Shelly's Blog

The winner?

2011-11-05T12:27:00.001-07:00

Mr. Morris opened the door. “David, I need to see you after class.” The class had fallen silent. I had been teaching for half an hour and they hadn’t listened. Their own conversations were more important than what would be on their Chemistry exam Friday.

I went off the lesson plan. In fact, I just went off. “I want you all to think about what just happened. Since you walked in the room you have not ceased talking, but as soon as a man spoke you all got quiet. Girls, I especially want you to think about what this means. Why will you listen to a man but you won’t listen to me? Why were his words more important than mine? Girls, you may not think about it now, but someday it will be you getting overlooked for the promotion or left out of the discussion because you are a woman. You can be the ones to change this by showing respect t to women today!”

As the students left class, David told the girl next to him about the argument he had with his girlfriend.

“Yeah, girls are just all drama.” she said.

I could have strangled her.

This is an entry for the Mookychick blogging competition, FEMINIST FLASH FICTION 2011. Enter now.

Photoblog

2011-06-08T19:39:00.001-07:00

Hey! I have a photoblog! Maybe I'll do a better job keeping up that one than this one :( I can't wait to graduate so I can have more time for stuff like this!!!

http://www.photoblog.com/smac77/

progress...

2011-04-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today I finished reading Language and Symbolic Power by Pierre Bourdieu, and I got IRB approval to conduct research at my research site. That's progress, right? So I won't quit school after all. Not today anyway.

What are you?

2011-03-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

This does not annoy me.

2011-03-20T19:01:00.001-07:00

I love being a desperate believer.

Another thing that annoys me (I am easily annoyed when I am sick, which I have been this whole week!)

2011-03-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

People who say things like "I don't have time to be sick" annoy me. Come on. Is that a stupid saying or what? I never hear those same people saying "I've got time next week to schedule in a good bout of diarrhea" or "I've got some time on my hands, I think I'd like to have and earache." No one has time to be sick, whether they are busy or not. In my experience, most people have time to do the things they want to do, even if it's at the expense of the things they should do (-their responsibilities, especially to others).

Another thing that annoys me

2011-03-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Why do people stop you from sneezing? Our bodies sneeze for a reason- because there is something in there irritating our breathing and it needs to get out! Why would anyone want to stop that? What kind of joy does it cause them? Would they be just as happy to hold their hands over your mouth to keep you form vomiting? Sneezing releases pressure in your sinuses. Don't say things like "Sneeze now!" or make whoops or hooping sounds when a person is trying to sneeze. Especially not if that person is me and I have a cold. Don't be annoying.

Things that annoy me

2011-03-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

It really annoys me when people say "I don't wanna be 'that girl". But they always say it like this: I don't wanna be THAT girl. The intonation alone is enough to make my eyebrows come together, but the implication is that there is someone in the cliche world of women whom everyone despises because of some annoying or gauche attribute, and the speaker is certainly better than said 'girl', but must make the disclaimer that they are not that girl because they are currently doing something that 'that girl' would do. Obviously at that moment, they are that girl. Claiming one thing in words does not negate the action that has just been performed. I hate cliches in general, but this is one we need to eliminate from the English lexicon. It makes it words that in some way there is a sexist rant that accompanies it, that somehow we all know what an annoying girl is like. Blech.

travels

2011-03-06T10:19:00.001-08:00

Profile

Cities

Shelly is an explorer that:

likes popular destinations

likes a bug-free bed and hot showers

likes a little risk

Travel cred: pretty good

I rank in the top...

