Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Notes to the Last Post
One of the things I noticed right off when we arrived was the coexistence of plant life I didn't think coexisted. The picture from the balcony has the palm in the yard, and the house across the street has what looks to be a blue spruce and a lemon tree with little lemons. Double click the picture to see it clearly.
Pictures
The top picture is from our second floor balcony looking southeast. I took the picture just a few minutes ago, at 5:15 p.m. in Tirana, temperature 87 degrees.
The next two pictures are views of the old castle at Petrela, about 15 miles southeast. The reddish built-on addition on top of the old tower is a restaurant. We went Sunday afternoon to take a couple of visiting U.S. Marshals sightseeing. The next is a photo from the castle taken from my picnic table, the Tirana Birra tastefully hidden from view (necessary for one's revival after the short-but-steep climb). It was kind of a hazy day, but Tirana can be seen in the distance. Last photo is of a house being constructed across the ravine from the castle. I hope the structural engineer has lots of experience and/or malpractice insurance, although from casual observation I suspect that on a small house project like this there is no structural engineer.
We have reason to believe that our household goods may be in Albania tomorrow. According to the last schedule we received they were to be unloaded in Thessaloniki today. Thessaloniki is the capital of Macedonia, the Greek province, not the new republic. The Former Yugoslavic Republic of Macedonia is between Albania and Greek Macedonia, and the Greeks and Macedonians are fighting over the use of the name. Which is why FYRM did not receive an invite to join NATO, like Albania did. Macedonia is where Philip the Great was from, and where his son Alexander the Great was born, so the name conjures up some old notions of greatness. I tend to think the Greek explanation, that they don't want to encourage their northern province to break away and join a namesake country, might be partly true. Or maybe they're just stubborn. Who knows? Anyway, our household goods will be coming through both Macedonias before they get here, a mountainous trek with roads in less than stellar condition. Hopefully they will make it this week, and then I will be happily engaged in unpacking and settling in and trying to figure out what to do with what we brought. I can't remember any more how I divided everything up, so it will be interesting to see what shows up as opposed to what I thought I put into storage.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Wednesday Entries
It is a very nice balmy morning here in Tirana. Temperature is 68, sun is shining. I'm chained to the ethernet cable because I haven't been able to find a wireless router here. So my big task for today is to order one on line, as well as some transformers and an air purifier/filter. (It's extremely dusty here.)
I have been to enough stores and markets to know pretty much what is available here, so I'll be putting in a grocerystore.com type order. No vanilla or almond extract seems to be available here. The first biscotti I made I used some Amaretto I got from Mindy. It was okay, but not stellar.
The top photo is St. John's Wood Park, and the camellia is also in the park. Dale, do you know what it is?
The next photos are of Oliver Cromwell, Richard Lionhart,
Charles I, and Abe Lincoln.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Driving Mr. Dave
I'm happy to announce that we're back in Tirana. We got up at 3 a.m. Friday morning and went out to Heathrow to catch our six o'clock flight. I was on standby for the Vienna to Tirana flight, but fortunately I made it. Otherwise I would have had to spend an extra 12 hours in the Vienna airport.
I had an appointment scheduled for Friday morning with my doctor, but since Cindy had a return flight Friday morning we changed it to Thursday. The doctor was very helpful about it. He didn't see patients that day since he had a meeting at the deanery (I'm not sure what that is, but he is also a professor so I'm assuming it is something educational in nature) at eleven, so he saw me at nine. I'm to be seen again in four to six weeks, and the only question now is where. It is up to the medical staff here and Vienna and London to agree on an ophthalmologist. It would be nice if there was one here in Tirana that would be okay. They seem to have had some "issues" in Vienna. I'll have to pay to get to wherever they decide on, so I'm hoping somewhere closer. I suggested Rome; there is a direct flight there.
