Conferencing

At the end of November, I went to DC for the annual anthropology conference; we also like to call it the nerd circus. I made incredible progress on my current sock project!

knitting + Star Wars = happy!

I also chaired a panel, that I was really proud of. We had 7 papers on reception of immigrants in rural US areas and there was really great synergy between the presentations, plus we had about 30 people show up to our 8 a.m. panel which is a really good showing (I have been at panels with 4 or 5 attendees, so that was what I was expecting). We didn't even have to add "in the age of Tr*mp" to the panel title (although that was kind of a secondary theme of the conference, so many talks had that as a reference point). So I'm looking at how to mobilize that energy and take it the next step (i.e. something published collectively). 

Ready to chair my panel
(75% repeat outfit from last time I presented)

I also had a couple days in Harrisonburg which was super helpful to start getting over the jet lag, connect with a bunch of people, update my ethnographic material, and pick up about 2/3 of our Lego collection to bring back to Tirana.

It's a lot more than it looks like

I've given the kids 3 of these bags and am holding back the rest for actual Christmas, along with a few other things. Legos are surprisingly heavy! But worth it - in addition to Lego Bethlehem, they've already created 4 or 5 different sets of their own, each with its own cast of characters and dramatic storylines. It's fun to be back.

Christmas coming

Every afternoon on the way to pick up the kids from school, we pass by this man roasting chestnuts over a charcoal grill! He showed up when the weather started to get cold. He is very kind and always gives me about 50% extra when I buy from him. We have chatted a bit about his family living in New York City and he gladly let me take this picture. Someday I'll ask him his name :-) And hopefully someday the kids will agree to just try one of the chestnuts.

 Near where we live there is a market area called Pazari i Ri, or the New Market. It was recently renovated and fancied up and often there are special events happening there, like this little Christmas bazaar - can you tell what inside the cabin is real and what is fake? (The boy and his mischief are both real, that's a freebie)

And the malls look exactly like malls all over the world at Christmastime. This is Toptani, the newest mall and the only one located near the city center. We also walk past here on the way to and from school. 

So, we bought a little tree! And ornaments that are supposed to look old-fashioned. The kids made a Lego Bethlehem (pics on Facebook).

Today the kids had a make-up school day to replace a day missed a few weeks ago due to heavy rains. It's just a half day, and then in the afternoon they have rehearsal for the church Christmas pageant. So I spent the morning making gingersnaps and listening to Christmas music, so uncharacteristically festive of me!