AL(20) - LT(3) - PA(1) - ECU(1)-AL(6m)-LT(1)

2008-03-25T10:57:00.007-06:00

I have moved my blog to this new site:) please check it out:)

Click here: Lorna Qesteri

The Burning Heart

2008-03-22T11:15:00.000-06:00

Did not our heart burn within us . . . ? —Luke 24:32

We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

good friday

2008-03-21T06:34:00.004-06:00

"From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli,lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
Mathew 27:45-51

World Vision International - Child Sponsorship

2008-03-16T12:14:00.000-06:00

World Vision International - Child Sponsorship

who is to blame?

2008-03-16T10:38:00.004-06:00

These two days have been very shocking in Albania. And as the situation is calming down people are trying to find out who is to blame for the tragedy that just happened. 250 people are injured and up to now 9 people have died. However many more are considered missing, they might be dead or hiding in some of the old communist bunkers. A lot of people blame the government for this situation that allowed a military base to be built so close to an inhabited area.

Others blame an american company that was contracted to help train people to do the dismatlning of obsolete munition. However many witnesses who were interviewed said that people didnt recieve any trainning to work there. The company would put announcements in the villages around and people would start to work. Usually very poor people and the salary was ridiculously low, 150 $ per month. Workers were both male and female. Female workers did the opening of the cases with ammunition and male would do the transportion. Teen agers might have been working there too.

Houses have been destroyed; very poor people who are left homeless and have been evacuated in other areas. So it's a huge mess.

horrible situation in albania...

2008-03-15T12:12:00.003-06:00

Albania rocked by huge explosions

The explosions were heard many miles away

At least four people have been killed and about 200 injured in a series of explosions at an arms depot near the capital, Tirana.
Juela Mecani, a spokeswoman for Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha, said it was feared the death toll could rise.

She said more than 60 people - including US citizens - were at the scene at the time.

Military experts were disposing of old shells at the time of the blasts.

They were reported to be being assisted by employees of a US company contracted by Nato to help the Albanian army dispose of surplus munitions.

The explosions at the army depot in Gerdec village, some 10km north of Tirana, were heard more than 50km (30 miles) away.

The initial explosion was followed by a series of blasts, and ammunition continued to detonate for hours.

Attempts to fly rescuers into the area by helicopter were thwarted by the continuing explosions, and armoured vehicles were used to ferry rescue units into the area.

Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. Local media reports said their injuries included burns, concussion, broken limbs, and cuts from flying glass and shrapnel.

"The number of injured is considerable," Mr Berisha told reporters.

Mr Berisha - who visited some of the injured in hospital - said he could not rule out human error as the cause of the explosions, but added that the ammunition could have exploded spontaneously because of its age.

"The problem of ammunition in Albania is one of the gravest, and a continuous threat," Mr Berisha said.

"There is a colossal, crazy amount of it dating back to 1945."

Flights were suspended at Mother Teresa Tirana International Airport, several kilometres from the base, for 30 minutes after windows there were shattered.

The US embassy in Tirana said it was unable to confirm that there were US citizens at the depot.

BBC news

Bathore, Albania

2008-03-10T10:53:00.004-06:00

Many families who have moved to the suburbs of Tirana, have created illegal dwellings and among many problems they have, an important one is the water supply. Women and children have to walk miles to get some water, to be used for drinking, washing, and showering. Usually they use wheelbarrows but sometimes they just carry it in their hands.

The last 17 years Albania has been suffering from water shortages; many families have water only three times a day which rationizes who takes showers when, when the laundry is to be done and so forth.

life in Lithuania...

2008-03-06T13:15:00.008-06:00

these weeks have been crazy trying to adjust to a new lifestyle, readjusting to the cold weather and crazy wind....I thought I was going to be blown away today, seriously scarry!!! However, I have enjoyed getting to know new people. I was invited to be a faculty adviser at a Student organization. I had the chance to interview many young people from Ukraine, Belarus, Albania, Lithuania and hear some of their dreams for the future. It was inspiring to hear how much they want to do in their future. Here are some pictures of that day...

Since my midterm in Macro economics is pretty hard, I decided to bake some brownies to share with students before exam. My neighbors Ezra and Sarena helped me out. They are the cutest ever. Sarena who is 7, said: I know it's funny for a 7 years old to ask you this question, but are you married?? I just cracked up:) Ezra is a tornado...He is 3, loves to check out what's in my fridge, run around and touch everything...It's just great to have them as my neighbors here. Gives so much joy to the really cold Baltic winter days...

Ecuador-Colombia-Venezuela

2008-03-03T10:43:00.002-06:00

Ok, when I was in Ecuador there was a fear that Correa, ecuadorian president, would become an ally of Chavez and it seems that Chavez is getting his way through this incident...Seems also that tensions between Colombia and Ecuador are arising. Crazy situation....

Ecuador and Venezuela have moved troops to their borders with Colombia in an escalating row over the killing of a Farc rebel leader in Ecuador.
Ecuador and Venezuela have also both expelled Colombian diplomats.

Colombian troops entered Ecuador on Saturday in a raid that killed Colombian rebel leader Raul Reyes.

Colombia's foreign minister said he regretted that troops had to cross the border, but said it had been necessary "in the fight against terrorism".

"The Colombian government has never wanted to disrespect or violate the sovereignty or integrity of the sister republic of Ecuador," Fernando Araujo said.

A spokesman for Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said that during the raid, troops had found documents that provided information that "[Ecuadorean President Correa] has a relationship and commitments with Farc",

Police commander Gen Oscar Naranjo said one document showed Reyes had met Ecuador's minister of internal security and that they discussed Mr Correa's "interest in making official relations with the Farc".

Killing lamented

On Sunday, Mr Correa announced the expulsion of Colombia's ambassador in Ecuador.
The Ecuadorean president also said he was calling for an immediate meeting of the Organization of American States and the Andean Community of Nations.

Spain and a number of Latin American countries including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil have offered to mediate in the dispute.

Speaking on his weekly television show, President Chavez said Venezuela's embassy in Bogota would close.

He lamented the killing of Reyes - whom he called a "good revolutionary" - when he spoke on his show, "Alo, Presidente".

Mr Chavez has been mediating with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - or Farc - to secure the release of hostages the rebels hold, and six have so far been freed under this initiative.

'Violated'

Colombia's defence minister had described the death of Reyes as the "biggest blow so far" to Farc.

But Mr Chavez described the strike as "a cowardly murder, all of it coldly calculated".

He said Colombia had "invaded Ecuador, flagrantly violated Ecuador's sovereignty".

Mr Chavez addressed his defence minister, asking him to "move 10 battalions to the border with Colombia for me, immediately" - a deployment likely to involve several thousand soldiers.

"The air force should mobilise. We do not want war. But we are not going to let them... come and divide and weaken us."

Colombia's government has received billions of dollars in aid from Washington to fight the guerrillas - as the US, along with the EU, views Farc as a terrorist organisation.

Colombian troops have recently retaken control of areas previously held by rebel groups, but Farc retains a strong hold over Colombia's more remote regions.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7274222.stm

Published: 2008/03/03 15:52:48 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

a short video of the place I am working now

2008-02-19T15:48:00.003-06:00

Click here: LCC International University

funniest movie ever...

2008-02-19T13:57:00.002-06:00

Kosovo

2008-02-17T16:15:00.008-06:00

Kosovo MPs proclaim independence

Albanian and American flags have been on prominent display Declaration
Kosovo's parliament has unanimously endorsed a declaration of independence from Serbia, in a historic session.The declaration, read by Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, said Kosovo would be a democratic country that respected the rights of all ethnic communities.But Serbia's PM denounced the US for helping create a "false state" and protesters in Belgrade later pelted the US embassy with stones.The UN Security Council is meeting in an emergency session to discuss Kosovo. The meeting was demanded by Serbia's ally Russia.Tens of thousands of people had thronged the streets of Kosovo's capital, Pristina, since the morning.We have waited for this day for a very long time... from today, we are proud, independent and free
Hashim Thaci
Kosovo Prime Minister
When news came of the declaration in parliament, the centre of the city erupted with fireworks, firecrackers and celebratory gunfire.
Hundreds of ethnic Albanians staged noisy celebrations in the Macedonian capital, Skopje, and in Brussels, outside the headquarters of Nato and the European Union.

Hand grenades

The first sign of trouble in Kosovo came in the ethnic Serbian area of the flashpoint town of Mitrovica, where two hand grenades were thrown at international community buildings.One exploded at a UN court building while the other failed to go off outside offices expected to house the new EU mission.

In Belgrade, demonstrators threw stones and broke windows at the US embassy as riot police tried to fend off a crowd of around 1,000 people.

The protesters, described as gangs of youths, also attacked a McDonald's restaurant, the Serbian government building and the embassy of Slovenia which currently holds the EU presidency.

Several Serbian ministers had travelled to Kosovo to show their support for the ethnic Serbian minority.

Kosovo's 10 Serbian MPs boycotted the assembly session in protest at the declaration.

Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica blamed the US which he said was "ready to violate the international order for its own military interests".

"Today, this policy of force thinks that it has triumphed by establishing a false state," Mr Kostunica said.

Search for equality

The declaration was approved with a show of hands. No-one opposed it.

KOSOVO PROFILE
Population about two million
Majority ethnic Albanian; 10% Serb
Under UN control since Nato drove out Serb forces in 1999
2,000-strong EU staff to take over from UN after independence
Nato to stay to provide security

"We have waited for this day for a very long time," Mr Thaci told parliament before reading the text, paying tribute to those who had died on the road to independence.

From today, he said, Kosovo was "proud, independent and free".

"The independence of Kosovo marks the end of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia," the prime minister said.

He said Kosovo would be built in accordance with the UN plan drawn up by former Finnish President, Martti Ahtisaari.

HAVE YOUR SAY Unfortunately today Kosovo and Serbia are to become two dispensable chess-pieces of EU/NATO and Russia Mat, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The international military and civilian presence - also envisaged by the Ahtisaari plan - was welcome, the PM said.

There should be no fear of discrimination in new Kosovo, he said, vowing to eradicate any such practices.

The declaration was signed by all the MPs present.

Russian protest

The UN Security Council went into emergency session on Sunday evening after Russia called for the United Nations to declare the Kosovo declaration illegal.

Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin told reporters that the resolution allowing the UN to administer Kosovo since 1999 had been violated and said the council had a duty to annul the declaration.

Three other permanent members of the council, the US, the UK and France disagree. Serbian President Boris Tadic is heading to New York for a second emergency session due on Monday.

BBC UN correspondent Matt Wells said Russia was using every means at its disposal to make the strongest possible diplomatic protest.

The declaration approved by Kosovo's parliament contains limitations on Kosovan independence as outlined in Mr Ahtisaari's plan.

Kosovo, or part of it, cannot join any other country. It will be supervised by an international presence. Its armed forces will be limited and it will make strong provisions for Serb minority protection.

Recognition by a number of EU states, including the UK and other major countries, will come on Monday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, says the BBC's Paul Reynolds.

The US is also expected to announce its recognition on Monday.

Three EU states - Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia - have told other EU governments that they will not recognise Kosovo, says our correspondent.

