This is not a vacation-

Although it feels a bit like one right now. There is not much going on in August in Albania except pushim (vacations) and dasme (weddings). Summer in general is a pretty slow time for people in Albania. There are often power cuts during the day and in the afternoon without an air conditioner it gets too hot to do much of anything (although Peshkopi is not nearly so bad as the rest of the country). In June and July, I had a lot of work to do because my office was preparing a huge assessment report about the region. I was able to contribute with something that I am good at- editing in English. The report was very well researched by my coworkers and it really helped me get to know more about the situation and needs here. I also did private tutoring sessions with two of the girls in my office (trade off of English for Shqip). Outside of the office, I started working on a project with Kenji. Working with a local NGO, he had the idea to start a community radio station. Once we get money to purchase the equipment, it will be run mostly by students at the two high schools here in town. Both the assessment report and a grant application for the radio station were done at the end of July and now . . . not much to do for a while. I will have more work starting in September- school will be starting and I plan to work with Kenji on some things like a Model United Nations club, maybe an English conversation group and the radio station. Also starting in September, the next phase of the project with World Vision will start and we will be having community meetings and writing a project plan.

Most volunteers take advantage of this time to do a little bit of traveling. Last week I had my very first houseguests when Denise and Julie (Group 10) came through town on the last legs of their grand northern tour. Since we don’t get too many visitors up here (something about 5 hours on a bumpy bus discourages people- I don’t understand!), we tried to make them feel welcome. When they got off the furgon from Kukes (4 hours, not paved, bumpy but beautiful I hear), we had dinner ready and fresh warm cookies. We spent the next day showing them around Peshkopi including a walk to the Llixa (hot springs).

When our guests were getting ready to leave, Kenji and I started to feel lonely, so we decided to leave with them! We got on a bus headed towards our friends in Rubik and Reshen, the last towns on their tour. Now, I have always had a bit of a problem with motion sickness, but so far I’ve been doing pretty good here in Al. I’ve been taking pills to help me get through the trips and practicing zen-like breathing and mind clearing to not get sick. So far it had been working- until I got on the Puke Bus (not to be confused with the Puke bus- which actually takes you to the town of Puke). We were surrounded by sick children and about halfway through the trip I lost my zen-like concentration and my breakfast. I think that my amount of road sickness is directly proportional to the size of the vehicle- car, furgon, bus= sick, sicker, sickest. I think that I will probably avoid the bus if I can for a while (even though it is cheaper and has more comfortable seats).

Anyway, the long weekend was spent in Reshen, then to the beach near Lezhe (just like a real Albanian), before heading down to Elbasan for one of my language teacher’s wedding. I am back home now, but I expect to take a few more trips this month and enjoy Albania while I don’t have too much going on!

End of summer-joys of subbing

Well, even though the season doesn't officially end until the 21st, I think that summer is pretty much done for me. Part of me is glad that the crazy summer is coming to an end. I feel as if I am still trying to catch up on sleep. I do have a lot to do over the next few months (getting ready for Peace Corps and all) but I don't have a lot of responsibility when it comes to work and that is weird. I'm a (just a little) over achiever, so without work to do, I have been volunteering a lot. Anyway, today was the first day that really felt like fall- I had to wear a sweat shirt when I came into school and the building was not as unbearably hot as it has been the past few weeks.

I am subbing now. . . oh the joys of being a fake teacher. Here is what I like about being a substitute teacher:

1) I get to read a lot- most teachers leave pretty simple things for me to do, often there is a movie or some sort of work sheet involved. I also get to read (or do my own thing) during planning periods and lunch.

2) I mostly sub at DCIS- so far this semester I have only been at one school, DCIS, which is great for so many reasons. I know most of the kids, so I don't get that "you are just a sub and we can do whatever we want" type attitude. I can also be relatively sure that I will have a fairly clear lesson plan and something to actually do, rather than the normal "let's watch a nature movie that has nothing to do with what these kids are learning" type lesson. Even with those good points, I still get the occasional little shits that bug me and don't do anything that I ask. I have a feeling that this is how they act for their regular teachers though, so I don't worry about it too much.

