Without buke, I do not think I could survive here. For breakfast, there are few safe options. For dinner, I can’t get myself to eat the soup that is glistening with oil. Therefore, I eat buke, and a lot of it! Mom said before I left that I would lose weight while I was here; I do not think that will be the case. The amount of bread I will eat these first 10 weeks in addition to my post-Lent chocolate craze may have the opposite effect. Other than food, things are better than can be expected!
The weekend was great in Gramsh! Laura and I had a very nice time relaxing, exploring a new town, and getting lots of our Peace Corps questions answered. Gramsh is a town of 14,000 or so. People were very friendly with Kevin, the male volunteer, and it made me feel good about later making connections with people. The two volunteers there also seemed very close, and seeing two people become friends during this process is great. Gramsh would be a good placement for me, I think, because of its size. I do not know how I would fare in a large site. I’m not going to speculate on that though since on Friday, April 16, we find out WHERE we are going!
This week was a bit stressful though. A weekend without Shqip classes or speaking in Shqip really hurt me. I guess I just love speaking English! We also met the U.S. ambassador to Albania. We started planning our community project, too, which will take place in 3 weeks! We are going to do a visioning exercise in the school…yeah, we’ll see how that goes!
We also had a meet and greet with many of the current volunteers. It is reassuring to know that they survived the first freezing winter! I appreciate everyone’s input while taking into consideration that everyone has their own opinion. Also, it is fun to meet the people who write the blogs I read! Perhaps next year, people will meet me and say “I read your blog!”
On Sunday, the three of us girls in Bishqem as well as the 2 host sisters went for 3.5 hour hike up into the mountains behind Bishqem. It was quite the adventure! As I was sinking into the mud up to my shin (there was a lot of sinking into the mud), I reached out and grabbed some stinging nettle. Well, my hand had the tingly feeling of being asleep for about 14 hours. I was rather impressed by the spry-ness of Xhuli (my host sister) and Urina (Laura’s host sister). Perhaps I had that much energy when I was 16? The walk was quite amazing for both the view of Bishqem and the chance to remember that people still live off of dirt paths, ride donkeys, and perhaps only leave their homes a few times a year. Everyone was rather friendly, and while I can speak some Shqip, it was great that Xhuli and Urina came along to answer questions and ask where the heck we were going!
The five of us in Bishqem really do get along well, and I’m starting to find it strange that we’ll see each other almost every day for 10 weeks but then could be spread all over this country. I’m not going to worry about it till we all know where we are going, but I’d be sad if we were too far away from each other. (Yes, this is a small country, but with the state of the road, it takes time to get around!) Life is strange that way…how some people come briefly in and out of our lives while others stay. Anyway, we are building a lot of good memories together, and I really am happier than I thought I would be!
I have only been gone for 4 weeks, but it sure feels like 4 months. Hope things are going well on the American end! Miss you all like crazy but finally have the heart to look at family/friend photographs without getting sad.
Wishing you the best!
Oh, and posting photos has been a real challenge. I'll try again later!
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