Laughter and Light

These are the mountains upon arrival into Kosovo, can you imagine walking them and living in them as you are trying to find your way out?

On Friday, I went into Kosovo for the first time. It is just as beautiful as Macedonia and looks very much the same. I don't know quite what I was expecting but what I found was a country that has come a very long way. Luckily, I can only imagine what it must have been like as a war torn place. I have seen the desperation on faces in old pictures and I have heard the stories. Eight years ago this month the people of Kosovo were allowed to return to their homes and begin to rebuild their lives.

They have mastered this re-building process. Shelia and Arville, both, were just amazed as we drove through the streets of Prishtina (one of the hardest hit cities) at how much had changed and what the city was becoming. It does not look like a place that suffered a huge crisis. It is only through the eyes of those who have been through the war that you can spot the places where destruction happened.

We were searching for an office and we were beginning to think that it did not exist, however, thankfully Agim was not afraid to ask and we witnessed many consultations just like this one.

Hotel Victory- very fitting. That is the Statue of Liberty on top.

As we were on our way out, we stopped at a little cave that Agim knew about. We got out and paid and then waited for the tour guide so that we could go into the cave for our tour. There were two other young men who joined us and as we stopped at the first place for the tour guide to report the facts, the electricity went out. We stood for a second thinking that it might flip back on, but we had no such luck. We could barely see anything two feet in front of us. I just remember that all I could do was laugh. We laughed our way to the light.

Of course, the Americans come and something happens?! (I was later informed that it happens all of the time... this is a piece of information that would have been nice to know before I embarked into a very dark cave.)

We waited for about 20 minutes and then reclaimed our place in the cave to continue our tour. The tour guide was so comfortable down in this place. The cave was like his baby, something he had seen grown up and he knew every scar in her skin.

We also stopped at a monument that was created for fallen soldiers. These are just the soldiers from one commune. I cannot fathom the feeling of such a great loss.

The last picture is of the only four women buried in this place. The youngest was 18. The middle picture is the Albanian Flag flying proudly at this burial ground.

But there is light. These people have found it. They are resilient beyond belief and happy, very happy.