The Good: After a frustrating Week 2 at-site in beautiful Kavajë, I decided to do what I did in the States to relieve stress: bake. School had ended–or, rather, it was the last week of school but none of the students showed up–so I had some free time on my hands before starting summer classes and tutoring. I’d met some of my neighbors in passing and got more practice greeting and chatting with people I met on the street, but soon a better idea came to me along with my sweet tooth. I could use my hobby/release of baking to jump-start “integration” with the universal sign of goodwill: fat and sugar.

I found this homemade brownie recipe (luckily all the ingredients were available at my local market!) and gave it a shot. I had made chocolate chip cookies to take on a teacher’s excursion to Lezhë the week before, which…