Wealth

Mountains near Apollonia albania, Photograph by PC Trainee Abbot

The ride to and from Elbasan to Permet was full of contrasts in terms of land. We went through a valley, and industrial center where it looks like some sort of petroleum production is going on, then through strikingly beautiful canyons and mountains. The open spaces nearing Permet were a mixture of farm land, pastures with sheep and a few houses here and there. I thought to myself that this is probably what the land looked like for a thousand years. In the areas where there was no human touch, it probably has looked the same since the last ice age. Will the lush land that I witnessed be allowed to stay as it is?

The continuous theme I seem to encounter when meeting people from Albania is the conversation steers towards how terrible things are and the desire to leave. I am usually asked if I like Albania, and I honestly answer that I think it is very beautiful. One young woman responded to my observation of the incredible snow capped mountains behind us, that she and her peers are too busy with their own worries over family, lack of jobs and problems to notice the beauty. She told me the beauty doesn't help them pay the bills. Later in the conversation, as she was reflecting on her decision to visit relatives in Canada and the USA to see about relocating, she said she has everything she wants in Permet within walking distance. If she needs to do something, she can always ask her mother on a moments notice to watch her two young children. She has a job as a teacher, that is quite secure. She said if she leaves Albania, she would not have the support of her mother living nearby, and would probably have to work several jobs to exist. All I could think of was how many Americans would give anything to have what she has: an apartment she can afford on her salary, steady job, beautiful nature in front of her, a river and mountains to explore and enjoy, amazing fresh food, bakeries, a regular farmers market full of organic produce and family to support her and care for her children anytime she wanted.

When I was doing my initial research in preparation to come to Albania, the book I was reading said that the majority of Albanians live outside of the country. A recent study by the World Bank showed that the population of Albania has decreased 7% in the last year alone. On my Albanian Peace Corps Twitter account, I have endless suggestions to follow the various “Albania in (fill in the country)” feeds, and it seems they are “everywhere,” Sweden, Australia and so on. One of the popular Sunday night Albanian television shows is a reality contest where three Albanian women marry foreigners in fairytale weddings. The get a stylist, help picking out dresses, and a wedding coordinator from a posh resort in Durres. Each bride recounts how they met their dream husband from another country, they rate each other’s weddings that we have all watched in that segment of the show. The winner gets a resort vacation to share with their husbands. 

What is wealth? Why are natural beauty, friendship and family not enough to sustain us in our modern world? Can development include these factors, or foster these aspects of culture? The Balkans are an interesting opportunity to create development in a few years compared to the US, Canada and western Europe, that does not destroy the meaningful aspects of human culture, but can they do this? Can they learn from our mistakes, use our best practises mixed in with their own innovations, their own style and avoid the pitfalls? 

I was talking to a PC Volunteer on a walk through pristine forest dotted with flowers. When I asked him what he thought was lacking in Albanian primary school education, his immediate response was there were no creative outlets for the children, no art, music, no activities involving imagination. We had an interesting conversation regarding the challenges of children in the states involving Attention Deficit Disorder and Autism. He said that it was an increasing problem in Albania, whose system really does not have the resources to cope with these children. My host sister, who is getting her masters in education, said that the parents of the normal children do not want them exposed to special needs children in school. At my training site, there is one such child, a sweet boy of about 12. He always says hello to me in English, he has the most amazing green eyes. He roams the hallways during school periods, and joins the rest of the children during recess. One day, some of the children were threatening him, a fight almost ensued, but thankfully one of the school boys intervened and stopped the beating before it began. I saw a public service announcement on TV imploring toleration for such mentally challenged youth. I have also been learning that there are some resources for these children, and that the Education Ministry is working on serving them through various initiatives.

Through my practice and simply paying attention for the last 30 years, I have noticed a general trend in American children as the numbers of ADHD and Autistic children increases. As a natural medicine practitioner and acupuncturist, my theory about the increased incidence of these problems is several fold. It seems that in terms of brain development, modern life is in direct conflict with the healthy growth of the brain and nervous system. When children are fed real nutritious food, allowed contact with nature, participate in gardening, get exercise, limit computer and television exposure, have regular schedules with adequate sleep, participate in artistic activities such as music, and receive affection and attention from parents, the brain develops in an effective manner. Such practises also help relax hyper children. Obviously these practises are not the norm in homes where both parents work, dinner is usually a drive through fast food experience and an average of 8 hours of TV and computer time is logged each day. One study showed that prisoners in the US have more outdoor time (one hour per day) than the average US school aged child. Will this happen in Albania?

The trend in modernity is to move away from the land. As we move to cities, become more mechanized in all aspects of our lives, we are slowly killing ourselves and the planet. While population centers swell and we are closer in proximity to one another, it seems our obsession with computers is isolating us from one another. Our children are basically the canaries in the mineshaft in terms of the direction we are going as a species. The antidote is to slow down, be outside, talk to one another face to face, get our hands into some dirt to grow things, participate in artistic activities and eat real food. The modernization that Albania and the rest of the Balkans are experiencing is being reflected in their children. The deeper question is how to modernize without separating from the land. Will the people in Albania learn from their children?

Truth, beauty and goodness are what make life on earth the satisfying transformative journey it is meant to be. Truth, beauty and goodness create the environment for humans to achieve their highest potential. What is sad to me is that these things are seen as irrelevant and non productive, they do not pay the bills I am told from people on the American and European continent. Beauty is being standardized and commodified. A young Albanian woman said that before the fall of communism, women who were on the voluptuous or “meaty” side were considered beautiful. Now, the definition of beauty is thin, blond and smooth, and the levels of eating disorders, hair dye and cosmetics are rising to comply.

I go back to my original reflections on development. Can such a process happen without the fallout and mistakes that have been made in the West? I watch TV and the ads are all about possessions, shopping, fake food and commodified beauty, just like in the states. The Albanians and everyone else wants to go to the location where the lifestyle such commercials proclaim, but such lifestyles really do not exist on one level, and on another, the chocolate dip in plastic cartoon character containers for cookies, pre-packaged meals, fairytale weddings to foreigners and the caffeinated drink enjoyed by a rapper do not embody truth, beauty and goodness. Such things also do not last. I have yet to see the nasty divorce from foreign mate shows on the TV listings here in Albania.

