Here is an official introduction:

To those who choose to concern themselves with my fate for the next two years and three months, you ought to know that I am leaving in March for Albania to serve with the Peace Corps in the capacity of English language teacher. I still don’t know if it will be at the primary or secondary level or where I will be posted in Albania. I do know, however, that I have 48ish days of official vacation, so most of you are either obliged to fly out to me or must pay for my ticket to and room and board while staying at your meeting locale of choice.

In this post we shall cover…

Background: Albania is located in the Balkans on the Adriatic Sea! It is just across the water from Italy’s eastern coast and shares borders with Kosovo, Montenegro, Greece, and Macedonia. Albania has a narrow coastal plain running the length of its eastern border with the Adriatic while the rest of the country is comprised of high mountains and elevated plains. Contrary to some questions and assumptions I’ve been fielding, Albania is not a temperate country. Albania enjoys dry, hot summers, à la Mediterranean, and suffers through cold and very damp winters. It’s a source for raw minerals in the international markets, but mainly depends on agriculture to keep chugging along. Olive groves, citrus orchards, and vineyards are scattered about the country. Food staples range from what we consider stereotypical eastern European fare (aka MEAT) to yogurts, feta, and bananas (thank you, Greece)! I hear the food is supposed to be relatively bland? Which surprises me, as I would imagine that a territory and a people shaped by a myriad of conquering empires channeling cultures (and wouldn’t one think spices, as well?) from both the East and West would have a little more oomph in its cooking. That leads me to a brief historical overview. See next paragraph. (How is that for a transition sentence, hmm?)

Ancient Albania = Ancient Illyria, next door to Ancient Greece. The Albanian language, Shqip, is an Indo-European language that has altered very little through the centuries and is considered a unique pocket language with no known relatives (not unlike the Basque language). Albania was under the control of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires all at one time or another and did not win official independence until November of 1912 (though there was an epic revolt against the invading Turks in the 1400s led by Skanderbeg, Albanian national hero). The country then went through awkward pre and post-World War I political transformations and emerged with an unstable government that shortly succumbed to Soviet-style communism. In the 1970s, Albania veered away from Soviet bloc politics and turned its head toward China. Communist government was not officially shed until 1992, at which point Albania began its transformation into a (technically still transitional) democracy.

My general situation: The Peace Corps is operating in Albania primarily in the sectors of education, community and youth development, and health. I hope to develop secondary projects in health and community development when not cranking out lesson plans, screaming into my pillow, or playing with the kids next door. I am trying to revisit my TEFL experience with DC Schools and some additional materials rustled up from CT’s state TEFL programs in order to prep for the three months of group training that precede the two year solo assignment. I understand that most of my fellow education volunteers are TEFL certified, so I don’t want to run into situations that unfold thusly: “Umm, what does that ten-letter acronym being thrown around by all of my fellow trainees signify, and am I betraying a fatal flaw by asking this question?” I am also relying on my ability to think creatively and “on my feet”, so to speak, in order to make a success out of training.

Thankfully I have purchased a travel alarm clock that illuminates in the dark with just a tap of my blindly groping hand. Can you imagine the horror of my superiors if they discovered my long and pitiful struggle with chronic tardiness? Before you all begin to laugh, it must, however, be noted that employment with Starbucks has whittled my margin of error down to about three minutes, so I consider myself on the way to joining company with those who can call themselves prompt.

Adjustments!: Infrastructure is a little shaky, so Albania is famous for its electrical outages (sometimes lasting up to 18 hrs), lack of central heating or air conditioning, and limited, limited internet access. I’ve been there, done that with respect to all three, but never for two solid, uninterrupted years, so I expect to come back with a little more street cred. A Peace Corps joke: “Pessimists look at a glass and pronounce it half empty while optimists look at a glass and pronounce it half full. Peace Corps volunteers look at the same glass and reflect, ‘Hey, I could take a bath in that!’” My goal is to thoroughly identify with the “take a bath” mentality by the time I return to the US.

In other news, still studying for the GRE – actually, that’s a falsehood. Am cramming Albanian language lessons instead. BUT, I hope to take the paper-based GRE in Tirana (capital city) while overseas and to at least crank out a few applications in time for admittance into a Fall 2012 program. I know I should be giving long-term planning more consideration, but right now my head is buried in preparations for the immediate future. We shall see!