May 23-June7
My two weeks at Butrint (the archaeological site) and staying in the Livia (the family-run hotel that became my home) have been an experience I’ll never forget. Every day I woke up to the choice of eggs or corn flakes (but only if the cook was in could I have corn flakes…) the hills and beaches were beautiful and so was my trek up to class to the top of the castle. We had lecture every morning discussing skeletal remains, protocol, the politics of archaeology, some information about the surrounding towns and politics of Albania.
Stories:
A team from Notre Dame was excavating an area of the site and they had unearthed some graves. I had the opportunity to excavate one of these remains, which happened to be a child. I was digging in the sun all day slowly uncovering the skeleton of a medieval child. Seeing the process from the beginning-digging and removal to cleaning and analysis- was a great experience to have. I was so happy I could see every part of the process.
The Notre Dame team was eclectic. We invited them over to the Livia for drinks one night and that was an experience in itself. I did however get to practice some of my Italian skills with some of the professors.
The next night we met them at Mango, the local night club and a place with many hilarious stories and awkward moments. Just picture a bunch of guys who spend most of their time in a classroom or dirt pit trying to “bust a move.” Yep.
OH. How ‘bout the time we were attacked by gypsy children?! I have never been afraid of a child before until now. There were 3 of us walking along the boardwalk thing stopping at the small souvenir shops, when suddenly 3 raggedy little girls came dancing up alongside us smiling and singing and asking “one euro, one euro, please please…” we pretended to not understand and so they responded by rubbing our arms, we simultaneously snatched our purses up and gently tried pushing them away-but that only made it worse. One of the girls started crazily laughing, I don’t know how to describe it but it was like an insanity laugh. As she did this one of the other girls had a knife and was holding it near my friend-either to cut her bag strap or threaten her-we don’t know-but we just walked faster, pushed harder and started saying goodbye over and over again. They were eventually distracted by an older couple walking by.
We went to the beach twice and the first time we got stormed out the second time however I was able to swim out to some of the small islands right off the coast. We kayaked, ate, drank, and put loads of sun-block on. I’m pretty sure I was the palest person on the beach that day. Our little beach day was so much fun. I had such a great time with everyone in the group just hanging out and laughing about everything.
We visited a little place called the Blue Eye, a beautiful little spring in the middle of the dusty hills and falling concrete buildings. The water was blue and clear and so refreshing-we filled about 8-10 bottles of water to bring back to the hotel- and one of my roommates actually jumped into the freezing, crystal clear pool. It then proceeded to downpour as we hurriedly took a group shot and ran back to the cars.
Gjirakaster:
This was a medieval town we visited that was planned by the Italians; I weirdly noticed right away that it reminded me of Italy. The most important part of this day was that I ate my best meal here from the entire trip. We had an array of cheeses, salads, grilled veggies, lamb burger patties (AMAZING), fried rice-cakes things and so much more- I stuffed myself. Anyway in the morning when we arrived we stopped for cappuccinos with our tours guide and then proceeded to trek up the steep path to castle/fortress, which was HUGE. It was used in WWII as a fortress as well and actually there was a fighter plane that landed in the field/courtyard on the roof of the castle. In the afternoon we explored the tiny town and shopped at the local artisan shops, ending with ice cream at a local place.
The small nearby towns, although dilapidated, each had their own charm; Samhili with its beautiful beaches and old dirt road to find the beach; Saranda with its long boardwalk type thing along the shore and all the small shops. Even taking the rickety old bus to get into town was an adventure. At one point the bus driver stopped the bus in the middle of the road, turned it off, jumped up and ran away from the bus while the rest of sat there and wondered what was happening. We shouldn’t have worried because within 3 minutes he was back again to start the bus without another word.
Our dinners were an event every night followed by drinks on the balcony or in the courtyard out in front of the hotel. The Livia was such a beautiful little haven and oasis in the craziness of surrounding small towns falling apart from lack of infrastructure or a government that cares. We made friends with the staff and a few locals even playing a drinking game trying to communicate over the universal language of a few brews.
There were so many great experiences in Albania and I think it’s important for people to know what the country is really like instead of through a movie that scares people into believing false assumptions. So in light of that let me explain my final thoughts of Albania.
Albania-once again, another place I strangely want to return to- a diamond in the rough, one of the roughest places. So many beautiful things I’ve seen, beaches, ruins, countryside, people- so many rickety and broken down things that need fixin’-ruins, countryside, people, infrastructure, political structure, occupational structure, garbage disposal structure. That seems like long list, well because it is a long list. Despite that most of these “structures” were lacking and the help seems far off, Albania is incredibly beautiful and the people were some the nicest and welcoming I’ve ever met. There is a lot of hope for this country to get back on its feet after recovering from so many years of communism.
