But now to answer some of your FAQs:
1) What exactly am I doing here?
Well I've been assigned to work at the high school here in Gramsh. I'll be working in tandem with another English teacher, Laura. For right now the school year here is done so there isn't really anything for me to do at the school but next year Laura and I will be in charge of teaching the first year students at the high school.
2) What about the summers?
Well this summer is different than I imagine next summer will be because I am just getting set up. For now I'm focusing on getting to know everyone in the community, which means a lot of coffee dates. I'm also talking to some of the students to try to continue the two youth groups the previous volunteers had here in Gramsh.
3) What is Gramsh like?
Gramsh is a smaller town in the central of Albania. The area is made up of a series of small mountain ranges and vallies and since Gramsh is right near 2 rivers, there is clean running water 24/7. (Which is a big deal here in Albania.) It also has an amazing view of Mt. Tomorri, which is this beautiful huge mountain that stands all by itself.
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| Gramsh with a view of Mt. Tomorri in the back. |
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| View of Gramsh from across the river. |
When I say that Gramsh is small I mean that it takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the next. It is made up of two main streets that run through the town and little side roads connecting the homes up in the hills. Since Gramsh is so small most people know each other and even after only being here for a little less than 2 weeks people are starting to know me. When I first got here I could here people asking each other questions about who I was or staring at me blatantly but now those questions are few and far between and are met with a "Thats Jenny, she is American."
4) Do you get to live by yourself or are you still with a family?
In Gramsh I'm living by myself. It was amazing living with a host family in Kuqan and I miss the constant support and attention that I had when I lived there but it is refreshing to be in my own space. I'm sure the novelty of cleaning and cooking for myself will run out soon but for now I'm enjoying the independence. But don't fear, the two other apartments on my floor are occupied by older couples who always invite me in for juice and cookies whenever they see me. The women also have offered to teach me how to cook real Albanian food and to give me any tips on cleaning that I might need.
My apartment is a lot bigger than I ever could have imagined. I have a bedroom, bathroom, living room and a kitchen.
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| My Bedroom |
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| My living room including the stuffed dog that my landlord left for me. |
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| My kitchen. |
During training, the Peace Corps makes it their number one priority to get us culturally and technically adjusted to our new country, and the biggest part of that is language. We had language class most days of the week for around 4 hours. All of that study time along with living in a family where nobody speaks English makes learning Shqip surprisingly easy. Don't get me wrong, I have had many a struggle with the language. There was the time that I almost cried in class because I couldn't roll my rrs. And then the one time that I tried asking my host mom if she needed help with anything but instead I told her that I needed help and she proceeded to call anyone she knew that spoke a little bit of English to try to figure out what was wrong with me as I stood there blissfully unaware that I had made a mistake. But everyday I'm amazed at how much Shqip I managed to learn in only 3 months. I took years of Spanish but would be surprised if I could carry on a 5 minute long conversation but in Shqip I can make small talk, talk about most subjects and even explain to my landlord that the faucet in my bathroom is leaking (true story).
Some of my favorite phrases/words are:
avash avash - means slowly slowly but can be used to explain just about everything in Albania
ylber - means rainbow but it sounds really cool
mirë - technically means good but it can be used to have entire conversation in Albanian
6) What is the food like?
Food in Albania is very similar to other Mediterranean countries. Their main foods are lamb, rice, yogurt and a lot of bread. Bread is very important and a part of every meal here. When they say do you want to eat they say do you want bread (Do te ha buk?) which I think speaks for itself. Some popular dishes are byrek (philo dough filled with either cheese, spinach or tomato), fasule (bean soup), pilaf (rice dish sometimes with vegetables or meat), and soup with any sort of meat that is around.
The thing that I appreciate most about Albanian food is how fresh most things are. Most Albanians do their shopping at the market, buying fruits and vegetables from the local farmers. This means that they only eat whats in season and that everything is organic. So far my favorite dish here is stuffed peppers, eggplant and squash. It is amazing and I will make it for anyone who bothers making the trip out here. (hint hint)
But I'm sorry to say that this is the end! This has taken me 2 hours to finish and it is beautiful outside so I'm going to go enjoy the weather. I hope this will tide you over until I get around to updating again.
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