Sunny Saturdays...

27 - March - 2024

We have been blessed with sunny and warm Saturdays almost every weekend.  Last Saturday was no exception.  We did not have language class in the morning and that fortunately gave us a little more free time.  Some of our group decided to take a walk to a place called Joni (J's are pronounced like "y"s) Ranch.  I had heard about Joni Ranch from Geena in my language group.  Geena and her host parents had walked there the weekend before.  We met at Sip Cafe for about an hour.  While we were having tea and coffee, a member of KOS 08 saw us and joined us.  He was in the group with Paul who we had already met, because his post is here in Kamenice.  Joe has been at his post (on the western side of the country) for about three months now.  He is in TEFL and is teaching in both a middle school and high school.  He finds it easier to work with the high school students than the middle school.

At around noon, we left for Joni Ranch.  It is a bit of a walk, as it is perched on top of a hill in an area we had not been to before.  Geena suggested that we walk along the river on our way there and take the shorter route through town on the way back.  Those of us whose families are fasting, find it easier to eat elsewhere on the weekends.  During the week, Thom and I don't see our host family until we get home from school as they are still sleeping when we leave in the morning.

As we walked toward Joni Ranch, we passed by the Sugarfree Wedding Hall.  Despite the name, it looked like a really beautiful venue.  The facade had Greek Revival look with columns and archways and the grounds looked really nice, especially since the flowering trees were in bloom.  We passed the Pishina & Restaurant Shkodra (and yes, it is a mixture of Albanian and English), which is the public pool.  Pishina is the Albanian word for pool, but restaurant is English.  I am not sure what Shkodra means, except there is a city in Albania with that name.

The Sugarfree Wedding Hall

Restaurant by the pool

Pool in the background

We were pleasantly surprised by Joni Ranch.  The view of Kamenice was quite nice.  Joni Ranch has western (U.S.) look and there were some beautiful horses and their stalls were open to the path. We could pet them as we walked by.  We had lunch at the restaurant and it was a nice venue with actual table clothes on the table and flowers centerpieces.  It seemed less than ranch like inside.  Even though it was more formal, the prices were still not that expensive.  I had vegetables with rice and an order of mushrooms.  The fried mushrooms are really good.  We have had them in several places and they do not disappoint.  Vincent met us here to have lunch as he decided to run rather than walk.  Restaurants and cafes are pretty empty as it is still Ramadan until April 9th. 

The view as we walked up the steep hill

We arrive at the entrance to Joni Ranch

On of the horse at the ranch

Cloe and Winston pet the horse

The view from Joni Ranch

The restaurant at Joni Ranch

Signs for the restaurant, animals, playground etc.

Along with the horses, there were pens behind the restaurant.  There were chickens, geese, turkey, rabbits, wolves, goats, sheep and a deer in the pens.  We walked around a little longer and then started heading back.  Most of us have projects and language homework, so we headed back after a walk around the animal pens.  It was a nice walk through a different part of Kamenice.

The entrance to the restaurant

The goose

Bunnies

The wolf

There were three in this small pen

The goats

The sheep

The playground

Trees in bloom at Joni Ranch

This is a rustic barn in town on our way home

The puppy on our way home

Sunday was also nice, but cloudier than Saturday.  We decided to meet for a walk up the hill that is opposite of our house across the river.  We three other volunteers at 10 am at a gas station and headed up to the top of the hill.  We were looking for a campground that Amar had told me about, but we didn't find it.  We did find a picnic area and when we walked back down, we went a different way to the Dëshmorët e Kamenicës.  This is memorial the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) that fought for separation for Kosovo.  U.C.K. (KLA) signs are found through out Kamenice (more on that later).  It sits on a hilltop with fantastic views.

This dog followed us on our way home

A burn pile; many people burn trash

A cow standing in an empty lot in town

A rustic house and wood pile

 The white modern looking buildings is a development called hilltop

On our way from the monument

Another large wood pile; wood is used to heat homes

View from the monument

KLA member; not sure if a monument or a tomb

Middle of the monument; Albanian flag is flown all over Kosovo

View of from the monument

The outside of the monument; we have arrived at the back

The views around us are beautiful

A picnic area

After our walk, we went back to the house to finish our projects.  Then we headed to Buffi Lounge for more fried mushrooms.  As we were walking, we bumped into a guy Thom knows from his COD (Community Development) assignment and he joined us at Buffi's.  He is fasting, so he just sat and talked with us.  The restaurant was setting up for Iftar Celebrations (that's pretty much every night at sundown during Ramadan.  The evening meal is Iftar.  We didn't stay that long as they were setting up tables all around us while we sat and talked.

