldn't get any sleep all night because they were knocking on the windows by where were sitting, they sat across the room staring at us (one guy for over 2 whole hours!), clicked their tongues every time we moved in our chairs, tried talking to us, even telling us we only had a few minutes left to "see their room" as the boat was pulling into the port at Bari. I don't think either of us as ever been so eager to depart a mode of transportation in our entire lives. lol Oh man, was it a relief to be off of that boat and to be able to find food. We were starving since they'd closed their "cafeteria" at 1am right after the boat took off.
Things went a little more smoothly after this. We went through Italian passport control without anything crazy happening. (Score one for a European Union country.) We got food there, used a clean bathroom with toilet paper and even soap (woo hoo!!!), and went outside to see Bari. Well, we didn't get to see a lot of it. We went outside to find a taxi to take us to the train station. :)
It wasn't a long ride, but we got to drive past some of the old city and then through shopping areas. It looked just like any American big city, which felt very comforting after the ferry ride. We got to the train station, got tickets for our train ride to Rome, and then we spent a little time walking around that area of Bari just to stretch our legs and take in the fresh air and see a little of what Bari has to offer. We saw a McDonald's and I was so excited, the first thing I did was take out my camera to get a picture! Hahahahaaaaa!!!! I didn't even get food. In fact, I didn't even go in. I just wanted a picture. :) Then we walked to a little park with a really pretty fountain and sat on a bench to people watch for a bit.
We did that, then decided to grab a cappuccino before going back to the station to find our platform and wait for our train. The caffeine boost did us a decent amount of good because we were so tired from not being able to rest peacefully on the boat. (Have you ever tried to sleep knowing someone is staring at you? I don't recommend it.) Then we found out platform, waited for our train, and hopped on when it arrived.
The train had little compartments that fit 6 people each. For most of the ride, we share it with one girl, and then for the last bit, a guy came in and sat down too. We didn't talk to them. I don't really know if they spoke much English. Emily and I chatted a bit, did some word searches, looked out the window, I listened to music, Emily slept a bit, and we chatted some more. Some of the ride was very close to the coast so it was pretty. I didn't realize how flat that part of Italy was. We passed some fields and even when it got hillier, if you couldn't see any buildings--just the fields--it would've looked just like parts of Wisconsin. :) We had to get off the train in Caserta to switch to a commuter train that would take us to Naples. We got on there and about 45 minutes later, we arrived at "Napoli Centrale" and got off.
Admittedly, we were tired and cranky by this point, and had has a little disagreement about reading the board at Caserta to find out what platform the commuter train would board from. So at this point, our moods weren't the best, but we were both trying to be patient and figure things out. We knew we weren't mad, just exhausted. lol So we lugged out suitcases through the station and out to the front to grab a taxi. We found on fairly easily after walking around the corner and got in. He knew right where our hostel was located so we didn't have to try an explain anything to him. Whew! By this time, it was around 8pm. What a day!
This would be a good place to stop. I can continue with the rest later, but hopefully after reading this, you have a good idea of how we were feeling and why we felt that way at this point. lol As if this hasn't been exciting enough, there is more to come. Not quite as crazy, but just as jam packed. Just you wait! :)
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Welcome, 2009!
Hello for the first time in 2009! I'm sure you all passed the New Year in many different ways. Mine passed with flying colors. Literally. Let me explain.
Remember how I said that New Year's is the main holiday here? Well if you would've been here with me, you'd have no doubt about that! The first part of the tradition includes turkey. For weeks, since the beginning of December, all the markets have been full of turkeys. Live, dead, in trucks, on the street, in parking lots, or hanging over the shoulders of those who bought them. Unfortunately, these spots were so crowded the whole entire time that the only thing in the picture would have been people and not turkeys. So I apologize for not being able to give you a solid mental image of this. It was really something though!
The reason turkey plays a big part in this holiday is because it's their main holiday and so they spend much time with family. People gather together and have a big meal and turkey is their New Year's meal like it is for our Thanksgiving. They also cook a massive, and I'm talking gargantuan meal in addition to the turkey because they stay up all night to celebrate. This way, they have food to last them all night. We were fortunate enough to be invited to the Huna's house (Olsa, Neda, and Ledio's family) for dinner where everyone's plate was piled high with turkey, beef, proschute (It's a type of ham/sausage that I think is very good. They put different forms of it on pizza too. Yum! ), a hot dog sausage, traditional qofte sausage, tomato slices, sliced cucumber, pepper slices, a hard boiled egg, olives, and two types of cheese (feta and something else that was white). Then there were also small cookies, potatoes, and bread to add to the meal. And wine and soda. And cake for dessert.
