Lately, class attendance has not been good because school is officially done. I just hope that today and tomorrow for my last claasses the students will come back. We’ll see. I’ve been playing games with my classes. I’ve been playing hangman and am absolutely amazed at how much they’ve improved since the first time we played that way back in the fall. Wow!!! They’re so smart! :) We’ve also been playing Spelldown, which is the same as Scrabble. Their ability to recognize and find words had improved leaps and bounds. A few students have even found 5 or 6 letter words. Good for them! And we’ve played some Jeopardy games to review concepts and vocabulary we had studied. It’s been really fun for me to watch them develop and improve their English speaking abilities.
We also had coffee at another home this past Thursday night. We went to Anxhela and Ina’s house. Their mom actually knew more English than any of the other parents we’ve met so far. She was at about the same level as some of the beginning students. Then we found out that she speaks Italian, so, obviously, she’s able to pick up languages. It was fun because all of our other students that live in that same apartment building joined us. It was like a little party! And she made some delicious Turkish coffee. Mmmm! I love that stuff! We had a nice visit with them and they wished us the best of luck and health upon our return to the States, but they said they wished we weren’t going back and told us that they are sad because we are leaving. Awwww! So cute! I wish I could stay and get to know more people, but I promised them that I will save money so I can come back for a visit. :)
Wednesday night we met Aida for a backwards dinner walk. Let me explain. The fast food here can be ordered to sit down, to go, or to walk and eat. But it was very hot that day—in the 90s (that's why I look so bad, lol)—so we decided to meet for ice cream first. We went to Behari, the best place in town. I ordered a special item, the Behari Sundae because it’s an original. I can’t get it anywhere else so I wanted to find out what it was. I’ve never had anything like it. I got this HUGE dish of what looked like whipped cream covered in fruit. I’m not kidding you! There were pieces of apples, oranges, kiwi, strawberry, melon and two cherries on top. There were a few nuts sprinkled over it and it was drizzled with chocolate syrup and cherry syrup. Under this was a massive mound of whipped cream. Once I ate all that, I got to the ice cream. There were two flavors, chocolate and kiwi. It was super tasty! I’m very happy I ordered it. :)
Our backwards dinner walk continued as we headed towards a qofte joint. Qofte, in case you’ve forgotten, are little sausages. Albanians think they are spicy, but Emily and I think they’re just right. They eat them with a spicy flavored salt on them. Qofte = delicious artery clogging goodness. :) So we got qofte on bread because you can eat it on the go, like a sandwich. Aida was proud of me because I ordered completely in Albanian. lol She likes to make Emily and I do that when we are with her. We ate and chatted a bit more as we walked.
Albania is closing in on election day. The election for prime minister is on June 28 and the city is plastered with posters and advertisements for the various candidates. Albania is a country of roughly 3 million people. Land wise, it is the same as the state of Maryland. However, they have between 20 and 60 recognized political parties. Of course some parties have more money for campaigning than others. But everyone always talks about how many parties there are. Right now, from what we can gather, the leading candidates are from the Democratic party and the Socialist party. Sali Berisha, the current prime minister is running as the Democratic candidate and Edi Rama, the current mayor of Tirana is running as the Socialist candidate. There are a few other parties that have popular candidates, but Sali Berisha and Edi Rama are the two most well-known because of their current roles.
Many of our students and their families are pro-Sali Berisha. This is because he is from the northern part of Albania, as are many of the families we reach. He has done good things for Albania, but he has also done some very questionable things. For example, there are two small cities right outside of Tirana that are basically illegal cities. When he became prime minister, he told me people from the north that they could come to Tirana and just have this land. Well it belonged to someone else and he just gave it away. Nothing else to it. There are still lots of disputes going on because of that action. Also, he has taken credit for getting Albania into NATO, when in reality, Bamir Topi, Albania’s president, is responsible for that because he is the one who went to meetings, studied the process, entered negotiations, etc. The other thing that does not impress us about Sali Berisha is that when we got here, much controversy began involving the credibility of those he placed in high positions around him. Many of them have since been found to be corrupt.
If we could vote, we would vote for Edi Rama. He has studied in politics and business and has vastly and quickly improved the city of Tirana. He understands tourism and he understands that reputable conditions improve opportunities for business. Also, Edi Rama understands that world standards are different and really wants Albania to reach those same standards. He just has a wider, broader view of what Albania can be and from what we’ve seen, heard, and observed, these types of changes represent a positive future for Albania. Edi Rama also has a much better understanding of the younger generations of Albania. He grasps that they are the future of his country.
Now remember, we are by no means experts. What we know we’ve learned from seeing, observing, asking questions, being told, or catching English on TV. But, how can we form an opinion from anything else? I am very curious to see what Election Day is like and to find out the results.
