The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

This past week had a lot of ups and downs.  We are nearing the end of the first quarter and my counterpart said that it was time to give a test.  He copied a standard test from the book and gave it to the students.  Because we have 10th graders and this is their first year of high school, they have come in with a variety of English skill levels.  These students come not only from the elementary schools (grades 1 - 9) in Kaçanik, but also from the surrounding villages.  There are those who speak and understand no English at all and those that are fully conversational and understand a good deal of grammar as well.

For me, it was really hard giving out a test to students, when I knew they did not have the language background to pass it.  When I gave a test in my classes in the U.S., it was important that I was testing on what I had taught and what students had the chance to master.  If a majority of my students couldn't pass a test than I had failed, not the students.  So needless to say, I went home feeling pretty bad on a number of occasions last week.  We only have two days of school this week; and then we have a short and much needed break from school.  We will finish up the testing before the break and when I come back, we will start fresh.  I am looking forward to that.  Yes, if you haven't guess, this was the bad part of the week.

The good part of the week was a teacher conference in Prizren.  The conference is designed to start helping teachers change the way they teach in in their classrooms in Kosovo.  There were a variety of organizations involved, but it was ran by the Peace Corps staff and two professors from Prishtina.  It took place on the university campus in Prizren and we were there to help  facilitate.  The topic was competency based and project based learning.  These English teachers had already attended a conference last spring and this was a follow-up conference which focused on project based learning.  My school district in the in Middleton has use these two teaching strategies for a long time and I had training in both.  I felt like I had a lot to add, especially when we were facilitating in small groups.  My group was great and I really enjoyed the conference.

The Peace Corps volunteers that were at the event, were primarily TEFL.  Scott works with community organizations and stopped by the conference on Sunday to help, but that is because he lives in Prizren.  Some our TEFL had to leave early on Sunday, because of limited bus schedules and so he came to help facilitate.  For me, it was so good to talk with other volunteers during our free time in the evenings.  Alyanna and I got in Friday night and had dinner together.  We both felt the same way about the testing process and it was so good to know that I was not alone.  

The hostel in Prizren

A Turkish cemetery across from the university

The steps in one of the buildings on campus

A Little Free Library on campus

A park across from the campus

The sunset and river in Prizren

Another sunset view before I got dinner on Sunday

Cargo container for ticket sales in the summer (I think)

TEFL volunteers pose for a photo after the event on Saturday.

On Saturday, a group of us hung out at destiLL in Prizren.  This restaurant has a hippy, artsy vibe with great outdoor seating and it was really close to most of our hostels.  It was a really chill evening.  One of the volunteer's mother, Marilyn, was in Italy and took a side trip to visit her son.  She showed up at distiLL as well.  She had toured around Prizren during the day, while Andrew was helping with the conference.  I enjoyed talking with Marilyn as she is a Rotarian and we had many things in common.

The teachers at the conference were from the Prizren municipality (and the surrounding villages) and I made new friends.  Rozefa invited me to come back sometime so that she can show me some interesting hieroglyphs on the cliffs around her village.  Cloe's counterpart was in my group and he was so interesting to work with on our projects.  He has some really great ideas of things to do with his students.

The ugly is the medlar fruit.  Some of it was ready to eat and I had them with my muesli this morning.  When they are ready, they start to wrinkle and get squooshy.  So when they are really ugly, that is when you eat them.  The other ugly is that as it is getting colder and there are more wood burning heaters firing up and the air quality is not really that good.  

The leaves are really changing now

Medlar when it is ready to eat

The smoke coming for the wood fired heater at my school

 

Copiation...

Copiation" is the new word that students coined in class today.  This is the word they made up for when someone is copying their work.  Tuesday is my long day, but it is one of my favorite days.  The classes are fun and I enjoyed the students, but I also like Wednesday and Friday as well.  Today, we had seven classes in a row, but it went really fast.  I have been doing only morning classes up until last week.  Now, I have added five afternoon classes on Monday and Thursday and I am working with another English teacher, Besim.  

