Experience Albania: Travel, Pictures, History, Culture

Me and the flowers

Originally uploaded by treenie.

I took this photo last week when I was in Elbasan - the moon was wazing in a clear winter sky, on its way to being full.
Last night on my way back from Tirane, I had a view of the now full moon, rising over Mount Tomori. Didn’t snap a photo, but it was bright [...]

‘How can I see an old thing in a new way today?’ my friend, Steph asked me. She sent me a handmade plaque with this quote. It hangs on my bedroom wall and serves as a reminder to get out there and avoid using the words dull, old and boring.
Here’s my most recent example - this [...]

These little figurines sit atop my volunteer friend Ryan’s stove. They’re just hanging out, looking peaceful and protecting the ‘peace ball’ next to them.

This thing was huge! Nearly as big as Ana (my host cousin in this photo).
‘Chichras’ are a kind of organic ‘lemon’ that people grown in their gardens here.
We didn’t cut it open or use it, and I’m not sure what is really done with them, but it was a sight to see!

View from Kruje, Albania

The ‘Albanian Visit’ is a kind of sport, a hobby, an activity that has given me endless opportunities to practice my Albanian and get to know friends, colleagues and landlords better and better by spending time in their homes, meeting their families, neighbors, etc.
An Albanian visit means time spent going over to someone’s home, unannounced [...]

Below is a message from an article that I came across while Ben and I were in a coffee shop in Hayward, Wisconsin.
“Life always has a way of bringing us what we need to learn, whether we are aware of it at the time or not.
When we decide to live in a way that is more conscious, [...]

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Enjoy the people in your life today and every day …
It’s the people in your life who make your world.

Greps is a very, very small village, nestled in the hills along the canyons of the ‘Skrapar’ region in eastern Albania. About a two and a half hour bus ride from Berat.
My Peace Corps volunteer friend, Evan, lives and works in Corovode, a medium-sized town in this region. While visiting him a few weeks ago, [...]