Sunday lunch

My first Sunday in Tirana, during this trip, was spent with some friends, who invited me to have lunch in the countryside.

They wanted me to meet a new member of their family: the American fiancé of their son. He has done his studies in Italy and will deliver his thesis in Jurisprudence at La Sapienza of Rome before this year’s end. She is a beautiful young lady from Pennsylvania, who recently completed her studies at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and has visited Albania previously. Last year she was also involved in an American archeological project that continues its diggings every summer at the Unesco site of Butrint, in southern Albania. This, however, is not the place where they met originally, which, if I not mistaken, was in Rome.

My friends decided to try a new place, this time, but always in the suburbs of the city, about 15km outside of Tirana, on the road to the city of Elbasan, more specifically in the zone of Petrelë, where there is a famous old castle offering spectacular views of the Erzen valley, olive groves, and the surrounding hills and mountains.

I visited this castle a few times before as per my previous entries into this blog. It dates back to the 5th century AD, and, as its name indicates, it was built on a rock. The legend goes that is was a favorite resting place of Albania’s national hero, Skanderbeg, and here also lived his sister. Now its tower houses a café and restaurant.

This, however, was not our destination, which was, instead, in the valley, and it looked grandiose. It is called ‘Iluminatum – Teatri i Dodonës’, and apparently takes its name, and part of its architectural design, from another archeological site further south near Jannina, Greece, where the old shrine of Dodona in old Epirus was an oracle devoted to a Mother Goddess. The food was excellent and the time flew in very pleasant conversation. Following are some of the pictures taken, while the one of our waiter was borrowed by me from their website. He is the same guy that served us.

We dined in the cool indoors to avoid the hot sun, but many were eating outside in a large area that surrounds the back of this complex and borders a river. By 6:30pm I was delivered back to my apartment, where I took a snooze due to my still felt jetlag….

Again in Albania

Arrived safe and sound in Tirana, as per schedule. Left cloudy and muggy NYC, and found hot and dry weather in Tirana fifteen hours later, discounting the time difference.

It was a long 2 hours sitting on the tarmac at JFK, in a fully booked plane, before we could be airborne due to traffic congestion, but the rest of the trip went perfectly well thanks to the usual efficiency of Austrian airlines. The service and food was very good as usual, and I was even able to snooze for a couple of hours during the transatlantic flight.

In Vienna had plenty of time, as per schedule, to wait for the Tirana connection, but it was fascinating to watch the hundreds of passengers that were boarding at the nearby gates. Every half hour a new destination was posted, such as Moscow, Belgrade, Skopje, Istanbul, Krakow, Minsk, and even one I never heard about before: Chinisau (now I know is in Moldova). The flow of outgoing travelers of all shapes and ages were disappearing and re-appearing at each gate, on a continuing rotating interchange. The transfer buses, and special cars for assisted passengers, were magically coming and going with ease; the stream of operations was run with smoothness of action and clockwork precision. A pleasure to see!

The connecting flight from Vienna to Tirana was a surprise. It was quite an upgrade from preceding, rather small and old crafts I have taken in the past. It was a new Airbus 319, which was also fully booked with about ¾ of the passengers being foreigners, lots of them looking like business related travelers. Time for a quick drink and snacks and 1hr and 20 minutes later we landed at Rinas, actually named Mother Theresa International aiport.

My old driver was waiting for me and within one hour from deplaning I entered to my apartment in the city, where, to my great surprise, I found all sorts of goodies waiting for me.

Fresh flowers on the coffee table, a full basket of fruits on the side, fresh vegetables on the kitchen bin, bread, crackers, and breadstick on the table; the fridge stocked with cheese, cold cuts, eggs, milk, and other vegetables and fresh fruits (some of which, like sweet melon, was already peeled and cut, ready for me to eat!).

My kitchen and living room were inundated, as usual, by gorgeous sunshine, and my plants are all in good shape!

The hot water boilers were turned on in the kitchen and bathroom, so I was able to take a nice shower and go to bed for a couple of hours while counting my blessings!

Long traveling for a short visit

During this past weekend I took a short trip to Michigan, where I visited relatives and friends, and did some planning to do a fundraiser next spring for the organization I am involved in, that deals with Albanian culture and education and I am helping on a volunteer basis.

When I landed at Washington's National airport where I had to make a connection, I noticed a large crowd surrounding a full size orchestra playing national hymns at a nearby gate.

With time to spare I approached the group that continuously kept pace with the music by clapping hands, and realized that they were greeting wars' veterans disembarking from another plane. It was quite moving to see the reactions of complete strangers that so enthusiastically were saluting and shaking hands with former members of the military that were exiting the plane and congregating in a nearby area. Lots of them were in wheels chairs, but all of them had broad smiles on their faces!

