The Tirana Pyramid

 The Tirana Pyramid is a well-known landmark in the city, on the main boulevard between Sheshi Skenderbeg and the university. When I think of pyramids, I think of Egypt, of course, and of the Mayan and Aztec pyramids in the new world. Something in the way that the shape evokes mountains obviously invites climbing.

The Tirana Pyramid was built as a monument to Albania's cruel dictator, Enver Hoxha, and was a center for communications for many years. Now, it is a decrepit, graffiti-covered trash pit, more or less, although the current municipal government has ambitious plans to turn it into a center for digital technology innovation and training. 

It's also a kid magnet. It's something of a rite of passage for kids in Tirana to climb to the top, and yesterday my kids and their friend S. did just that! It was such a beautiful day out, that I suggested we all ride our bikes to the lake after school. Well, a simple bike ride turned into extended playtime in the park by the lake, and "can we stop and climb the pyramid?" on the way back!

My heart was in my throat watching them become little ants before my eyes, ascending on a slant, raising their arms in triumph at the top, then inching their ways back down again. 

Last year we enjoyed reading the Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch. In the first book, The Name of This Book Is Secret, our hearts were in our throats reading the thrilling story of Cass and Max-Ernest who sneak into a pyramid-turned-spa to rescue their friend Benjamin from the nefarious designs of Ms. Mauvais and Dr. L, who want to live forever.  

Whatever the context - communist Albania, Egypt, the Americas, a book of fiction - pyramids seem to confer a sense of magical power. I love that my kids met this challenge, this Albanian rite of passage, scaling to the top of this new height. I love that they came back down to earth, grounded with me again. 

Summertime Val

First Day of School

Summer has drawn to a close for us although it is still pretty hot; we're back in Albania and the kids have started school again. Yesterday was their first day back - it's a new school for them, although there are some kids there they know from church. 

En route to school

Some changes - uniform days are MWF, otherwise they wear regular clothes; start and end times are almost the same, but they get two recesses (one midmorning with a snack, one after lunch); all the kids pack their own lunches; they have Bible class three times a week and chapel once a week; we take taxi or bus partway there and back instead of walking the whole way. Class sizes are similar but the ratio of girls to boys is much higher.

At the end of the day

What Val said: "It was like a day at camp!" (Not sure how she would know that, but I think she meant she had fun)... got a book from the library, and said that the girls in her class were really nice to her (a welcome change). 

Gabe learned all about dolphins, visited the library, noted that I did not put enough salt on the rice I packed for his lunch, and when I asked him what he calls his teacher (she is Albanian, so I thought her name might be tricky for him), he said "I call her Excuse Me!" 

Such a joker.

Anyway, they both said they like their teachers and classmates and had a really positive first day.

The day before, the three of us sat down together to organize their backpacks with the list of utensils we'd been asked to purchase; as I handed them their items I said a little impromptu blessing with each one.

Eraser: May you learn from your mistakes. 

Pencil sharpener: May your mind be sharp and clear

Pencils: May you write good words

Markers: May your days be filled with color and friendship

Crayons: May you enjoy the smell of a new box of crayons!

Later that evening there was a back-to-school meeting for the whole family; each child received a packet of seeds and a personalized card, going with the theme for the year which is "Growing Together." The kids were SO excited to plant their seeds in empty yoghurt cups; we asked our landlady for a little dirt from her compost pile and she helped us plant and water the seeds. It will be excited to see what comes up! In more ways than one. 

Gingerbread!

Continuing the Springtime Catch-up blog marathon... 

When I was in the States for a conference in December, I bought a couple of gingerbread kits - one to make "Ninjabread men" and one to make little houses. We had so much fun with these. I looked EVERYWHERE for molasses, so we could make more, but none was to be found - luckily my Jantzi grands were able to bring some in January. But the kits actually came with everything needed. 

We invited some friends to help us with the little houses - Abby, Daniel, and Elsa - they all had so much fun. Their mom Lizzy and I imagined that they'd keep the houses to look at but actually the kids just couldn't wait to eat them right away.

