My husband has been here 8 months. What an adventure. I am picking up some Albanian, at least I am understanding more when I listen to my hubby talk to family. I am shy to speak the words, though. Hubby has learned a lot and is adjusting well to America. It's still a learning experience for him, and for me. Driving, for instance....I thought it was rather easy here, it's flat, and the roads go north/south or east/west. If you know the names of the main roads, and you are driving on one of them, eventually you will come to an intersection of one of the others. Easy peasy. NOT if you grew up in a city with hills and virtually no street names! Apparently at one time Prishtina had no street names. People lived on this hill or that hill or somewhere between, but always with LANDMARKS, not street names. So my poor hubby is still struggling with the expanse of flatness here, with the absence of landmarks. Yeah, there's GPS. He would be totally lost without it.
Culture shock---there is still some of that, like TAXES. Being self-employed, I've been pretty much out of the picture regarding the kind of taxes that come out of a regular paycheck. In Europe its common for people to be paid "under the table". So neither of us were prepared for how MUCH would be taken. I think the hardest thing for hubby, and maybe for a lot of foreigners, is learning about how many laws and restrictions we have here. Hunting license, building license, etc. In Kosovo or Albania, if you need to add on to your house you just do it. Over there, if you are hungry for wild meat you just go out and hunt it. I feel like I'm constantly reining my hubby in, "no you can't do that, omg no, not that either".
On top of that, now we have the Obamacare looming. Thankfully the state of Indiana decided not to drop me, at least until April. With the Indiana insurance, I have 100% coverage. I pay my small monthly premium. If I had to switch to Obama care, even with the tax credit my premium would have tripled. It would cost between $20 and $50 to see a doctor, and I can't even figure out the prescription "coverage". And a $6,000 deductible? Who are they kidding? It's all a mess.
But in spite of all the road blocks, laws, restrictions and so forth, my hubby loves it here. America is a huge country. Foreigners learn about us from books, movies and youtube. No wonder they have so many strange ideas about us. No wonder they think our streets are "paved with gold" and every corner has gangster shoot-outs. Sometimes reality can be disappointing as well as comforting.
Showing posts with label Kosovo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kosovo. Show all posts
Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
This December...
...is stinkin' cold!!! It's like January, but no snow. Thankfully it was sunny today. Hubby and I went shopping, picked up some nice dishes and some European food we have been missing. It's fun to drive around at night and enjoy the Christmas lights. Downtown Prishtina is lit up but I'm not sure how much decorating is done on the residences. It's common for even the Muslims there to put up a tree and buy some presents for the kids. Nobody worries about what to say or do, they just all get together and enjoy life.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
I was reading old posts....
I am so thankful I have my hubby here. The days are getting shorter and cooler. It's that time of the year when I tend to get reflective, moody sometimes. But my new life is so happy and busy I don't have time to bed sad. Tonight we cooked together. Hubby likes to show me his Kosovo dishes. Sometimes I cook something American he's never tried before. Sometimes it's hit or miss, depending on our tastes. For the most part we like each other's foods.
Albanian Beans
1 small bag of small white beans, washed and cleaned
2 T Oil
Salt to taste
1 heaping T of Hungarian paprika
Medium onion, chopped
Add beans to cooking pot, add water, add salt.
Simmer beans until tender.
When beans are done, chop a medium onion and brown it in oil. The pieces can be white with brown edges, but the smaller pieces should be brown for it to taste right. Don't burn the onion. Turn off heat. Add a heaping tablespoon of paprika to the onion and stir it in until it's no longer lumpy. Spoon some liquid from the beans into the onion pan and stir. Then pour and scrape all of the onion mixture into the beans. Stir and serve with lots of bread. It's tastier than you think!
Note: don't stir the paprika directly into the bean water. It will clump up, becoming nearly impossible to stir in.
Albanian Beans
1 small bag of small white beans, washed and cleaned
2 T Oil
Salt to taste
1 heaping T of Hungarian paprika
Medium onion, chopped
Add beans to cooking pot, add water, add salt.
