Something Worth Knowing

Fall Break, Summer Style

2011-10-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is now my second year following the seasons. I've loved watching leaves change from green to yellow and gently fall. I've loved cooking seasonal squash and baking pumpkin and apple treats. However, the days are growing shorter and the sun seems dimmer. So, for fall break, Nick, Rachel and I headed south to soak up sun. Our destination: Antalya, Turkey! We arrived at the pensiyon early Saturday morning. We ate breakfast, changed out of our warm clothes and set out to see the Mediterranean. This part of the world is commonly referred to as the Turquoise Coast and you can see why! The waters are warm, clear and colorful, even in October.

We decided that looking at the sea was not enough. The three of us raced back and changed into our bathing suits. Armed with sunscreen, we set out to find the trolley to take us to the public beach. We went the wrong direction, but the kind trolley bus driver let us stay on board as he circled back around. The trolley quickly filled with locals. I found myself surrounded by a group of retired Turkish gentlemen who engaged me in conversation (actually only one spoke English, but he spoke for all). One man was a retired teacher, one was a retired doctor and the other (the one speaking with me) was a retired colonel from the Turkish army. While we were chit-chatting, I happened to look out the window and saw a sea...of red flags. We were in the middle of a rally. The colonel explained that it was against the terrorist attacks in northern Turkey, which had resulted in death. The trolley came to a complete and utter stand-still. The three of us hopped off and walked with the group to the beach. Everyone was completely well behaved. Now I can officially say that I took part in a political rally. Just not in my home country.

Can you believe this water? I want to go back. Very few places in the world bring me such joy as a sea or an ocean. The water was much warmer than the Pacific in summer. Nick and I both hail from Pacific Coast states so we can truly appreciate the warmth of the Mediterranean. In we went! I decided that it was safe enough for some marathon swimming, so I swam east toward some large rocks. This caused some stares and friendly greetings from the locals. I was almost the catch of the day and quickly learned to avoid the fishing lines. I thoroughly enjoyed the swim and the freedom it that it brought.

A trip is not complete without Rachel befriending a stray animal. This dog was the first of many animals that we both wanted to bring home.

The following day, Sunday, brought a morning of worship and an afternoon of sunning and swimming. We went back to a deck beach that we had seen the day before. There was an entrance into the water and a small cove filled with fish. We swam west looking for a place to do some rock climbing and cliff jumping. I found a little area that we could climb up on, but since I'm not much of a rock climber, I stayed pretty low. Nick climbed up the lava rocks and then climbed down an incredibly steep side to dive into the water. Three local boys, about 17 years old, were on adjacent cliffs (having climbed down from the cliffs above). Suddenly, I heard a splash and turned to see one of the boys in the water. Before long his two friends were also in the water and up the side of the cliff. I treaded water, happily, and rated the four divers. I'm much more comfortable in the water than up a side of a cliff.

Our guest house had a car that we were allowed to rent for a very reasonable rate. Monday we were able to get out of the city and drive westward. We stopped at Phaselis, once a Rhodes colony. We walked around, exploring the wildlife, the ancient ruins and the lovely amphitheater.

There are three bays around Phaselis, where swimming is welcome. I chose this beach because it looked deserted and welcoming.

See, doesn't it look peaceful? To me, this appeared to be the perfect spot for all three of us to enjoy the water, since it was shallow and calm. Appearances can be deceiving. Of the four different beaches we explored, this one was the scariest. The minute I got in the water, little fish began nibbling my toes. It sort of tickled. The three of us were out it the water calmly swimming along when I noticed something on the sea floor. It was a blue crab; the largest crab that I've ever seen in the wild. Its eyes were fixed on me as Nick tried to capture it from behind. Needless to say, we're all thankful that Nick has all ten of his fingers today. On we swam keeping our eyes out for the sea life (the bottom was completely covered in shells, full of living things!). We reached the ropes about 200 meters from shore. I turned my back rather rapidly and felt a sensation like being scraped by barbed wire. Instantly, my right shoulder began to swell and turned an amazing red color. While I was bemoaning my fate, some sort of see creature nibbled or stung Rachel and left two little marks on her arm. With that final adventure, we swam back to shore and hugged the dry land. It was a wonderful reminder that the sea is a natural habitat and must be respected.

On we drove, eventually stopping at a fish hatchery for a late lunch. I wasn't feeling 100%; the algae was working its poison into my bloodstream or something. Luckily, my two friends recommended that I eat some fish because fish is supposed to help reactions. I ate some delicious fish from the sea (not from the hatchery) and who knows? Maybe there is something to the claim because I felt like my chipper self by the end of the meal.

The next day, Nick set off to the mountains on a dirt bike and Rachel and I hitched a ride, with the proprietors of our guest house, out of the city and into the country. This was such a fun day. We rode horses through the countryside, after first warming up in the arena. I had never been on an English saddle, but found it much more comfortable than a western saddle. The two horse trainers took us on a trail down to a small river, through a pomegranate field and past a small village. It was bliss.

After an hour or so of riding our friends from the guest house took us to the upper Duden waterfalls. The power of the water was incredible. We were able to walk through a cave located behind one of the waterfalls.

Rachel and I decided to walk to the public beach following the trolley line. We saw more that way and had some excellent shopping opportunities along the waterfront. One police officer stopped us and offered to take us sight seeing. Uh, no.

We walked down a set of stairs and were able to get some excellent views of the harbor. While we were there, we noticed a black dog that looked rather domesticated. He was friendly, so Rachel and I both pet him.... and then he followed us the rest of the way to the beach. He even followed us into the ladies restroom! This was the dog that I wanted to keep.

We walked by this statue of the Ottoman who had conquered Antalya. Scanderbeg he is NOT. My allegiance, in this matter, is still Albanian...

We finally arrived at the beach and had 3-4 great hours in the sun. I swam the other way (west) and didn't hit any fishing lines!

The above looks like animal bones, but what you see is an old Roman pipe. We spent the following day touring the Roman ruins, east of Antalya. The tour included a yummy lunch by a river, an old city forum, a temple of Apollos, a 25 kilometer aqueduct, an enormous well-preserved Roman amphitheater and the lower Duden Falls.

Our final day... Sigh. Antalya was just the boost of sunshine I was hoping for. This California girl was home!

One last beach trip to an awesome, sandy beach. I decided to swim for about a kilometer. It gave me a significant amount of time to count my blessings: Good friends to travel with, interesting people to meet, beautiful seas, adorable animals, fresh delicious food, and an awesome job that allows me to enjoy it all. And I can't forget about the loyal and loving group of family and friends who have supported me on this crazy, overseas adventure. You are a blessing.

The sun sets on the Antalya adventure. There just might be a sequel to this trip.

Little House in the Village

2011-09-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

I've moved! Last June, a family from school offered to sublet their pool house/guest house to teachers. Since Rachel and I are the only two foreign hire single girls, the administration kindly offered the three bedroom, two bath house to us. Now I have a house, a roommate and a 30 minute commute to work!

One of the reasons I started this blog was to show my family and friends daily life in Eastern Europe. Here is a snapshot of where and how I'm living, as seen through my eyes.

There are a few public transportation options. Either we can take the metro or the marshruka,bus, to work. I've walked home a few times and that takes about 55 minutes. Our metro stop is the last on the line. Just outside of the metro, there is a rather large market that sells anything from lighters to shoes. This path, below, is a path we take from the grocery store. It's entrance is marked by a Soviet statue commemorating World War II.

I walk along quiet little streets, void of sidewalks, but filled with friendly stray dogs. The night sky is painfully beautiful. Stars are visible making me forget that a city of 4 million (or so) is just a metro ride away.
What's this? An actual functioning well! There is often a line of people drawing water from it on a daily basis. Don't worry. We get our water delivered. There is also a mill to grind grain just down the road a bit.
Ta-Da! The main house!

Up the walk to the Pool House. Boy, it's good to be home!
These butterflies love the marigolds!
First floor of the house: Fire place, pool and bathroom.

A homey, delightful kitchen, with a beautiful window for growing plants!

Light! I'm so excited! These skylights just might help to brighten those dreary days of winter. Both couches pull out so there is room for lots of company! (Who would also brighten those dreary days of winter.)
I picked this room because it has a lot of great natural light. I also liked the slanted ceilings. It makes it feel lofty. Unfortunately, the headboard isn't fabulous, but really, I'm not picky! Little did I realize that last year, I slept on a box spring with no mattress. This bed is almost too comfortable. It's hard for me to get up in the morning.
Guest bedroom and clothes drying room.

There are so many rooms in the pool house, and the family had so many guests, that they numbered the rooms. Rachel is in room number 3.

Thanks for taking the tour! I'm anticipating plenty of parties (80s party next week!), friends and coziness in this Little House in the Village.

The First Half of 2011

2011-07-06T11:31:00.000-07:00

I was reflecting on the first six months of 2011 and realized that I must have slept through January and February. Seriously, I have a faint memory of celebrating my birthday in January and venturing to Cyprus in February. Those first two months were spent inside at the pool, inside visiting with people and inside curled up with a book. But then, March hit. Kyiv came alive and so did I.

As usual, I coached the swim team. We were a small team of five. Two of our swimmers were planning on attending the Moscow swim meet, but there was an act of terrorism at one of the airports and the parents decided it was best not to take the risk. Over all, the meet was the least attended of the past 3 years. Luckily, my friend, Florian, brought the Tirana team so our five Kyiv swimmers got to bond with the six kids from Tirana. I have said it before and I'll say it again, small teams need to stick together!

My co-coach, Morgan, my friends from Tirana and I went out to experience Moscow on Friday night after the coachs' dinner. We went up to the Ritz where we had drinks at the top and enjoyed beautiful night views of the Kremlin. It was definitely an amazing experience. I kept waiting for James Bond to walk through the door.

After two packed days at the pool, the team was dropped downtown. We toured Red Square and the surrounding monuments. It began snowing and the temperature dropped quickly. To say that we were miserable would put it lightly. The kids wanted Starbucks (and so did I) so we went there to warm up. While there, we ran into the coaches from Prague. Our team joined their team for lunch at Hard Rock Cafe. Not exactly the cultural experience I was hoping for, but at least no one was too grumpy!
March in Moscow, outside St. Basil's in Red Square.
Hero city: Kyiv.
The team and Morgan outside of.... something... This is the problem with not blogging right after a trip. I tend to forget!

March continued to warm up and to encourage us to leave the indoors. Ira, my good friend from L'viv, was eager to take us to a little chocolate cafe that was inspired by the cafes in her hometown. We went one frosty March night and enjoyed a heavenly hot chocolate experience. The waiters showed us to our own private booth surrounded by stone walls and billowing curtains. I think we all appreciated the warm and cozy atmosphere. I'm almost ready for next winter, if it means frequenting this cafe often.

Nothing like a little cup of hot chocolate to warm a wintry evening!
Near the end of March, eight of us boarded a train and headed east. We were on the overnight train for a loonngg time, but I did manage to sleep a bit. Ira and Johnny have a ministry in Krivoi Rog and invited some of us to go with them. Krivoi is an old mining town and has high cases of drug and alcohol abuse. The morning began with a trip to an asylum for the mentally and physically disabled. We brought the patients bananas and chocolate. The range of ability was staggering. Many of the people were missing limbs or were bed-ridden and couldn't feed themselves. Some people were elderly, but were of sound mind. One man told old Soviet army stories. I think I learned more about humanity in those three hours than in my entire life. It was humbling feeding pieces of bananas to people, but even more so watching Johnny and Ira in action. They treated everyone as equals, laughing and joking with people who normally wouldn't receive a second glance.

After that visit, we met up with the kids from the rehabilitation home. We went to the circus which was my first experience with an Eastern European circus and, for many of the kids, their first experience too. The acrobats were amazing, but I felt a little sorry for the tigers. They looked a little malnourished.

We returned to the rehabilitation home, where Johnny led a Bible study. The children asked thoughtful questions about Paul (we were studying his conversion experience). One girl had swimming experience and conversational English, so she wanted to talk with me. I could have stayed there for days. We all went outside and played game, after game, after game. Many were Ukrainian tag games that were unfamiliar to me. It's nice being the student and learning new games! Hopefully, this trip will be experienced next year too.
Then came April and two weekends of snow! Luckily, by spring break, it had warmed up drastically. I spent the first half of spring break in L'viv and then flew "home" to Tirana, Albania. Sarah and Entela were waiting at the airport, even though I flew in rather late and they had to work in the morning. What good friends! I spent 4 days hanging out with my friends, seeing my students and walking my old haunts. I was reminded why I love Tirana: the smallness, the friendliness, the warmness... It was a good time of closure, but it did make me long for what I left when I decided to move from Tirana. No place will ever compare to my first overseas experience and I have to consciously stop myself from always comparing Kyiv to Tirana.
At General's Beach with Sarah and Entela.

Goofing around in Tirana...
I returned to Kyiv with a fresh attitude and a willingness to fully embrace my experience there. I decided to take advantage of every opportunity that spring provided. Hence, May and June became packed. There were cook-outs in the forest, fund raising walks, school outings, outdoor festivals, concerts , birthday parties and delicious meals at the local Syrian restaurant. I loved May and June. If every month was as joyful these two, I would be willing to stay in Kyiv for a long, long time.

Mother's Day, a group of us went to Kyiv Rus Park, just outside of Kyiv. It was early in the season, and very quiet, but normally it's like a giant Renaissance Fair. The above picture shows my friends, Tim and Allison, with their beautiful twin girls. Allison actually lived in a yurt when she was with Peace Corps.

We did get our fill of Renaissance games!

I was shocked that I could actually walk on the stilts, though they were only 2 inches from the ground.

One thing that I love about Kyiv is all the beautiful parks and botanical gardens. One Sunday, after church, a group of us went to a small botanical garden to enjoy a picnic lunch. It was positively relaxing and HOT! We decided to take a taxi van back instead of torturing ourselves on the metro or marshruka (small bus).

Later that month, I took my class to the larger botanical gardens. The lilacs were in their final blooming stage, but boy did they smell heavenly!View from the garden.

It felt like every weekend brought some fun downtown festival. My friend Mary and I posed outside of a tiny Ukrainian house during a festival celebrating the upcoming Kyiv Euro 2012 football games. That same day (which was such a fun spontaneous day) was the finale of the Ukrainian dance off. Every Saturday night, for two months, different cities in Ukraine competed in elaborately choreographed shows, live on the streets of Kyiv. I can't remember who ended up winning, but the celebration included fireworks and an extreme amount of confetti.
Rachel and Mary were nearly lost in the confusion!

Then, oh then, was the Muse concert. A group of us had bought Johnny and Ira tickets for Johnny's birthday. Then Nick, Rachel and I decided to go too. It was such a fun concert experience! Honestly, I was only marginally familiar with the band (I've been out of any loop for 3 years) but my brother had told me that the concert was going to be a "life changing experience." It was a great experience, but I think my life is going on about the same as before, except I now recognize Muse songs and singers.
Happy, happy Johnny.

The first half of 2011 was an active, full, lesson learning, satisfying time. I think that I learned to LIVE LIFE in January and February. Spring of 2011 was truly my great awakening.

Easter in L'viv

2011-04-26T09:12:00.001-07:00

Three of my friends and I rented a car for a 6 hour drive from Kyiv to Western Ukraine. I now have this memory to include in the library of "Family Road Trips." Little did I realize how sick I was of the concrete, ex-Soviet jungle that is my neighborhood until we reached the countryside and saw our first horse drawn cart. Ukraine suddenly felt homey and familiar.

And with this little guy to entertain us, the road trip was never dull! I love Rawly-pants.
Our destination for this Easter weekend was a town called L'viv. Our friend, Ira, is from this beautiful city and promised to take us everywhere. One thing about Ira is that she always keeps her promises! Ira and her husband, Johnny, were taking the train in and arrived at midnight. Saturday evening, after Rachel, Alyssa, Ken and I situated ourselves in the apartment we rented very close to the city center, we set out to find dinner and explore a bit of L'viv. The above picture is the opera house and the Easter Egg Square where Easter festivities were held. People were walking to the Orthodox churches with Easter baskets full of food usually held by the head of the family. They paraded by in bright colors and with beautiful cloths covering the baskets. I can't believe I didn't get a picture...
This tree spoke to me. It said, "Holly, don't worry. Spring is here in L'viv. It will soon come to Kyiv." Thank you, tree, for that lovely reminder!Sunday morning, we met our friends, the Ewalds, who were also staying in L'viv for the weekend, at this Baptist church. The Baptist church had enough room for the 9 members of their family (they had family members from Canada visiting and traveling with them) for a very, very reasonable price. I've never seen a church act as a hostel, but it struck me as an ingenious idea. We celebrated Easter and Christ's resurrection here at this church. The service was entirely in Ukrainian, but the music and singing were beautiful. They had a full choir and three pastors. The service was long. Two hours long, to be precise. Nevertheless, the story is the same, regardless of language, and I was happy to be celebrating with fellow believers.
After church, the four of us were hungry for lunch, so we set out to find some open restaurant. Being Easter, we were not having much luck, until we stepped out of the car and began walking through an old neighborhood. There was no sign of food, only a small cafe. Suddenly, we smelled wonderful smells and saw a balcony with people situated under umbrellas. A restaurant!
I love that we ate Easter lunch here! It made the day even more delightful. Our waiter, Mike, informed us that there were no prices on the menu and that we would have a chance to barter at the end of the meal. A lady began singing in Hebrew. Mike told us that she was singing to bring down the price...

The meal was absolutely delicious. The hummus was tasty and my steak salad was tender and flavorful. And the Israeli wine! What a pleasant surprise. Mike came and shared an outrageous price for the meal. We could accept the price, plus wonderful "gifts" or we could barter. I counter-bartered with an outrageously low price. After a few minutes I got him down to more than half the price, but we made sure to tip him well!

All dressed up for Easter...In the meantime, we raced back to the apartment to get ready for the next half of our Easter day. We met Ira, Johnny and the Ewalds at a tram stop and road to an outdoor folk museum. The museum had games, music and dancing. The game below was a kissing game. As far as I could tell, the teenager in the middle would yell out two numbers. The girl would try to get to the boy's spot without getting kissed.