The mountains which have stood for thousands of years, different dictators, wars and climate changes are silent in their majesty and beauty. They are teeming with life; flowers, ferns,  berries, waterfalls from snow packs, birds and animals. They nourish the farmland below and supply the rivers and streams that give life to everything. I wish I could hear what they say. The sight of them brings me deep comfort and joy. I wish everyone could see these vistas as I am seeing them, and feel rich because of it, I know I do. The warmth in my heart will last, I think, beyond this life.

Shadow Visit

Apparently you can see Greece from your backyard in this region

Yet another logistical feat has been successfully accomplished thanks to the amazing planning of the Peace Corps Albania staff and the existing volunteers. Each group of Peace Corps volunteers has a class number assigned to us. My class is Albania 20, and you can figure out the others. (Albania 19 and 18 to be specific) The 18’s are on their way out, which is called in PC lingo COD , it does not mean cash on delivery, and we 20’s are on our way in. Part of Pre Service Training, or PST as the PC calls it, is going to shadow an existing volunteer at a site to see how they have oriented themselves and get a more accurate picture of what to expect when the assignment begins. In certain ways, I was not looking forward to this part of training mainly because I feel I had just really oriented myself to where I am staying now, and I wanted to study the language more on my own so as to get some of the wrote material under my belt. I want to be more articulate than “Shum Mire” which means “very good” every time I am asked a question or make a remark on something.

Hub days are when all the trainees gather in our central office in Elbasan and receive trainings on everything from how to run a successful program to first aid and culture. After a grueling day of information, we were given instructions on how to catch what bus to where for our shadow experience. Some of the volunteers spent the night in a hotel in Elbasan so they could catch extremely early buses to their different locations. I caught an early morning bus on the road just outside my host family house. 

I went south. Elbasan is basically in central Albania. While I am enjoying where I am staying now and the trips to Elbasan for hub days, it was fun to branch out so to speak and see a different part of the country. Words can not express the beauty of what I saw, both in the land and of the people. At one of our breaks on the road, some ladies on the bus offered all of us Americans some Ballocoume, which are these extremely large cookies made of cornmeal, flour butter and eggs. They remind me of the Mexican pastry I really enjoy back in California. The farmland, rivers, canyons and mountains we drove past today were simply breathtaking. We were all chattering away about our respective experiences until we entered a canyon, then the chatter ceased, iPhones came out at the pictures started to be taken in stunned silence.

I do not know the geology of the area. Albania is still quite a mystery to me, and the world I might add. The isolation they had during the Cold War era has made their re-entry into the global consciousness a bit slow. As I experienced the lush green fields, pale blue glacial rivers, snow capped mountains, I had a bit of a stab in my heart wondering when the world does discover this ancient land, what will it do ? Will it pave over the fields, drill the mountains, dam up the rivers? Will anyone try to stop it? Beauty, breathtaking pristine beauty does not seem to have much value these days.

I was assigned to the Permet region which is a southern county along the Greek border. My host volunteer and another host volunteer who had two of my bus mates as his charges were waiting for us on the road. We negotiated a taxi, and for some reason I got to sit in front while three men and my host squished into the back seat. One trainee was basically lying across the other three. My camera was in my pack in the trunk or I would have taken a picture. The scene reminded me of those pictures from the 50’s where people crammed themselves into phone booths to break a Guinness record. It actually reminded me of how I experienced Yugoslavia in the 80’s with my own family as we crammed ourselves into a car with luggage and gifts from family members who gave us things like a set of dishes (meaning an entire service with cups, bowls, everything) Curtains and my dads slide projector.

My amusement quickly gave into wonder as we traveled to our respective shadow sites. I realized how much the trash near my training site and Elbasan has been getting me down, when I viewed the vistas before me without plastic bottles and candy wrappers strewn everywhere. When we arrived at the first drop off, my host (an absolutely lovely dietitian from Philadelphia and near my age) got another taxi to her town. After we settled in her flat, she insisted that we go to the “Banyas” which are the local term for natural warm springs in the local mountains. Again, I was almost dumbstruck by the beauty, the snow capped mountains, clear air, lush green fields, streams and trees bursting into flower.

The Permet region is known for its herbal medicine, which I think I know know the right term for “Popular” My host remarked she was helping a local friend plant a garden, and for the first time in her life helped to transplant dandelion. I thought to myself, entire multinational corporations have made billions in farm equipment and herbicides to kill eradicate this plant that is so nutritious and healing. I will add to my list of descriptors for Albania as “dandelion sanctuary.” 

Ottoman bridge to the warm springs

The “banyas” were a series of warm spring pools in granite hillsides. The mountains for view from these undeveloped springs were something out of a National Geographic calendar. I have a friend in Macedonia that has a business specializing in arranging tours to hike in the Balkans. Again, while I want everyone to know of the beauty of the Balkans, I worry what will happen when the droves of tourists do finally get the hint and come to this part of the world. My host and I sat on the side of one of the larger pools, soaked our feet and watched the locals play a water polo sort of game. When we returned, we met the language teaching volunteer who is transitioning back to the states in a few days, we sat and talked about his experience while drinking my new favorite drink “Salep” which is a rice drink made from the root of the Salep flower, which the Turks brought to the area. Salep is best served with cream and cinnamon, sort of like a latte but without the coffee. I now have something other than Chai to drink at coffee hour! I can not tell you what a find this has been for me personally

The next day I accompanied my host to shadow her presentation to a fourth grade class. She works with the school nurse to give classes on different aspects of health. The school was spotless and newly remodeled, with cheerful pastel colored walls. The children were beyond adorable and listened intently as my host, their teacher and the nurse gave a lesson on hand washing. The young boys in the back of the classroom asked me in perfect English if I spoke Albanian (Shqip) or English. I responded I spoke “pak Shqip dhe Anglisht” After the class we joined the other trainees and host for a walk into the local mountains to visit a village where the language volunteer teaches, and visit a church. The fresco's inside are unusual in this area in that they have sustained little damage. I was told my one of my trainers that the dictator that wiped out religion in Albania ignored the Orthodox because he thought they were too stupid to rebel, and focused on the more educated Muslims and Catholics for his program of eradication.

