Since my last post, the weather has taken a nosedive, and last Friday we woke up to snow. It was not just in the mountains, but it was in the valley in Kaçanik as well. It has been much colder since then, and rainy weather has returned. However, interestingly enough, there are still issues with a consistent water supply. On Monday, it went out about 12:30 pm and was out until around 9:30 pm. We found out that there was a broken pipe and which contributed to that outage, but this week it continues to go out in the evening for a bit, but at least it is coming back on around 9 pm.
After a month of school, I am adjusting to the schedule. Monday and Tuesday, I have classes in the morning. Wednesday through Friday, I started at either 3:35 or 4:20 pm. I am typically done between 6:30 and 7:00 pm. Unfortunately, weekend travel is difficult because of how late I have classes on Friday and the fact that the buses don't run to or from Kaçanik on Sunday.
That being said, we did meet up for our book club in Prishtina on Saturday and had lunch at the Himalayan Gorka Restaurant, which was really nice.
Last week, was very busy, which is why I did not have a blog post. Monday was a normal day, but Tuesday we spent the day at a workshop with the Gjethi group. The workshop was with students from three schools in Kaçanik, including students from the school where I volunteer. It started at 9 am and we headed back to Kaçanik. Students learned about issues with the water resources in Kosovo and then designed projects to conserve water that could be implemented at their schools. The students were 9th, 10th, and 11th graders, and I enjoyed the day immensely. Not only did I know students from my school, I also knew several students from the other schools. The participation was amazing, and it is good to see students given the opportunity to think outside the box.
On Wednesday, I went with my friend, Mirvetë, to the school that she is subbing English in. The school is in the village of Biçec and she teaches the lower elementary classes. We did 5 classes together in 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 4th classes. It was a lot of fun, but very tiring. After 5 classes in the morning, I had three classes in the late afternoon. It was a great day, as my Wednesday afternoon students are great.
Part of my weekly routine, is morning language lessons on Friday in Ferizaj. I am practicing conversational Albanian and it is going pretty slowly. I am working on advancing my language level at the final oral exam which I will take in December. The advantage of afternoon classes is that I have language lessons before teaching and I do better when I am not tired.
The hikes remain one of the best parts of being in Kaçanik. Our recent hikes have been local and last weeks was a beauty. With the fresh snow on Ljuboten, we had many beautiful views. On our last hike, there was a female hiker from New Zealand who lives in Prishtina. She met the hiking group at the tea shop after her and her husband were hiking. The group invited them to join their hikes, and occasionally Jose joins the hike. It was the first time I have met her, but she was lots of fun. I realize how much the hiking club's welcoming nature has helped to make our time in Kaçanik really great.
Friday's snow was a heavy, wet snow, and there were a lot branches across the path. It took us longer to get to the village of Llanishtë where we stopped for lunch. Instead of going further, we turned around after lunch and headed back to Kaçanik. We ended with a stop at the Lepenci Teashop for tea.
We continue to have water issues in Kaçanik. On Monday, our water shut off around 12:30 pm. This was much earlier than normal. We were running low on water in the evening, so we walked to the spring to refill our two-liter bottles. There were several people ahead of us, and more arrived while we waited. We found out that there was a pipe that needed to be fixed or replaced, which accounted for the lack of water today. By 9:30 pm, the water returned. At the time, I hoped that this repair would end the water issues, but on Tuesday, we once again lost water in the early evening. I hope that the periodic snow and rain over the last week will help eliminate the lack of water.
Along with the water going out, the electricity was out for about 8 hours on Friday. With temperatures hovering around freezing, it was a bad day to be without heat. Fortunately, our apartment is still fairly warm, but for Danny (the volunteer in Korvaçec) with very cold basement apartment, the lack of power was particularly trying. Even with power and water issues, most of the volunteers still believe Kosovo is a pretty good gig.
Recent Photos
White Bean Soup with Italian Cornbread Salad with Greek Orange Cake
View of sun and clouds from the balcony
The tree growing in the conference room at the Të Parku Restaurant
Snow on the roof on Friday, October 3rd
Friday, October 3rd and the snow continues
Snow covered Ljuboteni
Mosque in the village of
Llanishtë
View of Kaçanik and Ferizaj in the distance
Snowball fight
The twig and branch bridge built by the hiking club
Memorial to hero of the war in Llanishtë
View at the UÇK
Young Sharri Mountain Dog as I was walking along the river
Apple Quince pie with fruit harvested on our hikes
Fresh snow today (October 9) makes Ljuboten a stand out
The winter scarf completed just in time for winter weather
