100 Years! Part 1

This past week, all of Albania has been fest-ing in honor of the 100th anniversary of Albania's independence.  I debated a lot about staying in Gramsh to celebrate or joining other volunteers for the bigger celebrations in Tirana and Vlore.  I ended up staying in Gramsh and I couldn't be happier!  Here is a timeline of the first two days of the celebration.

Monday - Albanian History Competition

On Monday, we started off the day thinking it would be a normal day of school. (Or maybe it was just me who thought it would be a normal day.  That happens a lot.) But during the long break our Director called a meeting for all the teachers and let us know that school would be getting out at noon so that we could have an Albanian history competition.  After school we all walked over to the Pallati i Kultures (literally translated as the Cultural Palace but basically the Community Center) where teams from the 3rd year classes competed.  It was great for me to learn some more about Albanian history but I think I'm still just as confused about it all as I was before!

Teacher Bana served as the MC for the event.

The teams had to answer 3 rounds of questions, with an essay question, a multiple
choice question and a fill in the blank question in each round.

Sylvana (English teacher), Laura (English teach and my amazing counterpart)
and Moza (literature teacher).  These women are my guides to Gramsh and
Albanian culture and would probably kill me if they knew I put this picture online.

Tuesday - 'Shefqet Guzi' Concert and Party

On Monday we were also informed that we wouldn't have classes on Tuesday, instead we would have a concert in the morning and then a party in the afternoon.  All of the teachers and students were decked out in kuq e zi (red and black) and everyone was excited.  The concert included some Albanian songs, poetry, traditional dances and even a skit with Ismail Qemali.  After the concert ended some of the students stayed around and circle danced in the school courtyard.  I wish I could have taken a picture of their faces when I joined in.  I like to think I gained a lot of Albanian street cred that day.

There is no better way to start off your day than with a little circle dancing!

Ismail Qemali himself.

Oh Professor!

Kuq e zi everywhere.

Traditional dancing.  The boy in the center is actually one of the students
in my 9-vjecare English group.

Later all the teachers went to the cafe next to the school and had our own little party which included two history professors sharing their thoughts on Albanian Independence as well as some dancing.  As shocked as the students were to see me dancing like and Albanian, the teachers were even more surprised. 

And last but not least, one of the lokals in town had a party for the students in the afternoon.  I went with my counterpart Laura and two other teachers, Bana and Arba.  It was a lot of fun and also made me realize how far I've come since the beginning of the school year.  At this party I was up dancing with the students and trying to teach them Gangham Style while they tried teaching me how to circle dance without staring at my feet the whole time. 

Our DJs who are also my counterpart's cousin and brother,

Check out Part 2 to see what happened on Independence Day!