Dreams of Kosovo: summer

Monday, August 8, 2016

OH sa mire te kam qene ne Shqiperia!

I was attempting to wait until the complete end of my summer travels to blog one big blog BUT I cant, because my Trip to Albania was Fan-Tabulous! I had the greatest of times in Albania, between my travel buddy, the food and the scenery and options, Albania is definitely worthy of the term “hidden gem”.

I spent 4 days at a hostel in Saranda, Albania which is a coastal city in the south. Saranda is interesting in that it is very city, but right next to the hustle and bustle there are kilometers of rocky, clear blue and green Adriatic water and FULL of Umbrella and sunscreen-clad sun seekers. We spent four days in Saranda, two of which we did day trips to nearby areas, The Blue Eye Spring and Gjirokaster. The opportunities form Saranda are AMAZING and the views are beautiful! The first day in Saranda, we stayed strictly on the beach, This trip was for food and relaxation and that is exactly what we did. Cocktails, food, sea and lots of sun, I am sure I am about 7 shades darker from that hot Albanian sun. We also enjoyed AMAZING seafood Albania’s waters had to offer us. We ate like Superstars and splurged every evening on treats such as fresh grilled octopus in a white cream sauce and grilled stuffed squid with fresh salad and great wine and cocktails. (Foodies will love this area of the world!)

While in Saranda, we did a day trip to the Blue Eye, in Albanian, Syri I Kalter. It is a spring which, from the top, looks like the iris and surrounding area of an eye which is where the spring gets its name, The center of the spring is at least 50 meters deep and pushes you up when you jump in, but what wasn’t told was just how COLD the water was! The reason everyone has these photos sans people is because you jump in and after about 30 seconds, your body starts freezing the water is so cold. We met this super sweet Aussie couple when we were at the hostel who accompanied us to the Blue Eye and it was awesome hearing about them and their travel experiences thus far. You can check out their blog here if you wish to see their travels in and around the world thus far J We hiked (it felt like it in that 90 something degree heat and dusty road, it was about 2km worth of walking sooo yes HIKE!) to the Blue eye and jumped right in! We saw an (what seemed to be) abandoned church at the entrance, and explored that some before walking to the Spring. Once we enjoyed the spring and the AWESOME photo opportunities this natural wonder offered we stopped at a Monastery which is being restored and got some beautiful views of villages just outside Saranda and the construction process for the monastery.

Our second day trip to Gjirokaster took us on an unexpected tour of the variances of Albania’s landscape and we went from coastal beach town to arid, dry almost desert areas in the process of an hour. Gjirokaster is situated at the bottom of mountains which meet to form a wide dry valley. It is a beautiful and intriguing site which, to get to, you take Winding, up and down mountain roads, along the sides of mountains that range from luscious trees and greenery to jagged rocks and steep cliffs. Gjirokaster is a city that has been in existence for over 2500 years, and has an old and new city. The old city is situated more into the mountain, whereas the new city goes from the bottom of the mountain into the valley. There is a stark contrast when you are walking down one of the major roads between the two areas that you know you cross from old to new city. There is a beautiful Kalaja – Albanian for castle/fortress that sits atop the old city and looks out into the valley. The fortress is fairly complete and was the first complete fortress I have been to in Eastern Europe up until this point. It was used as a location to hold weapons for the Albanian army. In addition to the complete Kalaja, there is a World War Two airplane in an outdoor area that you have COMPLETE access to.