0.7% most cities visited - Albania

3% most cities visited - The Bahamas

17% most cities visited - Croatia

Get your own widget

GeckoGo

dreaming is fun...BR>Your home is a Daylight Magnate's Manor Your kitchen is someplace you never go, because you "have people for that." There's a Chocolatessen, which is rapidly becoming your favorite room of the house. Having one is also becoming a trend among your wealthy neighbors. Your master bedroom is the size of a small barn, with carpet thick enough to reach your ankles. Your study has hardback editions of every classic ever written, plus a special edition of Rich Dad, Poor Dad with the parts you ghost-authored highlighted. One of your garages holds your collection of ferraris, and is measured in acreage. Your home also includes a guest wing and private quarters for your servants. Your guests enjoy your home theater with 37 different sports channels. Outside is your hedge maze and gardens, meticulously tended by a team of world-class botanists.And, you have a pet -- a doberman pincer named "Warren".Below is a snippet of the blueprints: Real Estate

2011-02-28T19:47:00.001-08:00

Movies I wish I could take back

2011-02-20T20:40:00.001-08:00

I was going to write a review of this movie, but this critic says it so well, why should I bother?

http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Review+Just+With/4262828/story.html

Wisdom

2010-10-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently came over for a visit and brought her six year old daughter with her. This adorable little girl is full of bouncy energy. I love being around her. She is what a smile would look like if a smile was a person. Her mother is a great friend to me as well. As her mother and I talked, this little girl played around and entertained herself. I made tea and my friend and I settled in to talk. I have a small world globe on a base on a table in my living room. The little girl picked it up and began to play with it. Eventually, she began asking her mother questions. Her mother took the globe, turned it upside down, and said "Sometimes it's helpful to look at things a different way." She turned South Africa to the Northern Hemisphere. "See, doesn't it look strange?" As we talked about how funny it looked, and why we always look at it the same way, I asked the little girl how she thinks God sees the world. She took a look at the globe, now upside down, and put her hand over the top of it. "I think He sees it this way, cause His hand is always over it all the time."

Now that's a different perspective that how I sometimes look at the world. Who is in control? Sometimes it doesn't seem like God. It seems like everything but God is in control, but that's not true. This little girl reminded me that, like her mother said, it is good to look at things in a different way, not the worldly way, but how God sees it, right in His hand. Such great wisdom form a person who doesn't even have front teeth, but has a heart that trusts and believes. Awesome.

TV

2010-09-26T14:03:00.000-07:00

Recently, I had a run in with the cable company. That is, they found out they had made a mistake and I was getting expanded cable in one room and basic in another. Now, my life is very basic. Here is what I miss.

And here is what I still watch.

There really aren't that many good shows on TV right now.

Worlds collide

2010-09-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

My theoretical perspective for my research comes from the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. But in my perfect dream life I would be a fashion designer, as far from academia as you can get. While looking for more info on my theoretical muse, I came across a designer who draws on Bourdieu's concept of social capital for inspiration in clothes design. Could this be true? Is it real? Fashion and theory coming together? A synergy of two opposing worlds? I guess anything is possible with Europeans...

Scandinavian Neo-Edwardian

lifeiscarbon® has fallen in love with the first two collections from Göran Sundberg, a new fashion designer from Sweden. He claims that his underlying influence comes from the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s study of cultural fields, social positions and assimilated agents of taste. This theoretical departure point certainly results in some highly wearable garments in which an aristocratic sense of style collides with the realism of the streets.

We love the cut, materials and details of the new collections and the interesting combination of refinement and nonchalance in which the salon meets the street.

Chanel Fall Collection 2012

2010-09-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

Because every woman wants to look like a yeti...

I couldn't find my razor this morning....

This one doesn't even fit properly. Gag!

They didn't completely make a mess of things. They got it right on this one.

I'm not knocking on Chanel. I mean, come on. Coco Chanel was one of the most glamorous women who has ever lived on this planet.

Just look at her. Even with the cigarette, she looks more polished than I could after years of reading fashion magazines, watching E! Fashion Police, and abstaining from any activity that would wrinkle my skin and turn my teeth brown.
But the women in this collection don't look polished. The look like they're waiting on the zoo keeper to come feed them. I think most of the collection is insulting tot he memory of Coco.

But don't just take my word for it.
To see the entire collection, go here.
http://www.chanel.com/fashion/8-fashion-accessories#8-fall-winter-2010-11-chanel-collection-21,1

Shoes!

