ABBA Nearly Kicked My...!

Lately I have been reflecting on my experience of moving away from my home in the USA. The reality of Peace Corps hasn’t really sunk in yet. I am living, working and building a life out here – one with friends, family, new passions and self-discovery. I'm even starting to forget where I was a year ago (anxiously awaiting my departure to the ‘MYSTERIOUS LAND OF ALBANIA…’ (cue dramatic music)

Ok, so here’s a little situation that happened to me fairly recently to illustrate where I’m at these days.

Hay, boy, hay... :-P

I was working out at the small local gym we have here in Librazhd, running on the humble, overly-loved treadmill next to my buddy Arbi. I was listening to the Mamma Mia musical soundtrack by ABBA on my trusty iPod Shuffle and getting into the ‘groove’ (do people still use that word?) Anyway… The story of Mamma Mia tells (or sings rather) of a mother and daughter living in Greece, after having been shunned by the mother’s family many years before. Nobody knows who the father is. The daughter is about to get married, and wants her father there to give her away. This poses a problem as her father could be one of three different men referenced in her mom’s diary. Hilarity ensues, yadda yadda, dot dot dot. So I was listening to this, and thinking to myself ‘how strange would it be to live abroad, in Greece or somewhere far away?’ As I was laughing to myself, thinking of this strange scenario, I looked over to see my Albanian buddy Arbi running, and looked down at my treadmill (which is properly tracking kilometers, not miles), and it hit me like a flying spinach byrek – ‘Holy sh*t!’  I nearly feel off the tiny running machine and caught myself just in time to ‘save face’ (hopefully), and quickly reminded myself that everything was ok. For in that brief moment I had forgotten that I was living in Albania and that I was a Peace Corps Volunteer! Oh ABBA, you and your hypnotic powers strike again…

Oh Amerikan! Si je ti cuna?

What I learned from this delightful experience was that I am finding a good life for myself out here. I am not just in Peace Corps, I am living my life here in Albania. Although a shock at first, these little moments of surprise really illustrate where I am mentally, emotionally and spiritually. My heart makes no distinctions, no judgments when it is happy. It is simply happy. I am happy with my friends, my daily life, my work, and my inner self. I happen to live in Albania, a place I am getting to know and love more day after day.

That being said, I hope that my forgetfulness is not actually a sign of losing cognitive functioning due to stress. Rest assured that if I were going insane, I would still blog about it and invite comments. You know I love you all, and my friends are definitely the funniest people I know.

xoxo

-Jon :-)