I will miss my early morning breakfasts with my class listening to sparrows chirp at one another from their nest in the corner of our outdoor dining room. Our group got along so well jokin’ and making fun of each other- it’s like we’ve always known each other. When I think about it and look back over the last semester I can’t believe the amount of amazing and different people I’ve met. All the stories I have and the experiences I’ve gained have handed me a little more life experience than when I left the states. As I keep saying so many doors keep opening for me, a sort of Alice in Wonderland labyrinth. Onto Corfu, a trek across the Ionian Sea by ferry in the hot sun with a cool breeze in my hair.
June 6-8
Corfu
Absolutely beautiful, so different from Albania even in the simplest thing-like the port or color of the island. Another place I accidently spent too much money in-but it was worth it in the end. I ate great Greek food, drank new kinds of beer, met more interesting people, learned more about the people who came along in the trip, listened to traditional music and spent tons of money I wish I had.
ATHENS:
We literally spent 5 hours in Athens. We got to the airport took a train to the center of town (1 hour) then frantically and crazily sprinted up the Acropolis stairs, took pictures and ran back to jump on the train and make our connection flight to Romania. I will definitely be returning to Greece one day. I only saw one thing. Haha.
Tomorrow we begin the final leg of our journey to Bucharest Romania. Paleopathologies and Dracula await.
June 8-14
Romania
More insanity in an airport with a big group, but anyway, Bucharest, the capital of Romania-- So as we were driving into the center of town we saw the old communist leaders’ palace buildings lining the street. The layout of the city reminded me slightly of Milan, but Milan was much cleaner. Also in Bucharest there were wild, scary stray dogs everywhere-except for the one that walked us to class one day. We visited a few museums here (like every city) but I have never been to a museum where each worker collectively hated everything in existence. We got the dirtiest looks and the harshest glares and the most unnecessary attitude. They even wanted us to pay for pictures and to enforce that there were guards at every corner. Not one smile, not one thank-you, not even a hello or have a nice day. These people really hated their jobs. In any case, many in the group had other rude experiences by other Romanians-nothing sticks out in my mind, except the amount of gypsies (I have no idea what the PC word would be, so I hope this does not offend). They beg at every corner with no shame. It’s so sad to see but it’s the reality. They can be vicious too, I saw one woman throw a glass bottle into a public street without a second thought.
Anyway, for class we studied in the Rhiner institute-an absolutely incredible place filled ceiling to floor with skeletal remains for us to study. The people who ran the institute were so welcoming and encouraging to us students. It’s really great to meet new professors across an ocean, speaking a different language, who have no idea who you are but want the best for you and have the highest hopes for students. That alone is really supportive and wonderful to hear.
TRANSYLVANIA
We visited Bran castle-aka Dracula. That was…interesting. Surprisingly enough the castle had barely any mention of Vlad the Impaler, Dracula, or Bram Stoker (not even a reference of TWILIGHT?!) the castle itself was beautiful with great views of the small town below, but the crowds were insane and the Japanese tourists even crazier. They pushed and shoved people like they weren’t actually people taking up space or waiting in line-no apology, no excuse me, just completely rude- well we got over that as soon as we hiked up a hill to our lunch which overlooked the entire valley-absolutely beautiful. The waiters were friendly the restaurant was cool but the food was ok-similar to Disney-you pay for the experience.
Overall, a let-down because I guess I had such high expectations for an intimidating dark fortress nestled in the hillside of the infamous Transylvania-I can equate it to Pisa in Italy-a huge build-up and then the leaning tower isn’t even that tall…
Anyway, following that we visited the beautiful medieval town of Brasov-built by the Germans and Saxons. I indulged on sweet streusel and pretzels. My roommates and I bought wine, cheese and salami for a cheap dinner that-since I am literally completely out of cash. I do with we could have spent a little more time here because it had so much character.
I think I can say that Bucharest, as a city (not the classes I had there) is a place that I am ok with not returning to, nothing overall horrible but nothing overall endearing like Siena and Butrint (Albania).
Fieldwork Program:
This whole program was wonderful I learned so much and enhanced skills I already had. I met new and exciting people that I truly hope I will one day meet again. All my professors were very helpful and encouraging throughout the entire process. These countries were so different from the normal list on vacation spots. I was able to integrate myself into a little daily life routine, independent of tourism. I encourage everyone to do travel programs through your school-It’s such a great experience to travel as a student.
So that was my crazy travel semester-I LOVED IT. I am looking forward to American cheeseburgers, convenience stores, and movies! One last semester at school and then I’ll be off again- who knows where I’ll be next… thanks for reading! :]
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