Volume Two:

where the verdant spaces on campus make for a homey atmosphere
where playing ultimate at 11:30 PM is completely acceptable
where the north branch of the Chicago River is brown and gross-looking
where the jazz band kicks my butt
where the 3:1 male to female ratio is highly evident, and highly awesome
where the squirrels are fairly personable and friendly
where there are so many nice and awesome people on campus, and I get discouraged that I can’t hang out with everybody all the time
where I might lose my hookah virginity soon
where sirens roll by at least 6 times daily
where they actually served "cheesburger casserole" last night. I passed.
where the Sunday night worship time is a genuine experience
where my sister is coming to visit --- very soon!
where Jason, a cubs fan who actually likes the cardinals more, lives
where last night four passionate musicians/songwriters came together and just started writing worship songs for the fun of it.
where my math class is called "structures and concepts"
where I spent an hour and a half on an EL to go to a gospel church last sunday, it was fun, but we were so, so late.
where it rained all day on the first day of classes :-(
where the campus is 36% minority, a refreshing change to the white-rich-suburban atmosphere of Westminster Christian Academy
where I co-exist with the surrounding football players in 3 of the closest nearby rooms
where the only class I have on Tuesday/Thursday is at 8:30 AM

I think I like it here.

So, now, I progress to the question on all of your minds:
"Peter, what the heck is 'qajtown?'"

This is really quite simple, and, as I'm always in the market for a screename that exemplifies creativity, originality, and significance, its brilliant. Because this blog commences with my Kosova experience, I wanted something relevant to Kosova. Because I expected to keep it up to date with college, chicago, and the like, I wanted something relevant to Chicago. So, the albanian word for tea is "qaj" (pronounced, "chai"), and a nickname for chicago is "Chi-town." Since I liked the tea so much there (and brought a ton back with me), I had to honor the name, and lo and behold, we have, "Qajtown."

30 June

Sure, I am being forced to operate between 2 and 5 AM body time, but its been pleasant and lacking complications from Dallas-Fort Worth to London Gatwick [DFW -> LGW]. I sat next to an elderly, kindly gentleman named, "Harvey." I don't know if he snored or not because the Lunesta knocked me out for four straight hours. I totally the dig the Britishness - the accents, expressions, fashion. Once again, my inner anglophile is coming out. LGW likes to a wait a while before revealing the assigned gate for one's flight. I anticipated anxiously, paced, shopped, read. Only to find that the meager 5-minute intervals brought no remedy to the constant departure monitor notifcation:

Pristina - BA 2880 - Please WaitMy departing gate at London-Gatwick.

Eventually my instructions came. My first notion of uncertainty [aka American Ignorance] came with the currency exchange. *Just in case* I acquired 15 euros in exchange for $25. I don't know if they took advantage of my ignorance or not. Later, I was charged $5.32 for a drink at Starbucks. Sheesh. I had a little scare at the baggage claim in Pristina but finally it came.

[About the American Team] Everybody else's outgoingness and overwhelming super, wide-smiled, "get-to-know-you-right-away" personalities make up for my "quasi-stand back, smile, and casually wait to engage the conversation" personality.
My first encounter with my host family: They welcomed us and moved us to a cooler part of the house. Pajazit, the father, sat down across the coffee table, and offered us cigarettes and carbonated water. And then, the COFFEE. After adding sugar, it was tolerable, I guess. Maybe even better than tolerable. I even recall thinking, "gee, this stuff for a month might not be that bad."

My housemates:
Josh [my roommate]: From PA
Chae [Korean]: From Houston, TX
David [Older gentleman]: From PA, as well.
Both Josh and David are from the Blue Church team. All are nice fellas. We had an excellent first dinner together. Seeing Mark and Trish has been lovely. I like the culture here, but still have no idea what the names of my hosts are.