We made them wait until we could take a picture of all five!

 And then I made my own with leftover pieces. That one hung around a few days before Hansel and Gretel ate it all up. Nobody except Ninjabread men ended up in the oven though. Yay!

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.

Things We Do

Take a rest break in Pazari i Ri and do some homework 

Explore parks near the Pyramid

Do homework while dressed unconventionally

Spend Mother Teresa Day in the park

Stop and admire the flowers

Warm October

I've been back from DR Congo for a couple of weeks now, and after a brief cold spell October has turned warm again which has been great for weekend family outings. 

Catch the rainbow!

The artificial lake and big park in the city are as much a bucolic haven as they ever were, with some cafes and restaurants much built up and improved, and the addition of a huge play area for kids of all ages - including a climbing wall! 

 The national park on Mt. Dajti is still a fun excursion, if Val had her way we would go every Sunday after church (we have been attending the International Protestant Assembly for the English-language Sunday School, and have also run into several friends there). They still have horse rides although they are shorter and more expensive than I remember, and have added new playground equipment and a bounce house (which is free). And instead of chickens in this hutch there are now rabbits! I'm not sure what they are fed because they went wild for the dandelion leaves we fed them:

Taking the cable car down the mountain

From the cable car, we can easily see how low the water levels are in ponds and reservoirs along this are. Apparently Tirana had a very dry summer - three or four months with zero rain - and even as we move into autumn there isn't as much rain as I remember from before.

But the days are just beautiful. Sunny and clear, with the lower angle of the sun lighting up the city so beautifully.

We are still staying at the flat we organized temporarily, while we decide whether or not to go back to the (more expensive but closer to school) apartment we lived in last time. This place is really nice too, it's just a full mile from school and the kids get tired of walking back and forth. It's probably good for them, I just get tired of hearing the complaining. They are enjoying school though. Writing and spelling in English is a new challenge now, but they really like their teachers. So far so good!

Arriving home from school

The Familiar Strange

There is a saying that anthropologists like to repeat, but which I now find has been attributed to sociologists, poets, and artists as well - that our work is meant to render the familiar strange, and the strange familiar. In fact this was the theme of the American Anthropological Association meetings in Denver two years ago.

This arrival in Albania has been strangely familiar. But also familiarly strange. In contrast to our arrival in 2010, when Gabriel was a wee baby and Valerie a not-quite-verbal toddler, it has been so, so easy. Having the kids in school but no steady job leaves me with loads of unstructured time at home. We have a lot of friends here already, and we know where to buy food.

On Monday after dropping the kids off at school I wandered around the center of the city for another two hours or so until my feet and legs ached, visiting many old haunts - streets and parks and bridges that hold so many memories. But without a stroller in front and a baby strapped to my chest the distances seem so much shorter! I walked by the store where I first went grocery shopping seven years ago, when I didn't even know the word for eggs (vezë). It looks the same.

A lot of things have changed. The city is far, far cleaner than I remember and I remember hearing about an anti-litter campaign a couple years ago when we came for vacation. There are new buildings completed and others going up; the walking mall in Skenderbeg square has been completely remodeled. An enormous mosque is under construction near the parliament buildings. Near where we are staying, the Pazari i Ri (New Market) has also been completely remodeled, with whimsical sculptures of storks made out of twigs at every entrance, and the only rose-sculpted ice cream in the city available there (this is a thing, apparently).

On the weekend we took the kids to the municipal swimming pool, which has some new water slides for the kids' pool - which I remember as being as deep and scary as the Mariana Trench, but is actually hardly more than knee-deep to an adult (things look different after your kids learn to swim!) We also went to the big park by the lake, where new playground equipment has been added, wonderful wooden and rope climbing areas and obstacle courses.

