Things here are pretty much normal. Bledi is working crazy amounts of hours completing this government project, which ends... today! Woo hoo!!!! After this, he will be working more normal hours every day and not leaving the city. Thank God for that.
At least Bledi is working, though, because as for me, well... I haven't been so lucky. My job is now simply four hours a week tutoring at the school and my other private student. Since all of this work is a few hours a day after school, that leaves me in the house, doing nothing, all day long. Pretty boring... I guess I am pretty stir-crazy. It's not like there is much for me to do here on my own... I can't really go out because there isn't really anywhere to go. It's not really socially acceptable for a woman to sit out somewhere by herself... even just on a bench outside. People stare. I have been spending a lot of time with friends, going for coffee, to the movies, or out to dinner.... but that doesn't fulfill my life.
For Valentine's Day this year, Bledi drove us down to the south of Albania to a town on the border with Greece called Saranda. It was about a 7 and a half hour drive through winding roads in the mountains and countryside. The views were breathtaking. We stayed in a little hotel and had dinner by the water. It was sweet. Here's a few pictures so you can see what it looks like down in the south!
The one with Bledi is a picture of a cute traditional restaurant that we ate at on the road... the guy is wearing a traditional costume of that region.
