Kosovo may not be at the top of most people´s list to visit, but Katie and I went to see a contact of our mom´s. Emrusch came and met us at the bus station and was a great guide. He had been a Marshall Memorial Fellow and visited Chattanooga under the care of our mom last summer. Upon arrival in Pristina, the capital, he told us how much Kosovarians loved America and promtply took us to an American style sports bar serving nachos, burgers, and potato skins. Not what we expected, but a nice welcome.
We stayed in a flat with his friend who had a 9 year old daughter and lived in the city center. They were wonderful hosts who told us about the challenges thier county, which just celebrated their 3 year of independence, faces. She also made us a fabulous traditional dish of chicken and rice.
We met a couple of Emrush´s students from the university and had an interesting conversation with them that focused on how their country is doing and the effects of the war on the population. Is the youngest country in Europe both in being the newest but also based on the age of the population. Almost everyone on the street seems to be under 40 and they felt it was a challenge to find work for all the young people coming into the work force. They are strongly pro-American because the US supported their claim to independence, they even like George Bush because of this! Bill Clinton has his own boulevard and the Hotel Victory has a promient statue of liberty on it´s roof. It was incredibly interesting to learn about this place that dominated news headlines for much of my youth but I did not really know much about.
We also spent Valentines day here and went out with one of the students we met earlier in the day. She took us to a club where one of her friends was going to play. The men were all dressed in suits and the women were mostly wearing tight, short, shimmery dresses and very high heels. Katie and I wore quick dry pants and puff jackets. So it was an interesting sceen to be a part of but the best part was that all the people were so excited when this musician came on. They got way more into his more traditional music than they had the hip hop that was playing before. Obviously not concerned with what we looked like, Katie and I had a great time dancing and people watching.
Katie and I parted ways the following day so she could head back to Turkey and I to Italy. It was a wonderful month traveling with my sister and I am so thankful we had this time together. She is a wonderful young woman who is kind, open, and always ready for a new adventure. She always seems to find new and interesting opportunities while traveling and I am excited to see what she finds for herself over the next few months.
We stayed in a flat with his friend who had a 9 year old daughter and lived in the city center. They were wonderful hosts who told us about the challenges thier county, which just celebrated their 3 year of independence, faces. She also made us a fabulous traditional dish of chicken and rice.
We met a couple of Emrush´s students from the university and had an interesting conversation with them that focused on how their country is doing and the effects of the war on the population. Is the youngest country in Europe both in being the newest but also based on the age of the population. Almost everyone on the street seems to be under 40 and they felt it was a challenge to find work for all the young people coming into the work force. They are strongly pro-American because the US supported their claim to independence, they even like George Bush because of this! Bill Clinton has his own boulevard and the Hotel Victory has a promient statue of liberty on it´s roof. It was incredibly interesting to learn about this place that dominated news headlines for much of my youth but I did not really know much about.
We also spent Valentines day here and went out with one of the students we met earlier in the day. She took us to a club where one of her friends was going to play. The men were all dressed in suits and the women were mostly wearing tight, short, shimmery dresses and very high heels. Katie and I wore quick dry pants and puff jackets. So it was an interesting sceen to be a part of but the best part was that all the people were so excited when this musician came on. They got way more into his more traditional music than they had the hip hop that was playing before. Obviously not concerned with what we looked like, Katie and I had a great time dancing and people watching.
Katie and I parted ways the following day so she could head back to Turkey and I to Italy. It was a wonderful month traveling with my sister and I am so thankful we had this time together. She is a wonderful young woman who is kind, open, and always ready for a new adventure. She always seems to find new and interesting opportunities while traveling and I am excited to see what she finds for herself over the next few months.
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