This is the view from my office, which is on the fourth floor of a building on the mountainside. What you see is the Adriatic. It is OK to be jealous.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Off the Radar
One of the things you’ll have to get used to, dear readers, are the periods of time when I disappear. It’s not intentional, it’s usually do to the fact that I am overwhelmed in some way. The past couple weeks have left me with little time to think; let alone to write.
Cliff’s Notes: three weeks ago, I went to a conference in Tirana with all the other volunteers to meet my future counterparts. Immediately afterwards, I spent three days in my future site doing some assessments and meeting people. Then it was back to Elbasan to finish up training, and everything was capped off by a huge ceremony featuring the US Ambassador to Albania. Two days later, I was packing my bags again and trying not to think too hard about the distance of my friends who were once so close or about how much I’d miss my host family.
And that brings us to now. I’ve been in my permanent site for a few days. It’s such a disorienting feeling, being in Albania for two months and knowing places and people, and then being taken out of your element and asked to do it all over again. This usually involves looking weird and/or doing weird things, and being confused about the most simplest of things most of the time. It’s actually kind of hilarious; if not a little depressing considering the fact that it makes me feel like a child all over again. I’m enjoying unpacking and thinking about staying in one place for (gasp) TWO years and the comfort it will afford me. Getting comfortable is not something I’m familiar with, especially since these last few years have been spent all over the place.
I’ve spent two days at work so far. Perhaps the only real adjustment that I’ll have to make is to the pace of life and the pace of work. Things just go a lot slowly here, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing either. As volunteers we have to realize that we can’t come in and immediately implement a zillion projects. Everything takes time. It also takes a lot of coffees to get the ball rolling and getting to know people. All too often the pace of life in America has seemed overwhelming, bewildering even, to me. All we ever want to talk about is business. You spend so much time at work and barely know anything about the person that sits next to you eight or more hours a day. Some aspects about the way we choose (or accept) to do things seem so dehumanizing. Although there are certainly issues with the hours and output of work here, it’s nice to know that it’s not always about being fixated on instant results. As Americans, the Albanian attitude of “avash, avash,” (“slowly, slowly”) might be a little hard to adjust to, but understanding and adjustment are going to be necessary if we want to work within the established system. I’m looking forward to all the ups and downs that will come over the next two years because they will present me with all kinds of learning opportunities.
Provided I can ever get better. I have had a head cold for two weeks. I got some heavy antibiotics and they are assaulting my stomach. Throw in severe coughing that keeps me up at night and it has been a rough couple weeks, healthwise.
Cliff’s Notes: three weeks ago, I went to a conference in Tirana with all the other volunteers to meet my future counterparts. Immediately afterwards, I spent three days in my future site doing some assessments and meeting people. Then it was back to Elbasan to finish up training, and everything was capped off by a huge ceremony featuring the US Ambassador to Albania. Two days later, I was packing my bags again and trying not to think too hard about the distance of my friends who were once so close or about how much I’d miss my host family.
And that brings us to now. I’ve been in my permanent site for a few days. It’s such a disorienting feeling, being in Albania for two months and knowing places and people, and then being taken out of your element and asked to do it all over again. This usually involves looking weird and/or doing weird things, and being confused about the most simplest of things most of the time. It’s actually kind of hilarious; if not a little depressing considering the fact that it makes me feel like a child all over again. I’m enjoying unpacking and thinking about staying in one place for (gasp) TWO years and the comfort it will afford me. Getting comfortable is not something I’m familiar with, especially since these last few years have been spent all over the place.
