Unlike the rest of my posts I will not lead this one off with an apology for being so tardy. After 8 months of this experience I have learned, and you I’m sure have too, that the excitement has worn off a touch. Things that once were strange seem normal. Quite a lot has happened since my last post so I suppose I’ll do my best to give a quick rundown.
In September I spent a couple days in Greece. I had a friend from school fly out to visit and we spent some time there. I have pictures and I’ll post them soon (I promise!) Since then I’ve been traveling all around Albania. I spent two weeks in the capital: one week to attend a Model UN conference, and another for a round table discussion with the AAM (Albania Association of Municipalities). Both events were lovely. The students participating in the Model UN conference were very impressive. I couldn’t imagine debating nuclear non-proliferation in Iran or Iraq at the age of 16, especially in a foreign language. The conference with AAM went well also. Volunteers working the municipalities around the country were invited to give suggestions about how the AAM could help provide trainings/funds/etc. Mostly we all benefited from it because it gave us a chance to hear what everyone has been doing in site.
Last week I spent a week in Pogradec, a city bordering Macedonia, for our mandatory language refresher. For the month preceding it I have been finding myself to be quite down. After a week of language training and socializing with friends I feel considerably better. Since the beginning of fall I’ve been transitioning in a way I couldn’t describe until now. Throughout the summer I mainly focused on passing the days. Now however I feel much more connected to the country and people than I ever have. I no longer desire as much contact with other volunteers, and feel like I need to integrate much deeper into my community. I’ve taken some time to really assess why I’m here and it has been a great chance to recharge my motivation.
Lately work has been quite slow. The bashkia still has no work for me, and they don’t appear to make an effort to utilize me whatsoever. I have taken it upon myself to seek out more work. The day before I left for Pogradec I introduced myself to an NGO named Auleda. They primarily work in local economic development. I think I’ll be helping them write projects, find grant money and work on implementing projects. I dropped off my CV with them yesterday and will meet tomorrow to see how we can collaborate.
I also met with the woman in charge of the tourism department at the University of Vlore. She told me that she would organize a group of her kids for me to help get projects conceived and completed. SIFE (students for International free enterprise) is also university group I plan to teach presentation skills to.
I have still been working closely with world vision and just recently 5 other volunteers and I have started the tourism committee. We have pretty lofty goals which will provide lots of work.
Nothing as of yet has really solidified but lots is on the horizon. I hope to see some of it come through and give me some more things to keep myself occupied.
I know this was a bit dry and brief but I hope it satisfies some curiosities about what I may be doing out here.
One thing I’ve noticed is that this experience has become much more intimate that I expected, one of the reasons I’ve posted less on here. If any of you have questions about what I’m doing or how I’m doing please send me an email. I would love to tell you individually what I’m experiencing. I’m a little apprehensive to post it on the internet for the world to see.
All the best!