Along with the teaching schedule, we had a Peace Corps Climate Change workshop last Friday and Saturday in Brezovicë.  I missed my classes on Friday, but enjoyed the workshop and the experience.  I brought, Mirvete, a colleague from work; and Elisa from Bonevet.  Bonevet is a NGO that does STEAM classes.  She is also developing environmental curriculum.  Brezovicë is in the Sharr Mountains and the fall colors were really beautiful.  The workshop was a joint venture between the Peace Corps and the EPA.  In fact, Lek who came to Kaçanik in September, was back in Kosovo for this event.

Along with learning about the project management process and how to design a climate change project, we took a field trip up to the nearby ski resort.  We went there because there is a hydro-power plant next to the ski resort.  This plant is being protested.  While hydro-power sounds like a more environmentally friendly source of electricity, the environmental impacts are far greater than the small percentage of electricity derived from it.  Kosovo is landlocked with a limited supply of water, so hydro-power is really not cost effective.  There are two hydro-power plants between the resort and the hotel that our conference was in.  These are both in the Sharr National Park.  We were told that they were built illegally and so they have been protest against them.  We have been to Brezovicë twice before and did not know the hydro-power site was there as it is well hidden behind a chalet built by the same person (company) that built the power plant.

Females are slightly out-numbered as this is it for KOS 8 and 9

Check out a hydro-power site

The views from the ski area

The hydro power facility is located behind this chalet.

Fall colors in the mountains, is still pretty green in Kaçanik

Elisa gets her certificate from country director, Carolyne; and Lek from the EPA

Mirvete gets her certificate from country director, Carolyne; and Lek from the EPA

Yesterday was Thom's birthday and the guys from his Gjethi took us both out for wine and appetizers at Uda Restaurant last night.  It was a nice evening and we enjoyed the conversation.  They got him a sweatshirt with the Albanian eagle on it.

 

My birthday present to Thom 

Thom's birthday celebration at Uda Restaurant

Additional photos of interest

Two ladies making flia in a fire ring in their backyard

The catalba trees are changing color, but the sycamore are still green

Buki (Thom's walking buddy) sold his bar and now it is the "Casa Pub" and

I hope they have good marguerita's

Apple Pie Hike or Door, House, Kaput...

I am starting to see more of a routine to my days.  I go to school in the morning, come home to relax for a bit, and then take an afternoon walk before fixing dinner.  I will be adding a few afternoon classes to my schedule so that I can work with the other English teacher, Besim.  Fortunately, I will still be able to have a little downtime between the morning classes and afternoon classes.  With walks to and from school each day, I should get four miles of walking in since I won't have time for an afternoon walk.

I finished writing the proposal letter for the grant for an English Language Lab, a mobile lab, and a school facelift.  The proposal was quickly accepted and now I will work on writing the grant application as it is due by the end of November.

Yesterday we went on a long, but relatively easy hike starting out of Kaçanik and returning to Kaçanik at the end.  My phone tracked 12 miles (19 km), but there were no steep climbs making it easier than climbing the peaks.  We hiked the foothills starting out of the village of Teneqja just north of Kaçanik and ending near Guri i Zi (a restaurant we have visited in the past).  This was the hike of "fshatrat" as we went to three of the group's villages (family homesteads) on the hike.  Fshat is the Albanian word for village.  Teneqja is Fatmir's village.  Often the male members of the family share their last name with the name of their villages.  Next, we came to Zekiria's home village where he was born.  It is basically deserted, but there is a small chalet for visits in the summer.

A train tunnel through the foothills on it's way to Ferizaj

A small wind turbine in the village of Teneqja

It was here that we collected apples, quince, and medlar from the homestead.  Thom and I had our packs full of fresh fruit.  After a short walk around the homestead, we headed back to the trail.  Here we came across the ruins of an old structure.  I think it was the doctor who explained it by saying the English words he knew "Door, House, Kaput".  Which means there was a door and house, but it has since fallen down.  The hikes always include a lot of laughs, but we don't always understand.  This time we did.  Not far from the village, was the cemetery, where Zekiria's family is buried.  