Simmer beans until tender.
When beans are done, chop a medium onion and brown it in oil. The pieces can be white with brown edges, but the smaller pieces should be brown for it to taste right. Don't burn the onion. Turn off heat. Add a heaping tablespoon of paprika to the onion and stir it in until it's no longer lumpy. Spoon some liquid from the beans into the onion pan and stir. Then pour and scrape all of the onion mixture into the beans. Stir and serve with lots of bread. It's tastier than you think!
Note: don't stir the paprika directly into the bean water. It will clump up, becoming nearly impossible to stir in.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Few believe me when I tell them
Few people believe me when I tell them that in Kosovo Muslims and Christians live side by side. They tell me, oh, there must be a conflict, you just don't see it. Bullpoopie. Kosovo is about 80% Muslim majority, and it is in no way a "hell on earth" that one of my blog visitors naively supposed. Now you can add Jews to the mix of people accepted in Kosovo. Read this article by Steven Schwartz - Kosovo Revives Its Jewish Heritage
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Culture Shock...it's coming
"Culture shock is the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, or to a move between social environments, also a simple travel to another type of life." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_shock
I know it will happen to my hubby but I don't know to what degree. Thankfully he has an Albanian friend here in Indiana who is going to help him find a job. Having someone to talk to in his native language who has been here long enough to know the ropes will help him tremendously.
And there is a Balkan store here in town that has many foods that looked familiar to me after shopping in Kosovo. I can buy the salty wrinkled black olives and more than one variety of feta-type cheeses that all taste the same to me lol lol. We need that for making burek. It's so yummy!
My hubby knows how to cook and he will teach me to make burek, or as he calls it, pita. It can be made with 2 different fillings, meat or spinach and cheese, which is my favorite. I told him, "I'm sorry but feta cheese is very expensive here." And he said, "That's ok we will use normal cheese." Normal cheese in Kosovo is some other type of feta, to me anyway. So I was trying to explain to him about cheese here in America being more like what they have in northern Europe. And by the way....Albanian burek is very good and it NEVER gives me a stomach ache or heartburn like spanakopita.
I also want to learn to make Baklava the way his mom does. It is so very good and it's not overpoweringly sweet like the Greek kind with the honey in it. And speaking of Greek, what the heck is it with the Greek yogurt everywhere? My daughter and I tried it and it was awful. The Albanians obviously have much better food than the Greeks.
His large and very close family.....I know he will miss them.
I know it will happen to my hubby but I don't know to what degree. Thankfully he has an Albanian friend here in Indiana who is going to help him find a job. Having someone to talk to in his native language who has been here long enough to know the ropes will help him tremendously.
And there is a Balkan store here in town that has many foods that looked familiar to me after shopping in Kosovo. I can buy the salty wrinkled black olives and more than one variety of feta-type cheeses that all taste the same to me lol lol. We need that for making burek. It's so yummy!
My hubby knows how to cook and he will teach me to make burek, or as he calls it, pita. It can be made with 2 different fillings, meat or spinach and cheese, which is my favorite. I told him, "I'm sorry but feta cheese is very expensive here." And he said, "That's ok we will use normal cheese." Normal cheese in Kosovo is some other type of feta, to me anyway. So I was trying to explain to him about cheese here in America being more like what they have in northern Europe. And by the way....Albanian burek is very good and it NEVER gives me a stomach ache or heartburn like spanakopita.
I also want to learn to make Baklava the way his mom does. It is so very good and it's not overpoweringly sweet like the Greek kind with the honey in it. And speaking of Greek, what the heck is it with the Greek yogurt everywhere? My daughter and I tried it and it was awful. The Albanians obviously have much better food than the Greeks.
His large and very close family.....I know he will miss them.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
18 days till interview!
Exciting! And we have so many plans. My boss is holding a company conference this year! First one since 2009 at the Natchez State Park in Tennessee. Still don't know the location of this year's conference. Hubby is a good driver, I mean really good, and he LOVES to drive. They drive on the same side of the road and sit in the same side of the car as we do. So the transition will be easy.
