Police stop...twice in 30 minutes....?

I was driving to a city called Gjakova yesterday evening. Along one stretch of road I am very cautious about the speed limit, since I was stopped by the police 3 months ago for going too fast. The roads were wet from the recent snowfall, the temperature was dropping, and it was getting dark. There was no way I was speeding...but a police officer stepped into the road and waved me over to stop.

Oh man...! How could I be getting another speeding ticket when I was being so careful...? The police officer was very nice and asked me in english for my driver's license and my documents, as he was waving his flashlight at my car tires. He didn't even look at my documents. He told me to have a nice evening and waved me to drive on. No speeding ticket...what a relief.

30 minutes later, same road conditions, just before I reached Gjakova, another police officer stepped into the road and waved me over to stop. Again...??? I had just gone through the emotions of possibly getting a speeding ticket...and now it is happening again. This officer spoke to me completely in Albanian, again inspecting my documents and tires...taking a while to inspect my NM driver's license. I am pretty sure he has never seen a NM license before.

So...no speeding tickets, my documents are all in order, and yes I have winter tires on my car.

Have a nice evening...

Still stuck in the field...

My little car is still stuck in the field behind my apartment. I guess it will have to stay there until the snow melts some and I can find some young men to help push and dig. I am not sure where I will park it when I get it out...the edges of the streets are piled high with snow from the sidewalks.

There is more snow forecast for Tue-Thurs this next week. I had wanted to see how my car handled on snowy roads. I know this for certain...it doesn't do well in deep snow.

Winter wonderland...

We finally had a major winter snowfall in Malishevë. We have had flurries all winter long...but this morning there was 10-12 inches of snow. It is so beautiful and early this morning as the sun came up it was so quiet and pristine.

As the shops along the main street in Malishevë began to open, the snow was piled high on the sidewalks. There was some sculpting of the snow, and a few snowmen started showing up.

Unfortunately there was a huge pile of snow put into the area of the street where I usually exit my parking place between two buildings. So...I had to attempt an exit through the field behind my building. My little car pushed snow as I was able to go about 50 yards before becoming stuck. The clearance on my little car is not high enough for this amount of snow. It is currently in the field behind my apartment, and it will stay there until some of the snow melts. I do have to be careful to not wait too long because with the melting of the snow comes the mud.

Camping showers...brrrrr

A new adventure...camping showers in the winter!

In the past there have been times when there was no water, off for several hours or a day. But I have never experienced a time when the water turns off and on every 5-10 minutes. The water had been fluctuating but had been quiet for the last 2 hours. So...I thought it was safe to get into the shower. I was all shampooed and soaped up...water off! Yikes...! It is about 50 degrees in the hallway/shower area. It took about 8 liters of cold water out of a bottle to rinse off. It took about an hour to get warmed up. I had power so that was a help to dry my hair, have hot tea, and snuggle up in the warm living room.

Now, I am so thankful when the water stays on throughout an entire shower.

Never put off till tomorrow...

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today..."

This is so true here, but I still find myself doing that very thing.

Two days ago I did quite a lot of cooking and decided to finish all the dishes the next day. The power had gone off and I don't like to wash dishes by candle light. Yesterday morning, there was no water...ok so I will leave the dishes until the water comes back on. Today...2 days later there is still no water.

So....this morning I am washing dishes "camping style". It takes me 6 liters of water, 1/2 to wash, 1/2 to rinse, to do all of my dishes. I have water stored in 2 liter bottles, and heat it on the stove. It takes a lot longer to wash dishes this way...why did I not just do them 2 days ago?

Oh, by the way....I use the left over dish water to flush the toilet...no water is wasted. I hope the water is back on in another day or so...washing my hair "camping style" is not as much fun.

In the news...

About a month ago I was interviewed for a national newspaper, Zëri. The title of the newspaper means "voice". I have never been interviewed before and found it to be very interesting. Through a translator...Urim, I was asked many questions, and here are some of my answers:

• What do you find hard about living in Kosova? "when the power goes out and I have to close my clinic because it is cold, or there is no water...but I know that everyone else also deals with these difficulties...it is part of life here."
• What do you like about the people of Malishevë/Kosova? "I like the way people are friendly, and how they value families and relationships. The people of Kosova are very hard workers. "
• What do you not like about the people of Kosova? "the cigarette smoke" (we all laughed when I said that, especially since the man doing the interview had just lit up a cigarette.)
  
• What would you tell the Mayor of Malishevë? "continue to encourage the people to be a part of the change that is taking place in Kosova...it will take time, but step by step good changes are taking place, be patient"

I was also able to share that I was a Christian missionary, and that God gave me a love for the people of Kosova, and especially for the community of Malishevë. They found it difficult to understand why I would leave the wealth and comfort of America to come help the people of Kosova. There were also general questions about my family and friends in the US, as well as questions about my physical therapy work and clinic.

There was one question that I was not asked..."where is your husband?" That is usually the first question people ask me.

A few friends have read the article that was released today and told me it was very good, very positive about the work that is going on here in Malishevë. Yes, I bought a few extra copies of the newspaper.

Perëndia ia fali dashurinë për Kosovën is translated "God gave her a love for Kosova."

Yes, He did...

Slow down....! (part 2)

Ok....so I got a speeding ticket. Last Sunday when I was returning from Skopje on my first "airport run", I was stopped for going 23kph over the speed limit. Pastor Jeff was with me, we were talking, I probably wasn't paying close attention. Then, there was a police officer standing in the middle of the road with his little stop sign in hand. He asked me for all of my paper work, and license. He asked me where I work, live, and what I do there. He then showed me the speed gun...73kph...in a 50kph zone. He returned to the car with a ticket, and a 25€ fine.

He did not keep my documents...that was a very good thing. It was on a Sunday, and on Monday I had to drive to Skopje again, and needed my documents. I am told you drive to another city, pay the fine and get your documents back. I only had to go to a bank in Malishevë and pay the fine. Yes...I have already paid the fine.

Returning from my second "airport run"...I watched closely the area where I got the ticket...looking for a speed limit sign. There was a 50kph sign at the beginning of a long mountain drive with steep hills and winding roads. The last speed sign was about 10km away from where I got the ticket. Where I got the ticket was a straight stretch of road, completely out of the mountains. I have been told that a good rule of thumb is when driving through villages, 50kph, on straight roads/highways 70-80kph, unless there is a posted sign. I now know what the speed limit is along that stretch of road...I am teachable!

I don't mind driving the speed limit...it is just hard to figure it out sometimes...