And Let it Begin With Me

I am busy trying to figure out what to take and what not to take in these days before I embark for my journey to Albania. In some ways, it feels premature to take everything, mainly because I do not know where I will be assigned. Albania is a coastal and mountainous nation, which means there is a broad possibility of weather conditions. Packing a large down parka seems odd to do when I will be arriving in Spring.

Last Sunday, I started saying goodbye to my different communities. At the Church where I grew up, my father asked for prayers for my service. What he found that was interesting was the anthem that day was "Make me an Instrument of your Peace'" Followed by the congregation singing "Let There be Peace on Earth" Since I was a child in the 60's, one of the main memories I had was of the Peace Movement. Tie dyed hippies with headbands, peace signs and slogans, but the song Let There be Peace on Earth" was quite popular in those days. It is rarely sung these days, at least in my circles. The words are quite profound, and follow the Peace Prayer of St Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy. 

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive, 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

If you have ever had the chance to see Brother Son, Sister Moon, it is a 70's era film about St Francis and even though they tried to be in line with the 13th century era, it really does look like a bunch of hippies dressed up for a medieval play. The sentiments of the movie and the 70's are very similar; counter culture, placing importance on relationships not material things. Even the generational arguments reminded me of my childhood watching the "peaceniks" versus the establishment argue about what is real.

To say I am a bit anxious about embarking on this journey during the current global political and emotional climate is an understatement. The US administration is essentially dismantling decades long structures. The Peace Corps was conceived in the aftermath of World War II as a service oriented mission to developing nations, a gesture of good will and sharing on behalf of the American people. Humanity seems to be quite adept at making war, but how does one wage peace? As I see the constant international mocking of my president (for whom I did not vote, precisely because I believed every word he said and knew he would be a disaster both for the American people as well as internationally) I wonder, how is it I can represent my nation through the Peace Corps? 

There is much to be proud of and to convey to the world about the USA. My personal favorites are; our national parks, our museums, the hopefulness and ingenuity of the people, and our ideals of freedom, equality and community. The assaults to these values and what I enjoy about living here are now coming from within. How do I represent this? As I counseled with my pastor as a final spiritual and emotional preparation for leaving, we talked at length about how to convey what it means to be an American. At our core, Americans are a very helpful people. The basic mission of the Peace Corps is to be of assistance to others. In Albania as with other nations emerging from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Peace Corps was one of the first citizen diplomatic missions to help these nations emerge from the damage of autocratic governments. The mission was to help formerly communist nations adjust to modernization and American ideals in the vacuum created by the lack of infrastructure. If nations can develop themselves, the people are less likely to want to leave, more likely to be future trade and cultural partners. On a human level, missions like the Peace Corps were to show kind and helpful faces behind the media of Americanism often portrayed through the news, TV and movies. Friendships have been made all over the world and have lasted for decades.

John F. Kennedy greets volunteers on August 28, 1961

In my belief system, when a human being is on their way to being born on earth, the spirits of the about to be born interact with the spirits of those who have just died. For those of us born in the years after World War II, we were witnessing from above the carnage of that horror, but also encountering the recently departed who were communicating to us about their experiences. It is interesting that so many people that shaped the counter culture movements of the 60's were born in the years right after the war. What ever you think about the 60's, it was the first time in the history of humanity that war was questioned in a significant way, and the causes of peace were considered important. The Peace Corps was born in these years, I think as an attempt to try on prevent further conflicts.

So, I am trying to stay focused on being a positive representative of my nation, to go back to the values I so dearly love, the ingenuity and warmth of my people and how to carry this abroad during a time when the face of the highest leaders in our government do not convey these ideals to the world. My pastor said for me to simply embody love, and through love we can generate peace. So as usual, the angels were busy at work, reminding me through song my task, that I am an instrument of peace and it does belong with me.

432 hours 27 minutes and 15 seconds to departure, but whose counting?

