Yesterday may have been one of the greatest days in my life. We visited with soldiers all day. I woke up at 7AM for a quick workout before breakfast. After that, we met with troops on base working on the Hum-Vees. We chatted with them for a bit and took some pictures. Then we left for the day to visit the troops that are stationed out for patrol across Kosovo. These guys sleep in tents for weeks at a time. It is mosquito infested, hot, and boring for them. There is not much going on in the region, which is fantastic, but these guys are bored and homesick. Our first stop was at a site close to a small town. It did not take long to get there. Most of the men were sleeping because they had just finished a night shift. We did not stay long here. We signed some autographs, took pictures, and shook hands. They were tired and the day was heating up. We said goodbye and moved on to the next site.
The next one was very interesting. It is located far out in the middle of what seems like nowhere. These guys were a little more alert when we arrived so we stayed a bit longer. I talked sports with a few of the guys and really had a chance to connect with them. Meanwhile, inside the tent the medic was giving Jen an IV. I am not sure if he needed more practice or if he just thought she was a pretty girl in need of some extra electrolytes. We visited and learned more about their life there while this was happening. We signed autographs and then took them out to play a little volleyball game that we call "ASS". Everyone stands in a circle and if the ball comes to you and you screw up the play, you get a letter. The first one out has to stand against the wall while the others get to throw the ball at them. It was really funny playing this with these guys. They were so into it. When we finally had our "ASS", they lined him up against the tent and then they had me spike a ball at his back! Of course, I crept in so I wouldn't miss. We all had a good laugh and then we had to go. The appreciation that they had for us was overwhelming. It is an incredible feeling. I wish we could have stayed longer.
We then drove by a Catholic Church where Mother Teresa got her calling. There is a famous statue of the Black Madonna in the church. The story is that the statue was white, but one day, overnight, she turned black. It is known to be a place of miracles. The views from the church are incredible. The countryside is stunning. We took more pictures then headed to lunch.
Of course no one we were with can read any Albanian, so the menu was pointless. We did the best we could to order something we wanted to eat. I was safe ordering chicken breast, while some of the others ordered steak and were quite positive that it was not cow. I really don't need to know what it was.
After lunch we visited the NATO base for the volleyball exhibition. Unfortunately, the courts were not taken care of and were as hard as concrete. We waited for 45 minutes while they attempted to improve the court. It was good enough, so we started to play around with the troops. There were only about 8 participants. Most were from other countries. We had a good time playing with them. Hans and Ty did most of the playing because they seemed less phased by the hard surface than both Jen and me.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Era o mínimo que você poderia fazer, pois foi tremendamente infeliz com o seu primeiro comentário.
Somos um dos povos mais hospitaleiros do mundo, e nenhum brasileiro ficou feliz lendo o infeliz comentário feito por você.
Tudo explica, mas nada justifica!!!
Sucesso em sua carreira!
Você como socióloga deveria saber os efeitos das palavras sobre um povo . É impossível que em um país campeão de informações por minuto uma profissional como a miss Angie esteje mau informada .Isso , não se justifica por ter acontecido outros casos como o que afastou um representante da " delegação norte-americana" por ter escrito que o brasil era o "Congo" . Vemos que os conceitos ensinados na sua Universidade são questionáveis pois o julgamento de outras culturas(o etnocentrismo )em relação a sua maneira de vida demonstra a má interpretação e o pré-julgamento .É melhor todos falarem menos , mais que sejam coisas úteis , para o bem e para a prosperidade de todos .
Bom realmente temos problemas aqui no Brasil em relação ao serviço social, somos um país em desenvolvimento. Mas também sei que muitas pessoas no seu país moram em traillers(housecar)ou hooverville que é o mesmo que favelas aqui. Há problemas de criminalidade como em Columbine High School, Ku, Klux,Kan no sul do seu país. Há mais de um milhão de detentos nos EUA, então problemas todos os países tem, obrigado por reconhecer seu erro,abraços e seja bem vinda ao Brasil.
Post a Comment