On 19th July we headed out to Kosova, to look for a flat and find our way around.
The first part was very easy. We saw one flat and took it. It is close to the centre of the city, near all the facilities we need. It is on the third floor (no lifts) but the compensation is a beautiful view of the mountains from the bedroom window and from one of the two balconies.
As one of our friends who visited commented, "it is very orange". The decor seems to be typical of that liked by Kosovars, with beige and orange prominent, along with varnished wood finishes. Not a hint of magnolia - the main bedroom is painted cerise!
The next two weeks were fun, challenging and useful. We travelled to Pristina by bus (€4 each way) to visit a colleague to talk about possible work on standards development. We twice visited the local supermarket using the free minibus (we now get a wave from the driver every time he sees us) and managed to buy food, including fresh meat, without knowing more than a couple of words of the language.
Two days after we arrived in Kosova, two teenage girls from England came out. They spent a week at a camp in the mountains, and then a week in the city.
Then on 4th August our team arrived from Harpenden, making us 21 in all including two children. For four days the team ran children's clubs in a village in the mornings and in the city in the afternoon. On the Friday we all travelled up the Rugova gorge (pictures next time) for a barbecue.
We spent a couple of days at our new flat, but most of the time were with the team, so we have not really made the flat our own yet. We shall be travelling out on 3rd October to take up residence properly.
Now we are back in the UK, completing the redecoration of our house in Harpenden so that it is suitable for letting, and making final arrangements to move. Now we have a flat, we know just how little we shall be taking out to Kosova, so we shall have to throw out even more than we expected. And that is tiring!
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