Another game was much more familiar to Rachel, Jessica (the oldest Ewald girl), Ira, Johnny and me. We had played this game at the childrens' rehab center in Krivoi Rog a few weeks ago. (I promise a post about Krivoi Rog sometime in the future!). The version of the game we played was more of a tag game. Here, they played it with a belt.
Ready... aim...
Fire!
Ira and Johnny dropped us off at this Ukrainian partisan restaurant before they went home to eat Easter dinner with Ira's family. We shared traditional Ukrainian dumplings and Ken, Rachel and I drank up!
The next day, we caravaned a few hours outside of the city to walk around some castles. This castle was closed for the day, but the guard let us walk around the grounds for a small fee. It was a beautiful, clear, spring day and walking around outside was just what I wanted to do. The pretty looking building was built long ago as the "Japanese Castle." The architect never visited Asia... This building is now an art gallery. The other, more sinister building was a one-time jail and torture chamber.
After the first castle visit, we went on to the next. The castle wasn't open either, but Ira, our fearless guide, read us a brief history of the castle. Most recently, it was used as a TB hospital, but it has a long history of being passed from Polish and Austrian-Hungarian hands.
Fire destroyed the castle, but it was refurnished. At least that's what Ira's informational paper said. We didn't see the inside. I love this above picture. It shows Levi and Rawly walking amongst the wild flowers. Those two boys, though years apart, are definite kindred spirits.
Several of us hiked the layers of the ground and found a road that led all the way down to the village. That would have been an interesting trip, but time was not on our side.
The Catholic church was built for the families in the castle.
We made it back to L'viv and went to Ira's favorite hot chocolate place. I forgot my camera and didn't get any pictures but let me assure you... this chocolate was heavenly. Dark, flavorful, thick... The chocolate factory was joined to the cafe. Some of us visited the upstairs chocolate shop and came back down to find four children and one adult soaked from head to toe. Monday was water day in Ukraine. I don't know anything about the tradition except it's a time to soak people with water bottles and toss people into fountains. Johnny and the four Ewald kids fully participated in this custom and had somehow landed themselves into a fountain after chasing some locals around the square. I got soaked twice after that incident by some local hooligans.

Alyssa and Ken were watching men in the park playing chess. It must have been an amazing game because a large group of gentlemen gathered to watch.After a quick dinner in the square, our small group walked up to the High Castle. It was a good walk to the edge of the historic district, then up a small hill. As dusk turned into night, the Chapmans headed back to our apartment to put Rawly to bed.
Rachel and I continued up these stairs expecting to find a castle. High Castle is a misleading name. It should be called High Look-Out Point.

I needed to be in a city like this. It was a refreshing weekend, and reminded me that there is beauty in Ukraine. I'm glad to be here another year and am eager for another weekend visit to L'viv.

A Week in the Sun

2011-02-27T05:44:00.001-08:00

Spring is slowly creeping toward Kyiv. Winter was not as brutal as I had anticipated. The weather was manageable, but the darkness and gray days were sobering. Luckily, our school had a week long February break. Seven of us fled the dark winter days and headed south to the island nation, Cyprus.

Our first stop was in Prague. I was excited to return to one of my favorite cities on Earth. We made the most of our nine hour layover: eating lunch, watching the astronomical clock, walking the cobble stone streets, crossing the bridge, exploring the castle... Seriously, I don't think I could get tired of Prague. Ever.

We landed in Cyrpus relatively late at night. Our rental car reservation was apparently lost in space . Luckily, Ken was able to find the reservation on his email account and we secured a seven passenger car with a fold out seating area in the trunk. (It was actually surprisingly comfortable!) Our mission was to follow horribly written directions to our rented villa, where our friends, the Mudds, were patiently waiting for us. We spent over 3 hours driving (it was only supposed to be 1 1/2 hours, but like I mentioned, the directions were horrible. Imagine reading something like, "Go to the first intersection after the first stop light and then keep driving through that intersection." I'm not kidding. They were that bad.) and after a brief stop where Nick secured directions for Ken, we finally found our house.
We took our time waking up on Sunday and spent the morning swimming in our heated pool. The air felt light and quite refreshing. Rachel and I loaded ourselves in the Mudd's car, the Chapmans and Nick loaded up in the other and we all left for an off roading adventure. Our first stop was at Coral Bay, where we climbed rocks and let the sea water lap our toes.

The off roading part of the trip reminded me of Albania, complete with a goat crossing. We saw breath-taking scenery and enjoyed an Indiana Jones type trip around the western coast of Cyprus. Eventually, we reached a small town and one open restaurant. The waiter was extremely friendly and fed us food reminiscent of Greece.

The following two days were spent around the city, Paphos. We took walks around our rental home, ate down town, swam in the pool, watched movies when it rained (while the boys went golfing... luckily there where no thunder storms!), went grocery shopping, played pool at a local pub, cooked yummy meals and I burned my finger. These were graceful days filled with pleasant conversation and friendly silences. I loved being with my six friends and enjoying community.Our next great adventure started out with the plan of going to Aphrodite's Bath. Somehow, I had got it into my overactive imagination that the Baths were around a rock in the middle of the sea and that if you swam around the rock three times you would then find love. As a swimmer, I really wanted to swim around it (just for a challenge, mind you, because really, how in heaven's name would that help you find true love?). We all wanted time in the sea and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. This is what greeted us:
It was a tiny waterfall trickling over a tiny pond of water. An eel was swimming there and I doubt he was preoccupied with "love." It wasn't a complete waste of time, though. As usual, I had to use the bathroom. Rachel and I ran down to a restaurant followed by the two cars. This is what we saw:
This magnificent coastline was not a disappointment at all.

Then we split ways. The Chapmans and Nick drove on to the capital city, and the Mudds and the two of us girls went wine tasting and beaching! We found a family owned and operated vineyard where we were treated to a tour of a wine museum (which was primarily family relics) and wine tasting. The wine was adequate and the company grand!

Yep, that's an old distillery in the background. We sampled some schnapps too! (Except Alyssa of course!)
By then, it had heated up to true beach weather. We found a sandwich shop and drove down to the municipal beach. We ate lunch overlooking the sea. Jon went to find a quiet place to do homework and the 3 of us girls went for a nice long walk along the sea. Then, we found a sandy area to camp out in and read our books.

How did we end the beach day? We visited the ancient Tombs of the Kings (where the wealthy were buried, but it's unlikely that the kings were buried here). The tombs were built to look like Cypriot houses. We were allowed free rein of the park and explored all around. I wouldn't mind a final resting place overlooking the sea!

We went home after a stop for tea (Cyprus was once a British colony and of course the influence is everywhere). Tea for Two became a tasty spot for snacking, lunching and sneaking dessert! The rest of our group joined us later, after we had fixed dinner and were enjoying a night swim in the pool. They had had an amazing adventure in the Turkish occupied section of Cyprus. Our day was pretty great too!

Thursday, Rachel and I joined forces with the Chapmans and Nick and drove up into the mountains. We were planning on hiking, but we weren't prepared for the temperature difference between the mountains and the sea. It was about a 30 F degree difference, at least! We managed to bundle up Rawly and put on as many layers as possible once we found a warmish place to hike. It was a beautiful walk up to a waterfall. The hiking book we borrowed from the house listed it as difficult, but it was a breeze compared to hiking in Albania.

One tired out little guy!

The final day was spent in the pool and on the beach. Ken, Nick and I finally swam in the sea. I really wasn't going to, but when Ken announced that he was taking the plunge, I couldn't be left behind.
This week of sea and sun put me in the mood for Albania. That is my next great adventure... a return to the land that started it all.
The gang at dinner! Rawly, Alyssa, Ken, Alyssa, Jon, Nick and Rachel.

Surprised by Frankfurt

2011-01-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wanted to extend a visit? The circumstances this past Christmas holiday allowed me to stay 4 extra days in my beautiful home state. I wanted to soak in the sun, the green hills and my gracious family before returning to cold, dark Ukraine. Because I changed my ticket, I was able to fly nonstop to Frankfurt where I had a 9- hour layover. Frankfurt, I had heard, is a very business based city. I expected skyscrapers and maybe some good shopping. When I stepped off the train tall buildings and a bustling shopping district greeted me. Luckily, since it was a 9- hour layover, I had time to explore.
My first find was a large church that housed relics dating from the early 1100s. It was something to look at and provided me a way to burn half an hour. Unfortunately, all the signs and explanations were written in German. After visiting the church, I found a cozy cafe and read. It was such a perfect hour. The tea was delicious, rain was falling, and the buzz of conversation was warm and comforting. I don't remember the name of the cafe, but I'll always remember the feeling of belonging in a foreign city.

After warming up in the cafe, I hit the streets. I found the "quaint" German district that I didn't expect to see. Romantic bridges, beautiful townhouses, churches rising up from the fog, town squares... I was truly surprised by Frankfurt. It might not be a town I would ever choose to return to, but I am so thankful that it provided me with a solitary traveler adventure.

This is why I love traveling. Travel is the art of finding joy in unexpected, unexplored places.

The First Snow

2010-11-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

This is what I woke up to on Sunday morning....
This beautiful dusting of snow didn't stay around too long. By Sunday afternoon, most of it had melted away. The weather had called for 40 degrees F for Monday. So, I wore a dress with leggings. It might be the LAST time I wear a dress with leggings! The snow started again right as we were walking to school on Monday morning. Snow was still falling when I took the kids out to recess. For the first time in my life, I helped students bundle up in snow pants, snow boots, coats, mittens..... This life-long California girl is still a little shell shocked.

Here are some observations I've made after two school days of snow:
1. Begin getting ready for recess at least five extra minutes early.
2. Tell the students to put their gloves on LAST.
3. Stomp feet before coming back inside.
4. Children raised in snow know exactly how to play in snow. They were rolling snowmen bottoms like experts. You can imagine how excited the boys were to teach their teacher how to roll a snowman base.
5. Snowballs are tempting... oh so tempting.
6. There is magic in a first snow fall.
7. Snow does inspire me to sing more Christmas carols! (Not that I need much inspiration)
8. I absolutely need snow boots.
9. The vast classroom windows are an excellent, warm place to watch dancing snowflakes.
10. Lands End down coats are a great invention; mine just needs to be a bit longer!

And here are some pictures of the school covered in snow:

Winter is here!!!

Three Thanksgivings

2010-11-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

Practicing a spirit of thankfulness isn't always easy for me. I'm generally optimistic and positive, but I can't say that I always go around counting my blessings. This past week was an excellent opportunity to practice giving thanks for abundant God- given goodness.

What am I currently most thankful for? I guess it would be the community that I had prayed would find me here in Kyiv. And found me it has.

Wednesday night began the first of three Thanksgiving dinner. My friends from Bible study gathered together for a delicious turkey and all the trimmings. Who would have thought that I would have Ocean Spray cranberry sauce and candied yams overseas? Thank you US Commissary! The 12 of us prepared the last minute details and sat around the table literally giving thanks for what we have been given. Then, we washed and dried dishes together. Honestly, I have forgotten how fun it is to clean up after Thanksgiving. (The past two years, I celebrated Thanksgiving in a restaurant with no clean-up required!).

The next evening (true Thanksgiving) the school community gathered for another dinner. There were about 30 people. We had a plethora of pumpkin treats and a few apple pies (one of my friends made an apple-caramel pie. Delicious!). The babies were all passed around and the children were amazingly well behaved. It's nice to want to spend Thanksgiving with your co-workers! They are all clever, interesting people who are fun to talk to.

The third and final Thanksgiving was spent with church friends, which included Canadians. We wanted to play games, but the storytelling went a little long. But the stories were an awesome replacement to games. I love hearing true life stories of how God provides in miraculous ways.

I am thankful for another year overseas and another year full of adventure. It's really a miracle to have such amazing people to enjoy this year with. But someday, I want to celebrate this very American holiday, back on American soil with my American family.

Bavaria and Beyond

2010-10-31T03:36:00.000-07:00

One year, my aunt went to Germany. I was only in kindergarten. My aunt's trip ignited my 6 year old imagination (especially since she came back with a German costume for me). Twenty-five years later, and it was my turn to visit Germany and to explore Austria.

Kiev has a direct flight into Munich. We arrived Saturday and found the hotel with relative ease (Western European travel is just so organized!) I had booked a tour for "Mad King Ludvig's" castles, Linderhof and Neuschwanstein, settled in the Bavarian mountains. Although it was only October, snow was on the ground and the weather was surprisingly cold and wet, but the weather conditions made it oh-so beautiful.

I really don't trust swans. They look elegant, but their heads and beaks are very, very strong... and they always seem to be glaring. Not a friendly animal at all!
Here you can see my two fellow travelers, Rachel and Brenda, waiting patiently for our tour of Linderhof. Sadly, winter season has officially started and the statues were boxed and covered. I think a summer visit might be in my future! Rachel and I both were a little late back on the bus and were yelled at by our 70 year old tour guide. I was close to tears. Settling back on the bus, I had a sudden flash-back to Albania. Elga, my assistant, would always say, when she was early to work (which was often), "Today, I am German!" She had worked at a German run preschool before working with me and had learned the value of time.... I learned that lesson too!
We made a quick stop in the village, Oberammergau, famous for the Black Plague and the proceeding Passion Play. I actually met a man from Kiev, while inside a gift shop. He had been staying in Munich for an insurance agent convention and was doing the same tour, with a different company. I talked to him for a bit, until I began getting paranoid about the time.
We stopped in another village, at the base of Neuschwanstein, and ate lunch with a couple from Scotland. The man was a bit older than me, but his wife was around my age. I truly liked their company and I truly adored the potato soup that I gobbled up.
The walk up to Neushwanstein was absolutely great, regardless of the rain showers. It was straight up a hill and just the movement that I was craving (it wasn't a long walk, just 20 minutes). And what a treat for the eyes!
Disney used this castle as inspiration for his Sleeping Beauty castle. Walking around inside did have a Disney quality (imaginative and unexpected). The spiral staircases especially made me think of childhood and for a minute, I was transported to Anaheim, California.
The views from the castle were incredible. No wonder the Germans call King Ludvig, "The Story Book King."
I took this picture on the walk back down from the castle. It was a good thing I turned around when I did because my next step would have landed me in a pile of horse manure.

We found ourselves at the Hofbrauhaus for drinks, dinner and dessert. A couple, from the New England area, was seated with us. They ended up being my favorite people we met on this trip. The husband is a doctor and the wife is a writer. They had raised 3 brilliant children, one of whom works as an education specialist, lobbying and changing education.
And this is how a lady drinks beer.... this picture is for my grandpa.
The next day in Munich was spent walking around the shopping area. I didn't purchase the perfect coat, though I did find it. The coat was an emerald green tweed, with a sweeping collar that buttoned to the side. Sigh. What a bad mistake. I did buy yet another black skirt, though!

And then there was Salzburg.....
We took the tram to the top of the mountain to go through the fortress overlooking Salzburg. It is an ancient castle, first constructed over 1,000 years ago.
The tree in the background was amazing. I took about 5 pictures of this tree alone! It had such character.
I thought that this jewelery box might inspire my dad, who has been wanting to build one for my mom.
And I wouldn't mind this trunk!

What is my favorite movie of all time? The Sound of Music. My grandmother had the Broadway record and I listened to the soundtrack over and over and over. By the time I was 6, I had seen the play and the movie. Something about The Sound of Music makes me believe in romance, God given purpose, joy and beauty. Here I am acting out the "Oh Captain, you're home!" scene.... minus the fall into the freezing lake.
We arrived at the gazebo, which had been built for the movie, and I immediately began singing "I am Sixteen." Luckily, a nice older man, sang the duet with me. Too bad the gazebo is locked. It's closed so idiots, like myself, don't go prancing around the benches and permanently damage themselves.
Another favorite scene! Rachel joined me for a run down the lane where Julie Andrews sang the "I Have Confidence," song. That song is the song I sing to myself before any big move, or life changing event. I sang it driving up the hill to my student teaching assignment and I sang it when I moved to Bakersfield, Albania and Ukraine. "And all those children... heaven bless them. They will look up to me, and mind me!"
Into the Salzburg countryside we drove and while singing "Doe a Deer," we passed a white doe grazing off a tree.

And the Red Bull headquarters... interesting architecture.
Our hilarious tour guide, she lead us all in singing aboard the bus, standing in the line of trees.
I found my summer home!

They used the church's organ for the actual wedding march.Crisp apple struddle.... definitely one of my favorite things!
The S of M cow was just slightly over the top!
The Mirabell Gardens! I kept wishing is was summer.
And no, I can't hit that last high note in "Do, Re, Mi" but I can pretend pretty well.
And there is the friendly dwarf!
The next day was breathtakingly beautiful. We crossed over the Mozart footbridge back into the old city.
It took us three tries, and 45 minutes, but we finally found Mozart's birthplace. (I didn't have the map with me, otherwise we would have been there in a jiffy!)
My birthday buddy... My mom was hoping for a genius, but she got me: a moderately intelligent, reasonably gifted girl. It was fun to see the baby violin, obviously used, that Mozart learned to play.

And then there was Vienna!
We arrived by train and boarded the underground that took us out to the 23 district. A family, who I met while living in Tirana, now lives in Vienna and graciously offered us a place to stay. Since they are amazing people, and I absolutely had been missing their children (the middle child was in my class last year. And I've been missing that class terribly) I was looking forward to Vienna as a good catching up time. The two youngest were hanging out the window when we arrived at the car, ready to be hugged and kissed. And Miss DeKorte cried.
The next day, Lieve showed us around the main area of the city. She has been exploring with her family and was a capable and fun guide. It was warm enough to eat outside at a little cafe in the Museum Quarter. The food was so delicious that Rachel and I went back the next day too!
Rachel, Brenda and I went to the Albertina Museum and saw a collection of Picasso and Michelangelo. Interesting! But, sadly, my eyes were hurting because of the lighting.
On Friday, Rachel and I went to Schonbrunn Palace, the hunting and summer palace of the Austrian Imperial family. The inside tour was amazing. Amazing. The rooms were tasteful and welcoming. There were portraits of the young Marie Antoinette and her many brothers and sisters. We even walked through the room where Mozart gave his first concert for the empress. I love walking through history.
The grounds of Schonbrunn were amazing. Beautiful in fall, but yet again, I was wishing for summer. These are the Privy Gardens.
We hiked up the hill and then a bit more to the top of the statue pictured below. I could see the entire city skyline from the tip top.
Our tickets include a visit to the mazes. Frankly, mazes frustrate me quite a bit. We had fun in the children's labyrinth, and then thought we'd brave the grown-up one. After 3 attempts to get to the middle, we were both fine walking away. Mazes, puzzles... so not my gift.
I'm traveling on. Where to next?

Weekend of Culture

2010-10-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my friends Morgan and Kristina mentioned that Swan Lake was playing at the Opera House. I really wanted to go, since it is a Tchaikovsky ballet, and luckily Rachel, Alyssa and Jon also were interested. Morgan secured six tickets and we set off on our maiden voyage to the Kiev Opera House. We had all walked past the outside many times, but never entered. While on the metro, Morgan filled us in on the Swan Lake story. (I slightly remembered it, the basics anyway, because of a ballet book I received when I was 9 years old. I wonder what happened to that book?) The main character, Odette, is a girl transformed by an evil sorcerer, into a swan. The sorcerer transformed all the girls in Odette's village into swans and a lake was formed by their tears. The only way for the swans to become girls again is for someone to fall in love with Odette. Meanwhile, a young prince, sets off on a hunting expedition, only to encounter Swan Lake and to fall madly in love with Odette, the swan girl. The prince returns home and the evil sorcerer, in order to maintain his company of swans, enchants the prince and tricks him into falling in love with another girl who is disguised as Odette. The prince soon realizes that the girl is not Odette, when Odette flies into the palace. She retreats to Swan Lake and.... The ending was a mystery. Kristina had seen a production where Odette is killed through the heart by the prince's crossbow. Morgan said that sometimes the prince kills the sorcerer and the spell is lifted, or that the two star-crossed lovers drown themselves in the lake and their spirits ascend like swans.
It was the coldest night of the school year, so far. But, I've made a decision. Thick boots are not fashionable with a fancy dress and I absolutely must look for boots like Kristina's. They lace up in back and are very stylish, unlike my sturdy sensible boots.

