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.
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.
The view from the village; Ferizaj in the distance
As the sun peaks out
Look closely there is a horse in this photo
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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.
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.
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.
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