Kosovo: Chapter 6, Scene 4 Attention Foodies

 One of the biggest fears people have when asked to move half way around the world centers around eating. “What if I don’t like the food?” I understand. When I visited Italy I knew I would like the food. When I visited India I knew I would eat Indian food. I knew it was spicy. I wasn’t as sure how I would handle it. But those were short trips so any fears I had were short lived.

When I moved to Kosovo, I brought a few packages of Ramen noodles and some dried soup mixes with me. Okay, that would last about a week. I was here for ten months minimum so I have no idea what I was thinking. I guess the dried mixes were a stopgap measure until I figured out where the market was located.

I’ve shared in earlier posts that my fears were unfounded. There is a market on every street corner filled with fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs.  Fresh baked bread abounds. And my school cafeteria is above excellent with freshly cooked meals made from scratch.

This "casserole" is like a pot pie X4!

So today I decided it was time to let you in on the biggest and best kept secret of living in Prishtina. The restaurants.

Like most cosmopolitan areas, Prishtina has an abundance of coffee shops and specialty bakeries. But it is the restaurant scene that is amazing.

When my daughter visited me I took her to three of my favorite restaurants in the city. The first, Liburnia serves delicious traditional Albanian fare. The atmosphere is incredible and the service is wonderful. I’m starting to sound like a travel show host. Sorry. I can’t help it. This was my fourth time there. We started with a traditional dish of grilled peppers and cream. It is outstanding. We pulled apart pieces of the warm crusty bread we had just watch come out of the brick oven and dipped it in the cream sauce.  We ordered a meat and vegetable casserole for one and split it. We couldn’t eat it all.

"Old House" is a great place
if you want a sandwich...or steak!.

Another of my favorites in Prishtina is the “Old House.” The atmosphere again is wonderful and the food is great. One of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten was at Old House. They have really good sandwiches as well. This is the place my friend Kuma and I went to practice my Albanian language skills. I did the ordering so now you can also guess the servers are extremely patient and kind.

When I’m in the mood for Italian, my favorite place is called Restaurant Pinocchio. They serve the best Italian dishes with a little Albanian flair. I’ve been there three or four times and I’ve never been disappointed. I try something different every time and love it. Part of what I love about this restaurant, too, is its location. If you sit upstairs you have a spectacular view of the city. 

I love the food at Pinocchio's!

My daughter enjoyed all three. But there's more. 

The best Thai food I’ve ever eaten is at the Thai restaurant…no other name…on what we call restaurant row. The family that runs it knows what they’re doing. It is a favorite for many of the Prishtina High School teachers. On that same street is the Spanish restaurant and an international restaurant called Princessa Gresa.

I’ve enjoyed grilled fish at the Greek restaurant, meat and potatoes at a sweet place called Home restaurant, and I ate the best Indian food I’ve had in a long time at a tucked away place known as the Himalayan.

It’s not that I eat out that much, but when I want to enjoy something delicious, I don’t have to dream about it. It is a taxi ride or bus ride away from my apartment. Of course if I need an American “fix,” There’s always KFC.

Join me in Kosova (the Albanian pronunciation for Kosovo) in Southeastern Europe. Each week I share my experiences. Leave your comments and questions below. I’ll try to address each as best I can. And if you don't want to miss a post, simply add your email address in the box on the right where it says "Follow by email." 

Kosovo: Chapter 6, Scene 3 Happy Birthday!

PHS TEACHERS AND STAFF CELEBRATE KOSOVO TOGETHER ON THE SCHOOL BALCONY

I teach fourth grade. Ten-year-olds are an interesting lot. They are full of hope and dreams and sure they can do it all! They’re industrious and anxious to learn everything they can about the way the world works. Of course they’re still learning how to get along with others around them, but they keep trying, working out the nuances of communicating with people they didn’t know until coming into this class. I love my students.

 

I was at a huge birthday party this past weekend with some friends. Actually, it was a huge bash with thousands in attendance. It was in celebration of Kosovo’s Independence Day. Ten years ago, after a war at the turn of the century and eight plus years of NATO peacekeeping forces on the ground, Kosovo officially became a nation.

February 17^th was a day of celebration. As some of my teacher friends and I stood together for the big celebration and concert on Mother Teresa Boulevard, it occurred to me a nation goes through many of the same growing pains we do as people.

Kosovo, so young and full of energy is still learning how the world works and how they fit into the scheme of it all. These are a people full of hopes and dreams, not only for themselves but for their descendants, the future of Kosova.

Half of Kosovo’s population is under thirty years old. There was an excitement in the atmosphere that evening that was almost palatable. Families and friends enjoyed the night of music and festivities. Children were hoisted on their father’s shoulders to see Prishtina born singer Rita Ora and enjoy the fireworks.

I felt so blessed to be a part of it all. But then, I’m a mom. I know the joy of ten-year-olds. I only pray the nation is ready for the teen years.

Join me in Kosova (the Albanian pronunciation for Kosovo) in Southeastern Europe. Each week I share my experiences. Leave your comments and questions below. I’ll try to address each as best I can. And if you don't want to miss a post, simply add your email address in the box on the right where it says "Follow by email." 

