I'm Coming Home!

Partying it up on my 34th birthday, wearing the official group 17 shirt and new qeleshe hat (gift from my friend Arbi)

It's official! My last day as a Peace Corps Volunteer here in Albania will be May 18th, 2016.

I will be returning to the United States (after a few short excursions) in late May, 2016. After all, if you were living in Europe, wouldn't you visit another country for the price of a domestic trip within the US? Although money is getting quite tight (read: extremely tight) after having lived off of bare minimum Peace Corps "wages," I think it worth it to visit a few capital cities before I head back. I'm thinking Istanbul,  Athens, & Reykjavik.

One of my Albanian friends in Librazhd

Also, after careful consideration, I have decided to move to the Washington, DC area for the next phase of my life. Although I've considered San Francisco/Bay Area/San Jose my home for most of my life, I feel that at this point I'd very much like to spend more time with my east-coast family (brother's family, aunts, uncles and cousins). I will also be starting my journey to become a Psychiatric Nurse. That means returning to school after a 11 year break (since graduating from UC Berkeley). I'm very excited to start on the path towards nursing practice, after all these years! I will have a nice chunk of time visiting my home base in SF/Bay Area, from late May through June. I'm looking forward to having many coffees and catching up with friends and family during this time - oh, and finding work and a place to live. lol

My home for the last two years

I still have about two and a half months left in my service and I still have two grants outstanding (Breast Cancer Rural Outreach, and LGBT Community Outreach). I have to finish and report out for both of these projects by mid-April. Doable, but not without its share of hustle. Hustle hustle hustle. It's not a bad thing. Quite the opposite. I appreciate the ability to do such work here in Albania. Both projects are nearing completion, so that's encouraging. So far, through these projects...

At least 186 women living in isolated, rural areas of eastern Albania have received education on Breast Cancer - have gained knowledge on how to do a self-exam and can identify signs, symptoms, and risk factors. 

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More than 150 students and community members in communities across Albania have gained awareness and deeper understanding regarding the LGBT civil rights movement in Albania, and have had a chance to ask questions, engage in critical thinking, and interact with an LGBT person (many for the first time).

Operation: Find me a job

Me (second on the left) with my sitemates and Ambassador to Albania Donald Lu. I recently had the chance to coordinate his visit to our town of Librazhd.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I had put in a request to extend my service in Albania for another year through an exciting national HIV Prevention project focusing on the MSM community. Unfortunately, I was just informed that this will not be possible after a recent decision made by our new Country Director. It hit me particularly hard, as I had been working so hard over the last several months to build connections, develop project ideas and even prepare comprehensive plans together with Peace Corps staff for this project.  My placement is not in the capital, so it has really been a challenge to develop these relationships. I really wanted to move forward with these plans, but such is life. I may not like it, but I must accept it. Bummer.

This changes things a bit... as now I have to find a job and health insurance asap. My extension date would have allowed me time to stay here through the summer, but now I am most likely staying until May at the latest.

Whenever I have a large task ahead of me and I am not exactly sure how to proceed, I develop a document titled "Operation:" and fill in the task. For example, for this situation I have developed the "Operation: Find Jon a Job" plan. A step-by-step method to, well, find me a job. I have met so many amazing people here in Albania and through my service. I plan to reach out and see if anyone might have a position that might take advantage of my experience. I have over 18 years of experience working with NGOs (Admin, Fund Development, Case Management & Outreach) so hopefully that's worth something to someone. :-) I'm really not sure who's reading this right now, but if you have a lead or opportunity in your office (something related with LGBT, HIV, or other NGO Admin) your referral would be most appreciated.

Faleminderit!

Jon
jonbreen1@gmail.com
resume available

Am I staying in Albania?

As a Peace Corps volunteer, my term of service is 27 months. I arrived in Albania in March of 2014. I lived in a village for two months for training. I then moved to my town where I would live for the next 24-ish months. We are preparing for our COS (Close of Service) Conference early next month and selecting our preferred date to leave Albania. Some leaving in April, others in May. After much consideration, I have decided to put my application in for an extension of service for another year. I am planning to come back home for a month in late June (so I can attend my brother's wedding), so I hope to see and catch up with many of you while I'm there.

Doing an extension means doing an assignment with a larger scope. My hope is to work with the leading doctor on HIV/AIDS in Albania and develop a national strategy to address HIV/AIDS. That would also mean a move to Tirana (the capital). There are lots of changes on the horizon, and I feel myself feeling very excited about the prospects ahead of me.