Cindy and I had a good time in London, a city which has now moved into first place in the "Most Expensive City In the World" category. When you see a hamburger on a pub menu for 12.98 pounds, and using a quick two-to-one exchange rate, that's a $26 hamburger. I didn't have one. I meant to go into a McDonald's to see what a BigMac was, but never could force myself through the doors. There was a small chain of burger places in London when we were there in the early '70s. I don't know if they are still around. Their name was Wimpy Burgers, and if that is not the source of the derogatory term, it should be, because their burgers more than met the description. They were sort of a downscale Krystal, and no doubt explains the popularity of McDonald's here.
It is warm here. I just got back from grocery shopping. I was picked up and taken there by Adnand, my new driver. Cindy thinks because I can't see well and have no right-side peripheral vision I shouldn't be doing my own driving in Tirana. I thought that since there were apparently no rules of the road here, that whatever I did would be okay. Needless to say, I lost the discussion. I don't think Adnand thought walking around the Conad looking over the grocery items was a manly-man sort of thing to do. He was ready to go, and declined to see what other shops might be in the building. I think he was afraid he might see somebody he knew.
We're still waiting for our cargo to dock at Thessaloniki. There's a dock strike at the moment, so we're waiting. You might say we're still waiting for our ship to come in.
Cindy has a meeting in Budapest the third week of June, so we're all going there. The day after we return Taylor goes to Mississippi for the summer.
I had an appointment scheduled for Friday morning with my doctor, but since Cindy had a return flight Friday morning we changed it to Thursday. The doctor was very helpful about it. He didn't see patients that day since he had a meeting at the deanery (I'm not sure what that is, but he is also a professor so I'm assuming it is something educational in nature) at eleven, so he saw me at nine. I'm to be seen again in four to six weeks, and the only question now is where. It is up to the medical staff here and Vienna and London to agree on an ophthalmologist. It would be nice if there was one here in Tirana that would be okay. They seem to have had some "issues" in Vienna. I'll have to pay to get to wherever they decide on, so I'm hoping somewhere closer. I suggested Rome; there is a direct flight there.
Cindy and I had a good time in London, a city which has now moved into first place in the "Most Expensive City In the World" category. When you see a hamburger on a pub menu for 12.98 pounds, and using a quick two-to-one exchange rate, that's a $26 hamburger. I didn't have one. I meant to go into a McDonald's to see what a BigMac was, but never could force myself through the doors. There was a small chain of burger places in London when we were there in the early '70s. I don't know if they are still around. Their name was Wimpy Burgers, and if that is not the source of the derogatory term, it should be, because their burgers more than met the description. They were sort of a downscale Krystal, and no doubt explains the popularity of McDonald's here.
It is warm here. I just got back from grocery shopping. I was picked up and taken there by Adnand, my new driver. Cindy thinks because I can't see well and have no right-side peripheral vision I shouldn't be doing my own driving in Tirana. I thought that since there were apparently no rules of the road here, that whatever I did would be okay. Needless to say, I lost the discussion. I don't think Adnand thought walking around the Conad looking over the grocery items was a manly-man sort of thing to do. He was ready to go, and declined to see what other shops might be in the building. I think he was afraid he might see somebody he knew.
We're still waiting for our cargo to dock at Thessaloniki. There's a dock strike at the moment, so we're waiting. You might say we're still waiting for our ship to come in.
Cindy has a meeting in Budapest the third week of June, so we're all going there. The day after we return Taylor goes to Mississippi for the summer.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Relaxing In London
Cindy arrived Saturday around noon, and we've been taking it easy since, although "taking it easy" includes a lot of walking. Sunday we walked along the Thames from the Tower of London down to Parliament, which is, as some people I know would say, "a fer piece."
We've been window shopping at Covent Garden (Eliza Doolittle is gone, moved south of the Thames due to changing demographics. The fresh produce and flower stalls have given way to upscale shops, very expensive cheap restaurants, and permanent flea market type booths. It's sort of like the farmer's market in New Orleans, except bigger and much more pricey.
Last night we went to see Phantom of the Opera, and we both enjoyed it. The staging was really quite extraordinary, I thought. Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is very enjoyable. I knew virtually nothing about Phantom, but still was a little surprised, notwithstanding the name, at how operatic it was in style. Webber's music is not only melodic, but intelligent -- he doesn't seem to think his listeners are dolts, like, say, a Philip Glass, who repeats things 25 times, just in case you didn't get it the first 24.