Permet Gliko Fruit and Nut Preserves from Albania

It is basically a little over two weeks before I leave California for my staging weekend in Miami. It still is not really sinking in for some reason that I am going. I think in a certain way because of the unstable nature of the current US Administration, it still is feeling iffy. 

I have just a few dull sort of chores to complete, including packing and purchasing some facial products, a sleeping bag and snow shoes. But that can all happen rather quickly. 

Part of the wonder of modern technology is Facebook. I am a member of the Albania 20 Future Peace Corps Volunteer group. this handy service is helping to fill in the gaps between what we are being given in terms of materials and updates and what it really is like on the ground. Originally, we were told that we would live with a Host Family for our pre-service training and then get housing when we received our assignments. A recent email update informed us that we would now be living with a host family in our assignments. The group started a thread discussing it, and the basic response from Albania volunteers on the ground now, is that the main benefit of being with a host family was the food, which it seems everyone there is enjoying. 

When I was in Acupuncture school, I was in my mid 40's. The Bay Area of California is not for the budget anything, just to get into San Francisco, it cost you a minimum of $10 no matter what you did, drive, metro or bus. Purchasing prepared food was simply out of the question, as even way back then, a basic sandwich was $10.00 and included a few packets of mustard, everything else was extra. If I did not cook, I could spend up to $20.00 a day on food and still be very hungry at the end of the day. I love to cook, so I would always bring something to eat for my long days. The 20 -30 somethings marveled at my dishes. "What is that?" they would ask with longing eyes. "Black beans and brown rice" I would answer, "How do you make that?" "Well, I put rice in a pot, add water and boil. The beans I do in a slow cooker, beans, water, can of tomatoes, chopped onion and taco seasoning." They thought I was a genius, I was just eating the cheapest way I knew how. It looks like the younger generation in our group both on the ground and on the way are also not adept in the kitchen. So it seems like the home stay will really help them keep their weight on for the time being.

I have been documenting Slow Food Initiatives in the Balkans for about nine years now. It began when I went to Terra Madre 2008 and connected with the Macedonian delegation. Since that time, I have witnessed the coordination amongst the Balkan nations that has resulted in a bi-annual Terra Madre Balkans and something called the ESSEDRA project which helps member states combine resources to help promote and preserve culinary and agricultural practises throughout the region. 

You can look at the ESSEDRA project through this link, the title is more words than I wish to type:

http://www.essedra.com/

As I grew up celebrating Macedonian holidays, one of the only things I actually got from my grandmother was how to cook the food. She taught me how to make stuffed grape leaves, leg of lamb, stuffed cabbage, eggplant casserole, spinach and feta pastry, pepper relish and yogurt cucumber dill soup. She even made the filo dough by hand. I learned the Macedonian words for these dishes, but I do not have the Cyrillic fonts on my computer, and will not try to do a Latin mash up. What was amazing to me was how when she cooked these dishes they were so good, but if she cooked American food, it was TERRIBLE, meaning what ever it was would really make one's digestive system revolt along with the not so good taste of the dish. She was the only woman I know who could make dry tough pot roast that clanked on the plate when she served it. 

As I ventured out of her kitchen, through travels abroad as well as visiting relatives and friends from different Balkan countries, I found that essentially all the Balkan nations have similar foods with regional additions. In essence, it is all really Turkish food with local adaptations. We call it sarme, the Greeks call them dolmas and so on. 

I looked on the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity site and found 43 products unique to Albania. I hope to try them all, and learn how to make them, especially the homemade cheeses. In a book I found at the Orange Library, the one and ONLY book on Albania, a short chapter was dedicated to agriculture and another to food. Apparently lamb is in everything, as is yogurt. While I tend towards vegetarian, I am prepared to try to blend in with the locals. The one thing I have put out there is no coffee, no alcohol, so hopefully this will not be a problem, because I will not drink either, ever, hate the taste of them as well as how I feel when I have. 