The main difference, here we have more stop lights, stop signs and police. We have fewer people walking everywhere, crossing streets whenever and wherever they please. In Kosovo there are few street lights, many round-abouts and mostly just a lot of speed bumps on the MAIN ROADS for cryin' out loud instead of police! I think I only saw one stop sign in all of Prishtina. Most intersections have nothing other than a slightly busier street intersecting with a less busy street. Everyone just drives AT IT from 4 directions and slows down, courteously allowing the heavier traffic to pass while nosing their car in until the other guy stops and lets them proceed. It's all like a courteous traffic jam---no road rage.
This would not work in America! But we have the lights and stop signs to control the traffic. I was explaining this to hubby and he said, "American drivers are better drivers." I replied, "No, we just have more laws and lights and signs...like herding cattle." He laughed. Honestly, the traffic in Prishtina is similar to downtown Chicago or downtown New York. Hubby drives a stick shift! In this crazy traffic! Traffic moves there like a school of fish, artfully dodging and darting in all directions but never hitting one another (well 99% of the time).
It's amazing that Albanians can all drive among each other like this and no one gets angry, and that nosing into traffic causes others to yield politely. When we were in a round-about in Prishtina I saw a vehicle sitting there, the mystified driver wondering how in the heck to enter. Must have been a foreigner. I would have done the same.
The main difference, here we have more stop lights, stop signs and police. We have fewer people walking everywhere, crossing streets whenever and wherever they please. In Kosovo there are few street lights, many round-abouts and mostly just a lot of speed bumps on the MAIN ROADS for cryin' out loud instead of police! I think I only saw one stop sign in all of Prishtina. Most intersections have nothing other than a slightly busier street intersecting with a less busy street. Everyone just drives AT IT from 4 directions and slows down, courteously allowing the heavier traffic to pass while nosing their car in until the other guy stops and lets them proceed. It's all like a courteous traffic jam---no road rage.
This would not work in America! But we have the lights and stop signs to control the traffic. I was explaining this to hubby and he said, "American drivers are better drivers." I replied, "No, we just have more laws and lights and signs...like herding cattle." He laughed. Honestly, the traffic in Prishtina is similar to downtown Chicago or downtown New York. Hubby drives a stick shift! In this crazy traffic! Traffic moves there like a school of fish, artfully dodging and darting in all directions but never hitting one another (well 99% of the time).
It's amazing that Albanians can all drive among each other like this and no one gets angry, and that nosing into traffic causes others to yield politely. When we were in a round-about in Prishtina I saw a vehicle sitting there, the mystified driver wondering how in the heck to enter. Must have been a foreigner. I would have done the same.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Interview in 19 days!
Hubby's medical exam is scheduled for the 19th. Thankfully his doctor reconstructed his immunizations based on when and where he went to school. Everyone's medical records were destroyed when the hospitals were sacked and burned in the war. Thankfully the embassies know that, and allow reconstruction of records.
I can't wait till hubby is here!!! He sent me this link to some Kosovo Recipes. I know how to make the beans (but I don't use veal), the veggies and the salad but not the Flija. Hubby says we will cook together he will show me how :) he is such a sweetie. He also knows how to make baklava the Albanian way which is WAY better then the too-sweet Greek way. His mom made it for me and found out I love it so guess what, next day she sent a whole plateful lol!!!!
I can't wait till hubby is here!!! He sent me this link to some Kosovo Recipes. I know how to make the beans (but I don't use veal), the veggies and the salad but not the Flija. Hubby says we will cook together he will show me how :) he is such a sweetie. He also knows how to make baklava the Albanian way which is WAY better then the too-sweet Greek way. His mom made it for me and found out I love it so guess what, next day she sent a whole plateful lol!!!!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Countdown to My Hubby's Visa Interview
INTERVIEW DATE FEBRUARY 28!!!!!!! We are excited. Hubby can't wait to get it over with (little bit of stress---everyone has it). If your first reaction is yay, he can get on a plane right after the interview, right? The answer is NOOOO. When he is approved (I'm not even saying "if") the visa will be issued about 3 business days later. I say "about" because nothing is promised. The embassy may decide to make him wait longer while they double-check our papers. They say never buy a ticket until you have the visa in your hand.
