EL Fellow in Albania Blog

Hello dear friends, family, students, and colleagues!

I promised you all a blog as a way to follow along with my teaching-learning-growing adventure in Albania. Welcome! If you were at the epic sendoff party put on by Foti Family Fun productions, then you may have seen the reference atlas-- so many of us had zero references for Albania-- cultural or geographic. If not, take a gander to the right. I will be teaching a handful of classes at Fan S. Noli University in Korce, Albania. It's called "the Paris of Albania" as it was briefly occupied by the French between the world wars and had a French language lyceum at one time. There lots of medieval ruins in the surrounding Morava mountains. I'm excited to be in a city with an old Ottoman bazaar, cobblestone streets, and balcony-windows that were once used to serenade love songs. Korce/Korca is also home to the famous Birra Korca Brewery, the first beer brewed in Albania.  I'm excited to be in such a unique and culturally-rich post.

I am still quite busy. moving the final personal items out of my apartment in Kingston in preparation for my subletter to arrive at the end of the month. After 7 years and countless hobbies, I've acquired a lot of possessions-- some treasures, some ready for a new life. It's been a lot of work clearing the space, but also very refreshing as I begin a new chapter. 

My beloved cat, Hans, couldn't be in better hands with his foster family: Emily, Evan, and Julian. Emily is the sister of one of my oldest and closest friends. They all love him like I do. Hans seems to love them right back with lots of affection and cuddles.  Hans seems so happy to have more space, more windows, and a sweet 6 year old to play with. He already lost two lbs from all of the exercise up and down the stairs!

I've actually got to go visit Hans and head back upstate to continue moving. I'm heading into work this week to translate some exams and wrap up some documents. I'll continue posting as often as I can. 

Thanks for following along!