Covered in Flies

This was written in two parts, about a week apart from one another. Hope it flows alright.

I have been toying with the idea of having a podcast once a month, but then after hearing my voice on mp3 I realized that, as some people have faces for radio, I have a voice for print media. That being said, I might still do one.

In many ways things are progressing quickly for me in Peshkopi and in other ways they are not. Avash avash. I have begun moonlighting with an NGO in town. They have a drinking water, environmental and hygiene project going on in three kommunes in my region. The challenge is that they are behind schedule. In terms of funding Marlow Stanfield would say that they “have one of those good problems.” In that they have money, but haven’t decided how to spend it or planned much of anything. This organization seems more open to my “expertise” than the one I was assigned to, but it’s also more hierarchical. Whereas I can do whatever I want at the health center as long as its by myself at the NGO I have the freedom to brainstorm, but no effectual power to put money or effort wherever I want. My two workplaces are almost polar opposites in terms of how they view my possible impact. More on that later on.

I am enjoying my city. I have been trying to meet Albanians outside the Peace Corps (PC) spectrum. It’s easy to stay within the circle that previous volunteers built. However, now there are three volunteers in town and we have the opportunity to meet more folks. It’s incredibly easy to meet people or should I say men. I can sit with any man drinking any drink and probably be accepted into the conversation as much as possible. I have found a new local where the frappe’s are 50 leke and dude’s got a nice patio with a wooden roof and wall. For some reason anything with wood grain is attractive to me here. This is partly due to a running inside joke from my language class. The joke was pretty dumb, but I would throw in the literal translation of “wood grain” in Shqip anywhere I could. It doesn’t translate correctly so no one ever knew what I meant, but I kept with it. So when Adam (another volunteer in Peshkopi) and I found this café we dubbed it Wood Grain.

It is crazy to me how welcomed Americans are in Albania. We are still cool in some corners of the world. Part of this has to do with Clinton’s decision to intervene in Kosovo. Part of it feels arbitrary in the way that the exportation of our culture and economy has generated American popularity in a general sense. Last night we ate sandwiches at a local and a group of 5 young men physically moved their table 4 feet closer to ours so they could listen to what we said. They tried to get our attention by saying “OOOOH!” (the general way of getting someone’s attention here) followed by random words the best of which was “Jarper.” “OOOOH Snake!” We starting laughing at that one.

It’s hot here. There is no escape save the Drini (the local river and swimming hole). I’ve got a frozen water bottle on my lap right now. If other things didn’t remind me everyday that I am in a developing country then the heat (and I’m sure the cold in the winter) will. I’m also covered in flies. I’ve killed many, but their numbers are great as is their resolve.

I have realized that while I have continued to progress with the language I need to put it higher on my list of priorities. Part of the problem is that I have not gotten into a routine so to speak. I don’t have a stove yet in my apartment and so I have to cook dinner with my fellow volunteers each night and that makes it hard to have time by myself at night. Allegedly, I will have a stove on the 21^st of July.

I got an MRI on my left knee on Monday at a private hospital in the Capital (Tirana). I hurt it a couple months ago in a basketball game and it hasn’t been right since. I am waiting on the results. I fell asleep during the MRI which is quite a feat considering how loud those machines are. There’s about 12 pinging and twanging noises and a large noise of magnets whirling in an arc in the least viscous of ways.

All things considered I am doing well. I am ridiculously optimistic in terms of eventually having an impact here and tremendously realistic in terms of the work necessary for that to become a reality.

The NGO I am working with had a large meeting to share the findings of a couple of reports they financed. It was all in Shqip so I didn’t catch all of it, but I met some of the National Office people and they were supportive of my involvement.

I’ve come to the point where I don’t have much to say in terms of what I should write in this blog. So if you have any questions don’t hesitate. I think that some of the aspects of Albania that were very foreign initially are becoming less distinct and therefore I have less shock material to comment on. Either way. Questions and criticisms are always welcome.