Today’s meeting at the worksite will probably be my last. I will be leaving for Seattle next Wednesday morning. Two days from now will mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of Albania as a nation. Wednesday and Thursday are both to be national holidays. As we walked the site today, looking at what needs to be done and those small projects that are almost finished, I found myself staring off over the surrounding fields and houses. The passing of my responsibilities here should be simple enough.
At the conclusion of our meeting, the Plagenhoefs took Visi and I into Kombinat and dropped the two of us a few blocks from the factory there. I placed our order for fence posts with Arjan, the engineer on site who has become my point of contact. It was Arjan who threatened to call the police the first time we met, because I was taking photographs in the yard of the factory where he works. As Visi and I left I said “Can I get a picture together with you?” “Of course,” he replied. “Where should we stand?” I asked. “Anywhere you like,” he said.
No one really wants to be at war.
albaniacalling 