Again, words simply can not describe the beauty here. Today I hope to meet with the local Slow Food community, taste some regional specialty and complete my site visit. We are told not to expect our visit to be our assignment, but I hope with all my heart to be assigned near these amazing sites. Can’t wait to learn more about the history and ecology of the area, especially the “popular” medicine.

I fell in love in Permet

Week Three

The Nine Year School in Bishqem

It is hard to believe but the A20 Peace Corps class has been in Albania now for three weeks. In many ways, I already feel as if I am behind. The language is the key to everything, and I am still mixing up Albanian with German and Bulgarian. How many people do you know who can say that? One of my site mates is having the same problem, she has studied German for years and did a language training seminar there recently. I am feeling my age through this language training, those cranial sulci just are too crammed with other information. We have competency exams coming up, oral examinations where we are expected to display our basic conversation skills. As I have been saying throughout this blog, each and every detail has been honed and perfected in terms of  Peace Corps training, so I am trusting that everything required for us has a deep purpose. I am looking forward to the time when I can converse with people, there is so much to learn from them, and of course I have things to offer, but as I was telling one of my advisers today, Albanians are not familiar with my German verb endings I am putting on the Albanian roots, so I need to get with the program as they say.

Today the Health Education sector trainees were introduced to the Albanian education system. As it seems all over the world, the educational system here is in the midst of reform. We were shown how the ministry of education works with regional organizations, the structure of the schools from nursery school through advanced university programs. What I thought was a good idea is that Albania has vocational and arts programs for secondary school, in addition to the broader educational offerings for what we in the states would call “high school.” 

We are expected after we are assigned to a sector, to integrate into the community. Our mission is to carry out the directives of the ministry of education multi year plan to integrate sexual and reproductive health within the science curriculum, as well as life skills which range from relationship issues, to hygiene and nutrition. There is a broad structure of community support for the schools in terms of parent networks, and district representation of teachers and students. The most interesting thing we were told to take advantage of was the Community Center. These can be independent buildings or within what is called the Nine Year School. This school serves students from first through ninth grade. Each school has the mandate to provide at least 10 hours per week of availability for the Community Center for extra curricular activities.

After this introduction, we went to our training site school to work with the administrators and plan for our practicum for each age group. What continues to amuse me in a sweet way is how similar the personalities and presentations are between the Albanians and the Americans. The PE teacher is, well for lack of a better word, a “jock” with sports logo sweats and such. The teachers who have been there forever are calm, nothing phases them, there are teachers who are not respected by the students, and others who have control of their classes. Our site team is now the topic of the children at recess, so everyone wants to try out their English skills, and we are usually surrounded by smiling children eating chips or Popsicles. In three weeks we will be leading a class for three age groups, My assignment is for dental hygiene, a PE class, and an HIV and AIDS education class for the 9^th graders. My partner is quite adept at this topic as she was a public health educator on STD’s and such. How this will all unfold in Albanian is going to be interesting to say the least.

Our regular (and basically only) lunch place is now expanding it’s offerings. Again, the language is the key, and asking the right question opens delicious doors to local gastronomical delights. Apparently it is the best sausage place in all of Albania, and we finally had the vocabulary to ask for sausage instead of “mish” which means “meat” and translated into whatever was available that day. We have normally been getting the local variety of “sause kosa” which is similar to Tzatiki, but now we are having “white cheese” also what one would call “feta” and delicious salad, bread and potatoes. I have offered to make supper to celebrate my host families daughter who just got her diploma for her undergraduate degree. She is going on for a Masters, but it is time to celebrate. I am going to try to make something to chile rellenos with the bukova peppers and feta, it will be the ultimate fusion cuisine, not yet explored in the food trucks of Los Angeles. The Albanian word for “Albania” is  “Shqiperi” so I will be the first to launch Mexiperi cuisine, the ultimate fusion experience!

Next week I will be shadowing a Health Education volunteer in a Southern district. Along with two other trainees, I will be braving the “furgon” transportation system, which is independent drivers in minivans transporting people all over the country. When we were given the education training and I talked with the volunteer who will be hosting me, I started to get really excited. While I am enjoying the training, I have not really felt like I was doing anything other than fumbling through language lessons. Now it is feeling more like what I came here to do. I am brimming with ideas, eager to get to work, and now I will see exactly how another volunteer is getting along in her assignment.

The days are getting blessedly warmer, and everything is in bloom. It is a glorious spring here in the valley near Elbasan. I am trying to drink in the beauty as much as possible.

The Women in the Castle

For various reasons, I have not been reading fiction for a very long time. In the past I often indulged in fiction during the Christmas Break, and over the Summer. This past November, I was giving a series of lectures in the Devon Pennsylvania area in the weeks following the election. The day after Thanksgiving, I indulged in the towns “Black Friday” offerings at a local independent bookstore. One of the specials was if you spent $10.00 , you could choose from a table of books that you could have for free with purchase. The staff recommendation card was above The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck on the “free table.” One sentence grabbed my attention; “relevant to our current political troubled times of cultural divisions…” As I was still basically hemorrhaging dismay and horror over the selection of president president #45, I thought a fictional approach to what the heck was going on in my nation would be more useful than the endless whining in the media, as well as my usual medieval fantasy in which I escape annually during the holidays.

The book chronicles the lives of three women in the years leading up to and after World War II in Germany. Another comment on the staff recommendation card also struck a chord; “for anyone wondering how it could have happened, this book offers insight into ordinary people coping with extraordinary circumstances.” Sold! I searched for a $10.00 item so I could get this book. I found a selection of Eleanore Roosevelt sayings to give my 17 year old niece for Christmas. She was a Bernie Sanders supporter, so the selection of #45 was even more devastating for her, as she is now embarking on her youth, college and formative years. I thought she could be inspired by an American Woman Icon. The Women in the Castle basically went everywhere with me, unread until now, here in Albania.  

