Experience Albania: Travel, Pictures, History, Culture

Ray, a fellow Peace Corps volunteer from group 8, graciously guided us on a lovely 3-hour hike on Thursday.
I’m going strong on a 5-day weekend, due to Mother Theresa’s birthday on Thursday and then Friday was off for my school (many students live in the dorms and they’d gone home for Thursday). Then Saturday [...]

I took a glance at Zaku just as he was about to head out the door to meet some friends.
The hat, the dress coat, the sunglasses (which he took off for the photos) - I did what I always do when I see something I like. Ran to grab my camera and asked Esti [...]

Zaku’s brother, Bilal (who lives next door to the Kacelis) and Anila were working on prepping a heaping batch of olives for a 2 week “preservation nap.”

All it takes are 3 quick cuts on each olive. Bilal and Anila were pros, slicing olives at lightning speeds. They’re then put into a large bin filled [...]

It’s the best feeling in the world, being in a real family’s house, when you’re far from your own. While it may give you a pain of homesickness at first, you quickly turn your focus to enjoying good people and the atmosphere that goes along with have a meal and spending an afternoon with [...]

 
People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.
- George Bernard Shaw

It was a visit that my host family in Belsh had been looking forward to since May, which is when Ben bought his tickets for 10 days in Albania.
We took a new route - one that I nor any of the volunteers I know had taken before.  A route from Kucove (next door to Berat) [...]

I’ve decided that stories and photos will simply appear and in no apparent order.
 
Here we are at my counterpart’s house in Berat.  A very comfortable and tastefully decored abode that I love to visit.
Ben had the chance to ask her a lot of questions, listen to her experiences from thirty-five plus years of working as [...]

My sitemate, James, turned 28 on October 2nd.  Ben and I were traveling and so we made plans to get everyone together (PC volunteers who live close by, plus newcomer Ben) for sleu of progressive birthday festivities on the Thursday after his real birthday.
Things started around 3pm.  Ben and I “started” at about 1pm with a [...]

 
In just a few short weeks I’ll be living on my own!  Hard to believe that the 7 months of host family life are about to end.  It’s a big move - and a very exciting one.  I’ve been placed with two amazing host families, but I’m ready to be on my own and looking [...]

Three girls

Originally uploaded by treenie.

A photo from the road trip - hanging out (all bundled up) in the hotel’s restaurant in the mountain-top village. We were about to eat the huge pans of byrek.