Through a new set of eyes

The majority of this post will be in the form of pictures. Today me and my fellow teacher Scott decided to walk around some parts of Tirana we hadn't really visited. We began with a little morning croissant, and coffee from one of our favorite bakeries.

Breakfast: chocolate filled croissants and espresso/machiato

As far as tourist and sight seeing goes, Tirana has little to offer. It can almost all be summed up in the Qendra (center) where the famous statue of Skenderbeg, the clock tower  mosque, museum, and opera house all reside.

The opera house is decorate with our banner for our 100 years of freedom, celebrated in the end of November. This view shows the opera house, the clock tower, the mosque and Skanderbeg Square all in one picture. Behind me is the museum. All in one area.

But there are of course, many strange and beautiful things to see around the city if you open your eyes and explore. We walked to the center and continued down a road we had never traveled on. This road gave us many interesting pieces of art in the form of graffiti.

Interesting, to say the least

Distorted double headed golden eagle.

Now that is what I call art.

The music lover in my loved this one.

The further away we got, the more strange things seemed to get. We saw many markets run by chinese people. Perhaps there is a china town in Tirana? We also saw some christmas trees for sale and I saw the first black person I have seen since I arrived here. There was also a very large, crowded market full of clothing and shoes for sale. This market reminded me of the markets we visited when I was in Honduras.

Christmas trees and the first black person I've seen in Albania

Market

After getting a little lost we ran into the man made river. This is probably the stinkiest river I've ever smelled in my whole life. We've always wondered where it started, and as it turns out, it starts at a huge pile of trash and a sewage dumping area. Oh Tirana.....

These random uncovered holes are everywhere. You have to really watch where you step.

The start of the river

The day ended at 1:00 when we decided we were finally hungry enough to split a burger at Stephen Center. I took several pictures of interesting buildings along the way as well:

The "manners building." I named it that because Je Lutem is please, Faleminderit is thank you, and Me Falni is I'm sorry. It was covered in "Kind words and actions" as we say at school. 

This is some famously old bridge, over grass. Why?

Loved the clouds today. Here is the clock tower on the way home.

Travelin' Through

Part of me expected to come to Tirana and just figure out everything I needed to discover about myself.  There is no way I can deny that. But, that just isn’t the way the world works. I left America, 2 plus some months ago, not knowing what I wanted out of life. I was just a typical 20 something girl who had no idea who she wanted to be, where she would end up, or who she would meet along the way.

And I still don’t know. I think I’m finally starting to freak out about it, because I don’t know if I want to stay for another year, and I don’t know where I will go if I don’t. I just feel lost. But, truth be told I have found a bit of myself here. . I have learned 2 things:

1)    I don’t want to be alone. I want to find someone I love to be with for the rest of my life. Not yet, but eventually.

2)    I’m not ready to go home. And I won’t be ready to go home next summer. Perhaps for a visit, but not permanently. I’d be selling myself, and my dreams short if I did. There is so much I want to see, and so much I want to do. I also know that to learn about myself I need to be on my own. I hate being alone (single girl, and away from my family) but it is important that I do this to get my own perspective. I’m dreaming about things I never would have dreamed about, not because the people in my life don’t support me (they do) but because I’m seeing myself and the world through different eyes. The people I’ve met along the way have different connections, and the traveling teacher viewpoints I need. Thank you Cortney and Scott for all of the support and encouragement on this journey.

So overall, no matter where I go or what I do, I’m living my life, and figuring it out one little bit at a time. And I have options, and that is something that I should be so very thankful for. And once again music is saving my life:

The Untitled Blog #1

Last year I blogged everyday and it was incredible. There is no way I have time for that this year, but sometimes I miss it. These are thoughts/information that don't deserve their own blog, but are still important for my memories of Tirana. I plan on posting an "Untitled Blog" every few months. Enjoy!

September 14^th 2012

Tonight we went out to celebrate the first week of school being finished!!! So we headed to a local microbrewery. The microbreweries are nothing like they are in the states. You are lucky if they have 3 options of beer. The first one had 2 options, but one was out so I ended up drinking bionde (blonde beer).) Those of you who know me know that I like dark beer. Then darkest you can find. After we finished our 2 liters of beer we decided to head to another brewery.

