I enjoyed the last three days of my stay with my niece and family in the U.S. and didn't check the news. On Thursday, July 7, when I arrived at the Cincinnati Airport, I had no idea about the Wednesday tech glitch with United Airlines. My flight to Chicago was delayed by an hour, which wasn't too bad except that I had to go from a domestic terminal to the international terminal. This is hard to do in 40 minutes, and I arrived at my gate while my plane was still parked at the gate, but the door had been closed (So close, but no go).
I was rebooked through Istanbul with a 4-hour wait. I was thankful to spend part of the time on a video call with my niece and the two girls. They were having a great time entertaining me. I made it to Prishtina on Friday evening, too late to catch a bus back to Kaçanik. Fortunately, there is a Peace Corps Response volunteer (Birgid) with an apartment in Prishtina. So I made my way to her place for the night.
It was great spending the evening with another volunteer, Matt, and meeting a young lady (Megan) from Indiana who is doing an internship with "Save the Children" for the summer. Birgid is returning to the US in two weeks, and we wanted to hike back to the bear sanctuary before she leaves. I wanted to stay and hike on Sunday, but I didn't have my hiking shoes, and I wanted to check my plants at my apartment. So I got up early and left for Kaçanik. I unpacked my stuff, watered my plants (the plants looked good thanks to Danny), made some brownies, and repacked. I caught the 4 pm bus and traveled back to Prishtina for two more nights at her apartment.
The new Kaçanik sign at the entrance park -- the park is newly renovated
Birgid had lentil burgers ready when I arrived and I enjoyed the evening visiting with Matt and Megan. Matt was volunteering on a mural project for the weekend and was staying with Birgid. Megan was between apartments and staying with Birgid until she could get into a new apartment. It was a great way to transition back to life in Kosovo.
Sunday, Birgid, Megan, and I walked 18 miles from the apartment through Germia Park to the bear sanctuary. It was a warm day, but cooler hiking among the trees. The Bear Sanctuary is a rescue facility. These bears were mostly rescue from being on display at various restaurants or small zoos in Kosovo. Bears were kept in cages on display until they were rescued. We were fortunate to see quite a few of the 18 bears out and about on our walk around the zoo.
On Monday, it was time to head to Kaçanik. Before I did, I was able to open up the sub-account for the grant, which is fully funded. I still hope the money will be in the account before the summer ends. The account had to be set up in Prishtina, so all in all it was a great three days in Prishtina.
After I set up the account, I headed to the bus station. As I neared the station, a guy started walking beside me and he started talking to me in English. I am actually used to people coming up and talking to me in English. I think I have gotten used to people coming up and talking to me, so I didn't think much about it at first. However, this guy started saying that he wanted to help carry my backpack, because it was a hot day and it looked heavy. I told him I didn't need help, but he kept walking with me, and I one point tried to lift my backpack. My backpack has the front clip and I held on tight. He said he just wanted to help. I let him know that I didn't need his help, but he continued on to the bus station. I headed to my bus and got on and he followed me on. He sat down next to me and kept talking. I told him that I thought he was a stalker and that he should get off the bus. Eventually, he asked me for 5 euros and I told him no way. The buses have a person who collects the bus fee, and he came up and the guy did have bus fare, so they kicked him off, and I was very thankful. A lady seated behind me moved to the seat after he left, and I had a comfortable ride to Ferizaj and then on to Kaçanik.
I was late paying bills, so I went to the electric office to pay the electric bill on Monday after I got back. When I got there, the office was no longer there. I checked with Teuta (the landlord's sister) and found out I can pay the bill at the post office. They were nicer at the post office and extremely helpful.
Tuesday was a nice, sunny day, and it wasn't too hot. I got the remaining bills paid and had coffee with Teuta. In the evening, I had drinks with Danny. It was nice to catch up. At the end of the day, I felt like I accomplished a lot. Wednesday, I started sorting through the clothes and weeding out things I won't need for the school year. Birgid gave me some clothes that she is not taking with her. It is nice to have some new outfits for the school year. Thursday, I had coffee with Mirvete and it was so nice to see her and talk again. Thursday was another good day.
But Friday was really not so good. Part of summer here is a lack of water in the evenings. On Friday, the water was off the entire day. I still don't know why yet. Fortunately, the spring is a short walk, and I refilled the empty two-liter bottles in the afternoon. Along with the lack of water, there are wildfires in North Macedonia. Today, the smoke from the fires is collected in Kaçanik. It was so bad this evening, I had to close the windows, and I don't have air conditioning. I am looking forward to our PC meet-up in Ferizaj tomorrow.
A nice view of the Prishtina Library
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