who knew?

So, work is super quiet. For real this time. Since we normally perform in schools, which are out for the summer, our tours are either finished entirely (like the UN play) or on mid-year hiatus. The time I do spend at the office now is primarily for email and trip-planning, and after days of looking at pictures of Capri and Florence, I admit I'm anxious to go. It seems cruel to be forced to wait another month!

However, I also am trying to find a way to get to Greece before leaving here, which is the only other thing I am seriously looking forward to. I am not opposed to travelling alone in theory, but I don't think I would be comfortable travelling alone to a place I've never before explored. (Sounds funny, I know, considering my current situation, but still...) The obvious choice for a travel buddy is the new Canadian intern working with us, because, of course, she, like me, is totally overwhelmed by the workload :-)

Now, it is quite simple to get to Greece from here without flying, and simply involves travelling through Macedonia. Unfortunately, it turns out to be not so simple: Canada must have done something to seriously bother Macedonia, because the visa requirements make it nearly impossible for Canadians in Kosovo to get one! You must visit a Macedonian office to deal with the matter, and the closest one to here is in Tirana, Albania -- a torturous 12-hour bus-ride away! I have managed to by-pass such problems with my trusty American passport (currently home to two stamps: Macedonia and Macedonia!), but this is a luxury clearly not afforded to everyone.

Being here has forced me to really understand, for the first time in my life, how amazingly lucky I am simply to have these two little books... two pieces of paper with my name on them, proving me to be a Canadian and an American citizen. They are given to me as a birthright, as I have done nothing in my life to particularly earn them (other than fill out forms and wait in ridiculous lines at government offices). Yet they offer me rights that the majority of the world does not have...

In Kosova, most people have UNMIK Travel Documents. Without being an official country, Kosovars have no official passports! With the Travel Document, you can travel freely to Albania, Macedonia, and maybe even Turkey. And that's it. Every other country in the world requires a potential visitor from Kosova to get a visa, which is not only expensive, but very inconvenient considering that most countries do not have official offices here. I have been told awful stories from friends recounting their degrading visa experiences, and end up feeling terrible when people I know are rejected, and left unable to visit relatives, or go to school abroad, or participate in theatre festivals as desired. To me, it seems so crazy that people can be rejected literally for being from here. Countries like the U.S. and England, for instance, reject applicants sighting a great risk that the traveller will try to stay abroad. But to explain the insult, that is like saying to some one: "Your country is not worth living in... You couldn't actually *want* to live there."

Most of you reading this are free to travel - free to move - like I am. I guess until you know people without such ability, it is difficult to value it enough.