Experience Albania: Travel, Pictures, History, Culture

Most mornings, around 6 AM, I go walking/running with my host sister and sitemate, James.  It’s early, but the views are worth it:
 We usually head up this hill.  It’s a good workout, and at any moment you can look over to see this: the river and mountains are so pretty in the mornings.
 
 And once the [...]

There’s lots of action around my host family’s house, as they share a common garden with three other families.  One is my host grandpa’s brother and family, where two of his daughters have kids of their own.  Super cute, super sweet - here’s the line up:
 Jimi, age 4, is about to attend kindergarden in the [...]

 So many little chickies …
My host mother’s sister-in-law, Tasha, owns a chicken farm in a villiage about 20 minutes outside of Berat. She and her husband have it as a sort of retirement hobby. Anila (host mom), Esti (host sister) and I went to visit a few weeks ago. Since then we’ve [...]

…and wait for some text to accompany them as I wait for my Flickr account to assist me!  Once things work, posts will cover my visit to a chicken farm, interactions with my cute Albanian cousins, a weekend trip to Tepelene, Memiliaj, and Gjirokaster, and an ode to balconys.
Hope all is well with you!
 

“Luck has a peculiar habit of favoring those who don’t depend on it.”

 
To the left, a dinner party at Sonja’s (other sitemate) family’s house.  We sat out on their deck, which gives you an incredible view of a brightly lit church on the opposite hill.  An amazing spread of food, homemade wine, and live music.  Sonja’s host dad played guitar and sang Albanian folk songs for a good hour [...]

Andrew and Katie

Originally uploaded by treenie.

This is a bit out of place, but I just got this photo from one of my friends. I like that you can read the screen in back of us, and if you look to the right of me you’ll see the American Embassador and the President of Albania.

KatieBigBag

Originally uploaded by treenie.

I couldn’t hold this one back from the public, from my readers. Here I am, with my oversized sunglasses, not my mention my oversized bags. I was fortunate enough to get some help with a few of the other small bags, and the walk really wasn’t that long … but [...]

It’s been a great weekend. Spent Friday night until Saturday afternoon in Tirana. The American Ambassador threw a Fourth of July party at her home for all Americans living and working in Albania. I met missionaries from various faiths and staff from the American Embassy, along with their families. There was a great turn out [...]

Collaboration, working together with those who want to work and work well with you is one of the keys to success, in the most fulfilling ways.  Seek these people out, build relationships with them, know their stories, tell them your ideas and listen to theirs.  Worry not about the speed or measure of what you [...]