The End of the School Year...

My school year ended on June 5th, but for many of the volunteers in elementary school, it ended on Friday, June 20th or officially on Monday, June 23rd.  On Saturday, a celebration marking the end of the school year took place in Prizren.  We had a grill out at a volunteer's home, and those who could and wanted to travel came.  There are many volunteers whose sites are located near Prizren, and so a sizable gathering took place.  It is always nice to meet and talk with all the volunteers.  

The best part is that there was a special hike on Sunday sponsored by the Prizren Hiking Club.  The meeting point was at one of the bridges in Prizren.  Our hiking group was planning to go to Shkoder for a Saturday-to-Sunday camping and hiking trip.  We were not going on to do the Shkoder hike.  We were excited to have another option we could join, so we got an apartment near the meeting point and spent Saturday night in Prizren.  

We put the message out to other volunteers who like to hike, especially our new volunteers in the Prizren area.  Hiking has been a great way to meet people and to get to know our community better, and we believe that other volunteers will find it beneficial to hike with the hiking groups in their communities.  On Friday, we found out that two members of our hiking club in Kaçanik were going to do the Prizren hike instead of the hike in Shkoder.   We let them know we were planning to hike, but would already be in Prizren.  They offered to pick us up at the bridge in Prizren and drive us to the trailhead.  They would also drive us back to Kaçanik at the end of the hike.

Four other Peace Corps volunteers joined the hike: Mike, Birgid, Matthew, and Steven.  Mike's brother, Jeff, was visiting him.  So Jeff came as well as Steven's girlfriend, who was also visiting from Denmark.  We got up on Sunday morning to meet the guys from our hiking group.  When we got there, they were already talking with our Peace Corps friends.  Our Peace Corps friends had a ride to the trailhead on the bus, so we left ahead of the bus with Ekrem.  It was an interesting drive to the trailhead that went up a mountain road through small villages.  This was a well-attended event with hiking groups from all over Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Albania.  There were two options for hiking so after hiking for a while, some of us headed for Vertop Peak, and others took a less steep hike to a mountain lake.  We chose to walk to the peak for the views from the top.

It was a great hike, and it was fun to have the other volunteers on the hike.  We met a lot of people as well.  On one of our breaks, there was a young lady from Tirana who currently lives in Prishtina sitting next to us.  We started talking with her, and while she often hikes with the Prishtina group, for this hike she came by herself.  Birgid and I talked with a man who was a former English teacher, and he talked about the problems with the educational system in Kosovo.  It was interesting to hear him say these things, as they are the same things I have been feeling while I have been teaching at the school here in Kaçanik.  

The hiking group in Prizren covered the cost of the bus plus they provided snacks for the trail and then grilled sandwiches at the end of the hike.  It was a beautiful hike on a beautiful day.  The hiking community continues to be one of the things I enjoy most in Kosovo.

It was especially nice to have a ride back from Prizren.  We took the newly paved road that goes through the mountain and the town of Prevalle.  The road had been dirt from Prizren to Prevalle.  Last winter, it was paved, making it easier to get from Prizren to Kaçanik.

I am settling into my summer schedule with Albanian lessons on Thursday, morning and evening walks around Kaçanik, and an occasional coffee at a cafe.  Last week, I worked on getting craft projects ready for a summer camp, I am helping with in July.  This week, I will finish my quarterly Peace Corps reports and walk to the various utilities to pay my bills.

Photos from the Hike

At the beginning of the hike

Waiting on everyone to arrive.  We are hiking to the peak in the background

Group photo

Another view of the group

Our first break of the day

Before the groups splits

The flowers are beautiful

Such a wonderful day

Peace Corp volunteers and friends

A village is nestled in the valley (upper center)

The peak we are heading to and surrounding peaks

More flowers, more peaks

At the top with PCVs me, Michael, Matthew, Steven and Birgid

Photos from last week

The catalpa flowers along the river sidewalk

North Dakota plates on the street not far from our apartment

Wisconsin plates outside of our apartment

Walking to see the stork in Koveçec

The roses are beautiful and blooming all over

Putting up the sign for Summer on the Square (Vera n' Shesh)

The shesh is ready but the party doesn't start until dark

Rock painting samples for camp; the theme is peace

Kaçanik to Korbliq...

Three Americans, two Kosovars, and a Kosovar - American take off for a hike from Kaçanik to Korbliq to see the waterfall.  It sounds like a start to a stupid joke, but it was actually our hike on Sunday.  The hiking group was off for a special hike in Tetova, and I'm not ready to use up vacation days to go on a hike, so we did our own hike.  Thanks to the Gjethi guys, we had a really great time.

