Mirdita (good afternoon) from Lezhe, Albania!
It only took 3 days of traveling (3 flights, 1 bus trip, and lots of naps on the airport floor), but we have arrived in the very beautiful, hot, and mountainous country of Albania! Our flight from Chicago to Turkey was just a little over 10 hours, so we were pretty excited to be done with all of the air time and cankles that come with it.
Once we arrived in Tirana, Albania our contact from Lightforce International picked us up and brought us to where we would be serving for the month. It’s hard to compare our living situation to anything else, but it is clear to see that we are very blessed here. We have a room to call ours, bunk beds, running water, squatty potties to strengthen our quads, the cutest farm animals, and veggies at most meals.
This location is not only used to host people and camps, but they farm many different animals too! We shift duty for feeding the “kids” (baby goats) bottles of milk three times a day because they use the mama goat’s milk for drinking/making cheese. They have lots of sheep, pigs (which some of us had the opportunity to help castrate…definitely staying away from meatballs the next few days), goats (I got to attempt to milk with no success), a cow, two dogs, and chickens.
We had language lessons on the first night in so we can interact with the kids…so far the most important words have been yes (po), no (jo), thank you (faleminderit), ready (gate), sit (ulu), wait (prit), come (hajde), good (mire), don’t (mos), please (te lutem), and water (uje). Somehow the kids continue to forget that we don’t speak Albanian and they ramble long sentences and then get super frustrated when they see that we still can’t understand. The awesome thing about kids is that you can bond over almost anything…by throwing a frisbee, teaching them Miss Mary Mack, jumping on the bounce house together, or teaching them how a camera works.
We helped Lightforce put on their annual kids camp Monday through Friday from 10:30-4:30 each day. CAMP summed up= So many kids. So much sun. So many games. Little rest. Lots of water. Endless sunscreen. ENERGY. Nonstop charades to gap the language barrier. Skilled teammates. Full hearts.
And to finish…the typical 11 Things I’ve learned about Albania:
- They are aggressive, yet kind drivers.
- It’s totally acceptable to take your cow for a walk after dinner.
- Most workers take a siesta each afternoon at the hottest part of the day.
- Bread is a must at all meals.
- Albanians are careful not to offend or surprise you. They always ask, “Do you mind if I ask where you are from?” “Do you mind if I ask what you think of Albania?” So cute.
- They’ve had an oppressive history and seem to hesitate trusting new people.
- Men usually don’t look to involve women in conversation or activities. This was especially clear to see with the young boys at camp. They are quick to push the girls to the side, but then expect the women to care for them throughout the day.
- Men honk as we walk by, but not as a cat call… just to say hello. The town we’re in is small and doesn’t often have American’s.
- Most people own their own properties and are completely self-sufficient. They
- Most people own their own property and are self-sustainable by their crops and animals. It’s a simple, but family oriented culture.
- Most 7 year olds know how to play chess at a really competitive level. It’s impressive and really hard to lose to a 7 year old.