Iftar meals are interesting with our family.  Ganimete gets the food prepared and puts everything on the table.  There are apps that track the official end of the fast for the day and they all have them on their phones.  About 3 - 5 minutes before sundown, we all sit down at the table and they all watch their phones.  As soon as it is time, Ganimete, Selver, and Andina break the fast with a date.  Mohammad broke his fast by eating a date and because the replenish vital minerals and electrolytes many break the fast with dates.  Next, every drinks a glass of water.  Ganimete goes on the porch to have her cigarette and about 10 minutes everyone is done eating.  They eat really fast and the kids leave the table as soon as they are done.

Iftar on Saturday; Ganimete, Selver, Thom, and Amar

Iftar earlier in the week with Selver's family

Flija is the main course
 

After dinner tea is a different story.  Ganimete almost always makes tea right away and the head to the basement and the garage room for more cigarettes, snacks, and tea.  Teatime can go on for hours.  We have chosen to have our tea in the living room as the cigarette smoke is hard to sit in.  We have sat with them on several occasions, but not to often.

Irish Pub on St. Paddy's eve...

Sunday, March 17

We have been in Kamenice for two weeks and had three weeks of language lessons.  I got my first evaluation and my language teacher was very kind with her comments.  (Albanian is among the top 20 hardest languages to learn.)  It is, also, hard learning a language this quickly and while there is definite progress, there are times when I feel like I know nothing at all.  Last week was an easy week for language classes.  We spent less time in language class and on Friday, we did an activity with three food stations.   We practiced going to a "green market" or farmers' market.  We learned a few key phrases and used them with our teachers and classmates.  We also had a restaurant station, where we order food at a fast food restaurant and a sit down restaurant.  Lastly, we had a food station where we learned to read recipes and make traditional Albanian food.  In my group, we learned to make Spinach Pita (spinach with layers of thin crispy and flaky crust with spinach and cheese in between), pasul (traditional bean soup with meat), and stuffed cabbage.  I am practicing my Albanian, by reading recipes in Albanian online.  

After the food centers, we each got 5 euros to spend at the local farmers market.  I bought cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes for 2 euros, but then I went over budget when I bought a large jar of local honey for 10 euros.  It will last a long time.  We really did not have to say that much to get our items, although I did attempt to use Albanian.

Ramadan is both occasion for renewal and a cleansing as Amar the 15 year old describes it.  But it is also very challenging time for our family and all Muslims that observe the fasting period.  The family gets up before 4 am to have a last meal before sunrise and then they do not eat until close to 6 pm.  They also do not drink any liquids or smoke (for those that smoke).  One of our volunteers lives with a family that chose not to fast, because they did not want to give up smoking.  It is a choice, but many do it.  Ganimete always has the food ready for dinner as soon as it is time (the time changes by a minute or two each night) and then she goes immediately to the porch to have her first cigarette of the evening.  Then she joins the rest of us for dinner.  Dinner can be pretty much done by the time she sits down, as the family eats very fast.  I do not eat fast, so I am always there to eat with her.  In the family, as soon as you are done eating, you leave the table.  I am always last.  The family has seemed tired this week. Selver and Ganimete are asleep when we leave on most mornings, even on the mornings that class started at 9 am.  The kids have school and if we start at 9 am, they leave a little a head of us, so we see them in the morning.  The school is very close by for them and they get up basically in time to leave for school.  They are both fasting, so they do not eat before school.

Our excitement for the week, was that we have gotten a chance to meet Paul and that allowed us to take our first outing from Kamenice.  Paul is one of the volunteers from KOS8, which means he arrived in October and was sworn in to Peace Corps in December.  Paul, like us, is one of the older volunteers.  He has been here 5 months and he is the veteran that we can look to in Kamenice.  His is assignment is Kamenice and he will serve here for the remainder of his stay with Peace Corps.  He is also a Rotarian and has been a Rotarian for over 30 years.  Paul was actually out of town our first week here and that is why we didn't meet him sooner. (https://www.facebook.com/PeaceCorpsKosovo -- Scroll down and you will see a photo of Paul in Zagreb taken with visiting students from Penn State). 

One of the Peace Corps rules for trainees, is that we can not leave Kamenice unless it is with our families or Peace Corps staff.  We had planned earlier in the week to have dinner with Paul on Saturday.  He suggested we take the bus to Gjilan (about a 40 minutes bus ride), but since we are not to leave Kamenice unless it is with our host families, we had to ask for permission.   Fortunately, we were given permission to go with Paul to Gjilan.  

