Good House Pets

I was hiking along a trail in the hills east of Korca, when I noticed that several people I passed were carrying wicker cages. At first I thought they were traps of some sort, but a closer look revealed they were taking their pet parakeets out for a walk. Maybe this is a common practice in other countries, but I have never seen it before. I wonder if the birds appreciate the fresh air and change of scenery. Birds are very popular pets in Albania. As the weather warms up people hang their cages out on balconies or outside apartment windows. Birdsong brightens up a springtime walk along the cobblestone alleys in old Korca or on the boulevards or sidewalks in newer parts of town.

Dogs and cats are everywhere in Albania. In villages, every yard seems to have a dog chained to a dog house to scare away intruders, human or other. In Korca, dogs wander the streets and hillsides. Cats slink under fences and along rooftops. They raid trash bins and contribute to the general profusion of litter, but, on the positive side, I haven’t seen many rats or mice. They are pretty street-smart. Cars race by since Albanian drivers love to floor it and race along any distance that might open up in the traffic. I have seen dogs step out onto a street and carefully look both ways before crossing. I should not have been surprised; otherwise the streets would be littered with carcasses.

People here seem to like dogs and cats, but house pets are a newer phenomenon. I have not seen dog treats in the markets. One of my neighbors has a Pomeranian that appears pampered. They even asked my help in giving it a vaccination they had obtained from Greece. I am not sure what it was, as I can’t read Greek. I reconstituted it, injected it under the skin on its back, and hoped for the best. Few dogs or cats receive vaccinations and almost none are neutered. I haven’t seen any dog catchers around, but they must make periodic sweeps or there would be more dogs roaming around than there are.

The neighbor often takes his little dog running on the road up to the cross. Almost every day, I see it running pluckily along trying to keep up on its stubby legs, the bells on its collar jingling, its tongue hanging out. It must be in fantastic shape for a Pom. Frequently the wife or daughter sits in the alley next to our building with the dog in their lap.

Ilky, the neighborhood alpha dog who slept by my door during winter, now sleeps on the stoop of the apartment across the alley. I think he must belong to the family that lives there. He is a good dog. He greets almost everyone enthusiastically. He keeps order in the yard and doesn’t bark too much at night. We gave him the bone from the pot roast we ate for Easter dinner. He turns up his nose when I offer him bits of kibble that I bought as a treat for him, but he attacked that bone with gusto.

Isufi has a puppy named Lupe, a small to medium dog that looks like she is a good part Husky. He likes dogs. I have seen him give Lupe a scratch behind the ear and play with her at times. She sleeps in his yard and, as far as I know, is not allowed in the house. During the day she is allowed out of the gate to roam the streets of Korca. She does not have a collar. Isufi does not buy dog food. Like most dogs in Albania, Lupe is fed table scraps. She doesn’t look malnourished. I haven’t asked him what he will do when she inevitably has a litter. I am afraid he will misunderstand me and try to give me one of them. That happened to a volunteer in a previous group who mentioned to an Albanian friend that she liked dogs.

A volunteer in my group has two dogs. They are typical Albanian mutts. She rents a house and has a yard and has even built a kennel. She has had them neutered and they have been wormed and had all their shots. They have collars and are leash trained and she walks them around her town. Her counterpart isn’t married and is willing to do dog sitting when she has to travel. I miss having a dog, but I couldn’t manage any of that with my apartment. Also, there are lots of hoops to jump through to bring a dog back to America. I think it is easier for a volunteer to bring home an Albanian spouse.

The wandering dogs of Korca seem pretty well behaved and mostly interested in each other. Walking in the countryside, one has to be wary of the sheep dogs. I have been told that if you get between them and their sheep you may be attacked, so I am careful to walk around them. Sometimes I pick up a rock to chuck at them and scare them off if they seem aggressive.

There are other pets. There are a few horses in the neighborhood, but, however much the owner dotes on them, they are mainly work animals. Horse drawn carts are common in Korca. A Roma man stands in front of the market in Korca with his pet bear. You can take a photo with the bear for about five dollars. He walks the bear, which looks like it weighs about 250 lbs., on a leash over to a nearby park where the bear and the man lie under a tree for a break. I assume the man found the bear as a cub and has had him since. The bear looks in much better shape than the man. The younger boy of my host family keeps rabbits. They are pets, but also a commercial enterprise for meat and pelts. He reminds me of the 4-H kids back home, but he is too big to cry when he has to sell one.

Once, as I was returning from a hike in the hills above Thane, I met my host mother on the road. She had the two family cows on a rope and was walking them, letting them browse the grass and weeds along the side. I watched them for awhile and then I mentioned to her that back home I often saw people taking their dogs for a walk, but had never before seen someone walking their cow. She asked me which I thought was better for walking, dogs or cows. I told her that I had never gotten milk from my dog.

