Paul is chill. But don't let his easy-going demeanor fool you--Paul is no slouch. If you need a thoughtful, well-informed opinion on the current geopolitical situation among Balkan countries, or on 20th century Chinese history, Paul is your man. He has taught English in Taiwan. As a native Missourian, he knows what a Hy-Vee grocery store is, so he and I are pretty much brothers. He also has a look reminiscent of Ed Sheeran, or so I've been told by the giggling hordes of teenage girls that we've encountered during our high school lesson observations. Paul's probably broken more hearts than Ed, though.
Paul accompanied me on my recent 3-day site visit to Lushnjë (pronounced "LOOSH-nia,") which concluded last Wednesday. Lushnjë is a medium-sized city about 20 miles southwest of my home here. Paul and I were sent there to observe Jordan, a 2nd-year PCV English teacher. We stayed at Jordan's apartment for 2 days and 3 nights, and we observed him teaching and followed him to various locations around the city.
We looked like this:
It was an excellent 3 days. Jordan was great. He was an attentive host and an obviously dedicated PCV. It was very motivating to see him in action.
And the action happened right away. Immediately after arriving on Sunday, we dropped off our stuff at Jordan's apartment and then these two young 20-something lads dragged me on a grueling hike through the hills outside the city. Not wanting to be the guy who couldn't keep up, I managed to huff and puff my way through our 3-hour trek. It was punishing, and I was sore for most of the remaining time in my visit--and I was still constantly hacking from my Albanian grip--but I'm so glad I didn't give up!
After the initial hike, Jordan proved to be an outstanding tour guide for the entirety of our visit. As a bonus, he is also a cool dude to hang out with. I learned a new card game. I ate byrek. I saw a Roma market, Communist statues, a shopping mall, Albanian schools, and lots of other great things. It was epic.
My Lushnjë visit in pictures...
We found what appeared to be part of a spinal column. We decided it's probably not human. But we'll never know for sure.
This was the clearing we were aiming for. But the journey continued.
I was too tired to take any more hike pictures after this one. Great view of Lushnjë here. The rest of my time there was in the city itself.
The bashkia (city hall). Note the European Union flag next to the Albanian flags--evidence of Albania's ongoing push for EU admission.
I'm confident they did not have permission to use this likeness:
Another Hoxha bunker!:
A weird pigeon/turkey hybrid bird we spotted:
Jordan took us to this cool Communist-era World War II memorial/cemetery:
Shards of broken glass are commonly used to deter would-be trespassers. I find it disturbing, but it's probably effective.
This is the view from Jordan's balcony:
See that cellphone tower on the horizon toward the center-right? We made it to that on our hike!
Hoxha bunker spotted!:
Canadian graffiti:
I met some nice Albanian Mormons. Here is their HQ:
Jordan in action:
I was told this is a Communist-era building that now serves as a public library. It had a nice mural inside:
This is where we'll go to plan the next revolution:
Jordan took us to meet his language teacher. She ended up paying for all our drinks. People are very nice here.
Salep, a thick, hot milky drink flavored with cinnamon. Unlike anything I've had before. Shumë mirë.
Okay, so I may have somewhat caught up on a month's worth of comfort food here. The three of us each had this dessert at a waffle house. Shumë yum.
Sufllaqe (sue-FLAH-chuh), a common fast food here:
This is a pork sufflaqe. In addition to the meat, it has sour cream, olives, and a lot of other stuff going on in it. Very tasty.
Jordan took us to this strange anti-Communist monument. It had a lot of text, so I took a lot of pictures.
Of course, the bulk of my time in Lushnjë was spent observing Jordan in the classroom. I didn't take too many photos of our workdays, but here are a couple:
This girl sat in the front of class and raised her hand high every time Jordan asked a question. I'm witholding her name because I didn't ask to publish her photo. Also, I feel bad about cropping her out of the first photo in the beginning of this post. Sorry, smart girl.
I will miss Lushnjë.
One last thing:
Gëzuar Ditëlindjen, Mom!