So, enjoy looking at some of the culinary treasures of Albania at 

http://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/slow-food-presidia/?fwp_nazioni_presidi=albania-en

and here

http://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/nazioni-arca/albania-en/

and as the Albanians would say Ju bëftë mirë!

The Announcement

It is nearly a year since this journey has begun. Like all government institutions, there is quite a bit of policy, procedures and steps to go through. Filling out forms, getting recommendations, background checks, finger prints, applications, health screenings, essays, classes and so on, and then waiting. I have been rejected for so long from everything you can imagine, I enter new arenas with the assumption that it will not work out. I know, this is counter to being "successful" this envisioning stuff that sells lots of books and workshop tickets, but let me tell you, being a single female over 50 is worse than having Ebola in many respects regarding rejection and isolation. (No disrespect or trivialization of real Ebola sufferers intended but sometimes I would start to wonder what exactly was causing people to flee from my presence in such a hurried manner, what was so repulsive about my presentation, education and experience in terms of trying to find gainful employment.)

When I got my final clearance and was given the "you will make a fine volunteer" in writing, I must say I was a bit shocked. My fellow over 50 single friends of both sexes completely understand. I mused that the Peace Corps did not get the memo that instructs all potential employers. (Yes, this is volunteer gig, but it is much like employment in that they give me a stipend, health care and housing allowance) The universal rejection memo which also covers all sane eligible men in addition to prospective employers reads something like this: string this highly qualified, deeply sensitive hard working, creative and fun woman along as long as possible and then tell her, thank you we have filled the position, you were not a fit, not what we were looking for, which is code for "old and over weight. She is not to have a shred of self esteem or feelings of competence in this life time, it has been decreed, discount this memo to your own peril." So I still was not quite believing that it was real until I got the "Peace Corps Albania Staging Information" email.

As par usual with my email, it did not post until about 6 hours after it was sent. So I had already checked my email twice that day and assumed that either it had not been sent or the Peace Corps finally got the universal memo to all potential employers to reject me after great effort on my part. I checked email late last night and POOF there it was, I clicked with apprehension, hoping we had not been cancelled in some sort of frenzied alt right budget cut under the new Department of State purge, and there is was:

"The Staging Unit is looking forward to your arrival in Miami, FL on March 4, 2017 for the Albania staging event. Please read this email and the attachments carefully, as the information here will answer many of the questions you have regarding your final steps prior to departing for Albania. "

Since my menopausal ovaries refuse to let me sleep for any length of time, I was actually WAITING for 6 am to arrive so I could call the Peace Corps Travel office in Washington DC. After all the email said to call them IMMEDIATELY to book my ticket to Miami from Southern California. This was an order I took seriously.

Cool, non stop flight from LAX on an airline with which I have frequent flyer membership! Free frequent flyer points! 

This is the next step towards Albania. We gather to basically get to know one another, get our government issued Passport that will allow us to live in Albania and become Peace Corps experts. Apparently we will be having a choice of pancakes or waffles for breakfast during staging. I have also been learning through our FB chat group that I can get my hair cut in Albania for a very reasonable price, and it is best to purchase a blow dryer there. 

I will now actually look at the check list of things to purchase and bring, I just did not have the heart to do this before getting my ticket so to speak. Sleeping bag and Albanian phone are the first items. Yesterday, I thought I should try to educate myself a bit, so I went to the Orange Main Library to see if there were any books on Albania. I found ONE, and it was in the childrens section. I went to the number in the adult section, and could not find it, only books on Byzantium and the Balkans. When I asked the research librarian where it was, she told me the "J" on the call number meant it was in the "juvenile" section of the library. The only book on Albania in the entire Orange County Library system was in a series of picture books featuring nations like Estonia, Bulgaria and Macedonia. Checked it out along with a couple of Balkan books I found in the adult section. Everything to do with the Balkans is so highly charged in terms of perspective, so we shall see what I learn. So far, the pictures in the Albania book are quite lovely. 