I also feel some fear of the unknown. This is all part of being an adult - being in situations where there might not be someone there to give you that high-five all the time, someone to guide you, someone to show you the next step. That is the risk of trying to pave a new path. Certainly paving a new way in the world can come with its share of doubts and uncertainty. The demons are everywhere. Lack up support, excessive criticism, and negativity can really take away one's motivation. Working in LGBT work is also a particularly lonely business sometimes. No one can guarantee your safety, people don't always share your enthusiasm or vision and you are constantly trying to find a way to fit in without having to pretend that you are someone you are not. One time may not be so bad. One thousand days? That can be challenging...

The Joy of Giving - A Peace Corps Christmas

Seasons greetings from Albania (or Gëzuar Festat (Geh-zoo-ahr Feh-staht) as we say here).

Her smile was the best present ever.

December is holiday time in Albania. Even though many Albanians are Muslim, there is still a lot of celebration around this time. People in my town put up trees, decorate them, put up strings of lights, hang images of Santa Claus in front of their shops, and even wear Santa hats. They say that it is for the New Year's celebration, not (necessarily) to celebrate Christmas. It is a happy marriage of tradition and festivity. I must say, I appreciate the added lighting. The sun is down by 4:15 pm and it gets dark usually around 4:45 pm. The days are short, and the nights are long and cold. 

Me with the Youth of Librazhd as Santa's Helpers

My Albanian home of Librazhd is not the wealthiest place. In fact, it is home to some of the poorest villages in Albania, and Europe by extension. Many children here are used to living on so very little. Still, I never hear them complain. I never see them upset about it. Quite the opposite. I see them laughing and playing, being kids. I see them making friendships and growing taller every day. It is an amazing thing to see. My life back in the US did not lend itself much to this amazing type of interaction. With three brothers all of similar ages, I never had a young sibling in the house. Being around kids is a new experience for me and one that I will cherish.

For the holidays, the local church organized a toy drive for the kids here (many of whom are also part of the Kampi Pa Emer). After a lovely Christmas celebration, we passed out snacks and boxes made specially for various age groups donated by a global Samaritan organization. I got to play Santa (or at least one of his helpers) along with several other young community members. The kids were so excited to get their presents. Smiles everywhere - including mine. What a holiday!

Kampi kids being uber adorable with their presents. They grow up so fast!

Last year, as part of our Kampi Pa Emer summer camp, we offered many of these kids oral health screenings, basic dental care and even some dental procedures! Free of charge of course. All this is free for the kids. This year we are looking to expand the dental services offered to the kids and even extend services to their parents, if possible. What we saw last year was quite heartbreaking - Kids as young as 4 and 5 with irreversible tooth decay. Black holes in the teeth with exposed nerves. Still, I see these kids smile as though nothing was wrong. It is hard to imagine having to go through life like that. Being in so much pain, yet being so used to it, that they never say anything. I admire them for their bravery. It is amazing what a little money can do. This year we want to do more for these kids! .

Giving to others feels so good. Giving to these kids feel AMAZING. Love my JOB!

This year Kampi Pa Emer provided dental screenings for over 60 kids, and further dental treatment and dental procures for more than 25 kids' teeth! I get excited just thinking how this was all possible thanks for a group of dedicated individual donors.

For more information on Kampi Pa Emer summer camp or to help support free dental services in our town, please visit: www.campnoname.org (or check us out on facebook!) We are currently trying to raise $5,000 to help these kids and their families in community. If you can do anything to help, please contact me. You can do such much good out here, I promise.

Celebrating New Year's Eve with my Albanian Family - Eating and making cheers, laughing, watching TV and taking some epic selfies!

Zumba: An Unlikely Peace Corps Project

What's that noise echoing around town? It's ZUMBAAAA!

Before I joined Peace Corps I had a vision of what my life would be like. -  I would live in a mud hut. I wouldn't have running water. I would be living in an isolated, sparsely-populated village where wifi access wouldn't definitely not be an option. With that in mind, I thought that my projects might include building an electricity grid, setting up a water system or even helping out at the local hospital with basic triage. I didn't imagine that I would be leading a class... for Zumba! But I am surely glad that I am.

What started off as an idea from some brief conversations with local youth and some support from friends back home, slowly turned into a regular group that has been meeting for over a year now. We are a rather small group, yet consistent. No less than 4, no more than 8. Through this class I am noticing several things. First, the girls feel comfortable around me. This took a bit of time. In the beginning, I noticed that there was a good mix of boys and girls. Once the boys realized that they would have to use their hips, they quickly got embarrased and would sit down and just watch. I could see that they wanted to participate, as they would get up for another song and dance again, only to sit back down when any hip action made its way into the routine. I asked why they weren't willing to try the routines, they said that they simply don't have hips. "Only girls have hips." to which I replied "Really? Well, I wonder what all those football players use to kick the ball, then." They were still not convinced. But it was of no concern to me. If the girls want to continue, I would be there.

We insist on having fun!