We did this hike before, a little over a year ago with the couple from Switzerland and Gjethi.  The day was beautiful -- in the mid-80s with very little humidity and light breezes.  It is not a peak hike, and it is only 14 miles round trip.  Valon and Emrin from Gjethi hiked with us, while Remzi and Sami met us there.  They brought lunch and did some repair work on the platform while they waited for us.   Rolan, Valon's cousin who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, came along as well.  We met him last summer when we hiked to the peak of Ljuboten.  Danny, the new volunteer in the nearby village, also joined us.

We left at 8 am, and Valon drove us up the hill to the trailhead.  We started on our way, stopping about a mile into our hike at the lovely picnic area that Gjethi had put in a number of years ago.  Te Cami Park is a lovely area nestled among a grove of Bosnian Pines.  It needed a bit of a clean-up as there was trash lying around.  Fortunately, someone left a partial roll of garbage bags under a picnic table, and so we were able to clean up the area and then be on our way again.  We did a round-trip hike and were able to pick up the bags of garbage on the way back.  

They are in the process of paving the dirt road from Kaçanik to Korbliq.  When it is done, it will connect the road to Viti through Korbliq.  Right now, however, it is very dusty and dirty where they are getting the road ready for pavement.  That was the downside of the hike.  It didn't take too long to get to Korbliq.  Sami was waiting for us at the entrance trail to the waterfall.  There is a sign and a picnic table, and of course, there is trash on the ground around the sign and table.

We stopped to pick up trash again before making our final trek to the waterfalls.  The tables we painted last year still look good, and the location was being enjoyed by a group of people (including a student from school).  The location is shaded, cool, and there is a nice swimming hole created by a dam of rocks.

The picnic had vegetables, bread, and sausage grilled over a fire.  Emrin brought homemade elderflower water, which was really good.  We really enjoyed a nice relaxing break, before we made our way back to Kaçanik.  

We stopped in a meadow for a break on the way back, and it was such a beautiful spot.  I could imagine pitching a tent to spend the night.  When we reached the spring, we met a family filling up a large water tank.  Their daughter, a third-grader, started speaking in English with Danny and me.  Her English was so good.  She told us she doesn't remember how she learned to speak English, but we suspect it was watching shows on TV or the Internet.  She was so confident and really cute.

From this point, it was about a mile to the picnic area to pick up the trash and then on to car.  It was a great day and a fun hike, but I was glad to get a shower to clean off the dust I had accumulated on the hike.

Photos from the Hike

The view from Te Cami Park

Bosnian Pine Grove

Stone grill and signage that Gjethi created

The picnic area after we cleaned it

Another picnic area near a memorial to fallen war heroes

Memorial to hereos

Our view of Ljuboten

Rustic fence in Korbliq

Ujevara -- Waterfall

The swimming hole

Daisies along the way

Making a fire to grill sausage

Our trail

After the Visitors and a School Year Done...

 After Kim and James left, I had just two weeks of school remaining.  We gave tests during the second-to-last week of school, starting on Monday, they flew out.  Each day that week, we finished early as it was nice outside and students didn't stay once they finished their tests.  The first week of June was our last week of school.  Students came in to find out their grades and then went to the cafe (or anywhere but school).  By Wednesday, we were done letting students know their grades, and the school year was over.  Each day when I walk, I see students from the school and I hear the voices calling "teacher".

There was no graduation ceremony for seniors at my school, but the gjimnaz had a ceremony, and Gazmend told me about it.  Thom and I decided to go.  It was at the cultural house, and students wore caps and gowns.  There was a guest speaker a distant relative of Kastriot Skanderbeg (the school is named after Skanderbeg).  He is a historic figure to Albanians as he helped to repulse the Turkish invasions in 1443.  Florije Luzha (whom I met on a hike last year) was the student speaker.  It was a nice ceremony.

There was a hike around Kaçanik to Stagova and the UÇk memorial on the Sunday right before school ended.  Danny was able to go along and meet the group.  It was a beautiful day and a really nice hike.

Photos from our Hike

Our group in front of the school

Danny and me (I have an new Kaçanik hiking shirt)

After our picnic

Beautiful red poppies

Lush green vegetables and Lyuboten Peak

The mosque in Stagova

The fairly new school building in Stagova

Another view of the school

The train platform in Stagova

A puppy on the tracks

More poppies and lush green landscapes

A cemetary along the way

The UÇK Monument

With Danny at the monument

Drinks at the end of the hike

Friday of that week was Kurbani Bayrami (Feast of the Sacrifice).  During the week, I saw pens with lambs in them in Kaçanik and other communities.  Many families purchase lambs to sacrifice as part of the holiday tradition.  We left on Thursday to go to Prishtina as the buses don't run on holidays, and we had plans to hike with Birgid in Germia Park on Friday.  Our plan was to make the 16-mile round-trip hike to the bear sanctuary.  We knew it was a holiday and there was a good chance it wouldn't be opened, but we made the hike anyway.  We did see snakes and frogs along the way.  The bear park was closed.  I was surprised at how nice and well-kept the facility looks, and I look forward to coming back sometime.  