Alyssa, Jon, Rachel and I sat in box seats like these. I felt a bit like I should be watching my back and Jon made it worse by saying that someone was shot in a political dispute back in the early 1900s. Every theater needs a good haunting! The opening dance, with all the members of the prince's court, was absolutely gorgeous. The music, surprisingly, had a strong, om,pa,pa, theme to it. That's not a sound I normally associate with ballet. I had one of those moments as I sat listening and watching on the edge of my seat (the chairs were slightly sloped forward) that made me think, "My goodness. This is my reality for the next year. I am in a beautiful Eastern European capital with world class entertainment opportunities to be enjoyed with fabulous new friends." That's when I started to cry.
The first intermission was rather long and we spent it eating chocolate in the lobby. We returned five minutes before the second act was beginning. I looked over the edge of the balcony and saw a little girl in the lower box seat, completely alone, pretending to be a swan. She was oblivious to the rest of the audience as she became a ballet of one. All through the second act, she danced along with the ballet company, quietly and serenely. We all enjoyed her performance as much as the professional dance company performance!

During last intermission, we began debating how the ballet was going to end. Rachel predicted that everyone would take a shot of vodka and would get along, I was feeling tragic and determined that Odette would die with an arrow through her heart, and Alyssa predicted that true love would conquer all. I'm very glad to report that, in this version, Alyssa was correct. The prince managed to defeat the sorcerer and Odette turned back into a girl. And they all lived happily ever after! (Though, wouldn't you think Odette might have developed some odd habits spending so much of her life as a bird?)

Today, a large group of us from school, left the city and went to an ethnographic museum, Savka House, just outside of Kiev. It's a family run museum, dedicated to teaching Ukrainians and foreigners how Ukrainians lived a century ago. The family lives off what they produce and their income comes from the tours and demonstrations they give. The great-grandfather and grandfather were both history teachers, and the family has a soft spot for that profession. (It was Ukrainian Day of the Teacher yesterday, so I think that is why we went today.... Yesterday, the school gave every teacher a huge box of chocolates. Danger!)
Roman is another first grade teacher. He and his wife, Pat, are Canadians of Ukrainian decent. They speak fluent Ukrainian and Russian. They acted as translators today and did a fabulous job retelling stories. The boy is the youngest member of the Savka family and spoke the most English. Rachel and I were trying to guess his age. I think he's about 17.
We were shown how the farmers produced the grain and flour from their wheat and how the wheat was harvested. Grinding the grain was much more of a challenge than I anticipated! Bev loaned me a scarf, since she had an extra, and it came rather close to getting stuck in the stone. I wonder if there were ever any bread-making related deaths 100 years ago?
Alyssa was also surprised by the weight of the stone!
The papa demonstrated how the iron forge worked and pulled Adam in for a tutoring session. Adam, the high school guidance councilor, now has another connection for career day.
I had no idea, even after reading The Secret Life of Bees, how sacred bee keeping is. We were given a lengthy bee keeping lesson. Since this museum is geared toward children, there are no bees on site.
We were ushered inside for a hearty, delicious traditional Ukrainian meal. Everything, including the tasty bread, was made from the resources the family has. The borsch was by far the best I've tasted. I even tried the pig salo, which I can honestly say I hope to never try again. It was spongy. The baby cradle was actually occupied! Tim and Allison had their baby twins girls along and they took a nap in the cradle. The babushkas were so sweet with them, rocking and cooing over the girls. Sadly, the musicians scheduled to perform, were unable to make it today, so we didn't get to hear the traditional Ukrainian songs. Next time!
There is so much to learn, see and do here. Cultural opportunities are everywhere and I truly want to experience all that Ukraine has to offer.

A Sigh of Relief

2010-09-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

One solid week. It wasn't a bad week, just a very unexpectedly strange week. I knew that I would miss Albania, but I had no clue that I'd be homesick for Albania. Homesickness quietly sneaked in last week, I think after pub night at the Canadian Embassy. It naturally made me think of my two Canadian friends. Four of us went out, after pub night for the first Friday night down-town. It was a very fun night, discovering an artsy restaurant that was serving free champagne, but it did cause me to remember Fridays past, out with a group, laughing our way through Tirana. This, I suppose, was the trigger. All week, I was missing my friends, the students, the parents, the swim team, everything good about Albania. And then there was the dull ache and the nagging question, "Why did I come here? I was happy in Tirana, why did I leave my friends?" This place, I feel confident, is the next step and it is an answered prayer in many ways: A larger school, an excellent team to collaborate with (we had our first team meeting on Thursday!), a pool (though it's only 13.1 meters long), public transportation, culture, and (gulp) seasons (actually, it's raining now!). The question "why" was answered, but it didn't cure me. What did?

This morning, Tracey Skyped me. To hear from someone else missing Tirana was actually a breath of fresh air. We were able to laugh about what was bothering both of us. Then, I emailed a family from TIS who I want to visit in Vienna over October break. While on Facebook, another mom from school started chatting with me. She was so encouraging and told me that I was gone, but not forgotten (and truly missed. I would have had her daughter, this year, if I had stayed). The homesickness began lifting.

This afternoon was the school picnic. I had volunteered to help Rachel with face painting, because I thought that it would be a fun diversion. While in the middle of painting a butterfly, I looked around at all the families gathered, the parents who were coming up to say hello, my students who were hugging me, teachers who are becoming my friends and I breathed a sigh of relief. It's gone. The homesickness. Oh, I'm sure it will surface every now and again, but I'm home now. I'm ready to embrace this new community, to invest my life here and not to pine for the past.

Ten Days in Kyiv

2010-08-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Today, I loose jet lag privileges. I have been in Kyiv for ten days; the allotted time for recovery from the flight from California to Ukraine. It's been a full ten days. The first few days were spent settling in and shopping. Luckily, the shopping is affordable. There are so many options here, compared to Albania. Each wine glass is classier than the last. The knives are sharp and efficient. And the cutting boards! Who knew there would be such a selection? I stocked up on spices at the Embassy's commissary. There's nothing like finding cumin and chili powder in a foreign country. So, I have the comforts of home and then some. There wasn't any internet in my apartment, so they installed wireless for me. I am feeling at home here in my oddly set up apartment. (The kitchen and dining room are at opposite ends of the apartment). My place is a ten minute walk from school. We'll see how I survive winter morning walks!

My first introduction to downtown Kyiv was a river cruise down the Dnipro River. To say that it was a hot day would be the understatement of the century. It was extremely hot. The river glowed a fluorescent green, which made us all wonder about the anatomy of the Dnipro fish. Cruising the river was a nice way of getting a view of historical Kyiv. Two returning teachers, and their daughter, took us to an American cuisine based restaurant to cool off in air conditioning and with a beer.
From the left to right: Brenda, Carolyn, Val, me, Jon, Alyssa and Rachel in front of the WWII and Forced Famine Memorial.

This past Saturday, a group of us set off to redeem last Saturday's extremely uncomfortable sight seeing day. We had a gorgeous day indeed. This is a group of us from school (minus Brenda's friend from the states and his interpreter). These are new faces that you'll probably see often!
The parks are so lovely here. Kyiv is called the greenest city in Europe, and that's not because of any recycling initiatives. (Though, I think those are coming to the city too!). There was plenty of shade!
Our main objective was to see the cave monasteries (Perchersk Lava) where many monks are mummified and interned. There were churches and museums surrounding the caves. We went into a fascinating museum that was filled with miniatures. We're not talking doll house miniatures. This artist (forgot his name!) in the late 1950s to the late 1960s carved and created tiny works of art only visible through a magnifying glass. One incredibly small flower (it was a chrysanthemum) had 99 petals painstakingly carved. I can't remember if it was from a seed or a bone. There was an Egyptian pyramid scene set into an eye of a needle. There was the smallest 12 page book in the world. I've never seen anything like this. Incredible. We also went into a small church, after buying a head scarf. From now on, I'm just going to travel with one in my bag. You never know when you might need to go into a church!
The mummified monks were incredible. I was nearly as claustrophobic as I was going into the Egyptian pyramids. Many people were kissing and crossing the lids of the monks. I'm not exactly sure why these monks are so holy.
Here are Alyssa, Jon, Hans (Brenda's friend from America) and Brenda in front of the Iron Lady of Kyiv. There are Soviet symbols still present on her shield.
Today, we ventured back out to see more of Kyiv. We saw the outside of Saint Michael's and Saint Sophia's (above and below) but didn't go inside either of them. I am feeling much more orientated to the city and I am prepared to call Kyiv "home" for at least a year. It's a busy, buzzing metropolis filled with parks, churches, museums, the opera house and restaurants to explore. I'm not going to be bored here!

The Last Hurrah

2010-06-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

Yes it's a cliche, but it's the truth: All good things must come to an end. And it has. Two amazing years in Albania are over and done. The friendships, the travel, the students, have all been legendary. I'm going to continue overseas life, for at least another year, this time in.... Kyiv, Ukraine. I'll be teaching 1st grade, which, honestly, is my first love.
Leaving Tirana...

Tracey, Sarah, Entela and I wanted one final trip together. Unfortunately, Entela's Croatian visa didn't come through in time, so it was just Tracey, Sarah and me. But what a trip! We decided to drive up through Montenegro and spend 5 nights in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We had reserved an inexpensive econ car, but were pleasantly surprised to be upgraded to a comfortable, high powered vehicle (that loved the bends in the road). Sarah drove the first leg of the road trip through Albania. We stopped in Skodra, at one point, to ask for directions right before the Montenegro border. After we crossed into Montenegro, Sarah and I walked back to Albania to pick up our green card, that allows us to travel in Montenegro and Croatia. We left Tracey in the car, sending a text to Entela. Nearly 15 minutes later, Sarah and I came back with the green card, only to discover Tracey standing on the burning pavement exclaiming, "I can't find my sandals! I had them and now they just aren't here!" Sarah and I also searched the car, with no luck. It was Sarah who finally solved the Mystery of the Missing Sandals. When we had stopped to ask directions, Tracey had placed her shoes outside the car, intending on getting out to ask a shop keeper. Sarah, since she was driving, ran into the shop instead. Tracey turned back into the car and closed the door. Some happy citizen of Skodra inherited a very nice pair of summer sandals and Tracey bought a pair of sandals off of me. The next portion of the trip was relatively uneventful, but incredibly breath-taking. I drove, after stopping near Budva for a seaside lunch.

We used our limited Albanian to purchase our green card in the little shack closest to Sarah.

"Where are my sandals?"

We arrived in Dubrovnik and made our way to the apartment we were renting. Tracey's brother knows a guy, in Canada, who owns this apartment. What a way to live! We each had our own room and bathroom. The owners shared our tastes in literature (I read the children's lit book, "The Lightning Thief" in just 3 days and Sarah set in on "The Kite Runner." Trace was reading a book of mine called "The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox."). I loved all the wall art. One of the pictures was simply the blue of the sea. I thought it was powerful... I was the only one who thought so, though. Every morning, I looked out my window to a view of the harbor and the island. So spoiled. So, so spoiled.
The views from our patio...
My bedroom. Really, I should have been writing poetry in the early morning sun.

Our first day, we woke up late, ran to the corner market and made French toast for breakfast (the kitchen was very well equipped!) Then, we spent the day lying on the beach, detoxing from 10 months of demanding work (a teacher's job is never done. THAT'S why we have summers off!). We took a few swims, back and forth, but really just relaxed. We went to Buza, a bar in the walls of the city, for an afternoon drink, and to watch the cliff jumpers. The property manager had left us a list of restaurant recommendations, so we tried Bosnian food for dinner, which was strikingly similar to Albanian food.
Yes I know. ANOTHER balcony.

The next day was our island adventure. We hopped on a ferry to Lokrum Island for several hours of fun. The island had no flat beaches; the beaches were all giant rocks that had ladders leading into the water. We hiked as far as we could go and made ourselves at home on the rocks. The water was a bit choppy, but we swam anyway. It was so clear that we could see down to the sea floor (which sort of freaks me out, until I adjust) and all sorts of Adriatic fish. We swam far, going to the other side of the beach. Cliff jumpers were flying off rocks that were at least 10-15 feet high, into the clear waters. The three of us looked at each other, then swam over to the nearest ladder. The jumpers were Brits. One girl had been standing on the edge for 20 minutes, trying to talk herself into jumping. I asked one of the guys to jump, just to prove to myself that I wouldn't die (yes, I'm selfish). He came out alive, so one by one, Sarah, Holly and Tracey flew over the side. (The British girl climbed off the cliff by land.) It was an exhilarating experience! Swimming back, I had visitors. Three little blue and white fish swam along side me. I did cry then, knowing that the three sea loving friends were soon to part ways. We ended our Lokrum visit at a cafe that has live guitar music. That evening, we toasted the sea, over a meal of Adriatic sea bass and delicious white wine.
On the ferry over to the island.
Lokrum Island...
Wild peacocks and peahens were everywhere! Sarah was trying to get this guy to show us his feathers.
We swam to the far tip. Just beyond the tip are the cliffs.
Magical. Purely magical.

The next day, we walked the walls surrounding Dubrovnik. We ate our lunch up at the fort, dangling our legs over the edge, enjoying the blueness of the water and the sky. I, for one, was busy imagining the fort alive with soldier activity, defending Dubrovnik from the Venetians. After a lovely day of walking, we hit the Placa shops. Sarah bought some painted glass vases. I really, really wanted to buy the painted wine glasses, but the girls talked me out of it (too much to pack and carry with already exploding excess baggage). I am, however, wishing that I had at least bought a vase. Our dinner plans were to meet up with the McClellans, who had just arrived in Dubrovnik. We were telling Hilary and John about our day and Sarah mentioned the glass vases. Hilary said, "I loved the wine glasses. I bought them. One had a defect so I'll pick them up tomorrow." I could have danced for joy. The wine glasses are going to a good home after all! After a pasta dinner, which did not live up to the hype as "The Best Pasta in Dubrovnik," we went to an Irish pub to watch the World Cup. They had hard cider on tap! Brazil won that game and the group of Brazilians went nuts. The McClellans came back to our apartment where the two boys taught Tracey chess. Those little guys are so smart. I'm proud to have had one of them as my student!

At the Irish Pub. The boys were eating ice cream. It looked so good, we all went for more!
The Brazilians' victory dance...

Our final day in the Dubrovnik area was spent on the road. Sarah and I desperately wanted to go wine tasting, but we didn't want to go on a tour or all the way to Korcula Island. We managed to secure a map of the wine peninsula 1 1/2 hours north of Dubrovnik. I was driving, and was a little grumpy. I was reluctant to pull over for pictures, but finally stopped to take in the amazing view. Our first stop was at a family run winery, where the grandmother welcomed us in, the granddaughter poured us the wine, and the uncles, aunts and cousins were picking the grapes. The wine was nice, and Sarah bought a bottle. Tracey drove us after our first stop. Each stop was unique and delicious. One stop was at a winery that served a limited selection of wine, but all the wine was award winning. I bought bottle of white, primarily because the wine is based on California wine. My favorite stop was at another family run establishment. We got to explore the wine cellar and try a wonderful variety of wines. We all bought a bottle of their red Dignac wine; the grapes are grown on the rocky cliffs close to the coastline. After five wineries (cough, cough), Tracey drove us back to Dubrovnik. We met up with Tracey's friend, Gill, and went for delicious pizza. Then, we did the touristy thing. There was a Croatian folk music/dance show right outside our door. I thought it was fun and very entertaining. The costumes were bright and doll like. I took a million pictures, which might have been a result from visiting the five wineries.
Proof that I did finally stop for pictures opportunities...
Our first stop at the family run winery.
We took a wrong turn, but it was an awesome detour!

My favorite stop... the red Dignac was delicious! I drank it with my family last Friday. My brother started researching how to import it!

We drove back to Albania and the next day we spent readying ourselves for going the rest of our summer vacations. Then, we went for an last day dinner at a delicious restaurant called Vinum. Just the four of us; the ending mirrored the beginning.
The last supper, but never the last adventure.

May Highlights and Happenings

2010-05-16T08:22:00.001-07:00

May is half gone, and I haven't posted a thing. There have been plenty of parties and outings. Here are just a few highlights from the first half of May:

My lovely friend, Demetra hosted a May Day celebration. The wine was flowing, the cheese was varied, the conversation was delightful. It made me sad that this Albania chapter is closing.

This past summer, my mom, my aunt, my cousin and I spent a productive afternoon at the fabric store. The quality fabrics were colorful and bright; perfect for summer dresses. I picked out five pieces of fabric for the neighborhood seamstress to transform into dresses for Sarah, Tracey, Entela, Amy and me. The result is below (we were on our way to Amor, which as you may know from previous posts, is my favorite restaurant.). Sadly, Entela's dress was still at the shop, but we'll take another group shot at graduation.

Berat is one of the most magical places in Albania and I was so thrilled to visit again. A large group of us spent a few hours in Berat, exploring the castle area, buying our favorite cookies, and eating traditional Albanian food at the Castle Park restaurant. Then, we continued on to Corovoda and the Osumi Canyon for another rafting adventure.

We stayed the night in Corovoda, before rafting. I threw a fuss about staying there, as opposed to Berat, because I had seen the hotel the year before. My expectations of the hotel were incredibly low, but the hotel managed to even sink lower. There was no toilet paper, the bed was broken, the toilet seat was broken, there were spiders... at least the sheets were clean (I used my sleep sheet just to be safe). It really was indoor camping. HOWEVER, it should be noted that it was best to stay there since it cut off so much driving time.

The river was lower, this year, than last year. We had twice as much rain, but hardly any snow. This meant that the rapids were light, bouncy and fun (and we had more of an arm workout paddling). Tracey, Sarah and Florian were in a raft with Florian's friends and I was in a raft with Megan, Katie and Violeta... and an incredibly fascinating and handsome guide! The guides told us that on our first stop, we could do a little cliff jumping. I was a little nervous about climbing down to the edge, but the previously mentioned guide lent a helping hand. Florian jumped first. He's taller than I am so I figured it was safe. I went in after him. Boy was that water cold! Megan, Sarah, Tracey and Violeta followed. We had a blast swimming up stream and playing in the rapids. After a few stops we arrived at the waterfall. The waterfall was bluer than last year and less powerful. We were able to wade behind it than jump out receiving a face full of powerful water. Violeta kept asking, "Holly, want to go again?" I kept saying, "Okay!" We must have repeated the process three times. This rafting adventure makes its way to the Top 5 list of highlights of the 2009-2010 school year.

