Fshati

It seems that most of my friends in Korca have some attachment to a village (fshat) somewhere in the region. They may still have relatives living there or even own an old house and a garden. They prize the apples or figs from their trees and opine that the wine or raki, made from their grapes or berries, is the best in the country. The air and water are better there. Palo and Moza, my landlords, go to Dardhe. Fehmi has a place in Kapshtica, outside of the small city of Bilisht. Isufi has Bigell. I go to see my host family in Thane.

I had promised Catherine’s host family and my family that I would visit as soon as I could after I got back from London. It was the only way to stop them from phoning constantly. Last weekend there was snow and ice on the road over the Qafe e Thane, the pass over the mountain between Lake Ohrid and the Skumbin River that flows from huge springs under the Qafe e Thane through the center of the country, including Elbasan. This weekend warmed up a bit and the road was dry. I took the bus on Saturday morning.

Monday was also the Muslim Dita e Veres, summers day and a national holiday. Elbasan is predominantly Muslim and has a festival that draws a crowd from all over the country. There was a stage set up on the boulevard in front of the castle in central Elbasan. Music- traditional Albanian, rock, rap, Brazilian and more blared over the loud speakers. There were so many people pushing and shoving in the throng that surged around the stage that it felt like what passes for a line at the post office. Ballakume, the traditional cookie for Dita e Veres, were on sale everywhere. Over the weekend the price dropped from 110 lek to 80 lek.

On Saturday night, a large group of volunteers, mostly from Group 13, but a couple from my group 12, met at an Elbasan volunteer’s home for green curry rice and vegetables. Albanian food is wholesome and fresh but tends to be pretty bland. One of the volunteers had received the curry spice in a care package from home. It was a welcome change.

Sunday morning I took the old Udhetari (travelers) bus that I rode so often during PST out to Thane. My host mother was working in the carrot patch in her garden as I walked up to the house. Her older son was sleeping up stairs, the younger son was playing with friends, her husband was working in Greece and her mother-in-law was visiting her son who works in Italy and lives there with his family (the recent easing of the visa requirements for Albanians to visit eurozone countries has let her go there twice since November).

She called her older boy down. He has been studying English at the Turkish college he attends in Cerrik, a small city just beyond Thane. He is actually getting pretty good. The younger boy has filled out a lot and is still very athletic. He had been playing soccer with his buddies and had been called home to see me. She served coffee and fruit and then went to work making homemade ballakume with fresh eggs from her hens, hand churned butter from cream she milked from her cows that morning, and corn meal from her harvest last summer. The sugar was from beets grown elsewhere in Albania, although I suppose she could have used honey from her hives as a sweetener instead. In less than 20 minutes they were served hot from the oven and were much better than any I have eaten previously.

Her sister and her two young daughters came over from next door. Jesika, who is now 9, was the one with whom I played “Tjeter” (other) to find words for various categories of nouns when I was first learning Albanian. Her younger sister, Vanesa, has also grown a lot. I was pleased that she remembered me, although I had been told that she frequently asked where I was when I left for Korca after PST. We all chatted easily (my Albanian is not as good as some of the younger volunteers who by now speak fluently and are hard to distinguish from native speakers, but I can carry on a conversation). They asked about Catherine, of course, and talked about the volunteers they had from group 13 and the new ones they expect next weekend as Group 14 is due to arrive to begin Pre-service Training on Wednesday.

Liri, Catherine’s host mother stopped in as she had heard that I was in the village. I assured her I was coming there next. My host mother insisted that this would be after dreken (lunch). She served meat and vegetable soup, salad, yoghurt and homemade bread to us all. A short time afterwards I headed a few blocks away to visit Comeri and Liri and their family.

Of course, coffee and homemade ballakume were served. I had to argue forcefully that no, I did not want to eat lunch again, and was having a hard time getting down yet another ballakume, no matter how good they were. That seemed to satisfy Liri, although she did give me a few to take with me. I apologized to Comeri that he had not been shown the respect he deserved when he had come to the hospital in Tirana to see Catherine. He seemed to accept that and appreciate the apology, which, in itself, was a sign of respect. This family was not having another volunteer stay with them, although this was attributed to an upcoming wedding for the next daughter who had recently been engaged and not to any hard feelings towards the Peace Corps.

We talked a lot about Catherine as they are very close to her. Aldi, the older of my host family’s boys, offered to help them Skype with Catherine from a village lokal that has internet. I thought the coffee shop in Thane had really progressed when they stopped butchering cows in the middle of the room while you were drinking your coffee, but now they have a computer with a web cam. Things are changing quickly in Albania, even in Thane.

I walked back over to my host family’s house. Several people from the village came outside to say hello, including Beni, my host family’s nephew who looks like the Fonz. I enjoyed talking with him, although he is not working and spends his days hanging out at the lokal. I think my family is not happy with him. He tried to sneak into Greece to get work, but was caught and sent back. Apparently, he has not done much since.

I did extract a promise from my host mother that she would send the two boys to Korca for a couple of days next week. There is a school holiday for Sultan Nevruz. I have off from Preka as well and would love to show them Korca. They have never visited there before, even though it is less than 100 miles from Elbasan. I had given them money for the furgon ride before and next week would be a great opportunity as there is also not a lot of farm work right now. They were excited at the prospect, although their mother complained that she would be lonely without them. One of their neighbors is a furgon driver between Elbasan and Korca and she plans to send them with him. I think they may actually come.

Besides Dita e Veres, Monday was my two year anniversary in the Peace Corps. Although the term of service is technically 27 months and my official close of service date is May 27th, volunteers in my group can leave early with the permission of the country director. This is usually related to school or job opportunities. Some in my group are starting graduate programs. A few are going to teaching or training programs in Europe or Asia. Sometimes health issues are involved. One couple is leaving for graduate school and she is pregnant. Even if she has a speedy and full recovery, as we continue to hope, Catherine would not likely be allowed to return to Albania as a volunteer. What is not clear at this point is whether she will have a medical discharge or just close her service in the US. She is scheduled for an evaluation at a well respected treatment program in Phoenix and we are hoping, at least, for answers to our many questions regarding recommended therapy and prognosis.

I have not yet set a close of service date. I have enough unused leave that I can close anytime in May, or even a bit before if I want, but I am committed to working with Isufi and Jani and teaching my Life Skills class while the main teacher is off on maternity leave. I will probably shorten my travel through Europe to just a few cities I would like to see before I head home. I already have our tickets from Berlin in mid-June and I am not sure how easy they are to change. I was supposed to set a date at the Close of Service conference that I missed while I was in London. The staff has been very understanding and has not pressed me for a decision as we all anxiously wait for information from Arizona.