Kosovo: Chapter 6, Scene 2 A Package From Home

When my daughters were away at camp or in college, I made it a point to send them  packages from home. I sent them cards or letters from time-to-time (this was pre-internet) but a package was a treat. In it I would put a few of their favorite treats along with a small gift. They appreciated it. I didn’t know how much those “little things” meant though until I moved to Kosovo.

This past week I received a special package from home. In it were a few of my favorite treats, packets of seasonings I can’t find here, and hot chocolate mixes among other things. It felt like a holiday as I pulled each item from the bag. Books, cards, a small compact and hairbrush were in there as well as a couple of things some of my friends needed…or wanted.

The best gift of all though was the one who delivered the package to me…my daughter, Kendall! Talk about a treat! Kendall presented at a conference in Berlin. When the conference was over, she grabbed a plane to Prishtina and spent the weekend with me!

Kendall arrived on Friday afternoon, so she was able to meet the students in my class, my friends at work, and tour my school. She even gave a talk to the eleventh and twelfth grade students about her career. 

Over the weekend, we rode the bus and took a walk in Germia Park. (Yes, that big yellow bus that inadvertently took me on my first tour of the city!  CLICK HERE for that experience!) I showed her where I shop for groceries and we walked through downtown Prishtina.  

On Sunday, Kendall went with me to my church.  It was fun to take her to some of my favorite restaurants where we enjoyed amazing food. Now she can envision my life here when I talk about people and places. It was exactly what I needed…and didn’t know it. It is one thing to live in an amazing place like Prishtina but another to get to share it with someone you love.

The treats from home are great. Touring the city with Kendall was wonderful. But my favorite part of her visit? The warm hugs and late-into-the-night talks with my sweet girl.

Join me in Kosova (the Albanian pronunciation for Kosovo) in Southeastern Europe. Each week I share my experiences. Leave your comments and questions below. I’ll try to address each as best I can. And if you don't want to miss a post, simply add your email address in the box on the right where it says "Follow by email." 

Kosovo: Chapter 6, Scene 1 Learning Albanian...My Way

“Miremengjes.”

“Faleminderit”

There. You have the extent of what I remembered of Albanian from 2005 when Tom and I were here last. “Good Morning” and “Thank You.” The two phrases were a start, but if I was going to be a part of the community, I decided I needed to learn more.

Reason #1-When you live abroad, it is respectful to learn the language of your host country. Albanian is the prominent language in Kosova.

Reason #2- Pointing to something will only get you so far. Communication is a valuable asset when you’re traveling.

Finding an Albanian teacher is easy... so of course you know I didn’t take that route. I wasn’t as anxious to learn verb tenses and a long vocabulary list as I was to talk with the man at the market or the woman on the bus.

I’m a teacher. I’ve studied human development and language acquisition. I see two-year-old children speaking Albanian and they don’t have a clue about letter names and their corresponding sounds.

Zeqir and his family are patient with my Albanian
 as I order food in the cafeteria.

I decided to learn Albanian my way. I started by trying to communicate. Just as babies babble until they figure out the sounds that get the best responses, I listened and tried words out as my volunteer mentors helped me take “baby steps.” The man at the supermarket taught me the word for six when I bought a half dozen eggs. The bus driver taught me “miredita” which means have a good day, as he waved goodbye to me. My newfound friend on the bus worked with me on the pronunciation of “shehemi” which means “see you” as in “see you later.” I bought my macchiato when Zeqir in the cafeteria taught me how to say “A ban nje macchiato.”

My beautiful friend, Kuma is a great help!

My friend, Kuma and I went out to eat after church one Sunday afternoon. She teaches Albanian. I explained to her I want to learn to speak before I learn to read or write Albanian. That afternoon, she told me what to say and I practiced by ordering our food and getting the check. She helped me with my pronunciation and taught me to count. It was a wonderful lunch. Our next "lesson" is going to be at a store where I hope to learn how to ask for specific items and maybe know what to look for on a few labels.

In the meantime, I keep practicing by talking with the friendly people around me. They are happy to help. Albanian Kosovars are gracious people.

I was pretty sure I was making great headway. I worked hard to pronounce all of my students' names. Rina, Renea, Reina, Erina, and Mrika were my big challenges. I practiced rolling my r's. I was excited recently when the taxi service answered me in Albanian instead of English. Could he really not tell I'm an American on the phone? Wow! I was filled with pure joy and full of myself. I walked in my classroom ready to tackle the day...then one of my students laughed at the way I say my “r’s.”

“Miss, you say your r’s like you’re from Gjakova!”

Well, at least Gjakova is in Kosova instead of Ohio. Maybe I’m learning the language after all. One baby step at a time.

Join me in Kosova (the Albanian pronunciation for Kosovo) in Southeastern Europe. Each week I share my experiences. Leave your comments and questions below. I’ll try to address each as best I can. And if you don't want to miss a post, simply add your email address in the box on the right where it says "Follow by email."