Report

Through the International Orthodox Christian Charities, I worked with the Diakonia Agapes Center and Metropolia in Albania.  To begin with, Albania has been closed off for a long period of time, so there were few other people of color in the country.  The Albanians were shocked to see me, an African-American woman, in their country. I never really experienced culture shock.  I feel the Albanians experienced culture shock from me!

My assignment was to work to improve the preschool education system affiliated with the Orthodox Church and help to make it more accessible to the children of Albania.  I learned a great deal from the teachers and coordinators of the preschool program in Albania.  I enjoyed talking with the students and seeing them sing and play in the classroom.  Some of the children spoke English and they were excited to have someone with whom to practice their English.  Sometimes, I would teach a simple English lesson to the children and I learned as much from them as they did from me.

As a part of my assignment, I presented four workshops during teacher’s conference week.  I reported on the insights that I learned from Albanian preschool teachers on the topics of parent participation and aspects of their preschool classrooms.  I presented these four workshops with the aid of a translator.  This was a very challenging experience, as I had never given a presentation to individuals of a different language before.  The teachers seemed to enjoy my presentations.

As I traveled around the country to visit different schools and interact with teachers, I became inspired to write a book for the children of Albania.  Good Afternoon, Mirëdita is a children’s book in English and Albanian, written so the children could have a nice, cozy story to add to their literature collection.  I donated my book to several organizations in Albania.

Overall, I had a positive experience working in Albania.  I feel I had a cultural experience that will allow me to be a better person and a better professional. I had the opportunity to experience a different culture and see things from different points of view.

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