While I was contemplating the volume in the Devon bookstore, a woman of similar age to me, was also examining the free book table. We started one of those intense intimate conversations one can only have with a complete stranger. We talked about the recent election, our dismay, our sorrow over the impending challenges that our youth would face, and as the staff comment card said, “how could this have happened here?” She was also inspired to obtain the book for herself.

Years of intense reading that my professions have required, make me a fast reader. After a couple of weeks trying to orient myself in another country with complete strangers and no language, the experience has been overwhelming to say the least. Coping for me is to lose myself in literature, so I cracked open the book during my free Friday afternoon. I finished it by midnight. It was that good, and also caused great reflection on my own situation as an individual ordinary person living through extraordinary times.

The parallels presented in the story: the rise of the Nazi’s and the current political upheaval in the US were extremely uncomfortable to read. One of the characters involved in the story was part of the “lager” movement. “Lagers” were series of camps where German youth were given a combination of living skills on farms, physical exercise and basic Nazi propaganda. After the humiliating and difficult era of WW 1 and the aftermath, one could see the attraction of these orderly, fun and useful camps, sort of like the ultimate lengthy summer camp scenario. With all the chaos of the previous years, the character basically dismissed the seriousness of the propaganda she was teaching the campers. Hitler was bringing jobs back to Germany, wasn’t he? What I found the most interesting about the story in general is how people justified their survival, how they grappled with what it meant to be a “good German” and trivialized blatant racist ideology. For me as an American during our current era, I have certainly been grappling with the same issues.

Rudolf Steiner gave many lectures to help his community cope with the horrors of WW1. This war is often overlooked in terms of where it came from and how it has shaped modern history. I have also brought a book along with me on that war to help gain some perspective on Albania. Something Steiner said during one of the WW1 lectures has always stood out to me regarding Germany and how a nation gets mixed up in such conflicts. In summary he said that when a nation can not rise up to it’s spiritual destiny, it devolves into nationalism. For me, nationalism is a form of idolatry, and the best examples can be seen in Nazism, fascism and also what I am witnessing going on in a large segment of America. 

What I am finding here in Albania through my Peace Corps training is an interesting view of what I feel is America’s spiritual destiny. I think it is why I get weepy when I hear the lofty ideals of the Peace Corps, read the quotes by the founding organizers and listen to the original PSA by Kennedy. I feel a stinging sadness when I watch my current president and witness the basic unkindness and selfishness of him and his family, his cabinet and the Republican members of the Senate and Congress. What I also find painful on a deep level is the contrast between these political escapades, the statements and behaviors of those who vote for these people and the ideals I am seeing unfolding through the Peace Corps.

Since I am sort of a baby boomer, the concept of American Exceptionalism has been part of my cultural orientation since childhood. This term means many things to many people, but in essence it encompasses the concept that there is something special about America. Some interpret the “exceptionalism” as America basically can do what it wants without consequence, enforcing it’s will regardless of consideration to anything other than it’s own interests. Others, including myself, see the exceptionalism as being a model for the highest form of civilization, and a responsibility towards those who aspire to this form of civilization.

This highest form of civilization  is conveyed by the three core values of America: Freedom, Equality and Community. The latter term is traditionally coined as “fraternity” which means “brotherhood.” In the interests of gender inclusive language, I like to use the word “community” since in essence they mean the same thing. Our exceptionalism as America and Americans is that we are to be a community of free and equal beings. This form of culture, of civilization is the highest ideal in human history and orientation. But how does a nation and a people form “a more perfect union” of free and equal members?

While America is in many respects quite young, we have been working out these ideals in practice for 241 years. We have had uprisings, a civil war, civil unrest, assassinated a few presidents and endured severe trials of our values through such experiences as the communist scare, the Civil Rights and the Anti War movements of the 1960’s. We have had economic booms and busts, environmental catastrophes and plagues, but through it all the concept of what it means to be a free and equal human being within a community has been our guide. I would say that these values, these deeply American values of high civilization have been a direct impediment to the surge towards materialism and capitalism. Some sectors of our nation think the only value to be promoted in America is freedom, especially in the economic realm. It is here that I think America is not living up to it’s spiritual destiny, and why nationalism is seeping into our consciousness and political process in alarming ways.

When president #45 was selected, my biggest sorrow was all the suffering that would ensue. Suffering for the earth, for the vulnerable, all to enrich those who really do not need to be enriched economically. The lie was that #45 would help the economically disadvantaged, and that is why he appealed to as many people as he did. Within days of his election, his main activity was to see how he could enrich his family and circumvent laws and taxes he found tedious to his economic freedom. His cabinet for the most part seeks to enrich themselves and dismantle the basic values and practises of America’s highest form of civilization in the name of greed, which they label “freedom.” The immediate and consistent rejection of all of their efforts by the majority of Americans to me shows we have not abandoned our Spiritual destiny. The Peace Corps for me is also showing the highest ideas of America’s Spiritual destiny.

When the president’s travel and immigration ban was unleashed, the immediate spontaneous response and resistance of the people and our institutions I think was one of the finest moments in our history. Lawyers, judges, courts and basic everyday people flocked to the assistance of strangers, of those who are not Americans trying to either travel ,emigrate or become refugees in the USA. Airports were closed due to protests, and courts and attorney generals across the nation worked round the clock to stifle this very un -American executive order crafted by those who find kindness, inclusivity, freedom, equality and community a threat to their sense of safety. As I saw lawyers overtake food courts in airports with laptops, cellphones and coffee to labor through the night assisting those lost in the ban, my faith was restored in my nation, my people who do value freedom, equality and community.