See, what many people do--because it's tradition--is this: They gather with their families and start eating this huge huge meal. Then, at midnight, they ring in the new year with toasts and tons and tons of fireworks. Then people go out to bars for drinks or coffee or dancing, etc. until all hours of the morning. Usually at least until 5am. Our landlord's son didn't get home until 8am. The next day is still a holiday and most places are closed. So people stay at home and just do nothing but spend time with their family or they go and visit other friends or family together.
I took pictures of our night but the most amazing part was the fireworks. First of all, understand that Tirana has over a million people. Second of all, you need to know that the big dangerous kind of fireworks that are illegal for everyone except licensed professionals in the U.S. are perfectly legal here and can be bought on the side of the street. Therefore, everyone buys their stock and lights them off at midnight. This means that at least a tenth of the city (100,000 people) are lighting a supply of dangerous explosives at the same time. Some were doing this from the ground, some from rooftops, and some right from the balconies of their own homes (apartments). It was crazy!!! I loved it! :)
You could hear fireworks going off all day, but from the time it was getting dark around 4:30 until 2:00 in the morning (at least), there was a constant rumble and blast of fireworks. It sounded like gunfire. Now I know why war sounds are described like fireworks with flashes of light in books and movies. In fact, Mrs. Huna was joking during dinner by saying that on this day, Albania is like Afghanistan. She meant with the noise and flashes of light from the fireworks, it's like war. And honestly, if you didn't know it was a celebration and the explosions of light weren't designed with such festive appeal, it probably would have been very similar.
We ended up watching the show from a 7th floor apartment balcony thanks to our friend Lori. She had been planning to watch the fireworks with us but then one of her co-workers, Gretchen, mentioned that she was pet sitting for some people who are back home visiting family right now and they said to use their balcony for anyone who wanted to watch fireworks. It was perfect! It was at a high enough place in the city and was a tall enough building that we could see it all. Thanks to the balcony that went around 3 sides of the building, we just about had a 360 degree view of everything. It was easier to take video instead of pictures, so that's what I did. Watch closely and you can see some of the fireworks whiz right past the balcony. I did it in a chronological sequence in a span of about 10 minutes before I just had to stop and watch and take it all in.
At 10 to midnight things really started to get loud so we bundled up because it was cold (low 20s) and made our way to the balcony. The first video was taken at 5 minutues to midnight. Then I took one again at 2 minutes to midnight. The next video is at midnight. And the last one I toook was at a few minutes after midnight. (They can be viewed, in order, at the bottom of this post.) I was just in awe of the craziness and reckless abandon at which people fired them off. Wow!!! It sure was a sight to behold! :) I know I have never seen anything like that before and I feel certain that I never will again. It was outrageous and spectacular all at the same time. And I loved it! :) We literally passed the New Year with flying colors. ;)
After the majority of the fireworks displays seemed to have calmed down to a less deafening level, we ventured out again and went our separate ways to continue with the night's plans. For Emily and I, that meant walking over to the Block area to meet Aida and wish her "Gezuar Vitin E Ri!" (pr. geh-ZOO-ar VEE-ten EH REE = Happy New Year!) She had made reservations at a bar kafe where she was spending the rest of the night with friends. We turned down the invitation because the reservations cost approximately $15 per person and we were not willing to shell out that much to sit in a ridiculously smokey room (Have I mentioned that Europeans smoke like chimneys?) listening to blaring folk music that we don't understand and don't know how to dance to, especially since we're travelling in a few days. Our money will be better spent on that. :) Then we walked home to call our families and remind them that we're so far in the future that we were in a different year! ;) We were still up late but not as late as most other people around here. lol
I have a few more photo albums to share of other things, but that can wait until tomorrow or Sunday. We went up Mt. Dajti yesterday so that story will wait until the pictures can accompany it properly. Until then, I haven't heard any bad news, so I assume you all had a safe, happy, and healthy new year! Welcome to 2009! I will leave you with a little message from Ledio and myself. (The very last video on this post.) We were playing with the camera and this was the best we could come up with. Hope it makes you smile. :)
P.S. For those of you who are missing me, this is the year I will see you again. ;) lol
P.P.S. A huge shout out to Andrea for telling me how to make clickable word links to my photos. Why I never thought to google the topic myself, I'll never know. I google everything! lol :)
Remember how I said that New Year's is the main holiday here? Well if you would've been here with me, you'd have no doubt about that! The first part of the tradition includes turkey. For weeks, since the beginning of December, all the markets have been full of turkeys. Live, dead, in trucks, on the street, in parking lots, or hanging over the shoulders of those who bought them. Unfortunately, these spots were so crowded the whole entire time that the only thing in the picture would have been people and not turkeys. So I apologize for not being able to give you a solid mental image of this. It was really something though!