We caught the bus to Gjilan at about 4:30 pm.  It was a small bus and it was not crowded.  We arrived in Gjilan to rain so we stopped at a small shop and got umbrellas.  Unfortunately, between the rain and the dark, I did not get any pictures of Gjilan.  Gjilan is at least twice as big as Kamenice and it had a very nice city center and a pedestrian walkway with outdoor seating and variety of restaurants.  As it was still daylight when we arrived, none of the restaurants were busy as those who are fasting wait until sundown to eat.  After a bite to eat, we walked to an Irish Pub.  At the pub, they played songs in English and there were TVs to watch futbol (not of the American kind).  It could have been in the US, except that most people were drinking small cups of coffee instead of beer.  We caught the last bus to Kamenice at 8 pm.  We passed several nice looking shopping areas and malls as we left Gjilan.  It was nice to get a different view of Kosovo and I am looking forward to the time when we will be able to travel more.

The flowering trees are blooming and the grass is turning green.  I am glad that spring is upon us.

Trees in bloom on our walk to class

Trees full of blooms in the city park

Sunsetting on our walk back home

Our family went to a friends for Iftar, I made salad with the vegetables from the market

Cleansing...

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

This week will not be quite the pressure cooker that it was last week.  Last week, it did not seem like we would have a chance to catch our breath, but we did make it through.  This week, we start most of our sessions at 9 am instead of 8 am.  Monday, half of us went to the bank to set up our bank accounts at 9 am and we didn't have anything else until after lunch.  Tuesday, the rest of our group went, so Thom and I didn't start until 12:30 pm.  Along with our getting bank accounts on Monday, we also got our registration forms from the municipal government.  We are official now.   

On Wednesday and Thursday, we will have other training and will not have language classes.  On Friday, we will go to the farmers' market to negotiate for vegetables in Albanian.  We will get 5 extra euros for shopping.  We will have 4 1/2 hours of language class on Saturday.

Ramadan started Monday morning.  Sometime before 4:16 am, our family got up to eat Suhur.  Suhur is the morning meal that is eaten to hold the family over until the fast ends.  Iftar, the evening meal to break the fast, was at 5:45 pm on Monday.  This changes by a minute or two each evening.  Tuesday, it was at 5:47 pm.  Fasting during the day seems quite challenging, but our family makes it seem like it is a good experience for them.  

The Ramadan schedule for 2024

Unfortunately, both of the kids seem to have colds.  Amar was really struggling last night, as he also got his braces tightened during the day.  His mouth hurt and he could not eat dinner.  He went to bed really early.  I think that it is hard to fast when you are not feeling well.

On Saturday, when we went on our hike, we had to have a local resident with us.  Peace Corps has a rule during training that we must have a local with us if we leave Kamenice.  One of the host sisters of one of the other volunteers, went with us.  She told us that Ramadan is a cleansing experience to purify yourself.  She said we would be welcomed to a service at a mosque sometime.  Abnora is the language teacher for my class.  She is happy to answer our questions about Ramadan.  She told us today, that some people will stay up late and eat right before bed.  They choose not to get up at 4 am to eat.  They will just be fasting longer.

While mosques were quite prevalent as we drove through Prishtina and were seen in every town and city we rode through on our ride from Prishtina to Kamenice, the Kosovar people we have met are fairly low keyed about their religion.  They practice their faith quietly and are happy to answer questions about their practice of Ramadan, if you ask them.  The 15 year old boy in our family reads Arabic and was reading the Koran one evening.  He shared with us the schedule for Ramadan.  The family does not drink alcohol and pork is not served.  In an attempt to become better educated, I found an article entitled "Ramadan in Kosovo, Religion and Identity".  This article talks about the role Islam plays in Kosovo as the navigate their way towards joining the European Union.

There are two mosques in Kamenice.  On Sunday, we walked to the other, larger one that is further from our home.  It was very nice.  I believe they are in the process of remodeling and enlarging the one mosque that is closer to us.  We walk by each day.  We noticed a sign with information about the remodeling plan as we walked by on Sunday.  

The larger mosque in Kamenice

Another view of the larger mosque

The distinctive mosque towers

Flags flying at the municipal building:  Kosovar, Albanian, EU, US, and city of Kamenice

Painting on the side of a building says "In ajvar we trust" in English

The first Iftar meal to break the fast, the homemade bread was so good.

The community center where we have our language, cultural, and service sector classes

Another view of the community center

After a grey and rainy day, the sun catches the rooftops