1 July

Went on a prayer walk today. It was personally revealing to see how much scripture some people can so simply and automatically recite during prayer; a tendency I haven't assumed as of yet. During the morning we had specific Lypjan orientation. Later in the day, we had camp orientation, instruction, and preparation. After our meeting and Better Life Center [BLC] prayer walk, I helped with decorations for the set. We painted lots of Island Scenery [rainbows, clouds, sun] and taped it up to the netting in the gym. Dinner was excellent, I checked email, and got to know some people better. We hung out at Ciao's - a coffeeshop and local hangout. The World Cup is pretty popular here, so when all else conversation fails, talking about futbol is usually an acceptable last resort. I won a bet with Bonita since France beat Brazil [I didn't think they would either], and got a free coffee and ice-cream as a result. :-)

Josh and Sam playing in front of the newly-constructed Island [skit stage].

2 July

Sunday! The worship service this morning was pleasant. We sang, prayed, and Mark preached about being obstinate and stubborn in sharing our faith. During free time, we assembled the ancient ARMY tents, I helped Kerry finish lining the point board, and hung out at the center. At night, Jeff and Deb had POTC:CBP set up at Ciao's to watch on the big screen, but my housemates and I left early to rest at home. Since we returned considerably early, we got some serious bonding time with my host family. I played trumpet for them, a bit. It wasn't that most enjoyable of functional instrument, but I think they appreciated the effort. Next, they offered me a beer. I gladly accepted. Skopsko is the name of the Kosovar beer [which I later found out was Macedonian.] During this time, I finally learned the family's names [they wrote them down] and listened as Leonita eagerly taught me shqip words for my belongings on the table [my light, watch, lighter, beer, etc...] and a number of pictures in a school book of hers. The power went out tonight, so I washed my hair in a flashlight-illuminated bathroom. I slept great.

Assembling the ancient ARMY tents;
Rumor has it they date back to the Korean War!

3 July

The first day of camp! Kids were excited, and overwhelmingly cooperative; I was impressed. It rained today which somewhat dampened the joyous spirits. My kids are great. Since none spoke English, we had somewhat awkward/silent beginnings. Though, their efforts are respectable. My kids are: Donika, Gresa, Labinota, Albrim, and Jeton. Tania and Joanne had the other two teams which comprised our group: the Blue Circles. The kids really are adorable. I helped with the afternoon game time which was so much fun. We played "Blob" and other run-around games. I was again impressed with the children's cooperation, as many of them were kids who were unable to register for camp due to number restrictions.

My Kids [1st Camp]: Jeton, Albrim, Labinota, Gresa/Diellza, and Donika

4 July

Happy Independence Day! Today, I went on my first family visit. Amanda, Dan, Agron [the translator], and I went to Albrim's house. As this was my first visit, ever, so I was naturally nervous. Well, we showed up and neither of his parents are home, only a cousin and his aunt. So, the beginning was a little awkward, but soon the aunt left and only albrim, his little sister, and their cousin [a 14 year old girl who we all seriously thought was 20] remained. So, Agron helped the conversation, but it was really just a very youthful visit - talking about her, me, Dan, Albrim, lots of jokes and humor, and it turned out to be a very comfortable and fun visit. I was nervous at the beginning, but I think it came together nicely.

My trumpet proved to be a unique way of entertaining or intriguing
Kosovars, both young and old. This is Albrim, at his visit.

5 June

Today was the third day of camp. Things are running more smoothely and naturally now. We started learning about shapes today, and sang the "shape song" which I helped Bonita, Amanda, and Dorinda write to the tune of "I've got Rhythm." The kids dig it. Today was filled with exciting experiences. The first two were my visits. For my first visit, I accompanied Tania and Daniella [the translator] to the Serbian part of town to visit Miljana. Svetlana, her best friend, accompanied us. This was a very enjoyable visit because the two girls are absolutely adorable. Svetlana is the more outgoing of the two, so she kept trying to correct my pronunciation of "Miljana" and her persistance [along with my errant attempts] was really hilarious. The girls pulled an english book out from their school, and showed off their English. It was very good, and in class they are shyer because they're Serbian. It's sad, because both are extremely bright.