I’ve spent two days at work so far. Perhaps the only real adjustment that I’ll have to make is to the pace of life and the pace of work. Things just go a lot slowly here, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing either. As volunteers we have to realize that we can’t come in and immediately implement a zillion projects. Everything takes time. It also takes a lot of coffees to get the ball rolling and getting to know people. All too often the pace of life in America has seemed overwhelming, bewildering even, to me. All we ever want to talk about is business. You spend so much time at work and barely know anything about the person that sits next to you eight or more hours a day. Some aspects about the way we choose (or accept) to do things seem so dehumanizing. Although there are certainly issues with the hours and output of work here, it’s nice to know that it’s not always about being fixated on instant results. As Americans, the Albanian attitude of “avash, avash,” (“slowly, slowly”) might be a little hard to adjust to, but understanding and adjustment are going to be necessary if we want to work within the established system. I’m looking forward to all the ups and downs that will come over the next two years because they will present me with all kinds of learning opportunities.
Provided I can ever get better. I have had a head cold for two weeks. I got some heavy antibiotics and they are assaulting my stomach. Throw in severe coughing that keeps me up at night and it has been a rough couple weeks, healthwise.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Community Service
Today marked another key milestone in pre-service training: the implementation of our community projects.
During the last several weeks, we’ve received some classes about project planning, needs assessment, and IRB (“intentional relationship building,” or the polite way of saying making friendships that are first and foremost for your benefit). We originally planned on doing a hike, but ending up changing our plans out of practical consideration. Apparently, some parents might not want their children wondering off into the mountains with strangers from another country. Hiking isn’t the easiest sell here either considering the forced activities in the mountains during communist times.
As volunteers, we have our Albanian lessons at a local high school. During practicum, we also taught at the same school. In an effort to give back to our host community and get to know the students better, we opted instead for an activity day at our school.
There was quite a bit of planning involved and we put a lot of thought into what we would do. Luckily we had the support of the school director and translation help from our teachers which made our work a lot easier. We settled on a date and took care of all the arrangements. In the end, we took 60 of the best students and did two hours of activities. We broke the students up into groups and set up different activity stations. After twenty minutes at a station, students rotated to a new station with a new activity. We did face painting, martial arts, English-language games, musical chairs and a balloon toss. The director supplied us with some plants that we planted together.
I was in charge of having students trace their hands and write things about themselves in English. I have sixty hands in my room right now until we try and figure out what we will do with them. They make great reading because they inspire me about the work I will be doing in the future. Afterwards, we did a scavenger hunt. Although we laughed about it in advance, one of the items on the list was 'something living.' We assumed that would mean a leaf or something. Two minutes into the hunt, a few students started chasing chickens. A few minutes after that, the students brought me a stone, a leaf, a flower... and a chick. A live one. I guess they were right when they told us to give very clear instructions during our technical training sessions.
The hard work is now behind us as the weeks of training continue to wane. In some ways, it seems like it has flown by. In other ways, time has dragged. Next week we will go to the capital for a conference. We will meet our future counterparts at the conference, then we will go to our future sites and spend a few days meeting stakeholders and students, teaching classes, and starting community assessments. I can’t wait.
I am very pleased with how our group has performed as professionals and as language and culture students. I was nervous about how the community project would turn out, but I think it’s safe to call it a success. The students are receptive to us. For the most part, they are eager to learn. Although I will really miss my host family, there is a large part of me that is getting antsy to get in the classroom.
During the last several weeks, we’ve received some classes about project planning, needs assessment, and IRB (“intentional relationship building,” or the polite way of saying making friendships that are first and foremost for your benefit). We originally planned on doing a hike, but ending up changing our plans out of practical consideration. Apparently, some parents might not want their children wondering off into the mountains with strangers from another country. Hiking isn’t the easiest sell here either considering the forced activities in the mountains during communist times.
As volunteers, we have our Albanian lessons at a local high school. During practicum, we also taught at the same school. In an effort to give back to our host community and get to know the students better, we opted instead for an activity day at our school.
There was quite a bit of planning involved and we put a lot of thought into what we would do. Luckily we had the support of the school director and translation help from our teachers which made our work a lot easier. We settled on a date and took care of all the arrangements. In the end, we took 60 of the best students and did two hours of activities. We broke the students up into groups and set up different activity stations. After twenty minutes at a station, students rotated to a new station with a new activity. We did face painting, martial arts, English-language games, musical chairs and a balloon toss. The director supplied us with some plants that we planted together.
