Kosovo, Day 1

::Kat (6/3)

We stepped off the plane in Prishtina as a tired and hungry group. We showed our passports, and proceeded to the outside world. As we approached the people waiting for friends or loved ones, we could see one familiar face hovering over all the people around him. Visar! We started to perk up...and when we got up to him I realized that some of the Kosovar Alumni were there to greet us! They awakened us from our drowsy state with a very warm welcome. It was so great to see them. They helped us with our bags and we all piled into different vehicles. The drive to the city of Prishtina was beautiful, to say the least. The mountains are tall, vast, and seemingly never-ending. There were flowers in the grass on the side of the road on our way from the airport. I marveled at the curious building structures. The architecture here is interesting and fun to look at. Some beautiful buildings were damaged and abandoned, most likely due to the war. We arrived at our hotel, which is located conveniently next to the Kosovo Sport department building, where we are going to be spending a considerable amount of time. Our rooms are huge and comfortable, and we found out later that this hotel is only about three months old. It certainly is nice! After we all freshened up a bit,  Visar and Sanije took us to a great restaurant that is close to the hotel. Actually, everything is pretty close to our hotel that we need to access in Prishtina, because it is about one street away from the town center. We sat outside. As we were waiting for our food, fireworks began to shoot off. "We're here!" Coach Carly said jokingly. We found out after that the fireworks were a celebration of the Kosovo men's team's victory. They were quite a spectacle! Then Visar took us back to our hotel, where we had a quick meeting, and then passed out for a well-needed good night's rest. It's great to finally be here! :)