There has been a LOT of fussing from the single-digit-age set about how much walking we have been doing but we figure it will build character :-) We did take a taxi home from the lakeside area, and the route took us past our old neighborhood and my breath caught, I remember being so happy there. And I now it wasn't all sunshine and roses, but this is the primary emotion I associate with these places.

I know that V. and G. don't have all the same associations, or any of my memories; they're already bored by our constant recitations "oh, I remember coming here when you were a baby" - I hope they will make great memories this year. And if they don't, that's ok too.

We Are Here

Albania - Shqiperia - when we had the chance to go pretty much anywhere in the world this year, we chose this place. I don't think I ever quite got over leaving in 2012. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn't re-living those years, this is a new chapter. But I am so happy to be back.

We are staying in a third-floor flat in an old villa, in an old neighborhood of twisting rrugicës and tiled roofs. It is a quiet neighborhood, especially since the school across the street is not yet in session and the heat of summer rises all day long. The pattern of sounds: a rooster, a dog barking, voices talking in the rhythmic, emphatic rise and fall of Albanian - Shqip, the odd motorcycle passing by. The Muslim call to prayer, but even closer to this house Catholic church bells in the morning and evening. A doppler-ized Despacito from a passing car.

Our hostess/landlady brought us a dish full of fresh figs the day we arrived, and her grown son cut us two bunches of small, sweet seedless green grapes from the vine that curls around the bannister of the outside staircase and up over our balcony above it. Huge wasps linger over the sweet juice, especially at mid-day, so Valerie makes me walk in front of her up and down to the patio below where arugula and parsley grow alongside the walk out to the street.

We hauled seven suitcases and five carry-on bags up two flights of stairs on Tuesday afternoon, and just as Terry brought up the last two, heavy drops of rain began to splatter by our feet. For the next two hours it poured rain, mixed with hail. The cool air felt so fresh after 18 hours of travel and the hot truck ride from the airport when Valerie fell asleep on my shoulder.

~::~

Yesterday was a long day, and the kids were done, and done in, by evening. We walked 1.7 km to their new school and took care of business there, then walked back to the house in the midday heat. We had ice cream and then went to see Shpresa, their former nanny, in the same small house she has lived in for thirty years. After two hours of snacking on popcorn and çibuk, playing with the dogs, and listening to me talk with Shpresa and her husband Berti in Shqip, they were exhausted. We had one more agenda item, dinner with Terry's colleagues from before (they still call themselves "the family" even though most of the original team have moved on to jobs in other countries or other NGOs) - they brought a bunch of helium balloons for the kids! Gabriel lasted longer than Val did; it was just too much for my introverted girl. We took the pizza home and ate in total silence while she read Calvin & Hobbes comics.

~::~

School starts on Monday. Terry has already been working on various projects for his various affiliations since before we left the US; I am eager, so eager for this new chapter to start in my life too. I am so thankful.

another milestone!

Gabe lost his first tooth! It was loose for about a whole month before it finally fell out; the new tooth was already growing in behind it - my sister called it a "shark tooth"! 

He was very excited to leave it under the pillow of the Tooth Fairy or el Ratón Pérez (either one will do!)

One funny thing that happened, early during our home leave we were at a hardware store and he was wiggling it absent-mindedly. The woman at the cash register asked him if it was his first loose tooth, and when he said yes, she told us that when she had her first loose tooth her dad tied a string to the tooth, and the other end of the string to an arrow... and she shot it out of her own mouth herself, with her bow and arrow!

It's just so Rockingham County, it made me day. We actually tried it, too! We used Gabe's toy bow and arrow though and it didn't actually work - the string just slid off the tooth both times we tried. But it was fun to, um, give it a shot!

Summer Juggernaut of Fun

Probably the best thing about home leave is hanging out with friends and family. (It is definitely not reading the newspaper, even though I do that as a civic duty.) One weekend we went to a Jantzi reunion in Akron, then camping with our Star Trek group. I totally forgot my camera (for the entire trip) but someone took this one for me:   

This was Bug's first camping trip ever, first time sleeping in a tent, and the first time for both kids eating s'mores! A couple highlights of this trip were looking at Saturn through a friend's big telescope, and the mountain swing (with a 5-point harness). Pretty awesome!

