A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

  Who knew that a mere four hour drive from my apartment through the beautiful mountains surrounding Kosovo would take me to the seaside? Make that “Albania’s     beautiful shore on the Adriatic Sea.”   Over the mountains and... Durres . I did not visit the Roman Amphitheatre there. I did not go to the castle or visit the museum. I did not stroll around the 9 th century church with its mosaic walls. I didn’t even check those sites out. Nor did I ask about them.  I went to the beach. I rested. I soaked in the sun and waded in the chilly water. I picked up stones washed smooth along the shore. I pushed my feet into the soft warm sand. I breathed the clean air and let the breeze wash over me like a sweet song to my soul. But the best part of it all was spending time with friends both old and new. The church I attend in Prishtina partnered with a sister church in Kosovo to plan this retreat. In addition, a team of believers from the United Sta...

I fainted. It wasn’t that sweet, Scarlett O’Hara kind of fainting where you wake up, bat your eyelashes and look beautiful. I don’t do that kind. More about that later. First, I need to share what brought this on. I developed acute bronchitis. (Yes, I self-diagnosed that one.) I started treating myself with a few home remedies such as tea, honey, and the like.  Curiously enough you can get antibiotics over-the-counter in Kosovo so I started myself on a Z-Pack.  I took the first two of the three-day sequence without much improvement leading me to think my bronchitis may be viral instead of bacterial.  Still, I finished the tablets on Tuesday and headed to school Wednesday morning.  I had that deep, chesty, “2 pack-a-day” cough even though I’ve never smoked. No other symptoms. No fever or anything.  Starve a fever, feed a cold didn’t apply, so I ate.  Wednesday, I had a light breakfast and went to work.   I mad...

Having the opportunity to fly to Malta for Spring Break is certainly a perk of living in southeastern Europe. While some of my friends took off for England or Austria (been there, done that) and another headed for Croatia (jealous), my friend Grace and I decided to head south to an island in the middle of the Mediterranean.   We made the right choice. Malta is incredibly beautiful. While I’m sure I missed a number of tourist attractions, the water and sunshine called my name.  My rendition of the Malta seashore. Day 1 : Grace and I both like to draw and paint so our first adventure was to take our art supplies, head to the water’s edge and sketch. Of course our supplies are limited. It was simply impossible to capture the true colors reflected in the sea. But it was fun trying. That day we also found a great seaside restaurant with wonderful pasta and seafood. What a treat! We walked along the coastline taking in one remarkable view after another. This i...

  Right when I wonder what I’ll write about next, I’m invited to a wedding. An Albanian wedding for one of the night guards at our school. I was honored to be included.  I asked my friend Jill about protocol. I wanted to know if there was a gift registry or something I should be checking. I asked about what I should do or not do at the wedding and, of particular interest to me was what I should wear. Jill patiently walked me through each question. May I just say how wonderful it is to have friends here who have had these experiences and willing share everything they know?  My friend and coworker, Fitim, was picking me up. The wedding started at 7:00. At first he said he would come for me at 6:30. Then 6:50. I guessed the wedding was close by. He arrived a couple of minutes after seven and we still had to pick up someone else. I asked him about the time.  “Oh, it starts at seven which means guests can arrive between seven and eight. We don’t want t...