Tomorrow we're going down the Thames to Greenwich. Read Robert's comment to my last post for more info.
We have a six a.m. flight Friday morning, assuming the doctor says I can leave. My appointment is Thursday morning. I've already made the plane reservation, though. I'm sure I can go: the bubble is no longer visible, which was the reason I had to stay. It will be nice to get back to Tirana, even though we're still sort of camping out there, waiting for our household goods to arrive.
Talk to you later.
dave
We've been window shopping at Covent Garden (Eliza Doolittle is gone, moved south of the Thames due to changing demographics. The fresh produce and flower stalls have given way to upscale shops, very expensive cheap restaurants, and permanent flea market type booths. It's sort of like the farmer's market in New Orleans, except bigger and much more pricey.
Last night we went to see Phantom of the Opera, and we both enjoyed it. The staging was really quite extraordinary, I thought. Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is very enjoyable. I knew virtually nothing about Phantom, but still was a little surprised, notwithstanding the name, at how operatic it was in style. Webber's music is not only melodic, but intelligent -- he doesn't seem to think his listeners are dolts, like, say, a Philip Glass, who repeats things 25 times, just in case you didn't get it the first 24.
Tomorrow we're going down the Thames to Greenwich. Read Robert's comment to my last post for more info.
We have a six a.m. flight Friday morning, assuming the doctor says I can leave. My appointment is Thursday morning. I've already made the plane reservation, though. I'm sure I can go: the bubble is no longer visible, which was the reason I had to stay. It will be nice to get back to Tirana, even though we're still sort of camping out there, waiting for our household goods to arrive.
Talk to you later.
dave
Saturday, May 10, 2008
New Holidays
Robert mentions that in lieu of straining to see Nelson I should be sure to go pat all the lions' paws at Trafalgar. As an aside, I bet Nelson wishes he had been that high at Trafalgar -- maybe he wouldn't have been shot.
In point of fact, when I was at Trafalgar Square Sunday it had been taken over for Sikh new year celebrations, and the base of Nelson's column was the police command post/backstage entrance, and inaccessible to mere tourists.
The next day was May Day (observed, as we might have on our federal calendars), so official London was shut down. It is amusing how we have appropriated these pagan customs and continued them as holidays, just with different justifications.
And in Albania things were just closed down for Orthodox Easter. They use the same method for calculating the day for Easter, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, but a different calendar. They didn't adopt the Gregorian calendar for a few centuries after the west, and when they did they just dropped 10 or 11 days to make it come out right, but those missing days account for the difference. Some years they're the same Sunday, and others not, like this year.
In point of fact, when I was at Trafalgar Square Sunday it had been taken over for Sikh new year celebrations, and the base of Nelson's column was the police command post/backstage entrance, and inaccessible to mere tourists.
The next day was May Day (observed, as we might have on our federal calendars), so official London was shut down. It is amusing how we have appropriated these pagan customs and continued them as holidays, just with different justifications.
And in Albania things were just closed down for Orthodox Easter. They use the same method for calculating the day for Easter, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, but a different calendar. They didn't adopt the Gregorian calendar for a few centuries after the west, and when they did they just dropped 10 or 11 days to make it come out right, but those missing days account for the difference. Some years they're the same Sunday, and others not, like this year.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Fifth Crusade
I've been doing a lot of walking around London the past few days, along the Thames, around the Tower, down Fleet Street and the Strand, St. Paul's, the wonderful downtown parks. There are statutes to all sorts of folks. In Trafalgar Square Lord Nelson stands way up high on a column, too high for me to really see. Prime ministers, kings, queens, writers, you name it.
I was somewhat taken aback seeing the statue of Oliver Cromwell in front of Westminster Palace. Richard Lionhart is there too, not surprisingly, but Cromwell was somewhat ironic. I'm sure he was standing there atop the same plinth when I was in London last, almost forty years ago, but I don't remember him. Then again, I don't think I had the sense of irony as a 21-year-old as I do now at sixty.