Another day we went swimming in a friend's pool the kids had SO much fun. It was raining, but not as cold as where we've gone in Bochica. We even ate ice cream sandwiches!

I got to see my sister! She was on the East Coast with her two girls, so she actually came to Harrisonburg and the cousins got to see each other and hang out at the park and the children's museum:

Playing with the green screen "invisibility cloak"

Fish tickling their toes in Black's Run

Just before leaving the country, we went to Pennsylvania for another Jantzi reunion:

Three generations of Jantzi males!

 That Saturday, my wonderful sister-in-law drove me five hours to Pulaski, NY, for my youngest cousin Max's wedding! It was absolutely fantastic to see nearly all the family there, I was sad to leave the party early but had to get back to PA to join up with Terry and the kids in order to fly out from DC the next day.

A friend of mine in college used to do something called "Jug Days" (short for "Juggernaut") where you try to pack every single fun thing you can think of into one marathon day of fun. I kind of felt like this home leave was like that. I haven't even mentioned the 14 lbs of blueberries Terry and the kids and I picked, or the knit night at a friend's house, or thrift store bargain hunting, or the library, or fireflies, the city pool, or running into friends at pretty much every turn. 

Nevertheless it's been good to be back in our own space, back in our routine, catching up with work that was hanging over my head the whole time we were away. I still have a few more pics to post if I can find them. We have a team retreat this weekend so it will probably be next week. Onward!

Can you see me and my sis in the background there? Not a dry eye in the whole room!

This Kid Turned 6!

 This was Gabe's first birthday celebrated in the place of his birth! We didn't have a big "do" like last year, but I think the hamburger cake was memorable. His first loose tooth is hanging on tight in his mouth, it has been 3 weeks now, but that's another landmark moment happening now.

He was asking me the other day about topiary, and when I said you can shape shrubbery like "anything" he said "what about God?" This kid.

Random Thoughts

This sick, whatever it is, is unrelenting. After 50+ hours of being fine, Gabe threw up last night - again - with explosive diarrhea. The kids had no school yesterday so I could have taken him to the doctor them, but he was fine then. Val seems to be ok though. Tomorrow is Saturday. I had thought to do something fun with them tomorrow but may spend the day instead collecting stool samples.

~::~

As we approach our last circle around the sun in this city, I'm starting to think about how to leave well. One thing I don't know how to do is leave our pets. The birds might be easier to give away, but the guinea pigs are a little dearer to Valerie's heart. We don't play with them very much but she worries about them when we travel. She still hasn't keyed into the idea that we will have to leave them here though. I imagine we might give them away to someone who lives in the country. Actually the directors of their school might be interested as they have a country home just outside the city where they spend every weekend, and where the kids go on field trips to plant corn and trees. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

~::~

Yesterday I had a little time to play with this app called Dreamscope where you can modify your own photos in fun ways. Here's a few I made:

How to be artsy in 15 minutes or less...

House of Sick

I haven't been posting much because since last weekend either Gabe or Valerie or both has/have been sick. Seems like a virus kind of thing has been going around, causing tummy troubles; Gabe started out with stomach cramps last Friday evening (just as we were on our way out the door to a weekend workshop outside of town). He ended up missing several days of school last week, and now it is V's turn. Terry has been traveling, and in the midst of all of this we celebrated V's birthday with the requisite cake(s) which I'm sure didn't help matters much. Last night we finally managed to all sleep soundly and well all through the night, without anyone throwing up or having explosive bowel movements in the middle of the night (always preceded by groaning and tossing and turning for an hour or more...) So I'm pretty tired. Fortunately work hasn't been too much, although we did have five interns arrive (on four different days), and then two of them got sick as well.

It's all part of life. I'm really thankful for the many helpful people around me, especially on our team. It makes all the difference in the world.