Mirëmëngjes

What a tremendously beautiful morning. Last nights rain - short as it was - seems to have scrubbed the air, leaving things smelling vibrant and alive, and sharpening the usually muted, dusty colors.

I am sitting in the little park in front of campus taking it all in and letting the cool, gentle proddings of the wind distract me from my studies - I refuse to spend my time indoors where I might as well be back in the States, (plus, my apartment is hosting a spider family reunion, complete with scary second cousins, children running around, reclusive aunts and commanding patriarchs), but it is awfully difficult to concentrate on the work at hand when there are so many things ready to lure my thoughts down other paths. Hooded crows, magpies, and jackdaws are always on hand to to make me laugh with their antics. The flocks of pigeons are stunning when they take flight, and the little birds - swallows, house martins and chickadees stay hidden in the trees, but fill the air with their calls.

This blissful state of being won't last long though. By this afternoon my eyes will start burning again, annoyed by the smog, and this mornings' green breeze will have dulled to a dusky smell of woodsmoke. Later today cars will start zooming by, blatantly ignoring the speed limit (it seems to be more of a suggestion anyways), motorcycles will roar by, un-muffled, with helmet-less riders jockeying for the position of 'leader of the pack,' and as soon as the morning chill burns off, teenagers enjoying their summer break will start streaming by, laughing and talking as they wind their way up to Germia Park and it's enormous swimming pool.


The maintenance man is washing the sidewalks again. Taxis are pulling up and spilling their loads of students and faculty members, and soon the buses will begin dropping their passengers as well. Classes start in half an hour, and soon the air will fill with students chattering in Spanish, Albanian, German, Serbian, and French, and the breeze will be laced with the heavy scents of coffee and cigarette smoke (80% of the population smokes), but for now I will bask in the early morning sunshine, revel in the beauty of a foreign country and just listen to the amazing mix of languages that surround me.