I was in charge of having students trace their hands and write things about themselves in English. I have sixty hands in my room right now until we try and figure out what we will do with them. They make great reading because they inspire me about the work I will be doing in the future. Afterwards, we did a scavenger hunt. Although we laughed about it in advance, one of the items on the list was 'something living.' We assumed that would mean a leaf or something. Two minutes into the hunt, a few students started chasing chickens. A few minutes after that, the students brought me a stone, a leaf, a flower... and a chick. A live one. I guess they were right when they told us to give very clear instructions during our technical training sessions.
The hard work is now behind us as the weeks of training continue to wane. In some ways, it seems like it has flown by. In other ways, time has dragged. Next week we will go to the capital for a conference. We will meet our future counterparts at the conference, then we will go to our future sites and spend a few days meeting stakeholders and students, teaching classes, and starting community assessments. I can’t wait.
I am very pleased with how our group has performed as professionals and as language and culture students. I was nervous about how the community project would turn out, but I think it’s safe to call it a success. The students are receptive to us. For the most part, they are eager to learn. Although I will really miss my host family, there is a large part of me that is getting antsy to get in the classroom.
Out of the frying pan
On Thursday, I completed my two-week practicum. I taught in three different schools and to several different classes. I also observed a lot, too. I felt relief once the practicum was over considering that we planned classes, taught lessons, and then had language classes all afternoon. It was incredibly tiring. I’m glad that we got the opportunity to do it but I’m also happy it’s over so I’ll have time to focus on other things.
As a group, we were exposed to a lot of different situations that could be our realities once we get on-site. Between the four of us, we taught a few lessons without having the books, without knowing what lesson we were going to teach until we got to the class (meaning we had about five minutes of preparation), minor inconveniences when it came to class planning and communication, and general confusion. Like so many things in life, you plan and plan and then something completely different ends up happening. The other day in language class, our teacher told us an Albanian saying: “God laughs when we make plans.”
But it’s not all negatives. The practicum and the hurdles we had to jump to keep things running as smoothly as possible make me certain that I will be able to do well here. It’s just nice to have some reassurance.
I had a great conversation with my host parents completely in Albanian. It’s hard to express the frustration of having so much to say and having such a limited way of saying it, but sometimes there are just moments of clarity where it seems like you understand everything and can say exactly what you mean to say. It was just one of those moments and I ran with it. It was nice to expand the conversation into something a little deeper. I asked them more about themselves and they asked more about me and my family. I could explain in more detail about my parents and about what my plans for the future are. I could answer their questions about what my expectations of Albania were. They suggested that I stay here in Albania, find an Albanian husband, and teach English in Tirana.
They asked me what is different here than at home. At this moment, I can honestly say I haven’t had to make many adjustments on an epic scale. It goes back to expectations. I don’t even remember having much of a picture in my mind of what it might be like. The first day or so, I was a little shocked because it was all so new. Now it is all normal. The only thing that is really that different is that sometimes we don’t have power or we won’t have hot water. These are incredibly minor things. I’ve been lucky to land in a great family, first and foremost. Although I am tired almost all of the time and too busy to really think about anything outside the professional realm, all of my needs are being met and I’m doing the things I need to be doing.
In fact, morale is so high that during my mid-training interview/review, I was actually told that my “positive attitude” has really been appreciated. At that moment, I had to cover my mouth to hide a grin that could have easily turned into a chuckle. Or an outburst.
As a group, we were exposed to a lot of different situations that could be our realities once we get on-site. Between the four of us, we taught a few lessons without having the books, without knowing what lesson we were going to teach until we got to the class (meaning we had about five minutes of preparation), minor inconveniences when it came to class planning and communication, and general confusion. Like so many things in life, you plan and plan and then something completely different ends up happening. The other day in language class, our teacher told us an Albanian saying: “God laughs when we make plans.”
