2010 CATHY'S VISIT TO ALBANIA: Maturant

Travel with me to Albania

Where is Albania you ask? Officially known as The Republic of Albania, the nation is located in South Eastern Europe. The country sits across the Adriatic Sea from the heel of Italy with Greece as its south and southeastern neighbor. Albania is about the size of the state of Maryland with a population of 3.1 million people. Its per capita income is approximately $2,580 and more than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty level, making Albania one of the poorest countries in Europe. Often family members will work in neighboring Greece and send money home to provide for their families.

In 1967 the communist government created the world's first officially atheistic country when it outlawed all religions. It was ruled by the most repressive and isolated regime in Europe until 1991, when it became the last country to emerge from the communist regime. Since then the nation has struggled through years of political instability and ecomonic collapse. An outbreak of civil disorder erupted in 1997, followed by an influx of 460,000 Kosovar refugees in 1998. This increased the burden on the already deteriorating political, ecomonic, and social infrastructures. Today Albanians enjoy full religous freedom. and while the government is an "emerging democracy" maintaining infrastructure is extremely difficult, especially in rural areas.

Alongside Ministries International hosts the Crossroads Christian Camp in Erseke in southern Albania. The children and youth are introduced to Jesus Christ and loved on by Christians in a one-week camp enviroment that includes crafts, games, bible lessons, and a ropes course (don't we all love camp!). I feel very priviledged to be part of bringing Christ into the lives of these young people.

Excerpts borrowed from World Vision http://www.worldvision.org/

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Maturant

High schoolers getting decked out, fancy hair-dos, and high heels - sounds like prom doesn't it? Here in Albania there's a special event called Maturant and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of it last night. The graduating seniors finished high school sometime in June but after completing their secondary education (primary education is 1st to 8th grades and is compulsory - secondary education is optional) they are required to take graduation exams. As I understand they are required to take a written math and literature exam and two other exams of the student's choice depending on their university preference. These exams just finished up last week so the seniors (I'm actually not sure what they are called here) were ready to celebrate!

The formal graduation was yesterday morning and then in the evening after dark, the Maurant celebration began. In the center of town, about two long blocks in length, the town's people, 1000 plus, gathered in the middle of the road, leaving an area of about three feet between two walls of people. Loud, bass-thudding, music played over loud speakers and the seniors walked arm in arm with a partner up and down the created people corridor. They looked very serious and didn't crack a smile unless someone tapped them or stopped them for a picture. Back and forth, back and forth they walked for an hour - amazing given the high heels on some of the young ladies. All the ladies were dressed to the nines with hair elaborately done, fancy dresses, and very high heels. The young men, on the other hand, were either dressed in silk suits or very casual jeans. Afterwards the seniors went to a restaurant for a late dinner and traditional dancing until the wee hours of the morning. One of the seniors on the camp's staff told me the celebrating went until 6:00 a.m. this morning - why she was at camp early this afternoon is beyond me.

I truly enjoyed being part of this cultural celebration and am so glad I was here to witness it.