--Tuesday, 13 March 01--
The day I had agreed to return to Kosovo. Much doubt in my mind about
the wisdom of this but I was offered a deal: come back for a month and
train my replacement who would arrive the day after I did. The deal was
motivated by budget constraints but it met my needs so I accepted.
I carbo-loaded at McDonald's for breakfast (sausage biscuit with cheese
and bacon), went to O'Hare and got a plain double cheeseburger and fries,
and bought the first Harry Potter book, "The Sorcerer's Stone",
and read it all the way to Kosovo. It was such a delightful diversion
that I have decided to read a Harry Potter book on my next trip.
--Wednesday, 14 March 01--
Overnight, crowded on a 747 with the smallest overhead bins I have seen
in decades. A razor thin connection in Frankfurt, an equally close one
in Vienna (I was told "the flight is closed" but they did let
me on after examining my ticket -- it must have been because it was a
full freight airfare). When I got to Prishtina, there was no luggage for
me. A huge press of people gathered around a 4 by 6 inch sliding window
begging for undelivered luggage. Not a pretty sight. It would be two days
before I saw my luggage again. At least Jakob was there to pick me up.
After checking into the Grand, I got the IHT and started to walk to the
CFA when I ran into Matt Macellaro on Mother Theresa Street and we had
a coffee. He updated me on events -- not much had changed.
That evening, to my surprise, Smile found me at the Grand. I wasn't sure
that he knew I was coming as I had not heard back from my emails to him.
He had heard but didn't know how to respond and spied me out in the lobby
and followed me into the elevator and we chatted. He had run into a professor
that Kimeta was working for at the University and was trying to calm him
down as he had some bizarre problem with everything that Kimeta did. So
we three chatted and then Smile and I went to the Kukri to meet Thuy and
Colin.
Colin was already there so we had a beer and when Thuy arrived all three
of us went to the Golden Road and had a delicious meal and pleasant conversation.
--Thursday, 15 March 01--
In the evening I went to the Grand and ran into Smile and Kimeta who were
meeting two American women she knew. The four of us chatted in the Grand
bar. What was really amazing was that the Grand has actually figured out
what a cold beer is. Maybe there is hope!
I invited Kimeta and the two Americans to visit the Kukri and we did.
Kimeta went to see about a job and then came back as the Americans were
leaving for a party at the KFOR restaurant. I encouraged her to go to
the party but stayed behind to read the paper. Matt Macellaro and a friend
came by and asked if I had seen Steve Campbell. I had earlier. They invited
me to another party (Kimberly's) but I passed a second time.
--Saturday, 17 March 01--
Slept late and finally got up but decided that more sleep made more sense.
I was walking to work around 11 AM when I saw Smile approaching me. He
told me that I had agreed to come to his place in the morning. I couldn't
remember promising though I am sure I did. He agreed to come back at 12:30
and we would go to lunch which we did. I had a hair from the tail of the
dog that bit me (a phrase that, over a beer, I explained to Smile).
Got the Friday and weekend issues of the IHT and tried to read them at
the Kukri but there was a power outage and the light was insufficient.
I went back to the Grand (which has always had a generator) and was depressed
at the apparent lack of progress. What does Kosovo think it is? California?
--Sunday, 18 March 01--
I got up around 8 AM, took my pills and brushed my teeth and decided that
I was not really awake yet so I got back into bed and enjoyed another
hour of light sleep. Blissful. There is something totally wonderful about
the half-sleeping-half-waking experience that I cannot quite describe.
Hearing loud barking, I looked out the window and counted at least 13
dogs that live in the middle of the block containing the Grand, the BPK
and UN HQ. Not one of them addresses the problem.
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The interior of an old mosque
near the outdoor market in Prishtina. The niche in the wall points
the way toward Mecca. I have noticed that most mosques that I have
visited have a chandelier in the center of the room and clocks on
either side of the niche. |
I went for lunch to the Istanbul which had been recommended to me. I ordered a Donner chicken which turned out to be hot and spicy and delightful. I don't know what the spices were but I loved them.
Smile came by late in the afternoon for some English training that included watching "Analyze This" and afterward went to the Kukri. We chatted for a while and then he said that he would visit a friend for a half-hour and come back. I told him that an Albanian half-hour lasts all night. He nodded his head in agreement.
--Monday, 19 March 01--
The morning dawned cloudy with a light rain but it cleared up quickly.
Like a day from Hell. Constant interruptions. It reminded me of everything that I dislike about work here.
Smile came by as planned at 6 PM and I did some email training and showed him how to use Yahoo as a search engine. Afterwards he came over to my room for some English training and then we went to the Kukri where the presence of the new American manager, Dale, reminded Smile of an event that occurred while I was gone. The new manager tried to tell a long-time employee that they could not work that day and everyone except Suzi went on strike and sat all day in Valentino's which is a much less interesting bar about three store fronts away. Apparently, all ended well, or at least the status quo ante prevailed.
The has been one change from before. Internationals who are on even short vacations are being targeted for burglaries. What exactly is up with this disturbing trend?
--Tuesday, 20 March 01-- The Vernal Equinox
The Equinox perhaps, but no one here seems to notice it.
Smile came by for lunch and we were walking to the Golden Road when we ran into Kimeta. She asked where we were going so I invited her to have lunch with us and she accepted. I ordered what I usually do, 12, 14 and 22 and since she was with us, 60. I told her that since we were in a Chinese restaurant she should use chopsticks and showed her how to use them. She displayed all the reluctance people show about using new and difficult tools but I kept telling her it was easy once you knew how to use them. She seemed skeptical.
When the waiter delivered our food she tried to use her chopsticks but was clearly unhappy. What was more surprising is that, judging from the amount of food she consumed, she didn't like the cuisine. This is even harder to understand because I had given her some spicy salsa and corn chips when I left in February and she liked them enough to talk about it. [Later Smile was to tell me that she had already eaten lunch and did like the food but was not hungry.]
She and Smile went to his village and he later told me that she had told his parents that Smile had actually used chopsticks and she was impressed -- as they were -- by his urbanity. Smile must have reveled in his status as a real international but it has a degree of reality.
--Wednesday, 21 March 01-- The Vernal Equinox
Today was Smile's birthday and he, Kimeta and I met at the Kukri but his heavy cold and runny nose dampened all the fun. We had a few beers and I suggested that the really important thing was for him to get a good night's sleep so we walked to my place -- Kimeta complained that I walked too fast -- and I gave him a package of Contac for his cold. While we were there I gave them some Grand Marnier but Kimeta left most of hers in her glass.
I went to the government building to get 1,050 DM (=7 X 150 DM) for the hotel bill. Moved out of the Grand and into Mary Venner's cozy apartment for 18 days. This served everyone's interests as the burglaries are currently limited to people who go on leave.
Had lunch with David Evans and Ram at the Parliament. I had a great Clinton burger, a bacon cheddar burger and fries. We avoided talking about work and had a pleasant time.
I stopped of at the Government building to give Neti my hotel receipt and some change. I told her that the hotel gave me the UNMIK rate so the bill came to 910 DM so I owed her 140 DM. She stared at me and then got a calculator to do the math. Can't anyone do arithmetic in their head anymore?
While at that end of town I got my hair cut. Another butcher job but I wanted my hair short because the weather is quite mild now.
Joe
A Virtual Tour of Kosovo |
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