Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Meridita

Things are going really well. Our town, Belsh, is such a great place. I'll put pics up soon. My group is great and we are enjoying our time together trying to learn the language. Making a little progress each day. Belsh is so beautiful. We are right on a lake and the backdrop is snow capped mountains. Gorgeous! My birthday was so great. My host family bought me a cake and a necklace and our training group went on a long walk and then got coffee. Food is great, people are great, and weather is mostly great. One night is really cold...like 32 degrees!!!! Good thing I have my sleeping bag. It has come in handy. Also, to date I have not had to use a turkish toilet! Hope that trend continues. Miss you guys so much.

Friday, March 21, 2008

We have arrived

I am writing from our training site in Elbasan. Obviously, we arrived safely from our long day of traveling, although my luggage did not...again!!! (got it the next day though) Our flights were all on time and both were on Lufthansa Air, which was a great airline. Big new plane on the way over here that had a 2, 4, 2 seating configuration. Every seat had a video screen on the back and lots of movie and TV shows to choose from. I even had the seat next to me free! i watched Enchanted and National Treasure ( the second one) and slept a little. The only bad thing was it was sooooo hot on the plane. They had central air and heat and I guess for everytime I ask for it to be turned down someone else asked for it to be turned back up. I was sweating it was so hot, like 80-84 degrees....HOTTT!!!
We landed in Munich and only waited about two hours, then took a smaller (2X2) plane to Tirana, which we boarded from the tarmack. Our bags didn’t all make the plane, because there were too many and too much weight for such a small plane. (more on bags later) The flight was about 1 hour, and the view out the plane window was gorgeous. Lots of snowy mountain tops. i thought of you guys skiing. Got to tirana about 12ish and very easily past through “customs”, looked for our bags...mine were not there, and then took a 2 hour bus ride to Elbasan. Nice bus, little old, but nice.
The view on the way was great. IT’s starting to be spring here and the grass and trees are green. Looks a lot like all the pictures from the CD’s. We checked into a hotel when we got here. I have two roomates this time that are very nice. We have electricity, beds, and a hot shower!!! Meals are great, although there is a lot of cheese and dairy. Fruit and Vegetables are good and there is meat with every meal...don’t know what kind of meat...just meat. We have had some time to walk around town in between training sessions, and it seems like a pretty nice town. Got a hairdryer! Lots of little shops, but not too much time (or energy) to explore, yet.
Training is going well. We are on info overload. Lots of safety , health and language training and there is a lot more to come. Got my host family site. It’s a small town called Belsh. I have a mother who is an economist, a father who is a school director, a son in Italy, a daughter, 23, who works away from the home as a chemistry engineer, and a 15 year old daughter. The housing lady for PC says that the town is really nice. The only bad thing is that it’s about an hour away from Elbasan. So on HUB days we have a little futher to drive in. We will take Buses, called Furgons, and they have given us money to do so. 6 other volunteers are at that site.
That’s about all I know for now. Feeling pretty good. Not home sick, but I do miss you guys. We’ll see how it goes when I’m away from the group. Slowing making friends, so that’s good. Hope that things are going well. Don’t know when I can write next, so …until next time!

Monday, March 17, 2008

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Just want to let you all know that I have officially completed my "Staging" Training.  Things went really well, and I am starting to meet new friends.  We will take a bus ride to New York in the morning, and then leave for Munich at about 645. We will get to Albania about 12 noon on Wednesday.  I don't know when I will be able to post next, but keep your fingers crossed that it will be soon!

Mirupafshim

Lauren

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Ready or Not...Here We Go!

Hey guys! Well, I got all packed up (finally, after a couple of tries) and left this morning on my way to Albania! First stop, a "staging" in Philly. We'll be here until Tuesday, when we go to JFK then Munich and finally stopping in Albania. All is going fine so far, except that I was sooo late getting to the airport that I couldn't get my bags on my flight, so they had to be delivered to me at the hotel (for a fee of $20, b/c it's was my fault for being late). I was the last person on the plane before they shut the door...unfortunately, a familiar position. Slept on the plane, which was great b/c I need some serious rest, and then I have been in some training this afternoon. We have been getting to know each other and spending some time talking about our aspirations and anxieties. I was comforting to hear that everyone is worried about some of the same things I am. Glad I am not the only one to think about how I am going to wash my clothes or what I am going to do in my down time. 

Hope that I can talk to all of you when I get to Tirane. Please keep me in your prayers. Love all of you!!!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Surprise, Surprise!!!

Thank you to all my kids and LHUMC family for the surprise going away party last night.  You guys are so awesome!!!  Keep praying for me when I'm gone.  I will miss y'all so much, and will be thinking of  you everyday.  Love you



Sunday, March 2, 2008

Two Weeks and Counting

Two weeks from today I will be in a hotel in Philly, probably having dinner with some of my new peace corps friends,  friends that I will be living life with over the next few years.  Who knows...maybe two weeks from today will be the day that I will meet some of my lifelong friends!  Kind of exciting to think about it that way. 

I am really ready to leave, not to be away from home or friends, but to finally (after more than a year of application and anticipation) get this next chapter of my life started.  This week I am looking forward to buying my luggage, and making a list of what I will be putting in them.  I will be spending time with some special friend groups on Tuesday and Thursday, so there is definitely a lot to look forward to this week.