Korce, Bilisht, and Training

It's been raining off and on all day. Last night, I fell asleep listening to the rain steadily tapping on the metal awning outside my window. It's stopped for now, but I'll wait until it starts again to fall asleep.

During the weekend before last, all the trainees were sent to visit different cities to briefly experience the life of a current volunteer. My destination was Bilisht, a small city that's around five miles from Greece. 

I traveled by furgon with five volunteers who were heading in the same direction. The first leg of the journey took approximately two and a half hours. We stopped in Korce for lunch where I had my first cold beer in a long while. The volunteer whom I visited explained that the south of Albania is known for its art culture. Korce is a large city by Albanian standards, so I imagine that I won't be sent there. However, I was curious about the closed movie theater and two closed art museums. Working to open such places is too ambitious to think about concretely at the moment, but it's inspiring nonetheless. 

After lunch, another volunteer and I took a second, 30 minute furgon to Bilisht. There, we celebrated one of the volunteers' birthdays at the restaurant pictured below. The restaurant had eight to ten small tables and a modest cooking space. In the morning, all of our clothes smelled of smoke and yesternight's meal. 

Among the many great experiences during my visit, that restaurant was the highlight of my trip. I ate frog legs for the first time, tried many new dishes, got to help out in the kitchen, and this was all run by a single man (pictured below). What's more is that he's a fantastic singer! Serenading is a cultural heritage of southern Albania (particularly Korce). During that night and the morning when I returned, the owner and several of the customers sung dozens of serenades to lovers, odes to ale, and hymns to friendship. (Hopefully, I'll be able to recite a few at Islands once I return, huh boys?)

Since that trip, my life has been crammed with training. Most mornings, I leave Peqin at seven and return from Elbasan around six. During whatever "free time" that I have afterwards, I do homework and converse with my host family. What makes everything more tiring is the constant imperative to speak Shqip. Pre-service training supposedly is one of the most opportune times to learn Shqip. Despite the mental stress, I'm enjoying the learning process so I'm going to power through these last few weeks.

Other notes: What Russian competency I had has been decimated by Shqip. Even worse, I can barely articulate a full sentence in Japanese. However, for such costs, my Shqip is becoming much more natural. In my sparse spare time, I have been able to read English again for pleasure. Today, I finally returned to creative writing.

The Hemingway plaque next to the front door of my school. My translation: "Big ideas do not only need wings/arms, but also ground from which to take flight."

A shot of Peqin's town center and mosque. I'll probably be taking a lot of these throughout my service.

The furgon stop on the way to Korce/Bilisht

The orthodox church in Korce and a statue of an Albanian patriot

Morning serenades. The owner is the man on the left. 

The restaurant where I at frog's legs. I made the dish on the left with the owner. It consists of chopped pepperoncini, garlic, tomato, oregano, and Albania's feta-ish cheese. He put a lid on the pan and cooked it on a low heat until the cheese melted. Super delicious!

Another shot of the forest (Pishoot or Pishat?) 

Adriatik Lluca, a good friend of mine. I need at least a whole post to talk about Adriatik. For now, I'll say that he's a carpenter, has a 25 meter well from which I get my water, and currently has nine dogs.

Host family and me

On the left are the three children of the couple whose shop I go to for most everything. The girl's name is Casey.