2010-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

I went fantasy shopping, and here is what I bought :)

Pretty awesome, huh? Now if I could only go 'for real' shopping... That will have to wait until I graduate. Being a PhD student doesn't pay well.

Girl Power

2010-09-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

So I realize in my last post I was very much a non-feminist, so here is a list of the awesome female artists I also listen to. (But I will be unfemimist and say I do like my guys better :)

Lilly Allen

Adele

Duffy

Giorgia

Ingrid Michaelson

Malika Ayane

Ladyhawke

Kate Nash

OK, they're pretty awesome.

Bands I like

2010-09-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

I'm avoiding reading about post-constructivism. Instead, I'm making a list of bands I like to listen to. To start with, the band I'm listening to now.

Phoenix

Muse

Kasabian

Arctic Monkeys

The Bravery

The Strokes

Franz Ferdinand

Radiohead

Death Cab for Cutie

Vampire Weekend

Kaiser Chiefs

Interpol

Cold War Kids

I have a special love for the Bravery. I think it's because they're American and they make good music. A lot of the music I like comes from Europe. Ironically, I hear it more here than when I'm there, seeing as how they're so in love with electronica. I love the Bravery's song lyrics. "This is not the end." That can be a very encouraging statement. Read the lyrics for yourself and see what you think. (I always tell my students when I am sharing my opinion that they are free to disagree with me and make up their own minds. I do that so hopefully it will transfer to their other courses, because I know many professors who teach their opinion as fact, and never give students a change to think for themselves...)

This is not the end
Tell me
C'mon tell me what you can
Even as you wait for death
You're wiser than I am
Tell me
What does it mean to exsist?
I am not a scientist
I must believe in more than this
And I cannot accept that everything that's real
Is only what our eyes can see
And our hands can feel

Not even earth can hold us
Not even life controls us
Not even the ground can keep us down
The memories in my head
Are just as real as the time we spend
You'll always be close to me, my friend
This is not the end

I see
I can see you're so afraid
You wear it like a silver hood
On you, even fear looks good
I wish
I wish I had some words to give
But all that I can think to say
Is I'll be with you everyday

Not even earth can hold us
Not even life controls us
Not even the ground can keep us down
The memories in my head
Are just as real as the time we spend
You'll always be close to me, my friend
This is not the end

This is not the end

This is not the end

This is not the end

I don't care
I don't care what you believe
As long as you are in my heart
You're just as real as me
And maybe
Maybe even more
Someone who's touched so many lives
Can never never die

Not even earth can hold us
Not even life controls us
Not even the ground can keep us down
The memories in my head
Are just as real as the time we spend
You'll always be close to me, my friend
This is not the end

This is not the end

This is not the end

This is not the end

Nice, huh? But my favorite is this one- Time won't let me go. I feel like this from time to time. It makes it better to hear your feelings set to a catchy tune and a nice beat.

Time won't let me go
Whenever I look back
On the best days of my life
I think I saw them all on T.V.
I am so homesick now for
Someone that I never knew
I am so homesick now for
Some place I will never be

Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If I could do it all again
I'd go back and change everything
But time won't let me go

I never had a Summer of 69
Never had a Cherry Valance of my own
All these precious moments
You promised me would come in time
So where was I when I missed mine?

Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If you gave me back those years
I'd do it all better I swear
Time won't let me go

Ba babababa babababa bababa bababa (x4)

If I could go back once again
I would change everything, yeah
If I could go back once again
I'd do it all so much better

Time won't let me go
Time won't let me go
If I could do it all again
I'd go back and change everything
But you won't ever let me go

Ba babababa babababa bababa bababa

What is your favorite band? I'd really love to know. You can see how much I like music. If you introduce me to something new and fabulous, think of how indebted I will be to you!

Wedding blues... or green....

