Life in Vermosh

 

Cricket in Vermosh

There were a lot of surreal moments in the three weeks that I spent in Vermosh, from hidden mountain villages to rapping middle schoolers to what was perhaps the country's first series of regularly scheduled cricket matches. But as I prepared to go, I mainly thought about the last weekend I was in the village, when nearly everyone else had left the house and I was alone with my book on the balcony, enjoying the wonderfully temperate mountain climate, a departure from the blistering heat of the south, and soaking in the calm that settled into the valley with the absence of my fellow travelers.

Week 1 - Landing in Lepushe

Hanging out on the Porch

With a little over a month of retrospective, I can say that I was entirely unprepared for what awaited me in the Vermosh valley. That's not to say that it was a difficult experience, but rather that all of the craziness of the first week needs to be understood in that context. I had some kind of idea that I was going to come to this mountain village and teach English, but I didn't know what the comprehension level of the students or how old they would be, or very much about the village or its culture beyond the minimal information I was able to scrape together via the vanishingly small number of websites that mention the area.

Arrival and First Days in Albania

Overlooking the Highway from Shkodra

When I was planning my trip to Vermosh, I made the mistake that many travelers make in assuming that things were going to follow my initial plans. Outside of guided tour groups, this rarely happens, and it's best to assume the worst, and hope for the best when traveling in this part of the world (or in general). Fortunately, I made it out the other side no worse for wear, and with some fantastic stories to boot.