The Holidays

The holidays are almost over. I have been quite busy. It started two weeks before Christmas. I had visitors for four days and then I was off to Elbasan for training for a week. We stayed at the same hotel that we stayed at when I first arrived in Albania. I had technical training and language training. The highlights were getting to see everyone that I hadn’t seen in a while and going out with them. I also went to a movie theater to see a movie. It was pretty nice but it didn’t have heat.
Just before Christmas Santa came to visit and brought me lots of goodies and I was able to decorate my house. Christmas Eve I was off to Lezhe, a city in the north. There were six of us celebrating and had a big dinner and a nice breakfast Christmas morning. Christmas in Albania is a bit different here. There are decorations and lights and some put Christmas trees in their houses. I only know of one family that does presents. Christmas also starts the beginning of fireworks and poppers. They are sold all over and anyone at any age can buy them and set them off anywhere. It was so annoying and sometimes I would not want to walk around groups of boys because they were setting them off in the street. The first couple of days I would think I kept hearing gun shots. They would set them into building and in them. One boy was hospitalized because of one. The big holiday is New Years. That is also celebrated differently. A large turkey dinner is served on New Years Eve and then a nap is taken. There is no big countdown with a ball dropping. I went to Tirana. At midnight, if you have reserved at place at a bar or club you go out and party until morning. I did this but we didn’t make reservations so the first bar we found that we didn’t have to pay to get in, we went to. I think about four in the morning we ended up at a fun club. When I finally crawled out of bed to go back to Berat I found the city deserted. I have never seen it like that. Even walking home late at night after going out there was more people. Almost all the stores and kafes were closed. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to find anything to eat or water to drink. I found only two small stands open. I was thrilled that there were busses to take me back. The next day was also a holiday and everything was closed or was closed by noon. The students will be back to school on Monday and I am hoping the fireworks will stop by the 6th which is the last holiday for a while. On the 6th a crucifix is thrown of a bridge into the river and many boys jump into the river to find it. It is said to bring them luck for the year and if they go around to the old villages and knock on doors, the people will give him money. It is also a special day in that when the boys jump into the freezing river, it wont be cold and they wont get sick. The pics are of decorations in my house, the tree in the center of Berat, and of New Years. One of the pics is of boys doing a traditional dance around a glass. I am ready for things to get back to normal.