We arrived in Tirana, Albania at about 4 am, which was a little earlier than I had anticipated. We weren’t able to check into our hotel until noon, so we found an open cafe and sat there for about 3 hours. After drinking some caffeinated beverages we walked through the main square of Tirana towards an American restaurant for some breakfast. It was yet to be open, so we opted for more caffeinated beverages at another cafe until the restaurant opened.
Jason in Skanderbeg Square. Lots of construction going on (has been since I arrived in country). After eating our breakfast we sat on the stairs of the Opera house and talked about why this construction is taking so long. I think it is because of the lack of work you see being done on it... We counted construction workers. Think we got to 4. I like about 75% of those were just standing around.
The mosque next to Skanderbeg square.
Jason, at the pyramid in Tirana, which was constructed as a mausoleum to Enver Hoxha, and now sits empty. Word on the street is they are going to demolish it.
Jason walking across a sculpture next to the pyramid
The Molla (means Apple) Store and AFC (Albanian Fried Chicken)
After spending a day in Tirana, which consisted of about a three-hour nap and going out to some hip bars in the block (the area in Tirana where the bars and “clubs” are), we then traveled to the village where I lived during the first three months while I was in training. My host family was beyond excited for my brother to visit and Jason was very excited to get to go where normal people just don’t go on trips.
This is where I left Jason when I went to lay down. Nobody knew English, Jason didn't know Albanian. It would have been fun to be a fly on the wall during that time I was sleeping! After I woke up my host father brought over this chair and made Jason put his legs up on it.
My host brother really liked Jason and asked me to take a picture of him and his new shok (male friend) next to the car.
My host parents took us to dinner at a RESTAURANT. Albanians don't go out to restaurants for meals often, especially in the villages. It was a HUGE surprise for me that they treated us to this! Each of us got our own plate of meat (each plate being enough to feed a family). L to R: My host mom Leah, my host father Tomorr, my host brother Andri, and Jason,
My host brother and Jason at dinner.
Jason and my host father.
After leaving my host family’s house we headed to Fier to meet up with Kristen and Jeff. We had to take two buses to get to Fier and the first one we got on had standing room only. I was LOVING it, because while in Macedonia Jason had been in awe of the city bus we saw that was just packed full of people, with the aisles full of standing people. Somebody tried to speaking to Jason on the bus, so I had to chime in, telling them he didn’t speak Albanian, only English. They of course asked where he was from, and when they found out he was visiting from America they offered him a little stool to sit on in the aisle. Jason wasn’t to keen on doing that, as he would be the only one sitting in the aisle, and as he put it “he didn’t want butts in his face.” After the money collector offered the stool to Jason about 4 times he pulled out the line “for respect”, which you CANNOT say no to. It would just be so disrespectful. So, Jason ended up being the only one sitting in the isle of the bus, until we got to the autostrad and had to wait along the side of the road for a second bus to take us the rest of the way. Once we got to Fier we dropped our things off at Kristen’s and all went to coffee before catching a furgon to the beach. I’m sure after this day Jason was over Albanian transportation. It took us two buses to get to Kristen’s, plus two furgons to get to the beach, and another two furgons on the way back to Fier. He really enjoyed the beach though!
Sibling love...
...that is more like it, bunny ears.
Finally, after a week of traveling, we made it to Gjirokaster, where I was so ready to be in my own bed and not living out of a suitcase! We spent time exploring the castle, which Jason just LOVED. He could have spent days up in the castle exploring little nooks and crannies of it.
Jason standing on the castle wall, looking over the city.
One of the places Jason requested to visit while in Albania was the Blue Eye. It happens to be one of my favorite locations, and I’ve posted pictures of it numerous times, and I guess Jason just needed to see how awesome it was for himself! Luckily he was in Albania during a huge heat wave across the Balkans, so it was a nice way for us to cool off (the water is 10 C).
We found a turtle on the walk into the Blue Eye.
Jason & the Albanian flag towel.
Jason was daring enough to dive in.
Just look at that facial expression! I think it took his breath away!
Since Jason just finished law school, he was interested in seeing how the court system worked in Albania, so we met with one of my friends who works at the courthouse next to my office. He talked to Jason about the court system here, asked questions about how it worked in America, took us on a tour of the appellate courthouse, and had Jason help him find some information about American laws online.
Inside the appellate court.
After spending three days and two nights in Gjirokaster we were going to catch an overnight bus to Athens, leaving Gjirokaster at 9 pm. We had went down earlier to buy the ticket and they lady wasn’t there, so I called her and she told us to show up at 8 to buy our ticket and wait for the bus. Luckily we had gotten our things ready early. We were just walking out of my apartment to go get a coffee when she called back (at about 10 til 7). There wasn’t going to be a 9 pm bus that night. There were only buses leaving at 7 pm and 7:30. She asked us where we were and said she’d come and pick us up. About 5 minutes later she pulled up outside my apartment, gave us our tickets for the 7:30 bus, and drove us down to where the bus was. When we got to the bus she gave our receipts to the driver and told him that we were going to Athens. He looked over at us, turned to her and asked her if I knew Albanian. Her response, “of course she knows Albanian, how do you think I’ve been talking to her?” I couldn’t help but laugh.
FYI, as you can tell the picture thing on this blog really baffles me. I have no idea how to get them so they don’t go all funky. 🙂
Alb-mania 