2010-07-17T14:42:00.001-07:00

Okay, this may be the most inconsequential post on a blog ever, I really mean ever, but today I went to a wedding and the woman sitting next to me had such bad breath it made me almost cry. The ceremony was two hours long and unfortunately involved a great deal of congregational singing. At one point I even looked over at my sister who was sitting next to me and mouthed the words "I can't take it anymore!!!" The lady wasn't even directly next to me. She was three people spaces down the pew. (And by 'pew' no pun is intended, although it certainly is an appropriate term.) BY the time we got out of there I had run out of creative ways to cover my nose or hold my breathe. Also note: This wedding is in Europe, so intermingled in this odoriferous mess was both some interesting perfumes and B.O. Trust me, the B.O was one of the better scents. I don't know if this woman didn't know how to use a toothbrush properly or was experiencing some intestinal woe, but the smell will haunt my nose for a long time to come. I felt like a thin green cloud was covering my side of the church. The reception following was a great relief with the nice smell of samosas, spring rolls, and chicken. (Did I mention the bride is Vietnamese and the groom is Indian? Welcome to England.) It was a lovely wedding though, when I wasn't breathing.

The battle of Fat Mike and Two Pigs

2010-06-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Albania, two things I loved in America ceased to be. One was the Mary Engelbreit Home Companion, a magazine for people who love home decorating and all kinds of crafty fun. The other was Two Pigs, the world's greatest barbecue restaurant. Actually, it was less of a restaurant and more of a gathering place that served really, really, really good food. Today I visited the restaurant that is now in its place, and it truly tries to live up to the definition of restaurant. Whereas in Two pigs you walked in the side door, at Fat Mike's you walk in the front door. At Two Pigs you ordered at the counter and they brought your food out on paper plates. Fat Mike sends a waiter to your table who brings you place-mat style menus and food on cafeteria style plates. Gone are the pigs that decorated the walls and tables, and in its place are more sophisticated objects, like lamps and paintings. The food was good, although the sauce was a bit sweet for my taste. The loaded potato casserole was delicious, but a but heavy when paired with pulled pork. The fried green tomatoes were fab, but really, how can you mess those up?The battle may be a bit unfair, as there are Two Pigs and only one Mike, and he's apparently overweight, therefore unfit for battle. The Pigs win this one, in my opinion. Too bad they're not around to celebrate their victory.

The good, the bad, and the stupid

2010-06-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Today I drove a long way. When I'm driving, I always listen to the radio. I love music. But today I was flipping through the channels and came across a preacher who sounded reasonable intelligent, so I left it there. I like to listen to Alistair Bay and Ravi Zacharias, but I don't listen to just any radio preacher. Some of them are broadcasting out of their living rooms and got 'degrees' from Zippy online seminary. I thought this guy was okay. Then he started talking about communication. If you don't have a phone, use a fax machine, if you don't have a fax machine, use email, if you don't have email, use female! (He thought this was really funny.) Telephone or tell a woman! Then he laughed at himself. I don't know how long the laughter lasted because at this point I turned the channel and listened to Ke$ha. (I'm sure that would be much to the chagrin of this particular preacher.) I've heard that you shouldn't talk about "God's man" because God has chosen him to do this job, but I do take issue with the way this man is doing his job. When you are in a pulpit, how dare you degrade anyone for any reason. I know pastors hate the hear their congregations talk about them negatively and especially about their families (Preacher's kids live in a fish bowl, such a hard way to grow up) but really, you are a grown man in a position of responsibility for building up the people of God and you speak of 50% of the population of your congregation in this way? (Actually more, if you look at certain statistics. Women are more likely to attend church them men and most churches have slightly more women than men. If you want those exact numbers I will find them for you.) Anyway, what I'm saying is, I would never attend a church where a pastor spoke like this. I would not trust anything he had to say because he is living off of stereotypes and sad attempts at cheap laughs. How can I properly respect someone who would so obviously not afford appropriate respect to me? I can't. I won't. There are good pastors in the world who do respect people, so why should I waste my time with those who don't? Life is hard enough without having to sort out the good from the stupid in the pastors message. So I've said my piece. Amen.

