i will post more later, but if you would like to send me mail or packages i will be at this address in two weeks
Elisabeth/Libi Horwitz (the last name is not important, w does not exist in Albanian, and I suggest this spelling of Libby because y makes a u sound in Albanian and people might get confused)
Bashki Shijak
Shijak, Albania
you might want to say for the american on the package, theyll most likely know who this is for. albania does not really have addresses so this will deliver the package to my local municipality where i work. feel free to send simple things... like american coffee and spices, or chai tea.... oh how i miss chai tea. love you all and will as always say more later
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Why Hello Again...
So I know I have not posted in forever so I have decided to post on some of the things you all really want to know about:
1) The turkish toilets: Yes, my new house does have a turkish toilet, and yes they are slightly more difficult to pee in than westerns. "but you pee all the time outdoors" you may be saying to yourself... well a) if we all remember correctly i actually have a slight fear of peeing in the woods (mostly becasue I am afraid someone will see me but hey) and b) the woods is not the same as peeing into porcelain. Yes you have to get the right angle or you have to deal with a really nasty splash... really not fun. However, I do have to say that all of us volunteers agree that moving your bowels (as my grandmother would say) is much easier and more comfortable in a turk.
2) the language: Albanian (Shqip) is a very strange language. Imagine a spoken language that has tons of inconsistances which then when it was written down did not change... you thinking about it? Well good because that is Albanian. They have rules yes, but when you ask why something behaves the way it does the answer is usually "because it does." Not a real answer. Plus they do every strange thing other languages do (conjugations for everything, cases, clitics, gendered nouns) but ALL TOGETHER. I mean... really? really? So take the word cat, if cat was an Albanian word it would go as this:
definite: cat
indefinite: cati
in a few dif cases: catin, catit
OH and that was just singular, talking plural:
cate, catet, cateve.... yeah.
3) free time: I'm liking it. Yesterday we had a cinco de mayo celebration, where we made sangria with box wine, cut up apples, and lemon soda. We mixed this in a water bottle where we cut the top off (and used it as a cup) and mixed it with sippy cup lids we bought. Then we played "loco ochos" and made up rules (raptor rule may or may not have been introduced, saying words in spanish [depressing how much i forget], and numbers in spanish) good times. We went on a hike to a cell tower on monday which was a lot of fun, difficult though as I am very out of shape and was with some pretty fast people... damn you Ithaca winters for turning me into what I am
4) My friends: I have them? We do things together, and are even planning future trips. But yes, people are very different. All the guys are growing mustaches for swear in which is pretty entertaining as there are some strange ones...
Pictures: there are a few on facebook from the hike and I will be stealing some from other peole soon to put them on (my cam battery is dead and i haven't charged it yet)
1) The turkish toilets: Yes, my new house does have a turkish toilet, and yes they are slightly more difficult to pee in than westerns. "but you pee all the time outdoors" you may be saying to yourself... well a) if we all remember correctly i actually have a slight fear of peeing in the woods (mostly becasue I am afraid someone will see me but hey) and b) the woods is not the same as peeing into porcelain. Yes you have to get the right angle or you have to deal with a really nasty splash... really not fun. However, I do have to say that all of us volunteers agree that moving your bowels (as my grandmother would say) is much easier and more comfortable in a turk.
2) the language: Albanian (Shqip) is a very strange language. Imagine a spoken language that has tons of inconsistances which then when it was written down did not change... you thinking about it? Well good because that is Albanian. They have rules yes, but when you ask why something behaves the way it does the answer is usually "because it does." Not a real answer. Plus they do every strange thing other languages do (conjugations for everything, cases, clitics, gendered nouns) but ALL TOGETHER. I mean... really? really? So take the word cat, if cat was an Albanian word it would go as this:
definite: cat
indefinite: cati
in a few dif cases: catin, catit
OH and that was just singular, talking plural:
cate, catet, cateve.... yeah.
3) free time: I'm liking it. Yesterday we had a cinco de mayo celebration, where we made sangria with box wine, cut up apples, and lemon soda. We mixed this in a water bottle where we cut the top off (and used it as a cup) and mixed it with sippy cup lids we bought. Then we played "loco ochos" and made up rules (raptor rule may or may not have been introduced, saying words in spanish [depressing how much i forget], and numbers in spanish) good times. We went on a hike to a cell tower on monday which was a lot of fun, difficult though as I am very out of shape and was with some pretty fast people... damn you Ithaca winters for turning me into what I am
4) My friends: I have them? We do things together, and are even planning future trips. But yes, people are very different. All the guys are growing mustaches for swear in which is pretty entertaining as there are some strange ones...
Pictures: there are a few on facebook from the hike and I will be stealing some from other peole soon to put them on (my cam battery is dead and i haven't charged it yet)
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