Paddle Boating

Our usual rental station.  The best boat by far is number 5.

I have a new favorite summer activity - paddle boating.  I never considered myself a paddle boat enthusiast, but I never lived in Albania before.  Let me explain.  Summers in Albania are slow.  People take long vacations and we volunteers are supposed to take time to meet people and get to know our communities.  I live in the coastal city of Durrës, and my sitemate (the other volunteer who lives in Durrës) and I spend a lot of time at the beach.  I won't incriminate myself by admitting just how much time...

We were introduced to the paddle boats by an Albanian friend, and continued the habit out of both pleasure and necessity.  Initially, we didn't even consider renting a paddle boat.  Maybe we didn't think it would be all that entertaining, or we were not thinking out of the box, whatever.  But he suggested we go one day and it was a blast.  After that we returned to our life on the beach chairs.  But soon, the beach started to get crowded.  And fairly dirty.  And really really hot.  Coming from Memphis, I know heat.  But Durrës isn't just hot in the summer, it is roasting. You sweat walking down the street at 8 am.

 Anyway, one afternoon Kim and I decided to take out a paddle boat again and it changed our beach lives.  After 15 minutes of paddling, we were far away from the crowded coast, the soccer balls whizzing by our heads, the endless offers to buy fruit, rafts, peanuts, sunglasses, etc.  We avoided the chained bear who's walked up and down the beach, the palm readers, the women selling squirts of olive oil for 20 cents.  (That is sun bathing Mediterranean-style.)  Out on the water, we were 20 degrees cooler and could swim in clean water.  Within a few trips, we went from renting a boat for one hour to renting one for two or three.  We perfected the art of keeping water bottles partly frozen, reading the currents, and keeping our stuff dry.  Heaven in Durrës.

Then we hit a snag.  The beaches get more are more crowded as the summer goes on.  Many visitors are Albanian, but many more are from Kosovo.  Apparently Durrës is the closest beach for them to visit, so they come in droves in July and August.  Don't get me wrong, people from Kosovo are delightful.  I hope to visit as soon as Peace Corp's mandatory first-3-months-in-country lock down is over.  But when the men get in groups and take out paddle boats, especially on the weekends, they can be, let's say "overly friendly." 

At first we politely engaged when they would paddle out to us on the open sea.  Then they started to get a bit too aggressive.  We tried engaging in conversation.  We tried calmly dismissing them.  We tried blatantly ignoring them.  Nothing worked.  Then we discovered the only solution that allowed us to retain our peace and serenity out on the water.  We paddled like hell to get away from them.  At first we just paddled as fast as we could.  But they could keep up and were amused by our initial frenzied attempts at escape.

So we learned to strategically out-paddle.  Now, we keep an eye out for the ones who look like they may approach, choose the best exit route, and quickly but discreetly resume our positions at the foot peddles.  Sometimes we have to change course a few times, but usually they give up chase after 5 or 10 minutes.  It helps to get really far away while also considering which way you will drift and how swift the current is that day.  And with three or four people you can switch up in case one of you gets tired.  Also, we make sure to bring plenty of water.

But despite that slight inconvenience, life on the Adriatic is grand.  And I must thank those "persistent" other boaters for helping me to get super-toned legs this summer.  It seems that paddle boating in Durrës in not for the faint of heart.  But what worth doing in life is?

Working in Albania

I know I have been a blog slacker lately.  But life here has been fun and busy, and my computer died.  Me + Albania = certain death for technology.  Anyway, I have some down time this week, so I'll try to catch up.

Summer in Albania is slow, in terms of work at least.  I have not been in country for very long so it is difficult for me to offer much assistance to my host agency yet.  Plus, Albanians take long vacations in July and August.  So my work goal for the summer is to go in at least 10 hours a week and be available when they need me.  That leaves me plenty of time to wander around Durres, meet people, spend time with friends, go to the beach, and travel around the country.  I figure I cannot be of much use at work if I don't take time to get to know the culture, right?  And I am definitely learning more about how this society functions.

I am very pleased with my work assignment and colleagues.  I work at a small but very active NGO called Civil Society Development Center Durres (CSDC).  Their mission is to build a vocal and participatory society in Durres by encouraging and equipping the local population to be more involved in public life. Because Albania was a closed country with a tightly controlled populace (think North Korea) for over 50 years, there is not much history of civic engagement.  CSDC works with local universities, students, politicians, human right activists, youth groups, and marginalized sectors of society (youth, women, elderly, the disabled) to build stronger ties between the government and citizens.  So far, I have attended a lot of meetings (which I rarely understand since they are conducted in Albanian), reviewed a few meeting/training agendas, helped with some grant reporting, and gotten to know my colleagues.  In time, I can see how I will be of greater help.  But this is a country of relationships, and I will not be able to accomplish much until I am known and respected by my community.  And that keeps me from sitting at a desk all day, so no complaints.