Russia's foreign ministry has indicated that Western recognition of an independent Kosovo could have implications for the Georgian breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Story from BBC NEWS

2008-02-10T04:47:00.000-06:00

This is my second week in Lithuania and also the second week teaching macroeconomics at LCC international university. So far it has been interesting. My first class was a bit overwhealming since I knew some of the students in my class. When i was a student here 3 and 1/4 years ago we used to be friends. So that was a weird dynamic, especially when one of them called me Miss Lorna.

Back in college I loved macroeconomics, I think is a great subject however teaching it is quite hard at times. My students always have questions that in some instances are hard to respond to, since Macro can be abstract at times. However I am trying to include as many current events as i can. It's hard for me not to talk about development while I lecture. I have shown videos, especially of developing countries, and their response to them has been positive. But it surprised me when one of them said: Poor people are lazy and that's whay they are in that situation. Also many of them didnt know that countries like Belize, Indonesia existed. So my next assignement for them is a research project in the macroeconomic situation of countries that they don't have a clue that exist. Will see how that goes.

Being back here is nice even though it seems weird at times. I live in the dorm I lived when I was astudent so it brings back a lot of good and bad memories as well. anyways,so far I am enjoying it and will teach this semester and a summer session and then will be heading home for the summer time.

women around the world....

2008-02-03T05:28:00.000-06:00

Some of these women I know really well and some of these I have just observed during my time in Albania and Ecuador. Each of them has a special story to tell and most part of these stories is signed by suffering and hardships. I posted this collage in my blog just because sometimes I feel like I forget what I have seen or experienced while being in the field once I have reached a confort zone, like right now when I am only doing academic work..

Turkyie

2008-01-23T06:50:00.000-06:00

This is my last day in Turkey...I thought it was going to be boring since I was all alone however all in all I had a really good time. The people at the hotel I am staying are really nice. The second day here they moved me to one of their best rooms...actually I think they usually give it to newly weds..oh, well. It was a huge room for me:) They knock on my door many times to see if I am doing well and brought me desserts.

this is one of them..dont ask me what it is..it was a weird combo of beans and nuts and dreid fruits
I have walked around a lot and got a little glimpse of the culture. Nearby the hotel I am staying, there are more lower class people; there are a lot street vendors who grab you by the arm to enter their shops and buy something. Some of them yell so hard just to get people's attention. Most of the women around wear vales...I actually saw one who was completely covered, you could just see a tiny bit of her eyes. that was really weird. I had a hard time finding a place to eat because every where I would go in..there were only men. I got used to that. It didn't stop me from getting in cuz the food here is amazing...one of the best I have tried. Few things reminded me of Albania. As i said in my last blog entry we have a bunch of words in common. Also at a restaurant they had one dish that was called "Albanian style steak". I didn't know we are famous for making that:) While I was at a shop I heard a song from an Albanian singer, his name is Blero. Also the Imams songs were present everyday.

On the other hand, I went to a mall here. A totally different world. It was so huge I got lost in it. And guess what....they had Starbucks, KFC, Mac Donald's, Burger King, Arbys, and so many other foreign brands. MacD was full of people. As Thomas Friedman would say...the world is flat...

I also got my Lithuanian visa. Is a one year business visa!!! So I am excited for that. I will leave for Lithuania on Friday and start teaching on Monday. I am excited and scarred at the same time because it's my first time teaching university students and teaching macroeconomics. will see how it goes. Please keep me in your prayers.

ciao

arnaut....

2008-01-15T14:45:00.000-06:00

I am in Turkey right now. This was such a unexpected trip for me. It came out of the blue. I was in my way to Lithuania to teach at LCC International University however in order to get a business visa to Lithuania (now in the Schengen agreement) I had to go to Turkey since there were no other embassies closer to Albania.

When we were kids, during communist times, one of the movies that the National TV (TVSH) showed and re showed was Snow white (cok gjyzel:)...the Turkish version. We used to know it by heart. So as soon as I entered the plane and heard the stewardess talking, some of the words we used to imitate from that movie came to mind. Actually in Albanian we have quite a bit of Turkish words (due to very long ottoman invasion)...like tamam, kave, ishallah, sevda, kat, marshallah, ej vallah, myshteri, and so many others...

I had a flight connection in Istanbul and was falling asleep so I decided to buy a cup of coffee. My goodness...Starbucks prices are nothing compared to the ones they charged me for a nescafe....12$ for a tiny cup of normal coffee...

I came to Ankara, late at night. The hotel I am staying at it's nice but there are no other clients so I feel weird. It's only me and the crew. I have full attention from them. Today I decided to take a walk around town....Didn't see much. however I had a very nice meal at a neighborhood restaurant. The traditional kofte (meatballs), good bread, salad, and yogurt. At the end as good turkish tradition they treated me with yummy Baklava and tea.

Shout! - The Isley Brothers

2007-12-17T02:53:00.000-06:00

good morning starter:)

changes

2007-12-17T02:37:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been awhile since I have visited this blog. Some things have happened that will change a bit the flow of my life. I was offered a job as a professor of Economics at the University where I did my undergraduate studies, LCC International University in Lithuania.

If all the visa details go well I will be there the second week of January when the Spring Semester starts. I am very excited about this opportunity. I always wanted to go back in some way and I think this is a good comeback. I have never taught at a University so this is something new for me but I am very happy of trying it out.

This is the University's website: LCC

I will be getting home for the summer months and I will probably still continue to work for World Vision Albania in shorter term projects. So that is good too!!!

Selling Poverty…

2007-11-22T01:38:00.000-06:00

Well, this is a very weird combination of words if taken out of context but I have heard it a lot lately among relief and development organizations/ngo dialogues. It has been hard for quite a bit of development org in Albania to get donor funds because poverty here doesn’t sell anymore as compared to poverty in Africa or India. When donors come they don’t really see poverty immediately (except in the Roma and Egyptian communities). Today I also heard a weird thing that marketing departments in order to attract donor funds would ask for pictures of kids walking in the midst of snow which shows that they are cold. Fake, in the areas where it doesn’t snow in Albania, but that sells to donors.

So, said it shortly it’s quite hard to get funds for projects in areas where there is no evident extreme poverty but instead there other types of poverty that threat children wellbeing and future such as children labor or begging.

THANKSGIVING

2007-11-22T01:35:00.000-06:00

It’s thanksgiving!!! I never celebrated it…. until two years ago when I first came in the US. It was really fun down there, a lot of yummy food, friends, and family time and after that Back Friday….crazy…. Thanks Linda and John:) Last year I was in Ecuador surrounded by a lot of American expats so they prepared a big dinner too. However that same day I was invited by an Ecuadorian women to visit her family in a small town in Ecuador. I agreed to go with her and her three kids but at the end it turned out to be a big adventure. I ended up in the border line between Colombia and Ecuador where a lot of the human trafficking and drug smuggling happens. We had no place to go to and it was in the middle of the night. For the first in my life I was scarred to death and prayed to make it safely. BY 1 AM after walking in cliffs for quite some time we ended up in one small hut where her mom lived, one of the poorest houses I have seen in my life. I was just reminded these two events really different but that has had some impact in my life….

Anyways, for all my American friends out there Happy Thanksgiving!!

One life

2007-10-26T09:29:00.002-06:00

update

2007-10-26T08:08:00.000-06:00

I have been on the move this month. I have traveled a lot around Albania, in Librazhd, Elbasan, Vlora, etc. We are trying to involve as much as possible the communities themselves in deciding what issues are of prior concern to them, what are the root causes and the solution people think would be applicable considering their capacities, resources and sustainability of these solutions. We used some new techniques that were given to us by a colleague from Kenya, such as pair ways and criteria solution ranking...It gave great results!!! People were engaged and loved to participate in such brainstorming exercises.

I had a fun time organizing focus groups with the local government officials. From one side they kept blaming the central government for not giving them enough funds and resources, from the other they considered most of NGO as investors and not as partners.It is really hard for them to get out of that mentality and see themselves as actors in development rather than recipients...

Librazhd, which has a mountainous location, has had very few investments by the government thus is not very attractive to businesses. The communities felt as being left behind. However they were pretty excited of being partners and involved in the creation of projects that can benefit their communities.

So that side of my job has been great...From the other side there is a lot of office work...writing and meetings which I don't particularly enjoy....

I traveled with dad to Macedonia and had a great time catching up with him, I am always amazed at his knowledge and kindness. I visited my brother and his family and had also the chance to enjoy the first snow after experiencing a long one year summer in South America...

Another great thing has been to receive emails from my godchild in Ecuador...they have nothing and I know that even going to an internet caffe costs them a lot...Cant wait to go back and visit...

Daniel

2007-10-04T06:06:00.001-06:00

This is daniel 11 months old...He is a cutie...I love this picture:) Little Rocky!!!

back home

2007-09-12T14:17:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since I have updated my blog...but finally I am doing it. Well, I am back home in Albania. It has been good to see my fam and friends after being away for 2 years. Things have changed a lot around here some for better and some for worse. There are so many new constructions, parks, big malls, restaurants, nice hang out areas …and a new president who is a great guy. The civil society also seems to be participating more in various area.

We still keep the welcome sign for President Bush (he visited in the early summer) at the place where we had the communist star at what we call the Pyramid that used to be a museum for our former dictator Enver Hoxha.

There are still many problems, two of the major ones being power cuts and water shortages. So back to the candle light for like 4-5 hours a day or waiting till the water comes in order to take a shower, wash dishes or do laundry.

Other than that I have had a good time catching up with some of my friends and the best thing has been to meet my nephew. He is really cute…he loves music and shakes his head so hard that he falls down every time he listens to music. He also loves to eat....and has really cute chubby cheeks...

I had a bit of a hard time deciding what I wanted to in the future…I wanted to continue to work internationally for a couple of more years but I decided to stay home for a bit and maybe do that some point in the future. My dream still remains to work in Africa so will see. I just got hired by World Vision in Albania and I will be involved in what I love to do, which is urban community development…and it’s in the suburbs of my own city, Tirana. I am really excited…

I still miss my life in Ecuador. The bus rides while listening to reaggaeton latino, wearing really simple clothes, eating with the families, the hugs from the kids, talking in Spanish, masses form Padre Juan, those funny things that happen when you are in a different culture.. and so on. I have a lot of flashbacks from my time there...that is a really precious community…Cant wait to go back and visit.

I will try to update this blog more often in the future..….

Thanks for reading

adios ecua

2007-07-20T23:01:00.000-06:00

I sadly left Ecuador, yesterday.... I am still in great shock. I can't believe that now I am missing even those small things that use to annoy me. The day before I left the ladies made sure to clean out my hair from lice...they spent hours in doing that. We had a huge goodbye party with the people. They had a beautiful Andean dance and so many presents. The parents I use to teach started to cry and so did the kids...a lot of them wouldn't let me go. I got so close to so many people there but most of all to a kid, Luigi, whose mother abandoned him when he was an infant. I use to cut his nails, prepared him food, play, laugh and to some extent he became like my kid. I couldn't make him stop crying and then that happened to me. Couldn't stop thinking that maybe that was the last time I would see him.

My time in Ecuador has been a blessing. There have been horrible times such as robbery, sexual harassment, extreme poverty that made some days really grey but as an overall experience it has impacted my life more than anything I have done.

