Kosova Lesson #1

After packing way more luggage than I have ever packed in my life (while still feeling like I might like to take more with me) and a long day of traveling on full flights, I finally arrived in Kosova last Sunday.

During my three hour layover in Frankfurt I happened to meet three other ASK teachers, another newbie like me and two returning teachers. We also met another American who was returning to Kosova to continue his craft beer brewing business (which involves brewing IPAs and ambers, which apparently are not readily available here). After what seemed like a crazy-long layover and a crazy-long shuttle ride from the gate to the actual plane we began our short trip to Pristina.

Once we arrived, going through passport control was no trouble and though our brewer friend had some trouble at customs, the whole thing was relatively hassle-free. All except securing hand carts for the luggage. It was the third batch of carts that the guy brought out before I was able to get one for all my bags... every time he showed up a mob surrounded him and took the carts before he could even get to the distribution point.

Outside the very small airport we were met by people with signs and somehow managed to fit all our luggage into the mini-van. The airport is about 20 minutes outside of the city and Kristin, an ASK teacher, gave us the rundown on somethings and tried to help us get our bearings (unsuccessfully, I would say; I still feel a little lost if I'm not on the 4 streets that I know... I need some more time!). I was the first to be dropped off, and we lugged all my bags up 5 flights of stairs to my new apartment.

It's small, but enough. It has an open kitchen-living room area with a small bathroom and bedroom off the main room. I also have an adorable balcony, which I can access from my bedroom or living room. There was lots of light streaming in my windows, I decided to lay down on my couch and stretch out a bit. Kristin and Emily were going to come back in an hour and we'd go get some a little something to eat and some supplies.

After my little nap, I went in my bathroom to wash my face and put in my contacts. I smeared face wash on my hand and flipped open the faucet. sputtering. sputtering. nothing. I tried the kitchen. the same. I sat and fumed a little. and tried again. and again. and again. When Kristin and Emily showed up again, I learned

Kosova Lesson #1: The water gets turned off midday in residential buildings.
So we went to a restaurant where I was able to wash the soap off my hand. We got some food - a delicious yogurty-bread thing with some spreads (amazing), some beers, and a little salad (you know, to be healthy).


When I got back to my place with some basics from the grocery store I tried to unpack. Really, I did. It didn't really work out so well... I slept some more.

Tung Kosova!

I'm so excited that I've been hired to teach High School Social Studies... at the American School of Kosova in Prishtina, Kosova!


I suppose a little background is called for... as some of you know, I finished my MAT at Simmons College last year and became certified to teach History to grades 5-12. I spent the summer looking for a teaching job in New England. But it was not to be, so I started working on my thesis to finish up my Liberal Arts Masters in History. However, the thought of another stressful summer of job searching got me thinking about looking at schools abroad instead.

A few weeks ago I went to an Overseas Teaching Recruitment Fair in Iowa (not the greatest place to visit in the middle of winter, if you were wondering). Schools from all over the world attend looking for teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies in all subject areas and grade levels. After the round robin session on Friday morning I had interviews set up with 5 different schools and had left my resume with some other schools I was interested in. By Saturday evening I was signing a contract and having a drink with the other new American School of Kosova teachers!


Kosovo? Kosova? I learned at the information session for my new school that "Kosovo" is the Serbian way of referring to what Albanians call "Kosova". Five years ago, in 2008, the Republic of Kosova declared itself an independent state, though not all countries recognize it as such, including Serbia. 92% of Kosovars are ethnically Albanians and the official languages are Albanian and Serbian. The capital and the place I will be living for the next two years (at least...) is Pristina (also Prishtina), a city of about 198,000 people. Though they are not part of the European Union, Kosova uses the € Euro.


I'm really excited about this new adventure. I'm looking forward to living a little closer to some friends in Europe. I'm also looking forward to my American friends and family visiting me in Kosova or meeting me anywhere in Europe.

So start planning your European adventures now!

sismo de esta madrugada

apparently there was an earthquake just after midnight last night. everyone was talking about it this morning, all the kids were asking if i felt it.

nope.

i have felt some little earthquakes here and i did wake up for no particular reason at some point last night, though it happens a lot and i don't remember the room shaking or anything when i did. so yeah. apparently the center was somewhere in panama. i can remember once when there was a little earthquake in the northeast - i was living in cambridge and i woke up around 6am or something and i remember thinking that i must have been having a scary dream or something, because my heart was pounding in my chest. but then i sort of realized that my heart *wasn't* pounding, that my whole bed was shaking.

7 more days! the end is in sight, and i'm exhausted and still trying to figure out how much actual class time i have next week during which i'll need to have things to entertain the kids with. i'm already thinking of doing a big crossword puzzle (they love them) with spelling words from the whole year, and then a spelling bee with prizes. thursday i'll probably do my awesome christmas card craft that i did last year with my other kids. we're supposed to have something to do on "accomplishments day" - monday, most teachers are doing some sort of little memory book. i'm worried that i won't be able to sell it and my kids will think it's lame. we'll see.

even though school will be done next week, i still have to go in the first week of december to do all my year-end administrative hooha and clean up my classroom. it's kind of a comforting thought that the next time i have a classroom of my own i'll have a little better idea of what i'm supposed to be doing!

life is too short to eat fake cheese

so recently i made the decision that life is too short to eat fake cheese. cheese is not something most costa ricans are really into (along with blueberries). but real cheese is expensive. now, i'm a person who is willing to pay $8-$9 for a delicious hunk of gruyere. but what i consider to be "regular" cheeses - cheddar, mozzarella - should not cost the same. but no more will i buy queso tipo de cheddar or queso tipo de mozzarella - i'm buying the real thing, no matter what it costs.

in other news, i read a little article from la nacion about this year's rainy season - el 2008 es el más lluvioso de los últimos 64 años, según el IMN. basically the national weather service has said that this year has been the rainiest for 64 years. so far we have had 2100 milliliters of rain per square meter (or something, the math is confusing) and the normal annual average is 1860mm. good times.

so i'll actually be heading back to new england a just a few days (!) where i was hoping to escape the rain, but i've heard rumors it's raining there too. c'est la vie.

first of the lasts

so last week i had my first "last"... it was our last parent conferences of the year! and i couldn't be happier. i mean, it's not that i mind talking with people... but i don't know. part of it is the language thing - most of my parents speak english, but either way we struggle. i've also been given the impression that it is required that i defend my grades to parents. there is sort of a culture of just getting A's without having to work too hard - so the fact that not all my kids get A's (not even most of them) is kind of a shock to some of the parents. so parent meetings kind of suck. in theory, next time i have to do parent meetings there shouldn't be a language barrier and they're kids might not have been getting straight A's since kindergarten.

so i went to the beach last weekend to "freshen up" my tan for danielle's wedding. i'm a little pink. but it should be fine by the wedding. it'll be a whirlwind trip home, so i make no promises about seeing people who are not living with my parents or attending the wedding. but those are the places i'll be...

well, i'm about to settle in with a bag of popcorn to watch dancing with the stars... :)