July 20

Hello,
I purposefully didn't post a blog yesterday because things have been a bit slow. With three kids with fever we've been doing a lot of care giving at the apartment. Amelia seems to be well now but we are still waiting for Hallie and Quin to come around. Helen and Quinton are helpful too.
Wednesday night's Bible study was very nice with the air conditioning. The smaller air conditioner in Alfred's office (in the same building as the church's main meeting room but only accessible through another outside door) has not worked properly until today. Apparently the problem was more electrical than air conditioner related.
The OC students, Helen, Quinton, and Jill had studies on Thursday but my students were absent. Today I'm supposed to study with Myfit and Igli then head out on another excursion. Igli wants to take me south this time to a hill outside of Durres beach that provides a nice view of the sea and city. Apparently this hill is also the site of some newly discovered artifacts or ruins.
We are still getting new students from time to time. We can now schedule lessons any time of day because the air conditioner provides a climate controlled environment. Helen had picked up a new 1:00 student. She is related to Rick, dad's multi-religion student. Rick is actually our best recruiter. He values education and learning English. I think he has brought in 3-4 relatives to be our students.
This afternoon I popped in the church office. Quinton, Alfred, and Diana were talking about Quinton and Helen's Saturday trip to Tirana. (This Saturday we do not have a planned field trip. The OC students, Helen, and Quinton are venturing to Tirana via bus. I'm not sure of all their plans; however, the main event is an anniversary celebration Saturday evening at the Tirana Church of Christ. The group will have to arrange for a private van to bring them back to Durres because the buses from Tirana to Durres stop around 7:00 p.m.) Alfred drew a map for Helen and Quinton showing them the Tirana church's location in relation to the bus station, bus stops, and well-known landmarks. Alfred also broke out an Albania map. Alfred gave Quinton and me an Albanian geography lesson. Albania has about the same land area as Maryland and appears to be 75% mountainous. David, my brother, and his family had traveled to Seranda in southern Albania while he was in the country. David described some of the roads as "treacherous". The road map showed a portion of the road to Seranda as a very squiggly line. I'm glad we're not venturing there this time.
From my short time in Albania I have noticed some interesting male/female differences. All of the restaurant waiters are male. Most of the workers in the grocery stores are female. Bus drivers are male but money collectors on the buses can be male for female. Throughout the day small groups of men crowd around small tables at sidewalk cafes to drink coffee, smoke cigarettes, and visit. Either women don't enjoy this activity or are not given the opportunity for some reason. Both sexes enjoy walking -- one of the favorite past times in Albania.
We have felt very safe during our time in Albania. Igli previously told me that Durres is a very safe city. Alfred has told us to be careful of crowded situations, particularly on the bus. Apparently pick-pockets can be a problem. Jill has walked on the beach by herself (and 10,000 of her closest Albanian beach-goers) two or three times. When we are at our apartment during the day we leave our front door open to help generate a draft. When we are out on the streets we occasionally get a strange look -- not because we are a potential mugging target but because we stand out some way as foreigners. Many times it was because we carried fans to and from the church building. Now that the A/C is working at the church building, we are no longer fan-carriers.
It is always interesting each morning to see if our local butcher has an animal in his green truck. He parks his truck on the back side of the building near the stairs where we exit our apartment. Some days there are two critters -- a sheep and a cow. Most days I don't see any animals either because he hasn't brought any in or he has just caused an animal to meet its maker. I'm really learning a lot about the Albanian butchering business. (Even though I come from Oklahoma and live in a city with stockyards, I haven't hung around too many butcher shops.) As I exit the apartment building I can look in the back door of the butcher shop. This is the part of the shop where all the excitement occurs. Many times there is an animal hanging from hooks prepared to be cut into dinner pieces. I won't go into any more detail about some of the other steps of the butchering process I have witnessed; but, I am learning a lot.
Lord willing I will be bringing the lesson on Sunday. I have invited Igli to services. After our 7:00 p.m. meeting we are going to experience our first Albanian church pot-luck meal. It should be pretty good -- Diana is a great cook! The experience will be even more enjoyable since we have air conditioning and power!
More later,
Darin