Friday was my last day at school. The students were so amazing. There were hugs, photos, and some games on the smartboard. It was hard saying goodbye to Emine and giving her my key to the lab. I had a few tears as I walked home from school for the last time. There were even more goodbyes to come.
On Saturday, we headed to Ferizaj for dinner at our language tutor's house. Thom won a bet, and the prize was pita spinaç. Shpresim (our tutor) thought the train from Skopje to Prishtina would be running before we left, and Thom did not. The train isn't running, so Thom won. Shpresim's wife made a wonderful dinner, and it was a relaxing time. After dinner, Shpresim took us back to the bus station, where we met another volunteer, Sarah. Sarah was going to join us for the hike on Sunday. She spent the night at our place, so she could join the hike.
We did a local hike starting from our normal spot. It was a beautiful day. We knew that something was planned as we were told not to bring food, and all week long people kept asking us if we were going to be there. It was a pretty big group. Erjiola (my first counterpart's daughter) joined us on the hike. It was nice seeing her again. There is another high school boy who came the previous week. He likes to practice his English while hiking. He is very interested in doing an exchange in the U.S.
We hiked for a while, but we didn't stop for lunch. We had short breaks, but we kept hiking well past lunch time. Eventually, we arrived at a cabin in the woods. There, the hiking group had arranged a special meal in our honor. It was a gorgeous day for a wonderful outdoor meal. It was special, and everyone was so nice. They gave us a plaque with two photos from our hike, some prints from our hikes, water bottles with Bluetooth speaker bases, and a bottle of wine. The hiking group really made our time in Kosovo so special. The entire day we got amazing views of snow-covered Ljuboten from many vantage points.
After we got back from our hike, we had to hurry home and get ready for dinner with the guys from Gjethi. We went to a new restaurant. Sarah and Danny came as well. After dinner, they brought in a projector, screen, and a computer. They did a presentation of photos from the many events that we were involved in. We had a wonderful dinner and then received certificates and letters of appreciation. The day was so amazing.
On Monday, my friend Mirvete picked us up and drove us to Prizren for the day. The weather was even better than on Saturday and Sunday. The mountains are still snow-covered and so beautiful. The weather has been warmer, but there has been more snow this year. We met Mirvete's friend in Prizren, and he drove us to a restaurant. We enjoyed sitting outside in the sun. After lunch, we walked around Prizren. We found a quieter spot for coffee, once again enjoying the opportunity to sit outside. On the way home, we drove through the mountains. The sky was so blue. The weather was phenomenal, and the mountains were so beautiful.
On Tuesday, we met two volunteers (Nadia and Sarah) at Prishtina Mall to watch Project Hail Mary. We read the book as part of the book club, and we wanted to see the movie. The movie was three hours long, but it was really good. After the movie, we headed back to Kaçanik. Tuesday was another good day.
On Wednesday, we got a ride to Prishtina with Sami. I had a final blood test. My levels of B12, were high in the previous two blood tests, so I needed to have one more before leaving. The good news was that this time they were normal. We met our friend, Elise, for lunch at our favorite restaurant, Baba Ganosh. Elise now works and lives in Prishtina. She used to work at the Bonavet in Kaçanik, and this gave us a chance to catch up. After lunch, I stopped in to sign the closing paperwork for the grant with Arjeta. I saw Tarik, Merita, Jasmir, and Arjeta. We talked for a bit, and it seems pretty certain that there will be one new volunteer placed in Kaçanik. Then, I went to the bank to close my bank account.
This took about 45 minutes, but it is a necessary step for leaving. From Prishtina, we took a bus to Peja. We are planning to do the via ferrata on Thursday. A via ferrata ("iron path" in Italian) is a protected climbing route that combines hiking and rock climbing, featuring fixed steel cables, ladders, rungs, and bridges anchored to rock faces. You wear a harness, helmet, and stay clipped to a cable as you traverse the course. We arrived in Peja to the most spectaculer views we have ever seen in Peja. The air is clear and the skies are so blue. Peja is such a beautiful city nestled at the entrance to the Rugova canyon. Sarah also came to Peja. We met up with Sarah and David (another volunteer from KOS 9) for dinner and then headed to an AirBnb.
The weather continues to be some of the best we have ever had, and Peja was absolutely beautiful for our last visit. At 11 am, we met a volunteer (Jacob) who works with a guide for the via ferrata. David and Sarah went with us, but they only wanted to watch. We really enjoyed the via ferrata. It was not too difficult, and the weather and views were perfect. After the via ferrata, we had lunch at the restaurant that David and I went to during training when we did the cultural visit to Peja. I enjoyed the salad as much as I had in training. We had dinner with Jacob and Kalena. Kalena is Jacob's partner, and they are both working with organizations in Peja. We had a really great last visit to Peja.
On Friday, we had breakfast with Sarah and David. Then we caught the bus back to Prishtina. About halfway between Peja and Prishtina, the bus broke down, and we got off along the roadside. It was something with the radiator, and steam was spewing out. The bus attendant got scalded by the steam, and a car came to pick him up, and they drove off quickly. Fortunately for us, about 15 minutes later, another bus came by and picked us up. The rest of the trip went well, and we made it back to Kaçanik in the afternoon.
Friday evening, two volunteers (Victoria and Matthew) spent the night. They were traveling in Italy for spring break with Danny. They flew in and out of Skopje, and did not get in early enough to make it back to their sites. Also while in Italy, Danny's phone was stolen. So he now has the challenge of replacing his phone, with the added stress of having no WiFi at his place. Danny walked back to his place, without a phone. He came back in the morning, and we had breakfast with everyone. After breakfast, it was warm enough for coffee outside at Art Caffe.
After all our fun, it was time to pack and clean. I got a lot done, while Thom went with the Gjethi guys to Ferizaj to find a location for the second water project. It was good to finally get a lot of cleaning and packing done.
On Sunday, we took our final hike with the hiking group, and it was a long hike. We took taxis to Hani I Elizet. Then we hiked back to Kaçanik. It was another gorgeous day. The group was large, and we took many breaks along the way. Epirot joined the hike again. He really enjoys practicing his English with us during the hikes. Danny plans to help him fill out the YES application so that he can exchange to the US. I met another young man who is finishing up an engineering degree. He will be working in Rhode Island for the summer as a dishwasher. It is with a summer work program. He also told me that he had participated in a Peace Workshop held by the Rotary Club of Prishtina to bring together young Albanians and Serbs to work toward peace. I always meet such interesting people on the hikes.
One of the high school students was carrying Kjani's guitar the whole way. We had a guitar morning break with coffee. Lunch was at a place I've been before. They built a fire and roasted sausage. Then we relaxed while Kjani played guitar and everyone else sang. We got back to our apartment about 7 pm. Danny came to connect to WiFi and stayed for dinner. It was another fantastic day.
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