Shakesbeer was fantasmic. Seriously. Of all the places I’ve been so far I’d have to say that Shakesbeer felt like home. They had Korca dark, and who knew that Albania could make such a delicious beer? And why isn’t it sold in more places? This was also one of the only places I’ve been here where I’ve seen other girls drinking beer. Plus towards the end of our time there we were all sharing stories about our past lives and suddenly Cortney said the most obvious, and yet most necessary thing. She said “Clearly we all came here for a reason, and that is what unites us all.” (or something like that.. I don’t remember the exact words.) Then we all said “Gazuar” and drank away.

Adam and Kevin started drinking Raki, and shortly after decided they needed a whole bottle, so we headed to a store to pick some up and then went straight to the pyramid. The pyramid was originally built as a grave/museum to honor Enver Hoxha (well known for creating the isolation of Albainia), but once he died it became first a nightclub and now  is the home of a radio station.  According to our principal tradition has it that foreign MIST staff like to get a bit of liquid courage and climb to the top. With a few beers in me, and a couple little sips of raki I decided there was no time like the present. So wearing a skirt I began to climb. About 2/3rds of the way up I remembered how scared heights I was and looked down. Woops. I started freaking out about how I was going to get down in a skirt and so I decided that my major concern was no longer getting to the top, but getting down safely without sliding. After we all safely arrived at the bottom we decided to call it a night.

I’d call it a celebration success!

September 15^th 2012

Today I finally thought about that thing I told myself I wouldn’t think about.  But, I’m thankful, because it wasn’t a terrible thought. For the first time it was an “I’m all done” thought, and it made me so incredibly free. But, on the other hand I thought to myself that even though I’m done, from thousands of miles away, my love is still strong. And that right there is something even more incredible.

September 29^th 2012

This weekend has been fantastic. I spent most of it at the Human Rights film festival watching movies with my friends. Today we headed to the Stephen’s center for lunch and I had chimicangas. Mmmmm…..there isn’t much Mexican here, so this rocked my world.

Also I have officially decided that I would never be able to marry an Albanian man for the following reasons:

1)    I need my freedom, and from what I’ve seen they are pretty strict with their wives. We’ve all seen me in a smothered relationship before, and we all know how it ended.

2)    The dating culture is so different from that of America that I would be completely lost and confused as to how to approach any part of the relationship.

3)    I could not live here for the rest of my life. Don’t get me wrong Tirana is great and I love living here, but I think 2 years will be the max I can take before moving on. I’m not sure how visas and all that work, but I ‘m not sure I want to find out.

So, for everyone who said immediately when I told them I was moving, that I would find a man and live here forever, you can re assured that will not be the case.

October 2^nd 2012

Never speak too soon. Just went you start to least expect things to happen they start to happen. Also…why is Diamonds café having any sort of a celebration on Tuesday night. And especially when my throat is killing me an I’m starting to feel quite sick. I need sleep, .not blaring loud Albanian pop music at 11:00pm.

October 30^th 2012

It’s official. I started applying for jobs for next school year. I haven’t officially decided whether I want to stay or not, but I want all my options to be open to me. Today was a rough day. Not because it was a bad day, it just felt long. All the vacation has made me exhausted and made me homesick…somehow.

Also, I have mumps. Not fun at all, and I’m exhausted. All I want to do is sleep. Actually all I want to do right now is cry. I just feel as thought nothing is going right in my life, even the little things. I keep reminding myself of the lessons I’m teaching my first graders: that of patience. I have about as much as they do when it comes to planning my life.

But for now it is time to take a hot shower and get a move on it to go hang out with my friends. Also I think a few minutes of forced tears are necessary. But after a couple minutes of crying it will be time to throw myself back into life. I find that anytime I’m feeling down here it is usually because I’m not busy enough.  I’ll finish off this longer than expected blog post with a quote I found today.

“And never have I felt so deeply at one and the same time so detached from myself and so present in the world.”- Albert Camus

Exactly true of my life right now. 