A group of us went Salsa dancing Friday night. I'm so glad that we took classes last year. It got me thinking, what have I learned to do this year? Last year, I learned to dance, next year I will learn Russian, but this year? Finally, it came to me. I learned to love teaching kindergarten. Really, I didn't think that would ever happen.

May has been a busy month, already. I've missed so much on the home-front, like Mother's Day, my grandfather's 82nd birthday celebration, and a Welcome Back party for my cousin, but life has been happening here too. Only 4 weeks to go. I'm starting to get nostalgic for Albania already.

Cruising the Islands

2010-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

The first conversation I had with Entela, upon returning from Spring Break, went something like this:
Entela- I heard from Amy that you didn't meet anyone while on this cruise.
Holly- I met waiters who thought I am Canadian, high school students who actually are Canadian, friendly middle aged American couples, but no single men!
Entela- That's such a bummer. I was so sure that you would.

I must admit that, as an incurable romantic, I also had some notion of finding "Mister Right" while cruising the Greek Islands and singing ABBA songs. Instead, I found tremendous beauty, living history, and an incredible shopping opportunity. Really, what more could a girl ask for?

Amy, Travis and I boarded the Aquamarine Monday morning after catching the Athens Metro, then the bus, then the Metro and finally a taxi. We spent some peaceful hours reading on deck chairs, pretending that we were warm, while warding off the sea breezes. By late afternoon we arrived in Mykonos. I really did not know what to expect. Mykonos ended up being one of my favorite islands. Stereotypical white buildings with blue doors, Greek windmills, lapping waves, enchanting moon, seaside bars, old boats, winding streets, the list is endless. I would go back to Mykonos!

It's such an interesting experience waking up in a totally different country; Monday we were in Greece, then presto, Tuesday morning we were in Turkey. I loved the few short hours we had in Turkey. (Without a doubt, Istanbul is high on the travel list.) We took an amazing tour of Ephesus. This once port city is now set 2-3 miles away from the sea. The Library (the third largest of the ancient world), the Amphitheater, and the marble columns were incredible. I imagined myself in Ephesus during the riots, mentioned in Acts. It sent shivers down my spine.

Ancient pharmacy sign

A mosaic incredibly preserved

Where would you find me in the ancient world? Outside of the library of course.

Communal toilets. Musicians would play over the questionable noises...

The acoustics were brilliant. I can't imagine an entire city rioting for two hours. It must have been deafening.

After taking the tour, our bus headed back to the city and straight to an authorized carpet dealer. We sat through an informative and entertaining presentation about Turkish carpets, while sipping apple tea (I was praying that I wouldn't spill any tea on a rug). After the presentation, a swarm of salesmen swooped down on us unsuspecting tourists. One came to me and said, "Do you see anything that you like." I can't lie. Truly I can't. "Yes, I replied, I like that one there." The salesman replied, "It's a $1,300 rug, but I'm sure that I could sell it to you for $950." I said that I'd take it for a ridiculously low price. "Excuse me," said the man. He went and got his boss who came with his calculator and a very serious expression. That's when it got fun. Boss Salesman tried to talk me into a smaller carpet. ("But I don't love that one," I whined and Amy whispered, "Don't worry, you can always find another Turkish rug.") Then he reduced the carpet for $750, out the door. ("No, I said, I told you my price.") Then he tried guilt. ("Why won't you take it for such a great offer?" To which I said, "My father is a salesman. I've argued with him my entire life." This brought a side-smile to Mr. Boss Salesman who said, "Then you should know how difficult it is to be a salesman.") Finally, he sold it to me for $25 more than my price. The initial salesman rang up my order. He said, "This really is amazing. A carpet like this has never sold for such a low price."

The afternoon brought a visit to Patmos and the Grotto. I very nearly had a crisis of faith while standing in the depths of the Grotto. "What if, I asked myself, John didn't really write Revelation here in this cave? What if someone just made that up as legend?" Then I started thinking about the book. John only mentions being on the "Island called Patmos," never in a cave. The bottom line is that I do believe in John's Revelation and it really doesn't matter where he experienced it. Do I want to believe that I was standing where the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciple he loved? Heavens yes.

Wednesday was our Rhodes day. The three of us walked around Rhodes in the morning, with the goal of seeing where the Colossus once stood. An earthquake destroyed this ancient wonder, and the islanders never rebuilt it, fearing that they had angered the sun god. Amy and I walked to a pebble beach in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that was our one cloudy and cool day. There were people swimming, but I just wasn't brave enough. I did put my feet in the Aegean, though.

Where the Colossus once stood, marking the way to the harbor.

In the Aegean...sort of.

Thursday brought Crete in the morning and Santorini in the afternoon. I was a bit disappointed in Crete. Santorini was fabulous. Looking back, I do wish I road a donkey up to the town, though the gondola was fun and offered incredible views. This island is thought to be the lost Continent of Atlantis. In fact, this is mentioned in ancient texts. A volcano, which is still visible, wiped out an entire area of the island. The blue doomed churches and steep hills had me at "hello." While I was wandering around, I met a lady from the cruise. She told me that a Catholic Mass was going on in one of the churches. Since it was Maundy Thursday, I decided to go. The Dominican Nuns were singing and the Priest was reading in Spanish so I did pick up bits and pieces. I really liked the Priest. He was smiley and welcoming.

I actually forgot about this picture! It's my favorite one of the entire trip. This was from the morning on Crete. The woman was on her way to church.

Wooden boats are alive and well, at least on Crete.

The cliffs of Santorini

Our ship looks like it's going straight through my head.

Just one of the domed churches.

I had to take a picture of this boy from the cruise because he looks EXACTLY like my cousin Stephen. It threw me off, every time I saw him!

Friday brought us back to Athens and a day of shopping. The day went by surprisingly quickly. We ate dinner in the shadow of the Acropolis enjoying a beautiful spring evening. It was a truly enjoyable Spring Break. I had plenty of time to think, wonder, read, and talk to my incredible friends. Would I cruise again? I'm not sure. It's a very different way of traveling; it's almost like going to camp for a week. I do know that it was a great introduction to the islands!

Our last meal in Greece...

Black Diamonds

2010-03-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

I have a story, over a month old, that is still begging to be told. In late February, Sarah, Florian, Tracey and I piled into Florian's Jeep and drove over to Macedonia for a skiing weekend. I hadn't skied since I was 14 years old, so I was a bit nervous. We arrived in Mavrovo late Friday night, accompanied by rain. The hotel service was beyond wonderful. I have never stayed at a place that made you instantly feel like family. A yummy meal was whipped up for us, followed by dessert crepes. We went straight to bed anticipating a day full day of skiing.

Saturday morning came. We all bought our lift passes. I was told that the easier hills were at the top of the hill, which alone was odd. Being the Balkans, we received no map of the area. The four of us climbed on the single chair lifts and headed up the hill. I literally fell out of the chair lift instead of gliding off gracefully and immediately thought, "Oh boy! I'm off to a great start!" The man at the top asked if I was a beginner. I said, "How did you guess?" He exchanged worried looks with his fellow ski patrol. I asked, "So, where are the beginner slopes?" The man pointed off in an ambiguous direction. I took that to mean, "You're on the bunny slopes."

I earnestly prayed that whatever skills I had learned in ski lessons 16 years ago would suddenly surface. At first, I was amazed by what I remembered and even thought, "Gosh, it's all coming back to me." Sarah was snowboarding along side Florian and Tracey and I were a bit behind. Suddenly, the path became narrower and the hillside steeper. I lost control and went crashing into a snowbank. I dug myself out while Tracey took pictures, both of us laughing uncontrollably. It only got worse. At one point I resorted to taking my skis off and sliding on my rear end. By the end of the run, I was ready to turn in my skis. We finally made it to the bottom only to discover a different chair lift that was off to the side. Sarah was already on and yelled to Tracey and me, "The bunny slopes are at the top of this hill; come on up!"

We were all safely at the top and found some friends from Tirana enjoying a break in the lodge. I said, "So this is where they are hiding the beginner area?" Sarah said, "Um, yeah. You just went down a Black Diamond run." Holy smokes, even thinking about it now, I'm grateful to be alive! The rest of the afternoon, I spent with Mary, Violeta and Florian relearning how to ski and getting my confidence back. By the end of the afternoon, I was actually excited about skiing.

Sarah's new friend! This was seriously the cutest puppy I've seen in a long time.

The four of us returned to the hotel. We, once again had a lovely dinner with a lovely Macedonian wine. We played card games and enjoyed the fire in the lobby, with our clothes drying.

Game Night!

The next morning, I was more optimistic about a day on the slopes. It was a beautiful day, with a gentle falling snow and a semi clear sky. We got to the hill, only to learn that the slopes at the top were shut down due to wind. On that note, I flat out refused to ski the Black Diamond slopes, turned in my skis, and spent the rest of the day playing in the snow and drinking hot tea.

Was my time wasted? Not hardly! I'll always look back on this trip as an enjoyable experience with my enjoyable friends. I just know for certain that I'll never amount to much of a skier... Sarah and Tracey are heading to Slovenia for a spring break ski trip (they'll also be skiing in Italy and Austria too!). I'm heading the opposite direction to the Greek Isles. It's probably for the best!

*Note: These are all Tracey's pictures. I was too busy trying to stay alive and didn't have the time to take any shots at all!

Budapest

2010-03-10T09:19:00.000-08:00

These last three months have been rather busy. Twice a week, the swim team has been traveling the 30 minutes to the only competition built pool in Tirana. It was a huge time commitment, but it was worth it. The swim team, this year, was made up of 5 middle school girls, 2 middle school boys, 1 high school boy, and 1 little 5th grade boy who is too young to compete. Swimmers, usually, are a focused, motivated group and this team was no exception. The swimmers worked extremely well together and responded to Florian and me respectfully. That's why, when their parents asked us, we did not hesitate to agree to stay an extra day in Budapest and chaperon the team. Not only did we have an excellent meet, but we had an excellent time seeing the city too!

Thursday night, we arrived in Hungary and drove the hour to the school. And what a school. The green eyed monster certainly stirred within me. Not only does Budapest have a pool, but they have state-of-the art computers (everywhere you turn) and an amazing library that's at least 4 times the size of the Tirana library. Impressive. The athletic director said that he went cross country skiing in the back field just a few weeks ago. No wonder I got a form letter back saying, "Thanks, but, no thanks," when I applied to this school. Florian and I left the swimmers in the hands of exceptional host families, who truly treated the kids as their own. We proceeded back to an awesome hotel on the Buda side of the city.

We met up with two parents from school who had decided to come along and cheer on the team and to see the city. Christie and Alan remind me of my own mom and dad. We went to a pub down the street from our hotel that served Hungarian food and Belgium beer. You can't go wrong with either! It spooked me when, for an instant, I could feel my brother's spirit lingering next to me saying, "You came here without me?!"

The next morning, I had as many butterflies in my stomach as our most nervous swimmer. (This girl was swimming three events in a row and was terrified!). We are a small school swimming against huge schools like Moscow, Warsaw, Budapest and Prague. I naturally wanted to be around the coaches from Bucharest, Kiev (though Bucharest and Kiev are much bigger than Tirana) and Zagreb. Less intimidating that way. We had three swimmers entered in the first event, the 200 Freestyle. To everyone's delight and joy, all three made the finals. And it just kept getting better. Over the two days, we had three swimmers earn bronze medals in the 50 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter freestyle. Most of our swimmers swam in the finals, earning us lots of points. One young lady took 40 seconds off of her 400 meters free event! We ended up in 5th place out of 8 schools. This may seem low, but we knocked the socks off comparable teams. (The other four schools were competing with 20 swimmers as opposed to our 8). We were so proud of our team. They were so proud of themselves too. It's hard for small schools to compete against powerhouse teams, but they did it and were amazing to boot!

This swim meet became about seizing opportunities. One of our middle school boys seized the opportunity and swam a 50 free against a Hungarian Olympic swimmer who attended the meet as an exhibition swimmer. Needless to say, our student swam his best 50 time ever, even beating his 50 time that had earned him the bronze medal. I also seized an opportunity and swam on a female coach freestyle relay team. We came in last (swimming against two male coach teams and two incredible high school teams) but I had so much fun competing. I was the second fastest coach on our relay team, which was really surprising. All those Sunday afternoons that I spend with Tracey and Sarah at the pool have kept me in swimming condition, apparently. At the close of the meet, many students began jumping into the pool. I had just swam the relay, so I didn't mind jumping back in too. Before I knew it, two of our girls had jumped in fully clothed. Florian, fully clothed, jumped in right behind! Soon our entire team, but one student was swimming blissfully in the water.

Sunday was our full day in Budapest. We had a tour of the Castle Hill in the Buda side of the city, and of Gellert Hill. The story associated with Gellert Hill is quite dramatic. The king who converted the country to Christianity sent for a monk from Rome to teacher his son and his subjects their new religion. The subjects were quite hesitant to leave their pagan ways. They captured the monk, for whom the hill is named for, stuffed him in a barrel, hammered long nails around the barrel and sent him rolling down the hill into the Danube River. Ugh.

Quick story about this statue: One of my boys said, "Look Miss DeKorte, Skanderbeg!" Skanderbeg is THE national hero of Albania, famous for holding back the Ottomans from the rest of Europe. Well, it turns out that this stature was also of a general who defended Hungary against the Turks. That's how we say ironic.

We ended the day at the Szcheny Baths, swimming outside in the snow! Truly, this was the best experience for a bunch of water people! The warm waters were relaxing and soothing. We went to one of the cooler pools to swim some laps and race each other. The kids were in heaven in the whirlpool area. I must admit that this pool was the most fun; you could be caught up in the whirlpool and just glide along.

We all stayed at a hostel outside of the city. Luckily, one of our girls in Hungarian and could interpret for us at the lovely family run facility. Literally, no one spoke English! Mean Miss DeKorte made the rule that the boys were not allowed in the girls' rooms without a coach. So after we took a snowy walk in the woods to the nearest market, we piled in a room and played charades and 20 Questions. Then it was lights out for all.

I absolutely loved working and traveling with this group. The swimmers kept me laughing and busy all winter long. I'm glad that I have my Monday and Wednesday afternoons back, but oh how I miss the team already!

Birthday Wish

2010-02-13T03:59:00.000-08:00

My twelve incredible students asked me, a few weeks ago, to name my birthday wish. I didn't want to go into details about wishing for future employment, so I told them that my birthday wish was for snow in Tirana. It only snows in Tirana once every few years; I wasn't expecting this wish to come true.

I looked out my window, this morning, and saw rain, not an unusual sight. Two minutes later I looked out again. My surprise knocked a book off the table and sent Sarah running into my apartment. Mixed with the rain was a bit of snow. About this time, I got a text from Egla, my assistant. It read, "Look outside your window." I wrote back, "We finally have our snow day!" I quickly got my camera, thinking that the snowish rain was going to be the only snow I would ever see falling in Tirana. Before my eyes, it started to rain/snow harder. That's when I lost my mind. I raced outside and over to the school. Why I ran there, I have no idea. Maybe it was to take pictures of the snow falling around my classroom, or maybe it was just because I needed a place to run. Standing in the middle of the campus, I was shocked when snowball sized snowflakes began falling. I raced back over to the playground area and found Flutra, our weekend guard. We took pictures in the snow and exclaimed over the beauty of the morning, both in English and in Albanian. Then I danced back to our apartment building and raced up to Amy and Travis's apartment. I knocked loudly on their door and Travis came to answer. "How do I look?" he asked. "Like you just woke up," I answered. "Sorry, I forgot that it's only 9 in the morning, but look!" Luckily, Travis wasn't angry with me when he saw the snow. "Amy get out here now," he yelled. By that time Stephen and Valbona were outside enjoying the snow too. Oh, what a beautiful morning!

Allow me to reflect for a moment. Do I believe this very unexpected snow was a direct birthday wish granted? No. Do I believe this snow was a gift from God? Yes. I think God delights in giving us good gifts. He brought snow. He will bring me a job and the other desires of my heart. In his time. I love it when theology comes to life.

The beginning... Views from my balcony

The evidence! We have this thermometer hanging outside of my classroom for scientific purposes. I took a picture to show my students.

The snow queens... I loved having free rein of the campus this morning. It became my playground. But I was so glad to run into Flutra. It's more meaningful when you can share the joy.

Well, what do ya know? Snow!

I know that I got a bit carried away with the pictures. This is just a small sampling of the 40 that I took this morning. Believe me, I want to remember this forever.

Burns Ball!

2010-01-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! Tomorrow, in Scotland, people will be celebrating the birthday of their favorite poet, Robert Burns. We celebrated here in Tirana with the second annual Burns Ball. I was looking forward to the night with eager anticipation, but also I was concerned that the second annual Burns Ball wouldn't be as great as the first annual Burns Ball. It wasn't as great as the first ball.... it was better! A little piece of me (ok, a big piece of me) is glad that the job fair didn't work out. If I had gone, I would have missed out on the best night of the year! (In the big picture of things, it's not so great that I didn't go to the job fair, but I'm so thankful that I could go to the ball. Geeze, now I'm sounding like Cinderella).

Sarah and our good friend Claudia

My best friends

We had a wonderful table, filled with friends from school and two friends who work for the US government. Once again, everyone had to follow the rule and try the haggis. This year, I cleaned my plate. I still can't believe that I ate it all. The British Ambassador and the American Ambassador both had some speaking parts and of course there was poetry and Scotch. Funny how the two seem to go hand in hand. The dinner course was much better than last year, serving a tender steak. I have also realized that I'm a big fan on the deep fried egg. Sounds disgusting, but it is actually very tasty.

Our colleague, Wayne, and Tracey sampling the Scotch whiskey, while Entela looks on.

The dancing began before the dessert course. People who had been attending the Scottish dance classes lined up for the "Gay Gordon." After the demonstration round, Tracey and I went to dance. Luckily, our good friends, the Bergs, came to our rescue. Diane made me lead the first round (she said that leading was easier with this dance) while Tracey danced with Dan and then we switched and I got to dance with Dan. Of course, there was plenty of laughter. After dessert, they started another dance, "Strip the Willow." Amy and Travis joined in that dance. There were too many people and it ended up being rather chaotic.

The music was absolutely amazing. The fiddler, Lisa, was a 21 year old Scottish Lassie and the bagpiper was the son of the bagpiper from last year's ball. Connor, one of my students, and the youngest son of the organizers of the ball, had told me all about the fiddler and the dancing and how he wished he could go dance at the ball. (This child is beyond adorable.) He had built up my expectations, and I wasn't disappointed in the Scottish music.

