Walk down memory lane

In my current state of suspended animation, I've been going through a lot of old boxes. It's been a fun walk down memory lane. I found a huge stack of papers that I wrote in elementary and high school. My teachers would always tell me that I would appreciate them some day (and then fail me for having a run-on sentence) and looking back... It's true. And having been a teacher (briefly) I now realize just how hard they were working to get our 5 paragraph essays in tip-top shape.

I also found a few parodies of nursery rhymes that I wrote when I was in high school. They are so ridiculous that I have to post them here. I must have been watching the news when I wrote these because I don't remember being all that aware of current events. Here goes..

OJ Simpson sat on a wall.
OJ Simpson had a great fall.
All the not-guilty verdicts of the jurymen
Couldn't put his reputation back together again.

Little Miss Croat sat on a tuffet
Fighting the Serbs all day.
Along came the UN which gave them a pen
and said sign this treaty today.

Where are they now?

People keep asking what I've been up to... So here is the long awaited answer. Not a whole lot. On second thought.. there are a few things to share. I finished up being a Peace Corps Volunteer in May 2009. Then I headed on a month long trip in Eastern Europe. I'll try to post a few more pictures on that one. I managed to get through Bosnia, which was truly the highlight of the trip. Don't let your memories of the war scare you. They are at peace and it is an interesting country to visit. Sarajevo will certainly pique your Ottoman curiosity.

After that I headed home to Downingtown, PA. It's been a great time to reconnect with my family and make some special memories with my nephew. Back in November 2009, I took a test to be a Foreign Service Officer, the people who work in the embassy. I passed the written and the oral test and now I'm waiting on my security/medical clearance. Any one who has gone through a similar clearance can probably sympathize. It's a long drawn out process that involves a lot of waiting time. But I'm hoping to start working with them somewhere around January/February.

Other than that, I visited Arizona, started working for my dad, contemplated the meaning of life, and have been catching up on past issues of reality TV. I also discovered that American Big Brother isn't any better than Albanian Big Brother. Who knew?!?

Bosnia Baby!

The Plotjice waterfalls near Jajce. We actually swam right up to the waterfalls. It was incredibly cold, but amazing

While we were visiting a town, we stopped by this woman's house who makes homemade syrups. You mix about a tablespoon of the syrup with water or sparkling water. Super refreshing. My favorite was the mint.

Kosovo

After the Peace Corps, I decided to take the long way home and went on a month long trip through Eastern Europe. First stop, Kosovo. It was an interesting place because there were a lot of similarities between Albanian and Kosovars. Exhibit 1. The very large statue to Skanderbeg who is a national hero in Kosovo and Albania. About 95% of Kosovars are ethnic Albanians so it was fun to use my Albanian language skills and make some comparisons between the two cultures.


The Fatih mosque in Prishtina which is painted in a floral motif. There was a little old man who was the key keeper of this mosque who thanked me profusely for being an American. He was one of several Kosovars who were really excited to meet me.



I also had the fortune of running into another PCV, Bill. Here we are in Gjakova, a smaller town whose name means place of blood. Hmmm.



We also visited Prizren which is really the jewel of Kosovo. It's an amazing example of a stone town built in the Ottomon style. The entire center of the city is built out of stone and filled with hamams, mosques, and cobbled streets.


Not to end on a sad note, but this picture shows the difficulties that this country still faces. This Orthodox church is surrounded by barbed wire to protect it from looters. There is a long history of struggle between the Serbian and Albanian Kosovars. Kosovo declared independence while I was living in Albania, but it doesn't look like it will be admitted into the UN anytime soon.

Thank you

For the last two years, I had the incredible opportunity to learn (and teach) in Albania. It's a fascinating country filled with some of the warmest people I have ever met. Each and every day held a new adventure and I met some amazing friends for life.

To everyone I've met, thanks for all of the great times that we had. To all of my friends and family back home, thanks for all of your support.

I will talk to all of you soon.

Just in case....

Meet America

Two weeks ago, another PCV and I took a group of 25 of our students to participate in a program called Meet America. It was great. They got to meet three diplomats and the American Ambassador to the United States. The most impressive thing was that the ambassador was one of the most personable people I have ever met. He answered every single one of their questions and was incredibly inspiring. I still can't believe that we got to meet him. Check out the link at the US embassy in Tirana's page.