New Sites to See

On Friday morning, April 4, my cohort swore in as PCVs. We left our PST site on Wednesday, April 2 and spent the 1.5 days before the ceremony meeting our counterparts. Both of my English teaching counterparts came. Friday morning, we walked to the Tirana International Hotel where those of us dancing changed into our costumes. I wore a costume from northern Albania’s Shkodër region, and it was shumë mirë. My PST host parents then arrived, but we were required to remain in our seats in preparation for the chargé d'affaires’ arrival. I sadly didn’t get to see my family until the ceremony concluded, but the ceremony was somewhat quick. People gave speeches, sang, and/or read a poem. We took two oaths during which I almost cried. Each of us received an olive branch and PC Albania pin. Lastly, our group performed two types of dance. The second dance was performed to the song “Valle Kosovare” by Shpat Kasapi. That song is a banger, so you should check it out (https://youtu.be/o65wdtuMO0I?feature=shared). Dance rehearsals and wearing the costume were highlights of both PST and the ceremony. As a dancer, I also scored prime real estate at the event - the front row! The ceremony finished, and everything afterwards was remarkably rushed. Previous volunteers had forewarned us, but the haste still surprised me. We quickly took photos, PC hastened us out of our costumes, and we sped back to the hotel to retrieve our luggage. Our counterparts subsequently and swiftly whisked us off to our sites. One of my counterparts and her husband drove me to my site during which time I experienced Albanian driving. Despite exhaustion, I did not sleep during the adventure. 

Once we arrived at my site, I saw the school and the mini market. I met some host family members, set my bed up, ate dinner, and went to sleep. My site is a little village, and I am quite content here. One of my largest site challenges quickly identified itself, however: it snowed. Apparently, my site is one of the coldest parts of Albania. The choice phrase of week one was “Është e bukur, por është shumë ftohtë.” The freezing temperatures lasted a good while and, in an area with no central heating, freezing temps are pretty cold. For example, I'd read in bed at night and my fingers and hands would move in slow motion as I held the book or phone. I thought I was having a stroke at first. My host family gave me an electric blanket on my second night here, and that helped significantly with maintaining body heat. Next winter’s power outages loom large (they are frequent during the snowy winter), but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Anyways, my PST site had already transitioned to lovely t-shirt weather, so it felt as if moving back in time. On the plus side, the snow melt added significant water to the water system here. People here say that the snow melt keeps the water potable, and other volunteers say it's fine to drink unfiltered. I don't know if that's true, but thus far, I have successfully drank from the tap. If I've acquired a parasite because of it, we have a lovely symbiotic relationship. Regardless, I'm counting my lucky stars.