I found a couple of beautiful California picture books at the Library book shop yesterday. I have been trying to think of gifts to bring for my host family during my training. I am feeling more like I am a representative of California than what I would term a chaotic USA these days. Discussions are sort of eeking out on skype calls as well as on FB on how we can best deal with the inevitable questions regarding the new administration. We have been reassured that Albanians love Americans. Well, hopefully so. I for one and looking forward to getting out of this tornado and simply being blissfully distant from all of what is going on in the USA. I also found a great text book on anatomy and physiology which I think will be useful for me as a health educator.

So, Miami and then Albania, here I come!

Woman's March Orange County, Downtown Santa Ana, California January 21st, 2017

The Peace Corps was founded by executive order under President Kennedy in March of 1961, three months before I was born. It's mission is to provide assistance to people outside of the United States. There are several goals of the Peace Corps, but for me the main initiative is to spread peace through friendship and cultural understanding. In essence, I see the Peace Corps is an avenue for citizen diplomacy. I have always considered myself as a citizen diplomat for my state of California as well as my nation of birth, The United States of America. When I travel abroad, I am keenly aware that I am representing America, how I act, how I treat people, all are a one-on-one diplomatic mission for the USA.

I began my travels as a young teen when my parents took me abroad for my first trip to Europe. Since that time, I continued to have the opportunity to travel to my ancestral lands in Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece, as well as extensively through other parts of the world. I have lived and studied in Bulgaria and Germany. The one thing that people often say to me when I travel, which actually hurts my feelings, is that I am not a typical American, I am too nice, too flexible, too understanding. It hurts because I also witness how unpleasant Americans can be when they are abroad. As a Californian, I also get a lot of odd reflections from people who live in other states, particularly from the North East. In one instance during a week long workshop, after I would make a comment about something, a person from New York would always remark, "Oh but you are a Californian." After several days of these statements, I finally asked the gentleman what exactly he meant by that sentence. He sniffed and quipped, "Oh you are always so cheerful and positive," in a tone that showed it was not meant as a compliment. I thought to myself, well, I am not willing to work on that sir, so you will have to get used to it.

Yesterday was one of the more remarkable and unique aspects of living and being in America. Millions of people both here and abroad took to the streets peacefully to make a statement against the onslaught of negativity being ushered in through the recent US elections. On November 9th, 2016, I actually contacted my recruiter from the Peace Corps to ask if the program would continue under the incoming administration. I was assured that it would, so I will trust that the funds will not be cut during my tenure for the next few years. My deeper questions remain though, how does one represent the ideals of America when I do not really see them in this new administration. In many ways I feel like I am in a reality sci-fi novel, where things I had only seen in television shows and movies are now coming to pass. 

Since my family and many friends live in areas around the world that were treated as enemies at one time, I have been exposed to some uncomfortable truths about the behavior of my nation. When I attended UCLA in the early 80's, it had one of the top Slavic Language departments in the world. I took Bulgarian since it was the closest thing to Macedonian language I could study in school. There were professor exchanges with major universities during this time, and my Bulgarian professor was a kind woman from Sophia. Before her, there was a family with two children my age. I will never forget one of the conversations I had with the daughter. It was during the height of the cold war, and Regan was the president at the time. She told me how scared her people were with the specter of nuclear war between the US and USSR. One day in a shopping mall in Los Angeles, she remarked to me, "you know, when you get shot it makes you bleed if you are communist or and American." I obviously never forgot this conversation, it affected me deeply, and actually I have always carried this exchange with me even in my medical practice, that all people regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs, bleed when they are hurt.

So, how do I represent America in an era of extremism in my own nation's politics? It is any ones guess what will happen in the next few years. When I have attended international meetings before, the most common question I am asked is why Americans have such low turnouts in their elections? When I attended Terra Madre 2008, everyone, I mean EVERYONE I met who was not an American asked me who I was voting for, many expressing concern I would not get back to the USA in time to vote. They were fascinated with the concept of absentee voting, which I have done most of my adult voting life, and breathed a sign of relief when I told them I voted for Obama. But what do I say now, in this age of social media, internet and 24/7 news cycles, especially when the current president is so unique in his approach to facts, science and the existence of people outside of his family?