First, a little off-the-cuff history, certainly not the kind I'd write for an "identify the following" type of history quiz, but it will do.
I say I understand why Richard Lionhart (Coeur d'lane, or the Lion hearted, as sometimes written) is there on his horse, because the English somehow see him as a noble person, forgetting everything he ever did. Maybe because his brother John is so reviled. Richard didn't even speak English and as king was hardly ever in England, engaging in constant fighting to either protect or enlarge his lands in France. He's best known for being off on the Third Crusade killing and plundering right up almost to the gates of Jerusalem, when he meets with Saladin, the great Muslim leader, and they negotiate a treaty, both acknowledging that neither can win but many will die, whereupon Richard eventually returns to France.
Charles I became king of England 75 years or so after Henry VIII died, and the Catholic/protestant struggle was still going on in full force. The Mayflower took the first batch of Puritans to Massachusetts shortly before Charles became king. Charles was famously obstinate and argued the Divine Right of Kings to a Parliament that was not at all receptive. The ensuing English Civil War resulted in Parliament, joined by the Puritans, defeating Charles and the Royalists, and poor Charles got beheaded for good measure.
Oliver Cromwell was a member of Parliament and one of its main military leaders opposing Charles. After defeating the royalists, Charles was tried and executed, Cromwell insisting on a trial before execution, and Cromwell was named leader, soon morphing into Lord Protector, or dictator, what we might call today a unitary executive. Cromwell ruled about ten years, died, and the Commonwealth fell apart and Charles' son was crowned king, Charles II, followed by James II, and then in 1688 Parliament asked William and Mary to come across the channel and take over, what historians call the Glorious Revolution, which effectively ended religious wars in England, if not hostility. It was this recent history of religious strife which illuminated our Founders' firm beliefs in religious freedom. Our Founders may have had a firm belief in God, but the nation was not founded as a Christian nation. They speak a lot of God but very little of Jesus. Jefferson, that child of the Enlightenment, even went so far as to combine the four gospels into what he felt was one chronological sequence, and deleting all the miracles and resurrection because he didn't believe they likely happened.
With this rambling introduction, maybe you can see why I was surprised to see these statues in the yard. Cromwell stands with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other, looking like some sort of English Jesuit minus the robes. I imagine the Irish wish they'd had a bunch of Jesuits when Cromwell invaded and massacred a bunch of them, rounding up the survivors and sending them to County Clare or as slaves to the West Indies. I think it was Cromwell who said this part of Ireland was so destitute it had no water to drown them or no trees to hang them. Thus was his charitable outlook towards Catholics. One would think he would be looking heavenward, but in actuality he's looking down at the ground, no doubt averting the gaze of Charles I, whose head (how fitting) is staring at him from across the street where it's above the back door of St. Margaret, the smaller church right next to Westminster Abbey.
Across the street in Parliament Square is Abraham Lincoln. Our first and only great Republican president (with the possible exception of Theodore Roosevelt -- regardless of what you think of TR, it's certainly been a long dry spell) is standing looking over the scene, apparently speaking. I imagine he is looking over at the three Christian militarists and reiterating parts of his second inaugural address, surely one of the greatest of all American speeches. The conclusion is one of Lincoln's most famous: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right...."
Maybe that's the problem -- Richard, Charles, Cromwell all had no doubt they were right and believed God was on their side. Referring to the North and South during the war, Lincoln observed, in that same address, that they both prayed to the same God and both read the same Bible.
And now, coming full circle, we have our own militarist hate-mongering preachers (Rod Parsley, John Hagee, etc., et al.) encouraging what would be a fourth crusade (or fifth, if one counts the pitiable Children's Crusade). After a thousand years, we're back to saving the Holy Land from the infidels!
Strange thoughts intrude when one wanders alone aimlessly around a 2500 year old town.