How does a culture have free and equal members within a community? Through compassion, kindness and respect, through the sort of love Christ talked about and we understand as “Agape,” a form of universal love that is free of attachments and personal desire. It also struck me as I was reading The Women in the Castle, that a large segment of America actually got the deep lessons of WWII, that we learned the consequences of not challenging the onslaught of evil, of a nationalism that harms others. 

As hate crimes increase against Muslims, Jews and Christians of African, Latino and Arab descent in the USA, what I am witnessing is a solidarity I have not seen before in my nation. Synagogues are offering their buildings to Muslims who have been burnt out of their Mosques. Muslims are raising money to help repair desecrated Jewish Cemeteries. Jewish organizations have pledged to register as Muslims if there is a Muslim registry created. Christians are reaching out to join Muslims at Islamic Centers for joint prayer services. During the flooding crisis in California, Sikh and Hindu places of worship opened their doors to house evacuees, mostly of the Christian faith. All of this was done in spite of the callous and often non existent response of our new president to the ongoing hate crimes done in his name. 

I am also witnessing, albeit at a distance, the relentless unraveling of the cruel policy initiatives of #45 and his party. The system is working, the press and the courts are relentless in their search for the truth. That all of this has happened in 60 some odd days is actually quite breathtaking in its scope, and from my perspective is testament to the Agape at work within our civilizations ideals. For me it is showing that the American people are truly their own leader, in absence of moral example of a president to a crisis, we simply fill in the gaping hole with grace and charity.

Discussing the unsettled nature of the US government with a Peace Corps staff member who served under several presidents from each party, I remarked that it seems the current president is waking the American people up to the nature of their community. While he and his administration seek to destroy them and take away their livelihoods so billionaires can pay less taxes, we are seeing the quiet dedication of our federal and state employees to our values of freedom, equality and community. We are seeing that there are faces, families and histories of people who serve us in so many ways, from our intelligence agents to our federal park rangers. We are also awakening to all members of our culture, regardless of their religious or ethnic backgrounds, seeing the value of each human being. Are we totally there yet? Of course not. But we have history and access to it to be our guide. We can learn from books such as The Women in the Castle and see how “it” could happen to regular ordinary people, and learn as well as transform our civilization so “it” can never happen again.

This is our challenge, this is our task, this is our destiny as Americans, and through the actions of my people both at home and abroad in the Peace Corps, I am seeing that we Americans are rising to the occasion, even without moral leadership of our president and his party’s legislative bodies. My people are capable of the deep love necessary to embody our exceptionalism to carry out the values of freedom and equality within a national and global community. My people are meeting their spiritual destiny in ways they never thought they would have to, and we all will be better off for their efforts.

Week Two

Spring is Blossoming in Albania

While I am slowly reconnecting nerve synapses where my basic understanding of grammar is ingrained, I am also waking up to the realities of being in Albania as a Peace Corps Volunteer. The level and sophistication of training is quite immense to say the least. But then, they have had 56 years to fine tune this process. I keep going back to the fact that I was born in the same year this initiative came to be and where the world was then and where it is now.

In my many conversations with my mother about world events, we both reflected on how I was born in extremely interesting times. 1961 was barely a generation after the end of World War II. Stories of the Holocaust and the war were still quite fresh in the global consciousness. America was seen as the great vanquisher of evil by defeating the Nazi’s, and for reasons I will never understand, our dropping of the atomic bomb and unleashing the “destroyer of worlds” really never overshadowed how we ended the war that was to end all wars.

https://youtu.be/yOQ85OEZhWg is the link to watch this historic original PSA announcement.

It was out of this war that John F Kennedy emerged to be a Senator and then President. “Ich bin ein Berliner” and “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” became motto's for a generation in many respects. One can watch the public service announcement given by Kennedy on the Peace Corps You Tube channel. While only about a minute and a half long, he talks about the aspects of America that are often hidden, that we desire to be of assistance to others and to live in peace. The horrors of that war, and especially the aftermath caused much reflection on a level not reached in generations past. While humans have been quite busy slaughtering each other for all sorts of reasons for the last 10,000 years and calling it war, something quite different did emerge in the aftermath of WWII in that there were quite thoughtful and massive attempts to recover and prevent future catastrophes. The United Nations, the Declaration of Human Rights, the Youth Hostel Movement, Eurail and Peace Corps all came out of the notion that if we as a human community recognize the dignity of all peoples and the necessity of getting to know one another in the spirit of cooperation, maybe, just maybe we would not slaughter each other in mechanized zeal in the future. Another truly revolutionary outcome to war after WWII was the Marshall Plan. This massive assistance program was commenced to rebuild war devastated Western Europe and Japan in terms of infrastructure. The prosperity of these areas and basically friendly terms we have been on since WW II is a testament to the success of this program.

The Grade School where I am learning Albanian and where my practicum will occur, outside of Elbasan in a village called Bisquem

In one of our many training sessions in Pre Service Training, we were given a talk about development. The Peace Corps aims to assist host countries who ask for volunteers in community development, English language training and health education sectors. The aim is to help the people of the host nation through education so that they can have sustainable projects in many different areas. In some nations, engineers are asked for to assist in water infrastructure projects, other nations request agricultural experts and such. The Marshall Plan is seen as the first attempt at modern development assistance. It struck me in terms of my age and awareness, that most of the delightful twentysomethings are not that familiar with either World War II or the Marshall Plan. But then, why would they be in many respects? My uncles fought in that war and were part of the reconstruction efforts after the war. My lovely twentysomething cohorts  were born long afterward.

In more progressive and environmental circles, the subject of “development” is quite controversial. What is development exactly, and whom does it benefit? From what I am seeing in the Peace Corps, the projects would certainly pass muster in terms of the sustainability and culturally sensitive arenas, no problems at all.

