--Saturday, 29 April 00--
At work at 8 AM, the Internet connection was down, processed documents, had a quick lunch with Alan & George -- I wonder what Alan has against lunch?

Smile stopped by work to pick up the printed version of the schedule I had typed and I gave him copies of pictures I had taken of him and his family as well.

Bread in a bakery window as it is usually displayed. The bread everywhere in Prishtina is excellent except at the breakfast meal provided by the Grand Hotel.

When I got back from work around 6:30 I went out and got a Herald Tribune and an Economist and settled into the Brooklyn, where they have icy cold Skopska beer. I have become such a regular that as I approached the waiter saw me (there were no other customers) and I signaled a "Yes" and I had a beer, a cold beer, on the table before I was even settled into my plastic garden chair.

I made a few notes and then read the paper (not much news I thought). I was into the early articles of the Economist when Allen Maclean came up on my left just as someone put his hands over my eyes without touching my glasses. I guessed it was Smile and I was right.

They sat down and we had a round of beer and chatted. Then Allen said he was going to have dinner and asked what we were going to do. I looked at Smile who stared back at me in a particular way that I took to mean that he was interested in having dinner with Allen. I wasn't hungry but decided to accommodate Smile, and since Allen said that he was going to a good pizza place near the OSCE building, I decided to go along if only to find out how good the pizza was. Smile joined us without saying anything.

We walked over to the restaurant that we had rejected on the evening of Smile's birthday because of the smoke in the air and went inside. It was just a shade too cool to sit outside without a coat and the air inside seemed relatively clear.

The meal was very pleasant and Smile contributed as best he could given that he probably got only 30% of the conversation. In Smile's linguistic condition, thirty percent comprehension, patience with not getting very much, and trying to participate whenever possible amounted to a useful educational experience. Smile told us two dirty jokes, one of which survived translation and one of which didn't. I told my "duck" joke and Allen got a kick out of it. It is essentially untranslatable but Smile seemed to like it.

When we walked back to the lobby of the Grand and were subjected to the wanding by the security men at the front door. Allen saw Al Woodhouse, head of the tax division and went over to him. I waited for Smile to get through security and then suggested we go into the bar.

He asked me about a letter from me inviting him to come to see me in Chicago. I said that I would be willing to write such a letter but that the American Embassy in Skopje might still say NO to a visa. "And why NO?" he asked. "Because so many people want to come to the US," I said omitting a discussion of economic migrants.

After a while, Allen joined us and said that he wouldn't have a beer because he was going upstairs. Smile insisted and Allen took a seat but not a beer. We chatted and Allen said that he could not have lunch at Smile's house since he was leaving on Monday and had thing he had to do on Sunday.

Allen asked Smile why he was out and Kimeta was at home. Smile gave a very pleasant and equally sexist response about him asking Kimeta why she should go out, that she should stay in. I told Allen that the culture here was strongly male biased.

Allen suggested that we (Smile, Kimeta, he and I) get together the next day at 5 PM in the lobby and go out to dinner from there. We agreed and Allen excused himself to go to his room.

For a small city Prishtina contains more than its share of unusual architecture. Above is the university library, a structure with endless plastic skylights and an outside that seems to be draped in chain mail.

--Sunday, 30 April 00--
Smile came to the Grand on-time and we had the best language training yet. We watched 'Bullitt', ate chebop, walked into the only part of the city I have not visited before (north and east, up the hill), had a Schweppes -- and then he left to hang curtains for Kimeta.


--Monday, 01 May 00--
Smile forgets things, things like personal possessions, keys, jackets, those kind of things. Once when we were shopping in the market, he put his house keys down and I picked them up, wondering how long it would be before he noticed. It was more than an hour later.

--Wednesday, 03 May 00--
As I approached, a bellman was ushering a newly arrived guest into the elevator and the bellman ushered me in after the new guest. I pressed 3 on the controls and the new guest said "Six would do," so I pressed 7 then 6 and told him, "you have to press 7 then 6 to get it to stop at 6. Welcome to Kosovo." I call this "Kosovo Normal."

Had lunch with Margaret, Brian Ahern (who stopped for a haircut) and Hilary (who arrived late) in a new restaurant. The lasagna was quite good and the conversation genial.

Tonight Smile came by and we walked over to the Monaco where I bought a Herald Tribune for me and a USA Today with its heavy sports section for Smile. We walked over to the Brooklyn pub, ordered a beer (Basic survival phrase: ftoft schkupit = cold beer) and read our respective papers.

We had some intensive language training and then watched the last part of 'Bullitt'. We ambled up Mother Theresa Street but the electricity was off and walking in the dark was not very pleasant.

We went back to the Grand and sat inside. We chatted about my departure. Smile got up and shook hands with people at a table and came back. A while later he said something I didn't catch and walked the other way.

Twenty minutes later, no Smile, and both our beers were gone. I paid the bill, and went to my floor where I found Smile, somewhat upset. He said he had been tapping on my door for 5 minutes. He said that he had been talking to an Albanian friend and that he kept telling him that he had left someone in the bar and had to go back. His friend said that the person would wait for Smile. Ultimately Smile mentioned that the person waiting was an American. "Why didn't you tell me?" his friend asked, "Go immediately!" So Albanians note the difference in leaving a foreigner waiting and one of their own. I conjecture that in a society in which almost no Albanian worked for ten years, there was nothing to rush for at all.

Joe