It's Thursday and Frank and I have had an eventful week.  We were so happy to move into our apartment on Tuesday.  The owners are very gracious, and, as the photos show, the apartment is well furnished and comfortable.  The owners have a house in a small town about 15 miles from Prizren and moved there while we are renting.   Frank had to take a cab from our hotel to the apartment with our big bags....two of my big bags are still in Pristina at a friend's apartment.  One weird thing is that there is a guy who sells women's bras and panties on a table right in front of the front door entrance to our apartment building.  When Frank arrived in the cab, the guy carried up some of the luggage with Frank to our place on the third floor, so Frank has yet another new friend!

On Wednesday, I went to the university to meet with the head of the English Department.  The university is only 3 years old and has grown quickly.  The English professor was very gracious and seemed intent on getting me two or three good classes for the coming semester.  I will find out my schedule next week and probably start teaching on October 8.  Unfortunately, the university is cramped for space and there are no faculty offices or desks to keep things.  I'll have to carry materials to and from the campus.  Usually, I will probably take a cab at least one way - the fare is 2 Euros.

Today I was invited to have lunch with the American Ambassador who was visiting Prizren for the first time.  She is in her forties, I would say, and just started her assignment about a month ago.  Her British husband and some staff from the embassy (a few of them I met during my orientation) accompanied her.  There were also three locals in attendance - about 12 in all for lunch outside by the river at a nice restaurant.  The man who sat next to me is an architect and involved in restoring some of the buildings that were damaged during the Kosovo conflict.  He gave me his card and agreed to take Frank and me on a tour of some of the buildings sometime soon.  I also saw the Chairman of the Board of a Pristina bank whom I had met last week at a reception in Pristina.  He is very kind and friendly and is a former Fullbright scholar in the U.S. - I think in Michigan.  He lives in Pristina, but is from Prizren and comes to Prizren on the weekends, so Frank and I will try to meet him for coffee sometime.  The other local at the lunch is the founder of the Prizren Docufest which is an acclaimed film festival of documentaries held in Prizren in August and famous throughout the region. 

On Saturday, Frank and I will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary.  We are going to daytrip on the bus to Pristina since there is a Kosovo English Teachers conference part of the day on Saturday.  We hope to go to an international restaurant to celebrate...Prizren has some great food and great restaurants, but not anything international.  Because of the UN presence and all of the internationals living there, Pristina has a variety of good restaurants.  I'm thinking Indian food would be good.  On Sunday, Frank has signed up to ride in a 20km bike ride south of Pristina which is organized by a Swedish NGO.  A few of our friends in Prizren (Ilirijan, and Samir - a guy who teaches English at Oxford here and showed us a flat to rent ) are going also.  The event is free, and Frank has reserved a bike for 10 Euros.  They are sending a bus to Prizren to transport the participants to the event.  I will stay home and rest.  I wish I could go, but I tweaked my knee in a fall on uneven sidewalks in Pueblo in early August and the knee is still not 100%.

Miss you all, but we're having fun exploring!