The continuation of my travel went well, and I thoroughly enjoyed the four, full days spent in the Detroit area with meetings of all sorts, albeit the lack of sleep. I was reprimanded by my relatives because I didn't allow them to host me at their homes, as per Albanian tradition, but the Hampton Inn I chose to stay at, in a central location of the city, surprisingly turned out to be an exceptionally good lodging that actually pampered their guests in many a way.

The return home was a different story. The small plane from Detroit to Washington was full, and on time.

only 50 passengers

above Lake Michigan

traveling toward rainy Washington

hazy Washington and the Pentagon

quiet Potomac

landing at National
But ended getting back home late because the shuttle aircraft I was booked on had mechanical problems, and we had to be transferred to a larger plane to finally reach LaGuardia airport in NYC.

Remembering......

Ten years ago I was undergoing a routine medical test when the incredible happened. It was just about 9AM when I exited the totally enclosed (no windows) lab room and walked into a waiting area that was overlooking a usually quiet cross-town street in midtown Manhattan. There, I was supposed to be met by a friend, who was scheduled to accompany me home, as recommended by the laboratory.

It took just seconds to notice the large number of people scurrying outside, while someone inside was blabbering that a plane had hit the Twin Towers. Was it an accident? How did it happen? What was going on?

The questions began to fly around the room as additional news were being received and spread around, including, at a certain point, the order to evacuate the premises I was in because the building was being shut down. Meantime, a hurried doctor had shared with me the good results of my test. Although still a bit light headed, I stepped outside and decided to just wait for my friend to arrive in front of the building, as the stream of people was rushing by, seemingly with no sense of direction. I began to realize the extent of the event when I, and my friend, headed toward my apartment, further uptown.

The flux of humanity in the streets and avenues kept on growing, while the public transport was coming to a halt. It was impossible to even think of taking a bus, so we walked. That day I was also supposed to vote in a primary election, but the voting place was shut down by the time I got to my neighborhood, and the local supermarket turned out to be a place of pure bedlam.

Although I did not suffer a direct, personal loss that day, what I still distinctly remember is the terrible smell of the smoldering ruins that permeated the entire city, and kept on seeping into open windows for a long time, while the stench of death that surrounded the city morgue, saturated the nearby streets for months, due to the make up tents set up to hold thousands of remains.

While I reacted calmly on 9/11, I actually felt the brunt of this event the day after, when, for the first time in my life, and quite abruptly, I had a weird, stirring sensation in my chest that made me rush to my doctor's office, who performed an EKG. It turned out to be just an awful, disturbing experience.

To date, and especially throughout this past week of intense replays of recorded experiences, 9/11 resurfaces to evoke great emotions not only in the ones personally involved, but continues to have vast resonance throughout the entire world.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the ones who have endured and still suffer the consequences of this destructive event, while I wish that sense of harmony and togetherness could persist among people without having to set in only during times of catastrophes.

Stormy weekend

Irene's fury passed over NYC on Sunday morning.

It found a city completely shut down thanks to a well implemented disaster plan, and moved northward all the way to Canada.

From the cozy inside of my apartment I took some shots and the above videos, while listening to radio and tv broadcasts that kept the population continually abreast of developments all along the Eastern Coast of the U.S.

The concerns in Manhattan proper were obviously related to highrise dwellings that could produce falling glass, stoppage of elevators, and emergency equipment due to electrical and water outages. All buildings located at the tip of this island were evacuated also due to floods from the high tide coincidence of our rivers and water bay. Luckily, I live on the upper end of this borough, and thus was spared such dire forecast.

The real damages are felt only now all around us with still 900,000 people without electricity, on Long Island, and north and west of the city, even in the state of New Jersey, where many large areas have been totally submerged by cresting rivers.
The damages are calculated in millions, and the water is not expected to recede until the end of this week.

Meantime, the meteorologists are already closely following the development of other upcoming hurricanes, named Katia in the Atlantic and Lee in the Pacific. Thus, more bad weather is coming by next weekend, the traditional end of summer Labor Day week.

Hurricane Irene

Since noon today NYC has shut all its activities in an unprecedented disaster planning, and is anchoring down to face the threat of upcoming hurricane Irene, expected to hit us tonight and lasting until tomorrow evening.The city preparations are impressive and started since the beginning of the week, when our Mayor was already addressing NYC population about the earthquake that was also felt quite well by the residents of the 'rock'.

This latest news has reached the world, and I have received phone calls from friends and relatives in Italy and Albania, where, by the way, they are coping with what they call 'African' temperatures, and extensive forest fires.

More than a million people in our areas have followed the advice to evacuate their homes, and several dozen shelters are ready in the city's 5 boroughs, including some for pet care alone. More than 7000 people have been relocated out of hospitals and care centers, 200 metropolitan trains and thousands of buses are being secured into protective areas, most stores have closed for the weekend, and the few still open have run out of all sorts of staples, and basic emergency necessities, such as water, and batteries.

