Time Flies!!

I can't believe it has been over a month since I've been able to post a new entry. I have actually found a lot of little projects that have been keeping me busy and I've been traveling. Most of my work is with an Albanian who owns his own trasport service. He does transfers from the airport at Rinas to cities all over Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, Kosovo and Greece. I'm learning how to do web design in order to help him upload new information and update old information. It is a big project but learning web design is keeping me busy! I also am doing a lot of translations for area guide books for Lezha because most of the translations are very VERY bad. Just one more thing to do when there is no power.
Traveling is an adventure here and I love every minute of it. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but there are no published schedules for buses or the more popular furgons (minivan) and there aren't really stations so to say. In order to travel with a bus or furgon you have to know where and when to catch it and its better to know how much otherwise the driver may try to charge you more. I've been to Tirana a lot, Durres, Cerrik, Shkoder, Puke, Rubik, Elbasan, and Milot. Just this last weekend I was in Puke for a camping trip with some other volunteers and I had a blast! There were about 20 of us who all hiked up one of the mountains and set up camp for a night. Oh it was so cool and wonderful there compared to the hot weather here in Lezhe!!
I was sick (again) and spent a week in Tirana at the Peace Corps office which sucked. I don't think Albania likes my body. We never figured out what it was that made me sick but I barely moved the 5 days I was there and didn't eat anything until the last day. It sucked because I missed Ola's wedding (she was one of my language teachers) and I missed beer fest in Korca. Yeah, I was not happy. But on a positive note, I have lost 20 pounds since I've been in Albania.
Another thing that is keeping me busy is being a couch surfer. I have a ton of people coming to Lezhe within the next few weeks just for a night or two on there way through Albania. I've had a few already and they were so much fun! I love meeting new people and talking about the differenes between life here and there and everything! Anyways, I'm excited to be able to leave the country soon and be a couch surfer myself instead of just a host!
I'm going back to the US in 4 weeks for my brothers wedding already! I can't believe how time flies! I think that's about it for now but I will hopefully post another blog sooner than later. Until then, I wish you all well and I miss you guys!!
Hugs,
Leslie :)

I will go where the wind blows me...

Well it has been another few weeks since my last post but I have been a busy girl! On the 4th we had the first meeting of the Lezhe Womens Club. There were probably about 40 women who showed up! It was definitly amazing to see so many women show up. The meeting was held at the Cafe Drini, which is owned by a women and she offered to let all the attendees have free drinks after the meeting. I had to dash out a little early because I had a meeting with my parents on Skype. It was so nice to see them and my aunt, uncle and two cousins. I miss those little rascals! Anyway, later that night we had a party at Winifred's and we ate, drank and had a great time (even without fireworks).

On the 5th we headed off to Tirana for the party at the Embassy. The food was ok but it was nice to see everyone again. It was so weird to walk into the housing complex for the ambassador and other Americans. It was like walking into suburbia in the middle of Albania. I did get to meet a lot of interesting people from the embassy and other Americans who call Albania home for the moment. When we were hearded out of the embassy compound we headed for "the block". There was more drinking, dancing and just an overally good time. I was lucky enough to go back to Tirana for 3 days for a USAID training and was put up in the Hotel Diplomat. I was in heaven! My room had air conditioning, I had a full size bed, a tv and a shower that felt like a waterfall. Oh I was sad to leave.

This last weekend was also busy. On Friday, Rob (a volunteer from Shkoder) came down to Lezhe and we went to Shengjin with five others from my bashkia and we went to a grand opening of a new hotel. There was a live band, a buffett and the guys bought all my drinks so I didn't pay a cent! The next day, I met women from the Lezhe womens club and we had coffee followed by an excursion to Vain, one of Lezhe's lagoons. The restaurant we went to was right on the water and the food was great. I really am enjoying getting to know the women. When we got back, Bethany, Rob and I headed to the beach for the rest of the day. Then on Sunday, I met people from the bashkia again and we headed off to Shkoder on a mini van we rented for the day. We got to our destination and we played volleyball, hiked around a little, took a lot of pictures and just enjoyed time together. I love the people I work with and I'm really happy that they are not too much older than me because I love seeing them outside of work. Anyway, we spent the entire day out in this village and when we got back it felt good to relax!

