Comparing the US to Albania

Have you ever stopped to wonder what would really be different about your life if you lived in a different country?  Would you live to be the same age?  Would you have the same number of kids?  Would you use the same amount of electricity?  What about your odds of dying in infancy?

As hard as I try not to, I find myself comparing life here to my life back home from time to time.  It is a bad habit that I'm trying my hardest to break because lets be honest, the lack of peanut butter here might seem like a big deal to me but it doesn't say all that much about the differences between home and here.  But there are some real differences I've noticed living here that go beyond the superficial things. 

Check out some info on the differences between the US and Albania here.

One Year In

Well it happened.  I've been in Albania for over a year.  It feels like just yesterday that i got off that plane in Tirana, yet it also feels like I've been here forever!  I've been putting off writing this post because I was hoping I'd have some amazing insight to share with  you for this special occasion.  But as life would have it, I got nothing!  But since the new group of volunteers arrived in Albania on Wednesday, I thought I'd share some things I've learned over the past year.

Life in Albania

1. Always say yes to a coffee invitation.  But know that you don't have to be friends with everyone.
2. Be curious.  Don't be afraid to ask questions or talk to people.  Odds are they've already noticed you and are wondering about you too.
3. Never breathe through your nose when entering an unknown bathroom.
4. Always check for toilet paper before you commit and of course, never trust a fart.
5. Old women hold infinite amounts of knowledge.  Do as they do.  When they take their laundry off the line, do the same because it is about to rain even if you can't see a cloud in the sky.  
6. Wear socks and slippers inside.  You might laugh at them when they tell you that you'll get sick without them but they're right and it is better not to spend the whole winter fighting off a cold.
7. Always have extra water in your house.  There are times when your water will go out for a few days when it makes sense, like during the summer when you haven't had rain in 3 weeks, but there are also times when it will go out on a day when it is raining and literally everything in town except for your pipes is full of water.
8. Enjoy people's hospitality.  Don't feel guilty about accepting a free dinner or grapes or desserts or a bottle of raki.
9. On that same note, always sip the raki.  They will refill your glass when you're finished no matter how hard you protest.
10. Flaunt what your mama gave you.  Wearing makeup and dressing up from time to time will earn you respect from women and it makes you feel good too!

The Peace Corps

1. Try to leave your house everyday.  Even on the weekends when all you want to do is relax in your pajamas and watch American TV all day.
2. The only thing that can motivate you here is yourself.  That is hard and will lead to some struggles and hard times.  But as each day goes by, you grow and become a stronger person.  You will leave a stronger version of yourself.
3. People will try to take advantage of you.  You are after all free labor.  Don't let them.  Stand up for yourself and don't be afraid to say no.
4. Working with little kids makes your day better instantly.  They don't care that you do goofy things or correct you when you make mistakes.  
5. Accept the awkward moments.  There will be many.  
6. You can't live your life like you're still in America but don't forget about the things that make you happy.  Make yourself an grilled cheese when you've had a bad day or have your own Disney movie marathon.
7. Your emotions will go crazy.  Your highs will be higher than you've ever felt but will easily collapse at the slightest thing and your lows will take you lower than you've ever gone.  You will feel nothing when you hear of a death but cry uncontrollably because the store is out of milk.  
8. Learn to let things go.  You can't control life and you can't help everyone.
9. Have one person that you can be totally honest with from back home.  You'll need them on the rough days.
10. Your fellow PCVs are the most diverse group of people you'll probably ever meet.  Take advantage of it.  Learn about them and learn from them.  

Dita e Veres (Summer Day) Fair

Gezuar Diten e Veres everyone!  Today I'll be going into Elbasan for the big party but yesterday we started the celebration with a fair put on by my high school 'Shefqet Guzi'.  All the classes had a table where they set up traditional foods they had made as well as decorations.  They all did an amazing job and it is always great to see them really excited about these things.  Here are some pictures of the tables!

Klasa XIG

Klasa XIIB

Klasa XII

Klasa XIF

Klasa XIA

Always the gentleman.

Write On! Albania

One of the most amazing and rewarding projects I've been involved in this Winter has been the Write On! Albania competition.  Write On! is a creative writing competition that was first started in 2003 in Georgia and now is an international competition including Peace Corps countries from all over Eastern Europe and Asia.  2011 was the first year Albania took part and it continues to grow every year.  For more information, check out the international website and the Albania specific website!

