Miredita!!

Mirëdita from Shipëria (Hello from Albania!)
Whew! I know that I promised pictures, but until I can figure out how to attach my camera to a computer (without the blessed cord that you are supposed to have but that I couldn't find at the 11th hour...), you'll have to deal with words for now! My detailed packing list and furious preplanning only got me so far and then all of a sudden it was 1:45 am on August 31st and I couldn't justify sleeping for 75 minutes before my 3:00 wake up call. So I pulled an all-nighter before my long series of flights. Thanks to my dear friend Rachel, I arrived at the airport without a hitch and was even funneled to a "special" line because I was given an archaic paper ticket (no one uses those, right??).

The flight to NYC was just dandy - long but I was so sleepy that I slept for most of it and caught up on some good ol' letter writing. The funniest part was that most of the plane was full of Ukrainians going to NY to catch the non-stop flight to Kyiv. My layover in NYC went by fast (i had to leave security and come back through) and then before I knew it I was off to Roma...ah Roma. I had two friendly row-mates (thank goodness because I was sandwiched in the middle): to my left was a college student headed for her study abroad program and the aisle seat was taken by a guy from Israel on his way home after working in the states. With a full dinner, a glass or two of wine and the darkened aircraft, I luckily slept for a bit of this 7 hour flight too. Though AlItalia may be the cheap airline of Italy...it was so nice not to have to rely on only crackers and some sparkling water as we crossed the Atlantic (as it would have been if I had been on a domestic carrier).

Before I knew it, we had touched down in Rome and I was having some tea with my Israeli friend while we both waited for our next connections. A quick stop to the bathroom to spruce before the final leg of the trip and brush my teeth (um...yes...very necessary) and I was walking out to the plane headed for Tirana, Albania. It all felt a little surreal and I could feel myself put on my travel face...aloof to those around me (unless I sense they are not threatening) and yet hypersensitive to what I see and hear. All things happen for a reason and I sat next to a girl who was 16 and on her way back to Macedonia (say the c like a k) with her family. Get this...she lived in the states from 5 years old until 2 years ago, speaks beautiful english and has now moved back to Macedonia to finish school. It was so interesting to hear her perspective on issues in this part of the world and learn a bit about the relationship between Albanians and Macedonians. She said that most Albanians living in Macedonia are treated like second class citizens - they are taught separately from the Macedonians, served separately in restaurants and are required to learn Macedonian. I realize now that I had no idea there was such tension over here. Albania is apparently the poorer of the two countries and is looked down on by Macedonia (again..according to this girl.)

Before I knew it, another flight had come and gone and I was stepping off the plane, crossing my fingers that someone would speak english, that my bag would arrive, and that there would be a place to exchange dollars for Albanian leti (otherwise I'd have bigger problems on my hands!) After the usual hassles and attempts to get you in a taxi, I found the bus to Tirana and off I went. As per usual Kelsey-style, I watched everyone closely and followed their lead. I watched how much money they gave the driver and how much they got back, when they got off the bus, and how to act in public. So when everyone hopped off the bus in the middle of an intersection, so did I and BOOM there I was in the middle of Tirana. A bustling city that reminded me a lot of parts of Ukraine on first glance - similar shops, similar style of clothing, but lacked the stoic and depressing apartment complexes. Instead, the apartment buildings are painted all sorts of bright colors. Most of the buildings are quite old and were just lucky enough to get a little TLC and get painted.

I found my hostel and after getting some much needed local advice, headed off for a cable car ride up a short mountain. This took me a bit out of the city and I realized that there is a lot of poverty here, but also just poor infrastructure (waste pick up, road maintenance etc). This will make more sense with some pictures (later). The cable ride up was beautiful - to the top with a hotel and restaurant on top - seemed to be the stomping ground for some of the richer Albanians. I strolled around the mountain top a bit and then went back down (but not before chatting with the operator at the top - i attempted to say thank you - falemenderit - and he surprised me with a british accent. Turns out he studied in England...so there you go.)

The ride back to the city helped me gather my thoughts and figure out exactly where I was (more or less) and then I decided to take a long evening stroll around the city before returning to the hostel. I saw parks, mosques, statues, monuments, pictures of Mother Teresa (apparently this is her homeland!), and even tried one of the roasted corn on the cobs on the side of the street. This last experiment was less than exciting and rather unpleasant, but it gave me something to munch on (and I do mean munch...that was some tough corn kernels. The weather is balmy...warm but not roasting and a nice breeze to cool the sweat.

I'm armed with a map and a plan (sort of). Tomorrow I'm visiting Kruja and potentially Durres (to the west on the water - Adriatic Sea). All is well and life is good - and cheap (the exchange rate is 100ish to 1 dollar and I had dinner tonight for 200...not too shabby).

More to come...
Ciao (not Albanian, but there are a lot of Italians around here, so I think it'll pass)