e-rritation

2010-06-14T16:14:00.000-07:00

I have been so irritated over the last week with e-stuff. I have been e-rritated. Hackers, email fraud, lost, changed and forgotten passwords... I'm in the cyber Wild West. How long will it take for the internet to be tamed? I think probably never. And although it does cause problems and headaches and is used for some pretty terrible purposes, I kind of hope it remains a little wild. We need security to keep children safe and keep criminals from accessing confidential information, but we also need a place where we can freely express our opinions and share ideas, not only for us in this hemisphere but also for our brothers and sisters who have yet to taste the freedom we enjoy. So call the sheriff when you have trouble, but long live the Cyber Frontier!

An idea for BP

2010-06-11T18:42:00.000-07:00

I am not a tree hugger. I drive an SUV, and sometimes I take the long way home just to annoy the hippies living in Athens. (OK, that has nothing to do with me being anti-environmental. It is just a manifestation of my disdain of all things associated with Athens, Georgia. A much bigger topic for another blog post. Moving on...)I am not anti-environmentalism. In fact, I think there are a lot of things we could do that we should do in order to improve the environment. But I guess I would be considered anti-environmental because I don't think we should be doing them for the sake of the environment, but rather for the sake of those living in the environment. I am an animal lover, however I still put people before animals, which is why I am not entirely opposed to animal testing for medications. (I could be opposed to it for cosmetic testing purposes. I mean, seriously, people have massive reconstructive surgeries to make themselves feel better about the way they look. Why should we harm a rat to make sure a lipstick is OK? People tattoo makeup on their faces. By choice! Leave the rabbits and mice out of the cosmetic industry!) Having said all that, I now turn to the Gulf. I feel terrible for those who will for years to come bear the fallout of this disaster. BP seems unable to rectify things. I don't know what could be done to make things better, but about a year ago, I wrote a blog about Laurent Wolfe, a French dance music star/ environmental activist who made what is possibly the worst video in the history of music videos. But now I'm thinking, maybe he was on to something. BP, here's an idea! Maybe these girls could help clean up the Gulf, because after they performed in this video, I'm pretty sure they were never able to get work again. In this economy, they could probably use a job. So it's a win-win situation for everyone. So BP, listen up! (But everyone else, look away! Unless you're really depressed about the environmental disaster, then watch on. You could probably use a good laugh.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYfcF4oztsw

Shelly in Academia

2010-06-09T17:06:00.000-07:00

I know I've been a lazy blogger. I've been pretty busy with a lot of other things. I wish I could say they were exciting things, but it's mostly reading about second language acquisition, international adult education, or qualitative research. And after reading about it, I write about it. It's pretty dry to most people. I do enjoy those topics, but most days I would rather be 'doing' them rather than 'reading' them. So all that is to say, I've been lazy but I've been busy.

My intention is to no longer be lazy, but to make blogging part of my busy-ness. Not because I have anything life-altering to say, I just like to write, and there may be some really bored person out there who might enjoy reading my random thoughts. And it's kind of exciting to think about people reading things that you write, right? I read papers written by college students (most of who are juniors) and what I have found is that they greatly overuse the word 'therefore'. It is one one my pet peeves, especially when it is used incorrectly. Therefore, I plan never to use this word again.

A New Year, a few random lists

2010-01-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

Here’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.