Allan, the piper, with his wife and Lisa the fiddler

There was an Albanian band that played regular dance music, and they were a little disappointing. People began leaving. Sadly, those early departures missed the best part of the night. The rest of the evening was mostly Scottish dancing, with just a few breaks for the musicians. I really, really wanted to dance, but of course partners are few and far between (especially when some single young men leave early, but that's another story). Little John, Connor's eldest brother, was walking past me, when I grabbed his arm and begged him to dance with me. (John is volunteering at the school as Florian's assistant. He's in his gap year). I love dancing with authentic Scotsmen! I expected him to have one pity dance with his brother's teacher, but not six in a row. We were an awesome team! At the very end of the night, big John (Connor and little John's father) taught me how to spin without falling or getting sick. My first attempt nearly resulted in disaster. Then, Hilary (Connor's mother and big John's wife) demonstrated how to keep one foot still and focus on the face in front of you. Her demonstration made all the difference. It's as close to flying as you can get, with one foot on land.

John with the four single teachers... what a lucky boy.

I'm so infatuated with Scottish culture, that this morning, I officially applied to the International School of Aberdeen. The website said that they value teachers with a sense of humor, so I tried to make my email as entertaining as possible. That might just come back to bite me. Maybe next year, I'll be dancing in Scotland.

Living a Story

2010-01-16T23:46:00.000-08:00

Donald Miller is one of my favorite living authors. Every singe one of his books has inspired me in some way. His latest, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, has helped me to think of myself as a character in a story. Don makes the point that we are all living a story, one that God is writing, but we characters have free will. The characters can live a rich, epic story or... sit on a coach watching movies. I was thinking back to my life before moving to Albania. Was I living a good story then? Am I living a good story now? If I return to the states, will I continue living the exciting, road-less-traveled, story?

These questions are coupled with my current focus: looking for a new job. Albania, though I've absolutely loved my experience here, is a closing chapter. It's time to move on. I have my sights set high on three good schools in three incredible locations: Barcelona, Prague, and Budapest. Unfortunately, these schools also tend to hire at job fairs, which I won't be attending. The chance for a position is very slim. My friends are encouraging me to look beyond Europe. What, or what, will this character do?

In the meantime, I want to make these last five months memorable and meaningful. Yesterday was a beautiful day. Four of us hiked up to an ancient wall and then around a mountain. You could see all of Tirana and the neighboring mountains, dusted with snow. We walked through an olive grove and Sarah related a story she had heard. In the old days, when an Albanian girl got married, the family planted ten olive trees.
After the hike, we celebrated Travis's birthday. Is this living a monumental story? Maybe the events are simple, but the relationships are what makes this story great. I think that is what I will remember the most about my time here: my friendships which have become some of the deepest of my life. Ok, next five months, let's be epic.

My Kind of Town

2009-12-18T10:47:00.000-08:00

Well, what can I say. I have fallen in love... with Prague. Snowflakes falling softly, violin street music floating through the air, cinnamon bread and warm mulled wine for sale at the Christmas Markets, cozy bookstores, majestic churches, holy synagogues, romantic bridges. Give me a minute. I'm tearing up. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating. I'm crying right now. Beauty does that to me. Two days in Prague were enough to convince me that, despite the expense of living there, I really need to apply to the Prague international school. I went to Prague with four of my friends, colleagues and fellow believers, who I dearly love.

On Monday morning, Stephen, Valbona and I headed out on a quick tour of Prague, while Amy and Travis went back to the airport to pick up luggage. The tour bus drove the three of us past the important buildings and then up to the Prague castle. The views from the castle were lovely. You could see all the red roofs spreading out through the city.

Our guide took us through the cathedral and we had a brief look into the palace (where in the Middle Ages, horses and knights would have tournaments). The tour was just an overview of Prague, so it didn't include all of the castle. Seriously, we could have spent all day on top of the hill. There were different museums to go to (like a toy museum and a design museum) and the Golden Street (where the jewelry stores are), but we were pressed for time.

The next stop was the astronomical clock. The clock made me think of my Uncle Ed who is a clockmaker in Sisters, Oregon. (Shameless family plug: if you are ever in the central Oregon region you absolutely must visit the clock shop, around noon. It's such a magical place. Uncle Ed's clocks are incredible works or arts which he builds from inside out.) Back to the Prague clock. Every hour, the twelve apostles pass by the top window. There are other statues surrounding the clock itself. We went back the next day, just to watch and listen again. I love simple pleasures.

We met back up with Travis and Amy just as a light dusting of snow began to fall. I kept looking at my coat sleeve where beautifully detailed snowflakes were gathering. We all headed back to the Christmas Market for mulled wine and "street treats."

Amy, Travis and I went to a small cafe and warmed up with more hot wine. Then, they went back to the hotel and I went on to the Mucha Museum. I really do like art nouveau. It's romantic and wispy. (Mucha died during Nazi interrogation). Then I went to a Kafka bookstore. I have never read anything by Kafka, but the few passages I did read made me feel like I had found another favorite author. Art in all forms makes me appreciate life. I walked around by myself for awhile, (It's very fun to be the mysterious solo traveler. Especially when cute Czech men come to talk to me. Too bad I only speak English.)and then met back up with Amy and Travis for dinner. I can't say I'm a huge fan of traditional Czech food. The dumplings were done well, but just weren't my favorite.

Tuesday, we started off with more snow (this time falling faster). Our plan was to wander to the Charles Bridge and then around the Jewish Quarter (called the "Pride of Prague" by our tour guide the day before).

There were so many charming alleyways and buildings. Prague makes me think of a fairytale. I want to live in a fairytale.

We passed by this church right before we came to Charles Bridge. I took a picture of it. Look carefully. Do you notice something unusual? Amy pointed it out to me...

Yep, there was an icicle hanging out of the gargoyle's mouth! In fact, the fire department came out to remove the icicle before it could drop on a passing tourist or motor vehicle.

And then, the bridge! The beautiful, beautiful, beautiful bridge. I am taking my husband (whoever he is) back to the Charles Bridge one day. I don't think you can possibly get the full effect of the romance unless you kiss the one you love on the bridge. This is why I encouraged my four friends to engage in some public displays of affection! (And why someday I'll go back).

After a stroll on the bridge, we found a restaurant to warm up in. Amy and I both had the French Onion soup. It had delicious croutons and goat cheese. I don't think I've ever had such a decedent French Onion soup.

My four friends walked with me to the Jewish Quarter. (They all are in Prague for a longer time, so they were savoring it, I was devouring it.) The Jewish Quarter leads you through amazing synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery. It's hard to process it all. My first stop was in the synagogue that displays the names of the Czech Jews who died at the hands of the Nazis. The names are written floor to ceiling, on two floors, in alphabetical order with the date of birth and the year of death. Then, there was an art display that is very difficult to see. A Jewish art teacher taught the children art while they were displaced. The art work managed to be saved, unlike the teacher and most of her children. God. Mankind is vicious. Each synagogue was a museum devoted to keeping the memories alive. I was lucky enough to be following a Rabbi and his student from synagogue to synagogue, so I learned more than I would have just by reading the signs. Basically, the Nazis required the Jews to catalog their religious relics, and then sent them off to their deaths. Only two of the eight people who worked on the "museum" managed to survive.

After this sobering experience, I rejoined my friends for dinner, then went to the Municipal House for a concert. (The Municipal House is the first picture on this post). We were expecting to enjoy the concert in the Great Hall. Imagine our surprise when we were instructed to go down to the Art Nouveau Hall. It was an intimate setting for some world class chamber music. And yes, I cried. Mozart, Vivaldi, the greats. During the concert, I was struck that I really do love the life God has given me.

I'm glad that I was able to share my first Prague adventure with friends with artistic souls. This is a city to come to for inspiration.

Lights, Camera, Athens!

2009-12-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

Tracey, Sarah and I flew to Athens on Friday afternoon. I happened to be sitting next to a young girl who is a missionary in Greece (she assumed that I was right out of college, God bless her!). Talking with her really made the time fly by. Only an hour and we were in Athens. Getting around was incredibly easy. The metro was super affordable and easy to manage. A lady at an information booth showed us the two lines to our hotel. The directions I got from booking.com said, "Go out of the Metro and you are at the hotel." Vague to say the least, but promising. Indeed, we went out of the metro and saw every hotel except Crystal City. Sarah, who has some conversational Greek, approached a man at a kiosk for directions. He started laughing and pointed over her shoulder. The directions on booking.com ought to read, "Go out of the metro. Walk 10 steps, turn right and you're there!"

We (the three of us) decided that it was of the utmost importance to squeeze in as much Greek food as possible over the course of a few days. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were our highest priorities. After checking into the hotel, we set out in search of our first meal. I LOVE Greek food. Olives, yogurt, grilled meat, pita bread...sigh. (I meant to buy a Greek cookbook before I left, but didn't. Silly me.) I really enjoyed the first restaurant we went to, although there was a pesky Brit who (we overheard most of his conversation) appeared to be cheating on his girlfriend with a Greek girl. Charming, oh so charming.

The three of us were walking in the shopping district after our first dinner. Almost simultaneously, Sarah and I screamed, "H&M!" at the top of our lungs. Seriously, you know you are in civilization when you are surrounded by good shopping! We made plans to shop 'til we dropped. All day Saturday was literally going into store after store after store. For all the time we spent in stores, I managed to just do damage at H&M. I kept reminding myself that I'll be home soon (where shopping is cheaper). Sarah and I were thrilled to be using our credit cards...

And this is Tracey after a long, long day of shopping...

Sunday was much like Saturday. We decided to explore the oldest flee market in Athens (or so the sign said). Sarah was on a hunt for boots and Tracey and I were keeping our eyes open for anything interesting. Well, we found interesting! We found what looked like an actual jewelers. I made the mistake of walking in. Actually, we all made that mistake. We were instantly greeted by a kindly gentleman who informed us that we were lucky enough to stumble into the "Embassy's" jewelery store. He had pictures with former first ladies, current ambassadors, and Greek dignitaries displayed around his shop. He, George, said that for us, he'd give us 30% off anything on the ground floor. His colleague entered and said, "No, no, for these girls give them 40% off all the silver." We had just a little bit of fun picking out beautiful jewelery to take home. All the while, the three of us were laughing and talking. George looked at us, a bit puzzled, and said, "No one ever smiles anymore, but you three have contagious smiles." Yep, that's us, at least when we are on vacation! George's colleague poured us ouzo after our transactions were complete. I heard it as "boozo" and was slightly confused. Anyhow, I really enjoy ouzo. Not surprising since I'm a black licorice fan!

After our second shopping adventure, we decided to do something educational and absolutely essential. My new friend from the plane had advised us to go to the Acropolis on Sunday, since it's free on that particular day. Of course, walking around looking at antiquity is amazing, but I felt a little under-educated. I know a lot about the Roman empire, but I think I slept through my Greek history. (This is an unusual feeling for me. Usually, I'm thanking my Westmont education and cheering the Liberal Arts).

Now we come to my other favorite part of my weekend in Athens. We walked out of the Acropolis straight to Areopagus (otherwise known as Mars Hill). This was the one place I was eager to experience. I couldn't wait to stand on the mound where one of the most breathtaking sermons was preached. My plan was to read Acts 17 on Mars Hill. "'In him we live and move and have our being.'"

So after two days of enjoying Athens, we flew back home to Tirana. I'm afraid I'm in holiday spirits and can't wait for Prague, then Santa Maria! I love traveling: the people you meet, the food you consume, the pretty things to look at (or buy), the ancient history, and often, the spiritual encounters.

Stephen's Center Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

I've been rather out of the blogging loop, at least for these past few weeks. The school year was dragging on and on; then November hit and wham! I feel like I blinked and now it's almost December.

This is my "sequel" year here in Albania. We all know that the sequels are never as great as the originals. The novelty loses its luster. Sometimes I feel like people won't want to read about another Marine Ball or another Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, however, is one of those holidays that gets richer with tradition. Our established two year tradition is to go the the Stephen's Center for Thanksgiving dinner.

My Albania family gathered at Stephen's Center for another delicious meal followed by the most delicious pumpkin pie (made with real pumpkins as opposed to the canned... no bright orange color!) Travis and Amy joined us this year as well as our newest friend, Matt. I was especially thankful for Amy and Travis because Travis led us in prayer. (Sometimes I feel like I'm a big chicken when it comes to leading prayer around people who have a different faith than I do, even when those people are my best friends.)

We also shared favorite Thanksgiving traditions or memories. I shared about the theatrical presentations that I wrote staring my younger brother (usually playing the native, but who once made an appearance as Abraham Lincoln), my cousin Kim and me. Other cousins would join, but it was usually the three of us. Thinking about those plays made me miss my brother tremendously. Maybe someday, I'll share Thanksgiving with my real family again.

Happy Thanksgiving fellow Americans!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above the heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
Amen

P.S. Look for a new post next week~ I'm off to Athens tomorrow.

Halloween Party 2009!

2009-11-01T04:36:00.001-08:00

Drum roll please..... Ta-da! The four of us have been planning this group costume since last spring. We are the representatives for the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant (1990). Entela represents Albania, I represent the USA and Sarah and Tracey tied for Miss Canada (because it's such a large country of course). Mom sent us these magnificent tiaras, we had the sashes printed at the printers, and the seamstress worked her magic on the dresses. (Albania is swarming with tacky fake flower.) We were set for a night of magic at the Berg's annual Halloween party.

Children were welcome until 10, then they were dismissed! The Berg's eldest daughter's band played and did so well. It's primarily made up of half the swim team, actually. Travis, seen as Gandhi below, really was rocking out!

Amy came as a Samurai warrior. She and Travis won (for the second year in a row) the prize for the best couple costume. It was an accidental couple costume, but it was PERFECT. War and Peace... Amy is so clever.

Tracey decided that her talent was "Interpretive Ribbon Dancing." Florian had a supply of ribbons (he's our P.E. teacher) so Tracey was able to wow the crowd with her mad skills. I swear, I was laughing so hard I had tears rolling down my eyes. I think the parent I was talking to thought I had gone mad, or was a little drunk (neither were true, I was just highly amused).

Here are a handful of the students cheering Miss Epp as she was dazzling us with her ribbon routine. Apparently, they had been waiting for our arrival with bated breath, wondering, wondering, wondering what 4 of their favorite teachers were dressing as. I love teaching. It's like having your very own fan club.

And the winners are.... Second year running and we walked away with the prize for the best group costume. Sarah summed it up nicely as she accepted our prize. "We just want World Peace!"

What beauty pageant is complete with out a brawl at the end? It wasn't as well rehearsed as our skating routine, last year, but it managed to be just as impressive.

Another great party, another great night, another great reason why I love my oversea life!

A Nessesary Weekend

2009-10-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

I love how one weekend can completely change someones perspective. This was just such a weekend. The plan was to take a van to an old Ottoman town, Gjiokaster, and spend the Mother Theresa three day weekend exploring an old castle. Well, some people were sick, others tired and the plan changed. It became a Tirana weekend.

Perhaps the catalyst of my attitude change came Friday evening. What a way to begin three days of bliss! I made my Christmas plans. Three days in Prague, twelve days in Santa Maria, back to Prague for a day, and then home to Tirana in time for the New Year! These travel plans may seem ordinary, but it took about two months of soul searching to arrive at this decision. I felt an instant peace when I acknowledged that I would rather go home for Christmas than spend two weeks soaking up the sun somewhere along the Indian Ocean. How many days until Christmas?

Saturday, Entela, Tracey and I set out to the the Chinese Turkish Market to find material for this year's Halloween costumes (which will be revealed in a later post, I'm sure). We found the perfect fabric and bought enough for four dresses (for Sarah too, of course). The shop keeper actually had a little shop, as opposed to a stand. He was quite friendly and took a great deal of money off of our purchases. At one point, I started laughing. The man, who is in his late 50s, looked at me and very seriously said, "You are very beautiful." That made my day! I'm not naive; I know it was just flattery, but it's not everyday a girl is called beautiful.

We had such a lovely walk all around Tirana. It was cool, but not cold, the sun was shining, and the Lana River was not smelly. The sky was intensely blue and clear. Autumn days like this past Saturday do not come around too often. The three of us stopped for Albanian fast food: suflaqe. It's pita bread stuffed with chicken, yogurt, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. I highly recommend it. Our dining experience didn't end with the suflaque. Motla, and later Violeta, joined Entela, Tracey and me at Ferdinand's, my second favorite Italian restaurant in the city, for a late dinner. A good meal, followed by a relaxed drink, is always appreciated.

Sunday, I went to church, then went to lunch after. It seemed like such an American thing to do. Sometimes, I just love American customs. Especially, if it is dining with a family with two adorable boys. Then, I came home and Tracey and I baked cookies and walked to the produce market. While we were at the market, we heard the sunset call to prayer. It honestly is so haunting; I get chills every time I hear it.

The evening ended with Tracey, Entela and I having an impromptu dance party in my living room. We had had a movie/dessert night. Really, you can't watch Hairspray without feeling a bit inspired.

Today, was another good day. I did a bit of school work and then joined Stephen and Valbona for Transformers, at the Sheraton movie theater. Sarah, Tracey and Landi (our taxi driver) picked me up. We drove across town to the indoor swimming pool. It was a tough swim, but just what the doctor ordered. Tonight's excitement was Chinese food in the Vanest's living room.

Reading over this post, I realized how this sounds more like a journal entry than a normal post. Oh well. I needed a weekend like this. I needed to start seeing the good in Tirana. Finally, I looked past the crazy traffic, stray dogs, trashy streets and disorderly conduct. Rediscovering home is the ultimate adventure.

Dusty the Dog

2009-10-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted so warmly by Drita, the matriarch of the landlord family, when I returned to Albania this past August. For as nice as she is, she always seemed so serious. I watched Drita for three days before realizing, she was pretty much alone. Her family, including her eldest son and his family (Vladimir, technically, is our landlord) and Abdula, our legendary drunk landlord (Drita's husband), were vacationing. She was happy! Friends were stopping by and sitting on the patio, she was walking with a spring in her step; I even heard her singing as she was cooking. Only days later, the entire family descended on our happy Utopian apartment building. Peace vanished. Not only did we welcome back Abdula, but his 5 screaming grandchildren, and (gulp) a brand new dog.

At first, I was only genuinely annoyed at the new dog's nonstop barking. Then I had a hair-raising experience. Amy and I were coming home late one evening, after a particularly exciting book club (but that's another story) and ended up staring into the eyes of a big black dog. The dog was in our stairwell, just waiting for us. It was a Little House on the Prairie moment. If you know the books, you'll remember Laura and Carrie were out on the icy lake sliding along, only to come face to face with a wolf. Carrie froze, unable to move, but Laura luckily kept her head and saved herself and her younger sister from certain death. Well, at that moment, I was Carrie and Amy was Laura. I froze with one foot on the stair. The dog was baring its teeth and then began barking. Amy pulled me away and hurried us to Abdula's door. She began knocking fiercely. I think I still was stunned. Abdula came to the door and Amy pointed to the dog and said, "Get him!" I think said something like, "He tried to kill us!" Of course, Abdula can only understand gestures and irate facial expressions, but he did get the idea. Slowly he wandered over and grabbed the dog by the collar.