The abbreviations:
USCIS - U. S. Citizenship & Immigration Service
I-130 - form to apply to bring an alien spouse to the USA
NVC - National Visa Center
AOS - Affidavit of Support
DS-230 - the visa application
Our timeline:
17-Aug-2011 Our Wedding Day in Kosovo
07-Nov-2011 filed I-130, paid fee at lawyer's office
21-Nov-2011 I-130 received by USCIS this is our "priority date"
28-Nov-2011 case updated (noted on website)
21-Apr-2011 Expected Approval date (5 months)
10-Jun-2012 contacted USCIS via email about delay
22-Jun-2012 email from USCIS - security checks pending
23-Aug-2012 APPROVAL! Finally after 9 months
05-Sep-2012 NVC case created
17-Sep-2012 NVC case number arrived by email
21-Sep-2012 paid AOS and DS-230 fees to lawyer
22-Sep-2012 I leave for my second trip to Kosovo
24-Sep-2012 AOS and Visa fees show as paid online
02-Oct-2012 returned from visit to hubby with signed DS-230
08-Oct-2012 brought papers to lawyer
31-Oct-2012 signed AOS
02-Nov-2012 police cert lost, hubby mails new one
16-Nov-2012 received new police cert in the mail
21-Nov-2012 papers sent to NVC
13-Dec-2012 NVC requests passport photos - resent
10-Jan-2013 CASE COMPLETE!! via email
15-Jan-2013 case leaves NVC (notified by email)
18-Jan-2013 Skopje embassy receives (DHL tracking)
28-Feb-2013 interview - Result_________
xx-xxx-2013 visa issued
xx-xxx-2013 Port of Entry - Chicago O'Hare
The abbreviations:
USCIS - U. S. Citizenship & Immigration Service
I-130 - form to apply to bring an alien spouse to the USA
NVC - National Visa Center
AOS - Affidavit of Support
DS-230 - the visa application
Our timeline:
17-Aug-2011 Our Wedding Day in Kosovo
07-Nov-2011 filed I-130, paid fee at lawyer's office
21-Nov-2011 I-130 received by USCIS this is our "priority date"
28-Nov-2011 case updated (noted on website)
21-Apr-2011 Expected Approval date (5 months)
10-Jun-2012 contacted USCIS via email about delay
22-Jun-2012 email from USCIS - security checks pending
23-Aug-2012 APPROVAL! Finally after 9 months
05-Sep-2012 NVC case created
17-Sep-2012 NVC case number arrived by email
21-Sep-2012 paid AOS and DS-230 fees to lawyer
22-Sep-2012 I leave for my second trip to Kosovo
24-Sep-2012 AOS and Visa fees show as paid online
02-Oct-2012 returned from visit to hubby with signed DS-230
08-Oct-2012 brought papers to lawyer
31-Oct-2012 signed AOS
02-Nov-2012 police cert lost, hubby mails new one
16-Nov-2012 received new police cert in the mail
21-Nov-2012 papers sent to NVC
13-Dec-2012 NVC requests passport photos - resent
10-Jan-2013 CASE COMPLETE!! via email
15-Jan-2013 case leaves NVC (notified by email)
18-Jan-2013 Skopje embassy receives (DHL tracking)
28-Feb-2013 interview - Result_________
xx-xxx-2013 visa issued
xx-xxx-2013 Port of Entry - Chicago O'Hare
Monday, January 14, 2013
Lots of work today, no time to read
So today's post will be short, at least for now, unless I decide to write more later. I wanted to comment briefly on the "fill in the blanks" paragraph at the end of yesterday's post. A reader kindly responded, thank you, and asked me to please read more, to understand the threat of Islam. I want to say, first of all, my intent with the "fill in the blanks" was that any currently hated group could be entered there. There are several that come to mind and most have nothing to do with religion, more with color of skin or sexual orientation.