I arrived in New York City today. I feel like I was thrown in such a different planet. Before I left, a lot of Ecuadorians were saying: please take me with you...i wish I was traveling like you....take my kids to the US...and so on. There is so much desire to be in "planet" USA. Most of my Albanian friends I visited here were trying to convince me to stay. They were emphasizing the fact of how lucky I am to have a US visa. That I should use this opportunity to find a job here and live the American dream. However I am not tempted at all. A week ago I got a job offer for World Vision Int. in Siri Lanka. Now, this my dream job. However my family is against it and so are most of my friends. I don't know yet what I am going to do. So please pray for that..

On Tuesday I am heading to Albania....I am kind of nervous since it has been so long. It feels like a dream...

closure

2007-06-26T11:47:00.000-06:00

In exactly 1 month I am going back to Albania...after 2 years of being in Las Americas...This is a really hard time especially knowing that I might never come back again. It's hard to say goodbye to so many people who have become like family in the last year. We live amidst of a big community, almost 2000 people. Most of them are children. Every family has 5-7 children.

Being here I have heard so many stories; sad and happy, funny and annoying. From women who try to kill their baby while they are pregnant to women who spend most of their lives taking care of their kids. From men who have huge drinking problems and abuse their family members to men who spend most of the day working in the lowest jobs to provide for their children. Children who start working when they are 4-5 years old in the most dangerous parts of Quito to children who want to learn and get out of poverty. Houses made out of one room, hosting 10-12 people.

I don't think I will ever find a place like this. The one who started this Center was a Jesuit guy, named John. He came from Bronx, New York, in 1964. He started with only few kids and 70 dollars. Toady 43 years later the Center provides 3 meals per day for 2000 people, education (1st to 12 grade), employment opportunities, free health care, and counseling. It's really amazing to think how God has blessed this place. Everyone knows everyone so people celebrate together most of the important occasions.

It's hard for me to look forward and think of the future since I think of this place and how hard it will be to leave it. However it has been such a blessing to be part of it.

some pixs I have taken lately

2007-06-03T16:54:00.000-06:00

juan

2007-05-17T14:43:00.000-06:00

Recently I received a new student in my class. His name is Juan. I used to see him at the center cleaning and carrying stuff around. Anyhow, I teach him math, spanish writing/reading and some basic accounting. We also started with some computer lessons; he loves it.

He is a great guy; he is 61 and is really eager to study more. Yesterday he was telling me his life story. As he was talking I was about to cry....but I kept myself from doing it. He has 4 kids one of them is 23 and is on a wheel chair. He has to carry her around and he is not that strong to do that. He told me he lives in one room. This room is basically their kitchen, bedroom and living room....and is the 6 of them living there. He had 2 chickens who were some sort of a "food income" but were stolen by some of the neighbors. He earns 170$ a month thru cleaning here at the center. One of his daughters sells candies during the day and at night goes to a school. His youngest son shines shoes in the streets of Quito. These are their only source of income. As he was telling me all of this i I felt really bad and was trying to imagine his life however he was really thankful for what had happened lately in his life. He said things were going better than used to be in the past. He was hopeful for his children's future.

Juan and his daughter Hilda

Sundays

2007-05-10T20:08:00.000-06:00

I have spent most of my Sundays here visiting some of the Center's families. These are some of the best memories that I have from my time here. I have gotten very close to one of the families especially. They are the Rochinas, they have 6 kids of their own and a bunch of other kids (cousins and neighbors)who hang out in their house.

Their mom cooks a lot of stuff. We watch TV, usually "Dancing with the stars" Ecuadorian version),dance, play cards, or just laugh. Somehow a lot of that reminds me of Albania.

teaching the kids how to hip hop

coming back from the USofA

2007-04-29T07:38:00.000-06:00

I spent some time in the USofA and it was really great. A good break from my life here in Ecuador. I loved the quietness, waking up in the morning and knowing what was going on during the day, being able to take a walk without being starred or talked to, taking a break from rice/beans/guinea pig/bananas for a least a bit, getting de-lice, washing my clothes and not getting fleas, being driven instead of running in the middle of the street to catch a bus. I even got a couple of weird job offers one was at the airport in NYC and the other at a Lebanese restaurant who thought I was one of them.

I got back in Quito and was trying to catch a taxi at the airport. Of course most of the taxi drivers wanted to charge me 4 times the normal price. At the end I found this guy who would charge a normal price. As we walked out of the airport I realized that he didn't have a cab but just a normal car. Here I was in the middle of the night and out of the airport. The trip was scary. He was really creepy. So when he asked me if I had a boyfriend I answered I was married and had kids cause I thought he would have mercy for a married woman. I was praying during the ride. Praise God I arrived home safely.

Once I got back things were overwhelming. I teach two teen age girls whose mother died when she gave birth to their brother. Their dad abandoned them right after so ever since they have been living alone. However, their dad just died of a heart attack. The girls never talk to anyone, and now is even worse. Really sad. In my adult class I had a lady coming to class drunk and she is pregnant. I didn't even now how to deal with that situation. Another lady who is abused by her husband and whom I thought was going to get separated got back with her husband again.

Even thought there is a lot of sadness just thinking about people's living conditions at the same time there is so much joy that comes from the kids. Every time they see us they run and give us a lot of hugs and love. They fill my days with much happiness.

turning 2and6 in South America

2007-03-29T21:56:00.000-06:00

My brother sent me this cute pics...My nephew saying Happy Bday in Albanian...

This was one of the most fun bdays of my whole life. I had never had so many surprise parties and cakes all in one day.

I am so amazed how generous people can be even when they are really...really poor. Some of the ladies I teach had made a huge meal for me....and a cake. The same with some other people I work with. The same with some other...

One of the highlights of this bday was BAKLAVA!!!!!!! My favorite dessert. One of the volunteers had found baklava in a Lebanese restaurant. Oh, man.....I enjoyed every bit of it. It had been 2 years....

Ecuadorians have some weird traditions to celebrate a bday. They hit a person ,usually with a belt/or kick you, as many times as the number of years lived. Another one was when you blow candles...they push your head on the cake...In addition be prepared to have a lot of food. I cant fall asleep tonight that's how much people made me eat.....I got to experience all of that!!!

Here are some pics of the day....

Bakllava (nuk ishte si ajo qe bo mama Ceri po prape ma kujtoi icik ballavane tironce....edhe me dash robi me hap peta ketu nuk ka okllai!!!:(Hajt mo i ka jeta keto!!!

One of the ladies...and a piece of chicken

Cake

and another cake

movie theater

2007-03-27T21:09:00.000-06:00

Saturday I took some of the kids to the movies. It was their first time in a movie theater. It was fun to be around them....They had taken a ball with them and wanted to play inside the theater. They started to hide food underneath their shirts because they were not allowed to take it in the theater. Most of them have black hands because shine shoes most of the day and their clothes are not the best one could have. So there were a lot of staring from the people around us. The kids liked the movie and were asking if they could just sit in the theater and watch the next one since we had already payed for one.

at the theater

Jonathan

Had a "Cola" break...most of soda is called Cola down here

The boys smiling at the guard who had a fun time watching us

getting out of the country

2007-03-12T20:21:00.000-06:00

Well, I didn't really think that in order to get out of Ecuador for only 11 days...it would take so many procedures and so much time. The saga didn't end with the American embassy. In order to leave Ecua one needs to have a Census card ($4) and a "exit doc" ($4). And pay 40$ just for exiting....

However to do all of that one has to get at the Immigration Office by 7 AM and wait most of the day. I made some new friends again...just waiting in line...however this time was an Ecuadorian Mormon guy who was really eager to share his beliefs on Smith and his life eventhough I told him I was not interested. When my number was finally called the migration officer told me I didn't have all the docs I needed. That is one of the worse feelings ever, especially if you have been waiting for the whole day. However I used some of my "Albanian persuasive skills" and I got what I needed.

So finally after all of this (well who knows if it's finally over considering my "Fantozzi" skills) I will be in Philly April 6th to April 15th!!!
Thanks to Dr. Stapleford and Linda!!!

Qesteri Boys

2007-03-11T21:51:00.000-06:00

My brothers and nephew...Wow!!! Four more months till this picture will become reality to me!!

Int' Women's Day...

2007-03-07T21:58:00.000-06:00

Well, it's Women's Day in most of parts of the world. Back in Albania it's Mom's day so I just wanted to say: Happy Women's Day!

I have been thinking a lot about that lately. I teach a group of 8 Ecuadorian women. The classes are supposed to be covering math, Spanish reading/writing and health. However a lot of times we talk about things going on in our lives. They are really unhappy. 5 of them are separated and have problems with their kids. Being a single mom, raising 4-6 kids in poverty is really hard. The other three have abusive husbands.

It was really hard to hear the story of one of them. She is only 24 however has 5 kids. She got married when she was 15 only to escape her dad's abuse over her, siblings and mom. However she got herself into a vicious cycle. The situation repeated with her husband. He beats her and the kids. She wants to leave him but cant because he is the one who works. She has been a housekeeper all her life and has no income. In addition to get a divorce here is really expensive (for the poor). The hardest thing for her was to see her kids getting really aggressive with each other. She fears that her sons will behave with their families the same way as her husband.

I don't know...It's really hard. I have never been so close to people who suffer domestic violence.

US visa

2007-02-21T21:12:00.000-06:00

How much does it take to get a US visa????

It was interesting to apply for a US visa in Ecuador. The first small complication I had was with my passport...Every time I show it around here people get amazed and ask me all kind of weird questions about Albania. If in the US people would confuse Albania with Albany..here they confuse Albania with Alemania (Germany).

Hours spent in the process:

1) 1 hour at the bank to pay 100$ so you can get an appointment

2) 12 $ payed at the Bank so you can get a Pin Code in order to call the embassy

3) Half an hour in the phone with one of the secretaries who explained the whole procedure

4) One hour filling the applications on line (it took so much just to open the forms)

5) Two weeks till the invitation from the US comes to you

6) A week till you have the actual interview at the embassy

7) One hour spent to travel and find the embassy in Quito

8) 10 minutes of check in

9) 2 ladies that check your application forms app. 10 min.

10) One other lady that checks once again the same application forms but she actually gives you a number

11) Half an hour waiting for your number to be called.

12) Once your number is called you spent 10 minutes by a booth so they can take your finger print. The problem with me was that my fingers were so cold that the prints would not show on the comp. So I had to blow on my fingers. I blew to much so we had to clean the screening thing.

13) Another half an hour waiting for your number to be called again
P.S: the numbers were called randomly so you never knew when your turn was.

14) Finally the interview with the consul. He was a nice guy but some of the questions were really weird, like:
Why don't you go back to Albania? Doesn't your family miss you?
Are you sure you want to go back to the US?? Why did they invite YOU? Why are you teaching here if your field is development? What's the connection between faith and economics?

15) Two more hours in line just to fill an application for DHL in order to get your passport back. 6 $ paid for the fee.

16) 6 days waiting for the passport to get back to you again

However after all these 16 steps, I have the business visa to the US and in addition I made a lot of new friends just waiting in line.....

Danieli

2007-02-18T11:06:00.000-06:00

ma & ba & daniel

Valentine's Day!!!