The next day, we quickly made our director aware of the situation. All of the residents of the apartment had complaints. Sarah and Anne were especially disgruntled because the dog liked to hang out below their side of the building and bark while they were planning and grading. I talked to Alma, the daughter in law who speaks English. She was the one who told me the dog's name...Dusty. She also told me that the dog was just a puppy and it wouldn't hurt anyone. Ha. Abdula tried to convince me on many occasions that all I had to do was pat my leg and say, "Dusty" in a sugary sweet voice and he would let me pass. All the while, I was afraid to go home by myself at night. Dusty wouldn't lunge at Sarah (she's the dog whisperer), but it often snapped at me, Amy and even Tracey.

Meanwhile, the barking and the territorial advances continued. I talked to Alma a second time. This time Abdula insisted on butting in. He began speaking Albanian and pointing at me. Foolishly I asked, "Alma, what is he saying." She looked me straight in the eye and said, "He says that you just need to bring a piece of bread with you and feed it to him when you get home at night." I started furiously laughing. "You have got to be kidding me! So I'm suppose to walk around Tirana with a slice of bread in my back pocket?" I left without another word.

The next confrontation (I mean conversation) about the dog occurred with Natasha, the daughter. Four of us ganged up on her and told her of our displeasure. Natasha reiterated the family line, "Dusty is a good dog. He won't hurt you." She told us that they bought Dusty for our protection. (Yes, I laughed furiously again). The real issue is that our apartment building is on illegal ground and they feel like they have to "defend" it.

Last weekend, Tracey, Anne and I were coming back from dinner. Dusty was there, of course, barking his head off. I decided to use sarcasm. "Dusty! Who's a good boy, oh yes, you are a good dog. Oh yes you are!" Dogs don't get sarcasm, but it was a good coping mechanism. Unfortunately I think Abdula took it as my final acceptance of Dusty.

Two nights ago Dusty barked from 9:00 pm until 11:00 pm and then from 4:30 am to 6:20 am. Our director had a line of angry sleep deprived teachers outside his door. I was close to tears. He assured us that the dog was going to be gone.

Well, two nights ago, I was walking home from the Film Festival. Thank God I was with a parent from the school. This parent has to walk through our property to get to her house. She usually takes a road and a car when coming home late at night, so I quickly filled her in on the Dusty situation. I said that hopefully, the dog was gone, but be on guard. Sure enough, Dusty began barking. I decided to walk my friend to the gate so she wouldn't have to face Dusty alone. As we were walking by, Dusty came behind me. If I hadn't turned around when I did, I doubt I would be in Tirana typing this post. He was poised to bite. Abdula nonchalantly walked out of the house about that time, Amy came flying to her window, and Tracey to her door. I started yelling at Abdula. "Get him! Now!!!!!!" I've never been angrier at another human, not to mention a stupid dog.

Friday night, it was official. "Ding dong the dog is gone." Unfortunately, our good fortune sent Abdula on a drinking binge. He really liked that crazy mutt. On the flip side, Amy and I walked up our stairs last night without fearing for our lives and I had a wonderful uninterrupted sleep. Sorry Dusty. Teacher victory.

Albania and the North

2009-09-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

Practically from the moment we first met, Entela has been saying, "We have to go to Thethi." Finally, after a year, we went to Thethi. Breathtaking.

Thethi is a small settlement, I hesitate even using the word village, set back in the northern mountains of Albania. We arrived Friday night, only able to see the guest house in front of us and the dramatic shining stars. Roza, the patroness of the guest house we stayed in, had mountain tea with mountain honey, a hot soup and fresh bread ready for us once we settled in. Moments after we arrived our friend Gjergj and his girl friend showed up! Albania=small. They ended up staying in a guest house up the road, but came back for a visit the following night.

Now for the slightly embarrassing, and not so fun part of the trip. I woke up extremely early feeling very sick. I hoped that it was just from the zig-zagging roads the night before. Nope. It was the stomach flu. After an hour, nothing was left in my body. Roza heard me and got me a lime soda. She's an angel. I hopped into the shower and then back into bed. Three hours later, I was well enough to drink some tea and eat a biscuit. I probably wasn't well enough to go on a hike, but I don't like to miss out on things. It's one of my tragic flaws.

It did feel great being outside in the cool, clean mountain air. We walked by the little red school house. A teacher from Shkoder comes to teach there, when she feels like it. Children up to eighth grade go there, when they feel like it. Our guide, Juette, told us that the roads are so blocked in the winter, that most of the people in Thethi move to Shkoder or simply stay inside. It made me think of the pioneer life.
After about 45 minutes of hiking, I couldn't go on. Utter exhaustion had set in. I found a rock, close to a mountain home. Juetta and Entela both offered to knock on the door to see if I could stay inside, but I wanted to stay outside. Tracey loaned me her pocket notebook and a pen so I was quite content (although I was feeling a bit sorry for myself).
This picture, I took after sketching the scene to the best of my abilities (which are not good). I thought the tree roots were so interesting, and I loved the fence in the background. Besides sketching, I attempted poetry. One poem was a reflection on solitude, the other was a conversation between a river and ocean and the last was to simply poke fun at myself (Tracey gave me the opening line). To truly appreciate this poem, I suppose you might need some background information. When speaking of Thethi, we tend to lisp.:
"I once took a trip to Thethi
I'm afraid that it got quite methy.
My friends said, 'Wait here,'
I did so with cheer
But sat thinking, "Boy, I'm a thithy."

While waiting for my friends to return, I had visitors. The man who owned the house was out working and spoke a little English. He told his 13 year old nephew that there was an American out on the road. The boy came over for a chat. His English was quite good. He told me that he lives and studies in Shkoder and he's working on English so he can join his uncle in London. Like many Albanian youngsters, he loves football and is in training. I saw him the next day too and then found out his name, Mikel. Once Mikel was called back to work, two hikers from the Czech Republic happened by. They were friendly, but were trying to get to Valbona before nightfall. With eight more hours of hiking, they were on a tight schedule. I really wanted them to stay longer because I'm currently on a Prague kick and wanted to hear all about the city from two good looking men. (Who can blame me?)
We finally returned to the guest house to be greeted by a German, Gerald, and Tracey's Spanish friend from soccer (ok, I'm trying to be good... I mean football), Lande. We relaxed under plum trees in the front yard enjoying tea and coffee. I don't remember who said it, but it was a moment of paradise on earth.
We set out on an afternoon hike to the "Northern Blue Eye." Juette assured us that it was a flat, easy hike. (She just didn't mention how long it would be.) We actually found a map of the area! The German NGOs are trying to promote tourism in Thethi.
It started to rain about 40 minutes into the hike. We were pretty well equipped to handle it, so we pressed on. This was standing on a bridge over the river and gorge. Sarah didn't trust the bridge with all of us on it (she's a wise soul), but still managed to look adorable in the picture!
It's a fuzzy, rainy picture, but you can see the drop to the river.
The Northern Blue Eye obviously gets its name from the crystal clear water. It was worth the nearly 3 hour walk.
There was one waterfall that cascaded down into the Blue Eye pool. If you look closely, it's rather like three waterfalls in one.

I won't say much about the walk back, except that we had to hike out of the canyon at a break-neck speed, because our guide was calling us slow and we were racing the sun. That triggered a very grumpy reaction, particularly from me. Thank goodness that about an hour and a half into the walk home, a VW van came. Before Tracey could say, "Please give us a ride," the driver had offered us one straight to Roza's. (Apparently, everyone knows Roza).
Once back at Roza's, we gathered around the fire that Roza's younger brother, Alfred, made for us in Entela and my room. We also whipped out the wine that we had brought with us. Roza fed us, by then I was actually hungry, a yummy bean soup, the homemade bread, roast beef and the best grilled vegetables.
The next morning brought a new day, thankfully! I was in a much better mood after a semi good night's sleep. The morning was beautiful and we prepared for a hike to another waterfall.
The northerners, at least in Thethi, are often Catholic. I don't believe that they are a practicing group of Catholics. Even though it was Sunday, the church was completely vacant and locked up. It's not the original church (the original was destroyed, I'm assuming during Communism), but the German NGO built this one to blend into the surrounding old stone buildings.
We walked through corn fields and wheat fields. I was fascinated by this squash that seemed to have grown up to the fence. The locals were incredibly friendly and each invited us to their house for coffee. Sadly, time wouldn't permit those visits. I'm really surprised that the farmers were not angry at the group of foreigners crossing through their fields.
We stopped to take a look inside the Blood Feud Tower. It's one of the few left in Albania. Work is underway to turn this into an ethnographic museum. The tower was three stories high; the top most room used for sleeping, the middle for living, and the lowest for food storage. There were small windows and slight openings for weapons. Males, from the families involved with blood feuds, would retreat to these towers (or stay inside their own homes) until peace was negotiated with the offended family (usually the offend family had had a family member killed by the other). Very Romeo and Juliette, if you ask me! (Actually, there is a blood feud house in Tirana, on the banks of the Lana River).
Entela lead us up to this part of the waterfall, since she knew the trail. We scrambled over rocks and across mountains streams. It was so peaceful and ravishingly beautiful. The four of us girls recreated our ice skating poses for a picture worthy moment.
Here we are posing with our newest friend, Lande.

We took the higher trail and shortcut, back to Roza's. Tracey started singing Sound of Music, which is always the perfect song for mountain hiking, so of course I joined in. There was a laughing brook that did in fact, trip and fall over stones on its way. Then the laughing brook gave way to a silent stream and eventually the stream led us back to the river.
Juette told us that this was once used as an old mill. I think it looks like the Seven Dwarfs' house, personally.
We stopped to gather fresh, late summer black berries from along side the trail. Boy, they were tasty! I didn't attempt to pick berries the day before, so I was extremely glad to be feeling well and partake of nature's bounty.
And this is our guest house, which greeted us after the morning hike. We packed up, changed, said our fond farewells to Roza (who was headed back to Shkoder for her weekly job at the castle) and walked to the local "bar."
The bar is actually a collection of tables in little huts. We had an outdoor table under a beautiful shady tree. I had a Coke, though I could have had some raki. Ick. The picture below shows the ingeniously traditional method of refrigeration. That mountain water is cold, cold, cold!

We made it back to Tirana after a nearly six hour trip. But, it was worth the trip and, indeed, I would tell anyone, "You have to go to Thethi!"

The River That Became a Lake

2009-09-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time eight friends loaded up in two vehicles and drove an hour and a half northeast of their home. One SUV took the modern road through the airport, the other through the outskirts of Tirana where they saw daily Saturday life in action. The two met again on the road to Shkodra and turned east. On and on they drove on a nice paved road, past new bridges, along a clear river. Nearing the end of the drive, the paved road became a bumpy road that went under blown out tunnels. The eight friends reached their destination knowing they were in for another Albania adventure.

So began our kayaking day on Lake Mati. This lake is part of a river that was dammed and is now used for hydroelectric power. Once again, Tracey organized this outing with Outdoor Albania, the same organization that we used for river rafting. I can't say enough good things about them. They are a very organized organization and had this trip down to a science. Gent, the owner and our guide for the day, had the kayaks off both roofs in a jiffy. We were ready in our spray skirts and life jackets in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

Sarah, as seen below, was outfitted in a light weight river kayak, which responded to any movement whatsoever. Gent asked for volunteers to take the two double kayaks. Travis and Amy took one and Violeta and I took the other. Violeta and I found it difficult, at first, navigating our bulky craft, though we quickly became a team. With the wind at our back, we were able to stay in the middle of the group and enjoy the company of our friends.

At one point Violeta and I challenged our friend Florian (not Florian from school, a different Florian) to a race. He graciously gave us a head start and then quickly overtook us. I stupidly challenged him to a rematch for the way back. At that point I didn't realize that we would be head straight into the wind. Needless to say, we lost that race too. Florian had no trouble rubbing it in.
It was a rather windy trip back up the lake. We used all of our strength to stay up with the group. Disaster nearly struck when Violeta and I found ourselves in the middle of a wind tunnel with no way out. We managed to steer ourselves parallel to the wind and get out of it. Travis and Amy were near by, which was comforting to me.

We stopped at a beach for watermelon and to watch the horses and donkeys playing. There were several footbridges high over the water that villagers and their animals use to cross the river (since there are no roads to their homes). Gent said that there are usually a few deaths per winter on bridges like these. Tracey took a picture of a man leading two donkeys across. We were standing open mouthed watching as Gent said, "You might have never seen two donkeys crossing a river, but I can guarantee that that man driving the donkeys has never seen girls in bikinis." It's a different world.

We also stopped at a small, clean cove where we swam to our hearts' content. I've never swam in such clear, warm lake water. I'm still more of an ocean girl, but I really, really enjoyed this lake. Amy said, "You know Holly, no one ever visited Albania before '92. It's like we're seeing an untouched part of the world." Well said. Almost every weekend, we find something new to love about Albania.
We returned to shore and had a fish and pasta lunch surrounded by honking geese and quacking ducks. Tracey and Sarah had the brilliant idea of taking a shot of rakki to ward off any crazy bacteria. That is brutal stuff, but I felt well- cleansed after swallowing only half a shot.

The timing of this trip couldn't have been better. Sunday morning brought thunderstorms and rain and Sunday night an earthquake (I heard that it was 5.4 with the epicenter toward Macedonia). This morning (Monday) we have experienced a step toward the cooler temperatures that autumn brings. Even though summer is waning, I can't wait for the fall!

The Girls are Back in Town!

2009-08-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

This was the first full weekend that we have all been back in Tirana. Amy is downstairs, Tracey is upstairs, Sarah's next door, Entela is 10 minutes away and all is right with the world. Unfortunately, there are no pictures to go with this post. I haven't posted since I've been back, so I figured we'll suffer through together.

Friday, we went to a good-bye dinner for one of our Marine friends. It's always fun to go to Amor and eat the yummiest pasta, this side of Italy. The four of us (Tracey, Sarah, Entela and I) dressed up thinking the plan was to go a night club afterward. We ended up at an outdoor bar instead. It was extensively large and the giant trees made it seem that someone had set up a bar in the middle of a forest. One of the reasons I love Tirana is that there are nice surprises and unexpected beauty in the most obscure places (you go back through the movie theater, head left, then back again and then voila! You're there).

Saturday, we hopped in a taxi and went to General's Beach. The water was so warm; I was thrilled to be back. We swam, I read, we ate fruit and salad and ice cream. The day was gone. We drove back and joined Amy and Travis for movie night. They had invited some of our work friends over to watch Airplane, which I laughed through (loudly and obnoxiously).

Today, I accidentally didn't set my alarm for church, but I did enjoy a couple of sermon podcasts. Then I worked, worked, worked. School is going quite well, but I suddenly feel like my work-aholic tendencies are surfacing. Luckily, I have friends who have committed to helping me stay a bit balanced. Maybe since I have a small, but very gifted class, I feel the need to push myself. Maybe I feel more comfortable teaching kindergarten. Maybe I am just sick.

Well, faithful friends and family, I'm back and I'm ready for more fun overseas adventures! I'm alive and well, though it might feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth (again!) By the way, how is everyone feeling about the pink blog? I like pink, but it's taking me some time to get used to it!

Inspiration

2009-08-13T21:48:00.001-07:00

What does being an artist mean to you? Is it painting, singing, sculpting, cooking? Or perhaps an artist is a photographer, wood worker, or an author. The definition I always think of is someone who creates something. Basic, yes, but this creativity sets us apart from the apes and the asses. I admire my friends who can see a piece of fabric and use that inspiration to create a one-of-a-kind greeting card (see Michelle's blog) or can look at a piece of chicken and see a gourmet meal (see Andrea's blog).

My parents and I went to see the movie Julie & Julia. As we were exiting the movie theater my father said, "That's the key to longevity, you know. Finding a passion and living it. I'm keeping track. People who live the longest love what they do."

Today, I am recognizing my dad. It's his birthday and hence, here is his birthday post. My father is a salesman, and a gosh darn good one at that. He builds relationships with his clients, not by flashing a salesman's grin, but by living his life with integrity and honesty. I've overheard numerous conversations in which my dad takes responsibility for mistakes and manages to come flying to the rescue, regardless of the mistakes. This is my father by day. The man that the world sees. Does he love his job? Yes. He wouldn't be a Calvinist if he didn't. Is it his passion? Yes and no. His passion is creating. My father is an artist.

Ever since I was a baby, my dad has been building things for me. Every Christmas there was a new and exciting handmade toy under the Christmas tree. These toys ranged from doll houses, doll cradles, rocking horses and trains. As I grew older, the gifts and my father's ability became more and more impressive. He presented me with a magnificent sleigh bed for my sixteenth birthday. I'm always astounded by his ability to take a piece of discarded wood and turn it into a work of art. His latest pet project is a French rolling pin. My mom, my brother and I all have one. It rolls out sugar cookie dough in no time flat. (Yes, I know that is punny!)

Is this a shameless promotion of my father? Yep. My birthday wish for dear, not so old, dad is that he continues growing with his art, that he continues to live his passions. This is the great lesson of his life.

The Phoenix

2009-07-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

Westmont College, in my day, had a student literary magazine called "The Phoenix." I can't say that I ever stopped to question WHY it was called "The Phoenix." Now, I think I know.

Last fall, Westmont College experienced a devastating fire that burned buildings, homes and the beautiful vegetation. Thankfully, no lives were lost. My friend and Westmont roommate, Angelica, and I went to investigate the damage from the "Tea Fire" for ourselves. It certainly did NOT look like the Westmont that I fell in love with 12 years ago. The above pictures are of Clark, the dorm I lived in my first two years. The resident director's home was a shell of a house and you could tell that many of the sections experienced a great deal of fire damage. All of the sections were getting new roofs.
This has always been one of my favorite Westmont spots. It's the remains of the formal garden with the prayer chapel in the background. Below is a picture from last summer of nearly the exact same spot. I think this shows the dramatic change.
This is a view from the gym. I don't know if this is new construction or fire damage. All I know is this used to be green.
Angelica and I wanted to take the V.K. stairs back up to the dining commons parking lot. We had quite the surprise when we discovered a blocked off area and completely destroyed stairs. I fell walking down these stairs when I was a junior. Now, they are no more!

The Tea Fire is not the first fire in the college's history. There was a large fire back in the late 60s, early 70s. And guess what? Westmont rose from the ashes then and it will rise again. Much like that mythical bird, the phoenix.

Right Back Where I Started From!