Meet and Greet

The 3 hour furgon ride to Elbasan is routine by now. I know enough to sneak up on the furgon stand, find one that has at least a few passengers inside, and make sure I know they are about ready to leave before I get on. Otherwise we could sit for an hour or more waiting to fill up the van. Also, one should get the price set before getting on, although I haven’t been too taken when I forget to do this, no more than about 50 cents more than the usual price. I don’t begrudge the drivers that. Driving a furgon is a hard way to make a living.

The road over the mountain between Lake Ohrid and the Shkumbin River valley is being straightened and widened. It is a mess now, but will be great when they finish. The trip between Korca and Pogradec used to take an hour and a half and now is only 45 minutes. They celebrated the opening of that section of the road with a bicycle road race last summer. The road over the mountain might take another half hour off the trip. I don’t know when they plan to finish the work. Not that it matters, since some road projects that are ongoing have signs posting completion dates four or five years back. One of the satirical TV shows has great fun showing big ribbon cutting ceremonies, signs with pictures of modern highways, “Soon to be Completed!”, and footage of large potholes and detours as construction drags on for years barely keeping up with deterioration. The first autostrada (a four lane, divided highway to European standards) opened between Durres and Kukes was opened to great fanfare last year. They were way over budget and only opened 2 of the four lanes for most of it, but it cut the 8 hour trip to 2 hours. It was incredible. People made special trips just to drive the road. Then one of the main tunnels collapsed. They hope to reopen it soon. It must have been engineered by the same group that did the Big Dig project in Boston.

I gave two classes to the 15 volunteers in the health education section. The sessions went ok. I hope the information I gave was useful. No one fell asleep, even though it was just after lunch. This was likely more a tribute to their politeness and attentiveness than to my riveting presentation. I talked mainly about how my volunteer activities developed over time and how I approached things. I tried to emphasize that they have to work it out for themselves, be positive, flexible, patient and creative. I also got to hear another health education volunteer about her activities in Berat, another historic and scenic small city in southern Albania. She is a dynamo and I was very impressed. I am inert by comparison.

The total in Group 13, the new group, is 50; two-thirds larger than my cohort. On Saturday, many of the volunteers from Groups 11 and 12 joined them for the “Meet and Greet” session, first at the Peace Corps training room and then at the park. The new group was fresh faced and enthusiastic, and young! There is one volunteer in the group from Georgia in her 60’s, but I didn’t see her there. There was a couple in their 40’s and the rest were the usual Peace Corps age, newly out of college, in their early 20’s. In Group 12 there are four of us over 50 years old. Meeting the new group made me feel even older than I usually do.

I unrolled my sleeping bag on the couch of a volunteer from Group 12 who is sited in Elbasan. There were 7 of us in her house for the weekend. It saved money for the Peace Corps which is trying to do the pre service training for the new group on the same budget it had for previous groups. The others talked long into the night. I remember doing that when I was their age, but I don’t fit into such conversations and, anyway, I wanted to get to sleep so that I could get up at dawn, head to Thane, visit my host family there and get back for the afternoon activities in town.

The Salufi family is doing well. The grandmother is now fully recovered from her surgical complications and seems quite well. They have 5 cows now, and the mother is traveling to Elbasan every other day to sell her dairy products at the bazaar. She makes a lot more doing this than selling her milk to the dairy van that picks up from the villages every morning. It keeps her very busy. The father continues to do construction work in the area. The older boy, Aldi, is in a Turkish college in Cerrik, a larger town that is about a mile down the road from Thane. He is learning English, Turkish and Arabic, computers and trigonometry. His English is now pretty functional and it was a treat to converse with him. The younger boy, Diku, goes to the same school on Saturdays and will go full time next year. It is a private school and a big expense for the family, but seems to provide a good education. The family wants the best it can provide for their children. The school in Cerrik seems like an Islamic version of Preka, which, of course, is sponsored by a Catholic society. I don’t know about corruption issues, but they don’t allow slackers in this family. The girl cousins are also doing well. Their parents are back from working in Greece. Their mom is helping with the cows. Both families are hosting volunteers in the new group and are very happy with the volunteers that were placed with them.

One of the reasons I came in the morning was to try to avoid a huge dinner, so, of course, they put on a huge lunch. I felt badly that I had to leave abruptly to get back to Elbasan. I was given large jars of pickled peppers and fig jam to carry home, but unfortunately the glass fig jam jar rolled on onto the floor of the furgon and exploded. The other passengers were not upset and helpfully gave me Kleenex and barf bags to clean up the mess. Luckily most of it was over me.