2007-02-14T22:14:00.000-06:00

some pix taken during V-day. Fun day:)

Me and Colleen

Two of my favorites....Manuel and Juan Carlos

Luis Miguel and Juan Carlos

Some of the ladies I teach

High School girls

Playing carnival with sparkles

Darlin

Darlin....

oops

Emerson

blessings

2007-02-12T21:02:00.000-06:00

So, some amazing things have happened. I am pretty excited. The guy I was talking about in my last post seems to be changing. In one of my classes with him, I decided to read the Prodigal Son's parable. We spent some time talking about it and then he started to ask a lot of questions. He said he never had a chance to go to church and never had a Bible. He was interested in knowing why there are so many religions in the world and how can we know which is the real one...After we talked I gave him a bible and he said he would read it with his wife and kids. Then he asked where he could find a church to go to. Amazing....I couldn't believe it.

Today he told me his life story. His dad abandoned his mom while she was pregnant and didn't want to legally recognize any of his kids. Jose started to work when he was 8. He left his house and went in the east of the country. Worked in cleaning till he was 17. Then he started construction work till the present day. He had only 2 years of formal education however I am amazed how much he knows and how eager he is to learn more. I kind of wanted to talk about his drinking problem however I have never dealt with such issues.

Most people here say alchoolism is a result of poverty. I was talking to him about saving a small amount of earnings each month. He said it's impossible since life is really expensive. So I decided to go with my parents story who never took a vacation or dined out so that they could provide for their fam. I tried to explain that sometimes we have to give up things like hanging out with friends and drinking. He became really interested, asking me questions about my dad and why doesn't he drink to get drunk.
I don't know...but I am really grateful for these conversations and I really hope Christ will change his heart.

The lady who was evicted by her house found another solution. So she and her kids are fine.

I started my visa application for the US. Man, so many steps. However I have the formal interview next wends day. Will see.

Learned some Ecuadorian folk dances... Really fun.

Carnival week has started here so people throw water, flour, eggs on people. I got some of the water hopefully will get no eggs and flour.

Talked to a good friend from grad school, Joel. A wonderful man from Democratic Republic of the Congo. A lot to learn from him everytime we talk.

Got some options for jobs after my time here(august). I know that I want to go home for sometime after Ecuador but all the options I got are far from home......
Who knows:) what God has there for me...

back in touch

2007-01-31T21:14:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since I have logged in. Life around here has been kind of busy and as always overwhelming. It has had its upwards and downwards, smiles and tears, excitement and boredom, warmth and loneliness, however overall it has been a time of growth.

Some of the real challenges, for which I would really appreciate your prayers, have been..

People

I teach 2 adults classes. One is at 5 and the other one 6.30. During the first one, one of the students, Rosa, told me that her husband abuses her and her kids to the point they have to hide from him. It was hard to hear and see her crying. However, during my next class I teach her husband. This guy seems like the nicest guy ever and I really liked teaching him since he is very excited about learning new stuff. However every time I teach him it's impossible not to think that after the class he will go home and beat them up. I had times when I didn't want to teach him at all. I just don't know how to deal with these kinds of situations.

One of the cutest ladies in my class was just evicted by her landlord because she didn't pay the rent. She is Colombian and has moved to Quito in search of a better life. She is a single mom and has 3 kids (one of them still infant). She was crying during class cause she had no place to spent the night. We tried to talk to some of the directors here but they couldn't do anything since there are so many people in Karmen's position. After that, I was looking for her all over the center but she had disappered. As I am writing this I am wondering where she is . It's 11 PM and she and her kids might be sleeping out in the streets. Pray that she finds housing soon.

One of our good teachers lost her life a week ago. Sh was hit by a bus as she was walking on a side walk.

A good number of ladies I encounter have been abandoned by their husbands (usually run away with other women) thus they have to raise 5-9 kids by themselves. I was talking to a lady today, whose daughter really wants to pursue further studies however she can't afford that. I wonder what the kids think about relationships and their future. Some of their first questions no matter their age are: do you have a boyfriend, whom of the other gringo volunteers do you sleep with, do you have a baby and so on.

I have a hard time talking about this but it has been hard dealing with men here. It's really creepy hearing embarrassing comments from them, especially from married men.

All of the above seems a bit depressing so I will close with some of the fun stuff that has happened ...

Well, thanks to the generosity of Staplefords I might go back to the US in april....I am pretty excited about that. Even though I spent only a year there it feels somehow like home, mostly because of the special people I met. It will be amazing to meet some of my good friends down there. However, I need to deal with the visa issues.

I got lice again...Well, it might sound like a bad news but it wasn't that bad.... that's why I listed in here. The day I realised how bad the situation was I started to cry. But just the next day I got in mail lots of anti lice shampoos which my friend Brandie had sent 4 months ago. Somehow it got here when I really needed it. However, once you do the treatment you need someone to pick out the eggs (now I have become an expert I think). So I asked some of the girls here to help me with that. They were so excited. It was like a social event....They all gathered around and we talked. One of the funniest things was when they said: we didn't know that Gringa's could get lice....

I have learned to cook lots of Ecuadorian recipes...One of them is something called Cifle. It's fried platens and salad. Platen is really hard to peel. Since I peeled a lot, my hands became black and really sticky. I washed my hands many times with soap but nothing really happened. Then one of the ladies, took my hands put a lot of oil, then some salt and then some lemon and asked me to scrub well. I was laughing so hard but at the end her Tech...really worked.

I am working at the sewing business and one of the days they didn't need any "financial" help but needed some work force. So I got to sew puppets..It was real fun:)

It has been a blessing to be invited at the people's houses. Their generosity is indescribable. They give us so much love and good food. It's kind of hard to see where they live but at the same time opens your eyes to how poverty really looks like...

I have found an amazing church here and together with that some really good friends. One of guys from the church gave me his cellphone. I think I have forgotten how it sounds talking on the phone, since I haven't done it for the last 5 months. Anyhow this is the number: 00593-84993158

It has been fun teaching proportions, multiplications and divisions to some of my adults....

and last but not least meeting some good people during the way...

blessings

lorna

scarry

2007-01-04T11:23:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I had one of the scariest experiences since I have been here...it doesn't even come closer to the one I had in the border to Columbia. It was 3 PM and I had to pick up some stuff for the businesses I work with. I was walking on the sidewalk and coming towards me was a couple. The man suddenly was approaching me and wanted to touch me. Then his woman partner I guess was supposed to grab my purse. I usually don't have good reflexes and don't respond immediately but this time something amazing happened. I just put my hands on my chest, started to scream really loud, and fight back. There were some other people around so I guess they got scared and left running. Thus didn't rob or hurt me.

After that I was shaking for like half an hour. Every time someone would pass by my heart started to beat faster. I really believe that God's mighty hand was protecting me in those moments. I have heard stories of other people being assaulted but experiencing that myself was really horrible.

06'

2007-01-02T20:24:00.000-06:00

2006 was a very blessed year for me. I got to meet so many people and experience so much. So I tried to put some of that in these short movies.

Time in Ecuador

the US

New Year's Celebration

2007-01-02T16:59:00.000-06:00

As a good Albanian, the New Year's celebration is kind of important for me. During the first ten years of my life (81-90's) Albania was under the communist regime. At that time we were not allowed to practice our faith. There were no churches, mosques, and you couldn't even mention the word God.

During that time the New Year's Eve for us was like the Christmas Eve in the rest of the world. We had a tree, but it was called the New Year's tree. We had a Santa but it was called the Old Pa' of New Year's. We also had (still do) a big dinner with our extended families. The dinner includes turkey, salads, byrek (Albanian traditional pie), baklava and lot's of more traditional dishes. So overall, the New Year's Eve is our family celebration.

These last five years I have gotten to spent the New Year's eve far from home and in the most random places. For three years it has been in cold Lithuanian winters, sometimes walking in the Baltic sea (that's how cold it was) with Albanians, Ghanaians, Moldavians, north Americans, and Russians. Last year I was in Indianapolis, Indiana with people I didn't know but they were very nice to host me.

This year was really cool. Rodolfo invited me over at his house. He is one of the directors of the Center who at the age of 7 had to start working (shining shoes) because his mother had died of cancer and dad had abandoned him and siblings. He was one of the first working kids approached by the Padre; received education and now he is one of the leaders. I got to spent time with his wife, 4 kids and his in laws. During the celebrations Ecuadorians prepare a huge doll (one man had a doll named Saddam Husein) that gets burned at midnight. That's the goodbye to the past year and invitation to a better year. Then some people jump over the fire. Meanwhile they have grapes and oranges. After they eat em' they save all the seeds so that the coming year will be prosperous financially.

The funniest thing was that I prepared some Albanian food for the dinner. (Just for Dr. Stapleford there was no tortilla baklava involved) However once I got there I realised that my Albanian food was very similar to the Ecuadorian traditional food.

Anyways, God is always good. Even though a week ago I pictured myself celebrating new years by myself He provided a big family....It was a blessing to see Rodolfo and his 6 other siblings who grew up as orphans among extreme poverty being so generous to others and especially notice the great love they have for each other.

Merry Christmas!!

2006-12-24T15:02:00.000-06:00

Here is a small video of some of the kids here singing in albanian, english and spanish!! I think it's funny!

contrast

2006-12-12T14:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I and some other volunteers were reading the newspaper. In the front page was a very sad picture of a three years old from Guatemala who looked like a skeleton due to bad nourishment....His story is as follows, which is in fact the story of many children around the world. What shocked us further was that at the bottom of that same page they had placed some adds about how to loose 25 pounds in 4 weeks, how to eat healthy, low carb diets, or the best restaurants in Miami...such a contrast.. Anyways, here is Antonio's story:

"JOCOTAN, Guatemala -- Three-year-old Antonio's patchy skin is thin and saggy, like that of a shrunken old man. But his cries sound more like a newborn's whine. And although his head seems much too large for his frail body, it's actually his body that is too small.

Plopped on a wheelchair because he's too weak to walk, Antonio's crystal black eyes tend to wander until the smell of food penetrates the air and steaming bowls of beans pass before him. Then his mouth starts to salivate and he lets out a desperate whimper.

But Antonio must wait until 10 other hungry children are set up with their meals. Only then can the nurse at the health center focus her attention on feeding the boy who doesn't have the muscle coordination to feed himself.

Weighing about 18 pounds, as much as a 6-month-old baby, Antonio represents one of the worst cases of malnutrition in a country where more than one million children under 5 suffer from the condition."

Guatemala has the highest rate of malnourished children in the Western Hemisphere, even higher than Haiti, the region's poorest country. The Central American nation also ranks sixth in the world for chronic malnutrition.

The problem usually begins in the womb of mothers who are anemic throughout their pregnancy and give birth to children with low birth weights. More than half of those babies don't make it beyond the age of 5.

By NANCY SAN MARTIN

I can't believe it!!!!

2006-12-07T23:18:00.000-06:00

One of my good friends says I have a weird tendency towards adventures eventhough I dont usually seek for them....it just happens somehow....

Tonight I had to finish the last paper for my Masters. So I decided to spent some time at the Center's library. I planned to stay up until midnight and then to head home (5 minutes of walk). Well, it's midnight and I got my stuff ready however during that process I realized that I had forgotten my keyes home. There is no way to get into the house...

Thus here I am stuck at the library. I guess I will sleep over the table (praise God I am a short albanian) and will use Bryant Myers "Walking with the Poor" and Kraybill's "Upside Down Kingdom" as pillows. It's kind of cold though and as you can imagine it's not very common to find blankets at a library....in addition there is no restroom around and on the top of that I am really thirsty.

