The final day trip of our time in Albania was to the castle ruins of Berat.

We visited Kruja, the birthplace of Albania’s national hero Skanderbeg on our day off from meetings. We toured the rebuilt castle and got some great views from the castle tower. Later some of us toured an ethnographic museum that showed what life was like long ago in the village. The man leading the tour had his whole speech memorized in English, he did a great job. After that we visited a Bektashi mosque where we got a tour from a man who spoke no English. We did our best to communicate across the language barrier with minimal success.

After Kruja we went to Tirana. It was just days before President Bush was going to visit. An American President hadn’t been there in years so it was quite a big deal. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Albanian answer to McDonalds and then arrived at the radio station offices. I went to go find an ATM and saw some of the colorful concrete buildings. For dinner we took cable cars to the top of the mountain overlooking the city and enjoyed one of the nicest restaurants in the city.

We went into the city of Durrës to visit the ancient Roman ruins and see the rest of the city. It was my first time in an amphitheater and I was very impressed. In the middle of ugly communist-era apartments sat the ruins of an ancient Roman market. It was very strange seeing such historic things in such a (by Americna Standards) run-down group of buildings.

As we walked through the city streets, we saw two boys fighting. My coworker tried to break up the fight even though she didn’t speak any Albanian. It’s kind of funny how age and actions speak more than words. As we continued walking, we stopped by a restaurant with a great rooftop view of the city.

Arriving in Albania, I was amazed at the colors of all the buildings. They were all painted very vividly. I think this was to make up for the depressing style of buildings that marked the landscape leftover from the communist era. We stayed near the port town of Durrës and often visited the beach there. After a few days we stopped swimming out of fear of pollution in the water.

My favorite dinner of the week.

On this particularly windy day, I filmed things I found in my yard.

I missed posting a video yesterday, but I am back in full swing now. Inspired by my Father-in-Law’s video for VBW, I decided to make a video about the bike ride that Sara and I took around our neighborhood.

to see everything the route we took on this ride, go here: Bike Ride Map

I have been videoblogging for over 5 years. Over that time I have been mentioned in many newspapers and magazines, and have made many videoblogging friends. This video shows some of the things I have laying around to remind me of my Vlogging Past.

to see everything on the table, go here: The Vlog History Table

Welcome to Video Blogging Week 2010! My first video this week features the culinary skills of my wife and my father-in-law as they compete against each other in a carrot cake throwdown

The end of our trip was capped off with a trip up north to Murchison Falls National Park. The park has one of the best waterfalls in the region and tons of animals. We stayed a Paraa lodge, a very western style place that was quite a change from our lodging of the past two weeks. We went on a boat ride on the nile to the base of the falls and saw many birds and water-animals on the journey. The next morning we went on a game drive and got some great views of Giraffes, Kob’s, Hartebeasts, Crested Cranes, and Buffalo. The most exciting part of the day was when we saw a lioness stalk and chase it’s prey. The lioness missed, but the scene was quite intense. We happened across a herd of elephants that walked right past our truck and then headed back home later in the day.

The next day (Sunday), on our way to the airport, we stopped by a Bari-speaking congregation in Kampala. This is one of the key languages WOH broadcasts in in Uganda and Sudan. We joined in for part of the church service and even got in on some of the jump-dancing. Overall the trip was quite amazing. The people were SO friendly, the places were eye-opening and the wildlife was superb. I would definitely go back in an instant.

We travelled to the city of Mityana where my boss and one of the pastors travelling with us were going to lead a pastors seminar the next morning. Pastors from all over the area travelled to this event. Some traveled for days. Biblical training is hard to come by in remote areas so the pastors take any opportunity they can get. I really enjoyed the singing that they all did together. They actually harmonized, which is something many Western congregations seem to neglect.

While the seminar went on, my Ugandan coworker Joshua led us around Mityana-town, which was where he grew up. We walked through the market and down city streets. Butchers hung their meat out on hooks in the open air. Theaters (which were just small dark rooms off the main road blared into the marketplace. It was obviously quite different from most of my shopping experiences.

After that Joshua brought us to his families home where his parents run an orphanage. In the tree behind their house were hundreds of weaver birds nests. After the seminar was over, we traveled back to the university and got ready for our trip to Murchison National Park in the North.

Later in the week we visited the village of Namusaala where Titus, WOH Uganda’s Director, Grew up. We visited his mother’s house and the school that he helped start. The kids parents were there and the students did a drama about some of the problems facing families in the village.

The students had songs for everything. A song announcing the choir was coming and another song that said they were leaving but coming back later. After the event finished, I walked with my fellow-traveller Rick down the village road. We passed mud huts and children running with excitement shouting “MUZUNGU MUZUNGU!” Which means “White Person! White Person!” After about an hour of walking, we returned to the truck and went back to Mukono for the night.

After attending the morning church services on campus, we visited my Ugandan coworker’s new house that he is building. After that he took me to his uncle’s house and then to the Cultural Arts Center in Kampala where we ate dinner and watched dances from all around Uganda.

In October, I went to Uganda with work. My main responsibility was to interview people and get footage for a profile video about our ministry there. I also got some footage for personal use. This video starts off that series.

When we arrived, the first order of business was the dedication ceremony of the new Words of Hope Uganda recording studio. We stayed on the campus of Uganda Christian University. Outside the guesthouse, there were a number of new and interesting animals such as lizards, horn-bills, and monkeys!

Every year I do a slideshow of the Photos I took the previous year. This one is a little late, but still fun!