Syri i Kalter

The Saturday of vacation was a rain day. We have been overall very lucky to have sunny and perfect weather on all of our vacation days. Our plans to head to Girokaster were changed by the terrible rain and coldish weather. We spent our morning in reading Ismail Kadare**, making lesson plans and drinking Nescafe, beer, and tea.

Around 10:00 Cortney and I headed out to the market to get some pasta for lunch and some snacky food. However we returned and around noon our power went out. It was our first true Albanian power outage experience, but we remembered to immediately eat our ice cream. At 2 we were getting pretty hungry and were unable to cook our pasta, so we headed out to our pizza place from 2 nights before. However we ran into Argosto (a restaurant Cortney read about online) and after looking at the prices, decided to try it out. The reviews stated that a main course about 1200 pounds (really expensive) so we had decided not to go. The thing I love about Cortney is that she is so willing to check things out for herself rather than taking other’s opinions. So we stopped quickly for her to look at the menu. Overall the meal for the 4 of us (including a salad, appetizer, drinks, main meal and desert) cost us 4250 lek (about 40 dollars.) I was amazed at how good the food tasted and would rate it as the best resturant I’ve eaten at in Albania so far. I had two glasses of the cheapest wine (which still tasted fantastic to me) part of a Greek Salad, some exquisite fried octopus (never thought I’d eat octopus and be craving more and unable to quit eating it) half a salmon (the worst part) and some delicious mushroom and cream sauce on some fettuccine (so incredible) and a piece of baklava-like desert all for about $11. What?!?! Later that night we went back to Argosta, because it was so incredible and shared the following items:

1)    Arrugola Parmesan and Tomato Salad with parmesan

2)    Prongs in delicious sauce (tasted like an incredible smoky sauce)

3)    Grilled Sea Bream

4)    The same Fettuccine Mushroom deliciousness we had in the afternoon.

Fried Octopus!

After the first meal out Scott and I were feeling pretty full and in need of some exercise after our afternoon off, so we went for a walk to Saranda proper. It took us about 25 minutes to get there. We stopped in a tourist shop and took some great pictures of some older ladies trying to figure out their umbrella. We decided to sit down for a quick coffee break and had some great talks, while being stared at by old Albanian men and women. These talks continued later over wine and candlelight at the apartment with Cortney. (Blog post on this subject to come later.)

Rainy Day walk

The following morning we woke up with no power, and so we packed in the dark and headed out of Saranda. We made one very important stop on the way home. The Blue Eye (Syri i Kalter) is one of the most gorgeous things I have seen in my life. This is a natural spring that flows up with water from the mountainside. Because the water is fresh it is clean and clear and Albania has been able to keep it that way. Apparently you can jump in the spring (It goes at the very least 50 meters,) although it is always cold. I wanted to, but decided not to because I wasn’t feeling particularly well and the rainy day made it feel colder than it probably was.

The Blue Eye. The little railing shows were you can jump in.

We also made a stop in Telepene to go to the bathroom and the restaurant we stopped at was beautiful. We wanted some coffee, but their power was out. Oh Albania….so Scott bought some honey and we were on our way.

Naturally flowing water

After a very interesting experience on the new “safe” inland road, and our chance to be part of an Albanian wedding recession we made it back to Tirana. Once we pulled into the car rental place they saw how dirty our car was (due to mudslides and rain) and demanded we clean it. Oh Albania….

**Ismail Kadare is a famous Albanian author. I highly suggest his books as I was able to read over half of one on this particular morning. 

Butrint National Park

At the entrance and super excited about our day

We woke up this morning and spent some time relaxing before heading to Butrint National park for some hiking. Oh my god!!! It was beautiful and incredible in so many ways. It wasn’t like I thought it would be. I knew there were some very ancient buildings, but I thought we would have to hike through some wilderness to reach them. Cortney compared the whole experience to that of Machu Picchu, only with less hiking. The buildings in Butrint are actually older than those of Machu Picchu, and after hiking through it we decided that in 10 years it will be a way different experience than we had, because it will be much more valued, and therefore more roped up. The way we were able to explore it and touch things was incredible.

Pretty View of the sun coming up and the ruins.