I was somewhat taken aback seeing the statue of Oliver Cromwell in front of Westminster Palace. Richard Lionhart is there too, not surprisingly, but Cromwell was somewhat ironic. I'm sure he was standing there atop the same plinth when I was in London last, almost forty years ago, but I don't remember him. Then again, I don't think I had the sense of irony as a 21-year-old as I do now at sixty.
First, a little off-the-cuff history, certainly not the kind I'd write for an "identify the following" type of history quiz, but it will do.
I say I understand why Richard Lionhart (Coeur d'lane, or the Lion hearted, as sometimes written) is there on his horse, because the English somehow see him as a noble person, forgetting everything he ever did. Maybe because his brother John is so reviled. Richard didn't even speak English and as king was hardly ever in England, engaging in constant fighting to either protect or enlarge his lands in France. He's best known for being off on the Third Crusade killing and plundering right up almost to the gates of Jerusalem, when he meets with Saladin, the great Muslim leader, and they negotiate a treaty, both acknowledging that neither can win but many will die, whereupon Richard eventually returns to France.
Charles I became king of England 75 years or so after Henry VIII died, and the Catholic/protestant struggle was still going on in full force. The Mayflower took the first batch of Puritans to Massachusetts shortly before Charles became king. Charles was famously obstinate and argued the Divine Right of Kings to a Parliament that was not at all receptive. The ensuing English Civil War resulted in Parliament, joined by the Puritans, defeating Charles and the Royalists, and poor Charles got beheaded for good measure.
Oliver Cromwell was a member of Parliament and one of its main military leaders opposing Charles. After defeating the royalists, Charles was tried and executed, Cromwell insisting on a trial before execution, and Cromwell was named leader, soon morphing into Lord Protector, or dictator, what we might call today a unitary executive. Cromwell ruled about ten years, died, and the Commonwealth fell apart and Charles' son was crowned king, Charles II, followed by James II, and then in 1688 Parliament asked William and Mary to come across the channel and take over, what historians call the Glorious Revolution, which effectively ended religious wars in England, if not hostility. It was this recent history of religious strife which illuminated our Founders' firm beliefs in religious freedom. Our Founders may have had a firm belief in God, but the nation was not founded as a Christian nation. They speak a lot of God but very little of Jesus. Jefferson, that child of the Enlightenment, even went so far as to combine the four gospels into what he felt was one chronological sequence, and deleting all the miracles and resurrection because he didn't believe they likely happened.
With this rambling introduction, maybe you can see why I was surprised to see these statues in the yard. Cromwell stands with a sword in one hand and a Bible in the other, looking like some sort of English Jesuit minus the robes. I imagine the Irish wish they'd had a bunch of Jesuits when Cromwell invaded and massacred a bunch of them, rounding up the survivors and sending them to County Clare or as slaves to the West Indies. I think it was Cromwell who said this part of Ireland was so destitute it had no water to drown them or no trees to hang them. Thus was his charitable outlook towards Catholics. One would think he would be looking heavenward, but in actuality he's looking down at the ground, no doubt averting the gaze of Charles I, whose head (how fitting) is staring at him from across the street where it's above the back door of St. Margaret, the smaller church right next to Westminster Abbey.
Across the street in Parliament Square is Abraham Lincoln. Our first and only great Republican president (with the possible exception of Theodore Roosevelt -- regardless of what you think of TR, it's certainly been a long dry spell) is standing looking over the scene, apparently speaking. I imagine he is looking over at the three Christian militarists and reiterating parts of his second inaugural address, surely one of the greatest of all American speeches. The conclusion is one of Lincoln's most famous: "With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right...."
Maybe that's the problem -- Richard, Charles, Cromwell all had no doubt they were right and believed God was on their side. Referring to the North and South during the war, Lincoln observed, in that same address, that they both prayed to the same God and both read the same Bible.
And now, coming full circle, we have our own militarist hate-mongering preachers (Rod Parsley, John Hagee, etc., et al.) encouraging what would be a fourth crusade (or fifth, if one counts the pitiable Children's Crusade). After a thousand years, we're back to saving the Holy Land from the infidels!
