One Year of Service...

Yesterday marked one year of service since swearing in as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Ironically, I was back in Kamenice where we swore-in at Joni Ranch.  I was a part of a group of 6 TEFL volunteers who were observing our trainees in the classroom.  We have trainees in Kamenice and three nearby villages -- Koretin, Toponice, and Rogaçice (Rogan).  My group was in Rogan and they did an amazing job in the classroom.  

The mosque in Kamenice that we walked by everyday during training

Sip Cafe -- one of our favorite hangouts

My village was the longest distance from Kamenice

Thirty-one volunteers arrived with KOS 10 and one had to return already for family reasons.  So the group was split between the four locations.  They meet up for certain training activities, but have their language lessons in their villages in a room in the school there.  The school in Rogan is brand new and it was beautiful.  The only problem is the heat doesn't work, so during the winter, they had to move back to the old building.  Although the weather was beautiful while I was in Kamenice (blue skies, sunny, and low 70s), the school was really cold.  The class sizes were small.  The largest class was sixteen students, and the students were well behaved.  I observed trainees in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th grade.   For the most part, students had better English than my high school students at the professional school in Kaçanik.

I enjoyed seeing the other volunteers.  Three COD volunteers also made it to Kamenice during the time we were there -- Kevin, Sarah, and Chad.  We had a chance to hang out in our volunteer community and to also hang out with the trainees from time to time.

On Thursday, the volunteers will be finding out their site placements and this weekend they will visit their sites.  I remember that was an exciting time for us last year and we are anxious to see where the new volunteers will be placed.

I was in Kamenice last week for observations on Thursday and Friday.  We stayed at Jehona, which is where our tech days were held during training.  Interestingly, several of the rooms had no keys.  They said that they would be watching out for the rooms.  Jehona is an old hotel and the mattrices were very hard and the rooms were outdated, but very clean.  We had to go into Prishtina Sunday, so that we could meet our driver at 7:20 am at PC offices Monday morning.

On Sunday, I went for a walk with the new response volunteer replacing Addie.  She has an apartment in the same building.  We went for a walk through Germia Park.  She is closer to my age and was a teacher of high school biology, micro-biology, and environmental science.  She will be working on environmental science curriculum with the ministry.  She is very athletic and loves to hike.  We will be hiking together again during her six months in Kosovo.

I had a wonderful evening on Monday, with my host family.  Ganja sent me a photo and from the photo I knew she was in the bakehouse making flia.  I let myself in the back way and went directly to the bakehouse.  She gave me the biggest hug.  She finished the flia she was making and then we went in to have coffee.  Soon the whole family was there and I enjoyed a wonderful evening in a place I felt really comfortable.  They will be hosting a new volunteer that will be assigned to Kamenice.  

While I was in Kamenice, I saw a high school student who was part of the Access Leadership group in Kamenice.  We had volunteers working with the group and I went twice during training to help out.  Drilon (the student) remembered me and stopped to say "hi".  That group was halted as their funding was partially through an USAID grant.  I am sorry the group has been halted and I hope they will find alternative funding.

On Tuesday, I headed back to Kaçanik, and on the short walk from the bus station to my apartment, I ran into familiar faces, including a talented young lady I met at the prom at the Gjimnaz.  She was walking with her mom, and she introduced us.  I knew I was back home in Kaçanik.

Now for my next adventure, I will be joining Thom, our son Matt, and his girlfriend in Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia for a few days before coming back with them to Kaçanik.  

There was only one hoop house last year and no chicken pen

Looking out from the balcony of my host families house

Me and Ganja

The family had flia while I had a fried egg and tomato salad and whole wheat bread

Spring weather views from our balcony

Breaded eggplant with sauce

It's Been a While...

It has been a while since I was able to hike with the Kaçanik hiking group.  Last Sunday was the first time since February.  It was a perfect day for a hike with sunny skies, great temps (23°c or 74°F), and a great group of people.  We hiked to the meadow I've been to before, but we walked a slightly different path.  I met some new people and enjoyed Kjani singing with his guitar.  

Our group at the start of the hike

Lunchtime with the cows

A great view of Ljuboten

Eating lunch in the meadow

Monday was a day off from school for Easter.  I went on a walk with a friend and we had coffee at a restaurant by the river.  It was another beautiful spring day, and we enjoyed sitting by the river.

The inside of the Riverside Restaurant has a rock wall

On Tuesday, Gjethi had their annual Earth Day Event.  It is fascinating to me that an event started by a University of Wisconsin -- Madison alumnus in 1970 is now celebrated here in Kaçanik with a clean-up event.  I took a class of students to help with the event.  We had to walk from the school to the Cultural House.  As we walked, students kept leaving, and by the time we got there, we had only five students.  Three students actually stayed and cleaned up litter.

Students picking up trash

Cleaning along the river

Earth Day with Meriton and Nora from school

A beautiful bird I saw on my walk on Saturday to get nettles

Creamy Nettle and Potato Soup

One euro's worth of vegetables from my favorite market

Everything is very green -- good rains and now the sun

The evening sky over Kaçanik

Last Day of Spring Break...

