First Week in Fushe-Arrez

My apartment in Fushe-Arrez is beautiful. It looks like one that is in the United States. It is very cold in the apartment, but that’s normal in Albania due to the fact it is built with wet cement (cement not dried in a kiln, but in the sun. It sucks out all the heat from a room). I even have a western toilet!! Which to some people might not mean a lot, but Turkish toilets are a pain and are the norm in northern Albania. I feel really lucky. I have an enclosed balcony, a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. I do not have a washing machine, which will make washing clothes a very cold endeavor in winter.

My first week, I observed classes, which were mostly just tests because of it being the end of the year. On Tuesday of that week, I visited some volunteers in Kukes. It is a town about two hours away from FA. It is huge compared to FA and has several large super markets. It has a large outdoor market as well. It was nice to visit some Group 12 volunteers (they have been here for a year) and see what it was like after year.

It was there in Kukes, where I also picked up Abby, my new little kitten. She is adorable. She is a mostly white calico with orange and black spots. She is very cuddly and loves to play. I love having her around. It helps when some of the loneliness creeps in. She just makes me laugh and helps give me something to love.