Sunday, June 14
- Was jolted awake, literally. We had a small but noticeable earthquake shortly after 7am.
- Met at church to take any available girls 12 and older to the beach.
- About ¾ of the way into the furgon ride, Doris puked.
- At the beach, we saw another bear on a leash—twice. This was a different bear than the one Emily and I saw in Tirana.
- The furgon ride home was, thankfully, puke-free.
- After showering and treating sunburn, we went downstairs to Pastor’s for our last pizza and game night. Each person won at least one game. Very appropriate. :)
Monday, June 15
- I cancelled my classes because students hadn’t been coming and we had an unrelated huge project to complete.
- We spent between 4-5 hours at Pastor’s assembling liturgy/hymnal worship booklets
- 100 Albanian booklets for the church in Durres
- 30 Albanian booklets for the church in Tirana
- Approximately 5 English booklets for Durres
- Approximately 10 English booklets for Durres
- One Worship Leader binder for each church
- One Accompanist binder for each church
- Tirana (Agron, Vitori, Pastor, Me, and Emily) and Durres (Mikal and Pavolina) church workers unite for one final dinner together.
- After the meal Emily and I met up with Tim and Helen, Lejda, and Aida for some drinks and chat time.
Tuesday, June 16
- To keep Pastor’s family tradition alive, we went up to Sky Tower for his last night in Albania. He and I both chose ice cream (of course) and Emily tested out the Irish Coffee. All choices were heartily approved and enjoyed.
- Pastor’s taxi picked him up at 3am so around midnight we wished him farewell and said, “See you in the States!” :)
Wednesday, June 17
- My last classes with my St. Louis, Boston, and Atlanta groups. Also our first class in the new location so we played games, snapped a few pictures and I treated all classes to ice cream.
- Attendance was poor and some of Emily’s students came to my classes. I guess once school’s out, they don’t pay attention to anything but playing and having fun. :)
Thursday, June 18
- Around 11am, Aida came over for coffee. We enjoyed a nice chat and made plans to meet later in the week.
- Last class with the Seattle group. Attendance was great, and a few kids even brought friends. - More games, pictures, and ice cream.
- Emily had her last classes. All’s well that ends well. :)
- Had dinner at the Huna house where we were stuffed to the max with Mrs. Huna's scrumptious homemade byrek. Mmmm!!!
Friday, June 19
- Went to the French Pastry shop for lunch with our new American friend, Kate, who’s spending the summer in Durres. (Her husband is Albanian.) I will miss their Orange Chocolate Torte.
- Last Activity Night was held outside to play some relay games. After a group picture we were suffocated with kisses and farewell wishes. J
- Fun continued with salsa dancing with Helen, Lejda, the other Lejda, and Aida for some salsa dancing. We also joined for a bit at various times by Shari, then Nardi and his friend. A great time was had by all!
- *Note* At one point, we were line dancing to Mexican salsa music at an American-themed Irish pub in Albania. Among the group were people from Albania, England, the US, and Macedonia. How’s that for cross-cultural? ;)
Saturday, June 20
- Had our first worship service in the new location. No electricity, but since only Agron, his mom, Vitori, Emily and I showed up, we skipped songs and Vitori translated for Emily and me. It was actually quite pleasant.
- Luckily, were able to change our Saturday afternoon plans so that we could finally have some time to ourselves. This was great as it gave me the afternoon to rest since I wasn’t feeling the best and it gave Emily time to pack.
- Needed to get out of the house in the evening so we went to the Hunas to say hello. Found Neda all dressed leaving for a school dance. Ledio was getting ready so we left a bit later with him. Turned out to be a good thing as he didn’t know where it was being held so we helped him find it.
Sunday, June 21
- Woke up with a strange swelling under my left ear and around my left jaw area. Though it was uncomfortable, I couldn’t cancel plans. Had a lunch date at the Huna household so Mrs. Huna could teach me how to make petulla. Yum! :)
- Still experiencing discomfort, I sucked it up and enjoyed our evening guests. Aida and Lejda came over for dinner and games as a final way to spend some time with Emily. They are always great to be around and will be dearly missed.
Monday, June 22
- Swelling and pain in my ear/jaw area was worse when I woke up. Emily suggested I go to the doctor. Good advice.
- The doctor touched it, asked if it hurt, asked two more questions, looked in my ears and my mouth, and asked me if I was up to date on my MMR vaccinations. I said yes and the doctor proceeded to tell me I have a version of the mumps virus.
- Deciding this couldn’t be possible, I carried on with daily plans.
- Went to the Xhika’s house (Fatmira, and her three girls, Aurora, Albina, and Albiona) for pasta, pizza, fruit, and candy. They surprised us with a fresh elaborate bakery cake. Played games, talked, laughed and ignored with pain and swelling. Much fun was had.
- Continued ignoring the pain and swelling as we moved to Kesi and Klea’s house for a 12th birthday party for Klea with her sister, parents, cousin, and uncle. Gjoka household is always fun and feels like another home. ‘Twas a great time. :)
- Kept moving because our next date was with Ledio. His American sisters (Emily and I) wanted to take him out for ice cream to spend some time with just him. We spend so much time with Olsa and Neda and we wanted to show him that we love him, too. Had a great time and a great talk with our Albanian brother. :)
- After returning home, I checked WebMD and the Mayo Clinic website to see if what my doctor said was correct. It was. I had the classic symptoms of more mild strains of the mumps virus.
- Looked at the rare but extremely severe complications and got scared.
- Checked on treatment and prevention.
- Lots and lots and lots of rest. No going out and very very very limited home activity. (Think mono. Had that once, too. Eww.)
- Force fluids, fluids, and more fluids.
- Stay away from people due to being contagious.
- Take Tylenol or Ibuprofen for pain.
- Ice swollen area.
- Rest, rest, rest. Sit, sit, sit. Very still. All day.
- Called my family to report the news to them. Parental units showed extreme concern.
- It was decided I shall treat this like mono and do absolutely nothing until Saturday, when I go to church.
- Thus cancelled all plans I had for this week. Sad. L
- Decision was made to keep the same flight and ask for help with packing and cleaning. No need to wear myself out before a big trip.
- Got frustrated with the lack of information from the doctor I saw here.
Tuesday, June 23
- Spoke with parents again, after they consulted the clinic at home.
- All information I found was recommended by the doctors at the clinic as well.
-Sat on the couch virtually all day but made three photo albums.
o Road Trip to Croatia
o Fun From May
o Salsa Dancing
As I write this, Emily is filling the last of her luggage and doing the last minute odds and ends. Her ride to the airport will be here in about 2 and a half hours and her flight leaves at 5am. It will be weird to spend time here without her, and since I am pretty much quarantined to the apartment, it will get a bit lonely, I think. Thank God for Skype! lol
My main concerns now are that Emily makes it safely to Germany, has a great trip, and then makes it to the US safely. And while she does that, I will become great friends with the couch in my apartment--as if we aren’t close already. Haha! My other main concern is to do exactly nothing until Saturday and then take it easy and slowly until I leave for the airport on Wednesday evening. Please keep both of us, as well as the mission here, in your prayers. And expect more updates from me these next few days since I will have plenty of time on my hands. ;)
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