I washed up at the office and walked over to the meeting room across the street. The volunteers were divided among eight tables it was run like a speed dating session. Every few minutes the prior volunteers would rotate to the next table of new volunteers. There was barely time for introductions. I apologized to each group for not hosting anyone in Korca during the volunteer visit over Easter. By the time we got to the park, it was running a bit late if I wanted to catch a furgon back to Korca. I said hi briefly then headed across the street where some of the furgons leaving Elbasan for Korca ran. Luckily, after about 15 minutes one came along and I was on my way home.

I had promised Isuf and Maca that I would go to the ski area the next day and help with the clean up now that the season has ended. There was a fair amount to do, but the weather was not great. It alternated between hail, rain, snow and occasional sun. We cleaned up the inside of the day lodge but didn’t bring the rope tows inside as they were wet and muddy. We did clear a large area of ground with pick and shovel for a garden by the door of the equipment room we had built last summer. I expressed doubts about how well it would do at that altitude and with a northeast exposure, but Isuf assured me it would be great.

The following week was busy. I had a day of make-up classes in addition to my regular schedule at Preka. I have started co-teaching a couple of classes at the public nursing school. The classes are huge and crowded and in shqip. Sometimes I get flustered and my already limited language ability disappears entirely. Sometimes I am not exactly sure what I am saying which is not the best situation for instruction. After my class with Isuf, he insists we go out to eat kernacka (a local delicacy about halfway between a meatball and a sausage) at a nearby beer garden. With the warming spring weather we can often sit outside, which is pleasant, and I can slip some of my over generous portion to cats or dogs that hang around the tables. After that class I have English tutorials with two students at their homes. Their families routinely try to feed me as well. I have found I can mitigate this a bit by protesting that I have to save room for the obligate feeding at my next stop. No matter what I say I have learned I don’t have to plan meals for that day and most of the next.

Thursday afternoon as I was walking to the aviation club at the library, there was automatic weapons fire on the street. The police quickly closed off the area to traffic, but pedestrians seemed more curious than afraid. When I passed by, there were two cars with the left front tires flat, perhaps shot out, shell casings on the pavement, and the driver’s door of the front car open with a police motorcycle parked beside it. I didn’t see any signs of bloodshed. The cars had Italian license plates and it was assumed by my friends that it was related to organized crime. I am not sure if they have apprehended the shooters.

On Friday, I got a text message from one of the new volunteers that he was coming to Korca as his service site. I suspect that he is in community development rather than teaching English as a foreign language, although this is difficult to judge from the grammar of a text message. His is one of the young, enthusiastic “newbies”, but I can’t put a face with his name from the meeting last weekend. I look forward to introducing him to my city.

Gazuar Pashken

Another spring festival? This seems a bit much even by Albanian standards. Winter wasn’t that bad. At this rate it will be autumn by the time we finish celebrating spring.

Still, Easter is the big holiday in the Orthodox Church to which most Korcars belong. In fact, the week between Palm Sunday and Easter is called “Big Week”. On Good Friday (called “Black Friday” here) five other volunteers from Saranda, Permet and Bilisht converged on my small apartment to view all the traditional events. It was a bit crowded, but everyone was very considerate about picking up, not hogging the bathroom, pitching in on kitchen duties and not violating personal space. These Peace Corps kids were well raised.

I felt a bit guilty because the Peace Corps office had scheduled the volunteer visit for Easter weekend. I had offered to host up to three of the 50 new arrivals, but I had also told them that I would not be available on Easter weekend and that others from my group had planned to come to Korca. In their wisdom, they did not move the date. All my friends in Korca said the ceremonies around Easter were especially beautiful here and not to be missed. On almost any other weekend I would have happily helped out. They were given plenty of notice and decided the program could do without hosts in four southern sites. Even a volunteer has to say "no" at times.

My company arrived around noon on Friday, so the first order of business was lunch in the garden at the Birra Korca plant across the street from my apartment. My guests all ordered the dark beer which is hard to find outside of Korca, although I have been told that Birra Korca will begin to be exported to the U.S. next year (be sure to ask for it). I had the bacon wrapped chicken shish kebob. The beer is about 80 cents a half liter and the chicken about a dollar a skewer. Order a salad and some French fries and lunch might set you back a couple of bucks. The trees are beginning to leaf and there was Korcan music playing over the loud speakers (being Albania, the operative word is “loud”).

After lunch we walked through the cobble stone back streets of old Korca to the bazaar. We bought some fruits, vegetables and a roast for our Easter dinner. I wasn’t sure if the market would be open on Saturday or Sunday, but, of course, it was. I have never seen a day when it was completely closed, so I should have guessed. After that we went to the traditional pottery market in the square in front of the Cathedral. I have seen a large photograph of the market from Ottoman times. The quality of the wares seems to have deteriorated substantially in the past few hundred years. You can buy a gold painted bust of Skanderbeg or, if you prefer, a set of the seven dwarfs. I saw very few items that were made in Albania, which, if I were Shqiptar would have been reassuring. After that we hit the Moscow coffee bar which serves a thickened hot chocolate with hazel nuts that I particularly like.

