Thursday, June 23, 2011

Prishtinë, Kosovë



i've been off the map for a while for various reasons yet my travels have made their way back to kosovo and i'm very happy for this bless-ed reunion. i met with a dear friend i first came across in Tirana and for the last two days i've been staying at his house in the capital city of kosovo, pristhina.



so... i'm gonna be a dork for a minute. i had this funny thought last i came to kosovo when i was staying in Mitrovica. anyone remember bionic commando for NES? there were these neutral areas protected by the white-uniformed soldiers in various places of the virtual map. i had this feeling in Mitrovica because of all the UN soldiers and international presence in the area. back in that area you can almost feel the divide between north and south literally cast aside by a bridge. but i failed to write about Mitrovica when i was there and for now i am in a much more beautiful city that i've come to adore a bit.


history has a very short timeline in this city and the scars of its past are still healing. you can tell this by presence of still new graves that line the entrance to a skyline-lit park in the hills. but i'm not here to write about history..





in the last few weeks i've been waking up from dreams that have unknown origin. as i've said i often have no idea where i am upon waking up and sometimes it feels like i'm still dreaming. i had this beautiful sensation a few nights ago when my friend Jetmir was taking pictures at the break of dusk. there was this beautiful pink, orange and dark blue background lighting our silhouettes and it seemed iconic of the haziness under my eyelids. i'll steal those pictures soon and add them to my documents.







mother theresa


the last good export to come from america..





Jetmir.. :)




last night we went to an art exhibition to which one of six contestants were awarded with an extended stay at a prestigious art school in New York City. it was really a nice thing to be there to see his face glow when he was awarded his prize.

the ceremony started with a bit of an installation involving a homemade hot air balloon shaped like a heart.











announcing the winner..




the photograph that won the prize





i was told this translates to something like 'today you killed an artist'..










i find this city to be really lovely. the arts are embraced as well as they should in any place of culture and the nightlife is really a blast.. maybe too much :) rakija knows no limits.

i'm reaching the two month mark of this travel and the lines i've drawn around this part of the earth are beginning to reveal themselves. two months from now i'll return to my city that i now call home with a backpack of stories and a wider knowledge of the world.. and of course a desire to explore the dreams i've been having lately promising me travels.. dot dot.. and its hard not to talk about.. i dream of finding a place so far away that maps cant touch them.. perhaps somewhere i've been before.. perhaps somewhere few have set foot.. perhaps the center of the ocean.. perhaps the center of the largest jungles on earth.. same time next chapter.

1 comment:

ALVARO GÓMEZ CASTRO said...

Hola : Soy docente en Colombia y admiro las actividades que desarrollan los miembros de Cuerpos de Paz en muchos lugares del mundo para beneficio de las personas más necesitadas. ¡Felicitaciones y adelante con ese gran trabajo!

Hi, I have been visiting your blog. ¡Congratulations for your work! I invite you to visit my blog about literature, philosophy and films:
http://alvarogomezcastro.over-blog.es

Greetings from Santa Marta, Colombia