The plans that have been ongoing now for the past 5 days seem to have covered anything thinkable. They range from turning upside down more than 25,000 city garbage pails, to minimize them from being blown by the high winds, to the deployment throughout the city of the National Guards.

The beaches are not the only worries because our area has also rivers and inland water channels that will be greatly affected during this storm since we also expect normal high tides. The highrises are bracing to face winds of more than 112 mph above the 10 floor level, with possible glass breaks falling onto the surrounding streets, without counting the extirpation of trees in parks and along streets, where thousands of cars are normally parked.

By this evening Manhattan is in effect a real island, totally isolated from the rest of the city because the dozen of bridges and tunnels, leading into and out of this borough, will be closed and all ferries will not run. Although New York and its residents are used to, and can overcome all kinds of crises, in the next 24 hours they will truly have an extraordinary and unparalleled experience, this time thanks to Mother Nature!

Ancient treasures

Archeological discoveries in Albania, in addition to the ones already exposed on its territory, are now expanding under water, as per this press release from BalkanInsight. More and more of this country's history is 'coming to the surface' and boosting interest on the part of foreigners. Albania with its beautiful, long coast spanning along two seas (Adriatic and Ionian), now is attracting not only tourists (43% increase this year alone), but also explorers and researchers.

Albanian prices

From Balkans.com two entries with current information about inflation and wages in Albania, the tiny country that emerged into the free world only 20 years ago and is holding his own status pretty well in these turbulent days.

Albanian economy

A current article in the Wall Street Journal depicts a good prospective for Albania in the global market. Sounds too good to be true in these bleak days of economic woes?

Predictions

I like to share here with my friends a very interesting article that has come to my attention as a member of the World Future Society. This first part of future predictions is fascinating, and now I can't wait for part 2 to show up!

'Hot' news

This week we are literally sizzling in NYC with temperatures reaching 100F (and feeling like 107F!), and we are not alone. Most of the United States, except for the Northwest corner of the country, are experiencing the same scorching heat. The electrical company's crews are out day and night practically all over this city trying to maintain and repair old transmission lines and avoid possible meltdowns.

Across the Atlantic ocean and the Mediterranean sea, Albania is enjoying less intense temperature, but the 'hot' news there is that tourism is dramatically increasing every year. I have read somewhere that during the first 4 months of 2011 one and a half million people have already visited the country! This does not cover the summer influx that sees many Albanians living abroad returning to see their families, and the European tourists, especially Kosovars, vacationing along Albania's great coastline and beaches.

Summer in NY

Back to the indoor pool for some needed exercise and reinvigorating coolness during these muggy and stifling days.

I am a member of this facility that also offers quite a number of special classes, but I don't take much advantage of it, except for some aqua aerobics and cardiovascular sessions when I am in town!

The picture shows only half of this Olympic size swimming pool and was taken a while back during non peak time. Today I was told that about 10,000 people (they range in age from a few months old babies to a variety of able and disabled octogenarians) use this resource on a daily basis!

Back in NY

Have arrived back home safe and sound, via Austrian Airline, which is consistently performing impeccable services with great punctuality. This time I traveled on their new Boeing 777 aircraft, which has more comfortable seats, but lack even a small standing room area, usually located in the plane's mid section. Lufthansa much larger Airbuses instead, which I now normally use going Eastward, offer some standing spaces, especially in the toilets zone, which is located on a lower deck. One can usually stretch there, but a group of people that just want to stand up and chat are not allowed to congregate, due to new security on board regulations.

I had reached Tirana's airport in no time, at 2:30am, in a beautiful night breeze, and had the chance to notice the now enlarged and spacious airport terminal, better organized with Duty Free and coffee shops, and with double the amount of departing gates.

I could not help reminiscing about my first trip back to Albania in 1993, when there was only one room, one gate, no luggage carousel, but only one hole in a wall through which the arriving luggage was passed, individually, by hand. Throughout this recent past I've been privy to watch, on an yearly basis, the great changes and developments that have taken place in Albania, which now large numbers of tourist are discovering and appreciating.

As the first light of dawn was peeking from behind the surrounding mountains, the new Fokker plane operated by Austrian's partner, Tyrolean Air, lifted us off the ground at 4:25am, and in 1 1/2 hour we reached Vienna. After a layover of 4 hours we spent another 8 1/2 hours crossing Europe and the Atlantic, and landed at JFK, ahead of time, at 1:37pm.

The 777 craft was packed to full capacity; the service and food were excellent, and I enjoyed the company of a young, 9 year old, boy from Kosova, seated in the middle between me and an Austrian woman diplomat. He was accompanied by a friend of his father, who was seated 10 rows behind us.