Strange thoughts intrude when one wanders alone aimlessly around a 2500 year old town.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Holding Down the Fort in Tirana
This is Cindy writing - I need to get Dave to add me as a blogger so that everyone can verify who is posting. Those who have read any of Dave's postings, however, will immediately know who the author is.
On Saturday, I booked a flight to London to visit my long lost husband. I leave on Saturday and return on Friday, May 16, and a truly ungodly hour of the morning. I previously accepted an invitation to a dinner at the Ambassador's residence on Friday evening, and it would be truly bad form to back out now. So, the flight time is less than ideal. The good news is, I will get to lay eyes on my husband after, by that time, 3 long weeks away. Hopefully, he will have London all figured out and can show me all of the sights.
This past week was an interesting one here - we had two embassy holidays, Orthodox Easter (embassy closed on Monday) and May Day (embassy closed on Thursday). I worked Monday, but essentially took the Thursday holiday. Taylor was also out of school that day, so I spent the day with her. Her babysitter, Violeta, made an emergency trip to Belgrade, leaving Thursday and returning Sunday. Her sister had an emergency C-section, 2 months early, but she and baby were doing fine last we heard.
I engaged in more rounds of meetings, both with Albanian officials and with representatives from other agencies who are working here in Albania. Just learning and pronouncing these names properly is quite a chore - once I get that mastered - the meetings are a breeze:
1. Fatbardh Kadilli (nickname "Barthi")- Anti-corruption adviser to the Prime Minister;
2. Florion Mima - Deputy Minister of Finances (the Ministry of Finance covers a lot of areas here, including taxes, the Finanicial Investigative Unit, FIU, which is the counterpart to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, in the U.S., and other agencies);
3. Arben Doci, FIU Director and Armand Shini, FIU liaison to the JIU, that's the Joint Investigative Unit that I'm working very closely with to help increase prosecutions of economic crime and corruption cases;
4. Dritan Rreshka, a JIU prosecutor, who speaks very good English and just returned from a DOJ-sponsored trip to the U.S. to attend an advanced money laundering and asset forfeiture training at the National Advocacy Center in South Carolina; and
5. Richard Wolfe, Chief of Party with Chemonics and USAID/MCC funded project to establish e-government in Albania.
The e-government project is quite interesting and expensive and is focused on three areas: tax, public procurement and business registration. Essentially, if Albania can go online, and remove the number of people the average citizen encounters, then the country can eliminate much of the everyday corruption that takes place here. For example, if a business does not properly register and pay a fee for doing so, then when some policeman comes around and asks for the license, the Albanian without a license must "pay the hand." Similar situations exist in all walks of Albanian life - health care and schools are particularly bad, i.e., paying bribes just to get an appointment with a doctor and paying teachers for grades. One of the taxi drivers who is known to many people in our neighborhood is not licensed because he either does not have the money or simply refuses to "pay the hand."
Anyway, I'm trying to get the MCC folks to provide a training to JIU prosecutors and investigators to show them exactly what information is now available online. Historically, such information has not been available to law enforcement or the general public online. With access to this information, prosecutors can better locate assets, see if a government official owns a lot more than he or she should be able to afford, etc. In addition to training prosecutors, part of my assignment is to develop an anti-corruption strategy for the embassy - essentially, the U.S. embassy position towards corruption in Albania. Hopefully, a part of this will be educating the public about ways to avoid having to pay bribes to public officials. Enough about work.
Last Thursday, I reached the ripe old age of 44. My daughter was very concerned that I have a nice day, so she organized a surprise party for me. Violeta baked an orange cake, complete with orange glaze and candied orange peels on top, and Taylor rounded up some of our neighbors to come. They all hid in the dark house, so that when I got home and flicked on the lights, I got a "Surprise" yell and lots of singing. Of course, I had some clue when I entered and there was no dog runnig to greet me - she was in the on the surprise too - camped behind the couch with Taylor. That same day, Taylor walked to the grocery with a neighbor who owns a little Pekingnese named Bronco. Taylor swears that Zeta and Bronco were actually playing and frolicking along the way. For any of you who know Zeta, you understand how remarkable this is - for those of you who don't know her, she's never met a dog (and hardly any humans) that she likes.
