Science Fair

This morning we went to a science fair at the Cultural Center, about a twenty minute walk from the church. Local Jr and Senior High kids had booths where they demonstrated projects. One girl said that their school taught most of their classes in English, so they were able to communicate, and their displays were in English, as well. We saw a volcano, smoke bomb, ammonia fountain... all sorts of interesting projects.

There was a room for projects relating to Albania... including free samples of Albanian food. Also a table for Turkey, where I ate real Turkish Delight! It was very good (your majesty).

I spy a girl in traditional Albanian dress...

But the best part is, I actually found my way home all by myself! (the kids weren't much help) I'm finally recognizing my way around the city (a bit).

Ruining my supper...

...with hazel cookie crackers and chocolate creme.

Last night at supper, every table seated a variety of people and conversation--American, Albanian, Canadian, Bulgarian, British... the apartment is full for the weekend, as the church hosts an Emerging Leaders conference, led by a British/Bulgarian team.

I visited with one of the Bulgarian women. Bulgaria is 6 million people, and in the past 5 - 10 years, Muslims have built 2,000 mosques in that country alone. Imagine supplying Chicago's population with 2,000 mosques! If a village has even one family, even one husband and wife, who are Muslim, leaders will erect a mosque for them in that village.

She explained the way Muslims are infiltrating established villages in their area... one family moves in, and has loud disruptive gatherings late into the night for months on end. Eventually their neighbors grow tired of this and move, and another Muslim family snatches the vacant property. Before too long, the village is Muslim.

This is the last group to come for a while (that I know of). It's interesting to meet new people, but a quieter pace is also appreciated!

Field Trip to the LIBRARY!

The kids and I walked up to the library this morning! The building is part war memorial, part library, part I-don't-know-what, but it's beautiful.
It's the British Library of Durres, so 90% of the books are in English. I was delighted with the large selection--British lit is my favourite. I've never seen so many copies of The Railway Children in my life. At least 40. But the building is so full of mold and mildew, you have to breathe through your mouth. Not the best environment for preserving books. I only brought home one book today--Roald Dahl's BFG.
The library is dedicated to Princess Diana
A gorgeous set of Arthur Ransome's Swallow books--this photo is for you, Robbie. :)

Greek Orthodox Orphanage

This week we are sharing the apartment with an American missionary couple. They are very sweet, and love Albania and its people. Each year when the Banks return to Canada for three months, Brent and Carol take care of the church and its ministries. They know everywhere there is to know about living in Durres, and David and I are trying to soak in as much as we can.

Last night we went with them to a Greek Orthodox orphanage. It was a beautiful place up on a little mountain outside town, with arches and white stone pavement and chapels and walls. There were about 25 kids, everything very clean and orderly and neat, and we brought pizza and ice cream and ate with them. They sang songs to thank Brent and Carol, who have come there before... the kids afterward were all kissing us goodbye, and several decided to teach me some Albanian. They thought my pronunciation quite funny. Outside in the dark, you could see all the lights of Durres down below, and there was the smell of honeysuckle in the air. We walked around the chapels a bit before heading home. It was a very nice evening. Hopefully Linda and David and Bruna and I can go back again.

Me, Linda, Carol, Bruna, with the lights of Durres behind us

One of the many chapels on the mountain

The Inside of the Apartment

Breakfast table

My bedroom

My desk and bed

The living area in the kitchen/dining/living room

Kitchen

Jane's second violin lesson... music here is taught Sound of Music style: you don't say a b c d e f g, you say do ra me fa so la ti. So the violin strings, the way she learned before, were ti fa do and so. E1 is so1, etc. But thankfully her dad wants me to teach her the North American way!

Almost every night, several guys from the church go out for coffee at a favorite café. David has been joining them—most of them were Christians in their late teens, but now that they’re 24, 25, living real life, engaged and employed, they’ve fallen away. David feels like building relationships, friendships, is the best way he can witness to them.

However, the single girls in the church are not so close. They really don’t fellowship. So David asked Rodina and I to join the guys for coffee one night, down at the port. We all walked down together, about a 25 minute walk, went out on the pier and listened to the waves of the Adriatic as the moon shone on the water. Then we sat at an outdoor café and had tall cappuccinos with lots of whipped cream. It’s certainly interesting to be in a group that doesn’t speak your language. Most of them understand English, but only speak broken sentences. Jokes have to be explained, usually, but once in a while everyone gets it, and that is fun.

Today I had my first meal in an Albanian home. There is an American missionary couple staying in the apartment this week, and they invited me to go on a visit with them. The family has a daughter my age who works in the church’s Kindergarten. So I stretched myself and accepted. The whole family—mother, father, four daughters, two grandchildren—greeted us in the front room. Here, it’s customary to greet with a kiss on each cheek. Then, the older daughters brought out trays of warm buttermilk to drink, then peach juice, then apples and chocolate. Then constantly pressed us for refills. Ruca, the girl my age, and her next youngest sister (21), spoke the best English. The American missionaries, who are old friends with the family, but still have a significant language barrier, visited for an hour, and then we stood to leave.

But of course that wouldn’t do. We must stay to eat with them. It’s customary to make a request three times. You should refuse it the first two times, unless you really don’t want it, then refuse all three times. We really didn’t want to stay, because we hadn’t come for a meal, but there was no refusing. So we sat with the girls’ father, who spoke no English, while they prepared a meal. It was a long wait—an hour—and each minute I could feel my social skills stretching—and I wasn’t even contributing to the conversation!