3) If I am every feeling crappy, tired or just plain lazy I can turn down a job. I can also turn down jobs from schools I don't like, teachers I don't like or in subjects I don't like. I have to be careful to sub a certain amount of days a week to make enough money for rent (which is the point, after all) but other than that, I can just say no.

4)I have no responsibilities at the end of the day. After I sign my daily report and leave the building, that's it. I have no homework or papers to grade, no lesson plans to make, no parents to call. That means that I can go home and watch TV, go to movies, go to cooking club/majong/concerts etc. with little or no guilt about what I SHOULD be doing instead.

5) I can be the NICE sub. We all remember that sub. The one you were happy to get because they were actually a better teacher than your regular teacher and they were always nice to you. I try not to be the mean sub. Or the crying sub. I'm the young sub, which I usually liked better than the old sub. It's funny how many times the kids tell me "I like you better than so and so." I don't take it too seriously (just like I don't take kids telling me I'm mean too seriously) but it is kind of funny.

Highlight for the day: three of the seventh graders that I know from last year told me that when I go into the Peace Corps they want to come and visit me. . . but since the tickets will be really expensive they will only buy one ticket and the other two will stow away in her suitcase. Cute.

under the weather

Even though it is nearly 100 degrees and my face feels hot, I have chills. I can't breathe through my nose and breathing through my mouth makes it dry and sore. Every time I stand up I feel dizzy and probably look a bit drunk. The pounding in my head just won't stop. That's right, I have it. . . the summer cold.

It came upon me last night while flickin it up at the art museum. By the time I got home, my nose was sufficiently stuffed and I didn't get any sleep. I feel like it is always worse to be sick in the summer. In the winter, at least, I don't feel so bad about bundling up with a hot cup of tea and a good book or some bad TV. But right now, in the middle of the fun season, all I want to do is sleep all day and all night and not leave the house. "There is so much to do!" my brain tells me, as I contemplate missing my meeting tonight and skipping the outdoor movie fun. "You'll feel better if you rest," my body tells me, forcing me to collapse on the couch. I went home early from work today (camp planning) hoping to be feeling better as soon as tomorrow. If I don't feel better tomorrow, it will really suck since we are taking the kids river rafting. Not too fun when you feel like shit. Because of that, I think I will just stay in tonight. I'm almost done watching the first season of Heroes and that sounds pretty good to my body and my brain right now.

First day of summer

I'm not even going to talk about last week. Let's just say that it sucked and leave it at that. Coming home from Maine was rough. But last week is over and this week has been much better.

Yesterday we took the camp kids to Water World. I now have my first official sunburn of the summer. What that means is that parts of me are unevenly sore. I never seem to get sunburned in a overall fashion. Mostly my sunburns are a result of uneven sunscreen application. What that means is that right now I am splotchily red and tan. Over the next few days, some of the burn will fade nicely, some of the burn with peel grossly and I will be left with lots of strange lines. I never really feel like it's summer until I get a bit burned. Over the next few months I expect to get burned again (especially with all the time I'm spending outside with the kids). It is now officially summer.

Is it summer yet?

Anyone that has been in Denver over the past few months knows how brutal this winter has been for all of us. We're just not used to not seeing the sun for two months. That's why we live in D-town and not in Seattle or Minnesota or something. And it's been cold. I've run out of sweaters. Usually I wear my short sleves as much as my scarves in the winter. Let me tell you, I'm tired of it.

There are a few things that mean summer for me in Denver. Sunny mornings with an afternoon thunderstorm: Summer in Denver. Lots of great concerts: Summer in Denver. Kickball: Summer in Denver.

Yesterday was a first taste of summer for me. It was sunny and warm and wonderful. Kickball. I love kickball. It's kinda weird, casue I hate baseball. So you would think that I would hate kickball also. But I don't, I love it. I love playing and I even love watching. Maybe it is just because it is my friends playing and I have such a good time. But what ever makes me love it, I do. And yesterday was great. Science was there to represent in our fuscia and argyle, I got to see some great people that I haven't seen in a while (and a few that I see all the time) and I played really good. I scored the first point of the game, and even though we ended up losing (11-6) it was a pre-season game, so it didn't really matter. It felt good to be out on the field again. I think that this is going to be a good summer. . . if it ever gets here.