We had a light dinner of salad and macaroni and then joined the pilgrimage of the faithful who walk between three major churches of Korca. These include the Cathedral, St. Mary’s (a small church in a park near the town center) and at third of your choice, usually one of the churches on the road up the mountain that leads to the cross.

On Saturday morning we walked up the road from my apartment to the village of Mborja where there is a small 14th century church with murals that are both gorgeous and fascinating in their contrast to the 17th and 18th century iconographic styles for which the Korca region is famous. We met two other Americans on the road, a consular staff officer on assignment in Albania and her photographer husband. They are in their third and final year here, and in June are headed to southern India for their next posting. They joined us as we walked up the mountain stream to a water fall that cascades over the ruins of a bridge that looks like it is of Roman design. Then we hiked on trails across the face of the mountain. The hardier ones went up to the cross on top. We stopped at St. Theodor’s church to ring the bell and view its Kristos Pantacreator and St. Michael icons which are among my favorite in Korca. Then we walked down the hill and through the old part of town to an unnamed restaurant that, I think, has the best roasted chicken in Albania. They get their chicken fresh from Pule Bobostica, a product of a relatively large enterprise in a village outside of Korca that is known for high quality, organic chickens. They are beginning to market their product in other parts of Albania which should be quite successful. Maybe someday they will be able to ship to the European Union as well. For dessert we hit the Djana Pasticeri, a local bakery (actually a local chain of bakeries based in Mborja), that also serves up gelato when the weather is warm enough, which only began in the past couple of days. Three scoops are about 50 cents. I had fig, melon and hazelnut. Another reason to celebrate spring.

We went home to rest awhile. Shortly before midnight we headed downtown for the main Easter ceremony in front of the Cathedral. We met up with our new embassy friends and, as we were early, went to another coffee shop, this one with a balcony that overlooked the square. When they found out we were Americans they insisted we take the table on the balcony with the best view (I can’t imagine that happening anywhere else but Albania).

At midnight the Cathedral bells began tolling and the crowd surged out of the church onto the darkened square. Then the metropolitan (the head Orthodox priest) and his assistants came out in their red and gold vestments, announced the risen Christ, blessed those assembled, and passed the flame from their candles. This was passed in turn through the crowd until everyone carried at least one candle. We had purchased candles from vendors in the square and joined in. Then fireworks were set off, including roman candles held in the hands of ten year olds (this is Albania, after all), and the multitude walked slowly home in the cool, clear, and calm night, being very careful not to let their candle flame go out.

Easter Sunday was warm and sunny. We got our pot roast started before we headed outside. We saw several of my friends and wished one another “Gazuar Pashken” (happy Easter), even those I know are Muslim-everyone likes a good festival in Albania. They gave us red dyed eggs which are a tradition in Albania. We bumped these end to end, analogous to pulling on a wishbone; cracked egg shell loses. A few of my guests were pretty competitive. I thought this was a bit out of the Easter spirit. The fact that I was eliminated early in the first round was merely a coincidence.

Early Monday, my Peace Corps cohorts headed back to their cities. Monday was not a holiday, so I went to work. The former head of the Directorate of Public Health came in to work on his project. He is now pursuing a specialty certificate in oncology (doctors in Albania typically practice for a few years before applying for additional training in a specialty, almost always in Tirana). He is especially interested in breast cancer. We have been visiting groups of women with the nurse educators to talk about breast cancer. He has administered a survey which I am helping him compile. Unfortunately he did not standardize or test the form before beginning the study which makes it a challenge to enter the data on the computer for analysis and questions the validity of the data in any event. I have tried to tactfully discuss issues of survey technique for future reference. I keep reminding myself that I am here to be helpful and I absolutely don’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. Excel will generate some nice looking graphics, so I think he will be happy.

He also wants to write a grant to support mammography and ultrasound examinations for women in the region. Presently the nearest facilities are in Tirana which is not at all accessible for most local woman, even assuming they could afford it. I have asked knowledgeable friends from back home to help me compile the equipment list. When we have gone to the internet to price some of the items it is sad to see how daunted he is by even the cost of used machines. I remember talking with salespeople about some technologies in the U.S. which seemed a bargain at $20,000. Used ultrasound machines are $5000 to $10,000 which seems astronomical to Albanians ($10,000 is more than a million Lek). Even simple, portable mammography equipment is hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t know what grants are available. My investigations so far have not been fruitful. I have read that diagnostic ultrasound imaging is undergoing a technological revolution similar to the laptop computer. It may soon be carried around by doctors as routinely as the stethoscope. Maybe such high tech devices will become as ubiquitous in third world countries as cell phones and the internet. Perhaps they should include video poker in the software to hasten this.