Living in Albania--Richard L. Bowman

March 7, 2015

Photos from the Past 36 Hours

Yesterday afternoon Elsie hung out the sheets that had washed while we were taking naps and resting. It was so windy all day that the sheets looked more like sails than like drying clothes hanging on a clothes line.

sheets look like sails in the wind as they dry

Drying Sheets Like Sails in the Wind (6-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Later that evening as we were getting ready to join the other Virginia Mennonite Missions staff for some pizza in a restaurant when the electricity went off. So we had to go to a restaurant serving pizza that had a backup diesel generator. Back again at My Bar 2 Restaurant, we again enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing time of good conversation and good food.

Josh thinks he has to protect his pizza or he will nave none left

Why Does Josh Think He Has to Protect HIs Pizza? (6-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

For those who do not live where such generators are common, especially in cities, here is a photo of one that I took this evening while I went to get some money from an ATM machine.

diesel generator on the sidewalk outside a store

A Diesel Generator on the Sidewalk in Front of a Business (7-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

an ATM in the evening

The ATM I Used This Evening (7-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

While going to the ATM I passed by some of the construction equipment that is working on redoing one of the main streets in Lezhë. The cynics in the city wonder if some of this activity is due to an upcoming election.

one of the main streets is being torn up as dusk set in

Cs (7-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

As I took the trash to the dumpster near our building, I enjoyed seeing children playing in the park between our apartment building and the next one. The young fellows seemed glad to see that we were back, and I was happy to see that there were two girls playing ball with them.

two young gisls playing in the park outside of our apartment building

All Is Well When Children Play Outside Our Apartment Building (7-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

This weekend appears to be a very good time for Elsie and I to relax and rest and get even more reacquainted with our city of Lezhë.

March 6, 2015

The First Five

That is, our first five days back in Lezhë, Albania. Well our dream of eating more balanced meals may not have become reality, but we have enjoyed our four days back at Lezha Academic Center. This was Teachers Week, and the students organized special food for all of us. Mostly it was very excellent desserts with a few main dishes. So we sampled a lot of sweets!

But first let's see a demonstration I did in chemistry class. As we all know (but maybe we don't remember!), baking soda in vinegar produces a lot of foam which comes because of the fast production of carbon dioxide gas. So when the foam breaks down, a burning piece of paper will be extinguished when dipped into the jar of CO₂.

For those interested, the chemical equation for this reaction is:
NaHCO₃ + CH₃COOH => CH₃COO^-Na⁺ + H₂O + CO₂

baking soda in vinegar demonstration in chemistry class

Testing for CO in a Chemistry Demo (3-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

students are listening to the explanation with the demo

Students Listen to My Explanation (3-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

For Teachers Week, someone brought a beautiful bouquet of Mimosa flowers into the teachers room. I have never seen such a bountiful bouquet of these flowers.

Mimosa flowers to celebrate Teachers Week

A Bouquet of Mimosa Flowers at LAC (3-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

close up of Mimosa blooms

Close-up of Mimosa Blooms (3-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Yesterday, Thursday, was a rainy day. The weather forecasters called it "heavy rain," and the streets and yards looked like it.

rainy street outside our apartment building

Looking at Our Rain Drenched Street from Our Kitchen Window (5-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Elsie comes back to our apartment building in the rain

Elsie Struggles Back from Shopping in the Wind and Rain (5-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

This morning at school, I finally took some photos of the food spreads arranged for the teachers and staff by a different grade of student each day. Today was the seniors day, so they made sure I and others were sampling the goodies the brought.

looking for our careds and appreciating the layout

Cards, Decorations and Food to Celebrate Teachers (6-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

a beautiful tort, cookies and much more

A Tort, Some Cookies, Fruit, and More (6-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

assistant principal gets ready to cut the tort

Bardha Makes the First Cut into the Tort (6-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

And here are a few more candid photos of teachers.

three teachers at work in the teachers room at LAC

Belina, Ina and Justin at Work in the Teachers Room at LAC (6-Mar-15; © Richard L. Bowman)

Josh perpares for class in the library to givve it a welcomng look

From the school, one can get a snapshot of Lezhë and its environs. Below by the front steps to the second floor, Dini's truck is visible as well as one of the nearby hills with communication towers on it. Several high-rise apartment buildings can be seen in the distance.

This is really feeling like home again. Now if we can just get over our messed up biological time clocks due to jet lag. On Sunday we will have been here a week, so we should be good to go on Monday.

March 2, 2015

Home Again; Home Again!

At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, we left our apartment in the basement of Denis' and Alice's house, and Dennis drove us to Dulles International Airport, Washington, DC, USA. We arrived at the airport in time to walk up to the ticket counter and get all of our checked luggage on its way. We missed the busy line by several minutes. Thanks, Dennis!

Elsie waiting to pay for our extra luggage

ready for takeoff with a beautiful sunset and traffice control toower

Twenty hours after leaving Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, we arrived at our apartment in Lezhë, Albania. It is definitely very good to be here--back home--again1 After we had a bit of rest time in the late afternoon on Sunday, March 1, we ate at My Bar 2 Restaurant --a time of renewed contacts and good food. Klementina and Dini were at their best as hosts.

Klementina at her best--as hostess

Today we ate more simply and not as balanced a meals, but they allowed us to resample the local cuisine. Our local foods were augmented with a few granola bars Elsie and stuffed in our luggage. For breakfast we eat mainly crackers and granola bare while lunch was byrek with onions and meat and with a hot-dog-like sausage. The evening meal was leftover byrek for me and chasse and bread for Elsie.

food for breeakfastw, lunch and supper

bread is a great staple of our diet here in Albania

for a wonderful snack: a bread pretzel

Today we spent napping and leisurely unpacking. Tomorrow we will eat more balanced meals and begin our service as teacher and office aide and librarian.

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