Helga in Kosovo

Hello and greetings from Prishtina.

First of all I have to say that the flight crash that happened yesterday in Ukraine is horrible. I just don’t understand why these things have to happen, especially if it really was a guided missle that hit the plane. Also, what I don’t understand is why passenger airlines fly over conflict zones. For example I realized yesterday that I flew over Ukraine in Easter, and my mother did it even more recently, about two weeks ago. On the 22nd of August when I fly home with Turksih airlines from Tirana via Istanbul, I hope the plane will not fly the same route as they have done before.

This week I have been in Prishtina and same thing for next week. Due to the work I have got, I don’t need to be in the office in Gjakova, so I can stay in Prishtina. It feels good to be in Prishtina, because I am used to be in a larger city; Gjakova is a bit too small for me…

The weekend went fast thanks to the World Cup bronze game and final. It was quite clear who Kosovars cheered for. Once Germany won, there were fireworks all around the city and people driving around like crazy while honking the car horn of course. Even the local flower shop showed supported Germany by coloring their flowers with German colors.

My seventh week is almost done now, which mean that I have less than a month left. I don’t miss Finland and I don’t feel like a stranger here anymore. Quite frankly I could be here for longer, however, I miss my bf, family and friends a lot. This weekend and next weekend I am really looking forward to because today I’m going to the beach in Albania (Shengjin) and will stay there until Monday morning, and then the following weekend to Macedonia (Ohrid). I am so pleased with the fact that Kosovo is so central. You can go to the mountains in less than an hour, go to big cities in 2-5hours, and the beach is only 3 hours away etc.

My work at SHE-ERA has been completely different than anything I have done before. With SHE-ERA we have been visited several small villages in the Gjilan municipality. The organization holds “How to Start a Successful Business”- trainings for women who are working with agriculture. These women in Gjilan had their trainings in 2012, and now this summer we have visited them and seen how they have progressed after the business training. Some have increased their funding in their businesses and they sell products to different clients, but then again there are women who only grow food for their own use and they have not started a business of their own.

It has been interesting to see what life is like in villages of Kosovo. People are super nice, and everyone know each other in the village. All these small villages where I have visited, they are close communities. For me it seems like these guys really enjoy their lives and they are happy. Also, when they have seen me, a blond, tall, young foreign woman, they become super curious. I have tried to speak with them Albanian. I can’t say much, but they are glad I’m at least trying. I have noticed that telling them about my Albanian boyfriend immediately connects us. I want them to understand that I am genuinely interested in the Balkans, and that I don’t do my internship in Kosovo only so that I will get the necessary credits for my school.

Also, I have had the chance to see how the EU Twinning-project is going. This week I was on both Monday and Tuesday present at the Implementation of the Core Curriculum- conference. Teacher trainers, teachers from both primary and secondary schools, as well as members of the Ministry of Education were present. They were so enthusiastic when they got some group work tasks from the Finnish experts. On the final day they even started debating on who gets to take part in the next training event where they will present their own teaching methods. In addition, we were surprised that so many people came, because most people have their vacation now. It is so great to see the Kosovars enthusiasm to increase their own knowledge and that way improving the education system of Kosovo step by step.

Thank you for reading. I hope I manage to bring new things up that you find interesting. Now I am off to Shengjin, Albania.  Have a great Friday and good weekend! Cheers!