July 29

Hello,
Friday I had a study with Myfit and Jill had her two studies. After the lessons at 7:00 we had our VBS finale. Most the VBS students and eight parents were in attendance. The students sang several good ole VBS songs in Albanian as well as "God is So Good" and "1, 2, 3 Jesus Loves Me" in English. Adriana even managed to get Amelia and Hallie to sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" in English for the audience. After the songs the students performed their skit. They did a really nice job. After the skit Alfred presented a movie about the life of Jesus. He obtained this DVD about three weeks ago in Tirana. A missions group was driving billboard trucks around Tirana promoting the movie. They showed it in several public showings in the city. Alfred asked one of the team if he could have a copy of the DVD and they happily obliged. The movie was titled something like, "Children and the Life of Jesus". I thought the movie was accurate and effective. The audience seemed to be attentive. The movie was an hour long. We enjoyed cookies and pop after the movie.
Our group met Alfred and our van driver at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday for our final Albanian excursion. We headed south this time down the coast and then inland toward the city of Fier (pronounced "fear"). The road was in good condition for about 25 miles or so and then became quite bumpy. A section of the bumpy road was next to a newly paved highway that is still under construction. We drove for at least 30 minutes on road that would be similar to a badly maintained county road in Oklahoma. Thankfully, no one had any fillings jarred lose. One of the OCers got a little car-sick but managed to not "pitch".
Our first stop was the Pelikan restaurant in Fier (not be be confused with our favorite Durres' ice cream stop, also the Pelikan). Alfred had told us there would be some interesting birds at the restaurant, and there were. Two large pelicans and a peacock strutted around the grounds and kept our children entertained. Pelicans are big birds! Most of us had eggs with cheese, potatoes, and ham. It wasn't exactly IHOP; but it wasn't too bad. After brunch we boarded the van and drove into Fier. We made one quick stop for Alfred to run an errand. He returned with two inflatable balls for Quin.
About four miles outside of Fier is the ancient Roman city of Apollonia. The city dates back to 500 B.C. Apollonia is set on a hill that now houses a restaurant and museum. We paid $5.50 each (adults, kids were free. Albania is a great place for kids because they get lots of freebies) to enter the grounds of the city. The first and most striking structure is a partially reconstructed Roman building with columns (the columns are not original). In front of this building is medium-sized amphitheater that is still well preserved (and currently hosting a modern day concert stage. Maybe The grateful Dead are doing a tour of the Balkans.) The modern stage made an interesting contrast with the ancient ruins. The hillside is covered with several Roman ruins. Most of the ruins are ground level walls of buildings. Apparently there is still a lot to be discovered in Apollonia.
We also ventured out to other hills around Apollonia to get a better view of the landscape. One one of the tallest hills is an abandoned military bunker. The hill contains four bunkers connected by tunnels. Amelia and Hallie went through one of the tunnels with a couple of the OCers. After winding our way back to the restaurant we enjoyed some water and ice cream before getting back on the bus. (We opted out of the Apollonia museum because we were about an hour and a half behind schedule.)
Our next stop was the city of Barat. Barat is about an hours drive from Fier. Most of us took a nap on this part of the journey. Barat is known as the City of Windows. A large part of the city lies in a valley with white walled houses built into or on the side of the two opposing mountain sides -- very pretty. We drove through part of the older portion of town and then made a left turn onto a white cobblestone road. After driving about 200 yards the road became quite steep and narrow. We traveled about 5 mph for a good half to three-fourths of a mile up the mountain to the Castle of Barat at the top. The castle dates back to the middle ages. Albania has several castles; but I imagine the one in Barat is the biggest. It cost $1.00 to enter the castle. The outer wall is still intact with a town inside. Baratians still live inside the castle to this day. Once inside the castle we walked on the cobblestones to a bar/restaurant for a Coke, juice, and water break before meeting up with a man who would take us to the museum. Once our man arrived we walked up narrow and winding road to the museum. The museum is really a small old cathedral inside the castle. The cathedral had been restored in 1791. A Codex (dating from the first millennium) had previously been discovered in the building that is now in the archives in Tirana. During the tour we also viewed religious artwork dating back to the 1400's to 1700's. After the tour we explored the castle. On the castle grounds are other old church buildings, homes, statues, and ruins. At the top of the castle's hill is a walled section with an interesting building. At near ground level there is a rock and grass flat roof of building that is 90% underground. As I neared the building I had to walk down a few rock steps to peak into the opening that was once a doorway. Just a step or two into the building the floor stopped. . Had I walked further I would have fallen some 20-30 feet to the water covered floor. The building was really one big dark and damp room with columns supports the roof in the middle. I heard the sounds of bats or rats coming from the bottom of the room. It was a little creepy! We then walked all around the castle complex and took lots of pictures. A few of us bought some souvenirs at the castle's exit and then we headed for home around 5:30 p.m. (We didn't stop to eat supper in Barat because two of the OCers had a get together at 8:00 in Durres). When we arrived back in Durres our family went to get some pizza and rest from our journey.