This whole work I am at work and actually beginning to get small projects. I am helping the manager of a hotel in Shengjin with promotional materials, I'm helping the manager of a transportation service with his website, I'm going to be working on writing two different grants, one with USAID and one with the bashkia here in Lezhe. I'm beginning to find my place here and I couldn't be happier :)

Keep your eyes open for more posts later!
Hugs!!
Leslie :)

On the Road Again....

Out of the three weeks I have now lived in Lezhe, I have been in site about 12 of those days. The first weekend I went to Tirana, Vlore and Dhermi. Tirana was just for fun and boy did I have fun!! Not having a bar close is the best thing ever!! On our way to the Tourism Committee meeting in Dhermi we spent a night in Vlore. Vlore is gorgeous and it is big! You actually have to take a city bus to get from one side to another! Yes, I was in shock too :) However, Vlore has nothing on Dhermi. Dhermi is the most spectacular beach I have ever seen. The water was bluer than blue and so clear!! It was amazing to just float around. Seriously, everyone needs to go to Dhermi.

This last weekend I went to Pogradec and Erseke. In Pogradec we had a gaby party which was basically everyone dressing up in the most ridiculous outfits ever but we had a blast. The club we went to is right on Lake Ohrid and there was lightning in the distance which was just awesome! We went to Erseke to hike through the gorge which if anyone is looking for a little adventure, come to Erseke! The gorge is not only beautiful but if you hike through the whole thing, the rapids get a little dangerous but fun like no other! Those of us who had ventured down from the north, took a 3 am bus back to Tirana. I got back to Lezhe in the early evening on Sunday.

Tomorrow is the 4th and we are having a party here in Lezhe and going to a party at the American Embassy in Tirana on Saturday. It should be fun. And I get to go back to Tirana for 3 days next week for a USAID training. This summer is going to fly by with all this stuff going on. I'm loving the traveling as it gives me something to do and I just love to travel! My trip home to the US for my brothers wedding is going to come fast! Well that's about it for now. I hope everyone is having a great summer! Be grateful for your air conditioning if you have it, because it is HOT here and air conditioning is nowhere to be found.....

Hugs,
Leslie

Coffees and handshakes

So I have been in Lezhë for just under a week but I have finished my first work week. The people in the bashkia in Lezhë are pretty amazing. My counterpart is so sweet and relaxed. The other people are pretty much the same way. I got a lot of "Who is she?" this week and a lot of "does she speak Albanian?". Everyone was always a little shocked when I would answer their questions even if they were being asked to my counterpart. Then when I told them I only had studied for three months they were even more shocked. I liked their reactions :)

Anyway, I did a lot of sitting in the office because there aren't any projects for me currently. I've handed people pens and I've done some stapling. Other than that I'm just trying to get to know people. Today I was in Shengjin for the first time by myself and ended up just going to coffees with the people who work at the komuna. That was interesting. Especially since it was me with a whole bunch of old men. I was getting looks like no other! It was funny. Their converstaion was so weird. They started talking about sports, then went on to family, then work, then fishing, then the city, then the mayor, then me and my background, then the work I would do and then that was it. The people who I am going to work with were on vacation today so they said I could just go. I wasn't going to complain but still I didn't do anything.

I know that the summer is going to be hard because I need to meet everyone and just prove to them that I can do things for them. It's going to take some time and I need to be patient so here's hoping for a quick summer. Sitting around doing nothing is kinda awkward. Peace Corps stresses building relationships the first few months at site so I guess I'm just going to do what they tell me. Hopefully projects start coming after summer.

My house here in Lezhë is pretty sweet and I only have one thing to complain about. I don't have a working stove currently. Other than that I can't really complain. Especially since some volunteers don't even have houses yet! I just have to get used to walking up to the top of the hill everyday. Let me tell you my knees are dying right now but I'm giong to have buns of steel after two years! Hahaha.

On a happy note: I recovered my phone I thought I lost the other week. And I'm going to the beach now :) YAY!

I'm a PCV!!!

