Day 11, Day 2 in Albania

Hi everyone!

So, the suspense is over. (It was probably just me who was worried, but...) Yesterday, Genci & the kids had a good visit with his mother. 5 1/2 hours. I was actually starting to worry that my phone didn't work since I hadn't heard from him. But I had a leisurely visit at the National Museum, where I didn't see anyone besides employees for at least an hour, then I did see 2 men visiting there. It was pretty interesting. It had displays of artifacts ranging from the stone age to 2000 BC to Greek & Roman empire times, to Medieval times to World War I & II. Everything was from Albania. There were many things that looked like Greek/Roman statues and parts of greek buildings (columns, mosaics, etc.), old pottery, old weapons, traditional clothing, a replica of a cave painting, lots of maps of historical events and battles. I was surprised to find out that Albania was one of the only countries that gave refuge to Jewish people during WWII (probably near the beginning of it, before it was occupied by the Nazis). Albert Einstein was one of those given refuge here until he found safe passage to the U.S. The sword & helmet of the famous local hero Skenderbeg are just copies, the originals are in Vienna. That seems to be a shame, although I guess I wouldn't know the difference between copies and the original if they hadn't told me.

Anyways, it was a good way to pass a couple of hours, and I wouldn't have been able to really look at much of what I saw if I had had kids with me.

When Genci & the kids emerged, we picked up some food, then ate and played soccer in the park. The kids seemed to have had a good time, although Nathan said he was bored at the end. But I would expect as much. He's constantly complaining of boredom. Right now he's not bored. He's playing soccer with Luke and the 11 year old nephew of the hostel manager. Did I mention we're in a new hostel?

We had a nice time sitting on the porch last night, drinking wine/beer, eating chips and chocolate -- generally just having party food, while enjoying the pleasant evening air.

Today the kids went for a ride on the cars in the square again, which they don't seem to tire of. Nathan & Genci got a haircut at a barber shop that they went to 3 years ago. When I mentioned that to the guy, he pointed to a picture he had taped to the mirror on the wall - it was a photo I had given him of him cutting Nathan's hair (from 3 years ago). It was the only photo up there. That was cool.

We really didn't do much today. We played at a playground, had a really yummy meal at a good restaurant, and then they/WE visited Gjushja (Genci's mother) again. Actually, I guess that's a pretty big thing, so I shouldn't say we didn't do much. Genci said that he thought that after his conversation with his mother last night (he went there for a couple of hours by himself last night, then came back & stayed with us, because he didn't really feel like staying at her house), he thought she wouldn't mind if I visited too. So I went with them. And it went pretty well. I don't know what to say. It was a little formal/short in the beginning, but not really. I helped out with fixing things in the yard (it's gotten very overgrown, so you can't walk without crouching - so we tied some branches up to get them out of the way - and mopped & swept a bit), and then we just sat around and she tried to get the kids to eat a few things, and pulled out a few more things she had found hidden (she hides things - I won't say where) from Genci's childhood and from previous visits, and the kids played. Basically, things felt normal. When we went to leave, as she & I were hugging, she said that she loved/cared about me, but she still feels like we haven't understood each other. Well, that probably is true. But I think we have made some progress.

Now we're back at the hostel & the kids are enjoying their new friend, the 11 year old nephew. I need to figure out how to upload some pictures. I don't have wireless capability here. I'm happy that Genci seems relatively relaxed. I'm not sure what our plan of action is. We need to start doing visits, but seem tired of visiting people after visiting his mother, so we'll see what we figure out. We have at least 4 visits that are required, and a couple that are optional.

Everyone has been homesick except me so far. I can't explain it. I'm usually the one who was wishing the trip was over.