Hiking with Birgid

At the entrance to the Bear Sanctuary

A snake on our hike

Views of Prishtina from Germia Park

Noah also stayed at Birgids. Our original plan was to stay Thursday night, but the buses weren't running on the holiday, so we stayed two nights.  Noah stayed as well.  We went to the Himalayan Gorkha Restaurant, which had some good traditional Indian / Asian food.  We had a nice time at Birgid's and enjoyed her hospitality. 

On Saturday, we headed back to Kaçanik and had no problem getting a bus from Prishtina to Ferizaj.  On my ride into Ferizaj on Thursday, I switched buses at the old bus station and had my Albanian lesson at the usual cafe that is close to that station.  On our way back to Ferizaj, we started heading in a weird direction, and both Thom and I were wondering where we were going.   I heard a lady behind me asking the bus assistant about getting to Kaçanik.  I could not understand all of the conversation, but I believe that we were still alright.  Ferizaj has a series of underground roads with roundabouts, parking, and bus stops.  This link is to a video taken in 2021, before the underground road opened to traffic.  They are currently adding on to it.  I was surprised by it when we started driving through the underground, as had never done that before.  It really is pretty amazing.  We ended up at the new bus station with our new friend.  She was also trying to get to Kaçanik; however, we soon found out the regular Kaçanik buses weren't running.  

Even before we got to Ferizaj, we knew there was a problem.  Danny was trying to get to Ferizaj from Kaçanik because he wanted to go to the flea market to see if he could find a pair of hiking shoes.  He sent us a message while we were on the bus that he didn't think the buses were running.  But the lady we talked with on the bus was determined to find a way for us all to get to Kaçanik.  She went inside the new business station (which is really nice, big, and well-organized) and came out and told us to follow her.  The bus to Skopje had just pulled in, and although that bus doesn't typically go through Kaçanik; today they would.  This was the 10:30 am bus with the bus company, I had taken previously to meet up with Matt, Betsy, and Thom at Lake Ohrid.  Typically, the bus takes the highway, which goes over the Kaçanik.  We were still not entirely sure what to expect, but we got on the bus and they charged us the normal fee to Kaçanik and not the fee to Skopje.

And indeed, we did go to Kaçanik and they dropped us off at another location, but it was not a very far walk to the apartment.  A car picked up the lady we met and we said "goodbye" after getting a photo with her.  As we walked home, we passed by the vegetable market, so I got my vegetables for the day.  The super helpful lady gave us a card with the bus's phone number.  We believe that if we need to go to Skopje, we can call the bus company and they will actually drive to Kaçanik and pick us up the way.   At any rate, it is always interesting to get around on a national holiday.  On Saturday, we invited Danny to dinner as he never made it to Ferizaj, and it gave us all something to do on our holiday weekend.

Homemade pitas with red lentil fritters and tzatziki

This past week was my first week of summer break and the first part of the week, I did not have much going on.  So it was a chance to clean the apartment and to get organized.  There was another holiday on June 12th (National Liberation Day), but it did not impact our buses.  There was, however, a folk dance competition on the shesh (town square).  Tuesday, we went to the shesh to watch, and Danny joined us.  There are several folk dancers for the Kaçanik troupe that went to the high school I volunteered at, and it is fun to watch them perform.

Photos from the Folk Dancing Competition

On Wednesday, I was not feeling well and needed an antibiotic.  I talked with the Peace Corps doctor, and he told me to walk to the pharmacy, and when I got there, to call him on the phone, so he could talk with the pharmacist.  So I walked to the nearest pharmacy, got the doctor on the phone, and handed it to the lady at the counter.  He told her what was needed, and the antibiotic cost me €3.53.  There was no prescription and no questions asked.

On Thursday, I was feeling better, and I headed to Prishtina for a meeting at Peace Corps Headquarters and for my mid-service health exam.  I met the new doctor, Votim, whom I had talked to on the phone the day before.  He was so super nice and cheerful.  He was a little surprised that the antibiotic worked so fast. He thought I might not make it to Prishtina. He is 33 years old, which is the same age as my son Matt.  He was an emergency doc at the hospital before this, and he said he likes the pace of being a PC doc.

I saw Alyanna and Sarah.  They were also in Prishtina for their medical exams, and it was nice to talk with them.  I met Mary Quigley from the new volunteer group.  She is from Ohio and likes to crochet.

Let the summer begin...

My planter garden