Way of life

The other day I found myself assessing the interesting phenomena on how differently I feel physically when I am in Albania. For the past two years I have noticed that while in NY I suffer from acute osteo-arthritic pains most of the times, when I arrive in Tirana these pains seem to subside drastically! How come? Someone ventured the idea that it may be due to the different barometric pressure. Whatever it is I am thankful, although Tirana is still one of the most polluted cities in the world.

Because my affairs require me to travel frequently to Albania, several of my friends on both sides of the Atlantic have questioned me whether I would consider coming back to live permanently in my country of origin. My answer has been that I would never completely leave the country where I spent most of my life, but I must admit that the above phenomena is an additional incentive to spend more time in Albania, in addition to the fact that here I have rediscovered old friends and acquaintances, made many new ones in the past few years, and I really feel at home every time I come back.

Bottom line is that I am lucky enough to have 2 very comfortable places to live in, but the way of life in both is so different! In Tirana, for instance, I enjoy a larger kitchen, completely inundated by sunshine every morning, that allows me to have breakfast with my back warming up by the hot rays that come through the balcony door, which can be kept open for a few hours even during this season.

On the street people usually stroll, rarely rush, and good friends habitually promenade arm in arm. A perfect example was in front of me the other day when, on the way home from a meeting, two small students, happy to have concluded another school day, were slowly proceeding under the weight of their huge back backs, embraced as two good buddies would do.