Makes me appreciate and be very thankful for having a bed. It makes me think as well about homeless people who find all kinds of solutions to deal with the lack of shelter or a bed to lay down.

In these moments I got to hide from the Center's guards since a couple of them are pretty weird and do not really have the desire to talk with them at this time of night. One of them always asks me if I can give him my laptop, or if I can buy an accordian online or if I can find him an albanian girlfriend..

So I am kind of hiding at a corner in the library and heating my hands with the computer's battery...Weird isn't it???

Well 6 more hours until other people get up....I think I can do it...

However I am really happy I am done with Grad school and I guess this is a funny way to remember its last day....much more interesting than a party:(

the video of the house I stayed in..

2006-11-27T11:13:00.001-06:00

Nightmare...........

2006-11-27T09:03:00.000-06:00

I am in my room now. I am so thankful to God that I made it safe. I think sometimes I can be really stupid and what happened these two last days was a result of my stupidity.

There is a lady I met at the center, who asked me to go with her and see one of her kids whom she hadn’t seen in a really long time. I had given her some help because she told me has nothing to feed her kids and I thought that her invitation was somehow a way to thank me for that. I accepted to go with her, knowing that the trip would have been short and another female volunteer would have come with us. Unfortunally the other volunteer couldn’t come because that day she had taken some of the kids to McDonalds and in the way to that, one of them had been hit by a car.

I left Quito at 6 PM. We jumped on a bus which was full of people. I had to stand up all the time however I got little breaks every half an hour. I had to sit on a floor due to police. It’s against the law to have the same number of people sitting down and the same number standing up.....

I felt like I was immigrating illegally. The worse was that the tip was 6 hours long. We arrived in the town at midnight. Walked from the bus station (very sketchy) to her sister's house. We knocked many times but no one was responding. Until a neighbor came out and told us her sister didn’t live there.

Here I was, holding a two years old baby, and holding the hand of another 7 years old, while she was taking care of her infant.

She said: What now??? Then, she continued: let’s find my sister’s new home. We were in the middle of some kind of forest. This little town was as well right in the border with Columbia (kind of scary). We were walking in pinch dark, and had to go down a cliff. I felt like I couldn’t do it especially holding a baby. However she was very persistent, so we still walked down the cliff and ended up in a highway; had to run fast and again ended up in the middle of nowhere.

I had never been so scarred in my whole life, the only thing I could do was to repeat: Jesus, Jesus. Then we saw a car and asked the driver to give us a ride to her mom’s house since her sister's seemed impossible to find. We arrived in her mom’s house, which was a room divided in two by a curtain. The lady told me that her mom lives with a crazy man who likes to touch people. We slept the 6 of us in one bed. The man would wake up during the night and try to enter in. Man, I couldn’t fall asleep that’s how scary it was. We had one blanket which was enough for the kids so it was really cold. I could feel the fleas biting my body, the noise of the flies, and her mom watching Sex in the City in a black and white TV.

We had to wake up at 6 AM because she had to give her vote and meet her child. We visited some of her family members then was time to get back to Quito. We waited 6 hours for a bus to come. That was the real trial to my patience. Then a bus full of people was coming and she decided to go so I stared to run cause didn’t want to be all alone in a sketchy town. I literally saw myself with one feet out of the bus as it started to get going. Another 6 hours standing up on the bus.

I was so tired that I decided to sit on the floor as the bus was going through some steep curves. As we were entering Quito I had no idea in which part of the city I was. I asked one lady and she told me we had past the neighborhood I live time ago. So I had to get out and walked to find the Center. I can’t explain the joy I felt when I found the Center.

Here are the pix from the day...

This Man

2006-11-22T19:09:00.001-06:00

overwhelmed

2006-11-22T18:07:00.000-06:00

Today I met a lady who seemed very pale. I asked how was she feeling then she and her friend told me the story. The lady who looked sick was in her late twenties, had five kids and is married to someone who abuses her.

Last Sunday she was helping her husband in his construction business and unfortunately had done something wrong. As soon as they had arrived home, he had beaten her so bad that she had to go to the hospital. The story didn't end there....She was two months pregnant...he had punched her on the stomach so she had lost her baby.

Such sadness in her eyes and so sad to think of their kids having to face all of this. It's really hard for these women to get out of these situations. The husband is the one who "brings the money at home" thus leaving him would mean starvation for her and kids. On the top of that is also the social stigma of being separated.

Some women try to escape such "hell" yet the majority returns to their abusive husbands because they think that things might change.

Keep these women in prayers....

Relationships

2006-11-20T19:16:00.000-06:00

We were created to be in relationship with God, each other and creation. God never meant us to be isolated. In fact, He said it's not good for man to be alone. However, what was supposed to be a blessing by God, in many instances has turned to be a constant torture.

Relationships...

I have been thinking more about relationships especially after I have gotten to know some of the ladies here. So many of them are abused by their husbands. Even though they suffer a lot in these relationships yet the first question they ask you is: Are you married and if you are not they wonder: Why is that???

As I was walking around in my community, a child (maybe two years old) took my hand. I asked where his mom was then he led me to her. When I met her she started to cry and told me that she had sold nothing that day. Her products were boiled corn. If the cooked corn is not sold the same day is cooked, one can't sell it the next day. She said this had happened all the week thus she had lost more than 30 dollars. She said if she would go home then her husband would treat her and kids very bad. Her husband's favorite phrase was: Those that don't bring money at home don't eat.

Today she came back to me and told me the whole story. She had been married twice. One of the kids she had with her first husband was living in another town because her present husband didn't want to have him around. He lived in extreeme poverty...The other one was living with them and she said her husband treats him very bad. On the top of that she had 3 other kids with this husband. She told me that living with him was impossible but she has to because of her kids.

On saturday she asked me to go with her and visit her son whom she doesn't see often because her husband doesn't allow her. So will see. She asked me to find a job for her and that she was ready to do anything to feed her kids.

It was really sad.....made me wonder why do people enter in such relationships. Why society makes singleness such a stigma that pushes people to enter unhealthy relationships? Is it possible to change such side of a culture?

Happy Daniel!

2006-11-17T20:56:00.000-06:00

Io+Daniel

Ma+Pa

Random Thoughts!!!

2006-11-16T20:50:00.000-06:00

Adults Education:
The day starts with chasing buses to where I need to work. As soon as one puts feet on the bus....they just leave! Seems scary but you get used to it. Then, I went to teach adults education and for the first time we had them sit in front of a computer to do some basic math.

This has been one of my best experiences since I have been here. It seems cheesy but I really felt like crying when I would see how scarred they were to touch the computer mouse. Then, suddenly they learned and loved the math exercises. The men are really good in math. There is this man, probably in his late 50's, who is so eager to study. He said he never had the chance to go to school but he learned how to read and do some math by hanging out with people who had few years of education.

Most of the adults I teach, have none or 1-3 years of education. When I asked them what would they like to learn during the class some of their answers were: To read the bus numbers and names so they can get around town, to write their kids names, to be able to read the newspaper, to write to their friends or family who are living in the US.

I usually have class with them 5-7:30 PM and it's one of the most relaxing and rewarding parts of the day...especially after teaching 5-18 years old kids most of the day.

The ages of the adult vary, from 23-59 years old. Most of them have 5-6 children and are single parents who make their living in construction, selling gums, or cleaning. They come to class with their notebooks all decorated with flowers, and other cute stuff.

Some are really shy because cannot write or read nothing. My first classes with them were really difficult since I have no experience teaching adults literacy. We had to repeat: ma, me, ba, be..and so forth all class.... to people my parents age....
It's getting better everyday!! Praise God for that!

Kids Class
Anyhow, in one of my classes with the kids, one of them had brought a cat. I asked her to leave the class (I felt such a mean teacher..but even I have some classroom rules:) As soon as I said that she busted into tears and then the other kids were really sad. It was like in the movies...They were asking if they could put the cat in a backpack. Anyhow to make the story short the girl finally left the class and found a spot for the cat. Everyone was happy and we could practice our Ecuadorian Version of Cinderella!!!

Christmas Thoughts
As I have been thinking of Christmas these last days and how it might be to celebrate it here....one of the ladies told me that her daughter wants me to be her godmother. I will be in her frst communion Dec, 25. I thought this was kind of cool. I don't know much about Catholic first communion but I guess I will learn.

Health (I feel like a victim...pray fro that)
I have some bumps on my face which hurt and are kind of scary. However, one of the ladies here made me laugh at those just by saying to me: In order to heal from those, you have to put some of you own saliva on them and massage for a couple of weeks. It reminded me of my Big Fat Greek Wedding. Tula's father use to say: Put some Windex on!!!!

New profession:
I was asked to be the professional photographer at a Nun taking Vows Ceremony (don't know if this is the right way to call it). They lended me a camera (which is more expensive than my all belongings) and want the pictures for a Jubilee Calender...(not sure what's that all about) Since sometimes me and hi-tech items have a hard time (my host parents the Van Leuweens know much about that) hopefully everything will go smoothly!

CCR

2006-11-12T07:55:00.000-06:00

For dad and Dr. Juanes Stapleford...A bit of CCR: The 60s

Albania

2006-11-12T06:13:00.000-06:00

It doesn't happen very often to open the newspaper in Quito, Ecuador and find an article about Albania. Well, it did yesterday. On the top of that someone told me that they had met 16 Albanians in Quito. Weird isn't it?

These last two years every time I introduced myself I had to introduce my country as well. Tony Wheeler, one of the co-founders of the Lonely Planet, has made my life simpler with this article and some other ones regarding Albania. It's a bit long but it's really interesting and presents Albania in a very realistic way. If you wanna visit it has some good tips:)

ALBANIA
Beaches, ruins and odd relics of communism

BY TONY WHEELER
Lonely Planet

What country has Roman and Greek ruins, a stretch of Mediterranean coast yet to be discovered by international tourism, a beautiful old mountain town with UNESCO World Heritage status, good food, wine and beer, a buzzing entertainment district in the capital city and an international airport named after the world's most famous nun?

Give up? It's Albania.

Albania! Wait a minute. Isn't that the place with the craziest strain of communism, where Stalinism and Maoism both got dropped for not being pure enough? Wasn't communism followed by a financial collapse where three-quarters of the population lost their life savings in banking pyramid schemes? Isn't the whole place littered with concrete bunkers? And Mother Teresa was Albanian?

Well, times change, and Albania certainly has.

Scanderbeg-National Hero

Mountain

I'd flown in from Vienna, wandered around the center of the capital, Tirana, to get my bearings, and at dusk found myself in Blokku -- literally "the block" -- with some Albanian friends.

"In the communist era, you simply were not allowed in the block," Nevila explained. "This whole area was completely closed off to ordinary people."

"That was Hoxha's house," she said, referring to Enver Hoxha, the man who had led Albania with an iron hand from 1944 to 1985. The dwelling she pointed to could easily have been a nondescript house in some American suburb; it certainly didn't look as if he had been squirreling the money away during his 40 years at the helm of his increasingly isolated country.

Today Hoxha could walk out the front door, cross the street and pop straight in to the Buda Bar to check what's on the cocktail list. Blokku has become the bar, cafe and restaurant center of the new Tirana.