Abandoned building in the small deserted village

There is still hay piled in this derelict building

The view from the village; Ferizaj in the distance

As the sun peaks out

Medlar tree with it's interesting fruit; provided at link to an article on Medlar

Views on our hike to the villages

Summer chalet; probably used by family members

At the homestead

Look closely there is a horse in this photo

Door, house, kerput and much laughter

Next, we came to a UÇK training area.  This was where UÇK resistance fighters were trained during the war.  There is a sign on the gateway going in and it looked as if the house was still in use.   After that, we walked for a while and then we came to the doctor's family homestead.  After that we stopped for lunch near a spring.  They built a small fire while we had lunch.  Ekrem had brought some sausage to roast.  I forgot my hummus for my bread, but someone shared their homemade slightly, spicy ajvar.  Ajvar is a Balkan pepper sauce and this one was really good.

An old well among the vegetation

The small green markers are recent burials waiting for more permanent markers

Krivanjeva Family Cemetery

The sign to the UÇK training center

The house at the training center

An outbuilding at the training center

An old oven at the training center

Probably the outhouse and a grain crib to the right

Fall colors starting to show

A few group shots

I am not sure if its for hunting or for play

A strawberry blooming in the fall (unusual)

It is raining on the mountain peaks, but we don't get rained on during our hike

The doctor's village

Building the fire

After lunch, we start heading back towards Kaçanik.  We stopped at a memorial to fallen fighters and we learned a little about these fighters.  Commander Bardhi had a long history of activism in Kosovo and died while fighting with the UÇK.  The attached link describes his life and his fight for freedom in Kosovo.  Selimi Shehu was also a freedom fighter and he fell in the same battle as Commander Bardhi.

This is a solemn photo to pay respect, we should have known

There is a spring at the mosque; one of my students sees me and comes to say hello (not in the photo)

Last group shot as our parties separate and head home

After stopping at the memorial for a photo, we headed back to Kaçanik arriving around 3 pm.  This was early for the end of the hike and it gave me some time to run to the store for the ingredients needed for apple pie.  Once I got back home and after a much needed shower, I started making apple pie.  I took a brief break from peeling apples, to speak with family back home.  Our niece, Allie and her husband, Andrew, were married on Friday night in the Baltimore area.  Allie and her older sister, Erica, both live in the Baltimore/D.C. area.  Family members from throughout the country had gathered for the wedding and they were having a family day after wedding (and watching the Ohio State football game) at Erica's house.  Our daughter, zoomed us in, when the newly married couple arrived.  We talked for a bit with as many people as we could.  

After that, I made a rustic apple pie in one of my rectangle, glass baking pans and it turned out really good.  This did not come close to using all the apples.  I have not used quince before and I found out that they are sweeter once the are cooked.  Eaten raw, this bright yellow fruit is tart and slightly astringent.  It's texture is more like an unripe pear, very firm and a little grainy.  I decided to make an quince applesauce on Sunday morning and it turned out really good as well.  It was just quince chunks, apple chunks, cinnamon, a little honey, and a little tart cherry juice.  I left some chunky and used the immersion blender for a smoother version.    I thought I would try making apple cider vinegar from the apple peels and scraps.  We will see in a week or so how that turns out.  It is basically water, peels, a little sugar, and a little unpasteurized cider vinegar.   We still had some apples left for eating during the week.  They are crisp and flavorful.

Apples, bright yellow quince and little brown medlar

We got lots of apples

Thom is there in the tree, picking apples

Rustic apple pie

My piece of the pie

The quince needs longer, so I added apples at about 10 minutes

I used cherry juice for the liquid

Chunky and smooth apple sauce, slightly pink from the quince

My food space:  Apple vinegar ferment, ginger bug, and sprouting rosemary

My lettuce I am growing from the core of lettuce I bought a the market

My peppers and tomatoes are still producing

A rosemary that I started

A lavender that I started

On Friday, we had to choose between going to Prizren to celebrate another volunteer's birthday or staying for the hike.  We chose the hike, which also allowed us to take in the traditional dance and music festival at the cultural center.  There were dance groups, vocal performers, and musicians from other towns and cities that came to perform in the show.  We enjoyed seeing the performance with Valon, Remzi, and Sami.  Afterward, we went to Shok Cafe for tea and beer.  

The festival banner

A musical skit

A singer and musicians

Folk dancers from nearby Viti

Traditional string instruments

Various Mushroom Photos from the Hike

Most of these are not edible

Edible but to old to use