Experience Albania: Travel, Pictures, History, Culture

 I’m writing this over a week after my two years as a Peace Corps volunteer truly began.  My group and I swore in as official volunteers last Friday, June 16th.
It was an excellent, top notch ceremony.  The President of Albania and the American Ambassador were in attendance, as well as the entire Peace Corps staff and our beloved host families.  The speech went well; Andrew and I were applauded after each paragraph and our punch lines and jokes were a hit. Andrew was interviewed - in Albanian - by one of the major television channels and they aired a segment of the ceremony several times that day.

 Andrew and I

 The Belsh Group

 Zenel, me, Arta, and Marsi after the ceremony
   The last few days of PST were hectic and emotional … not a big surprise!
I had expected a mini roller coaster ride of excitement and sadness - reaching the end of PST meant I had endured the first three months of this ______ … what do I call what I’m doing here?  I struggle to find a word that fits and the only one I come up with that does justice is “life.”  So as I was saying, I’ve made it through the first three months of this life.
It makes sense to use life instead of journey, experience, or another word because this is my life now.  Journeys and experiences make up a life, and the many lives we lead represent the span and scope of our existence.
And so my life here has changed as I’ve made it through the initial stages of acclimation and change.