Secondly, these books I am reading are not debating Islam versus Christianity. It is not fair to lump the Balkan Muslims in with the Arab Muslims because they really don't see much eye to eye with each other. Though I don't know any Bosnian Muslims, I can tell you the Muslims of Kosovo tend to be American flag-waving champions of the USA. They love us over there and they are very Christian-tolerant, even to the point of mixed-faith families. Kosovo celebrates our 4th of July in our honor and wishes us Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Kosovo, I love you too! note--these are not my photos, I downloaded them from Shkabaj news.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Kosovo visit # 2
I had a great time visiting my dear sweet hubby and his family. The trip was less strenuous, only one plane change, in Zurich. I only stayed 10 days this time, but we got better pictures. Here are some of my favorite pictures.
Embroidered Turkish towels
Prizren, the oldest city in Kosovo, if you can find it behind the umbrellas
Prizren. It was crowded, and hot that day
The city center, Prizren
View from the 3rd floor, Prishtina
Saturday, August 25, 2012
AWESOME NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My daughter got married in California and while I was out there for the wedding I got a text message from the USCIS that hubby is APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!!! Now all the paperwork goes to the National Visa Center. Hopefully that part will be shorter. It was a short visit in California due to flight delays and general rudeness of the San Francisco airport people. But the wedding was beautiful. I heard a song on the flight home and remembered that I first heard it at the naturalization ceremony on the 4th of July on "A Capital 4th" in Washington D.C. I'm dedicating it to my hubby. It's called Home by Phillip Phillips. Hubby listened to it and said it's appropriate, he loves it too.
Home lyrics:
Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home
Settle down it'll be all clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They will fill you with fear
The trouble, it might drag you down
If you get lost,you can always be found
Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home
Friday, August 17, 2012
Just another day, but it's not
We went from a dry hot summer to a cooler wetter one almost as soon as we turned into August. Other parts of the US are still popcorn-dry, but here we are fast recovering from the drought. I have been trying to stay busy but I've fallen into phases of doing a lot and then doing almost nothing. Oh well, things are getting done, right? ....um
In other news, today is me and new hubby's first wedding anniversary. Yay! But we are still apart. Immigration is stalled. But I'm not crying like I did last Christmas and New Years and Valentines Day and Easter and the 4th of July, because I'm flying back to see him this fall. We are so happy about that. I wish I could have gone sooner but too many things are going on here this month. In light of that, then I guess I'd better get busy.
In other news, today is me and new hubby's first wedding anniversary. Yay! But we are still apart. Immigration is stalled. But I'm not crying like I did last Christmas and New Years and Valentines Day and Easter and the 4th of July, because I'm flying back to see him this fall. We are so happy about that. I wish I could have gone sooner but too many things are going on here this month. In light of that, then I guess I'd better get busy.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Time out for antibiotics
Well about a month ago I got nailed by mosquitoes and the bites itched like crazy. I tried really really hard NOT to scratch them. I tried everything I had to make the itching stop. But I scratched them. And then two wouldn't heal. No matter what I did....so I finally went to my doc.
Doc: "You can take penicillin, right?"
Me: "No! I'm allergic!" (I know my chart says that)
Doc: "Then I will write (I heard the word sulfa-something)"
Me: "No, please, sulfa drugs make me sick!"
Doc: "I can write cyprofloxacin."
Me: "No, please, no, that's like getting kicked in the stomach for two weeks!!!"
Doc: "Z-pack?"
Me: "Yes! I can take Z-pack!"
Thankfully Z-pack is short, because it makes me tired and dopey. Last pill, Monday night, so I will start feeling normal about noon Tuesday.
Yeah, the bites are better.
I've been moving slowly on the house cleaning. I am frustrated. I have been piling stuff in the living room and kitchen that I no longer need. Now I am faced with getting rid of them. Most of them need to be sold, but to do eBay I need to find boxes for everything. And I have no way to hold a yard sale, nothing to put things on, and no helper to carry them out. And I really don't want people coming inside the house....still thinking this over.