We walked into the park after paying less than expected (apparently 3 people count as the group rate) and were able to walk right up to the door of a Venetian Tower. I mean I literally walked up the steps to the door and tugged to see if it was open. The trail continued next to some partially broke down walls, which I walked on top of just because I could.

Walking on top of the wall

The wall took us to a Roman town house, and then to a fountain followed by the 2^nd largest basilica in the world. The basilica was gorgeous (probably my favorite part,) especially with the shadows in the background. It seemed like around every corner there was another beautiful ancient building to see. The land was so beautiful and we felt free to explore as we wanted. 

check out those shadows!

So, we took a very random pathway to the Lake Gate to reach some giant walls, rather than the path they had created for tourists. The back path had some very old stairs and we couldn’t help relating ourselves to Indiana Jones. The great big walls led us to the Lions Gate, where we were forced to listen to some kids as we took pictures. Eventually they passed us and we stopped to take a snickers snack break.

The carving shows a lion eating a boar. - at Lions Gate

The Venetian castle followed, including a museum that contained pottery from 14^th century BC. That is some old pottery!! We were so intrigued that we were able to touch old sculptures without being yelled out or getting nervous about getting kicked out. There was also a lot of interesting pictures to look at and information to read. I mean, who knew Cesar was in charge of Butrint and treated it like his adopted son for a portion of time? So Interesting!

Touching the sculptures

looking out at the top of the Venetian castle onto the Albania flag.

Next on the list was the famous theatre, built in the 3^rd Century BC. We goofed off on the stage performing some tap dancing and hand stands, and took some contemplative pictures in the stands. Apparently they still do performances on the stage, but usually these take place during the tourist season. On the way to the theater you can see Greek inscriptions on the wall, which apparently are indicative of the release of slaves.

hanging out in the theatre

The final thing on the map was by far the most interesting. Not because of the beauty(because we were unable to see it,) but because of the history behind it and the relation it has to my life. The baptistery was built in the 6^th century and contains a mosaic representing Christian Salvation. Unfortunately the mosaic is so incredible that they want to preserve it, (imagine that!) therefore they have used some sort of blue plastic and sand to cover it and keep it safe. Apparently the rising and falling of the water ruins it, so they open it only once every few years, and only for a few days. I wish we could have seen it, but it is also sweet that Albanians are preserving this history.

Baptistery- in the middle is where they do the baptizing. This sand is coving the actual mosaic to protect it. 

Pretty much my only compliant about the park was that there was still trash (minimal) in some areas and that the mosquitoes were awful. If you go I recommend bringing a trash bag (do your part) and some bug spray (so you don’t get malaria.)

At the Monastery

On the way to Butrint we noticed a sign for a monastery and promised ourselves we would check it out on the way back, so we did. The hike was covered with huge random rocks, but we managed to walk our way around them and up the large hill. The rocks were super interesting to look at and I’m hoping that my soils friend Erika Wertz might be able to tell me something about how they were formed and why they are like this. The monastery made me feel like I was home. Mostly because there was a basketball court next to it, a couple of cows, and a large cross overlooking the mountains. It reminded me of church in Wisconsin. We happened to notice a deserted beach below, and vowed to come back to go for an afternoon swim since our morning had been so productive. 

I'd say it was a gorgeous day!

It was only about 1:00 when we got back to the apartment to grab Scott (who stayed home to work) and head back to the beach for some swimming and a bottle of wine. I had probably my most hippie like experience ever. I skinny dipped in the Ionian Sea (because why not?) and then proceeded to put on my pants (sans underwear) with my new hippie-like scarf, and to drink a bottle of cheap wine directly out of the bottle. 

Monastery beach from up top

Swimming in the Ionian sea

Hanging out on Monastery Beach

Hippie experience.

Once again we were surprised by the time when we finished our swim, and managed to shower, change, and make it to dinner at a restaurant by Burtrint by only 5:30. Cortney and Bobby had some delicious fish and Scott and I shared the seafood risotto. It was actually quite a good meal, and we were proud of our ability to find a restaurant we enjoyed. The evening was once again relaxing and laid back and I felt like an old person when I went to bed at only 8:15. Right now it is 7:00 am, and I’ve been awake for an hour and a half. We were planning on heading to Girokaster, but it is raining pretty bad, and still a bit dark so we are going to wait to see what happens. 