List of jobs I might want when I finally quit going to school (in random order)
1. ESL instructor at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design)
2. Teach college overseas as a missionary
3. Teach at GDQ again
4. Teach at an international school
5. Teach at another international Christian school
6. Career missionary
7. Government agency
8. Educational consultant
9. Textbook writer
10. Director of an ESL center in the US or abroad
11. Start my own school
12. travel writer
13. Novelist
14. Professor at Biola University in Los Angeles
15. Screenplay writer
16. the catcher in the rye
17. International education consultant
18. Work for the IMB or SBC in ESL development
19. Bum
20. Music critic for Rolling Stone

Bonus list: My top five favorite music videos of all time
1. Just by Radiohead
2. Take On Me by Aha
3. Single Ladies by Beyonce (Kanye was right)
4. Billy Jean by Michael Jackson
5. Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

Super Bonus list: My favorite videos shown last year on Albanian Muzike TV
1. The boy does nothing by Alesha Dixon
2. Burnin’ up by the Jonas Brothers
3. Two Bare Feet by Katie Melua
4. Walking on Air by Kerli
5. When I grow up by the Pussycat Dolls
6. Love Generation by Bob Sinclair
7. Feeling better by Malika Ayane
8. 1-2-3-4 by Feist
9. Walking on a Dream by Empire of the Sun
10. The Fear by Lilly Allen

2009-01-31T13:08:00.000-08:00

I’ve been a bad blogger, I know. I’ve done a bit better with newsletters, but those just go out to my supporters, and it’s just to let people know what’s going on with my work on this side of the world. A blog is a little different, more open ended. And I don’t want this to be like an online diary for all to see, which it is becoming at the moment, so let me move on.

What I want to write about is Albanian television. It is not good. Of course, it can hardly be blamed on the Albanians themselves. Their still new-found freedom of expression is only in its cocoon stages, still waiting to become something bigger and better. It can easily be blamed on Italy, France, Spain, and of course (as all things in the world today) the USA. Many of the shows that come on are in English and subtitled in Shqip. This allows me to get sucked into mind-numbing made for TV movies that I would never waste a second of my life on at home. I’ve watched a young Mischa Barton in an I-want-to-be-a-baseball-player-but-I’m-a-ballerina movie three times. Though to be fair, it wasn’t complete crap. But three times- it wasn’t that good either. What I end up watching most of the time is the music channel, which plays a variety of music from the 70s all the way through to today. Actually, I just listen to it while doing other things. I don’t have a radio. I’m always very amused by the 80s music. They played Electric Youth the other day and I dropped everything to pay attention. I was a huge Debbie Gibson fan. I had the black hat and everything. And I found that it wasn’t as fantastic as I remember. And why did so many videos in the 80s happen on the beach? Was it a lack of creativity or just the time before we were all scared of skin cancer? Who knows?

Anyway, there is a current video that happens on a beach, and in a city, and in a jungle, and in some trees… it is possibly the worst video ever made in the history of music videos. The song is called “Wash My World” and it’s by a French guy named Laurent Wolfe. He’s trying to encourage the people of the world to clean up the environment. Now, I’ m all for cleaning up the environment. I buy environmentally friendly products and recycle my Coke cans- just not in a bikini like the girls in the video. I don’t wash street signs with sponges or dust trees, I don’t vacuum the beach or put oil-soiled birds in washing machines, which once again are on the beach. Girls in small, small clothes wiggling and giggling while they splash soapy water on palm fronds? Is this really the face of environmentalism? I guess it is if you put it to a techno beat. Still, I’m sorry to all the environmentalists in the world. And to techno music.

So thanks, Laurent Wolfe, for bringing attention to the environmental crisis in our world. But please don’t do it again.

On the bright side, check out Kitty, Daisy and Lewis. A band of young siblings from London, these creative musicians use nothing electronic or digital to create really great music. May their career be long and prolific. And may they never make a video on the beach.

Don't count your chickens...