Today was the last day of Spring Break, and it's back to school tomorrow.  It was also the nicest day this week with temps around 70° f (20° c) with blue skies and sunny for most of the day.  I decided to take a two-hour walk and look for some nettles.  I walked through the neighborhood of Bob, completing part of the walk we had done with the hiking group.  I found several patches of nettles.  Near Bob, I stopped and walked through a little family cemetery.  As I walked back from Bob, I saw the larger cemetery in Kaçanik and decided to walk over and see it as well.   It was so nice to have a warm, beautiful day after the cold and snow at the beginning of the week.

View of Kaçanik 

Markers at the family cemetery

Elementary school in Bob

Mosque in Bob

The week was relaxing and I finished a few projects, walked a lot, had coffee with friends, and helped work on Sustainable Development Goals activities with a friend.  I am ready to get back to school and to finish out the school year.

Embroidered the edge a tablecloth for the outdoor table

Rock painting

Painted rock markers for the plants on the balcony

Crochet decoration for the door of the apartment

 

Feels Like Springbreak and that means snow...

This morning, I woke to snow on the ground.  It's spring break Monday, and it feels like what I would expect for spring break in Wisconsin.  I have no big plans for spring break.  I just want to relax a bit, take a walk or two every day, have coffee with friends, finish several projects I have started, and take a bus ride to Ferizaj or Prishtina. 

Snow coated rooftops taken from the balcony of our apartment this morning

Sunday, March 30th, was the end of Ramadan and that Monday was a day off from school as part of the celebration.  Even with only four days of school last week, it was hectic as my counterpart was out and I taught the classes by myself.  Tuesday and Wednesday were a little rough as there were several classes where students weren't on their best behavior.  Thursday and Friday made up for it as the classes went very well, especially the eleventh-grade groups.  I enjoyed the conversations that I had with the students.  I went to a new class of students on Thursday for the other morning English teacher (who was also absent from school).  We had made arrangements for me to do his two classes, before we knew my counterpart would also be absent.  So even with Monday off, I thought 19 classes (20 classes is fulltime here in Kosovo).  All in all, it was a good school week, but now I am glad to relax for a week.

Today I took two walks around the river.  It was right around freezing today, but by the weekend we will be back in the 60s.  In between my walks, I finished my first project.  I started to crochet a lap blanket at the end of January.  I thought it would take me longer, but with the past two weeks of rain, I have had more time indoors to finish it.  It started as a project to use up some random skeins of yarn that I inherited from another volunteer.  I then found additional skeins for 1 euro each at a store in Ferizaj.  The blanket was a relatively inexpensive project.

My very warm and colorful lap blanket

The backside is ribbed and it was crocheted with two stands

This week could be a little lonely, but whenever I go for walks I see students I know or someone from Thom's group.  They know me at the markets and there are the WhatsApp groups which are blowing up a little after the visit by Doge to Peace Corps HQ.

I am adding some additional photos taken over the past week or so.

The rivers are high with our recent rains

Sunday evening as the snow started up again

Sunday morning - just a little light snow

My first lettuce is almost ready to harvest

Sweet potato cinnamon rolls - so easy and delicious

Game of hangman in class - guessed correctly watermelon with just 3 letters

Another pic of high waters in the river

The water is almost even with the small weir under the bridge

Volunteerism...

I have long thought that what makes America great is “volunteerism”.  It is the willingness of Americans from all walks of life to volunteer their time and resources to help others.  In my community, volunteers man food pantries, distribute meals to elderly people, help with disaster relief, mentor English language learners, support young people in need of role models, and the list goes on.  I have volunteered my whole life through girl scouts as a child, Special Olympics in high school, a service sorority in college, through various church programs, American Red Cross, Rotary International, the national park system, and now the Peace Corps.  While Rotary International is an international organization, it was founded in the USA and RI’s motto is “Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best”. 

The statement is key, because I have always felt I have gained more as a result of my volunteer work than I give.  Not only that, but I meet the most wonderful people while serving.  To me the ultimate in service is serving for two years with the Peace Corps.  My husband and I decided to give it a try after we retired and eventually we were invited to serve in Kosovo.

Although it is hard to spend two years away from family, friends, and the comfort of home; it is an amazing experience.  It stretches your limits and helps you to gain empathy with those around you.  On April 29th 2025, I will complete my first year of service.

During that time, I am thanked almost daily by people in my community, students and staff at my school, and Peace Corps staff.  I can remember back at the start of the school year, students would thank me and I would say “but I haven’t done anything yet”.  They continue to thank me and tell me they love me as a teacher.  Once again, I have gained more than I have given.

I am stronger, more resilient, and capable of living in another country.  Each day, I am a little better at speaking Albanian, and I have a better understanding of a culture that is majority muslim. It helps me to be more understanding and to be a better member of any community moving forward.

My wish for Peace Corps is that it continues to attract the most fantastic people and that it continues to add value throughout the world to some of the neediest countries.  I hope that its value (which is definitely not a monetary value) is seen as important and that the organization can continue to grow and attract more volunteers for years to come and that Americans will continue to benefit from the passion of returned Peace Corps volunteers and knowledge and wisdom that is brought back by those that serve.