What continually amazes me as well as causes me great pride is the almost hyper attention our Peace Corps training is to being culturally sensitive to the host nation. The care to be as inclusive and caring for the diversity of the volunteers is also something of almost a shock when compared with the disdain and rudeness upon which the current president’s administration seems to be based. What I am also struck by in terms of listening to current volunteers talk about in the context of their own experience is the tension between individual identity and the collective culture where we Americans are volunteering. It seems to be more of an issue with younger volunteers, but this may be an issue of their evolving biography. As an older volunteer, and an extremely independent person who has simply gotten used to being isolated due to lack of real peers, I have learned that my own identity is not dependent on how I am seen by others. This may not be as easy of a context for those who are emerging from the group consciousness of youth. But I think it is a great cultural challenge for Americans who are more independent in general to be in a culture that is more communal.

I am intrigued by the evolving process of the training; First Aid, Safety, Process, Policy, Language and now “shadowing.” As Albanian TV seems to be this odd mixture of reality based game shows and Indian Soap Operas. I feel like each step of  our training is a new reveal on one of the game shows I watch nightly with my host family. We met our host families in such a manner, where we were announced and met our respective hosts in what felt like an awards show. For the current reveal, we received an email stating where we would be sent for a few days to observe an existing volunteer in one of the regions being served. People all tuned into their IPhones for the reveal, where we were given the name and location of our site assignment and volunteer, and waited for the phone numbers so we could text and connect. I keep wondering how all of this was done before social media and the internet. 

On the more human side, I have been exploring more of the local institutions, such as markets. Near our hub, I went to a market that was recommended by a local. Many of my fellow volunteers are lamenting the lack of basic condiments available with Albanian cuisine. I was able to secure some Heinz Ketchup and Tabasco Sauce for desperate volunteers, and I have been able to drop by some interesting spice stores and organic options. I am also quite enjoying watching my valley erupt into spring, with baby chicks, blossoms, emerging leaves and lambs. 

I hope my language skills improve. It is nice to have a day off just to study, as we are given about four major topics every day in terms of verbs, sentence structure and vocabulary. I have decided that Albanian sounds like Valeryian from Game of Thrones, so I will be able to sound like Queen Danerys even though I will never EVER look like her. We celebrated Norwiz, which in the US is Persian New Year. My family sacrificed a Turkey for the occasion, and also made a Buryek with a coin in it, the daughter discovered it. I am seeing strawberries in the markets, and there is a waffle house next to our hub.

The most interesting thing I learned in terms of culture is how religiously tolerant the Albanians are, which is interesting because religious tolerance and Balkans are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. Somehow the obliteration of religion under the communist regime, while destroying priceless churches and mosques, seemed to actually do what the practice intended, stop religious divisions. With all the horrors associated with the Crusades and Eastern Europe, the fighting between different Christian Sects as well as between Christians and Muslims, it seems to be absent now and here in Albania. I think this is another aspect of the culture that should be spread beyond its borders. I am curious to explore this further, mainly because however they got to this place, it is REALLY important that this sort of toleration be emulated, particularly in America at this juncture in our own history.

So, I have completed two weeks of training. In many ways, my life in the states, my history seems so faint and distant, and I am curious what it will be like to spend two years here. As I was able to get to the internet today and read up on the current insanity of the administration and the GOP legislators, the one thing that the Peace Corps staff and volunteers seem to agree on is it is nice to not be in the US right now during this unsettled time, to not be immersed. But it does hurt every time our president is featured on Albanian news. He is reported as to his latest antics, the failure of the health care bill made it to the evening news, along side the latest Albanian Soccer team performance and the upcoming Albanian elections. I actually cried when I was watching Kennedy’s Peace Corps PSA during our Hub Day training, when I thought of the selfish man who now occupies the oval office. When you compare the Peace Corps with the supposed initiatives of President number 45, the difference could not be starker. I am glad the Peace Corps exists, in Kennedy’s words, to show an aspect of America that is especially hidden. With the boorish crass current president representing America to the rest of the world at present, it is more important than ever that the world knows America actually does want to be of assistance, to share our blessings, our heart with others, and that we do indeed wish to live in peace with other nations, as well as learn about their cultures and their people.

Children circle dancing at the grade school in Bisquem, Albania

Te Buftem Mire

Te Buftem Mire is the Albanian phrase which basically translates to “enjoy your food,” or Bon Appetit. In English, we really do not have a phrase for this, I wonder if it is because no one has to encourage Americans to have good appetites. While my language skills are still at about a toddler level, it is interesting how much one can learn from a culture with a few conversations here and there. When one is in the Peace Corps, there is a basic understanding that the volunteers come to help out with technical and logistical expertise. We are told to make assessments and assist where asked by locals to give input. As I sit on the porch of my host family in a beautiful valley that is slowly erupting into spring, I am curious as to what sort of expertise is useful here and on what level. It is also quite ironic in many ways, since I am quite concerned about the fate of my own nation during this time of our own deep political and cultural crisis. What adds to the mix so to speak in terms of how best to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer is how Albania has experienced a generation into joining the modern world after enduring nearly 50 years under one of the most oppressive and isolated communist regiems in the world. 

I was discussing this observation with my language classmates and a health volunteer logistics leader after class the other day. We were reflecting over lunch at a local cafe on how delicious the food is in our village. On many levels, I have been observing my own nation for years. The calmest context for what I have been watching duirng the last 20 years can be described as the USA is in the throws of some sort of massive transformation. This transformation is for the better or worse depending on ones perspective, but I am still not sure. During the economic downturn of 2008, one of my friends articulated the issue of the times as how Americans do not know what they do for a living anymore. My Albanian leader said that she felt her nation was also grappling with the same challenge. Since the fall of the communist government, many Albanians have emigrated to other nations. My leader and host family both complain about the lack of jobs available in Albania, forcing many to be seasonal emigrant workers abroad, mainly in Greece and Italy. These emigrant workers are often found either on farms or in the tourist industry in neihboring countries. Because so many Albanians are leaving or working abroad, there are less and less people to work the land for basic food production, creating a growing dependence on imports to feed the nation. The youth who stay in Albania want to study and become professionals, not to continue farming as their parents have done. 