Zumba is not something that many people have a chance to do here in Albania, yet it is accessible for those with the motivation. We use Youtube videos to learn routines, practicing with videos projected on the wall. We simply follow along. We learn together (and make mistakes together). It's not about being perfect, it is about having fun, exercising, and doing something positive together.

We use music from several influences - latin (salsa, merengue, tango, reggaeton & cumbia), latin pop, hip-hop, pop, middle-eastern influence, and more). I like to pick videos that use people of different ethnicities, ages, body types, using both men and women. As the students learn with these diverse people through their videos, they get to share a sort-of bond with people of all backgrounds.

Gummi time at Kampi Pa Emer (summer camp)!

After 9 months of dancing with these youth, they asked me if I could teach the younger kids to dance. They also volunteered to help teach the classes with me! I didn't realize at the time, but this might just turn into something sustainable. Again, I don't teach the classes so much as learn the routines alongside them. Thus they are just as skilled as I am. The little kids Zumba has really taken off, bringing up to 25 kids at a time. Imagine for a moment the 25 little kids ages 4 - 10 wiggling to "Uptown Funk" or shaking to Moves Like Jagger. Adorable! They love to move, dance, and just act silly. Some of these kids have very little at home and really take to activities like this that let them just be kids. This has only been possible with the help and coordination of the older kids. Thus real community impact is starting to happen.

Me with an adorable lil Zumba princess

As of yet, we just make due with what clothes we have, but I would love to see some actual workout t-shirts or fun arm-bands, hip bands or something to make it more "Zumba-ey." Maybe a magic donor will arrive one day... Who knows? Maybe a flash mob in front of the Municipality will actually happen come spring time. :-) Yeah, this is Peace Corps. And yes, it is pretty frickin' awesome.

Breaking the Ice

Winter is Persimmon season!

With temperatures hovering near freezing, life out here in Librazhd seems to be slowing down. It's like we are all preparing to hibernate. No one is scheduling any new activities for the rest of the year. It is a sort-of domino effect. If one person is out, then others hold off their planning and meetings until they return. This causes everyone else to put things on lockdown for the time being. Integration in Peace Corps is all about adjusting to your environment. When people say 'wait,' you wait. That being said, there is still much that can be done until the complete holiday shutdown. In fact, this has actually been a productive week. With two active grants, I am quite pleased to see things moving along. One grant for LGBT outreach and another for Breast Cancer.

University students posed for a group photo with presenters from Peace Corps and ProLGBT

The LGBT Outreach project has been progressing splendidly. Our outreach team (the "pink posse") held its third outreach session in the Southern sea-side town of Saranda. Response from the University level audience was primarily positive. A couple participants had an issue with acceptance of LGBT people, but it made for some good discussion. Despite some differing opinions, all participants were respectful and gave us their full attention throughout the session. I feel like if we allow people to ask the questions they need to ask in order to understand what being LGBT is like, then they might be more willing to change their pre-existing beliefs. If we can leave the audience with a good impression of us, it may help improve their overall opinion of LGBT in general. I believe that face-to-face interaction in very important. If you can like just one LGBT person, you will be so much more likely to be open to others. So far, we are seeing some mostly-positive reactions.

Students presenting on HIV

My counterpart and I held a session on HIV/AIDS with 8th and 9th graders at town about 30 minutes down the road. They actually knew many facts about this subject, which was a great surprise. This was through our work with the Directorate of Public Health in Librazhd (which essentially oversees Public Health outreach throughout the region - roughly 87,000 individuals.) We are trying to get out of the city of Librazhd and bring our lessons to more areas of need. Of course this is quite a challenge, as funding for such efforts is not always available. It is a mystery, but a reality - how can a community promotions department operate with a budget of 0? Usually my counterpart and I will end up paying for our work travel ourselves (which is rather silly, as neither of us is earning very much at all.)  We got a grant to fund our expense for the Breast Cancer project, but we are still left to our own devices for all other health lessons and outreach. If dipping into our wages can help us do our jobs more effectively, then it's just something that needs to be done. I do wonder what will happen when I eventually leave my position here. I hope my counterpart will find a sustainable way to keep on doing this good work.

Middle School students wore red ribbons to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in a small town in Eastern Albania

Through my PCPP project my counterpart and I will be holding our second workshop in the isolated village of Stravaj, educating women about Breast Cancer. Planning these sessions are quite a challenge, as we must take much into consideration: weather (snow), transportation (it takes about 2 hours to get to these remote mountain villages) and potential for event participation (the day/time/weather all need to be right for them to show up). Once it snows, all bets are off and we must wait until the thaw to hold our sessions. In many developed areas, this might not be an issues, as people have cars and can drive and meet us there. Our project primarily targets some of the poorest areas of Albania, and in Europe by extension. These are places with internet, power, and cell phone access. Let's hope the weather holds up!

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