The wait is over...

I have a new sink and a new hot water heater...!

Last Friday I went to the clinic to meet 2 workers that transported my treatment table from Prishtina to Malishevë. When I got to the clinic door, there was Shaip working on installing the sink. He was the plumber that we had originally asked to do the work. He had already completed the water heater installation and repaired the leaking faucet and leaking toilet.
Here it is all finished...there needs to be a little touch up work done on the wall behind. Also, maybe in the future I will put a tile splash board behind the sink, for ease of cleaning.

One more step towards getting the clinic open.

Still waiting....

A week ago Wednesday, the 5th, someone was to come to the clinic to begin the work installing the sink and the water heater and to repair the leaks in the bathroom. He still hasn't come, or even called. Last night, someone different was to go to the clinic at 5pm to begin the plumbing work. It didn't happen.

There are no yellow pages here to look up and call a plumber...it is all word of mouth. Someone has an uncle with a cousin that knows someone that can do plumbing.

In God's timing it will all come together, according to His plans.

Painting all finished...

The painting is all finished at the new clinic. Labi is the young man I hired from our fellowship, and he did a great job. It is amazing what a fresh coat of white paint did for the room. So the first step is completed.

Now...waiting for someone to install the sink and water heater that I have purchased. Pastor Randy spoke with a local shop owner who also does plumbing. He was to meet Pastor Randy at 2pm on Wednesday...last Wednesday...still waiting.

The landlord needs to come and repair the leak on the water valves to the toilet and the sink in the bathroom. Maybe the plumber can do all the work and just bill the landlord for his portion of the work...?

I will check on the window coverings and an area rug later this week.

"little by little"...it is coming together...stay tuned...

The Adventure Begins....

October 1, I paid the first month's rent on the new clinic area . This is going to be quite an adventure for me...I have never been in a position to have a clinic or manage a clinic before in my career as a physical therapist.

The room is located on the 2nd floor in a building that is mostly vacant. The KEK office is on the first floor, which is the electric company. There is a post office for mail and telephone service, and there is also a coffee bar at the other end of the hallway on the 2nd floor. The health center is visible from the front door of the building as is my apartment...so it is close to where I was previously treating patients and where I live.

Pastor Randy will be helping to manage the work that needs to be done before I can begin treating patients. A new sink will be installed so that I don't have to go into the bathroom to wash my hands after each patient. There is no hot water in the bathroom so I will need to install an "on demand" 10 liter water heater...so I won't be heating water when I am not in the clinic. That will save on the electric bill...! I also need to install curtains across the entire front wall, which you can see is glass. Most curtains here are a type of sheer fabric, some designs in the fabric are common. I don't mind the sheer fabric, it will allow sunlight to come in but offer some privacy to what is going on in the clinic. Paint...I know nothing about the paint here. In the US, I would ask the guy in the paint aisle what to buy. I have no clue...but I am planning on painting the walls white. You can see the frames of the windows/doors are bright blue, and my waiting area chairs are bright red. Enough said...

I have found a place to purchase an exam stool, no wheels, but it will work. I also located a tri-fold privacy screen, as well as some furniture from an English school. The father of a former patient, will take a truck to Prishtina to pick up the other treatment table that has been in storage for 2 years, and bring it to the clinic in Malishevë for me.

So this next week is about getting started. I hope to be treating patients by the 17th, sometimes things go really slowly here...timing is always an unknown. I am sure I will learn many things in this process...it is always an adventure...

Two more things...

While driving back to Kosova today...on the "autostrade", the new super highway in Albania...where did the 3 cows come from, how did they get on the highway with guardrails everywhere and no villages in site...? They seemed to be happy just standing there, traffic was very light. Where were the "humans"...?

What is "discount pizza"???

Montenegro tidbits...

Having spent the last week in Montenegro, I want to share things that really made me smile or wonder...huh...?

Ulcinj and most of Montenegro is coastal, with beautiful beaches. Fashion here includes a visible swimsuit under your clothing...men don't wear shirts in restaurants...men are often in speedo swimsuits, not so much the younger generation, and everyone has sandals on. No stiletto high heels here. Younger children, 4 years and younger...well, most of them wear nothing on the beach.

Bacon and pork chops in the stores. Eggs in cartons in the stores.

There is a rooster in a yard across from my hotel...he starts crowing everyday at noon, not when the sun comes up, but in the afternoon...

Most buildings and homes are white brick with red roofs, rarely were there red brick buildings so common in Kosova.

Mosquitoes are especially fond of American blood, I think my "OFF" repellent was a sweet nectar to the little critters that partied in my room last night.

I saw lots of Toyota Yaris cars...bigger brothers though, they all had 4 doors. I was very pleased to get 65mpg on this trip, driving 731km on 27 liters of diesel.

There is a more open display of affection. Older couples walking holding hands, younger couples also. Albanian and English are spoken in Ulcinj...but as you drive further north, there is very little Albanian and almost no English. It was fun to watch families playing in the ocean, grand fathers, parents, siblings...they were all having a great time together. I know this is a tourist community, but the kindness that was shown me was genuine...not because I was an American, but because I think the people of Montenegro are very nice.

Tomorrow...returning to Kosova, the holiday is over...

Montenegro...

I am currently in Ulcinj, Montenegro...for a time of rest and restoration.

Yesterday I drove along the entire coast of Montenegro, from Ulcinj to Herceg Novi. The Adriatic Sea is between Italy and Montenegro. I was able to take my time, I would turn off of the main road to stop and take pictures, or to just enjoy the beauty. Ok, I confess...I got lost a few times turning down a road that I thought would give me a great view...to discover it was a one way road that twisted and turned into a small residential area. At one point I took a ferry across a bay to Herceg Novi. I took the long way around the on the return trip...it took me about 45 minutes, but it was beautiful. There was one place, Kotor, that I would have loved to stop and explore more. There were steep mountains on one side, the ocean on the other...but on the side of those mountains were remnants of the old city fortress walls. It was getting late in the day, and I wanted to be back in Ulcinj before dark.

There were areas that were so colorful with oleanders of every color...white, pink, red. There were also bougainvillea mostly bright pink and purples. There were also palm trees, pine trees, rose of sharon, and magnolia trees...in some areas, all of this was a canopy along the drive.

The one thing I have to remember...I am no longer driving a Jeep...and I need to be careful turning down dirt roads to take pictures. My little car just is not made for those kinds of adventures. I was really happy when several times when I found myself on a very narrow one way stone street, and I had room to spare getting through. A Jeep would have never made it through those narrow streets.

The server at my hotel is too slow to download any photos at this time...