The daughter in my host family has remarked on numerous occaisions there are no jobs for her people. We were watching an Albanian TV show calld “Fiks” which is an investigative journalism expose program on various injustices and abuses going on in the country. The hosts use humor mixed in with reporting to explore issues.  According to my host family, the show is actually quite effective at righting wrongs in Albania. The latest “Fiks” segment featured what we in the states would call “sweat shops.” Italian clothing manufactureres invest in Albanian factories employing locals to work long hours for very little pay. I would wager (without proof) that these companies got all sorts of tax breaks and incentives to create such facotries by the Albanian government so as to employ eager and needy Albanian workers. What is sad to me is that these factories have been established for a fraction of what it would cost in Italy. The Italian firms  employ Albanians at a much lower cost than if they used Italian workers.  One can only imagine the profit margin for such products produced in Albania, and yet the Albanian workers are not benefitting from this model. My host daughter would like to be a teacher, she is studying hard to get her degree as Albanian language instructor for primary and secondary schools. Her fiance is educated to be a Lawyer, but he is also an electritian.  When I look about the village where I am staying, I am not seeing any young people working the land, only people around my age.

Yesterday my class was exposed to several periods at the local grade school. After observing a junior high and 4^th grade science class, we joined the children in the school yard for recess. As I looked around, almost every child was eating a bag of some sort of chips or sweets.  I remarked to my leader how similar the students were to American children, even in their eating habits. Again, I was struck that we are in the middle of a fertile valley that is basically brimming with food, while the children are catered to by a local who is in need of income (no jobs) selling junk food to the children right outside of the school yard.

In the US, it is fair to say we have been working out the capitalist materialism thing with gusto for at least the last 150 years, and the whole industrialization paradigm in earnest since World War II. Before this war, Americans ate within 40 miles of their home, meaning the bulk of the food they consumed was grown and produced within a 40 mile radius. Now, we can venture to say that Americans eat within a 6000 mile radius from where they live if you factor in all the produce that is flown in from Mexico and South America, all the food grown and produced around the nation and trucked into regional processing centers, gourmet goodies from Europe and fish from Asia. 

In essence, America has perfected what Wendell Barry talked about in his landmark book The Unsettling of America. Barry articulates in very  succinct terms how Americans have become “experts” and do not eat or work where they live (an example of this thesis is eating fast food hamburgers made of beef from Brazil at a job one commutes to for an hour or more each way.) When one has no real connection to where one lives, it means there is less investment in where one resides and a basic loss of connection with the land in general. 

What does the separation from the land do to a culture? Farming is hard work. It can be satisfying in many respects, but it is not for the physically weak or faint of heart. While chefs, the food movement and  food television have created a deep appreciation for concepts such as “farm to table,” it is obvious that there is a great disconnect between a market for such products and a labor force to produce them. Farming is hot smelly work, and is conducted basically 24/7. America seems to have to import workers to do the bulk of these tasks, pays the laborers poorly and now terrorizes them with police raids for the crime of picking tomatoes without proper paperwork. How can this occupation compare with reality show teens who pose for a living and make millions for being liked on Instagram? 

But we have to eat. Even the plastic wrapped items that pass for food need some sort of raw materials in order to be made. I look out on my host families plot of land. One bed is filled with seedlings for flowers that will be sold to a “business man” who will take the flowers to be packaged and sold on the broader European market as culinary teas. My host father remarked that he has to be in Greece during the harvest time, while his daughter is in school. Only mama is home to harvest, and it may be too much for her to do all by herself. I offered to come and help, we all smiled, and knew that I might not be able to do so when the time comes.

What is it we are supposed to do for a living in this modern era? One of my classmates commented he was very pro GMO and that America should not be farming anymore, that agriculture is not “cost effective.” One benefit of GMO’s he said was that more could be grown on less land, requiring fewer people to farm. Obviously to him this makes farming more cost effective. But is this a good idea in the long run?

I reflect on the amazingly delicious food I am eating with my host family. The flavors of everything are profoundly yummy. The household is basically a contained ecosystem of interrelationships between the land, animals and human hands. Everyday, my host family rises at dawn to tend to the animals, work the land, and later in the day, prepare food that will be consumed immediately. When the summer comes to an end, there will be much effort at canning the bounty of the trees and garden. Why does everything taste so good? Science tells us the fresher the food, the more flavor chemicals and vitamins are within the substance. I think there are other components. 

There is something about the human touch when it comes to food. During my Redlands tenure when my farmer friends would dump extra produce on me, I would offer dishes at my church potlucks. During tomato season, I brought a large platter of sliced tomatoes with basil, topped with olive oil, salt and pepper. Everyone raved at the dish, asking what I did to make it. I told them the simple recipe, and they marveled. I am sure the copied dish with store bought items did not taste as good. The only difference was that the tomatoes were picked that day, and I cut them. The land was tended by hand, and the tomatoes were picked ripe by people living on the farm, not by imported near slave labor living in fear of incarceration. In short, the tomatoes were produced by loving hands invested in the land. While I am sure there are no chemicals that can be measured for this, I do believe, and I have experienced it to be true. Such food just tastes better, is more satisfying. There is simply something different to food that is grown and produced by loving human hands on soil that is also treated with respect and care. Such food is more flavorful, and it seems is becoming quite rare in our ever changing and mechanized world. It may be the lack of experiencing what I call “real food” that creates a desire for the packaged junk that is taking over the world. But also, as we figure out what we do for a living and it is not farming, the need for junk food rises. As I watch commercials on Albanian TV for chocolate sauce and cookie dipping snacks in plastic containers with cartoon characters on the label, I wonder how the separation from the land has impacted the market for such products. How can these snacks compare with the amazing stews,  salads, cakes, cheeses and herbal teas I am enjoying? With no reference, will people actually care and demand “real food?”