But it’s not all negatives. The practicum and the hurdles we had to jump to keep things running as smoothly as possible make me certain that I will be able to do well here. It’s just nice to have some reassurance.
I had a great conversation with my host parents completely in Albanian. It’s hard to express the frustration of having so much to say and having such a limited way of saying it, but sometimes there are just moments of clarity where it seems like you understand everything and can say exactly what you mean to say. It was just one of those moments and I ran with it. It was nice to expand the conversation into something a little deeper. I asked them more about themselves and they asked more about me and my family. I could explain in more detail about my parents and about what my plans for the future are. I could answer their questions about what my expectations of Albania were. They suggested that I stay here in Albania, find an Albanian husband, and teach English in Tirana.
They asked me what is different here than at home. At this moment, I can honestly say I haven’t had to make many adjustments on an epic scale. It goes back to expectations. I don’t even remember having much of a picture in my mind of what it might be like. The first day or so, I was a little shocked because it was all so new. Now it is all normal. The only thing that is really that different is that sometimes we don’t have power or we won’t have hot water. These are incredibly minor things. I’ve been lucky to land in a great family, first and foremost. Although I am tired almost all of the time and too busy to really think about anything outside the professional realm, all of my needs are being met and I’m doing the things I need to be doing.
In fact, morale is so high that during my mid-training interview/review, I was actually told that my “positive attitude” has really been appreciated. At that moment, I had to cover my mouth to hide a grin that could have easily turned into a chuckle. Or an outburst.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Getting my hairs did
I’ve already mentioned that the main floor of my house is a store and a salon. “Salon” is really a loose term since there are only two chairs, but still. In my third week here, my host mom and her students highlighted my hair. But they didn’t want to stop there: my host mom wanted to dye my hair grey. Apparently it’s pretty popular here, but my Albanian isn’t good enough to explain that to an American, grey hair is indicative of age. Today in class, my language teacher told me that my mom really wanted to do it but respected my repeated nos.
There have been a few washes, blow dries and manicures this whole time, which can really spoil a person. I’ve also used the salon blow dryer because the idea of using my American hair dryer with an adapter is terrifying to me. In a country with somewhat fluctuating electricity (there are surges and outages, although they have occurred far less than I originally thought), the last thing you want to do is plug in an appliance from another country that heats up. I’ve already heard stories of some sparks and some really, really bad smells when fuses blow.
For the wedding we went to on Sunday, my host mom’s students used tiny curling irons to practically perm my hair. Then they sprayed more hair spray on my head to hold the curls than all the hair spray I’ve ever had collectively in my life. Should be interesting to see how it washes out later tonight!
Oh, and one more thing: when I was at the salon one morning, one of the customers came up to me and told me I was very white and that it was beautiful. So that’s for all you haters over the years who made fun of me because I was too busy studying to do weird things like go out in the sun.
There have been a few washes, blow dries and manicures this whole time, which can really spoil a person. I’ve also used the salon blow dryer because the idea of using my American hair dryer with an adapter is terrifying to me. In a country with somewhat fluctuating electricity (there are surges and outages, although they have occurred far less than I originally thought), the last thing you want to do is plug in an appliance from another country that heats up. I’ve already heard stories of some sparks and some really, really bad smells when fuses blow.
For the wedding we went to on Sunday, my host mom’s students used tiny curling irons to practically perm my hair. Then they sprayed more hair spray on my head to hold the curls than all the hair spray I’ve ever had collectively in my life. Should be interesting to see how it washes out later tonight!
Oh, and one more thing: when I was at the salon one morning, one of the customers came up to me and told me I was very white and that it was beautiful. So that’s for all you haters over the years who made fun of me because I was too busy studying to do weird things like go out in the sun.
A Word about the Language
I thought for this entry, I’d talk a little bit about the language. At this point, Albanian may be one of the harder languages that I’ve learned. But I can use a lot of things I learned in other languages to help me with my current studies.
