Macedonia - the land of...?

November 28 and 29 are Albania's National Days. While the true meaning of these holidays eludes us foreigners, we still appreciate the fact that we get two days off in the middle of the week. So, true to form, I set off on another adventure. My friend Ingrid and myself set off in a rental car to Macedonia for the day. Our overall impressions were that while beautiful, Macedonia was basically Albania, just 5 years from now. Roads were in good condition, the service industries developed, and regular people had a improved grasp of English.

First, though, we had to drive through Albania to get there. We were awed by the sheer vastness of the scenery, scenery that we had no idea existed in Albania. (Just pretend you can't see the telephone lines.)


We set off for the town of Ohrid, just over the border on Ohrid Lake. The town itself is lovely, wandering up the hillside, dotted with an impressive lot of well-preserved Byzantine churches. Here is a view of the lake with the hazy mountains that surround it in the distance:



And, of course, the numerous churches that abound in this region...



We also had the good fortune to visit with some of the town's craftsmen. This gentleman makes his own paper, and print basically whatever you would like on it using a Gutenberg press, which he claims is only one of two exact replicas ever made and functioning.

pretty pictures from around the country

Here are just some more pretty pictures of Albania I thought I'd share. Enjoy. :-)

The lovely Southern Ionian Coastline.

The castle in Gjirokaster, one of the towns I am focusing in. The old part of the town is a UNESCO World Heritage City.

The Ethnographic Museum in Berat, the other town that I am focusing on. Berat should also become a UNESCO World Heritage City next summer.

My favorite picture to date. Farmhouses near Thethi, in the northern Albanian Alps.

Mt. Korabi, the highest point in Albania, on the Albanian-Macedonian border. It is over 2750m high, seen from approx. 70 km away.

Top Ten Things to Know About Life in Albania

10. It takes fifteen hours to cross a country the size of the state of Maryland.
9. Streets have no names or numbers. Only in October 2006 did they announce we will be getting a postal code system for the first time.
8. Albanians shake their heads side to side to mean “yes”, and nod up and down to mean “no”.
7. I’ve drank the freshest water I’ve ever drank from a mountain stream just 100 km away from the dirtiest smog I’ve ever inhaled.
6. There really are potholes the size of Volkswagons, and just as deep, too.
5. We have a pyramid in the middle of Tirana, built, yes, actually, for the purpose of a mausoleum. There is a bar there now called “Mummy.”
4. Lamb brain isn’t entirely undigestible.
3. Blood feuds still exist – a whole new meaning to the “family feud.”
2. Crossing the street is akin to “Frogger” – a little bit forward, backward, to the side, and eventually, you’ll make it across. Or you'll go splat!
1. Orange modular furniture and pea green walls are really, really in.

Happy Thanksgiving from Albania!

There are many, many things I am thankful for this year. A wonderful family, the truest friends, a good job, a series of amazing international experiences, and, of course, my two tolerent "children" who must suffer to be dressed up in costume every year. They're actually getting quite good at modelling by now!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Belated Blog #2: Tirana

Tirana is an interesting place. Brightly colored communist-block buildings and a variety of greenspace, cafes, and interesting monuments, all surrounded on three sides by mountains give it a unique, yet casual presence in this region of the world. It's not a bad place to live; I have the modern conveniences of a movie theatre, bowling alley, dry cleaners and market all just down my street, and I live only 15 min away from either office. (I work primarily in the Ministry of Tourism, but also have to pop into the UNDP offices from time to time, sometimes daily.)

The city has certainly undergone a radical transformation. Most of the greenspace used to be covered in illegally constructed buildings until the city's artist-mayor tore them down. The walled-off, communist section of town to the south, known as the "blloc", has now been opened up to everyone with a wide array of cafes, bars and excellent restaurants. And beautification continues -- every night, street cleaners are out sweeping the sidewalks and streets by hand. Parks are getting facelifts. And it is now mandatory for all new construction to be painted in bright colors.

The Llana River. It's not much of a river, but as long as it's not overflowing with garbage dumped in from upstream, it really adds to the character of Tirana.

The Pyramid. Originally built as a tomb and tribute to Enver Hohxa, the late dictator who defined the meaning of "personality cult." It is now used as a cultural center, exhibition center, and slide for the numerous gypsy children who climb to the top and slide down its 5 stories.

The Et'hem Bay Mosque. An Aetheist country for forty years, the 18th-c mosque reopened in 1991. About 70% of Albania is muslim, though only 30-40% of the entire population are practicing believers of any religion.

Night view of Tirana from one of the rooftop restaurants, 17 stories up. The large building in the middle is the Tirana Casino, affectionately referred to by locals as "Taiwan". When asked why it was called Taiwan, a few Tiranians venture to guess that the casino is like an island in the middle of the park, and, due to Albania's close relations with China (up until China became too liberal for communist-purist Albania and relations were terminated), it was dubbed Taiwan. Go fig.

Belated Blog #1: The Apartment

Yes, I realize that I have basically fallen off the face of the earth since I moved to Tirana, Albania on September 1st, 2006. So while this is my first blog, it is, quite admittedly, seriously overdue.

I have been living in Tirana, the capital of Albania for 10 weeks now. It sounds like such a short period of time, but in truth, could have been a lifetime in itself. Emotions have ranged from sheer joy, excitement, possibility and promise to utter despair, frustration, and needless head-banging against the wall. I have covered perhaps 20-25% of this country the size of the state of Maryland since my arrival, in addition to Montenegro, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Romania and London. And I may do more before the year is out.

My apartment is, well, unique. It is a newly constructed building with pea-green walls and orange modular furniture. While not quite my style, the newness of everything makes up for it. It's perhaps 350-400 sq. ft., and is about a 10-15 min walk to either office, right in the center of downtown Tirana. This photograph doesn't quite capture the "pea-green-ness" of the walls...I'll try to update it at a later date. But overall I'm finally settling in (I finally located the dry cleaners yesterday!), and the family that owns the apartment is very kind and responsive. Now, if only I could just get my internet connection set up soon...

More pictures of/from my apartment...

Eastern Europe, Round Two

I'm back for more...