Volleyball, dance parties, and sleepovers! (oh, and some work, too)

I (hopefully) will swear in on Thursday, which means life in training in Elbasan and Bishqem is quickly coming to an end. It is a little bitter-sweet, though, as I am also VERY excited to move to Fier. However, now that training is pretty much over and some of the stress is gone, I’ve had lots of opportunities to have lots of fun!

We had a pretty low-key day on Monday when we got to hear about everyone’s visits to their permanent sites. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent in Bishqem, where we ate our last sufflaqe and had our last language classes. The 4 of us here have become good friends, and that makes me really happy. Thursday was a productive day, and I like those. Friday had been a busy day where I gave 2 presentations (one by myself about grant-writing for non-COD volunteers which was a huge success!!!) and my language test (I am now Intermediate-Medium in Shqip). Therefore, Friday night needed to be a good one! At the regular hang-out spot, I learned a card game called a$$hole. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed when many of the 50 volunteers are together, but for some reason, Friday was a lot of fun and I was the one who wanted to stay longer. Usually, I’m the one who wants to go home. That night we went to teza’s (aunt on mother’s side) for dinner where I got to spread the love of the games Sorry! and Uno with more Shqiptare children.

Saturday was “Dite e Xhulianes” (“Xhuliana’s day”)! I really do adore my host sister Xhuli, so the plan was to make the day all about her. Unfortunately, we could not go to Elbasan together because her family thought it would be inappropriate for her, an engaged girl, to be in the big city with someone who wasn’t a family member. While I try to understand, it still makes me sad that her options are limited. But focusing on the good… we spent the morning in Pajovë instead, which is the neighboring, bigger village. We had coffee, sufflaqe, and then picked out sweets from the supermarket. She got all dressed up, and we had a good time! Granted, we had to sit inside the cafe where no one could see her, and at lunch we had to leave the restaurant quickly because a distant family member saw her and made a comment about her being out and not being home, but she just beamed through the whole day. On a more somber note, being Xhuli’s “sister” can be a challenge. I don’t want to tell her too much about the freedom I had as a single sixteen year old girl because I don’t want her to feel bad about her situation. Yet, I want her to know that life can be different and she shouldn’t have to be embarrassed to be out in the middle of the day on a Saturday for lunch.

(Side note: here in Albania, the birthday person pays for everyone at lunch, dinner, etc. Therefore, Xhuli thought since it was “her day” she would have to pay. I probably should have made that clear up front.)

Well, Dite e Xhulianes, Episot Një (part 1) was shumë shpejt (very fast) for the reasons mentioned above. That gave me some time then to go to Elbasan and meet up with some friends. Kim had bought a volleyball, so 6 of us played that in an empty school yard. We hid under the awning with some kids as the rain came and went. We then went back to playing, and the kids joined in. One thing I’ve found here is that kids really are curious. The schoolyard in Bishqem is full of kids asking us “What is your name?” and “Where are you from?” in their broken English. Playing volleyball was such a simple thing, but I’ve been making an effort to enjoy the simple things.



Dite e Xhulianes, Episot Dy (part 2) quickly became Dite e Motrave (Sisters’ Day) because 2 of the little cousins were over. We all made chocolate chip cookies together, took silly pictures, and played more Uno and Sorry! I also taught them Go Fish. The culminating moment of the night though was the SLEEPOVER that I suggested! Yup, the four of us girls all slept in the living room together. Xhuli, Selda (age 7), and I were on the pull out couch and Alba (age 8) got a loveseat to herself. More pictures ensued. I won some major points with Xhuli, the cousins, and my host mother when I suggested the sleepover. When we woke up the next morning, Xhuli said she would never forget her day. I’m happy it was a success!



The day after sister’s day included a brief visit to another teza and then a walk up to the radio tower near our town. The 4 of us from Bishqem went, and I’m glad we as a group had our last hurrah! The view from the top was supposedly really nice, but my distaste for both hiking and heat made me care more about getting down quickly than seeing the view!



And then came another big moment of the weekend…the dance party in Pajovë!!! Diana, another volunteer, has made good friends with the owner of the internet café, and the owner offered to let us use her café for a party. There were probably 14 of us Americans (boys and girls), about 20 Albanian boys between the ages of 17 and 25, and the café owner and her husband. It was quite a fun evening, though incredibly awkward! We thought it would just be us, but nope… it was a whole party, including a DJ and blinking red lights! We danced to some techno songs, some Michael Jackson, some old-school Ace of Base, etc., and then there was the traditional Shqiptare music, like the song that was in the last post. This music is accompanied by a circle dance that has ONE step with only slight variations. For being 20-something year old guys, the circle dance is still the biggest hit. I don’t understand how that doesn’t get boring, but the circle dance is just loved. I might bust it out at Peter’s wedding next May in the US! For sure, though, I will be willing to teach it to you; doing so would take about 2 minutes. Anyway, the night was fun, and it did feel quite scandalous to be out late (dancing, not having dinner at a relative or other volunteer’s home), as I usually get home before dark. I also was told by one of the guys there that I circle-dance very well.

The week was quite the success! I’m hoping the next will be as well, as it is my last week in Bishqem and my first few day in Fier, for real!

Please excuse this incredibly long post. Thank you to everyone who is still reading. I really appreciate everyone’s support, emails, and letters. Miss you!