Here’s why it’s so hard (and it’s not because it has 36 letters, which most Albanians will cite as the key reason that the language is difficult):
1. Definite and indefinite. Albanian has no “a” or “the” like we do in English. Instead, you can tell by the ending of a word whether you are talking about “an apple,” “the apple,” “some apples,” or “the apples.” It’s a lot to wrap your head around. Definite nouns also apply to names. For example, you can say either Ervin (an Albanian name) or Ervinit. The difference? The second literally means, “The Ervin” and you use it for stress purposes.
2. Every other verb we learn seems to be irregular. Sometimes you have verbs that are regular in the present tense but irregular in the past. Great, guys. The think about irregular verbs is that you just have to memorize them to learn.
3. Adjectives follow nouns and match the gender and number of the noun they describe. I know that already because it’s the same in Italian, but it’s still a little difficult to grasp.
We’ve spent the last week on these two items in particular, which has lead to a lot of mind blowing in our Albanian classes. I feel like a parrot sometimes: I have memorized phrases and can respond to certain questions, but the minute conversation strays to something that wasn’t covered in my book, it’s back to the deer in headlights look.
However, most people know what you’re talking about. Here are some recent gems I made up on the fly in the grocery store: “Can buy 6 or 7 potatoes?” or “Can buy little cheese?” Or creating sentences using two words, as in: “Montenegro, good?” when I asked my host dad about his recent trip. We can’t forget the classic maneuver of using the present tense to talk about the past, as in “Today I go to school,” instead of “today I went to school.”
Although I go around sounding like a moron most of the time, using my limited language and miming skills gets me through most daily communication.
Here’s why it’s so hard (and it’s not because it has 36 letters, which most Albanians will cite as the key reason that the language is difficult):
1. Definite and indefinite. Albanian has no “a” or “the” like we do in English. Instead, you can tell by the ending of a word whether you are talking about “an apple,” “the apple,” “some apples,” or “the apples.” It’s a lot to wrap your head around. Definite nouns also apply to names. For example, you can say either Ervin (an Albanian name) or Ervinit. The difference? The second literally means, “The Ervin” and you use it for stress purposes.
2. Every other verb we learn seems to be irregular. Sometimes you have verbs that are regular in the present tense but irregular in the past. Great, guys. The think about irregular verbs is that you just have to memorize them to learn.
3. Adjectives follow nouns and match the gender and number of the noun they describe. I know that already because it’s the same in Italian, but it’s still a little difficult to grasp.
We’ve spent the last week on these two items in particular, which has lead to a lot of mind blowing in our Albanian classes. I feel like a parrot sometimes: I have memorized phrases and can respond to certain questions, but the minute conversation strays to something that wasn’t covered in my book, it’s back to the deer in headlights look.
However, most people know what you’re talking about. Here are some recent gems I made up on the fly in the grocery store: “Can buy 6 or 7 potatoes?” or “Can buy little cheese?” Or creating sentences using two words, as in: “Montenegro, good?” when I asked my host dad about his recent trip. We can’t forget the classic maneuver of using the present tense to talk about the past, as in “Today I go to school,” instead of “today I went to school.”
Although I go around sounding like a moron most of the time, using my limited language and miming skills gets me through most daily communication.
A Big Day
Friday was a huge day, probably one of the single most important days I will have over the next two years: site placement announcements. After attending several sessions at a conference for English teachers, the big moment finally came.
Let me preface this by saying that my only concern about placement was how far I’d be from my family. I’d say that in four weeks here, I’ve grown closer to my Albanian family than I ever did in eleven months with my previous host family. So although I tried to be at peace with whatever was in my envelope, I was worried how I would react if I would be far. In bed the night before, I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine even if I wasn’t close to them… that going through PST and moving out was just the natural progression of things, and that even if I would be far, I could always visit.
