Hello blog readers
Things have been going well here in Albania. Kucove has been rocking (not too hot which is good) and I have been able to travel a little bit and see everybody in some other towns around the country.
Last weekend I went to Girokaster, an old city in the south were there are four volunteers all from group nine. It was really nice to be able to see everyone down there. There is a big castle that we saw with an old armaments museum, mostly guns left by the Italians and Germans from World War Two. I was also told that they have a collection of antique weapons that they are afraid to show because they aren't sure whether they are legal or not. There is someone down there who wants to work with the museums there though to bring their collections a little more up to date. I think that it sounds like a great project.
We also ate at a nice resturant that overlooks the city and were able to walk around a little bit. If anybody wants to come and visit me (really) I would make another trip down there.
Other than that I have been hanging out a lot, reading a lot (I just finished Great Expectations and it was much better than I had expected), and teaching a few classes at the youth center. Things are going well there too. I think that the students are slowly warming up. I have two classes. One is with more advanced high school students where we are reading articles and doing a lot of discussion. I think that it will be a really fun class to teach. The other class is with beginner students and is a little more challenging. I am using a book to teach with for that one and I have to teach mostly all in Albanian. This only highlights my shqip inadequacies and makes me realize that I need to keep studying. Eventually with enough effort I am able to get my ideas across, but there are still those times where I just have to give up and move on. Oh well.
Thats all for now. I hope that things are going well and keep in touch.
Ryan

Hello, I have been told that I need to update my blog more often, so I am writing a post right now. I have some free internet time and a few minutes and I thought that this would be a productive use of such resources. We are able to go into the Peace Corps office here in Tirana when we like which is really nice and they have computers with the internet and such. It is a luxury that I do appreciate.
This was my first weekend in Tirana. The first time I was here I wasn't that impressed, but this weekend was really fun. There was a fourth of july celebration at the ambassador's residence and that was a good time. There were hamburgurs and hotdogs (which you cannot find in real Albania). The compound for the residence is kind of surreal. It is seriously like walking into an American suburb but it is in the middle of Albania. There are driveways with garages, mailboxes, and even garbage cans that roll out the the curb. To get mail here most people have to hear by word of mouth and go to the post office to pick it up. I don't think that many post offices deliver mail regularly, but it depends on the person that works there. And with garbage most people just throw it on the side of the road. Which is really disgusting and it is definately a major problem here. The embassy party was a good time though, and I will probably go back next year.
After that we hit up night life in Tirana. I haven't even caught a scent of night life yet here in Albania except for world cup games. There are actual bars and clubs in downtown Tirana. They serve a variety of beers and have drink specials and everything. When you aren't exposed to these things for some time I think that it is the little things that get to you. This being my first time in Tirana as well, it is the same way. Most of the bars are in a section of Tirana called The Block. I guess that this is where most of the party leaders lived during the communist times. Enver Hoxha's house is still there (he was a dictator in Albania until the 1980's). When one walks through this part of Tirana it feels like you could be in any city almost anywhere in the world. It is expsnsive to spend much time here however. I am not used to paying $4 for a beer, they are usually around 50 cents. I think that it is a nice place to come and unwind every month or two, but making sure to keep an eye on the prices of things.
Lastly it was nice to see some of the history and buildings that are in Tirana here. Skanderburg Square was good to see, a lot of recent Albanian history has happenned there. There was the monument they built for Enver Hoxha after he died, the block, and some other things that I can't think of right now. If you come out to visit in Albania we will go and hang out in Tirana for a bit.
Right now I am going to meet some people at a French bakery that supposedly has good coffee, and after that I will go back to Kucove and rest. I didn't get too much sleep this weekend, it is a good thing that I dont really have a job. It will take me about a week to recover.