Svetlana and Miljana (from Tania's group) are pretty much the most
adorable girls (they're Serbian) in Kosova. Here, we are playing "Hot Hands"

After the Serbian visit, I went back to the center and met Amanda and Vjollca to visit Donika. Donika has had a crush on me since day 1, and each day seemed to make it more evident. Anyway, the visit to her house was alot of fun, especially with Vjollca. Since she was sure that the family couldn't understand anything we were saying, she would take the liberty of asking me stuff, and saying "oh, don't worry, I won't translate that" if I said something embarrassingly stupid or something like that. I gave Donika a picture of myself, and she put it in a little photo album of hers. I'm getting more used the visits, and enjoying them more.

Donika, her family, Amanda, and myself in their apartment.

The third noteworthy happening from today came this evening. I came back to my host family somewhat early (10:15ish), and decided to sit down with them and chill for a while and finish watching the futbol game. Much to my suprise, they were just about to serve dinner. So, they quickly invited me to join them; I did. Well, the night before David told me about a meal he got to have with them and said it was terrific, though he warned me about the pepper and cheese dip, it's spicy. He said there were some green peppers that weren't hot which were also served. Well, I tried the dip, as he warned, it had a significant bite, but was doable. So, I pointed to the peppers, and asked if they were hot. I mean, C'mon, I'm a Schamp, we write the definition for hot stuff. They said, "No, no, no, no, no, no...not hot not hot" So, I took a bite out of one.

*ouch*

For 15 minutes I suffered, downing 8 glasses of water, stuffing gigantic chunks of bread in my mouth, panting, sweating, and trying desperately to make my lips and tongue stop stinging - it was the hottest thing I'd ever eaten. [Later, Trish told me that they probably understood "hot" in terms of temperature, not in terms of spicy - it was cooked, but cold.] The bright side? I got to three more Albanian words: Speci [pepper], Diex [sp? hot, spicy], and nxehte [hot, temperature.]

This would be the culprit.

6 July

No entry today :-(

But here are some pictures:

Skopsko, my first beer. I later found out CrossWorld frowns upon the
consumption of alcohol on the field. So, it was my last as well - for now.

Here is the Olluri family, along with my housemates: Josh, Chae, and David.
Ardian, Illirian, and Leonita are the three children. Leonita was a camper the first week.

Here's Milan and Xhevat, two of the BLC staff members.
They're cool fellas, I enjoyed chatting with them, playing basketball with them, and the like.

7 July

I am realizing more and more sensitively my own sin and lack of Christian understanding and "procedure" for lack of a better word [really, I have no better word]. Praying with Sam today before camp was encouraging and inspiring. Ought I feeling like praying needs to be a performance though? No, but I do need it. Today was rougher than the others - I think that is because everyone is tired. We lack patience, and let our goal of Serbian/Albanian unity sort of overtake the main point of letting the kids have fun. It’s funny that after a strong 20-minute prayer time, I have a bad day [in camp]. What made it more difficult? Miscommunication with other leaders, rowdy kids, and my visit. Stress: Gresa has now rescheduled for a 3rd time, now we need to do a visit on Tuesday and that urks me. I really love hearing other team members talk about God as their intimate friend - a level I am still hesitant to openly share or talk about. I DO think it makes the stronger though and that I would grow in strength from it. And yes, I need the strength - lust is catching up with me - lots of beautiful people here. I need to be mindful of how I interact with [a certain girl], a fairly attractive girl. I can't be the subject of judgement based on my actions, nor should I be the cause of a "sticky" situation. God, give me the strength to resist the temptation of the evil one and to grasp to your teachings of love and faithfulness to your commandments.
One bright note from today was my visit with Jeff and Deb. I chilled alot with Jeff, looked at pictures, talked about missions, his marriage [how it began...its a cool story - they've been friends since they were 3!] and other stuff of interest. An hour and a half passed very quickly. After supper and bombi at Ciao's, I went to the Edwards' apartment and called Dad via Skype. We talked for 12 minutes, it was a pleasant conversation and good to hear his voice. I conveniently interrupted him from a meeting. No basketball tonight as originally planned. Sad.
I absolutely ADORE our group hymnsings - even just one or two. For a group of musically laypeople, they are a lot for fun to harmonize with. I love my team. Everyone is inclusive and really great. Thanks, God.

The row of apartment buildings that line the walking street. Jeff and Deb's building is
front and center, right above Ciao's, which is the shop with the blue-ish awning.

