Let the Holidays Begin!

Thanksgiving means family time

The Holidays were kicked off with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner here in Librazhd, celebrated with fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and local Albanians. After all, Peace Corps Goal II is to share American Culture with 'host country nationals' (aka the 'locals'). We made our favorite dishes, including sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, stuffing and cranberry sauce. I made my not-so-famous but oh-so-yummy breaded cauliflower. :-)

My sitemate's colleagues trying out our T-Day cuisine. :-)

We even went around the room and each said what we were grateful for. Every single Albanian even participated. It was great! Plus, it seemed that they appreciated being included in this celebration. That is oh so Peace Corps. We are representatives of America, and in sharing our culture we are acting (albeit on a local level) as ambassadors. We learn the language, live with the families, work with the locals and even celebrate alongside them. That is something that Peace Corps really fosters through its structure - making individual and small group connections that can be so incredibly meaningful. Many people we encounter have never met an American in person. We therefore must be a little more open, a little more understanding, and that much more cognizant of our actions. We are representatives from our country, here to help and have a cultural exchange. Sometime that means one simply must put on their dancing shoes and party! (Albanian style of course)

Kids in Traditional Albanian outfits from the Librazhd Region

I recently went to a couple Albanian cultural performances in my community here. It was really nice to see local Albanians performing these traditional dances and songs, and reciting culturally-significant literature. I finally got to see the dance of my community - the Valle Rajcë with people dressed in local garb. Traditionally the Albanians in the Librazhd region were known as the 'çorape te kuq' which translates to 'the red socks' (something much loved by my friends from Boston).

With two of the most awesome boys in Albania and their families!

Both performances were packed. Every seat in the local Cultural Center was taken and people were even standing on the wings just to watch (including myself). I heard from a friend that two kids we knew were going to perform, so I thought I'd go and show my support. It was great! All the performances were done by students in the local schools. I was thoroughly impressed. What was even better was the fact that the kids in the audience showed appreciation for their peers' performances. Something I really like to see. The celebrations were to commemorate the Independence of Albania first celebrated on Nov. 28, 1912.

See the red socks? That's regional Librazhd dress.

Girls singing traditional Albanian anthems