week 10
Well, I have completed last week my last week with Democracy for Development. It was a very busy week at work. I spent the early part of the week finishing up my final report. I spent a lot of time on this project as it required analysis of laws other than the Republic of Kosovo. I spent the majority of my week working hard to help out with some very important proofreading. D4D publishes all materials in both Shqip and English. The particular report I worked on this week was very important as it was a detailed analysis of the organization's efforts to date followed by a dynamic plan for future development. I went through every detail of the report making sure to correct errors and revise sentences for better readability.
I had a very positive experience with Democracy for Development this summer. I am glad I was able to work hard this summer and produce useful data to be used by the organization in the future. D4D is a great organization committed to improving governance in Kosovo. Everyone working there is highly competent and dedicated to improving democracy in Kosovo. I am honored to have been a part of the D4D team.
After work on Friday, myself and a friend of mine decided to spend the weekend in Albania. This time we went to Sarandë, a scenic city in the southernmost part of the country. It was a long bus ride, but somewhat interesting. For one thing, my friend was asleep when we went through border control. I went to wake him, but the border guard said it was fine and just walked past him on the bus without checking his passport. I have noticed this summer that border control traveling to Balkan nations was much more relaxed than when entering the EU, but at a minimum passport had always been examined. After passport control, I slept until we arrived at our destination.
Once we finally arrived in Sarandë, we spent the weekend at the beach enjoying the views. All summer all of my friends told me I must visit this town and that it was the most beautiful place in the world. They were not wrong. Here are some photos:
I was very impressed with the views. My visit was also a memorable cultural experience. Sarandë is the place where Albanians (both form Kosovo and Albania) go on vacation. The city was full of tourists, but they were all from the region. Sarandë is by far one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in Europe. But in every other scenic place, I felt surrounded by American and British tourists. Sarandë was unique and full of culture. It was a very nice way to conclude my time in the Western Balkans.
So that was my summer experience. Kosovo is a place like no other. I will miss Prishtinë and the many friends I have made here.
Here is one last photo I took before I left town:
Thank you to everyone who followed my blog, I hope you found it interesting.