Here's an example of Craft Class. Tyli [Natyra] led it, mostly in English.
We had to utilize a locker room becaus that was the only available room with enough space.

Today went much better. I shared my concern(s) of yesterday with the group, and Bonita prayed for me. Later, Dan and Dave prayed with me and we all honestly admitted our struggles and concerns - and it felt great to just get them "out there" as it were and to understand these men as my brothers. My 2nd visit was cancelled today and I had no idea what to do, so I went to the BLC to see who was there. Well, I ended up talking wtih Milan, a serbian transator on staff at the center. Well, we talked for about 2 hours about all kinds of stuff: Americans, American traditions, girls (showed him pics of JSB), dating, and eventually led to me throwing in some solid Christian beliefs into the conversation here and there. Xhevat also came in and added to it. Even though Milan seemed to pretty concretely claim and hold true to his Serbian Orthodox beliefs, I was still encouraged by the fact that I was able to open my mouth a little more and practice talking about God more. Later, at debrief [with the blue church...long story] I shared the same thing.

9 July

Sunday! Worship this morning was splendid - good 'sermon' by Bob, the assistant pastor at the Blue church. The singing was, once again, great. After that, Sam, Dan, Kerry, and I went to Roma's for lunch. This was borderline dissapointing because the restaurant wasn't serving any of our first choices that day [even though they were on the menu.] So, we all had to order something else and being limited in time, I order the most basic, smallest cheese pizza - it wasn't that great. So, after lunch we boarded the Kombis and went to the HUGE cave about 15 minutes away. The cave was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the walk through it. My headlamped helped when the electricity went out in the cave [much to the dismay of those who had made fun of me for wearing it.] Once we were back in Lipjan, I took a knap, listened to music, hung out with the family, and taught the kids "go fish." They don't *really* get it, but I tink they that they were happy to have learned it. Later, I went to dinner with David and, having delicious food, got to know him better. David is a very neat guy, poor, artsy; we share a love for creative words, musicals, the occasional romantic comedy, and cheap humor. He also has a daughter whom he talks about often. He's the first man I've met who carries a single vanilla folder with him everywhere. the folder contains poetry, songs, and essays - some that he loves, some that he's written, some that his daughter has written. He has a knack for recognizing brilliant style when I overlook it. He has recommended the movie, "I went up a hill and came down a mountain." I hope to see it sometime when I return, before NPU, in August.

I wish I knew where my blue pen is...

I don't remember the name of this cave, but golly, was it massive.

Here are David [middle] and Dan. They're good fellas.

10 July

After a brief scare of rain in the morning, the day became beautiful,. Almost too hot. Mondays are market days and the town is packed with people from villages all coming to the market to buy or sell. I went three times today. On the 3rd time, with Amanda after our visit, I purhaces some music and Dolce and Gabbana shirt [a trendy European brand.] The visit with Labinota was pleasant and short. Her mom is a tailor and she showed us some of her creations and her shop. After dinner I found little to do, so Mark kindly invited me out for a coffee. Our conversation was honest and real and very encouraging. I guess that, in a way, it could've felt like it was just a team leader taking one of his members out to chat, but this was more than that. But, because I knew Mark well and that I knew his family and that knew me, it was more personally pleasurable. We talked about all kinds of things, and he particularly encouraged me in that I don't have to try to act like or be a "super christian" but rather, to just live a God-pleasing life. I asked him several questions about camp, this and the next one, and I was impressed with his thoughts. I look forward to seeing them [Mark and Trish] more often.

Labinota[right] with a beautiful wedding dress her mother made.
Her sister attended camp the second week.

