First Impressions of Pristina

Jet-Lag Face in front of the airport

I arrived safely Tuesday at about noon local time. Kosovo, or Kosova to locals is +6 hours from EST so I have been going through a bit of a body clock adjustment, aka Jet Lag. Having not slept my first flight, I was EXHAUSTED upon arriving to Frankfurt but thank God, I navigated through both Frankfurt and Vienna airports. I arrived to Pristina with 3-4 hours of sleep on my side but feeling really good as I walked out the airport doors into the open air and saw Jill (Pristina High School principal) and Corey (PHS Business Manager) holding a sign with my name on it. Yeah I made it! After the photo, I was driven to lunch and then to my apartment.


The City- Pristina
Developing- that is the word that comes to mind. Similar to La Paz, there are many unfinished buildings and roads. However, there are modern architecture,  newly paved streets, and more Mercedes' and Ferrari's than I've ever seen. This is an interesting conundrum that I will write about more in length in a future blog.

The end of "Bulevardi Nene Tereza" (Mother Teresa Boulevard)
aka "The Walking Street"

Industrial, few trees, mountains in the background and desert like ground. There has also been a drought this summer making it dry and hot.
Not overwhelming large, not too spread out and everything you need is within proximity. Plenty of walkers, few bicycles, Pristina is not without the typical city traffic.

The Flat

The days following have been spent acquiring items for the beautiful apartment, Corey arranged for us to stay in. In a fairly modern building, I share an apartment with Shanae while the other 2 female teachers, Caitlin and Jackie live together across the hall. The apartment is fully stocked with the basic amenities (not sure if a flat screen TV is typical?). We also arranged for wireless internet, which spoiled me on the first day but has been less reliable since. We have hot water (which is awesome) for when we do have water. During the hours of noon and 4pm and midnight and 6 am- the water is shut off so taking a shower or washing clothes does take a bit of planning. So far it hasn't been too much of an issue (Lord knows I'm not high maintenance when it comes to showers). We keep a reserve of water in spare bottles for brushing our teeth and flushing the toilet. 

The location of our apartment is great- we are basically downtown, walking distance to most things and a quick 50cent taxi away from the school. I'll be taking one of those taxi's Monday to teacher orientation- I'm excited to see the school and learn more about our students.

I have lots to report on and I'm still trying to figure out how to keep it somewhat organized. Still to come- religion, people, food, currency, and lifestyle.

Lots of love from over here in The Balkans :)

-A