Nuk Flas Shqip

The cultural situation here in Kosovo is fascinating. Basically the majority of the people in Kosovo consider themselves ethnically Albanian and Kosovar simultaneously. It was only 3 years ago that they declared their independence from Serbia. This independence isn't recognized by Serbia, Russia or China (among others) and it was far from being a peaceful event. This means that a vast majority of the population has close, personal experience with the hardships of war. Yet despite this potential for emotional devastation the Kosovar people are generally happy and friendly. Every one of them love Americans for the help they gave during the war. There's even a street here in the capital named after Bill Clinton, who was the president at the time. I have yet do discover whether it intersects with Mother Theresa boulevard. These aspects of the Kosovar culture are the backdrop of the conversations we get to have after our concerts here.

We've had 3 performances so far. One was our full set-up with enough power to run sound and lights. It was a great chance to experience positioning everything we have and work out all of our kinks. About 300 – 400 people showed up in the park to watch, including a number of people from a local Church. At this point I've learned enough Albanian language to get the people here excited that I know some. From there I need to rely on their understanding of English or a translator. So after this first concert I stuck to taking care of the equipment while the translators we had worked with people on our team that were on stage and had more people coming to them to talk. There were some good conversations and we invited a few to a follow-up event where we'll be able to share more openly.

The second day we were supposed to perform near a park that has a pool bigger than some ponds. The weather turned cold however, and they decided not to open for the day. We'll go back there later in the tour. We decided that since the concert was canceled we should do some street performance. So with 2 acoustic guitars, a snare drum, a viola and a harmonica in hand, we hit the streets. The results were some amazing conversations and a chance to invite people to the follow-up event.

The third performance was the follow-up event in a controlled venue. Having a concert in a controlled venue means we can be completely open with our message and not have to be thinking about being kicked out. We had a small crowd for this performance. This was good because it allowed for more intimate conversations about deep spiritual matters. The people from the Church who came are now in a great position to carry on these new relationships.