Holiday Ramblings!!

It has been a good number of weeks since I have reported on any recent adventures. But believe it or not there really haven't been any. I have remained in Kosovo (other than a day trip to Skopje) since the Thanksgiving holiday. Not that we haven't busy, it just hasn't been the type of activities that lend well to romantic, seat gripping, late night thriller blog-reading.

But I guess the overall theme since I last wrote has been winter and the holiday season, despite living in a 'Muslim' country. For a city with almost hourly power outages, there are a lot of Christmas lights and decorations throughout the city. We even have a nice white-blanket snow cover which mildly hides the trash but otherwise turns into a brown-mud skating rink each night it freezes over. Yes, the temperatures have finally dropped and with the power outages (ie losing heat) I have already spent my fair share of freezing sleeps. Lets just say I am very much looking forward to spending Christmas in LA with my family.

The nights have been filled with a collection of international and local holiday parties but even more going away parties (every third night). With the imminent independence, many UN folks are on their way out to other global paradises (Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Haiti...) These have been ok but to be honest none have been for my closer friends and the more I attend, the more I realize how out of place I feel around them and how 'weird' they all are. I've come to realize (something that most of you have known for quite awhile) that I too am not cut from a typical mold. Living in Kosovo has clearly pointed out the difficulty of living this kind of work/personal balance in some place that really makes one appreciate their homeland and a more normal, simple job. Then again, it is an adrenaline rush that apparently becomes quite addictive and more adaptable, especially if you have a crazy partner willing to go to some of the same places you get sent.

The rumored date of independence and international news coverage (sure most of you saw at least 1 CNN segment on Kosovo) has come and gone, as most deadlines for this place have. There was no declaration, no violence, just no power... The real date is rumored now to be no later than May of next year which feels about right with all the things that would need to happen with the UN transitioning provincial authority to the EU. Regardless, my job will remain untouched until end of June when I guess the world becomes my oyster once again. While I'm home for the holiday's I'll also have 1 week in DC to ring in the New Year with friends and to interview with potential employers doing another kind of field position. Not sure if this is the next step since I will also be open to returning to DC for awhile.

Pranvera and I are also doing very well and spending more and more time with each other and her family who I adore. It is great to be around kids again (missing my two 'nieces' so much) while I play with her 4 nieces and nephew and spend hours just sipping tea with her mom trying to practice my Albanian. It is very nice when much of our time has been spent just being, which is a national past-time in Kosovo. Almost too much time seems to be spend visiting with relatives since for the most part the entire extended family lives in the same city, if not within the same family compound.

Things have even gotten a bit more cultural in good ole Pristina. There was the largest international rock concert in town last night attracting approx. 20,000 youth to FREEZE in -6C for 4 hours while stomping to the rap sounds of local hipsters and the headliner, '50 cent'. You would think I was too old for this but Pranvera got us into taking her two nieces so we braved the ridiculous temperatures and crowds to see history in the making. And to everyone's surprise, nothing happened. Just a regular rock concert that seemed to give people a boost of normalcy which is often a hard thing to find out here. Check out live concert video action here... http://itn.co.uk/news/6900f6c9672302eaac409fc70da3b19c.html

On another sunny yet chilled afternoon we went for a very long mountain hike in the hills above Pristina. Funny how this not only becomes a great way for the two of us to get some exercise together (although we did join a gym so she could rehab her leg and I my arm) but it helps clear out the lungs from all the pollution and coal/smoke in the city. The highlight was easily running into a local Shepard and Pranvera being able to talk with him about his village, life and goats. If it were just me we would do nothing more than exchange a friendly wave.

My office also had a Holiday party which turned out to be more fun than either of us anticipated. Not sure if it was the open bar or the live local band we had hired but it didn't take too long before the internationals were up and dancing quickly to be followed by Pranvera leading my entire office in local Albanian dances and then proceeding to dance a rather complicated Kosovar dance with one of my co-workers wives. It was nice to be able to sit back and let the attention fall onto others for awhile:-)

I can't say we have decked the halls this year but we did pick up a nice 'disco' plastic mini Christmas tree while in Skopje. It adds some holiday cheer to my place along with several stockings and the crisp winter air that permeates my apartment more than I would like. Since I will be heading back to the US for several weeks I will take this opportunity to wish you all the Happiest of Holiday Seasons and to send my love and prayers to you and your family, where ever you may be.