The bright lights of Tirana might have been a colorful revelation, but it was only the first in a string of surprises that Albania would trot out throughout the next week.

The next day Nevila and I headed south to explore more of the new Albania in a week-long loop that sampled ruins, churches, beaches, castles, museums and an awful lot of food. After 40-plus years of communist short rations, Albanians seem to be eating up for lost time. At one lunchtime stop with some people we'd met, I extravagantly grabbed the check. We'd had hearty bowls of soup, plates of robust bread, bowls of the usual fresher-than-fresh salad, side plates of almonds and cheese, more plates of lasagna, washed down with bottles of mineral water and followed by bowls of early season cherries and slices of honeyed cake. The bill for the six of us came to 1,000 lek -- about $11 with a tip.

Between the coffee stops along the road, the filling lunches, the evening feasts and perhaps a little too much wine, there had also been some wonderful sights. One day I'd find myself marveling at the beautiful icons and wall paintings in the Onufri Museum in an old church in Berati; the next day it would be the magnificently dark and brooding houses of Gjirokastra. Then it was down to the coast to the Roman ruins of Butrinti, in their own little island national park and with a fine new museum on the hilltop overlooking the site.

Farther up the coast we stopped for the night at the port and low-key beach resort of Himara, where in the morning I strolled down to the beach to inspect some fine examples of Hoxha's most curious obsession: bunkers. For some reason, the dictator had got it into his head that tiny Albania was threatened by some malevolent outside force. America? Russia? Italy? Greece? China? Who knows? The solution was to litter the country with mushroom-shaped concrete bunkers where the brave citizens of Albania could retreat to defend their homeland. By the end of his reign, Albania had 700,000 of them, one for every four people in the country. There's a half-dozen of them on the beach at Himara, gazing blindly out across the Adriatic Sea toward Italy.
Bunker

Farther north, the road climbed precipitously away from the coast to the Llogaraja Pass, where for a brief spell we had beach and snow-capped peaks in the same picture frame. We dropped back down toward sea level and visited more ruins, Greek ones this time, at Apollonia, then stopped for another hearty meal looking out over the plains from a hilltop restaurant at Ardenica. The small town had another superb church in its monastery, complete with ancient wooden choir stalls and glowing golden wall paintings.

Finally, before we turned back to Tirana, there was a visit to Durresi, the country's major port. The town has a terrific new museum, a crumbling old Roman amphitheater, an imposing war memorial (the Albanians fought the German invaders during World War II with heroic ferocity) and quite the best bunker re-use I've seen anywhere in the country. There's really not much you can do with a bunker -- most of them were so small they'd be cramped as a dog kennel -- but on the beach at Durresi a larger version has been turned into the bunker bar at the Bunkeri Restaurant. Just don't stand up too quickly under the very solid sloping roof; they were designed to be tank proof.

RESOURCES
IF YOU GO
Getting there and getting around
Austrian Airlines has direct flights to Tirana from Vienna, British Airways from London and Alitalia from a number of Italian cities. A number of low-cost airlines are also starting to fly to Albania. There are regular buses and minibuses (known as furgons) around the pleasantly compact country. Traffic in the larger cities can be horrendous, but out in the country it's generally quite light, and although the roads are often narrow and winding, there is a lot of roadwork under way. Albanian driving has been variously described as "spirited" or "exciting," as proved by the roadside memorials all over the country.
Where to stay and eat
• Tirana has a number of big international hotels; the Rogner Hotel Europapark is generally rated the best hotel in the country, with rooms from $160 to $210. At the other end of the price scale you can get a bunk bed in the Tirana Backpacker Hostel for $15, or try the Hotel California (now there's a name which travels well!) for $90. The many restaurants in Blokku include the excellent Effendi, where the Ottoman cuisine reflects the country's long Turkish occupation.
• Elsewhere around the country the hotel standards can be slightly rustic, but overseas tourists are still a new phenomenon, so the warmth of the welcome more than compensates. Try the Hotel Mangalemi in Berati; it's been described as the best bed and breakfast in the country and costs $15 per person, including breakfast.

Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler has contributed to numerous guidebooks. His most recent title is East Timor.

Distributed by King Features Syndicate

challange and encouragement

2006-11-09T21:27:00.000-06:00

There are days when one wakes up and asks: What am I doing in here?? And you feel like taking the first plane home. Today was such a day for me. I had a really hard time with the kids in my classes. They just wanted to fight with each other and didn't want to learn anything. Then, I met with one of the accountants in order to figure out some stuff for the businesses (whom I could define as the ultimate macho man)who made me feel like a complete idiot. The end of the conversation was: Doll, what are you doing here? I think this is one of the worse comments I have gotten in my whole life.

As I was processing all of this, in my bus ride home, a lady sat close to me. She must have been in her 70s. She asked me my name and what I was doing here. I responded and she said: God loves what you are doing and will bless you. Then she gave me her phone number and address and invited me over at any time...especially during Christmas. She was like an angel....

HE IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL EVEN IN THE MOMENTS I LOOSE IT ALL!!! This is a song by Third Day "The Mountain of God" It's amazing and has become my encouragment song...It's worth it!!

Daniel Qesteri

2006-11-08T21:27:00.000-06:00

So...my brother and his wife just had a baby boy, Daniel Qesteri. He weights 9 pounds and is so cute:)

It was so funny the way I got to know he was born. I don't have a phone here and my parents cannot use the internet very often thus I was clueless that my sister in law was giving birth. I found out through some friends of mine who were chatting online asking prayers for Daniel's delivery.

It's such a great feeling to see my brother with his child however at the same time kind of sad that I have to wait 10 more months to meet Daniel.....but the kids here are amazing and made my day better by singing songs and giving me lots of hugs...Here is a really great song!!! Makes me laugh....

Eating with the people

2006-11-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

As I was growing up I remember people buying a 2 pound chicken and have pieces of that throughout the whole week. One day one would add patatoes the other day some rice, etc. By the end of the month (when food ratios and the small wage were gone) people would simply eat bread, or bread with some sugar and oil on the top....it was a treat to have some butter and sugar.

Somehow, I am reliving part of that childhood in here again. We went out for ice cream today...the girls were so excited. One mentioned that her famiy doesn't have the money to afford an ice cream for her and siblings.

The Center I work at blesses people with three meals per day. The people are very greatful for that. Kids eat whaterver is set on their plate. There is no place for wanting this or that; you eat whatever you have. There is no waste. Finishing up what is set before you is very important because there is nothing else to eat back at home...

weird day

2006-10-29T13:49:00.000-06:00

I have to admit that this was a really weird day. I woke up with a horrible head ache, however I had to meet with the kids I teach. During my long bus ride I realized that I had high feaver...I was cold and I didn't have any medicine with me.

I usually have a tendency to talk to strangers but this time I wasn't the initiator. During the bus ride one lady sat close by me and asked me if I was the daughter of one of her friends...I responded no and that I was a forigner. Then she left and a guy took her place and started asking me where was I from and what I was doing in Quito. I answered, but then he continued to ask all kinds of questions...that was weird and creepy so I decided to get out of the bus eventhough it was not my stop. Well, he decided that it was his stop to and started to follow me...Praise God I found a shop where there were lots of people around so I got myself lost in there.

I then arrived to the Center where I met with the kids....This was an amazing time...We went to a fast food....they wanted pizza, chicken and coca cola. They were so excited and didn't know what to choose. The sad thing was that some of the people there were looking down at them....As always they ate some and then started to ask for plastic bags so they could bring some home to their family. One of the phrases that stuck with me was when one of the kids, Ricardo, said: I feel like a rich kid....

It started to rain so I decided to go back home and my fever did that as well...I had a really high temperature and my flea bites were more ichy than ever. Most of the people in the house were out so I had to take care of myself...In few moments I got a phone call from an american missionary here. She prayed for me over the phone (this was the first time that I had prayed with another person since I had been here). The amazing thing was that in few hours my feaver was gone!!!!

Anyhow, here are a couple of short videos with the kids at the Fast food. It's fun to watch them:)
CLICK HERE and HERE

things that made me smile and laugh..

2006-10-26T22:42:00.000-06:00

Brought pizza to class today...it's impossible to describe their happiness!! They love it and don't really have the chance to have it since it's expensive...What amazed me the most was that they were asking for napkins so they could bring some to their mothers...

Talked a bit of Albanian to my kids in class....and taught them how to say "in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" in English!! They will be polyglots by the end of the year:)

15 minutes spent with the kids trying to say the word: desk....somehow they would say deks...deks...deks

Going to a shop...saying I am from Albania and the response to that was...would you wanna go out for Hawaiian dances?

A Jesuit guy expressing his love for Shakira and regetton..

One of the kids giving me a ring (plastic one)

Riding on the back of a pick up truck driven by our Priest who is from the Bronx..

a usual day in here

2006-10-25T17:34:00.000-06:00

Wake up at 6:30 take the bus to the Center where I need to teach. The bus ride is approximately one hour. The city starts getting busy from the early morning. Out of the window, of an old school bus, I see a woman breast feeding her child as she is trying to sell candies and chewingums to people driving in the main street. At the corner of the street some teen age guys are performing some circus acts. In most of the bus stops enter in people in need or vendors. Sometimes are blind people who switch on a CD player and start singing Ecuadorian love songs attempting to earn their daily living or other times are people selling the most random items.

As I arrive at the door of the center, I see an old lady selling fruit and some little kids dressed up and ready to go to work. Some have already started shinning shoes.

At the corners some of the mothers sit down and get the lice out of their kid's hair. Some of the kids chew candies (which they are supposed to sell) from the early morning. As soon as I enter the Center a lot of them jump all over saying "good morning teacher!" Two classes of English with 6th graders and then a couple of hours with the girls reading books in Spanish and talking about their daily life occurrences.

At noon I attend the Catholic mass which is a bit unusual. There is no fancy building. In fact we have mass takes place at the dinning rooms. Most of the kids sing in the choir and the songs are loud and joyful.

I take the bus again to go to another center. At that center I teach teenage girls technical English (hairdressing, sewing, vending, etc vocab.) As I try to have conversations after class with them they always ask me if I have a boyfriend, if I am going to date any of their professors cause I am a bit "old" now. Or as Tula in my Big Fat Greek Wedding says...I am passed my expiration date...It always makes me laugh when they ask me where is my boyfriend???Fiancee???Husband???Or babies???

After that I teach physical education to kids from 2nd to 6th grade. They don't usually like any game.....except soccer. Just to make it more fun we take them to the parks near by....however on the way some of the them jump on pick up trucks and buses. Some try to stand in the middle of the street saying "teacher help me" or some climb trees or different sculptures 50m tall that make your heart stop because they might fall...But they "comfort me" saying...."Teacher no worries I am a professional in all of this" and "I love you teacher".

After that is time for dealing with the businesses...This is the most fun since I had to create brochures and etiquettes in spanish related to sewing products and most important had to find places where to produce packaging for the products sheets, duvets etc.) Some advised me to look at Ecuadorian yellow pages....Impossible. So I decide to walk around and ask in different shops. Praise God, some lady gave me the phone nr of some guy who has such a business. Then I need to talk to the ladies at the sewing business about materials they use to produce, how they do it, how much it costs ...etc...I never understood that kind of jargon in albanian. In spanish sometimes is a real pain...