11 July

Finally, the last day of camp 1. It’s a culmination of hard work and personal relationship-building. I knew this day would be long and busy, and it turned out to be just that. The morning progressed fairly quickly and it was pleasant. My kids were still too dumb to understand the game. Oh well. After lunch, I went back to the center to clean up. It turns out, however, that we played basketball and hung out together for a while. Well, I felt guilty about that, so I went outside to pick up trash on the ground [there was a lot of it.] Two kids joined me, Ervis and Gresa, whom I was visiting later today. They were persistent and very selfless; it was wonderful. When I was finished with that, I went inside and talked with Arbana and Roza a bit. They're neat girls, I hope that they will become believers. Roza wrote a very mature monologue entitled, "why?" - questions about poverty, the world, etc... I was very impressed. They're also pretty cute, shucks. After that, Deb recruited me for bathroom cleaning. Fun. Finally, it was time to go to Gresa's house for a visit. Laura [the translator] and Dan came with me. The first thing I learned was that Gresa's name was actually Diellza - it was a pretty hilarious discussion actually. After that, the visit was quite enjoyable. Also, after Diellza revealed her real name whe was so much crazier and outgoing. Seriously, like a new person. It was neat to see - all this energy bottled up, ready to come out. After dinner, we headed to the BLC for the parents' program. Overall, it went well and was warmly recieved. The only downside was during Mark's "Message" [basically, a light explanation of Chrisitanity] - it was super noisy and I doubt people understood, but there is hope. The noise was satan's manipulative doing, I'm sure. Afterwards, we had our last group togetherness time - we also had a good prayer time. Exhausted, the boy and I came home fairly early to spend time with the Olluri's.

Gresa/Diellza, Laura, and I. There were so
many family members there, they all kept pouring in.

Here's an example of the energy they had [the Albanian National Anthem]:

12 July

The first team left. A number of us went to Prishtina to tour, hang out and see the them off. Prishtina was fairly pleasant, but short-lived at the same time. Hopefully, I can see it again sometime before I go. After Prishstina I found Josh and we hung ouat the Edwards' apartment while we awaited the pizza dinner with language helpers. Once again, I let teenage boy hormones get the best of me and let the fact that I was seperated from the people I wanted to to the most disstract me from the pleasurable company I was sitting by. What a shame. That night I attended an intern meeting. We [I'm not an intern, techincally] were reminded that we need to be mindful of our actions and make the flirtaciousness nill. Other things we discussed, but this obviously hit me the hardest. Josh andI then had a good brotherly discussion. Josh: what a guy! We went home shortly thereafter and got rest. Because I had to get up at 6:40 AM!

Me with the Skanderbeg statue in Pristina, as seen on Wikipedia

13 July

SKOPJE!!! Today, Trish led a group of 6 of us to Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. We traveled on the train for 2 hours - I learned the Norwegian game, "idiot." Skopje was much fun. I generally stuck with Kerry, as the women stuck together. We went shopping, a lot. The coffee, as I recall, was much stronger. I finished it nonetheless. The mall was nice, but I enjoyed the "old" part of the city much more. The restaurant Kerry and I ate out was superb - seriously, some of the best chicken that I've had in a long time. Kerr and I enjoyed a hike around the fortress/castle thing and got some sweet shots of the city and different structures. It started to rain as we were walking bacak to the mall and train station - so, we opted for a taxi instead. That night I went to Rozafa's with the interns and enjoyed their pleasant company - it got extremely chilly, as I recall. Bonita challenged me about going to Urbana and being open to long-term ministry. Matthew shared a personal concern of his regarding living in Australia or not. I engaged in a very long, heated chess match with Kerry at the guys' house. I won. :-)

My coffee in Skopje, Macedonia

The Stone Bridge

Some statue within the "fortess/castle thing"

Perhaps evidence of war in the "fortress/castle thing?"

More cool "fortress/castle thing"

Kerry and Trish in the train on the way back to Lypjan. We had a splendid time.

14 July

Today I slept in, relaxed, rejuvenated, and spent some more time with my host family - it was bliss! So, we got some lunch somewhere and then had a meeting. I think. Yeah, a review of last camp. I gave a suggestion which was warmly welcomed: the "begin-at-3-make 'em earn-5-points" system [like music competitions]. They liked it and we're using it! Again, Josh and I hung out at the guys' house after our dinner [reunited with Skender, our chef] and I again beat Kerry in chess.

Natyra and Flutra. By meer appearance, you wouldn't think they're only 17 and 18.
Nor would you by their maturiy, peace of mind, and interactions. Wow.