Vlore, the Costal Road and Ksamil Beach

I love long weekends. I also have to mention how much I love having friends who are morning people. We don’t stay out late, but we manage to get so much done during our day because we get a head start. Our work weekend ended at 2:15pm on Wednesday, and we were on the road by 3:00 pm, making it to Vlore by 5:30ish. Fun sights/occurrences along the way:

1) Scott nearly had a heart attack when a man tried to sell him a live rabbit by practically throwing it at our window.

2) The cops tried to pull us over, but we acted like we didn’t understand and kept going.

3) We saw some men running on the highway and thought to ourselves “what the hell are they doing?” And then we realized they were running after a sheep.

Vlore was terrible…or maybe we were just unwilling to search for the beauty and fun.

Upon arriving we found our apartment and after waiting 30 minutes for the guy to show up I was handed a phone with a woman to translate in English. Then we were shown to our room where a man was very insistent on taking some money (about 5 dollars) for security for our car. As in, he was going to be the security for our car and stay and watch it all night. I don’t think so buddy. We ended up eating at Kolanat (McDonalds) for dinner. Basically the burger I had tasted like a boca burger, and the fries tasted like McDonalds fries minus salt.

After dinner, we tired to find a beach to watch the sunset, but failed miserably, so we got some chocolate cake and ice cream for desert and headed back to the sketch apartment. The man then asked for our documents and spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out Cortney’s name. Eventually we figured out that he wanted us to write it down. Once we communicated the hour we were leaving to him we were able to head up for a night of working on lesson plans, which turned into a night of listening to music and talking about water polo, which Cortney thought was like real polo only in the water. Boy did that picture lead to some great laughs.

Mountain sunrise

We left at about 7:00am the next morning to take the “Costal Road” to Saranda. Apparently this road is way scarier than the one to Ohrid, but I was only “scared for my life” a total of two times, and only got car sick for about 5 minutes (Ohrid it was like an hour of sickness.) We stopped in one city so that I could pee on the beautiful beach and get some Nescafe to wake up. The second stop was the perfect time for a breakfast beer (Fishers, Greek) and a pomegranate picked directly off the tree.

Beer with a Mountain View :)

The apartment in Saranda was a little tricky to find, but Cortney was able to use her Spanish skills to talk with a lady who spoke Italian, and the apartment was perfect for the 4 us, and super duper cheap. We settled in and put on our swimsuits to head to what is known as the most beautiful beach, called Ksamil (pronounced like Samil.) This was also tricky to find since there weren’t any signs, other than one with an arrow pointing to the right, which we tried with failure. After a few more tries and a quick walk we made it and dove right in. The water felt great and after getting out to enjoy a late lunch and some drinks I was freezing. I kept reminding myself that it was late October, and I just went swimming in the sea, therefore I couldn’t complain about being cold. 

Ksamil Beach

After taking our naps in the sun we headed back to the apartment to change and head out for some dinner. The apartment didn’t have wi-fi (only complaint, and such a first world problem) so we stopped at a café to research some restaurants and prepare for our next 2 days. Scott and Cortney found a pizza place so we headed there and ordered just about the right amount of food, rather than way too much. We took a little walk on the boardwalk and found where the ferry leaves for Greece each day. Our plan was to go on the 3^rd day here, but it turns out you are required to stay overnight, so we made some new plans and headed home for a relaxing evening of music, wine, and good conversation.

I’m currently sitting on our porch drinking a Nescafe and looking at the Ionian sea. Today we are heading to Butrint National Park for some hiking. 

Ohrid, Macednoia

I spent this weekend in beautiful Ohrid, Macedonia. It was such a fantastic weekend that I should warn you in advance that the length of this blog will be insane.

We woke up early on Friday morning and were out of Tirana before 7am. We headed up in the mountains for the ride or our lives. Scott was a great driver, however the other people were not the best drivers in the world and there were a few times I was worried we would be run off the road and die falling down the mountainside. The car cost us only 21 Euros person, including insurance in 2 countries, so it was quite the deal. We stopped twice to take some pictures, and once to pee.