After that it's time for adults education. We teach spanish and math to parents who had never had the chance to study in their life time...that is a blessing.

So work closes up at 8:30 PM..

In the evening I usually have conversations with some of the other volunteers. The one tonight was kind of interesting. Here I was.....talking to a guy who is soon to become a Jesuit priest, another guy who had been one but had left the order, another one who is an atheist, and another one who is catholic but more interested in philosophy. The topics varied from the gender of God, Jesus probable offspring, homosexuality, New Testament versus Old testament, Mary's role in the life of Christ and in the Catholic church, solo scriptura versus tradition....Almost 3 hours...more debate than conversation. I really needed another evangelical with me at some point..

Few days ago I realized that I could get wireless in the corridors next to the padre's and madre's offices. So here I am sitting down in a cold floor...in an huge empty building...I hear footsteps (kind of scary). Oh..it's only the guard who approaches me. First he asks if I can sell him my computer. I say no. Then he asks me if I can buy one in the US for him. I say no and then he asks me if I can purchase an accordion online...

In the meantime as I am writing...I am as well listening to some albanian TV show (as Friedman would say the World is flat) and realizing that today is exactly the 14th month that I have been far from home. As I feel a huge emptiness inside of me, my encouragement is that in the last 5 years, as I have been living in 4 different countries, my home is Christ....

Manuel singing

2006-10-23T11:52:00.000-06:00

Last friday the Center organized a fundraising event. Some of the kids sang traditional ecuadorian songs. Manuel, the solist, has a wonederful voice. He is in one of my english classes and is one of the best students...eager to learn english....

click here to watch a video of that!!!

the shoe shine box.....

2006-10-16T17:31:00.000-06:00

One of the things that has touched me the most since I have been here has been seeing litte boys shinning shoes most of the day....Some of them are 5 or 6 and actually they make more then their older colleagues because are considered to be cute...

Ready for work

bus rides

2006-10-08T16:00:00.000-06:00

Everyday I take the bus to go to the Center where I teach. The bus ride is approximately 1 hour.....Well it might sound a lot but it really goes fast. During the bus trips many people enter in and try to sell items....from chewing gums and candies to wallets, CD, DVD etc. They usually make a speach for about 15 minutes and ask you to hold their merchadise in your hands....They have great selling and communication skills!! Here is a video of that!!

Juan's bday

2006-10-08T12:29:00.002-06:00

Last thursday one of my students, Juan, had his bday. He turned 12 years old. So I decided to have a little party. I brought cookies, chips, had the bday song playing for him etc. I placed the treats on the table and everyone started to sing to Juan. Then I said, let's get something to eat. As soon as I said that everything disappeared from the table....there were wraps everywhere, chips etc. It didn't turned out as I had initially thought...However it was very cool and they helped clean up afterwards. Here is a short video of them saying Hello in english. They are the best....I want to adopt them all

Catholic devotion

2006-10-04T20:14:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I participated in a Catholic bible study. We talked about Ignatius Loyola and used one of his exercises, contemplation, to enter in His presence and to better understand scripture. The bible passage we looked at was the Wedding at Cana. In all my previous experiences with that bible passage the focus has been at Jesus performing his first miracle and thus beginning His public ministry. Some other time has been reference to symbols such as the vine, or the wedding (church and Christ), or at the reason why that one was his first miracle and not any healing or raising from the dead so everyone could see. Actually, in this case only the servants get to know about the miracle...the groom and steward are clueless.

However this time the focus shifted and the emphasis was on Mary. We looked at Mary as the initiator of Jesus miracle…as she being the one to encourage Him. Thus without her He wouldn’t have done that. So we ended with a Hallowed Mary prayer.

Then, we talked about the importance of prayer. One of the things that I had never known about Catholic theology was that prayer is considered as putting oneself in contact with God, or any person in heaven or purgatory. The only time I had heard talking about purgatory was when I read Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy.

I had so many questions to ask to the people that were leading the bible study however I decided to let it go.

2006-10-01T14:04:00.000-06:00

kids in computer class

Jeff-religion prof.

other volunteers (jeff, sara, jenn, miriam)

view from my window

my room

my room

kids

church found!!!

2006-10-01T12:55:00.000-06:00

Few days ago I was taking the bus to the place I work. While riding the bus I saw a sign of a church, Assemblies of God, it's the same denomiantion as the one I use to go to in Albania. So today I decided to walk there knowing that maybe I will not find it and maybe I would get lost. It took me an hour to get there but I did it. They had people standing at the door and asked me where I was from. My answer always amazes people here....Albania!!! They were very excited to have me there. Made me sit at the front row (which I never liked)and had a public welcome for me. It was fun....a very pentacostal church....It was weird since lately I have been attending so many catholic masses...

Then, I decided to take the bus and go to the center of the city...where I found a coffee shop that has wireless conection...Yeay...

pixies

2006-09-30T13:28:00.000-06:00

Kids here love Karate...

This is Maria. She cooks for the volunteers...I love her!!! She is from an indigenous group in Quito. She reminds me so much of the mexican soap operas characters that my mom used to watch

Other kids

2006-09-24T16:31:00.000-06:00

One of the greatest blessings during my time in Quito has been teaching English to boys of 7 to 13 years old who spent most of their days shinning shoes. They don’t even use a brush for that…but use their hands which are totally black. Many of them start to work when they are 5 years old and bring home 80% of the family income. The Mission I am working at, has established specific hours for them to get educated so that they don’t quit their jobs, which would mean starvation for the entire family. Some of them come at 5 PM to take an English class. It’s amazing how much they love to learn English. (their favorite phrases are: I love soccer…I am fine thank you!! and hotdog). I start my classes with a prayer and most of them want to pray…..they know by heart so many catholic prayers.

I am teaching a Technical English class to girls of 12-20 years old. During my first class I asked them about their dreams and most of them answered they wanted to become hairdressers…It was kind of sad that they had no desire to pursue higher education or do something different than that.I really like that class because I can converse with them and know more about the youth here.

One of the stressful things has been working with small businesses. I am assisting a sewing business which is basically bankrupt. The ladies have produced amazing stuff but no one buys them as well as they cannot find any contractors. It’s stressful to me because I am not really fluent in Spanish thus I cannot really understand them and I don’t really know the market here.

Albania always comes up…in some way..The other day on the national Ecuadorian newspaper was an article about Albania. They even had words in Albanian for those who wanted to learn something…That was really weird.

Quito is amazing…so beautiful. There are so many things that remind me of Albania which at times is good and at times not that good cause it really makes me homesick….

Thanks to Juan Stapleford, my Professor/papa Americano I got to know a guy who had been to Ecuador who introduced me to a family of missionaries here. They kind of adopted me so I spent some of my weekends with them which makes me feel like being at home.

Weird as well has been teaching Physical education to 60 kids. I never liked Phys Ed….After those classes there is no more energy and voice left.

I also have enjoyed the Catholic mass…it’s very different from I thought it would be. The worship is very loud, and the priest always relates his sermon to real life examples.

people here are so loving...lot´s of hugs and kisses which makes it much easier…

2006-08-31T22:45:00.000-06:00

Third Day - Cry Out To Jesus

Last Day in the USA

2006-08-31T18:44:00.000-06:00

Today was my last day in the US...I really had an awesome time. I met with my friend Soong Young from South Korea. She is my same age and from our conversations we have come to understand that our cultures have so many values in common. She was one of the first people I met when I came to Philly who encouraged me with her big smile and hugs. At the beginning of the year it was hard to have a normal conversations because we couldn't understand each other much...but now it was amazing how much we could talk...The funny thing was driving with her and listening to Latino music.

I really had a good introduction to the Korean culture. We talked about their history, I heard lot's of spoken Korean (I couldn't understand a word) and then we met with a korean man who was 70 years old who reminded me so much of the wise teacher in the movie "Karate Kid"....remember: wax on...wax off. He was a Korean immigrant who had come to the US thirty years ago and now was running 3 Sushi restaurants in Center Philadelphia. I was amazed at how humble he was. He bought and served us the best Sushi, Japanese soup, green tea, and was trying to teach me to eat with chopsticks....Well that was kind of mission impossible. I tried but I was kind of slow so by the end he gave me a fork...

ah.....he knew about Albania so that made me happy too....After that I came back home and finished packing...So I am ready to go...Such a weird feeling...Tomorrow by this time I will be in Quito!!

Taste of home.......

2006-08-28T19:43:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was great....God provides in ways that I can't even imagine!!!

In the afternoon I went to the Albanian Church in Philly. I worshiped in my own language!!! Yeah!!!

In front of me stood the pastor who led my home church in Albania for 3 years and now he is in Philly. I was feeling like I was back home in Tirana.

After that I went to dinner with some of my friends at a restaurant in Center Philly. The weirdest thing happened.....next to us were sitting 6 Albanian guys...

The people who drove me home played Albanian and Greek music and we had a very tasty Greek salad.

It kind of helped me overcome the homesickness that was coming out more especially in these days as I am getting ready to head to Quito.

Who knows I might find Albanians in Quito as well...."the world is flat"

Communist times.....

2006-08-27T05:30:00.000-06:00

During my time in the US I have had the chance to share about my memories during Communist times in Albania. I only experienced 10 years of that but somehow I have very vivid memories.

I still remember the same plastic doll (Moza) that every little girl had; the same style of furniture, same clothing styles, even the same poses in pictures which every family would take in the main square. The picture of the dictator hanging on the wall of most homes, the long queues to buy milk in the morning (type of FIFO....The ones that came first would have the chance to buy...The others oh well...)

I remember as well the very rationalized food; a specific amount of flour, butter, and meat that people could buy. The poems about dictator, the fact that Mother Party was our second mother (which for me as a child was a very abstract concept because how could I have a second mother if she was intangible and I couldn't see her???) The 100% or even more fulfillment of Plans while people were starving, isolation from the rest of the world, the capitalistic enemy, my dad listening to American country music in secret..(he could have been imprisoned for that if anyone knew),pioneer scarves...

Anyhow this is a very interesting video of Albania in 1945 click here

And since we are coming close to the Labor day in the US I thought of having this video of Labor day in Albania during Communist times. Labor Day was the biggest event in the country.....long parades in front of the dictator. Please click here....

mix to mix pix

2006-08-24T20:27:00.000-06:00

Some pictures mix 2 mix....click here

Goodbye USA!!!!!!

2006-08-23T19:33:00.000-06:00

Since I will be leaving the US in a week I thought of writing down some of the highlights of my time here. I don't really know how or where to start (there is so much). Maybe I should use different categories. I think that will work...

1. Diversity
One of the things that I have loved the most here has been diversity......People from so many cultures coming to study, visit, work or live in the US. Some of the nationalities I have encountered during my time here have been: Albanian, Albanian of Kosovo, Bosnian, Serbian, Italian, Jamaican, Lithuanian, Congolese, Lebanese, Colombian, Puerto Rican, Argentinean, Honduran, Chilean, Ecuadorian, Korean, Egyptian, Indian, Libyan, Kenyan, Canadian, Dutch, Mexican, Croatian, Russian, Macedonian, Malwian, Sudanese.

