Getting nauseous on the way to Puke and other stories from the north-

This weekend I traveled up to a town in northern Albania called Pukë (pronounced pooka). Even though it doesn’t have the best name, it is a really a nice place. I traveled with 13 other volunteers to Tirana (the capital) and then we split up and went off to several cities in the north. This was the first time that any of us had been to Tirana since we got to Albania. The best thing about Tirana: grocery stores with specialty items (cheddar cheese, honey nut cherrios, tampons, etc.). In fact we actually missed our bus because Winifred (our guide through Tirana/ a current volunteer) wanted to stop and buy cheese. We got to the bus and were told that the bus had just left. Luckily there was someone there that was able to call the bus driver and ask him to wait on the road. After running through a muddy road we caught up with the bus. The road to Pukë was not the worst that I had ever been on . . . it did at least have guard rails. Karen (my site mate and traveling partner) is afraid of heights, so ever time we went around a sharp curve she cringed. In Pukë we met Jennie and Dan, the volunteers that live there. Jennie is an English teacher and Dan works with the local government. Both of them have several secondary projects in the city. We spent some time with Jennie in one of her classes and visited Dan at city hall, but mostly had a lot of coffee with people. The best part of being in Puke was home cooking a meal. Not that my host mom isn’t a good cook, but sometimes you want something a little bit different. Karen made this wonderful orange chicken and zucchini patties. I think that Albanians would think we were crazy if we made orange chicken for them.-Jennie at the overlook near Puke. Big mountains in the distance-

In the morning, we had to get up at 5 am to catch the bus out of Puke. On Tuesdays, there are actually two busses out of Puke at 5 am –one to Tirana and one to Laç, another city in the north. Laç has a church on a mountain that is built over a cave. If you rub your head in the cave it is supposed to cure your ailments. People have been rubbing their head in the cave and being cured for thousands of years and then the Christians built the church over it. The church is dedicated to St. Anthony and the 13 Tuesdays leading up to his saint day on June 13th, people make a pilgrammage up the mountain to the church (and the cave). So we decided to make our way to Laç and make the journey up the hill. It was beautiful and it was nice- until it started raining. Of course, my umbrella was in my backpack---- in the apartment---- at the bottom of the hill. So we got a little wet, but we did make it up the mountain and saw the church (but couldn’t make it inside- too many people) and then slid back down (oh, my thighs!!).

-The church on the hill with a line of people leading up to it-

The real adventure of the volunteer visit was learning more about Albanian public transportation. We rode on two buses and three furgons (mini-busses) and only almost died three times. Luckily I can sleep on buses . . . and thank god for Dramamine!

Albanian for the day- Çfare është, është (what is, is) a motto that I'm trying to live by!