We also had coffee at another home this past Thursday night. We went to Anxhela and Ina’s house. Their mom actually knew more English than any of the other parents we’ve met so far. She was at about the same level as some of the beginning students. Then we found out that she speaks Italian, so, obviously, she’s able to pick up languages. It was fun because all of our other students that live in that same apartment building joined us. It was like a little party! And she made some delicious Turkish coffee. Mmmm! I love that stuff! We had a nice visit with them and they wished us the best of luck and health upon our return to the States, but they said they wished we weren’t going back and told us that they are sad because we are leaving. Awwww! So cute! I wish I could stay and get to know more people, but I promised them that I will save money so I can come back for a visit. :)
Wednesday night we met Aida for a backwards dinner walk. Let me explain. The fast food here can be ordered to sit down, to go, or to walk and eat. But it was very hot that day—in the 90s (that's why I look so bad, lol)—so we decided to meet for ice cream first. We went to Behari, the best place in town. I ordered a special item, the Behari Sundae because it’s an original. I can’t get it anywhere else so I wanted to find out what it was. I’ve never had anything like it. I got this HUGE dish of what looked like whipped cream covered in fruit. I’m not kidding you! There were pieces of apples, oranges, kiwi, strawberry, melon and two cherries on top. There were a few nuts sprinkled over it and it was drizzled with chocolate syrup and cherry syrup. Under this was a massive mound of whipped cream. Once I ate all that, I got to the ice cream. There were two flavors, chocolate and kiwi. It was super tasty! I’m very happy I ordered it. :)Our backwards dinner walk continued as we headed towards a qofte joint. Qofte, in case you’ve forgotten, are little sausages. Albanians think they are spicy, but Emily and I think they’re just right. They eat them with a spicy flavored salt on them. Qofte = delicious artery clogging goodness. :) So we got qofte on bread because you can eat it on the go, like a sandwich. Aida was proud of me because I ordered completely in Albanian. lol She likes to make Emily and I do that when we are with her. We ate and chatted a bit more as we walked.
Albania is closing in on election day. The election for prime minister is on June 28 and the city is plastered with posters and advertisements for the various candidates. Albania is a country of roughly 3 million people. Land wise, it is the same as the state of Maryland. However, they have between 20 and 60 recognized political parties. Of course some parties have more money for campaigning than others. But everyone always talks about how many parties there are. Right now, from what we can gather, the leading candidates are from the Democratic party and the Socialist party. Sali Berisha, the current prime minister is running as the Democratic candidate and Edi Rama, the current mayor of Tirana is running as the Socialist candidate. There are a few other parties that have popular candidates, but Sali Berisha and Edi Rama are the two most well-known because of their current roles.
Many of our students and their families are pro-Sali Berisha. This is because he is from the northern part of Albania, as are many of the families we reach. He has done good things for Albania, but he has also done some very questionable things. For example, there are two small cities right outside of Tirana that are basically illegal cities. When he became prime minister, he told me people from the north that they could come to Tirana and just have this land. Well it belonged to someone else and he just gave it away. Nothing else to it. There are still lots of disputes going on because of that action. Also, he has taken credit for getting Albania into NATO, when in reality, Bamir Topi, Albania’s president, is responsible for that because he is the one who went to meetings, studied the process, entered negotiations, etc. The other thing that does not impress us about Sali Berisha is that when we got here, much controversy began involving the credibility of those he placed in high positions around him. Many of them have since been found to be corrupt.
If we could vote, we would vote for Edi Rama. He has studied in politics and business and has vastly and quickly improved the city of Tirana. He understands tourism and he understands that reputable conditions improve opportunities for business. Also, Edi Rama understands that world standards are different and really wants Albania to reach those same standards. He just has a wider, broader view of what Albania can be and from what we’ve seen, heard, and observed, these types of changes represent a positive future for Albania. Edi Rama also has a much better understanding of the younger generations of Albania. He grasps that they are the future of his country.
Now remember, we are by no means experts. What we know we’ve learned from seeing, observing, asking questions, being told, or catching English on TV. But, how can we form an opinion from anything else? I am very curious to see what Election Day is like and to find out the results.
I might do something I've never done before--post two blog updates in one day. That's right. I said it. It is definitely down to crunch time around here. And since it feels like every waking minute is spent doing something or seeing someone, my free time is at a minimum. However, after my last days of classes today and tomorrow, I have actually schedule free time into my schedule so that I can take care of things like this. lol :) I also have to sort some things and start packing. Plus, I believe that today is when we are moving the church from our current location to the new location just down the hall. Exciting! But, I will write later because the events of the weekend, Sunday in particular, certainly need to be recalled. What a day! :) Now you have something to look forward to. Hee hee!
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