At this time, it would be remiss to not mention the independence of Kosovo. Partly, because this is all that has been in the news for the past 6 months, but mostly because one of us, speaking Albanian with a southern/Texan accent, has been mistaken for being from Kosovo.
This is a test of your Albanian language. Check out the photo and then answer the question – What does ‘Molla’ mean? (Click on image for a larger picture) ANSWER:…..
Albanians have a very strong view of what men do and what women do. The men sit in the locales and drink coffee, beer and raki while the women do everything else. This seems to be a hold-over from the days when the men were responsible for protecting the family and village. Now, as they… Continue reading Gender Issuses
Over the past year, Criss has worked with two organizations in assisting in the writing of a grant proposal to develop a tourist site in an area outside of Fushë-Kruja (also know as Bush-Kruja in honor of the presidents recent visit). At the moment, this site which is know as Albanopoli, is only a ruin… Continue reading Clean Up in Fushë-Kruja
The Durrës Library – the portal to knowledge One of the best assignments Carol has here in Durrës is her 6 hours a week at the library. Her responsibilities include sitting at the main desk and handing out newspapers to the old men that come in to read and then collecting the newspapers when they… Continue reading Library Award
About 30 minutes from Durrës is a partially excavated site that is referred to as ‘Albanopoli’. It is thought to be the site of the ancient capital city of Illyria. The following description is provided by Haxhi, who is leading the project to turn this site into a tourist attraction. The site is the focus… Continue reading Albanopoli
Two weeks before Thanksgiving, Criss went east into the mountains for 3 days to work on a walking tour map for the city of Korçë. This is an older city and several people have said it was the cultural center of Albania for a long time.
After one and a half years in Durrës, the newness of having the Americans around is wearing off and it is interesting to see how relationships change. Some have realized we are not the traditional NGO types coming with bags of money and have moved on, some have started telling us their initial views about… Continue reading I Spy?
At the museum, Criss helped move some of the artifacts from the third floor down to the first floor. These boxes and crates hold the findings of this summer’s (2007) excavation of the amphitheatre.
A couple of weekends ago, a Fest Lojë banner appeared at the cultural center. As we asked around town about it, we were told high school students from Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Greece were coming to Durrës to compete in games, singing and dancing. Our understanding was this was a one day event on Thursday.