There are about five blog post ideas that have been siting in “Draft” tab of my life for so long that I forget when we actually started them. Note to self: one can’t expect perfection to be achieved in an update, so don’t put everything on hold in hopes of finding it.

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We are surrounded by mountains on nearly every side, much to Bryan’s satisfaction.

The mountains to the north and west are far enough away that a good bit of mist or clouds (or smog) will hide their existence. But the range just to the east is close enough that we enjoy the shadow play among the ridges almost every afternoon at sunset.

The parts of Prishtina that are nearest to us consist of an eclectic mix of city and suburbs: newly constructed apartment buildings, old apartment buildings that have been renovated on the inside, small storefronts on the bottom level of a home, and brightly colored houses.

There are several traditional Albanian style houses, where one floor was built for each generation living inside if I understand correctly, but many unique styles are visible as well. I even spotted a log cabin on the way home from school one day, and decided that if we ever bought a house here it would be that one. A handful of lots are still vacant in the outskirts where we live, in Matiqan. Although the construction business is booming and we see dramatic progression everywhere, I keep on hoping the two lot next to our apartment building will stay empty for a little while longer

We love our 5th floor apartment, both for the scenic view of the city and because we’re under our landlord’s balcony so there are no footfalls to ignore. But we thank God for the existence of the building elevator which makes our lives infinitely easier. Especially on grocery days.

Everything we need on a regular basis is nearby, which is the benefit of living in a culture that is centered around walking and public transportation. We frequent the small family owned store less than a block away, and they now recognize us with a friendly greeting every time we stop by. Once, when we didn’t have exact change for our purchase (and neither did they) the owner waved it off and said in his broken English “Ska problem, pay next time”. I was surprised, but grateful for their generosity and clear trust that we would pay them back.

Our bus stops right in front of the mosque pictured above, which is a 2 minute walk from our front door.

One direction takes us to the end of the bus line, which is about five minute ride. From the end of the line, school is only a 7 minute walk or so. Taking a bus in the other direction winds down through the city, leading toward the center of town. As helpful as they are, I still find myself mentally listing the inconveniences of public transportation on a regular basis. Even on the best of days, you can spend 30 minutes to an hour waiting for a bus, particularly if you need to take two different lines to your location. Timeliness isn’t the greatest concern for people-centered cultures. And busses are rarely on time, no matter where you live. Still, we are grateful to have an alternative to walking.

Life thus far is very simple here, in some ways. Many of the things that encourage us to engage in a mad rush of busyness (such as the convenience of cars, relationships with a large community, or investment with numerous causes and organizations) are missing from our lives here, or have yet to be developed. Getting into a new rhythm has taken a longer period of time than anticipated, and exploring this city requires more planning and effort. We are grateful for the slow transition. We are comforted by the faces that have become familiar and the trust that is being built. We are encouraged by the community of people that we work with. And we are slowly learning more about this country and this city, bit by bit.

I severely underestimated how much we would sleep this past week.

Seriously, the amount of rest the human body asks for when undergoing change seems ridiculous.  As long as you don’t actually consider the details of the physical/emotional/spiritual transition, that is, and the energy that each requires.  Then the copious amounts of sleep make perfect sense.  “Sleep is for the weak!”; this used to be my motto.  Any of our college friends will confirm that in a heartbeat. However, the silly motto died last week, as we identified in the last post that there can be no shortcuts to transition and that includes sleep.  Ultimately we made the better of the two choices, I think.

 

Besides sleeping, this week consisted of the tricky yet somewhat enjoyable process of setting up a home in Kosova. We made multiple trips to phone stores in an effort to figure out why one of our sim cards worked and the other didn’t.  We went on several exploratory adventures through different parts of Pristina, led by our kind and generous neighbors.  We exchanged the cash we had brought for euros with a friendly fellow on the side of the road who “cut us a deal” after we refused his first offer.  We learned the bus routes that are relevant to our lives right now, as well as where to find the 50 cent taxis.

 

Some of our kind neighbors drove us to the mall in search of a trash can, hangers, a fan, and a few other immediately necessary household items. Another neighbor showed us her favorite ice cream shop and vegetable stand. Our apartment has gone through three transitions as we set things up, then take them down to set them up somewhere else.  We went grocery shopping at approximately three different stores, buying only a few items at a time due to the fact that we had to carry whatever we bought and walk at least four blocks back to our apartment.

 

But don’t forget, this was all over the period of seven days. And for every hour we spent running errands, I’d bet we spent about three hours sleeping afterward trying to catch up on energy.

 

The whole week wasn’t all work, however.  About halfway through the week, we were starting to recognize the need for a break when our friends Heather and Caleb invited us out to visit their new apartment in a village about an hour away.  The hour-long bus ride afforded another nice nap, and the rest of the adventure was equally refreshing.

Caleb and Heather graciously treated us to a lovely lakeside lunch and we got to snuggle with their little sweetheart.

Side note, the coolest part of lunch was hands down Bryan’s cook-your-own-meat-on-a-lava-rock order.  We had no idea that was what it meant when the menu said the meat was served on a lava rock. But it was pretty awesome and tasted Ama-zing.

We spent the afternoon milking our after-lunch coffees (a cultural habit that we have been enjoying immensely), enjoying the lake breeze, and exploring the lake on a rented paddle boat.

It was a much-needed reprieve from the city, and we returned home feeling ready to tackle a few more tasks. After another nap, that is.

 

All in all, the process of settling in has slowly begun to produce fruits.  This apartment is beginning to feel like a home, we’re slowly becoming familiar faces at our favorite grocery stores and coffee shops, and we made it to the bus stop on time today.

Even though the week kinda felt like a long nap with lots of little breaks, I’d say we’re doing pretty good.