Coming up...daughter's wedding in California and a trip to see my mmmmmmmmmm honey in Kosovo. I love the jet-set life! But I wish immigration would hurry up and send my hubby to me. We are looking at next year now. I think they do that on purpose, just to see if you will give up and withdraw the petition. Someone on an immigration forum mentioned that the Statue of Liberty should say, "Show us your money." No, that's not in the context of a bribe, it refers to people from wealthy nations getting approved faster.
Doc: "You can take penicillin, right?"
Me: "No! I'm allergic!" (I know my chart says that)
Doc: "Then I will write (I heard the word sulfa-something)"
Me: "No, please, sulfa drugs make me sick!"
Doc: "I can write cyprofloxacin."
Me: "No, please, no, that's like getting kicked in the stomach for two weeks!!!"
Doc: "Z-pack?"
Me: "Yes! I can take Z-pack!"
Thankfully Z-pack is short, because it makes me tired and dopey. Last pill, Monday night, so I will start feeling normal about noon Tuesday.
Yeah, the bites are better.
I've been moving slowly on the house cleaning. I am frustrated. I have been piling stuff in the living room and kitchen that I no longer need. Now I am faced with getting rid of them. Most of them need to be sold, but to do eBay I need to find boxes for everything. And I have no way to hold a yard sale, nothing to put things on, and no helper to carry them out. And I really don't want people coming inside the house....still thinking this over.
Coming up...daughter's wedding in California and a trip to see my mmmmmmmmmm honey in Kosovo. I love the jet-set life! But I wish immigration would hurry up and send my hubby to me. We are looking at next year now. I think they do that on purpose, just to see if you will give up and withdraw the petition. Someone on an immigration forum mentioned that the Statue of Liberty should say, "Show us your money." No, that's not in the context of a bribe, it refers to people from wealthy nations getting approved faster.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Some nice weather
It's still too dry, but at least it's not hot, until next week. I try to catch up outside in this nice weather. Hubby and I are really missing each other. If this immigration red tape keeps dragging I will probably fly back to Europe sometime soon.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Cooler and Rain Yay!
Today was much cooler and we got some much-needed rain. It's very hot in Kosovo, my hubby said 40 C (that's 104 F). They are going to pave our street tomorrow. At last! I am so tired of parking in back under the tree full birds eating and pooping mulberries. Ugh! I need to wash it every time I go somewhere. I love this video hubby sent me
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Coping With Separation
Some days I pause to bless the military wives, even though my separation is not the same, my hubby is not in a danger zone. But not a day goes by, not even an hour, that I don't think of him, dream of him, long for him. I am obsessed. I create pictures for him, search for cute love icons to include in emails. He does the same. We met online 15 months ago, got married 9 months ago, and 8 months ago I broke his heart when I flew home. I suppose it was a whirlwind courtship, but we knew. When I flew to Kosovo to meet him I was sure we would fall off the pedestals we had put each other upon, at least before the 6 weeks had passed. But no, we fell into forever and always, and this was the right choice, and the whole magic of new love. And now for months we are in limbo, the immigration waiting game. Status > Initial Review. The 5 month mark of them receiving the application came and went in April. So they are behind. Our lawyer was guessing he will have his interview in June, but many things need to happen first, and they haven't even started.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Please send my hubby to me!!!
Here it is near the end of the month and I have not heard a word from the visa processing center. I logged in to check, re-read the details, and as I understand it, they won't update the status until they make a decision. So that means they could be processing the paperwork at this moment, but I have no way of knowing! My hubby has never been in a gang, he has a spotless police record, and he's not a terrorist. So there isn't anything to stop him. I suppose at some point they will request more information, such as proof of a continuing relationship. Yeah, you actually have to bare your soul and flaunt your love life. It's not that they want the details, they just need proof of a continuing relationship. So we continue on, missing each other, waiting for the day when we can be together again.
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