Ureme Feste!!!

Turkey in Turkey

How many people can say they went to Istanbul to celebrate Thanksgiving? And as determined as I was to find a traditional American turkey meal to stuff myself till I was unable to walk, we opted for a much lighter and more authentic fresh seafood feast in the heart of Taksim Square. Regardless of the menu we selected it was a meal that almost didn't happen. Our originally scheduled flight out of Pristina on Wednesday was cancelled after 5 hours of waiting at the airport. Along with all other flights, the Turks were unable to land the plane due to the unbelievably thick fog that seems to envelop all of Pristina at some point almost daily now that winter has arrived. As we commiserated with several other friends also sidelined for at least a day we went to collect our bags and learn the next flight was in 2 days. But if we wanted we could call on Thurs to see if they added an extra plane. Realizing the chances were next to none we recontacted our American friends to see if there was still room around the dinner table. For one invitation, they were full. The other happily welcomed us back as long as I convinced Pranvera to prepare one of her fantastic desserts.

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Trying not to pout too much about the strong possibility we would both go to work on Friday and not enjoy our long anticipated and warm weekend just eating, shopping, walking, dancing and drinking in the vibrant city, we went out with some of our friends for drinks and had a nice time. And much to our amazement our Thanksgiving day was greeted by the news there would be a plane that afternoon. So, after doing a couple errands we taxied it back out to the airport to wait around and hear that since the fog was rolling back in it might be cancelled again. With the bad news Pranvera started laughing and said that one of the radios we could overhear said it was cancelled whereas the other one said the plane was landing. Fortunately #2 was right so we proceeded to sit on the airport floor waiting (have no more than 50 seats in the entire airport waiting room) for our delayed departure finally to our weekend get away.
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Originally we were to have been shuttled to the hotel by their van but since my friend forgot to call and cancel our Wed. night reservation, they had waited for us for hours and therefore we opted to take the tram into the city which was extremely efficient, clean, cheap and dropped us off 5 minutes down the hill from our lodging. Which compared to our last 5 star experience was a dump but it was clean, nice bed, great location and a view of the Bosporus River. Plus we were 200 meters from my friend's apartment and after a quick nose powdering we walked over to his place to enjoy a Thanksgiving cocktail and celebrate our arrival in style. And I mean style. His top-floor loft apartment had wall to wall, floor to ceiling windows looking out over the entire river and the Blue Mosque in the distance. All the colorful boat lights, seagulls and engulfing darkness was the absolute perfect backdrop to kick off our wonderful weekend. Not to mention he was playing an all time favorite CD of mine, Morphine, that I hadn't heard in over 10 years.

Our host Andrew (American from CA who was the head of a USAID project in Serbia we coordinated with) wasted no time in escorting us off to one of his favorite seafood places where he treated us by ordering all the house specialties which poured onto the table for a good hour in relatively small, tapas style portions, that perfectly satisfied the palette and enhanced the local wine. And too my horror he treated the entire meal saying it was customary and non-negotiable. I would need to provide him with many drinks later to even begin making up for that bill. The part of the city we were in was full of thousands of people, (seafood)restaurants, bars and clubs. Shopping walkways every way and apparently it is packed all the time. Having been to Istanbul just 1 year ago I was nicely relaxed to just do as the locals do (such as eating non-stop) and avoid all the tourist venues. We retired relatively early that night with full bellies, a very tired leg (Pranvera's still recovering knee) and large smiles on our faces that we actually made it.

Sleeping in just long enough to still catch the breakfast buffet, we had a light meal before heading out for a very long full day of walking everywhere, but yet no particular place to go. It was a very sunny nice day in the high 50's requiring a jacket but just having all the water around (reminding me of San Fran) put a light step in both our feet as we first headed to Dolmabahce Palace which was no more than 10 minute walk from our hotel in 'New Istanbul' and right on the water. Having spent half a day touring the palace just last year Pranvera went on the tour solo as I grabbed a table at the outdoor cafe in the park adjacent to the ostentatious buildings. Two hours of sun and reading the latest Economist was perfect. However the tour seemed to already wear Pranvera out a bit. But being the trooper she is she popped back into form and we walked quite a distance down towards Soltanament to grab a ferry over to the Asia side, of which neither of us had seen. The boat ride allowed us to relax and appreciate the bustling city from the water. To be honest the Asia side didn't feel any different but I grabbed the perfect grilled fish sandwich straight from the docks and we enjoyed an overpriced Turkish coffee right below a very unusual hot air balloon restaurant. It was here we were chased down by the staff to be returned a counterfeit bill we had given them. Typical to Turkey where I receive my first absolutely fake 5 lira.