Yesterday, I got my answer. I joined millions of people across the globe and specifically here in every state of the nation in marching for justice, inclusiveness and compassion. Protest was not invented by the United States of America, but it founded our nation. Educated protest with action to form a grand experiment in civilized civilization is the essence of America. I marched in my hometown of Santa Ana with 21,000 other concerned citizens in reaction to the draconian and hurtful policies of our new administration. There is something quite electrifying being in a large crowd of well meaning people. We often fear mobs, but there can be a positive mob mentality. 

In the aftermath of 9/11 and the subsequent build up to war, I was searching for the values of America. What is it that makes us unique in the world? What does it mean to be American?

As a nerd, I went to the Libraries, listened to courses and books on tapes, attended lectures, asked questions. My journey of discovery led me to really come to value what my nation represents. Our core values (obviously not just our own) are ; Freedom, equality and community. We are to create a culture that promotes individual freedom and justice within a community. The part that does not really get discussed much because it sounds a bit ethereal is how we actually manifest community with free and equal members. 

It is through compassion and love we manifest a community of free and equal members. In order to have freedom and equality we must be compassionate and responsible towards one another. We seem to focus on our own freedom, but not others, or the consequences of expressing our freedoms on others. Sure you have the freedom to be rude, cruel and selfish, but how does that affect your neighbor? In my opinion it is the betrayal of these core values that allowed the current president his rise to power, not only his own selfishness, but the selfishness of those who voted him into his position. Yesterday's marches, specifically the one in which I participated, countered my perception, that my fellow American citizen is actually deeply concerned with the welfare of others to the point that they were willing to risk their personal safety to show solidarity with all people regardless of religion, ethnicity, gender and class. While social media allows us connections, it really is not a substitute for deep community and democracy. In person conversation, shaking hands, exchanging stories, this is what connects us as human beings, this is real democracy and community.

I attended a prayer service during the time of the Inauguration with a local Islamic Society. Throughout Southern California, Progressive Christians United sponsored numerous joint prayer services as a sign of solidarity with the Muslim community. I took my 85 year old dad, recently injured and in a wheel chair to come along with me. I wheeled him in to the Mosque during a rain storm, and took my place in the Women's prayer room. I could not find him afterwords, but I later realized someone had taken him inside the Men's area of the Mosque, he had been wheeled in the midst of a great crowd. In his grand fashion, he was talking with anyone who would meet with him, shaking hands and handing out my brothers dental practice cards. I had lovely connections with men and women from all over the globe as well as those who were born here, all citizens, all longing for connections, for those of us in the dominant culture to understand they love our shared nation, they too work hard, they too love their children, they too are upset by terrorism. I told one man originally from Iran who has been here for 20 years, went to the local university, is now a successful engineer and has American born children, how sorry I was that he and his community feel threatened by the incoming administration. Both of our eyes teared up as we felt the pain of being ostracized, of being blamed for things we had no control. As the gale force winds of the rain storm whipped outdoor canopies covering delicious Arabic dishes being sold as a fund raiser for the Mosque, I struggled to get my money out of my wallet. A young man offered to pay for my falafel sandwich and would only take my money when I insisted it be donated to the Mosque. He bought me additional pastries. His wife introduced herself, they were both from the Ukraine. We parted, promising to connect soon at future gatherings. Earlier that day I attended Mass with Vietnamese and Mexican Americans and immigrants. I served with a Honduran refugee, the priest was from Peru and the other servers from the Philippines. This is America, this is the highest form of a civilized culture to coexist in our differences in peace and respect.