This was the first year Gramsh participated and I would call it a HUGE success!  We had 12 kids participate from Gramsh, 7 from the middle school and 5 from the high school.  To prepare for the competition, I've been working with my middle school English Club since the end of January.  In Albania, students dont get the chance to do much creative writing.  In school they focus on either poetry or essays, with little instruction on other types of writing.  So we started from the beginning.  We talked about how you write a paragraph, how you can use personification and point of view and how to use dialogue in stories.  I had them look at a picture and write a story about it and use inanimate objects as characters in a tale.  They were asked to imagine their perfect world and their perfect season and even to think about what would happen if they could talk to their pets.  And they did amazing!!  The same kids who looked at me like I was crazy the first week when I asked them to write a story about a snowman are now writing stories told from a dog's perspective.  Their creativity and writing skills grew with every week and even if none of them wins a prize, I could not be more proud of them.

So many beautiful words in these notebooks.  Couldn't be prouder!

Now that the competition is over, I'm hoping that we can keep the momentum going and continue to do creative writing exercises and maybe even start a Creative Writing Club!

Time to Get to Work!

It has come to my attention that by following this blog or looking at my facebook, it would be really easy to think I'm on an extended vacation here in Albania.  It is true that as PCVs we have more flexibility in our work than we're likely to ever have in another job but we still get things done, I promise!  And with tax season upon us, I think I owe it to you all to show you what amazing work your tax dollars are doing.  So I thought it was time to share with you some of the projects I have going on here!

Primary Assignment

My primary assignment is to work as an English teacher at 'Shefqet Guzi' High School in Gramsh.  I'm partnered with my amazing co-teacher Laura and together we teach all 8 classes in the 11th grade, which comes out to 21 classes a week.  Laura has acted as my guide to the school and to the Albanian system and has been an excellent support during my service so far.  Teaching in school can be difficult though.  In each class there is a huge learning gap with students who can barely say their name and age and students that are practically fluent expected to learn in the same classroom.  Add on top of that the fact that as much time as I've put into learning Shqip, I still don't have the confidence to discipline in Albanian.  Needless to say it can be a struggle but working here has allowed me to meet some amazing people and truly given me a new respect for the work teachers here (and worldwide) do!

Secondary Projects

A huge part of a PCVs work comes from secondary projects.  This is where we are free to do the things we are passionate about and expand our work to meet the specific needs of our community.

That being said, most of my projects focus on English education as well!  I have two English Clubs, one for students at the high school and another for students at the middle school.  They are both full of kids who inspire me everyday and give me hope for the future of this amazing country.  Both groups recently took part in the Write On! Albania competition, an international creative writing competition between PC countries in Eastern Europe and Asia.  

My most recent project is a class for 3rd grade students which I like to call English Kindergarten.  Kids here start learning English in the 3rd grade but oftentimes their teachers aren't trained to teach English, they don't get enough instruction during the week and their textbooks aren't meant for young learners.  So my idea was to start a class where they could learn English in a more natural way, like you learned when you were in Kindergarten.  So each week we have a simple topic like colors.  We learn the vocabulary with pictures or objects and then we play games or learn songs to reinforce what they've learned.  So far it has been a huge success.  The first week I had 7 students and now in the third week I'm up to 15!

The winter has been a slower time as far as youth groups go (I mean who really wants to meet in a freezing cold class room to play games) but I'm hoping that with the Spring coming Outdoor Ambassadors will be able to get going again!

I'm also lucky enough to have the chance to work with two Peace Corps Committees, the Gender Equality Committee (Barazia Gjinore) and the Language and Cross Cultural Committee.  PC Committees allow interested volunteers to work on projects that have an impact beyond their communities.  

With Barazia Gjinore I am responsible for sending out the quarterly newsletter to all PCVs and staff.  We highlight a different issues every edition, providing resources as well as contacts to organizations in Albania who are involved with that issue, and highlight the work of volunteers in the field who are doing gender related projects.  We currently have a few projects going on but the one I am most excited about is a new program that would allow us to travel and support PCVs who are interested in holding gender related events and/or trainings in their sites.  If you're interested in more information check out our awesome new website.

The Language and Cross Cultural Committee has been keeping busy as well.  We have been working on updating all of the materials trainees get during PST as well as developing some new language learning tools which they'll hopefully be able to use.

Upcoming Projects

With Spring on its way, I'm hoping to finally get some youth sports activities going on here in Gramsh. So far the ideas of a Girls Soccer Team, a Zumba class and a Running Club have all been floated around.  I'm excited to see if any of them stick!

That is all I can think of for now!  But stay tuned because some big things are coming up!  This week is not only Summer Day but also THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MY GROUP BEING IN ALBANIA!!!!!