2008-10-09T01:36:00.000-07:00

I am an animal lover, and it's a good thing. I live in the capital city of a European nation, and yet I have more farm animal experiences here than I had while I was living in a rural community in Tennessee! Today I saw six dead chickens on the way to school. While that does win the how-many-animals-did-you-see-on-the-way-to-work-this-morning contest, it does not represent the true range of animals I encounter. My favorite is a donkey that pulss a cart driven by a man who looks like a farmer, but must live in the same community as the GDQ School. Moat mornings I see him as I gaze out my thrid story classroom window. Last week, he passed me as I was late getting to school. The clip-clop of the donkey's hooves behind me caused me to turn around and smile. I'm sure the man thought I was crazy for smiling at a donkey, as he drove a medieval cart down Don Bosko Avenue in the midst of modern traffic. I've seen vomiting dogs, cats scrounging through garbage, and a few days ago I saw a mouse crossing the street the same way the Albanians do it- at an all-out run. It was actually kind of cute. The unfortuante ones are the chickens. They are tonight's dinner. Nearly every day I see a man carrying two dead chickens by their feet in his left hand. They hang there, feathers still attached, wings akimbo. One day he had a turkey in his right hand as well. That must have been a special occasion. I'd rather see the befeathered postmortem poultry than the skinned goats hanging out of garbage bags zooming by on mopeds driven by young Ilyrian couriers. On a stranger note, I did see a monkey last Saturday when I was catching the bus to QTU. He was on a leash, climbing all over his owner and up a lamp post. I'm waiting to see a bear on a chain. Not an unusual request in Tirana.

2008-09-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday on the way home from school I stopped by the grocery store. I bought a box of cereal, 2 yogurts, some cherry juice and a gatorade. It was the first time I'd seen gatorade at this store so I was quite excited. On my short walk home, a littel Roma boy, probably about 3 years old, spotted my grocery bag and grabbed at it, them muimble something and began to walk alongside me. The other people on the street were ignoring him. There were no Roma adults around. He had been dropped off by someone to beg for the day. They would pick him up sometime in the evening. What could I do? I reached inside the bag and handed him the gatorade. He happily put his little hand around it and looked at it for a minute. I'm sure he shared it with his older sister (maybe 6?) and baby brother I had seen further up the street. I felt completely useless to do any more than that. And that's what life is like sometimes. You're just useless. And that's when you realize you've always been useless. Only God can change things. Sometimes He uses us, and that's when we're lucky. ONly God could make use of a useless thing.

Shqiperia!

2008-09-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

It's 10:00 a.m. in Albania, but most of the people I know are still in bed- because it's only 4 a.m. for them! I'm six hours ahead of the world I'm used to (or the world is 6 hours behind me now?) I'm in a land where bread is freshly baked every day, where seasonal vegetables are always available in the street-side markets, where the call to prayer can be heard above the city traffic. I'm in Albania!
In the Albanian language, the name of the country is Shqiperia. Don't worry, all you teachers of phonics who may be reading this blog- q is not followed by u in this language. In fact, q makes the /ch/ sound! The language in only one of the fascinating aspects of Albanian culture. The people are very pro-American. As I type this, I'm looking out my window at my neighbor's American flag, waving in the breeze above his grape vines. The even have a street named Rruga George Bush!
I hope that you will be praying for the Albanian people. As I sit in church and look at the older members of the congregation, I can't help but think about the events they have lived through- communism, Enver Hoxha claiming Albania to be the world's first atheist nation, riots, revolutions, coups... and still they are faithful to God. Would I have had the same strength? At the same time, the church is full of young people, teenagers and young adults who will be the leaders in the near future. Pray that they would become mature in their faith and grow closer to Christ every day.
Also be in prayer for the missionaries who work here. There are many difficulties they face. Pray especially for those who are working with the Roma Gypsy people. These are the "lowest of the low" in society. Many morning on my way to school I see Roma children and adults digging through the dumpsters. The children do not attend school. Many mothers sit on the sidewalks holding their infant children, begging for a lek. The weather is getting colder. I hate to think of what the winter will be like for them.
It is a sight my eyes are not accustomed to. I will write more about this precious and very troubled people group later.
Thank you for praying for me. Sometimes I get bored and wish I could go to Mimi's cafe with my friends, but that never lasts too long. There is always something to be done here, even if it is just in my own home (I don't have a dishwasher... I am the dishwasher!)

Till next time,
Shelly in Albania :)