Oh Kosov!

Above is the phrase that comes out of my mouth at least once a day. Many of the people I work and live with say it just about as much too. Basically what we are meaning is: Only in Kosovo! So, following are happenings from the past 24 hours...Enjoy the three-ring circus that is my life!

I was walking home last night from a nearby restaurant where we had all gone to eat after church. I was about halfway home when I heard my name called. Now, let's get something straight- your name is attached to your identity. It is personal and somewhat private. For someone to yell my name across the street and try to win my attention, they should probably know me or at least have a good reason for wanting to talk. So, my first mistake: I turned around. The man yelling my name didn't know me, but he was standing next to his older brother who I'd met once before (and thought I would be a perfect match for his little brother). What followed (after confirming that I was indeed an American...) was one of the most frustrating conversations I've had yet. He wanted to go for coffee this next week (that means basically going on a date). I rejected him on the basis that I will be up at camp and I am pretty busy right now. He inquired when I would be free for a coffee (mind you, this was all in severely broken English- I wasn't about to speak Albanian with him!). So, I cut to the chase and told him that my organization has rules about going out with the opposite sex, and I wasn't allowed. He became frustrated and began a few minute long rant about how he was supposed to find a girl to marry if he couldn't take her out for coffee and be alone with her; we are both believers after all. I don't remember much of what I said or was thinking at this point, I just remember watching his face, thinking it should be turning red from embarrassment... Nope! Nothing. I said, "Goodnight and Goodbye," and walked away...Marveling the entire way home at the amount of pride he had.

This morning I had a meeting with one of my friends here who is operating a real estate company. I am trying to buy a house for my team right now, and we were meeting at his office to work on some stuff. I walk up and he informs me that they'd been broken into the previous night and 200 Euros had been stolen. The police were on the way. So, I sort of sat to the side and flipped through one of the binders. Forty-five minutes later the police show up (I could've walked to the station twice in that time!). Two men in uniforms show up; one steps right inside the door and begins interrogating the secretary about whether anything had been touched (that lasted about 3 minutes). Then he and his partner go pull up chairs at the cafe outside, order coffee, arrange the chairs, and finally end up moving the table to be out of the sun. The secretary goes outside and, as they are trying to fill out the report, becomes the chief suspect...even though the door was forced open- of course, they wouldn't know that because they didn't look at the door! After a few minutes another cop comes, sits down, orders coffee, and begins the questions again. He didn't even enter the building. Two more police show up, and join in. My friend asked his secretary if they were going to fingerprint, and she said she had asked for that, but they wouldn't answer her (we were convinced they didn't know how!). Then two of the cops came inside and had a camera. At this point I had to leave, so I don't really know what happened. But it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen...

Who needs TV when you can just live in a soap opera or comedy? I am taking applications to come visit...just email! :-)