2009-07-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is a long over-due post. I feel the need to commemorate The Fourth of July, since July 4th, 2008 was the first event I blogged about. Now, here I am. Full circle, with time to reflect on this past year. Truthfully, I don't remember much about Independence Day, '09. I was doing my best fighting jet-lag to stay up past 9:00 pm. But, as usual, it was a day filled with family, friends and freedom! (Not to mention delicious homemade ice cream! It's labor intensive, but soooo worth it. If you want the recipe, just ask!)
It was also a "college sweatshirt" kind of night. Here is my brother, Matt, sporting his CSUB sweatshirt and Grandpa sporting his Bowling Green sweatshirt (which he bought when he was back in Ohio for a reunion a few years ago).
Ok, so Stephen wasn't wearing his Davis sweatshirt, but I had my Westmont representation! My favorite fireworks are the "flashers." As tradition dictates, I always dance to the fireworks and pray to God that someone joins me. I can always count on Cousin Stephen!

Perhaps the most important reason to post a 4th review is to report that there were no injuries and everyone has all their fingers and toes!

A Taste of Italy

2009-07-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

Ten days is not enough time for Italy. It was enough time for a "sample" or "taste." But what a taste it was!
We arrived in Rome ready to roam. My mom met Tracey and me at the airport after she sat for several hours, people watching. We had rainy weather off and on most of the trip. It was so wet the first day that Tracey splurged on a 5 Euro umbrella. The first gust of wind and, well, you can see the results below!

We were into wandering around the first day, aided by a map. A map is helpful, except when it doesn't tell you what you are looking at. The three of us were standing in an amazing piazza surrounded by tall buildings with the customary fountain in the middle. It looked important, especially with the military guarding the buildings. A French couple was just as puzzled as we were. They came up to me and asked, "Do you what this is?" It wasn't until our return trip to Rome at the end of the trip did we learn that we were standing outside the Italian equivalent to the White House. Duh.

The first night, we met up with Sarah, her mom Linda, and her aunt Raylene at the hotel where we all were staying. They had arrived the day before and had been on an all day tour of Rome. We went to a corner of town that was reputed to have excellent food. It took us so long to find a restaurant, but when we found one, it didn't disappoint.
The next morning we set off for Vatican City. We were roped into a tour right away after getting off of the subway. I didn't have the best feeling about the tour, but the price was right. After waiting for 15 minutes outside a corner cafe (that's Raylene, Tracey, my mom and Linda waiting patiently... I wasn't waiting so patiently), the tour guide showed up. She, Maya, was an art history major and very knowledgeable. She knew all the scoop about the artists and their work. It was an amazing tour. Every room had something that made me stand open mouthed in absolute awe. Maya described the 3-D effects found in the Sistine Chapel and the optical illusions found in the Tapestry Room (Rafael's design).
Sarah, outside the Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica! The marble for the columns was recycled from the Colosseum. It was interesting to try to imagine the area during the time of Peter and Paul and to imagine Peter's crucifixion (upside down).
That afternoon, we all took a train down to Naples and then hopped another to Sorrento. We finally arrived just as the hotel restaurant was closing (which didn't make the waiter too happy). We spent the next day bumming around the shops in Sorrento and planning excursions for the next two days. As you can see in the picture above, Sorrento had beautiful alleyways and excellent shops.
That evening we went to the BEST restaurant in Sorrento. We didn't even realize that we ate at the top restaurant until we read about it in the guide book... It was so good that we went back two nights later! I had salmon in a white wine sauce. There was an army of servers waiting on us. They brought us appetizers, cookies and lemoncello, all on the house. We even got my mom drinking a bit of the lemoncello!
Raylene was eager to take a boat tour down the Almafi Coast. We all enthusiastically embraced her plan and signed up for an all day excursion which included swimming stops along the way and time in the town of Almafi.
Sarah and I went below deck to change into our swim suits. Here we are with our, "Don't try to get me to talk; if you do I'll throw-up," smiling faces.
What's the best cure for seasickness? A swim in the Mediterranean Sea! We stopped off the coast of the Island of Capri for a swim in the warm and clear waters. Sarah pointed out that the Mediterranean, though it's as clear as the Adriatic, is a very different blue. It reminded me of the blue that you get from a watercolor paint box.
These children were in a family that we had met the day before. We had told them about the tour. They were staying at our hotel and we saw them everywhere! The kids are Josh and Sarah. Little Sarah really wanted to swim in the Mediterranean, but was nervous about the open water and about getting off the steps of the boat. She did it though! The kind sailors gave her a life jacket. Once she was in the water for a while, she was comfortable enough to let go of my hand and swim around freely.
We were in the town of Almafi when we were hit with a sudden down pour. Everyone raced back to the boat and jumped aboard. We spent a good hour below deck play a dice game that, thankfully, Tracey brought along. Once the sun came out, Sarah and I raced to the bow to take in the fresh air and sunshine. We didn't get our second swim stop because the water was too choppy.
I've been dreaming of visiting Pompeii since I was eight years old and read about it in the children's National Geographic magazine. Of course it was interesting and bigger than I imagined (Pompeii was a huge Roman town), but I was expecting to see preserved bodies along with their jewelry and pottery all set up in their houses. We saw a bit of that in the Forum area, but not as much as I had hoped (does it sound wrong to hope to see dead bodies?). However, I learned so much about the Roman lifestyle. Our tour guide did a fine job of painting a picture of the thriving Roman town. I could almost smell the soup drifting out of the soup kitchens and the bread baking in the ovens.
The second half of the day ushered in low clouds and fog. Perfect for hiking in a volcano (note sarcasm). We didn't actually get to see the second crater which was created by the massive Vesuvius eruption, but the hike was excellent and our guide superb.
Our moms hiked too!
After nearly five fun filled days with Sarah, Linda and Raylene, Tracey, Mom and I headed north to Tuscany. I truly love Florence. It is a city with such an artistic soul, beautiful surrounding countryside, and incredible people.
We took a five hour, 28 kilometer bicycle ride through the Tuscan countryside. We didn't stop for wine tasting since all the wineries appeared to be closed (and I wasn't sure about riding under the influence). It was a tough bike ride up hill, but it was definitely a highlight of the trip!
See the ominous looking clouds? Yep, it poured on us! We all made it though and kept on riding! We are quite the troopers.
After our bike ride, we hit the shops! This sales associate, Melina, sold Tracey and me beautiful dresses. Mine is purple (my current signature color) and long and gorgeous! Tracey's is the one shown above. It isn't customary to take a picture with a sales associate, however, Melina really knew style and fashion. I didn't feel like a customer, I felt like I was a canvass for clothes. She really is an artist.
After going to visit David (one word....WOW), we headed back to Rome. We walked to Trevi Fountain and up the Spanish Steps. I did the touristy thing and threw a coin in the fountain insuring a return trip to Rome and a wish come true. Why am I always the cheesy one?
Our last day in Rome was our "Ancient Rome" class. We went to the Colosseum and the Palatine (which I totally appreciated since so much of Quo Vadis is set in the Palatine and has so much of the gladiator/games history in the story. I love reading a book in the actual setting. Quo Vadis is my new favorite book...Thanks Amy and Travis for letting me borrow it!!!!!) Here we are playing gladiators. I'm trying to go for the jugular.
We wanted to go to the Pantheon on Monday, but since it was St. Peter and St. Paul's Day, the church closed at 1:00. I was truly sad, but it gives me all the more reason to go back to Italy. We did get to look through a crack in the door. Mom was trying to go for a "spy girls" shot.
Our last meal in Rome! We finally found the yummiest pizza in Italy. This restaurant was recommend by Rick Steves (thanks Melinda for a great guide book!), but we stumbled upon it quite by accident. The best part was that the cute waiter behind me in this picture brought us free red wine at the end of the meal. Tracey thinks that it was from cute waiter, but I think it was from cocky British guy who was sitting at the table next to us. He was talking to his own countrymen and women about how hard it was to meet nice girls around his age (which he announced at the top of his lungs to be 35) and taking periodic long looks over at our table. Yep, we've still got it!

What memorable way to end a memorable year. I'm so glad that there is at least one more year of adventure to look forward to with my "Albanian" family. Oh, but I'm glad to be home for the summer!

How I Began My Summer Vacation

2009-06-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

One last day sunning myself and splashing around at the Embassy pool with my friends, one last BBQ saying good-bye to teachers who are leaving us, one last walk in the park..... I'd love to say that this is how I spent my last day in Tirana before leaving for the summer holidays. Ha! This is more my reality: Curled up under a comforter even though it's a least 90 degrees outside, doubled over in pain as my stomach rages within me, trying desperately to drink some Sprite (thanks Amy for delivering me some!). Yep that's right. My students gave me a memorable parting gift... the stomach flu. Good news is, it's only the 24 hour type so I should be recovered in time for Rome. Let's hope.

Matt the Maniac

2009-06-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

All my students knew that today is my little brother's birthday. How did this come up? Well, I have a student whose birthday is also 11 June, also called Matt. His name is the Italian form of Matthew (Matteo) and I absolutely love how it just rolls out of the mouth... Maaatteeooo. Love it.

This morning started out with one of my little girls sharing a story about how her finger was slammed in the door. That progressed into everyone wanting to share stories about hurt fingers. I said, sarcastically at first because I was getting tired of the stories, "Hmmm, maybe I should share about my brother's hurt finger because it is his birthday after all." Little kids don't get sarcasm. "Yes, Miss DeKorte, tell us about your little brother." I drew a picture of our childhood tree house on the white board and launched into this story:

One summer day, Matthew found a hammer and a brick. We had two friends over and we were playing in the backyard. I was dressed up like a princess. Matt and our friend Paul were on the porch of our tree house (which was really a stump house). They placed the brick on the railing. Matt took hold of the brick with one hand. Paul had the hammer and started pounding on the brick. All of a sudden, Paul missed the brick and the hammer landed on Matt's thumb. It took off his entire thumb nail and a bit of his thumb. I was sooo embarrassed because we rushed Matt to the doctors and I had to sit in the waiting room in my dress- up clothes.

My students LOVED this story. "Please tell us another one!" they cried. I replied, "Ok, just one more Matthew story." I told about another childhood injury which involved Matt, a balloon, a cabinet and lots of stitches. That had them crying for more. I told them I would tell them another Matthew story during story time (thinking they would forget). What was the first thing they asked when we sat down for story time? Yep, they wanted another Matthew story.... which turned into three more. At one point, they were talking during the story. I told them that they wouldn't be able to hear the end of the story if they continued to interrupt. I've never seen them get so quiet so quickly.

What appealed to my kindergartners about these "Matthew stories?" I think it's the way that my brother has always lived his life: full steam ahead! He has a way about him that people like instantly, even my little students half a world away. I am so lucky to have shared a childhood with such a funny and gregarious little brother. I am even luckier now that this funny, gregarious little brother has turned into a true friend. Happy birthday brother Matt!

Olive Oil Festival

2009-06-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

Don't laugh. There is such a thing as an Olive Oil Festival! And believe it or not I could actually taste the difference between a "good" olive oil and a "bad" olive oil. This event took place on the site of the ancient ruins of Apollonia (which are no where near as amazing as Butrint, but the location is lovely). Many families from school were there, so it was a very social festival. There was traditional dancing and singing (I'm going to try uploading a video of the music), Albanian wine, local olive oil, but sadly, no olives.
There were 18 of us, teachers and parents, who got a ride to Apollonia. A parent from school is helping a local man, George, get his driving service up and running. She organized this complimentary trip for teachers and then opened it up to other parents. (We've used this service for Saranda/Butrint. George will be who I use when I get visitors over here). We hiked to the top of a hill for a typical Albanian meal- mixed meats, Greek salad, French fries and toast. I took this picture of two students, one who I'll have next year, catching butterflies. Jaz is actually an expert! She amazed me.
The four of us girls have a rating system for bathrooms. The scale goes from 1-10. To be a 10, the bathroom must come fully stocked and also be aesthetically pleasing. A 7 is the essentials, minus towels. I don't like Turkish toilets, but some actually rate quite high if they come well stocked. This was a Turkish toilet in a little house. It rated as a 3 in my book (maybe 4 if I'm generous), though it is so charming I'd like to give it at least a 7. This one is tricky to rate.
Sometimes I'm so struck by similarities between California and Albania scenery. Here I am with my friend and fellow teacher, Miss Violeta who teaches the 3s, overlooking farm land that could be Santa Maria 100 years ago.
I've mentioned the restaurant, Serendipity, in a previous post. I think I also mentioned the yummy mojitos. This is the guy who owns Serendipity. He's always there and is very friendly. Tracey and Sarah like his "crocodiles" which are basically mojitos with gin instead of rum. Anyway, moral of the story: you never know who you might see around!
The Larzeliers and the Hemphills standing among ancient ruins.
Tracey decided to walk down the amphitheater steps (Violeta and I had climbed down another way). It's amazing how steep and narrow the steps are.
Posing by the columns! Can't wait for Italy and more pictures with ancient artifacts (and preserved bodies... I am so excited to live a life- long dream of seeing Pompeii!)
If you look to the horizon, you'll see the Adriatic. It was another beautiful Albania day.

General's Beach

2009-05-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

I know that I have been out of touch. Maybe it's the end of the year stress.... On the bright side, this past Saturday and Sunday were relaxing and carefree. That's because I was at the beach!
I first heard about General's Beach back in September. A few families from my class spent a weekend in cabins that spilled out onto a clean and remote beach. This was intriguing enough to stay in my memory. A few weekends ago Sarah, Tracey, and I asked Florian if he knew of the beach. He said, "Of course." We spent an amazing Saturday playing, reading, swimming and relaxing at the beach. We (meaning Florian) inquired about the cabins. The cabins are only $20 during the off season! That weekend put this past weekend in motion. Seven of us: Amy, Travis, Entela, Tracey, Sarah, Florian, and I spent two heavenly days soaking the rays (and probably getting skin cancer). I expected the same deserted beach that we had visited two weeks ago. A different beach greeted me. The beach umbrellas and chairs, not to mention actual trash cans, were all set up. The water felt 10 degrees warmer. And there were people. Lots of people.

Makes me sort of want to go back next weekend....
Travis and I admiring his sandcastle. I'm going to make it a point of publishing every picture of a sandcastle. Who knows? Maybe Travis's sandcastles will become a coffee table book. (This is a picture of Amy's). Oh, and see the peninsula in the background? Sarah, Tracey and I had marathon swims almost to that point on both Saturday and Sunday. I can't help comparing the Adriatic with the Pacific Ocean. I love swimming in the Pacific, but it's usually a quick swim with time on the shore trying to warm up (while the Central Coast wind's blow). You can stay in the Adriatic for hours without turning into a summertime popsicle treat.
I actually wish that I took a picture of the amazing fortress that Florian, Travis, Paulina and Josephine created. Who are Paulina and Jo? Students from school. Paulina is in my class. Have I, by any chance, mentioned just how small Albania is?
Another picture from Amy's camera! Tracey's friend had sent her a magazine (I think it was "In Style" but now I don't remember). I began it on our last beach trip, so I gladly finished it this past Saturday. It was truly an enjoyable read, feasting on the latest fashions and movies. Tracey was reading a book that Amy and I had read for book club, "Water for Elephants," which I recommend.
This was a difficult picture to take because of the angle of the three musicians. After a yucky dinner at the single restaurant (my pasta tasted stale), we had a sing along on the beach. Amy and Entela were in charge of the egg shakers!
Amy and I trying for a self-portrait! (Or is it selves portrait, since there are two of us?) Amy is another Albania- sister. I'm so lucky to have found so many kindred spirits.
How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue? I love that Entela is a kid at heart too! (I know that I'm not Stevenson, but do take a minute to admire the impromptu rhyming sentences!) Swinging is one thing that triggers memories of my maternal grandmother. She was never too busy to "push" me on the swing, even when I was perfectly capable of pumping. Grandma used to sing me a song. I sang it to Entela. I can't help it. Every time I'm on a swing (which is surprisingly often) I have to sing it.
The sun sets over the Adriatic Sea. Sigh.
This is not the most flattering picture of me, but my friends look put together and beachy! I had just emerged from the water, on Sunday, when our friend, Mary said, "Quick come look at the boys!" Now you are probably wondering who these boys are and who Mary is. Yep. Half our school turned up on Sunday. At least, half of the swim team was there and one of my students! There were around 5 or 6 families represented. Frankly, I loved seeing them. I love that Sundus, a parent from my classroom and my friend from book club, could come and read Tracey's magazine on my beach chair. I love that the "boys" wanted us to see their floating heads (they were buried in the sand) and the hermit crabs they caught in their net. I love that Madeline's dad didn't give up on me and tried (for the millionth time) to teach me how to throw a Frisbee (I swear that I'm improving). I love that little Sarah was so amazed that she saw her teacher at the beach. I love this community. And I love General's Beach. Is it summer yet?

Canyon Rafting

2009-05-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

Tracey, who is excellent at networking, has made connections with a business called Outdoor Albania. Last week, she e-mailed her friend, Gent, to ask about river rafting trips. Gent happened to have a Sunday river rafting day lined up with an Austrian group (Tracey used to play Frisbee with one of the Austrians). Before you could say, "The hills are alive," Tracey and I were signed up to go on this trip and even had transportation with two Austrians from the embassy, Martin and Sabine. I love how things just work out. Our river destination was an hour and a half past Berat (see November post) located in the breathtaking Osumi canyon. These pictures all all from Tracey's camera... I can't take any credit!

Here is a picture from the van window. Once we arrived in Corovoda, the 14 of us were given wet suits, life jackets, splash jackets and helmets. We split up into two vehicles and drove another 1/2 hour to our launching point. This trip, itself, was hilariously fun. The van's driver- side door had to be tied shut with a rope. The driver spoke no English, but he had a mascot who rode on the dashboard. Two Austrians had their two dogs, one that had his own adventure. And there was a very real possibility that we could run out of gas.
This is Foxie. Our driver didn't seem to be worried that his dog was sliding all around the dashboard. Tracey asked him, using her charade skills, if the dog ever fell. We got our answer. One sudden stop and I ended up catching Foxie as she flew through the air. Her claws are sharp! She barked every time we past a horse, donkey, cow, or sheep....like she could take 'em on. Foxie really freaked out when she heard barks coming from the back of the van. Flex, a dalmatian owned by an Austrian couple, was invading Foxie's territory. Foxie went crazy!

We stopped for a quick break. Flex's owners decided to let him run behind the van. Bad idea. Flex came to a sheep herd and started running up the hill. Where there are sheep, there are sheep dogs. One sheep dog came running and chased poor Flex down the hill, across the road, and then down another hill filled with cattle. Meanwhile, the driver stopped the van and practically threw Tracey and me out the passenger's door (he couldn't get out of his door because as I mentioned before, his door was tied up) and went chasing after Flex. I ended up holding Foxie, laughing my head off. Really, it could have been a tragic situation.

