Getting Settled

Hello! I don't have any pictures to share today... just the ones in my head I'll try to describe.

I've spent the last two days getting settled in Korce - unpacking, getting a sense of the city, and meeting people. It is a typically Eastern European city, with little markets on nearly every corner, stone roads and sidewalks, little parks that fill up in the evening with old men playing chess or checkers. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way here, so crossing the street requires both strategy and art. Cars drive wherever they fit, vaguely keeping to the right. In the center of town there is an Orthodox cathedral and, near that, a walking street. The church is just past the cathedral - about a 15 minute walk from where I am living.

This afternoon I started helping at the day center. I'd forgotten how it feels to be unable to communicate... to be limited to "yes" and "no" answers when you don't even understand the question. The director took me to the center and asked if I was ready for this... still feeling the effects of jet lag, I told him I didn't really think so, but I'd give it a shot anyway. I met the others working there and helped one of the ladies peel and chop cucumbers for a salad (which here is commonly made of just tomatoes and cucumbers, with olive oil, vinegar and salt). When that was done, I was sent into the room with the children. One of the boys invited me to play chess. "Nuk di," I said, which I hope means "I don't know how." So he played with another staff member and I watched, perhaps learning a little of chess... and observing how the game became a discussion as another boy came up and showed each of the people actually playing what he thought the best moves would be. One of the girls invited me to play a game with her - checkers. As it turns out, I don't actually remember how to play checkers - but that's ok, since my moves also became a discussion... if you would call Sami moving my pieces for me and me saying, "Jo, jo, jo," (no, no, no) a discussion. I ate lunch with the kids, parceling out bread as they asked for it, and then helped clean up the dining area. The kids who come to the center are not just poor kids, but are the kids who need love the most. They are generally neglected and abused at home. At the center they can have a hot meal, a place to take a bath (they have an extra set of clean clothes for each child at the center), and a place to play and just be loved by the staff. 

Tomorrow I'll be back at the center again. Hopefully I will pick up more words in Albanian and be able to help out in good ways. For now, I should probably sign off and head to bed. I actually just fell asleep with my hands on the keyboard and the computer in my lap...

In Him,
Lydia