Through the march, mass and the prayer service I reconnected with the America I know and love, bustling with diversity, a tapestry of different cultures woven into one of hope and striving for a civilization of free and equal beings living in respectful and compassionate community. It is the America that the media often does not portray, focusing instead on conflict and strife, scaring us from one another. I am glad for those connections I had on January 21st, 2017, especially as I struggle to figure out how I am to represent an isolationist bully who thinks laws are for stupid people. When I was able to observe the marches happening all over North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Antarctica, I was reminded in a deep way that goodness is truly the essence of being human. While we obviously have a side that can easily slip into conflict, there is a deeper desire we have for connection with one another. 

Americans like to think they are exceptional, but that often gets translated into unearned privilege and stolen power. I do however think Americans are exceptional in their responsibility to model the highest form of civilization. Freedom, equality and community, that is what makes us exceptional. While the ugliness of the election, where (in my view) one side extremely violated the values of America, distanced me from recognizing freedom, equality and community in my fellow citizens. My main sorrow over the election was the disappointment I felt towards my fellow citizen that voted to harm so many of us, that voted to scare our fellow Americans with registries and violence, all for the false promise of jobs and economic prosperity. I felt let down by my fellow Americans by this election that put a very divisive, cheating, lying and hateful person in charge of our shared nation. I felt that I did not know my fellow American that approved of taking away the freedom, equality and community of the vulnerable for the sake of getting more money. Those with whom I marched reminded me of the deeper truth of my culture, that the majority of Americans do value community, justice and freedom. 

I hope to live up to the exceptional ideals of the United States of America as I represent her in Albania. My experience in the Balkans has shown me that the diverse cultures in this beautiful land understand and practice the deep values of community, faithfulness and commitment to friends and family. I hope to learn the best of what they have to offer and bring these threads back to my nation when I return, and weave them into the tapestry of what it means to be an American.

So far, so good, but the real transition is still to come. It has been an interesting year to say the least. My experience the last 20 years is that I put great amounts of energy effort, hope and planning to just have everything fall apart. As a person in their mid 50's, to say this has been soul crushing and difficult is an understatement. 

I approached joining the Peace Corps with a detachment I usually do not have, mainly because I am so tired of being disappointed and wasting lots of time and effort in the process. 

The application is the most comprehensive I have ever undergone. I just thought you apply, they make sure you are not a child molester, terrorist or drug lord and that is it. Well, in addition to clearing you with the FBI, every inch of your body and every aspect of your blood is taken into consideration. Obviously, it makes total sense. The Peace Corps needs physically and mentally healthy people representing the USA in remote areas. But being economically on the edge with no health insurance meant I had to figure stuff out in order to meet all the screening requirements.

The most interesting task was to get a pap smear. I had been a regular with Planned Parenthood for years. Since I have been single for longer than the US has been in Iraq, I got out of the habit of regular check ups. When I first called in to get an appointment, the young man in the appointment department asked me to hold after I gave him my birth date. After about 5 minutes of elevator music, I was told that I did not fit the criteria for services through Planned Parenthood. I guess having real female genitals after menopause made me unfit. Wow, not only am I unemployable because I had the tumerity to be born in the early 1960's, now my cervix was also not what Planned Parenthood was looking for.

Lack of money creates great ingenuity in the highly educated.

After a week of looking to other sources, I finally decided to call another Planned Parenthood and schedule under a false birth date, changing it when I got to the center. It worked, I had a valid and desired cervix once again! When I showed up to the appointment, I corrected the birth date, received excellent care that I had always remembered I had received before when my cervix was acceptable, but upon examination, the Nurse Practitioner told me I had an age appropriate vagina. Talk about a pick up line! Do I tell potential romantic partners before hand or let them find out themselves? 