Then they brought us each a plate, beautifully arranged, with tomato slices, cucumber slices, half of a hard boiled egg, calf meat, fried potato wedges, goat cheese, homemade bread, olives… it was delicious. There was also a butter/cheese made from sheep milk, but I was too full for that. Salad, too, which everyone eats from the same plate. And Ivi, a pop like Orange Crush, only peach.

Thankfully, the American missionaries have been here several years, and I could watch them to see what the proper manners were. Otherwise, I would have been at sea! Now, back in my room, I feel like I’ve run a marathon. Phew! Socializing in America is hard work for introverts—socializing in a foreign country takes even more stamina!

Tomorrow is a school day—please pray that the kids will have a good attitude toward their work. They can get discouraged pretty easily, which isn’t fun. We begin each day with pledges, the Canadian anthem, a Bible story, and prayer. The prayer always includes—“help Jane and Michael to remember that they can do all things through Christ who gives them strength—and the joy of the Lord is their strength.”

Sunset over Tirana

I was talking to my family this afternoon, and Someone mentioned that this blog is usually focused on food and local sights. So here is a photo-less post, where I will try not to mention the fresh, homemade donut I am eating.

Last night the Banks family and I, as well as David and Rodina, went into Tirana to a homeschool event for missionary families, an International Food and Dance Night. There were so many people there, from all over the world--Germany, China, Finland, Scotland, the Caribbean, America... but food and dance leaped over all barriers. It was very neat to see, and we had a lot of fun.

On a cultural note: traffic in the city is crazy, backed up and free for all. There are few stoplights and fewer people who actually obey them. A common sight as you sit in your car, waiting for traffic to move, is gypsy kids weaving between the cars, begging for money. Seven, eight, nine year old children, some carrying infants, holding out their hands at your window. But here, begging is a family business, and a profitable one. Somewhere, an adult is watching, keeping an eye on their movements. At one time, the mayor of Tirana offered welfare to the beggars, to get them off the street. He offered families $150 a month, and they laughed. They said, "why would we do that, when we can get $150 in three days?" Sometimes they will maim the children, too, so that they are more pitiable.

Then this morning, I practiced with the worship team for tomorrow morning's music. It was an example of Albanian time: Mrs. Banks told me, "Practice at 10:00." So I came at ten. At ten fifteen, someone else showed up. At ten thirty, another person. Finally, at 10:50, we began practicing. But I'm learning--I came prepared, with a book to read while I waited.

This afternoon, we took two van loads of kids to a nearby church, up the mountain a little way, for a seminar on the gifts of the Spirit. It was interesting, both spiritually and culturally; spiritually, because it was Pentecostal, but the text was 1 Corinthians 13 & 14, and wisdom and knowledge were mentioned beside tongues and prophesies. This verse really stood out: "How is it them, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation..." the point being, every member of a church congregation receives some word from God during the week. Not everyone will speak in tongues, or prophesy, but perhaps they will have a hymn on their heart, or a Scripture.

Culturally, it was interesting, because the speaker was from Holland, and English was his second language. But it was the only common language with the interpreter, a Swiss man who spoke fluent shqip (Albanian).

Anyway... I'm looking forward to a fairly quiet evening. But who knows, that could change at any moment. Always expect the unexpected here! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Photo Catch Up

A traditional Albanian cake ... a cream torte with lots of thin layers

What happens here when it rains all night... no joke

More from inside the museum, from someone else's camera...

On the team's last night here, we ate out at an Italian restaurant. This is my roommate for the past two weeks, Lewanna.


Greek salad: tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, onions, olives, YUM

Here we are! The team from Canada, an American missionary couple, me, David, three Albanians, and Jane and Michael's family.

The Amphitheater

Built in the early part of the 2nd century AD, the Durres amphitheater compares favorably with the most famous amphitheaters of antiquity. The capacity is estimated to have been between 15,000 and 18,000 spectators. In the amphitheater, slave owners amused themselves by watching flights of the gladiators and beasts. Christians were also killed during years of persecution.

The outer wall that formerly surrounded the amphitheater

This road goes from the amphitheater, past the crepe shop, out to the sea

We finished our tour at a small museum where they display artifacts found in excavations at the amphitheater. We weren't supposed to take photos, but... It was the most amazing feeling to see Greek ruins in their home city. There are urns and busts and jewelry in American museums, but they're thousands of miles from the places where people once created them and lived beside them. Here, it's less like a museum and more like a memory. To trace your fingers along Greek letters on a funerary alter, knowing that people in this city once sacrificed on that very surface...

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

A couple of photos for my sister Rachel on her birthday today. :)

(check out those green boots on top!!)

Superstitions are real here... garlic hanging in a shoe shop to ward off evil spirits

Teeny tiny trucks

Photo Catch Up

Foosball tournament ... the Canadian family was huge on soccer; they named each player and gave running commentaries on their moves as the game progressed.

Lovely, no?

Jam session

The team from Canada, plus Rodina (short), Jane and Michael's mom (purple scarf) and auntie.

Me, David, and the kids' mom

Down by the sea, singing before we evangelize

Getting comfy at night while the Canadian team makes me laugh

Crepes

There is a wonderful crepe shop in Durres, with both savory and dessert crepes. So far I've tried chicken, chocolate/banana, and coconut/white chocolate. Delicious! Here's Jane, sitting with two members of the short term mission team from Canada.