First view of Ohrid just before the boarder crossing

Cortney did some research about things to do while we were there and discovered a great hike to a 14th century church in Vishni, called the cave of St. Spas. Apparently single girls would pilgrimage there to be blessed to find a husband (I wasn't blessed, so I don't think I'll find one.) Once we got across the boarder we tried to navigate our way with Bobby's trusty GPS. Unfortunately it doesn't really recognize roads, so we got a bit lost. We stopped to ask several people "Vishni?" with a puzzled look on our faces. Luckily on the back of a mud road in the middle of some farms we ran into a man who spoke German and one of our 5-person crowd was able to speak to him. We eventually arrived in Vishni and found a parking spot. The hike was one of the most beautiful short hikes I've ever been on. I don't think we went far, but it felt like something out of Lord of the Rings. After living in a city that hardly has grass and trees for the last 2 months this hike was heaven. We spent about 20 minutes at the church (we needed a breather after the steps) and headed back to drive into Ohrid.

Such a pretty deserted building.

At the beginning of the hike. Check out how happy I am about the grass!

Check out the amazingly clear water
and mountain view!

Our hostel was located in Old Town, which we hardly left all weekend. There were beautiful cobblestone, curvy roads, old looking houses, fresh vegetation, and beautiful view of Lake Ohrid. We arrived and immediately had some delicious food at Sveta Sofia, including trout, stuffed peppers, Macedonian salad, and creamy chicken. The restaurant was located right next to the church of St. Sophia. Our hostel was inexpensive and comfortable for the 5 of us. It included a balcony with a view overlooking the lake. We ventured off to find the beach and watch the sunset. This of course included a  coffee and a bottle of wine. After we had finished our bottle of wine we ended up in the slightly touristy area to purchase some postcards and simply walk around. We became a bit famished and stop at a restaurant to split some pizza and dessert, which ended our first night in Macedonia.

Macedonian flag and a view from the Fortress

The second day began with a hike to find some breakfast. We ended up at Sveta Sofia again, for salty pancakes, fruit salad, and some eggs and bacon. After filling up we were ready for our day of sight seeing. Our hike began at the upper gate and headed to the King Samoil Fortress. We paid a whopping 60 cents to get in and saw some spectacular views. We spent a bit hiking on the top of the Fortress and taking pictures of all the views. I purchased myself a Ohrid Pearl necklace with matching earrings for 20 Euro.

St. George church

We continued on a beautiful hiking trail with plenty of trees and grass to St. George Church. Hiking felt so fantastic that we just kept exploring paths until we ran into St. Clements University. Here, they have dug up some very old archways, have preserved them, and are currently building a University around them. We were able to enter the church for a few minutes of silence. At this point, we were quite warm and decided to test out the water at the beach. It was too cold for our bodies, but sticking my feet in felt quite refreshing. We had a late lunch of salads, honey pork, lamb in a pot, and a veggie dish at Damar.

Walls around Old Town

We still hadn't found the wall that was built around the city. Rumor had it that you could hike on top of it around the whole city. After a bit of searching we found it and began hiking. Part way through it became just woods, and there wasn't much to see, so we turned around and headed back to the hostel to change into our warmer clothes. The temperature difference between the day and the night was quite large, and pants and a jacket were necessary after the sun set.The first night of sunset watching was so good that we headed to the beach to do the same thing. Unfortunately the service was so terrible that by the time the sun was down we had been served so we just left to go to Sveta Sofia for dessert and wine. I highly recommend their sexy salad. It was incredible. Malwine had visited a traditional Macedonian store and we thought we should have a quick look in the touristy part of the city one more time. Afterward we headed to the Jazz club for some fancy drinks and delightful music. The live music didn't start until midnight and we were too tired to last until then, so we headed home for bed.

The following morning we ate some more delicious breakfast at Sveta Sofia and then headed home in our car. The trip home consisted of a stop to look at the bomb shelters, a stop for some ice cream, and a whole lot of car sickness.

Sunset on the first night

Overall I would say that this was one of the best vacations of my life. Especially considering the time (3 days, the company (4 wonderful people,) the weather, and the cost (only about 120 Euro including souvenirs.) It was relaxing and the perfect amount of time to spend in one place.