Things About Home

Hi everyone! I hope your August is going well. As you know, I am in Albania at the moment enjoying the beautiful, bright skies, the cool waters of the Mediterranean, my parents’ simple, yet, delicious cooking, and overall loving the fact that Jack gets to know his grandparents and Albania.



I am in Vlora, a Southern coastal city. As such, it is filled with people vacationing. There is so much noise, a city bustling with life. I miss this, the noise, the confusion and all of it. Jack loves it too, partly because he gets to stay up very late playing. His grandparents are spoiling him with ice cream, chocolates, and every toy he could possibly want. It will be trouble when we get back.

It’s always good to be back home. To see the familiar, hear the horns, the loudness, the sea; to smell the corn roasting on the impromptu sidewalk grills as we take our evening walk, the sufllaqe (a type of gyro), the petulla (fried yoghurt pastry), the popcorn, and of course, eating delicious ice cream. I feel like taking pictures of everything, and yet I am so conscious of myself. It is hard to feel like a tourist in your own home. It is hard to see the little details which are always taken for granted when you live here daily, like the old men’s park, where the retired men gather for coffee, a chat, and perhaps a game of domino. It is refreshing to realize that once again I have lost track of time and that things are relaxed.



“When are we taking off?” I asked my sister Ilda who was taking me to Vlora.
“Whenever we feel like it. It doesn’t matter.”

I sat back, sighed, and sipped my little coffee cup. No schedules. No clock ticking. We Albanians are masters at lazily sitting around. Proof to this are the numerous cafes and bars that are filled in the mornings and evenings (pictures coming soon). Watching time pass by, indifferently, smiling at it defiantly, and basking in the coolness of the sea breeze.

I am torn though. I wish I could make my own little country where all the people I loved gathered and where good things from both my homes could be transported. Then again, it is the complexity of it all that makes living between two places so challenging and beautiful all at once.

Life is hard here though. My western self romanticizes everything, but things start coming into focus when I talk to my sister and my parents. When their concerns and challenges become apparent, when I see that there still are people here who do not know where their next meal is coming from. I felt guilty yesterday when I saw a little puppy digging in the trash, because my first thought was to find out a way to create animal shelters here, but there are orphans, homeless children who need that care even more. Coming back here always teaches me about priorities, the hard choices that are often made, about waiting patiently for your turn, for getting what you want.

I’m off to Tirana for a couple of days, but I’ll be back with more pictures, I hope. Have a great weekend!

-E.




[peppers stuffed with gjize, a type of soft, tart cheese]