We certainly saw the sights and absorbed the local street culture. With every vendor trying to pull us into their shop or speak to us in whatever language we would respond we continued on enjoying the smells, sounds, and sights (including the man hugging a bench). It was certainly a more pleasant experience for me in Istanbul the second time around with Pranvera on my arm and her not looking as Western as I AND speaking some Turkish, everyone seemed to leave us relatively alone. After several hours of exploring the markets on the Asia side we headed back to Istiklal Street to window shop/walk our way slowly back to the hotel. I swear with all the great food and especially pastry places, it is so hard to not eat all the time, even when you are not hungry. Fortunately I was always hungry and since Pranvera was craving a soup and a rest, we just walked into the closest place we could find with soup. Jack-pot!!! They also had a large chocolate milkshake and a Texas-sized Nacho platter that was just supposed to be a snack. So happy to enjoy these western dishes we just kicked back for awhile before rolling down to the hotel for a rest prior to our night on the town.

The one place I did want to visit a second time was Leb-i Derya which was a very shiek and expensive roof-top bar/restaurant that I had last years Christmas meal at. The difference this time was I had a beautiful date to impress and it was still mildly warm enough to sit outside on their bar terrace with a heat-lamp and extra scarfs to wrap around ourselves to keep warm. The breathtaking Istanbul views and breathtaking prices (2 drinks cost $24US) was well worth enjoying the spiced mulled (warm) red wine with wonderful conversation. It also brought back warm memories because last year when I stepped out onto the freezing terrace my family called from the States and were all opening their presents, so I was able to be with them if not for a couple moments.



Having already filled ourselves on the late snack, we continued onto the nightclub area and walked into several random bars in search of a nice atmosphere, good music and some dancing. First several places were a bust with it either being full of 'kids' and layers of smoke or actually very few people and thundering techno music. But the third proved to be the charm as we entered a very nice Micro-brew bar that had a dance floor and band set-up in the back. We found a swivel bar stool which allowed me to 'dance' with Pranvera while she rested her leg or we both swayed to the 80's DJ spin prior to the 'Pink' look-alike band kicking in with some great Salsa cover tunes and other assorted Western classics.
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Our second morning was even more lazy as we slept through the buffet which forced us to pick-up some fruit, yogurt and a Starbucks Chai Tea and pastry!!! Perfect!!! We then sat at a table in the neighboring park right on the water to absorb the sunshine and read the morning away. Eventually we motivated to hop on the Tram that was 20 meters from our table and take it over to the Old Bazaar and the tourist area of the Blue Mosque. We figured with the again perfect weather we would like to enjoy the sights of the city (not going in any). The market was the market with everything imaginable. As much as I originally intended to stock up on things, I was able to walk away with only two shirts to use for yoga class. The rest was just window shopping. We eventually emerged around the Mosques and rested for awhile in a cafe where Pranvera got another one of her preferred Turkish coffees. Cafined up our next stroll led us through the lower park surrounding Topika Palace. With a bag of fresh popcorn in our hands we just looked like any other local couple out on their Sunday afternoon stroll. Wonderful.

Believe it or not we were hungry again. But determined not to ruin our final dinner date we managed to limit ourselves to one plate of fresh sardines from a restaurant located underneath the main bridge connecting the new and old European sides. At least 20 places one after the other had their staff chase after us with menu in hand and bargaining the price of the dish. Even when they said they did not have what we were looking for they were determined to change our minds. Again Pranvera's Turkish paid off. Finally settling on the best deal we sat to enjoy the setting sun and watched the countless number of fishing poles above us dangling their line trying to catch dinner.