Here's our launching point. The other raft (as shown above) was larger than ours and had room for about 10 people. This is a picture of the Bulgarian and his water wings (he gave his life jacket to his wife). Our raft held six people, including Ilir, our Albanian hippy/mountain man/river guide.
This was our first stop. We hiked up to the bridge for an amazing view of the canyon. The rapids were just right. (This trip is only available during the month of May, because the water level is too low after this month). The rocks were the most frightening part of the trip. At one point Ilir pulled me into the center of the boat, by my life jacket, as the raft suddenly swung into the side of the canyon. My hero. There were waterfalls running off of the sides of the rocks. Martin said that the rocks were limestone. Vines hung down tempting me to swing like Jane. Trees stubbornly grew up from sides of cliffs. If anyone wants to film an independent adventure flick, this is the place to come!
This was our second docking point. The day before, Gent and Ilir had had another rafting trip, but were stopped just before this point. They were forced to wait for a number of hours until the water level of a waterfall decreased. We were able to float past the waterfall safely. After docking, we walked towards it for a closer look.
Oh waterfall, how I do love thee. I think I had this expression on my face the entire afternoon. Every bend in the river brought another wonder. I do so love Albania.
And here is the cause of my joy!
Tracey in front of the waterfall.
Sabine in front of the waterfall. Oh, a word about Sabine's job.... I think I've found another career path to take after another 10-15 years in the classroom. Sabine is a math/art teacher. Now she works under the umbrella of the Austrian embassy. She travels around Albania improving education. Projects include hygiene training, teacher benefits, and curriculum. Does this job say Holly? Yes, I'm afraid it does.
Another Albanian adventure comes to a close... I loved meeting new friends and participating in a wonderful rafting trip. Really and truly, if you are thinking about visiting Albania next year, come in May. We'll get a group together and raft!

St. Paul's Trail

2009-04-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

If the Hash runner's trail is introduced as "difficult," I know better than to question the meaning of the word. Last Saturday we were given two different starting locations to choose from. Sarah, Florian, Britney and Irene chose to do the runner's trail. Tracey, Hetty and I decided to do the "easier" walker's trail. I really think that we made an excellent decision. Easy isn't the adjective I would use to describe this hike. I can think of many others: challenging, beautiful, scenic, spiritual, rugged, dangerous. It certainly, for me, was a spiritual experience, to walk the trail that Paul would have taken while crossing Macedonia. (That's one of my favorite stories in Acts; Paul sees a vision of a Macedonian calling out to him for the Gospel.) Saint Paul really must have been in excellent shape! After spending a fair amount of time on the trail, we ventured down to the river. Beautiful!
I love the little waterfall in the background of this picture. Confession: I did fall on this hike. It was slippery!
We had to cross the raging river over very high rocks. Luckily, experienced hikers were there to consult with regarding hand/foot positions for rock climbing. Rock climbing is one of my criteria for a challenging hike, another is whether or not you have to scoot down rocks on your bottom, another is if have to hang off the side of a hill. This was a challenging hike.
Do you see the lighter grove of trees above the river? That's the St. Paul's Trail. Amazing. (Another favorite adjective...)
The clouds began rolling in quickly. Luckily, we only experienced minor sprinkles. It actually was refreshing.
Once across the river, we were able to take the road back to the meeting area. This was my first time back early from a hike. We hung out on the bank of the river eating oranges and waiting for our friends who did the difficult hike. Personally, I was glad to have taken the road St. Paul traveled.

Orthodox Easter in Korca

2009-04-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, we went home. For the past school year, I've been looking forward to visiting Korca, Entela's home town. We planned on going this particular weekend because there is a large celebration for Orthodox Easter.
After we checked into our hotel (which is by far the nicest Albanian hotel we've stayed in...comfortable, clean, large shower...hooray) we set out to Entela's home. We walked by the amazing Orthodox cathedral located in the center of town. (By the way, does anyone know the difference between a "regular" church and a cathedral???) One thing that was very noticeable was the Korca cleanliness. Honestly, Entela kept telling us that Korca was tidy, but I had to see it to believe it. Believe it I do!
Entela's mom and sister were wonderful hostesses. We were served real Albanian food, complete with rabbit stew (Perfect for Easter. Entela told Tracey to think of the rabbit as the evil cousin of the Easter Bunny and not as the Easter Bunny himself!). I wasn't sure that I would enjoy the rabbit stew, but it ended up being my favorite...probably because it's made with wine. Oh, I should clarify. The rabbit stew was my favorite savory option, the dessert beats everything! Entela's mom makes the best baklava in Albania. No exaggeration. (Amy once told me that she didn't like baklava until she tried the homemade variety from Entela's mom). I want to try making baklava at home this summer. Anyone willing try this experiment?
After a delicious lunch, we set off to walk in this beautiful park, which is directly across from the college Entela attended. Speaking of academics, did you know that the Albanian language was first written in the late 1800s? The same man who founded the first school also created the written language (I think, I could be wrong...). Entela told us that all the best Albanian minds come from Korca.... hers included (at least I think so).
I love tulips almost as much as roses! There were tulips in practically all the flower beds we walked by. The city flower beds were planted orderly and with a plan. That's the biggest impression that Korca left on me: there was order and beauty.
After another delicious meal ($40 which included drinks and dessert for 6 people!!!!! I love Albania.), we hit the streets with the entire town. We brought the candles that we had purchased earlier in the day. The second we arrived outside of the cathedral, the bells started tolling. We lit our candles, the priest began singing, and we enjoyed the midnight Easter morning celebration. People had red eggs which they cracked and ate. We walked to the hotel after that, being careful to keep our candles lit...for luck!
What's this? It looks like a bear. It is a bear... the Easter Bear! The guy in front was trying to hide the bear from us because he wanted to charge us a bundle for pictures. I feel a bit guilty, actually. After some shopping (I bought Korca honey...yum!) we loaded up in the public van and headed back to Tirana. I can't wait to spend another weekend at home.

An Accident Waiting to Happen

2009-04-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

This blog has definitely been therapeutic for me. I have another trial/humorous story to share.

After a brisk walk in the park, I returned home to shower before a fancy sushi dinner out with Sarah, Florian, Travis and Amy. I remember thinking while in the shower how lucky I am never to have slipped on the tiles. Welllllll, upon exiting the shower, I somehow lost my balance and hit my shin. It seemed like a good idea at the time to stabilize myself with one of the shower doors that hangs loosely in my shower. The result was disaster. I ended up falling on the floor, crouched in a huddled position while glass exploded from behind. Sarah, who was getting into the shower next door, heard the shattering and called out to me. I was sort of in a daze and didn't answer back. She came in through our adjoining door. By this time, I had slowly eased myself up, grabbed my towel and was standing on my gym clothes. My body was covered in glass and the door wouldn't open because glass was blocking it. I used my t-shirt to wipe away some glass and was able to exit the bathroom. Luckily, Sarah was right by my door and was able to think for me. I started to wipe the glass off of my legs, but Sarah told me to go shower off in her shower. While I was taking my second shower of the evening, Sarah began sweeping up the shards of glass. I came back and both of us worked on my bathroom in our towels and flip-flops. Then, Sarah went to take a shower and I worked on getting the remaining glass off my shower floor, one spoon full of glass at a time. Now, everything is cleaned up, though I'll wear my flip-flops in the bathroom the next few weeks in fear of remaining glass particles. My injuries are surprisingly few. I have a nasty knot on my shin where I hit it and just a few very, very small cuts on my hand. God must have an entire legion of guardian angels looking out for me; one of them of course is Sarah.

Easter Along the Ionian Coast

2009-04-13T12:14:00.000-07:00

Tirana International School had a three day weekend over the Easter holiday. A group of us piled into two cars and headed south to the beaches. The roads were windy and bumpy but the landscape was breathtaking.

Here's our group! We primarily hung out in vehicle groups. (Tracey's parents are here visiting from British Columbia.) Once again, we lucked out on drivers. Olti was very considerate and stopped whenever we saw a photo opportunity (or when I got car sick...)

Our Saturday destination was Dhermi. It is a very small beach town on the Ionian Sea. There were a handful of hotels and a small number of restaurant options. We found a hotel that fit our needs and was steps away from the sea. Here, you can see Travis hard at work on a drift wood structure. There are no sandy beaches so sandcastles are out of the question!
Vicky, Sarah's friend from Britain, said she's never seen sea cows before. Ha! Only in Albania.

Attempt 1,609,085 of trying to learn how to throw a Frisbee. It's a curse. Practice does NOT make perfect in this case. Travis did give me tips that helped a bit. I did have a great time playing a Frisbee game with Amy, Tracey, Travis, Lee and Vicky. Maybe, I'll keep trying. Maybe.

Tracey said, "Holly, how about an adventure?" I'm a fan of adventure. Her idea was to swim out to this rock, climb it and then jump down. Mission accomplished! It was simply hilarious because of course the rock was slimy and not a simple climb. There are more beaches south of Dhermi, which we will go to next year. The draw is that there are islands that you can swim out to!
Hale, hale, the gang's all here. Sarah's car was about 2 hours behind us on both Saturday and Sunday. We did all manage to get together for Saturday dinner. We enjoyed sea food overlooking the sea. I had a sea food pasta that was delicious. I even ate the calamari.
Sunday morning, we went out on this beach (which we had played on the day before) for our Easter service. It was one of the simplest Easter services ever! We kept it focused on scripture, prayer and songs... the essentials of a worshipful experience. After "church" we headed down to Saranda and Butrint!
We had a light Easter lunch in Saranda overlooking Korfu, Greece. Sigh. I don't think I can return to "normal" after this year.Another new favorite place!!!! Butrint is amazing. These ancient Roman ruins date back to 4 B.C. Butrint was a functioning colony up through the middle ages. Everything was incredibly well preserved. Amy read out of my Albania guide book, so we actually knew what we were looking at. It is a world heritage site and a must see for sure! These are the Roman bathhouses.
There were two gates with secret entrances. Here is the Epp family preparing to go down toward the gate.
All the world is a stage! The amphitheater is still in functioning order. They even have concerts there in the summer. We all took a turn performing. Here is Travis rehearsing a little tragedy.
Ah, the Lion Gate! I thought Travis was making fun of me when he said, "Oh look, it's Aslan," in a childlike voice. He wasn't, but that was exactly what I was thinking.
This is the Nymph Fountain. I thought it would be fun if we pretended to be nymphs, but I really wasn't seriously considering the possibility of climbing up the fountain. Tracey, on the other hand, is very good about carrying an idea to fruition. Hence, here is my very favorite picture of all! The ruins were all very accessible and were really a jungle gym for adults. The only exception was the baptistery which has a load of sand over an amazing mosaic. Unfortunately, funds haven't come in to expose the mosaic is a safe manner, so they just covered it up with sand.
I can't see wooden boats without thinking about my dad and taking a picture just for him. This is on the way up to the castle which also houses the artifacts museum. The museum is where we saw a picture of the baptistery mosaic.
Back to Saranda for Easter dinner! We walked around the water front looking for open restaurants. We finally found an amazing Italian place. It ended up being a gathering spot for about 4 families from T.I.S. Albania is a small, small land.
There was wisteria everywhere we went! It made me think of Westmont in springtime. Happy Easter to all! We live in a beautiful world.

The weather's great; wish you were here!

2009-03-28T13:13:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I really wanted send you all a postcard from Egypt. Honestly, the pictures that Tracey and I took are much better than the ol' gift shop variety! So, take a deep breath and get ready for this very long photo-driven blog.
Sarah, Tracey and I arrived in Sharm el Sheikh around 6:00 am, Sunday morning. We had been traveling since 2:00 pm, Saturday afternoon. We took a four hour nap, swam laps, ate lunch and then.... hit the beach!
Tracey and I raced back to our room because we had left our snorkel gear there. The coral reef attached to our hotel was amazing! We saw coral more brightly hued than any I saw in Hawaii. I especially fell in love with the purple coral. The fish were abundant and large. My favorite was large and brown with turquoise patterning. (If you want to do some decorating, a coral reef is a great place to start for inspiration!) Tracey spotted an iridescent torpedo looking fish. That was a fascinating one too. All week long we were literally swimming through schools of fish. Very appropriate for three teachers!
I think that it is mandatory for hotels in Sharm el Sheikh to come stocked with very cute, young, single men. These two boys took us out Sunday night, and showed us around Nama Bay. I quickly clued in that they were really sweet talking harmless goons. They were good to get to know, though, because they kept our supply of ice cream coming!

The next day was pretty much like the first. We swam laps, ate, and enjoyed the beach to our hearts' content. The only exception was that we met up with Ahmed, our tour leader who met us at the airport, to plan a Wednesday excursion. We planned a desert safari (more about that later) and Ahmed invited us out to Nama Bay. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe and danced until the wee small hours. Two Swedes, who we had met at the beach, happened to be there too. They were two econ majors set to graduate this spring.

Tracey with our first Ahmed, the tour leader. (Everyone was either named Ahmed or Muhammad. And no need for Jeff Dunham jokes Matthew, Ryan and Stephen!)
Happiness is open water! Sarah and I were working on our synchronized swimming routine. Do you know how many people asked if the two of us are sisters? I don't know either. I lost track. The funniest incidents were at the airport. Every single official asked and we just showed them our passports with smiles on our faces. Chances are a Canadian and an American are NOT sisters.
Sarah rented her snorkel equipment from this guy. She had Tracey and I come back with her so we could see "hot snorkel guy." I still have know idea how I ended up taking a picture with him. Lucky me!

The sun sets over Sharm el Sheikh. Ahhhhhh. It's beautiful. Sarah took this picture perched in our hammocks.
Sarah's favorite restaurant in Tirana is the Lebanese 1,001 Nights. We had Lebanese at our hotel, though I think we all agreed that it wasn't as good as the Lebanese we get in Tirana. What made this experience fun was the goofy outfits we dressed up in. Don't we look adorable in the fez hats? We made this an earlier night since our desert excursion was set to begin at 6:30 in the morning.
My fabulously funny friends! (Don't you love a good alliteration?)

Wednesday was the best. Our excursion plans were to take a desert safari in a jeep, go on a camel ride, snorkel in the Blue Hole, and eat a Baudoin lunch. That is what we planned on doing... We met up with another jeep full of Italian tourists. The two jeeps caravaned to a passport control area that led to the desert. The guard looked at my passport and said, "You are American." I know that. I didn't need to be told. Fifteen minutes passed. The tour guide came back and told us that we couldn't go on because this excursion was listed as Italian. No special arrangements had been made for one American and two Canadians. The American and Canadian governments will not allow their citizens to go out into the Egyptian desert without extra security. Sooooo, we asked to be taken to Ras Muhammad, the underwater national park. It was the luckiest mistake imaginable!
Here we are with our tour guide, preparing to board the boat. He was one lucky stiff too. Instead of heading to the hot sandy desert, he spent the day catching rays with three girls. It's the Egyptian man's dream (or so they say).

The boat made three stops. The first stop was sort of exciting. We saw a giant angel fish and fire coral. The boat was in motion so we had to grab hold of a rope in order to make it back safely. The other stops were great too!
The Red Sea cliffs! It's amazing being in a location of one of the most spectacular Bible stories. I'm really jealous of the Israelites who crossed the Red Sea on dry land and probably got to see all sorts of beautiful fish!
Here we are suited up for our last stop! We should have gone out earlier. Sarah found a string ray that was camouflaged to look like the sand of the sea. There was a sunken box with treasure inside (or so I told myself!). One of the other guides came out with us. He was totally cool and knew a lot about fish.
After 3 stops, sun and a tasty lunch, we returned to port. Another noteworthy point: I met a family from Scotland living in Baku, one of the towns that QSI wanted to send me to. They had 3 lovely girls and they all seemed to have so much fun together. It was refreshing to be around a close family.

Thursday was our last day in Sharm el Sheikh. We spent the last morning in the pool doing our morning laps and on the beach. Ahmed dropped us off at the airport and then stayed with us for a coffee (I had fresh strawberry juice.... yummy!). Then, we were off to Cairo!
We met up with our Cairo tour guide, also called Ahmed, Friday morning. We told him we needed to extend the day because we weren't scheduled to be at the airport until 1:30 am. He happily obliged and the result was literally "Cairo in a Day." Our first stop was the pyramids. We were given so much ancient Egyptian history! I loved it. Tracey, Sarah and I sat around in the Istanbul airport taking notes on all we had learned in Cairo.
Tracey pointed out that this picture can certainly make you appreciate the magnitude of the limestone. The ancient Egyptians floated the limestone up from the Nile once a year when the Nile flooded. I had learned that at one time or another, but being there and touching the limestone is different from textbook learning.

The three of us went inside the smaller pyramid, the pyramid built for the son of the dynasty's founder. It was narrow, dark and suffocating. I don't know how people could have worked inside.
After our visit inside the pyramids, we went to ride camels! I was a little nervous, at first. It wasn't being around the camels, it was being around the men leading the camels. Luckily, Ahmed negotiated everything beautifully. I really liked our guides and felt so safe on the camel.
My camel and I bonded so when the guided asked who wanted to run with their camel, I quickly volunteered. Exhilarating! I loved the thrill of racing along. Next time I want to ride an Arabian horse.
I think I was riding Snoopy. Isn't he cute? He was the best camel of all. I even learned how to "drive" him. I made him stop, go right, left and forward.
Matthew said to hug a camel for him, so I did!
I thought that all camels were as friendly as Snoopy, so when I went to pet this one, I had a shock. This one lunged out and tried to bite my shoulder. That's why I moved far away from this angry animal.
The three pyramids... the three girls. We rode camels through a sand storm as you can sort of see. My hair was caked with layers of sand. Gross.
The Sphinx! The reason his nose was broken off was to prove that he wasn't a god and not worthy of worship.

After the pyramids and Sphinx, we went to a paprys shop and loaded up on art. I got two amazing pieces that I can't wait to frame for my apartment. We went and had lunch on the Nile and then set out for Muhammed Ali's mosque.
Becase the mosque wasn't on the original itinerary, we didn't come prepared with long pants. We learned all about this mosque. It has four different names: The Blue Mosque (because it was modeled after the Blue Mosque in Turkey), The Citadel Mosque, Muhammed Ali's Mosque (who was actually Albanian and was made king of Egypt during the early 1900s. He kissed up to the Sultan in Turkey. Apparently he is the father of modern Cairo and very well respected), and The Alabaster Mosque.
After the mosque, we went to the museum, which was cool. We really rushed through it, though. Next time, I want to properly take my time. Then, we headed off to the Nile for a short and cold boat ride.
Tracey and I freezing on board. Brrrrrr.
We went to the oldest bazarre in Egypt, which was the site of the resent Egyptian explosion. It probably was the safest place to be because of all the extra security! Ahmed's friend, Nana, met us there and we went off for a Boudian dinner under the stars.
Here we are, freezing again, but prepared to enjoy yummy food! The bar-b-que was great and the conversation was awesome. Nana was the first Egyptian girl that we had hung out with. She and Ahmed had gone to college together, so she didn't put up with any of his ego (which was rather large).
They gave us the fire pit which we warmed our hands over. Then, they made tea for us over the stones. By that time, we were ready to head to the hotel to wait for the airport pick up.

Thanks for reading along as I relived the Egyptian holiday. I really did spend a great amount of time thinking about family and friends and wishing that you were along for the ride!
Love,
Holly