Anyway, with Violeta gone, I've procured a backup babysitter named Verona. She is a 25-year-old student at Tirana University majoring in foreign languages - so, her English is quite good. She also speaks Italian and Spanish, and a little French and German, although these last two are not her favorites. Anyway, she was great with Taylor, and she is quite tiny - not much taller than Taylor actually, which of course gained her many points from my little one.
When I broached the subject of going to see Dave in London, Taylor of course said "Go, I'll be fine." So, between Violeta and Verona, I think Taylor and Zeta will be well taken care of. I'm looking towards another busy week - hopefully, I'll post more later. But, I'm sure my husband will provide some entertainment for us all.
Love to all,
Cindy
On Saturday, I booked a flight to London to visit my long lost husband. I leave on Saturday and return on Friday, May 16, and a truly ungodly hour of the morning. I previously accepted an invitation to a dinner at the Ambassador's residence on Friday evening, and it would be truly bad form to back out now. So, the flight time is less than ideal. The good news is, I will get to lay eyes on my husband after, by that time, 3 long weeks away. Hopefully, he will have London all figured out and can show me all of the sights.
This past week was an interesting one here - we had two embassy holidays, Orthodox Easter (embassy closed on Monday) and May Day (embassy closed on Thursday). I worked Monday, but essentially took the Thursday holiday. Taylor was also out of school that day, so I spent the day with her. Her babysitter, Violeta, made an emergency trip to Belgrade, leaving Thursday and returning Sunday. Her sister had an emergency C-section, 2 months early, but she and baby were doing fine last we heard.
I engaged in more rounds of meetings, both with Albanian officials and with representatives from other agencies who are working here in Albania. Just learning and pronouncing these names properly is quite a chore - once I get that mastered - the meetings are a breeze:
1. Fatbardh Kadilli (nickname "Barthi")- Anti-corruption adviser to the Prime Minister;
2. Florion Mima - Deputy Minister of Finances (the Ministry of Finance covers a lot of areas here, including taxes, the Finanicial Investigative Unit, FIU, which is the counterpart to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, in the U.S., and other agencies);
3. Arben Doci, FIU Director and Armand Shini, FIU liaison to the JIU, that's the Joint Investigative Unit that I'm working very closely with to help increase prosecutions of economic crime and corruption cases;
4. Dritan Rreshka, a JIU prosecutor, who speaks very good English and just returned from a DOJ-sponsored trip to the U.S. to attend an advanced money laundering and asset forfeiture training at the National Advocacy Center in South Carolina; and
5. Richard Wolfe, Chief of Party with Chemonics and USAID/MCC funded project to establish e-government in Albania.
The e-government project is quite interesting and expensive and is focused on three areas: tax, public procurement and business registration. Essentially, if Albania can go online, and remove the number of people the average citizen encounters, then the country can eliminate much of the everyday corruption that takes place here. For example, if a business does not properly register and pay a fee for doing so, then when some policeman comes around and asks for the license, the Albanian without a license must "pay the hand." Similar situations exist in all walks of Albanian life - health care and schools are particularly bad, i.e., paying bribes just to get an appointment with a doctor and paying teachers for grades. One of the taxi drivers who is known to many people in our neighborhood is not licensed because he either does not have the money or simply refuses to "pay the hand."
Anyway, I'm trying to get the MCC folks to provide a training to JIU prosecutors and investigators to show them exactly what information is now available online. Historically, such information has not been available to law enforcement or the general public online. With access to this information, prosecutors can better locate assets, see if a government official owns a lot more than he or she should be able to afford, etc. In addition to training prosecutors, part of my assignment is to develop an anti-corruption strategy for the embassy - essentially, the U.S. embassy position towards corruption in Albania. Hopefully, a part of this will be educating the public about ways to avoid having to pay bribes to public officials. Enough about work.