For our final night in Istanbul I took us to a wine cellar highly recommended by a friend for a fantastic steak and mashed potatoes meal for myself and a superbly artistic salmon dinner salad for my date. The upstairs storefront looked very small and bland until we were escorted to the basement to enjoy some nice drinks, a cozy yet decadent environment with a live show-tunes band to help us digest our meal. Of course we had to wash the main course down with another drink at a neighboring pastry shop where I enjoyed an Irish Cream coffee and a Turkish delight pudding. Unfortunately Pranvera doesn't do dessert and I had to finish it all myself.




Hoping to pay Andrew back for his generosity we met up with him and a friend at the conclusion of their dinner (midnight). The four of us proceeded to absorb the street culture and listen to all the Turkish music from outside the bars. We finally gave into my urge to hear more Western music and entered an Irish Pub to watch a bad local band play U2 covers. After a couple drinks we bid our friends farewell and enjoyed a final evening stroll with all the crowds. I must admit what surprised me the most about my second visit to Turkey is the prices. Especially with the dollar tanking I found us being charged USD $4 for a bag of popcorn, $4 for expresso coffee shot, $12 for a Burger King meal deal, $7 for a draft beer and the winner (we did not buy) $28 for a Long Island Ice Tea. Fortunately all the other items could be negotiated but even with that, Istanbul is not the 'steal' it used to be for North American tourists. No matter, I will certainly return to enjoy the bustle of this real city. En shalleh.

Yoga Workshop in an Albanian Kulla

Just a little different from the last time I visited this quaint traditional Albanian home with a large group of my friends during the end of summer. Matter of fact, 1 meter of snow, VERY cold temperatures and a class of 10 students different. As background, I was invited to teach a 1 day yoga and meditation workshop to anyone interested in practicing in such a traditional and cultural space as a way to promote and create general awareness about the house. As a benefit they offered for Pranvera and I to stay in the house the night before with anyone else that preferred not to do the 2 hour drive out the morning of the event. As it turned out we had the entire Kulla to ourselves so we brought along her niece and nephew to have a family outing. And what an adventure it was.

To begin with, a blizzard hit Kosovo the night we were driving out. Fortunately we had the large 4x4 project vehicle but even with our four wheel drive we were sliding all over and were caught behind the painfully slow crawl of all the small Golf's that have been on the road for at least 10 years past their expiration date. With very love visibility we finally arrived at the very unpaved and rough snow covered village road that I wasn't even sure our vehicle would make it. But, in low gear it did and we finally arrived at the beautifully wood-stove heated Kulla. Amazing how hard it is to heat a stone home though. Once you left any room with a stove, it was freezing.

After the kids picked their room and found the Internet computer to begin chatting with their friends, Pranvera and I headed to the kitchen to prepare a nice pasta and salad dinner for everyone. Great fun!! Even though my Albanian is still challenged by the kids, they really did try to speak slowly and we were just able to communicate by playing and laughing the entire time. Played some cards, read books, enjoyed some warm tea and then migrated into our 8 inches of blankets to try and stay warm for the night. Fortunately we were all successful.

But best of all was waking early on the next day to go outside and play in the deep fresh snow. Bundled up with all our snow gear, we hit the front yard of the Kulla for some snowball fights, making a snow man and enjoying the warm sun and peaceful morning in such a small, quite sleepy village. We all took a walk down the main street with all the locals looking at us knowing clearly we were the city slickers in from Pristina checking out life on the farm. At least Pranvera could communicate with them when some had the courage to converse with us.

After a couple hours of getting soaked, it was time for me to make it back inside and set the space for the students who had registered for the workshop. Several were my close friends and regular students but others we new to the practice, which makes something like this quite a challenge to meet everyone's expectations when they are at very different places in their practice. But somehow it seems like I managed. What I didn't expect was how cold the room would be, how the wood stove would bletch smoke into the space that would burn our lungs during the deep inhales or the curious local audience of men that would stand in the back of the room wondering what the hell was going on (and making the ladies feel very uncomfortable).

None the less it was a good workout and we broke for a nice home-made lunch and tea before resting a bit only to return to complete another hour session of exercise and finish out the day with a nice deep half hour guided meditation and lecture on breathing practices. Throughout the day Pranvera's family joined in and often times just sat on the steps watching and wondering. A great experience and couple days out in the countryside working on cleansing the spirit.