2. Places visited:
Pennsylvania-Nebraska-Delaware-Ohio-Michigan-Indiana-Washington DC-New York City-Virginia

3. New finding about myself:
according to the Myers Briggs.....I am a EPSF.....

4. Phrases most used and encountered:
-Hi, my name is Lorna and I am from Albania....
-Refresh my memory/sorry for ignorance/I have never been good in geography....... but where is that????
-Close to Italy and Greece...
-Ahhhaaaaaaa

5. New experiences:
Rode on a 4 wheeler by using my reflexes (at least that was how my Nebraska couch taught me), made a rope, cruised without knowing I was supposed to hit on guys, ate octopus, shopped on a black friday, trained as a waitress for 3 hours, baked baklava using tortilla layers, stopped by police, drove in Nebraska, went on a blind date without knowing it was a date, had a marriage proposal, talked to an Amish man, conversed with a native american Reverend, watched american football for hours, listened to Bach, ate raw fish, bought a pepper spray, didn't watch TV for months, slept on the floor at a mall.

6. New names I was called:
Lorna Doone, Dooner, Lorna Cabborna, Tina, Sheila the 2nd, Morna, Dora, Lora, Lorena, Lornita but most important many people wanted my last name to to be Questeri and not Qesteri

7. Weird occurrences:
having a turkish coffee at the Albanian coffee shop in Philly, finding one of my secondary school classmates, talked to Jim Wallis

8. Food I really liked:
Strawberry Honey Bunches, Chicken Faijitas, Mediterranean Pizza, Pecan Caramel Pie, Salsa and Tortilla chips
Coffee&Beverages: Caramel Machiato, Vanilla Latte, Caramel Cai, Diet Cream Soda

9. Best places to hang out at when you feel like you have no home:
BORDERS and BARNES AND NOBLE....I am really thankful to the people who invented and established those places....

10. Places to take a nap when you feel like you have no home:
Benches at Haverford Park, Eastern University cafeteria sofas

11. Things I have destroyed:
Host parents air conditioner, 1 baking sheet, 3 glasses, 5 pair of shoes, 1 pair of sun glasses, toilet (this one I actually fixed it all by myself), 3 pairs of headphones...........and my hair (colored it 4 times in a month..the desired color was not coming out...had to give up after the 4th try)

12. Things I wish I had done:
Gone to a Third Day concert, visit Memphis and Nashville, see the Pacific Ocean, learn to drive:(

Serious stuff....

I have felt so blessed in so many ways during my time here.

I came in the US through a miracle....Thanks to the call and hard work of Linwood Geiger who was honored at Eastern through the creation of a Scholarship, the first recipient of which was I.

God provided not only one but three families that loved me as a daughter and sister: the Staplefords; the Ochsners and the Van Leeuwens.

He blessed me with new wonderful friendships and strengthened some old ones

Having a lot of time to spare, since I was not working, I had the chance to spend more time with Him, people, and appreciate the beauty of His creation.

God provided financially when it seemed that there was nothing left...

The following song will be a reminder of my times here:

Mountain of God

Thought that I was all alone
Broken and afraid
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

And I didn't even know
That I had lost my way
But You were there with me
Yes, You were there with me

'Til You opened up my eyes
I never knew
That I couldn't ever make it
Without You

Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on
After all that I've been through
Now I realize the truth
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

As I travel on the road
That You have lead me down
You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me
I have need for nothing more
Oh, now that I have found
That You are here with me
Yes, You are here with me

I confess from time to time
I lose my way
But You are always there
To bring me back again

Sometimes I think of where it is I've come from
And the things I've left behind
But of all I've had, what I possessed
Nothing can quite compare
With what's in front of me
With what's in front of me

good byes

2006-08-14T21:00:00.000-06:00

Goodbyes are so consuming but somehow I had to say so many during these last years. The last weekend was hard since I got to say bye to some people whom I really love and have no idea if I am going to see again. I really want to go to Jenn's wedding:)though....

Got to spent sometime with a friend on saturday around center Philly; checked out the Albanian flag that looked great!!!!!!!!!

Walked the famous stairs in which Silvester Stallone played Rocky; )saw many weddings taking place;

I spent sometime with Deb today...(such a well grounded woman:)lot's of laughs and chatting...

At this point I can't wait to leave to Ecuador...I am really counting the days. The final 16 ....

A friend of mine send me this little thought:

I was regretting the past
and fearing the future.
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:

My name is I AM.” He paused.
I waited. He continued.

When you live in the past,
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WAS.

When you live in the future,
With its problems and fears,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment,
It is not hard. I am here.
My name is I AM.

Graduation

2006-07-28T20:28:00.000-06:00

Wow...the day came and I graduated from grad school in the US!!!!
Well...it wasn't a real graduation but a commissioning ceremony since officially we finish in December. I thought I would not like to wear the cap and the gown but it was good overall. A relief of being almost done but at the same time sad to leave some people whom I really got attached.

Ecuador

2006-07-21T07:06:00.000-06:00

One of my classmates, Joel Nsongo (Jo-Jo from DR Congo), was so nice as he drove me all the way to Washington where I had to process my visa to Ecuador.

At first I was kind of anxoius about it because I didn't really know if they would consider me under their juridiction but everything went fine. I left the embassy with a new stamp in my passport, a proof that I am really going there...and a new chapter is about to start!!!

I am scared but at the same time very excited.

This is the center I am going to work at:

Centro Del Muchacho Trabajador

Soccer World Cup 06'

2006-07-10T06:47:00.000-06:00

I can't believe they made it!!!! Italy is the 06' World Champion in Soccer!!!

Fifa

Yeahhh... it was very interesting to follow the World Cup in the US. Soccer here is not that big of a deal as it is in Europe. In Albania for example most of the coffee shops/bars/restaurants are full of people who come together and watch the games in large screens. It's like a social event....

However, I found a group of international students (mostly from Africa) at Eastern with whom we had lots of fun cheering....
I was the only one cheering for Italy since most of people consider italians cheaters but it was fine too!!!

Here is a funny video that a friend of mine pointed out regarding Italy trainning sessions and how they fake injuries...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccDyp2aRRCg

An Albanian in Washington DC

2006-07-05T20:16:00.000-06:00

police: ID please
me: I just have my passport...
police: Where are you from?
me: Albania
police: Al......what? Albany???
me: Albania!!!!!police: Ahhhh (as she knew:)....phone number please...we will contact you.....

These were some of the words I exchanged with a police woman in DC....Never thought that I might encounter that...Well, it all started when I left Philly on a China town bus (only 15 $..can you believe that???) to go to DC, to meet my brother Ioan, whom I had not seen in a year. Ioan and meI arrived in DC @ noon and was supposed to meet him @ 5 PM, thus had a lot of time to wonder around. I got to know China town by heart since I was going around and around. As the time was approaching, I decided to go back to the bus station. I sat at a stairway and don't know what happened but I started to cry. Maybe it was because I was going to meet my brother after a long time and the idea that he would be the only family member I would see till Aug. 07'.....but as well because of some major changes that have occurred in my life lately.

Suddenly...someone sat close to me. I said hi. At first, I couldn't tell if was a woman or a man. From the appearance it seemed as a man but the voice was of a woman. I introduced myself and then she said: Hi, I am...but everyone calls me FILA (just like the tennis shoes). FILA is 42 years old, had been living in the streets all her life, her father had been beating her mother till the point that FILA said she wanted to kill him. Her parents were both dead, she had many siblings but didn't talk to any of them. As she started to talk about her mother she started to cry. I asked if she ever prayed for her. She said she alyways did...and that she always prayed to Jesus. She smelled like alchool and had in her hands a big bottle of beer. She said that her biggest problem is drinking, the only thing she thought she had refuge. She attended a Christian shelter but didn't like to participate in the groups they had for them. She said she wanted to change but did't have the strength and had no friends or family members that could encourage her.FILA: "I don't do any drugs...see that guy over there??? Now he is going to do crack cocaine...That man passed us by and asked her to go with him but she didn't.

Then, another man approched us. He had his two ears pierced and looked hispanic. She introduced me to him and then out of the blue that guy asked: "so Lorna, are you a party girl???" I replied "No I am not!!" he asked "why is that??".I don't know where did it come from but I said: "because there are so many people suffering in the world so I don't feel like partying!. He said: "Who is suffering????they all deserve that. I am from Chile, my mom was an immigrant and worked her b... in the US. I have studied at Yale and have been all around the world". Then, he started to show me parts of his legs, arms and face that were full of scars. He said "....see these signs? Those f...... somalian kids did this to me. I was with the US troops in Somalia. As long as we would provide food they were happy...but they always wanted more...till the point that they would explode granades if we didn't give them what they want. We got to talk a bit about US foreign policy and its impact in poor countries and then he asked me to write his phone nr. because he would come to Philly and he had some friends who were really into politcs. For him being in the US was the best thing in the world. After he left FILA said: he is a horrible man..cheats on his wife and gets all the money she earns. FILA's cousin ..... came by. She said he is the only person in the world that helps her. He as well smelled like alchool and shared FILA's bottle of beer. He made his living (some of that he would give to FILA to buy bread or beer) by informing China bus clients on prices and time schedules. He looked like a very nice guy..FILA said he was devastated because his wife and kids had left him. FILA wanted to take me out....she said " come on stand up....she grabbed me and we went to a counter where some Christians were distributing free food...She treated me with a hotdog:))) She said: I am so happy to have a friend now...and then wanted to take a picture of us.
She gave me her disposable camera as a present. I said "FILA I will develop the film and will sent to you" She said "No way......please promise me you will come back and visit. Then she was telling me that she wanted to quit drinking and start a new life" and was waiting with me for my brother and his freinds to come so we could have a word of prayer for her:)

BUT a "wierd looking man" came by...He said something to me that I did't even understand. FILA got very upset and stood up and they started to fight. He then pulled a knife and placed it on her neck. He said he wanted to kill her..then she asked her cousin to give her the gun. I was "attempting" to stop them but her cousin asked me to jump on the bus...cause I was in danger. Frank tried to calm them down. Few moments after the wierd looking man walked away.A police car was coming by and FILA ran towards it. She was telling the police: a man tried to kill us". The police woman didn't believe her and pushed her to the car and started to check her. Then, she came towards me and asked what I had seen.
police: These people do drugs all day long and then kill each other.
me: FILA doesn't
police: I just found crack in her pockets. . You dont know....I am around here every day. This is usual here. WELCOME TO WASHINGTON!!!!
FILA: I don't take drugs....I don't...I don't....(shouting)

The police woman told me she would contact me and showed the middle finger to FILA and then left. I think my face changed _expression since I understood FILA was lying. I think she understood...and she said: What...what..what !!!!and started to walk away. I called her and tried to follow her but she disappeared somewhere. Frank said: she needs time to meditate....I was thinking that this story went way too far and out of control so I decided to walk to a Starbucks and wait for my brother. He and friends came a bit later...it was so good to see them:)I thank God for giving me the opportunity to spent those hours at that place with them....it was an introduction to a part of life that I had never encountered... As I was talking to each of them I was somehow imagining how their life would be different if they had God. FILA is really in my heart...please pray for her. Pray that she will continue to go to the shelter, to the support group in a Baptist church near by, that she will meet people that will show her love and for a radical change in her life. After that expereince the tears I was crying for myself and some issues in my life looked so insignificant...