Living in Albania--Richard L. Bowman

October 25, 2014

Walking to and from and Being in LAC

Last week having completed posting all the photos I wanted to from our trip to Korçë, this week I will post and share about our daily activities--walking to and from Lezha Academic Center and being at the school each day. Although the photos come from five different days, I'll group them by where they were taken relative to our apartment and LAC.

It seems like I never take photos in my morning walk to school until I get my legs moving with less pain. So only when I get close to the bridge that is next to the market, do I have photos. Right before the bridge is a busy intersection that seems to be full of cars and people most of the time. The Net Center can be seen in the background with its four floors of shops and several floors of apartments.

the intersectin at the bridge next to the market

The Busy Intersection Before the Bridge and the Market (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

walking to LAC past the market

By Thursday Morning, People at the Market Wore Coats (23-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

After walking past the shops that are across the street from the market and past the Net Center on the other side of the street, we come to the entrance alleyway to Lezha Academic Center.

turning into the long alley toward LAC

Entering the Alley to the Lezha Academic Center (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

arriving at LAC

We Arrive at the School (LAC) (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Elsie and I leave our apartment about 10:30 or a bit earlier if we can. My chemistry class begins at 11:05, so after getting to the school after a 15-minute walk, I still have a bit of time to get my room opened up and chairs organized for my 19 students. On Tuesdays and Thursday, I make the trip on my own. Elsie uses those days to get some more rest and to do the chores of housekeeping in our apartment.

After our walk, the first person we greet inside the school is Anjesa, the receptionist. She is learning English and I am learning Albanian (but very very slowly!) So I say hello in Shqip and try to ask her a question in English. She has learned a lot of English and is much better at it than I am at Albanian. Below Tone, one of the housekeepers is checking in to begin her day.

Anjesa and Tone at the receptionist desk

"Living in God's Upside-Down Kingdom" (18-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

In the new teachers' room on first floor, I found two colleagues at work on preparing for the day. I enjoy asking them how to say things in Albanian or talk with them about Albania and its geography and culture.

Sonidha preparing for her class

Sonita Gets Ready for Her Italian Class (20-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

Besjona is also getting ready for class

Besjona Prepares for Teaching Biology (20-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

Then I climb to third floor and go down the hall to where my room in on the end. Looking back from the door shows an empty hallway ready to soon fill up with the 19 eleventh students coming to my class and middle school students coming from their classrooms and going to lunch.

the long hall outside of my classroom

Empty Hallway on Third Floor at LAC (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

after classes change the hall is full of students

Eleventh Grade Students Enter the Chemistry Classroom (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

At the end of an hour and a half of class, my students (and the other high school students) go to first floor and purchase what they would like from the lunch menu that day. They pay the receptionist and get a small slip of paper which they then take to the kitchen window and exchange it for their food. Those of us who do not have a four-block class wait until the studnets go back to class to pay for our food and eat it in a fairly relaxed atmosphere.

students paying for their lunch selections

Students Pay for Their Meal Selections (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

students waiting for the cook to give them their lunch selections

They Then Wait to Get Their Food from Mirela (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

a visiting friend chats with Bardha and Ina

Visiting Friend Chat with Bardha (assistant principal) and Ina (a teacher) (21-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

After school on Friday, Elsie and I walked out along the alley with three student friends.. Gaitan and Armando then turned left as we and Evianda turned left. She lives a couple of minutes beyond where we go to our apartment.

Gaitan and Armando giving "thumbs up" before leaving us

Gaitan and Armando J. Gave Us "Thumbs Up" Before Leaving (24-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

Evianda walks home with Elsie and I

Evianda Slowed Her Usual Pace to Walk with Us! (24-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

The cold and wind of Thursday brought out the sweatshirts and coats. The warmest temperature that day was around 15^o C (in the 40's F).

two friends walk together

Two Friends Bundle Up for the Cool Windy Weather on Thursday (23-Oct-14; © Richard L. Bowman)

women in traditioan dress and contemoporay fashion walk together

Being a pedestrian and dealing with traffic is always an "interesting" event in Lezhë. Here school children run to get past the car before it rolls unto the crosswalk.

children rush across the street before cars start to move again

Just a bit further down the street two persons work at cleaning trash from the street and sidewalks. I try to say "hi" to these workers but have not often gotten an answer. Maybe on Monday.

street cleaners work on street gutter near our apartment

Then one day as I came home a bit early from school--right after my class ended at 12:40--I noticed the qofta (pronounced "chofta" with a long "o") vendor and bought a fresh bus with two qofta links with some coarse salt sprinkled on them. Yum....are they ever good!!

I'm watching my qofta sandwich being put together from a street vendor

That same afternoon, as I looked out from our kitchen windows, I noticed a long line of house sparrows sitting briefly on an electrical wire across the street by our apartment building. Here are just three of them.

house sparrowacross the street from our kitchen window

On Friday evening after a brief rest from school work (OK, I took a nap), Josh Kirkman, Justin Rittenhouse and us went to Besa's Pizza and had wood-fired pizza for supper along with good conversaiton. Thanks, guys!

wood-fired oven cooks a pizza

We are definitely thanking God for friends to work and talk with and a friendly city in which to live.

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