On Sunday morning some of our group went to church services in Durres city. Our family stayed in our apartment and rested. Around 11:30 we got out and ended up in Durres city around 1:00. It is Hallie's 8 and a half birthday and she wanted to eat suflace (an Albanian favorite). After our suflace's we walked down to the Blue Star. (The Blue Star is an Albanian type mall that houses Euro Max -- one of the supermarkets in Durres.) The power was out in Durres. I know this because as I walked down the street I heard and saw several generator cranking out electricity. (Most businesses in Albania have to have generators to function because of the frequent power outages.). The Blue Star is a large, 3-story air conditioned building. The building must house several generators because most of the shops still had their lights on. The A/C wasn't working but the building was still cooler than outside. On the second floor we found a children's play area -- a daycare for shoppers. For $2.00 parents can drop off the kids to play and then go shopping. We let our kids play for awhile. Amelia and Hallie were really too old for the play area but they still had fun with Quin. The play area included lots of climbing toys, a small trampoline (that according to Hallie was not very bouncy), swings, small ball pit, and a zip-line. After playtime was over, we went downstairs to the Euro Max and did a little grocery shopping. (Amelia spotted the Fruit Loops immediately. We didn't buy the F.L.'s because they were $5.00 and the box was damaged.)
After we departed the Blue Star we popped in for some dessert, boarded the big orange bus, and headed back to Durres beach. I managed to get Quin down for a nap before worship services this evening. Quinton is delivering the lesson tonight.
As we have travelled around Albania I've noticed many construction sights with stuffed animals or "scare crow" looking figures attached. Alfred has informed us that this practice is related to Albanian superstition. Apparently Albanians are a superstitious people. The animals are in some way supposed to ward off evil. (I don't know if Care Bears are that powerful or not.) Another interesting practice is to put garlic in one's pocket. As I may have mentioned before, one of my student's fathers plays solitaire each morning. If he wins the game then he will have a good day.
From my observations, I have found Albania to be a racially homogeneous country. I have not seen anyone of African descent (other than Quin and Amelia). Furthermore, I have yet to see any Asians, Middle Easterners, or Latinos. Most Albanians have an olive complexion, brown eyes, and dark hair. Rarely do I hear other languages spoken besides Albanian. (Today in the Blue Star Jill and I overhead a couple speaking American English. This is only the third time we've heard others speaking English. We didn't venture to ask them where they were from.) I imagine one reason for this lack of cultural diversity dates back to the years of isolationism.
One last observation, Albanians are very polite on the bus. It is generally accepted that young people will give up their seats to older Albanians. Here's how it works. When an older rider boards the bus he goes and stands by a seat he would like to sit in. The younger occupant then stands and gives the seat to the other rider. This often happens without any verbal exchange. Amelia got a taste of this practice today. When we first got of the bus in Durres city the bus was empty and we sat on a row of seats in the back of the bus. As the seats filled in I stood up while the rest of the family sat. A few stops later and older gentleman with a youngster (probably his grandson) stepped close to Amelia. Amelia didn't readily jump up to give the seat. After he chatted with her in Albanian Jill and I prompted Amelia to give up her seat. She did so without complaint. I wish Americans youth were as respectful of their elders.
Bye,
Darin