After letting the Peace Corps know I can prove I do not have hepatitis, tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes, cavities, schizophrenia, and have excellent titer immunity to all contagious diseases, I received my medical clearance. I actually, after much time and effort (Thanks to the Alta Med center in Santa Ana that gave me most of my medical requirements for a sliding scale co pay) got clearance and acceptance. I honestly was a bit shocked since apparently the Peace Corps did not get the memo that they like all potential employers I have interviewed with during the last four years, was supposed to string me along and then politely reject me. The Peace Corps has accepted me, I have the paperwork to prove it. So now, while I have been telling myself it might be a possibility, but still trying to prepare for my plan R, since that was the next letter in the alternate plan alphabet, here we are, now what?

Pack

I have been living out of a back pack for the past year, house sitting, staying with friends, while looking for work. I went on a speaking tour last November and December, House sat for the Holidays. Packing for me is basically how I have been living. So here we are, what to pack for a climate I am not really used to, for 27 months, with a very different retail environment. Should I buy over there, or buy here, can I actually take it? I have learned that even when at what one would think of as bare bones, it is always too much.

So, this is my next phase. We A20 team members, which is our Peace Corps class designation, are having our first skype calls. We get notes from these calls, which in some ways I find amusing. Since my beginnings of the application process, the questions, interviews, handouts and so on basically keep saying (my words not theirs) "you will not be in America." When I was studying language in Bulgaria in the early 80's I went to the US Embassy to ask about some sort of visa information. The American staff member I was talking to said to me "Well, this is not America" When people say that, I want to reply, you are kidding, a 20 hour plane flight, that explains it, is that why all the signs are in a different language? I knew it! We are not in America! So, good to know, and I guess Albania does not have 24 hour CVS where I can pop by and get my cuticle cream at 2 am.

From what I can see, Albania is a breathtakingly beautiful country. So, I am now figuring out what to pack and trying to create new neurotransmitter pathways for Shqiperi language. My current pathways are an odd mix of Bulgarian and German, this should be as they say interesting.

More later.............

It is hard to believe after nearly a year of filling out forms, getting all the paperwork, finger prints and what not I have finally gotten my final clearance to serve in Peace Corps Albania. The US Government is now familiar with all my bodily fluids and functions, my legal history and work experience. It has been like the creating the most amazing dating profile ever! But I am  now valid and the real work begins. 

It is an unusual time to be going into service. The United States is entering somewhat unknown territory after the 2016 elections. It is also interesting considering this is the 100 year anniversary of World War I. In so many ways, Albania and the Balkans are still reverberating from that war, and I seem to know so little about it.

In these last weeks before I leave, I will be trying to learn this very obscure language, which for some reason we English speakers call "Albanian" but the people of this beautiful land call Shquiperi. I have been told that the word stands for Eagle, and Albanian comes from a northern tribe of the geography. Apparently the English had trouble with the pronunciation and chose Albanian instead. I think Shqiperi is so much more melodic.

So it is off to start packing in a way I never have before. What do you take when you are leaving for two and a half years? A different climate, limited resources compared to what I am used to from California, but not exactly like living in the middle of a jungle or desert. They have wifi, which in some ways I am not so sure I am happy about. It seems the Internet is so full of anxiety and frustration, it might be good for my soul not to be so connected. It might be nice to not know what is going on.

I am so looking forward to the beautiful land to which I will be venturing. Before I was burned out of my living situation in the California Fires of 2015, I had the pleasure of living in the beautiful mountains of Eastern Napa County. But it seems Albania will have such beauty and more.

My hopes for this journey are numerous. I hope to be a good representative of the United States of America. I hope to be of service to the community I have been assigned. I hope I can become somewhat proficient in the language. As a soundly middle aged female, the work force and culture often has little use for us older but wider gals. I am so grateful that I will be able to be of some use, to contribute to something once again.

So, stay tuned, I will update my progress as often as I can. I hope to "vlog" as well on Youtube so we shall see how that goes, and also do all that social media stuff that goes along with modern life. I also want you to know that the views expressed in this blog are those of me only and are in no way representative of the Peace Corps, these are my personal reflections on my experience.

Until next time, all the best to you!