July 13

Greetings Again,
I just left our apartment to come to the internet cafe - a short walk across the street. Amelia and Hallie were entertaining their new friend. She is 10 or 11 years old and the daughter of one of Jill's students. Their friend speaks a tiny bit of English but more Spanish. So, when I talk with her I use my very limited Spanish. Jill can usually get her messages across with a variety of words and gestures.
This morning at our devotional time we had a practive round of Bunko -- the dice game. Some of our OC students knew how to play already. Bunko is the main form of entertainment for our fellowship tonight at 7:00 p.m. Alfred's wife Adriana made a cake for the party, our OC girls are supposed to bring some other snacks, and the OC boys are to bring pop (sounds like the good ole days of youth group devotionals).
After the devotional this morning Alfred and I got in his Jeep and headed for Durres. He needed to change some dollars for Lek and arrange a van driver for our excursion tomorrow. We met the van driver at the Durres gymnasium. This week the Balkan youth women's volleyball tournament is underway. We popped in the watch the Greek team practice. Alfred thought this was the national team or close to it. These were some tall and athletic Greek girls. They were jump serving with power and accuracy. I don't think my college club D-team volleyball squad would give these girls much of a match! They were impressive. Anyway, Alfred found the van driver who informed Alfred that he couldn't drive on Saturday. He arranged a van for us via his cousin. So, apparently we will travel to Kruja in a 12-passenger van for around $100.
Last night it was -- dare I say -- almost chilly! The wind had picked up and a cold front moved through. After eating pita bread with chicken at our apartment -- our best home-cooked meal yet -- we and Quinton and Helen headed down the strip to our favorite ice cream (akalore) store, the Pelican. We are regulars now and are greeted warmly. As we sat ourside eating our dessert Hallie kept telling me how cold she was. I told her to soak it in and enjoy the cool air; we'd be sweating again soon. Today is nice as well.
Here are a few more Albanian insights and observations. At many locations on the sidewalks there are youngsters and older men sitting by scales. For a small fee we can weigh ourselves in kilograms. I guess this is a step up from begging. I weighed myself for the first time yesterday just outside the bakery on the bottom level of the internet cafe building. A cute litte gal received my 10 Lek (11 cents) and I found out I weighed about 70 kg with my backpack on. When I saw the girl later she was eager for me to weigh again. I'll probaby weigh on other scales before I come back to her -- I don't think her scale was accurate.
All along the beach or small examples of capitalism. Some entreprenuers (I bet I spelled that wrong, sorry) offer grilled corn. These small grills always have red-hot coals and charred corn on top. I can't imagine eating the corn because at least half the kernels are black. It is a smelly operation; however, I see many Albanians eating the corn so I guess the grilling will continue. (The corn-grillers are also on the sidewalks.) Other beach sellers offer a variety of beach necessities -- floaties, sun screen, towels, sand digging equipment, coolers, hats, and candy. I imagine there are 100's of these small stores/booths all along the beach and the streets leading to the beach. The most interesting of these sellers are the one who take their stores to and from the beach via bicylce. These stores are actaully attached to the bicycle. The rider sits and pedals at the back of the store while all the floaties, towels, etc. hang off a large rectangular prism in front. The other day on a run I saw one of these bike-store riders stopped in the street. Part of the frame of his store was rubbing against one of the bike tires. I tried to help him pry the metal off of the tire. He did most of the work and got it fixed. He thanked me in Albanian and shook my hand.
Thankfully, Albanians are not in favor of public displays of affection. Every once in awhile I'll see a couple walking arm in arm but this is rare. I'm yet to see a couple kiss in public. I'll keep my eyes open though.
Lastly, a note about the dress-code at the beach. Very young boys (3 years and younger) can be found nude as they splash in the water. Young girls up to age 8 I'd guess often swim topless -- no big deal. The adults all wear conventional swimwear. Pretty much everybody at the beach has a dark tan or is recovering from a sunburn. We've seen many with pealing skin. Oh well, as long as all are having fun!
God bless,
Darin