Overall Albanian proved to be an amazing choice and I definitely have plans to further explore, not just southern, but all of Albanian in the future. The people were sweet (knowing Albanian and the expressions/reactions which That caused were PRICELESS), food was Amazing, destinations were endless and overall just an amazing trip. Ill post a comprehensive summer travel blog after my final trip and another post of all Photos :)

Happy Summer!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Bajramit i Dyte

     Per Hajr Bajramit! Happy Bajram. The end to the holiest month in the Islamic Calendar, Ramdan, Bajram is a huge fest for Muslims all across the world. This year I am officially at my permanent site and celebrated Eid-al-Fitr with my entire host family. The process of preparing for Bajram begins days earlier with the baking of cakes, buying of treats and a THOROUGH cleaning, washing and preparation of each house for guests.
This year Bajram was a little different for me because I (attempted to) fast. Now let me add my disclaimer here where I say the INTENT was the whole month of Ramadan, HOWEVER, the inner foodie in me and the fact that I was traveling changed those plans. I did however fast for about 8 days. Add to the fact that for the first 3/4 days my host father would ask me every morning if I was still fasting, to which I replied yes - I assume he thought I wouldn't make it past day one, so I would say that I did pretty darn good :) When fasting the "rules" are no food or drinking during daylight hours, and you can eat and drink from sundown and until before sunrise which ranged everyday from various minutes between 3:10-3:30am. As someone who had never fasted in this manner before, I spent the first 2-3 days drinking small amounts of water throughout the day to ease my body into fasting (at the recommendation of some Muslim friends). After which I complied fully to the rules and abstained from food and drinking during daylight hours. When friends, family and people in my community learned that I was fasting the response was usually the same. First a gasp and people asking "Really, you're fasting? Why?" followed by, pure excitement and encouragement for attempting to experience their culture. I told my students and it was ALL the rage to where the next morning in school my students were THOROUGHLY informed of my decision. When my host grandmother learned I was fasting I was met with lots of hand grabbing, smiles and shume mire's (oh, and the news QUICKLY spread throughout the family and to any bystander of my fasting). Though I only fasted for a week I truly came to appreciate a variety of things and learned some things as well.
     First thing I learned is I have a lot of self restraint. Having to be around people who are eating and drinking while you are not is hard, even harder when you're a self-proclaimed foodie and the smell of Laknire goes wafting through the air, but you enter this kick-ass mental state of blocking out such actions and learning to talk to your body (or at least I did). To my surprise, the first few days were easiest and the longer I fasted the harder it became - NO one warned me of this. You become very aware of your body and you are extremely fatigued while fasting. When Bajram began, school was still in session so I would wake up, go to work come home and nap, depending on the day it was 1.5-3 hours at a time (and you're STILL tired after so it is truly exhausting on your body) then I'd go and socialize with family until it was time for Iftar (the breaking of the fast).
     The second thing I learned is you have to really dive into trying new things to gain appreciation. I remember as a kid when Lent (the holy time for Christians where we prepare for the resurrection of Jesus Christ) would come and I would hate having to choose something to give up. Fast forward to now and I appreciate this time so much more. Fasting made me realize how I want to be a better volunteer, Christian and be a better version of myself. I have recently been on an in-depth self evaluation and doing the fast revealed a variety of things and helped me to delve deeper into myself and my mindset. While doing self evaluation I also reflected on my service and saw opportunities for growth and made realizations as well.
     Third realization is that I have become closer to my Muslim friends and we had discussions about their religion and it gave me a deeper understanding and respect for who they are and what they believe. I have never been one to shy away from learning about religions, but this experience has caused me to be more explorative in my own religion as well as that of others. I wish people would take the time to really see how you can learn and grow from other religions instead of using this difference to segregate and vilify each other. Their is beauty in the differences, as well as the similarities. To group a religion together because you lack understanding or contact creates the environment for ignorant comments, ideas and personifications to occur. So I implore people to do their research, talk to someone and just accept those differences and promote peace. You would be surprised what you learn about them and yourself ;-){Sorry, rant done.}
     The holy month of Ramadan brings together all Muslims to reflect, recenter and rededicate themselves to their faith. Being blessed with the opportunity to share in such an experience has given me more perspectives and respect for this culture. Below are some photos during Bajram from my time with my family and again Happy Bajram to all my Muslim friends!