Last Thursday, I reached the ripe old age of 44. My daughter was very concerned that I have a nice day, so she organized a surprise party for me. Violeta baked an orange cake, complete with orange glaze and candied orange peels on top, and Taylor rounded up some of our neighbors to come. They all hid in the dark house, so that when I got home and flicked on the lights, I got a "Surprise" yell and lots of singing. Of course, I had some clue when I entered and there was no dog runnig to greet me - she was in the on the surprise too - camped behind the couch with Taylor. That same day, Taylor walked to the grocery with a neighbor who owns a little Pekingnese named Bronco. Taylor swears that Zeta and Bronco were actually playing and frolicking along the way. For any of you who know Zeta, you understand how remarkable this is - for those of you who don't know her, she's never met a dog (and hardly any humans) that she likes.
Anyway, with Violeta gone, I've procured a backup babysitter named Verona. She is a 25-year-old student at Tirana University majoring in foreign languages - so, her English is quite good. She also speaks Italian and Spanish, and a little French and German, although these last two are not her favorites. Anyway, she was great with Taylor, and she is quite tiny - not much taller than Taylor actually, which of course gained her many points from my little one.
When I broached the subject of going to see Dave in London, Taylor of course said "Go, I'll be fine." So, between Violeta and Verona, I think Taylor and Zeta will be well taken care of. I'm looking towards another busy week - hopefully, I'll post more later. But, I'm sure my husband will provide some entertainment for us all.
Love to all,
Cindy
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The Sun Shines In London
Today was a nice sunny spring day; the temperature got up to 70 degrees. The papers tell us that tomorrow we'll be suffering through the hottest day of the year so far, where the temperature is expected to go crashing through the 72 degree barrier, and very humid. I guess it's all what you're used to, but after living in the south for so many years I just can't imagine London as a hot and humid place.
My doctor's appointment yesterday went well. I am down to one bottle of eye drops rather than three, and I don't have to do the positioning any more, just try to sleep on my side at night. So that in essence means I'm free to move about the city. My going home on the train idea was shot down because of the elevation of the passes over the Alps, which are close to equaling the cabin pressure of an airplane. So I'm stuck here at least until my next appointment on the 16th.
Today I walked around Regent's Park, which was very nice. Very well landscaped, and lots in bloom. Every street corner, in this part of town, at least, has painted on the curb "Look right," I guess because London has so many foreigners now to whom looking right is backwards from what they're used to. I seem to remember that sometime between the world wars Winston Churchill was in New York and looked the wrong way trying to cross the street and was hit by a car and ended up in the hospital. As much as I admire Churchill, I'm trying hard not to emulate him in this respect, but it does seem a bit strange looking at the curb paintings. I have this momentary feeling that they've painted them all wrong.
I picked up my Underground map today, as well as a Michelin London guide, and am set to be a tourist tomorrow, off on the tube to Trafalgar Square. If I'm really lucky, the organist will be practising at St. Martin In the Fields.
dave
My doctor's appointment yesterday went well. I am down to one bottle of eye drops rather than three, and I don't have to do the positioning any more, just try to sleep on my side at night. So that in essence means I'm free to move about the city. My going home on the train idea was shot down because of the elevation of the passes over the Alps, which are close to equaling the cabin pressure of an airplane. So I'm stuck here at least until my next appointment on the 16th.
Today I walked around Regent's Park, which was very nice. Very well landscaped, and lots in bloom. Every street corner, in this part of town, at least, has painted on the curb "Look right," I guess because London has so many foreigners now to whom looking right is backwards from what they're used to. I seem to remember that sometime between the world wars Winston Churchill was in New York and looked the wrong way trying to cross the street and was hit by a car and ended up in the hospital. As much as I admire Churchill, I'm trying hard not to emulate him in this respect, but it does seem a bit strange looking at the curb paintings. I have this momentary feeling that they've painted them all wrong.
I picked up my Underground map today, as well as a Michelin London guide, and am set to be a tourist tomorrow, off on the tube to Trafalgar Square. If I'm really lucky, the organist will be practising at St. Martin In the Fields.
dave
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