The hills are alive

Yesterday after class I went up to the mountains with my host mom and dad. It was a fabulous experience, as I was able to get warm and to go for a run! There is a trail that I can get to right from my house. I wasn’t sure what to expect when they said they were taking me up to the mountains – so as you can imagine I was surprised when we went over to the grandma’s house (right next door) and I was introduced to Poli (the family donkey) and Unpa (the family cow).. plus the two sheep, who walked right behind me all the way up the mountain. My host dad let me ride the donkey for a little bit – and I almost fell trying to get off, as I don’t think Poli is very friendly.

Once we got to the top of the mountain, I was greeted by the most amazing views of Albania (I forgot my camera but will bring next time). I could see all the neighbor cities, plus a few lakes and the mountains are just gorgeous. My host dad owns a large part of the land where we were walking, so he went out and was cutting the trees and maintaining the landscape – while my host mom sat and did some sewing. After my run I joined my host mom and took a nap. Remember the scene in the Sound of Music when Maria took the kids out to the mountains, and was playing her guitar while the children played ball? That was us, yesterday – the only thing missing was a guitar and some children running around. Perhaps I need to scope out the curtains to add to my wardrobe…