As of today I am an official Peace Corps Volunteer in Albania!! Whoot whoot!! The ceremony was short and sweet and fun. The ambassador came to swear us in and the mayor of Elbasan was in attendance as well. There were speeches and all that good stuff. I personally think the high lite of the ceremony was the slide show I made for the beginning. It was pretty amazing :) It's a little weird to think that all the people I was up on the stage with today I did not know three months ago and now its weird to think that I will be living without them.

Tomorrow I will be leaving for Lezhë where I will be spending the next 2 years. I am so excited that training is over and this journey can really begin!

On a sad note: I lost my cell phone on a furgon this morning. Oops.

PST is coming to a close

On Friday I will be swearing in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. Whoot whoot! I'm so excited that PST is over! I've truly enjoyed my time in Cërrik and getting to know all the other trainees in my group. I am loving my time here in Albania and getting to know all about Albanian culture. I am just so ready to get to my permanent site, be in my house, and get to work!

I cannot wait for the times that are ahead of me. I know that there are going to be really good days and really bad days. However, I know that there are people all over Albania that will help me get through the next 2 years. I am looking foward to my small successes and the big ones will just be icing on the cake. Time in Albania can move slow though so to help keep me happy and content here in Albania, send me mail!! My new address for the next 2 years is
Leslie Surrett
Peace Corps Albania
Lagjia Baslidhja, afer spitalit
Lezhe, Albania

Well that's about it for now. My next post will be from my home in Lezhë!

Hugs,
Leslie

First Small Success - CHECK!!!

On Saturday May 24th, we held our long anticipated art show in Cerrik. After all our worries about no one coming, about not getting any artwork, after having to buy all the prizes and not being able to display the artwork properly, we had a very successful art show.

On Thursday we had gone around to all the schools and collected much more artwork than we thought we would. In the afternoon we went to the cinema to set up what we had. We discovered that setting up the artwork against the back of the chairs was not going to work. We than thought we could tape the artwork on the walls, however this would have required a lot of tape which we did not have and we did not want to put tape on everyone’s art. We found these wire things that we decided to hang yarn between and then use clothespins to put the artwork up. Yes, it was a little ghetto but it worked out great. It took us about 4 tries restringing the yarn before we were happy with the level of the artwork and the closeness to the wall.

Also the week before we found out that our judges, the school principals, teachers and some representatives from the municipality would most likely not be able to make it to the event on Saturday. We decided to take the artwork individually to their respective judges and ask them to pick out their favorites. This actually worked out fairly well and we were able to decide on how we wanted to arrange the prize categories after getting their decisions. We decided to give out one first prize and two honorable mentions for every category. We had prizes and certificates made based on this and then were surprised Saturday morning when the municipality dropped off some more prizes for us to give. It was a very nice surprise.
Another nice surprise on Saturday was walking to the cinema to find a huge group of students waiting outside the doors. They were there but they were there hours early!! We had to finish setting up and finish writing names on certificates before opening the doors! We managed to finish most and then the doors were open and the children came running in and sat down. They obviously had no concept of coming, looking, leaving, and returning for prizes. Well what were we to do with all of them until the prize ceremony? We put on some music and then we just finished getting our stuff together. We had forgotten to write out some speeches in Albania but luckily we had a very fluent English and Albanian speaker there to help us out. We ended up doing the prize ceremony an hour after the doors had been opened and an hour and a half earlier than we had planned on doing it.

The kids loved their certificates and the ones who got prizes were very happy. We took one picture with all the participation award winners. Then we did individuals with the honorable mentions and 1st place winners. When we finished and told them “Thanks for coming!” they all ran out of the cinema tearing the artwork with them! AHHH!!! Most of it was saved but we couldn’t believe it! We all cleaned up and just kept looking at each other going “It’s done!!” None of us could believe how well it went. Yes there were things that could have been done better but overall it was a success.

Now that the art show is over PST is pretty much done in my book but really there are 3 weeks left. The next 3 weeks will go by so fast though so I’m very excited. I hope that everyone back home is getting ready for summer break (if you’re not already on it) and I can’t wait to hear from you guys!

Leslie