May was a month of family visits. One week after Matthew and Betsy left, my daughter and her partner, James, came to visit. They had less time to stay, and it was less hectic. They still got to do a lot, but they were happy to spend time in Kaçanik as well.
They flew into Skopje on Monday. When I was at the bus station in Skopje, I met a taxi driver. His English was pretty good and I found out he was from Viti in Kosovo. Viti is not far from Kaçanik. He gave me his card and Thom made arrangements for him to pick up Kim and James. He even made a sign with their names to pick them up. He drove them to Kaçanik telling them stories along the drive.
They arrived in the afternoon and they were both tired and hungry. After a snack, we went for a walk around Kaçanik. The next morning, I went to school for what is typically my long day of teaching. During the second hour, my counterpart left. He saw Thom, Kim, and James at the Art Kaffe, and when he got back to school, he told me that I should join them. So I went to have coffee. When I arrived, they were having coffee with Enis Mjaki. He owns a business that works with computer software and technology. He took us to his office for a tour. James found it very interesting.
In the meantime, I made arrangements to visit Class 4 of 10th graders. It is one of my favorite classes. After the tour of the office, we walked to school. The students were so excited to meet my family, and it was a little crazy walking through the hallways. James and Kim seemed to enjoy the students, and they asked a lot of questions. It was fun.
After that, we went back to Art Kaffe to meet Danny. Danny is a new volunteer in the village of Koveçec. It is about a 30-minute walk for him to get to Kaçanik. Danny had the afternoon free, so we all hiked up to the UÇK sign and the Illyrian fortress. Then we walked back down the staircase that they are building up to the sign. The stairway is already falling apart, and we doubt it will ever be opened.
On Wednesday, they headed to Prizren for an afternoon tour. I wasn't able to go as I was teaching. They spent the night at Scott's place (volunteer in Prizren) and had dinner with Cloe (volunteer), Scott, and Audrey (new volunteer in Prizren).
On Thursday, I taught morning classes and then headed to Prishtina to meet Thom, Kim, and James. I got there ahead of them and went to Mother Teresa Cathedral. I was supposed to meet them at the Espresso Lab Coffee Shop, but I never made it to the coffee shop. As I was walking past the cathedral, I saw Ariana (Thom's second language tutor). We talked for a while, and then I got a call from James (his was the phone that could make international calls) asking me where I was. I knew that Ariana did not have much time, but she decided to go and greet Thom, Kim, and James. Thom was really surprised to see her.
We did the usual tour of Prishtina -- the cathedral (and tower with a view), the library, the old church, the shesh, and the Newborn monument. We had a late lunch at Napoli Restaurant, which has great pasta and pizza. We walked along Bill Clinton Boulevard and saw the statue of Bill Clinton, and then headed back to Kaçanik by bus.
The weather was good Tuesday through Friday, but the weekend weather was cold and rainy. Once again, I had classes and my counterpart didn't make to the first two classes. So Thom rented and car, and took Kim and James on a hike in the Sharri Mountains near Brezovice. They had a good day for a hike, but they did cut it short when clouds started building over the peaks. We had an early evening dinner at Guri i Zi.
On Saturday, we drove into Ferizaj in the rental car with all of us and Danny for a meet up with the volunteers that live near Ferizaj. We got there a little early and went to the market, but it was raining, so we didn't stay long. We met the others at our favorite coffee shop, had lunch at McDonals, and then had more to drink at Noah's favorite hangout. It was a good day.
On Sunday, we drove to Skopje as we still had the rental car. It was warmer in Skopje and we had a nice tour of city, before driving Kim and James to their hotel near the airport. They had an early morning flight back to the U.S.
The main square in Skopje
So the visit was done, and the last two weeks of school are flying by. Last weekend, we were able to do two hikes. The first one was in Prishtina. We hiked to Germia Park with Birgit before the book club met to discuss "Eat the Buddha". On Sunday, we did a Kaçanik hike, and Danny was able to go with us and meet the hiking group. It was a nice hike through Stagove and to the UÇK Memorial. It is nice to have a volunteer nearby and I am glad he was able to meet members of the hiking group.
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