HELLO ALL!! I hope everyone is having a rockin week because our week here has been so fantastic. We got tons of rain at the beginning of the week and towards the end we were sweatin our buns off!! Summer is coming and it is coming fast!!!! We celebrated Bajram this week too which was also a blast. Bajram is the celebration that everyone has to end Ramadan. It was quite a blast to say the least! Often times the people here take naps in the middle of the day so we now have entered into summer schedule where we can take a nap in the middle of the day and go home an hour later! Crazy!
The weird culture shocks:
1. Alrighty so I have already mentioned before how awful the traffic and everything is here but there is something really funny that I forgot to mention. Not a ton of people actually have cars so when someone actually has a car it is full of like 20 Albanian's all just mushed in there.
2. The word for June in Albanian is Qeshor which is also cherry. IT IS OFFICIALLY CHERRY SEASON. That means cherry trees EVERYWHERE. We just pick them and eat them hehe. I don't even love cherries but man the cherries here are so dang scrumptious.
3. Bajram is the celebration of the end of Ramadan which lasts 3 days. The first day is set aside for family, the second day is for friends, and the third day is for everyone to party. Some fun facts are that you cannot leave the table until you are full, you have to try every single thing, and everyone digs into the same pots of food with their hands. Very sanitary.
Good laughs:
1. There is this huge statue and billboard thing of Bill Clinton here and apparently he is coming to Kosovo this month so everyone is freaking out they are so excited.
Albanian moj: Hey you girls look American
Us: We are American
Albanian moj: THAT IS SO COOL. Why are you here?
Us: We are missionaries!!
Albanian moj: *disinterested look* Do you know Bill Clinton?
Me: Yes, actually we are neighbors!
Albanian moj: *suddenly interested* What church are you from again? #goodcontacting
2. If you know me, you know that I am not like a SUPER touchy person. HAHHA well that is exactly opposite of Albanian's. All they do is hold you arm, hold hands, hug you, touch you, kiss you, and rub your arms and back. So awhile ago I met this lady who was so happy that I said hi to her that she just started hugging me and kissing my head all over hahaha. We finally were able to meet up with her this week and she was so excited to see us!!! She ran in and then proceeded to kiss every inch of my face with her big red lipstick. That was very exciting. Thank you Fatmire.
3. This society here is EXTREMELY patriarchal. The women are to do the cooking and that is that so they are always VERY surprised when I tell them that I played soccer! Well this week we played soccer as a branch and we have this investigator, Olti, who is like 14 years old and he is veryyyyy competitive. We get along very well. Usually he gets really frustrated because none of the girls really play soccer but when he found out I played he begged me to be on his team and we definitely dominated. I have never seen him so happy. The twins' mom played with us too and she was the goalie for the other team and SHE WAS SO FUNNY. The entire time she was yelling at Motra Adams to not be lazy and yelling at her team to step it up HAHAH. She also told me that she was recruited for Barcelona but she turned them down. She was a baller out there not gonna lie. #impressed
Spiritual goodness:
1. Okay I just have one simple thought for today. It is about listening to the spirit. I learned this week that listening to the spirit is kind of like a cellphone. Cellphones are super awesome and we need them to be able to communicate right? However, sometimes we lose reception when we drive in a tunnel or a canyon or we enter into a "dead spot" with bad reception. This is kind of like us and the spirit. The spirit always wants to talk to us and guide us on our way and we need that guidance in our lives! Sometimes, however, we don't listen to that spiritual "ring" or we enter into a zone of bad reception or a "dead spot". Some of those dead spots can include anger, frustration, sadness, rejection, gossip, selfishness, sin, etc,. We can choose to put ourselves in situations where we can always have reception from the spirit. We can put outselves in places where we can always hear "the ring". Although the voice of the spirit may be small and quiet it is also powerful and be able to guide us in all of our endeavors.
LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!!
Love, Motra Sëtën
Adriatic South Mission
P.O. Box 2984
Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta
Qendra ALPAS
Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14
Tirana, Albania
Pics: our view, cherry season, yummy deserts (courtesy of my second family), bajram meal, a picture for your delight
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