Mid-term!

Today marks the half-way point for the LAC 2013-2014 school year! Amazing!



students taking finals

It is a time of transitions and new beginnings not just for the students but for the staff as well. We are saying "Good-bye" to our English Literature teacher Sandra Cardinal who was serving a 6 month term with VMM. She is someone that I met during my training in Harrisonburg back in July so it is sad to see her go since we have been traveling this journey together. New arrivals for short-term service are Elise and Richard Bowman, Lois King, and Betsy and Philip Moyer. Lois and Betsy will be teaching English, Philip will be teaching Biology, and Richard, Physics.

The most popular question of the week has been "How am I related to Phil and Betsy Moyer?" As far as I know we are only related though Christ. "Moyer" is a really common name in Eastern Pennsylvania.  However, they are from my home church, Salford and we have known each other for many years so it is wonderful for me to have them here.

LAC operates with block scheduling with 90 minute blocks and this marks the end of the first semester and we start all new classes Monday. The best news for me is that I won't be teaching this quarter. I celebrated at lunch by opening a bag of Kettle Chips that I bought in London. I had been saving them for just such an occasion. The next few weeks I will be busy with compiling grade reports and updating transcripts. We do not have fancy software like we have in the States that generate these types of reports so I do it all manually.

Tonight we will all celebrate this major milestone with PIZZA. Which honestly is not all that different from every other Friday night. Pizza is something that the Albanians do very well. Now if only they understood Hawaiian Pizza.




"Every day is a new beginning, take a deep breath and start again!"

Out for pizza with Sandra!

Ramdom discoveries

Not sure if this is worthy of a post but while I was home many people seemed very interested in what the weather is like in Albania. Today it was sunny and about 58%. However, tomorrow it is supposed to rain. We don't get snow apparently since we are near the sea. It sure can get windy though and that causes frequent power outages.




The other common question I get is what do you miss about America. That is an easy question since I miss my friends and family the most. However, also interesting is that there are a number of things I haven't been able to find in Albania or at least in my small city of Lezhe. I miss many of these things too.

In Shkodra this past weekend at Café Flo.

Here is the list in no particular order.

1. Filling cabinets

2. Brown sugar (got it from Kosovo)

3. Tortilla chips

4. Diet Coke (Coke Zero is not the same thing)

5. Note cards - no need since no one uses the postal system

6. Ben & Jerry's

7. Pretzels

8. Sticky tack

9. Movie Theaters (maybe in Tirana?)

10. Brownies

11. Magazines - don't miss them until you can't get them

12. Milkshakes

 





Beautiful Saturday last week in Shkodra!
Not sure what these lights are supposed to be but
aren't they artistic?

I thought it would be funny to steal her bread.

She didn't agree...

Shkodra is a larger city to the north and has

a lot of culture and history. It is fun to visit since it has many more restaurants and things to do. It is about 45minutes and $2 to take a van.  

... what else would you like to know?

Season for Giving

I suppose it is kinda late to talk about Christmas and New Years but I need to give you an update on my absence. As most of you know I was home in Pennsylvania for the break. It was a blessing to see my family and catch-up with friends. I was only wishing I could've seen everyone on my list but I ran out of days. It was a real time of refreshment and encouragement for me.

I have been wanting to share with you something cool that happened at LAC before I left. We had our very first food drive! Giving non-perishable food items is a practice we all have participated in at one time or another in the States. We have many charities that make it simple and as painless as possible. You can even drop your cans off only a few feet from where you buy them in some of our grocery stores and someone else will take it from there.

However, in Albania there is no such system and the food drive was a new idea. Klementina and I really were not sure that the students would participate. However, we sweetened the appeal by offering a prize to the class that provided the most food/money. I hope that doesn't sound like a bribe but hey it worked! We were able to provide a sizable amount of food for 15 families and 15 students showed up on a Saturday to help distribute it. We ran into a few snags though since people do not have street addresses here. We were faced with a lot of people in need claiming to be the persons named on our list(which was given to us by the mayor). I guess it is obvious that I am a rookie since I went into the poorest neighborhood in Lezha and asked around while driving a car full of food. It did not work and soon Klementina looked like the "Pied Piper" and we had to abandon the mission after only locating 2 of the families. We later needed to come up with a plan B with the Mayor. This is what I am calling a learning curve, not a failed mission. We were successful in starting a new concept and giving students an opportunity to help those less fortunate then themselves. I was encouraged by their involvement and believe that LAC will continue the tradition with a few necessary improvements. The biggest success was probably seeing those students volunteering their time to help others. Honestly, that is what the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season should be all about. GIVING and being Jesus's hands and feet to those in need!

I hope that you and your family had a joy filled Christmas! Thank you for your love and support of me and LAC! Blessings to you!