America is basically at the end of the arc for experimenting with industrialization and materialism. In some ways, it has been fun creating leisure for at least a certain percentage of the population. For most, we are facing what the Albanians are experiencing in their 25 year crash course in modernization. Albania has trash, mostly from convienience foods and soda, everywhere, the quality of air in the cities is poor, drug use and obesity are on the rise, organized crime is rampant, there are no jobs for those willing to work. The population for the most part especially the young, wants to leave. The USA has similar problems, only on a grander scale especially considering obesity and drug addiction. While we have better trash and recycling practices, we are trashing our land in more dramatic ways with industrial agricultural pesticides, mining waste, fraking and petroleum production. We cleaned up the environment, but our current president and congress have found such practices to be burdensome for billionairres who seem to not have enough money already. It seems the US executive and legislative branches are also intent on slashing good paying public sector jobs, removing minimum wage and labor protections and inviting foreign investment to create factories where workers will work long hours for very little pay. Will Americans go back to the land? Will the Albanians?

What is it we are all supposed to do for a living? I obviously have certain ideas, and we have seen what does not work in the long run. Can you tell someone else to not make the mistakes you have made? That remains to be seen. Until then, I will enjoy what I see as a luxury of orange yolked eggs, high fat fresh yogurt and handmade cheese and bread. No wrappers for me, only crumbs left over for the chickens to eat.  Maybe the reason we do not say “Te Buftem Mire” or Bon Appetit in America is because we have forgotten what real food tastes like. Maybe, “god help your body endure what you are about to put into it” is a better wish. In any case, I can see why they say “Te Buftem Mire” here, because the food deserves an grand introduction with flavors like the ones I am experiencing in Albania.

Week One

Meeting my Host Family in Elbasan, Albania

In many ways it feels like I have been here forever, and yet it has only been a week. My only regret is that I did not do this (Peace Corps) when I was younger, because I am not sure my nervous system and brain capacity are up to the challenge. I know I keep saying this but it really is true; I am so impressed at the organization of all aspects of training. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I wish my other educations and life in general was as well organized and supported as this volunteer training experience has been up to this point. 

My host family is very dear, but I actually expected them to be so. There is a beautiful innocence to people from this part of the world, innocence in a good way, not so hard and material in the ways that I have found in most Americans. I am not sure what the difference is, but it is there. In some ways, I am experiencing a Slow Food paradise. I look forward to being able to tell my family that they are living a life that many Americans would like to live but can not figure out how to do or even afford. When I lived in Redlands, I was struck at how amazing the produce was that I consumed on a regular basis. I had never, EVER eaten anything that delicious, but then before I lived there, I usually ate store bought products. Most of what I was eating in Redlands had been picked that day. What I have been eaten so far here in Albania is basically the same experience, only what one would call “on steroids” meaning most of what I am eating is grown within 50 feet of where I am staying.

What impresses me is that most of what I am observing in terms of food production seems almost effortless, and completed in a fraction of the time and mess I would incur. The other thing that amazes me is that my host “mother” and “sister” do not have all the fancy high tech tools one would find in a similar foodie kitchen in the states. And yet, each and every day I am treated to some sort of amazing meal with eggs gathered that morning, milk produced an hour before, yogurt freshly created, fresh pickles, kraut and cheese made that week. Bread is baked regularly, jams and preserves are brought out, I am told they were put up last Summer. Nuts are offered that were collected from local trees. I must say the almonds almost tasted artificial the taste was so strong. I am looking forward to the evolving seasons in terms of what will be available to eat. What inspires me is that this model could be replicated almost anywhere one has access to land. On about an acre they have orange, cherry and pear trees. There is a container garden where I watched potatoes and salad seasonings be planted. They have several egg laying chickens and a flock being raised for meat. A milk cow and three goats is in a small barn. My host mother makes cheese, a solid ricotta like creation, and feeds the whey to the calf and goats. Trash is almost non existent as everything is utilized and there are few packages of anything other than coffee, sugar and some other things. Paper is used in the wood burning stove as kindling and the ash is spread on the garden soil. The dung from the cows and goats is mixed with hay and used as fertilizer for the land. Chickens are allowed to wander at will, eating bugs and such from the dirt, along with corn that was grown last summer. A large sack of flour was delivered, and put into a container for making bread, which happens about three times a week. I have had a few meals in Elbasan, the city where our training hub is located, but to be honest, the food where I am staying is much better, mainly because it is so fresh. 

Now that I am waking up from jet lag and major upheaval trauma, I am hopeful my language capabilities will start to improve. Language is central to success, and yet it so far seems most elusive. During our language classes, everything makes sense and seems to come easily into use. As soon as I am with my family, it escapes me. I will need to do something soon as it seems these few weeks will fly by in many respects. In the meantime, the piecing together of charades, English and my very basic Shqip is sufficing. The land is beautiful, the skies full of Spring and the blossoms are starting to peek out making the hillsides yellow, white and pink. In the distance I can see snow capped mountains, nearer is an interesting phenomena of terraced hills with olive trees. How ancient are these practises, and can they withstand the onslaught of development?

My host family keeps making comparisons between the USA and Albania, mainly pointing out that Albania is small and poor, while the USA is big and rich. I wonder, is the US rich? Obviously material wealth is quite different, but what is rich, what is wealth? To have more fresh food than you could ever eat within reach, to have a beautiful sky, a home, loved ones surrounding you, for me this is true wealth and certainly not the norm in the United States, and certainly not in my life as of late. When I have traveled in Macedonia, I have also thought the same thing, and yet those who are living in the Balkans think they are poor, they want to leave, to go abroad for “opportunities.” Today in our training we were told that for the lottery for a US visa, there were 250,000 applicants from Albania alone. This is out of a nation of 3 million people. How to keep the young and the educated in the nation seems to be the main question. My question is why would one want to leave such beauty not only of the land but of the people? 

As I watch my own nation unravel in the name of greed of those who have more money than they could ever spend or enjoy, I wonder what is it about human nature that always wants more, thinks that somewhere else is always better. In many ways I have, we Americans, have much to learn from the people of Albania. With it’s 25 years of rapid development and implementation of democracy and capitalism, I hope they do not make the same mistakes we have made in the West. Time will tell, until then, I will savor every minute, enjoy every vista and try to learn this obscure language so I can discover the not so hidden treasures of Albania.