With these thoughts in mind, I opened up my placement envelope and nervously looked inside. A wave of relief swept over me when I figured out that I would be about an hour away. As I continued to read the details of my placement, I became more and more at ease. On paper, it looks great: very close to Durres, a large city; teaching at a technical high school focusing on business and tourism; close to another very cool volunteer; and a 5KM-long beach. I don’t want to get too excited, but I see a lot of potential and the ability to use my skill set to really serve my community and my students. The site has had two previous volunteers and I would like to continue with some projects that they have started. In a few weeks, I will meet my future counterparts, students and community stakeholders and see my future site. I can’t wait!
We had mid-training reviews in language and technical aspects, and they told me I might as well go home and pack my bags immediately. Kidding! They went great. I appreciate that our teachers and training managers are always giving and asking for feedback. The team has done so much work to help us learn the language, culture, and customs. Another part of the team looks for our housing and identifies placement sites, which oftentimes involves multiple visits to the sites and frequent contact with community leaders and counterparts. It’s a lot of logistics and organization and it is greatly appreciated.
On Tuesday, our teaching practicum begins. During the next two weeks, we will teach classes and observe many more in the mornings. In the afternoons, we will continue with language study and spend Fridays at the central training hub. It’s really going to start picking up around here, but I’ll try my best to update with all the news.
Today we had a cultural day where we made American food and our families brought Albanian food. The food turned into a giant dance party later. My teacher liked the pierogies I painstakingly made and gave me the “may your hands be blessed,” compliment. I’ve cooked a few things for my host family and so far they have been well-received. It’s no small feat given that I have to incredibly alter my recipes through conversion and lack of ingredients. Creativity is key! Tomorrow I’m going to a wedding with my host parents, so I’ll be getting a bite from the dancing bug again tomorrow.
Let me preface this by saying that my only concern about placement was how far I’d be from my family. I’d say that in four weeks here, I’ve grown closer to my Albanian family than I ever did in eleven months with my previous host family. So although I tried to be at peace with whatever was in my envelope, I was worried how I would react if I would be far. In bed the night before, I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine even if I wasn’t close to them… that going through PST and moving out was just the natural progression of things, and that even if I would be far, I could always visit.
With these thoughts in mind, I opened up my placement envelope and nervously looked inside. A wave of relief swept over me when I figured out that I would be about an hour away. As I continued to read the details of my placement, I became more and more at ease. On paper, it looks great: very close to Durres, a large city; teaching at a technical high school focusing on business and tourism; close to another very cool volunteer; and a 5KM-long beach. I don’t want to get too excited, but I see a lot of potential and the ability to use my skill set to really serve my community and my students. The site has had two previous volunteers and I would like to continue with some projects that they have started. In a few weeks, I will meet my future counterparts, students and community stakeholders and see my future site. I can’t wait!
We had mid-training reviews in language and technical aspects, and they told me I might as well go home and pack my bags immediately. Kidding! They went great. I appreciate that our teachers and training managers are always giving and asking for feedback. The team has done so much work to help us learn the language, culture, and customs. Another part of the team looks for our housing and identifies placement sites, which oftentimes involves multiple visits to the sites and frequent contact with community leaders and counterparts. It’s a lot of logistics and organization and it is greatly appreciated.
On Tuesday, our teaching practicum begins. During the next two weeks, we will teach classes and observe many more in the mornings. In the afternoons, we will continue with language study and spend Fridays at the central training hub. It’s really going to start picking up around here, but I’ll try my best to update with all the news.
Today we had a cultural day where we made American food and our families brought Albanian food. The food turned into a giant dance party later. My teacher liked the pierogies I painstakingly made and gave me the “may your hands be blessed,” compliment. I’ve cooked a few things for my host family and so far they have been well-received. It’s no small feat given that I have to incredibly alter my recipes through conversion and lack of ingredients. Creativity is key! Tomorrow I’m going to a wedding with my host parents, so I’ll be getting a bite from the dancing bug again tomorrow.
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