The reason turkey plays a big part in this holiday is because it's their main holiday and so they spend much time with family. People gather together and have a big meal and turkey is their New Year's meal like it is for our Thanksgiving. They also cook a massive, and I'm talking gargantuan meal in addition to the turkey because they stay up all night to celebrate. This way, they have food to last them all night. We were fortunate enough to be invited to the Huna's house (Olsa, Neda, and Ledio's family) for dinner where everyone's plate was piled high with turkey, beef, proschute (It's a type of ham/sausage that I think is very good. They put different forms of it on pizza too. Yum! ), a hot dog sausage, traditional qofte sausage, tomato slices, sliced cucumber, pepper slices, a hard boiled egg, olives, and two types of cheese (feta and something else that was white). Then there were also small cookies, potatoes, and bread to add to the meal. And wine and soda. And cake for dessert.
See, what many people do--because it's tradition--is this: They gather with their families and start eating this huge huge meal. Then, at midnight, they ring in the new year with toasts and tons and tons of fireworks. Then people go out to bars for drinks or coffee or dancing, etc. until all hours of the morning. Usually at least until 5am. Our landlord's son didn't get home until 8am. The next day is still a holiday and most places are closed. So people stay at home and just do nothing but spend time with their family or they go and visit other friends or family together.
I took pictures of our night but the most amazing part was the fireworks. First of all, understand that Tirana has over a million people. Second of all, you need to know that the big dangerous kind of fireworks that are illegal for everyone except licensed professionals in the U.S. are perfectly legal here and can be bought on the side of the street. Therefore, everyone buys their stock and lights them off at midnight. This means that at least a tenth of the city (100,000 people) are lighting a supply of dangerous explosives at the same time. Some were doing this from the ground, some from rooftops, and some right from the balconies of their own homes (apartments). It was crazy!!! I loved it! :)
You could hear fireworks going off all day, but from the time it was getting dark around 4:30 until 2:00 in the morning (at least), there was a constant rumble and blast of fireworks. It sounded like gunfire. Now I know why war sounds are described like fireworks with flashes of light in books and movies. In fact, Mrs. Huna was joking during dinner by saying that on this day, Albania is like Afghanistan. She meant with the noise and flashes of light from the fireworks, it's like war. And honestly, if you didn't know it was a celebration and the explosions of light weren't designed with such festive appeal, it probably would have been very similar.
We ended up watching the show from a 7th floor apartment balcony thanks to our friend Lori. She had been planning to watch the fireworks with us but then one of her co-workers, Gretchen, mentioned that she was pet sitting for some people who are back home visiting family right now and they said to use their balcony for anyone who wanted to watch fireworks. It was perfect! It was at a high enough place in the city and was a tall enough building that we could see it all. Thanks to the balcony that went around 3 sides of the building, we just about had a 360 degree view of everything. It was easier to take video instead of pictures, so that's what I did. Watch closely and you can see some of the fireworks whiz right past the balcony. I did it in a chronological sequence in a span of about 10 minutes before I just had to stop and watch and take it all in.
At 10 to midnight things really started to get loud so we bundled up because it was cold (low 20s) and made our way to the balcony. The first video was taken at 5 minutues to midnight. Then I took one again at 2 minutes to midnight. The next video is at midnight. And the last one I toook was at a few minutes after midnight. (They can be viewed, in order, at the bottom of this post.) I was just in awe of the craziness and reckless abandon at which people fired them off. Wow!!! It sure was a sight to behold! :) I know I have never seen anything like that before and I feel certain that I never will again. It was outrageous and spectacular all at the same time. And I loved it! :) We literally passed the New Year with flying colors. ;)
After the majority of the fireworks displays seemed to have calmed down to a less deafening level, we ventured out again and went our separate ways to continue with the night's plans. For Emily and I, that meant walking over to the Block area to meet Aida and wish her "Gezuar Vitin E Ri!" (pr. geh-ZOO-ar VEE-ten EH REE = Happy New Year!) She had made reservations at a bar kafe where she was spending the rest of the night with friends. We turned down the invitation because the reservations cost approximately $15 per person and we were not willing to shell out that much to sit in a ridiculously smokey room (Have I mentioned that Europeans smoke like chimneys?) listening to blaring folk music that we don't understand and don't know how to dance to, especially since we're travelling in a few days. Our money will be better spent on that. :) Then we walked home to call our families and remind them that we're so far in the future that we were in a different year! ;) We were still up late but not as late as most other people around here. lol
I have a few more photo albums to share of other things, but that can wait until tomorrow or Sunday. We went up Mt. Dajti yesterday so that story will wait until the pictures can accompany it properly. Until then, I haven't heard any bad news, so I assume you all had a safe, happy, and healthy new year! Welcome to 2009! I will leave you with a little message from Ledio and myself. (The very last video on this post.) We were playing with the camera and this was the best we could come up with. Hope it makes you smile. :)
P.S. For those of you who are missing me, this is the year I will see you again. ;) lol
P.P.S. A huge shout out to Andrea for telling me how to make clickable word links to my photos. Why I never thought to google the topic myself, I'll never know. I google everything! lol :)
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