The boy spoke fluent English, and, typical of his age, was fidgeting a lot, while being curious about everything that went on. Once he got hold of the remote control of his seat he had no problem perusing the on board entertainment programs. The trip was a reward from his father for a good school year, and his excitement about visiting relatives in the Bronx (NY) was obvious. He refused every meal that was offered, claiming of not being hungry, and drank only 4 glasses of cola during the entire trip. We chatted quite a bit, and, from time to time, he would give me a big smile, and affectionately stroke my arm when I would politely give him some hints about traveling etiquette. At one point ended up leaning on me for a short nap. Toward the end of the trip he finally broke down when he noticed that, by refusing the last snack, he had missed a delicious chocolate mousse, but he had no qualms politely asking the steward if he could get only that dessert.

Upon leaving JFK to head home in a rundown yellow cab I began to sweat in the very muggy afternoon of NY weather, and felt very uncomfortable, especially when, missing the great Mediterranean weather I left behind in Albania, I started thinking about what I had to cope with upon my return home.

Fortunately, within an hour or so, I was able to restore water and electrical facilities, as well as cable and Internet service, and to get hold of a carton of accumulated snail mail that will take a couple of days to sort out and dispose of. Within that same hour I returned some phone 'welcome home' messages, and also received a phone call from a friend in Tirana checking up that I was safely home.

On the road again

My time in Tirana is coming to an end, and I need to return to the States, where, I forecast, a busy summer is ahead for me.

While everyone is looking forward to time off and a good vacation, I need to catch up with what's accumulated during my absence from NY and plan the activities that will bring me back to Albania in the fall.

It’s hard to leave Tirana, where life is easy going and comfortable and where now I have many new friends.

Here I feel much better physically, probably due to the pretty steady barometric pressure. Notwithstanding the rapidly changing weather conditions, the Mediterranean climate apparently suits me well.

I feel good about the additional accomplishments during this trip, but there is plenty more to carry out here in the future.

Thus, so long Tirana, for a while, and NY here I come!

Sunday outing

Yesterday, at midday, I was picked up by some friends, who invited me to lunch in their new residence. They bought an apartment in a new complex of tall buildings erected in the past 3 years in one of the many, recently expanding areas of Tirana.

Does it not seem like a beehive the following view, seen in the distance from my balcony, of Tirana’s chaotic ongoing construction in some areas? These enormous clusters are all forever emerging out of nowhere in the suburbs of this capital!

Some of these structures are not yet completed; others are still being developed, and most of them are still unoccupied.

My friends’ 4th floor apartment is very comfortable and cozy and has two great balconies.

Father and daughter drove me to it, while mother was busy cooking up a storm.

She included a couple of eggplant dishes knowing that I adore this type of vegetable. It was a very substantial meal with two types of meat, rice, vegetables, salad, two varieties of Albanian “byrek” , plus the “tree lecher”, rich dessert, which is very similar to a ‘tiramisu`. A very good Italian red wine was followed by some Italian ‘spumante’, which I provided nice and cold, and perfectly washed down all these delicacies.

We survived the very hot afternoon comfortably relaxing in their air conditioned living room, and around 6:30pm, the family decided to take me out for coffee. This is usually the time when entire families go out for a stroll in the evenings.

The daughter is an excellent driver and wanted me to enjoy the outdoors a bit; thus, she drove us to the suburbs. She took an old road that is now in need of repair, but it was quite trafficked. As we rode through very agricultural territory with many fields of corn, large extensions of greenhouses full of vegetables, the father was recounting episode of the past in these areas that to date, are still the cradle of the red, left wing political parties.

The surrounding, rolling countryside displayed gorgeous shades of green, and several people were working their fields, while cows, chickens, and donkeys were freely sprawled around feeding themselves. Along the road quite a variety of fruit trees full of plums, dates, apples, pears, and all sorts of wild flowers.

A real pastoral setting, with some farms houses in the background, here and there. What I found interesting was that along this entirely side road the city had furnished the typical metal bins for garbage collection, similar to the ones within the capital itself. This obviously cuts down any burning of trash in the fields; here the air is clear, fresh, and in spots smelling of cut grass and hay.

Along the way, in the middle of the countryside, with nothing else in sight except what I just described, a couple elegant new bar/café`/restaurants have opened up for business, and they had customers!

We also stopped in one of them and sat in the peaceful outdoor terrace chatting for a couple of hours, while tasting some of the local cheeses with local breads and fresh vegetables that the daughter insisted I should also experience. I managed a couple of bites, but the so called snacks all disappeared by the time we left and headed home.

It was a relaxing day, in good company and excellent food everywhere, but I never expected to be out for so many hours. I was delivered back to my apartment by 10:15pm.

More goodies!

Some friends that were out of town, and others that I had not seeing since my arrival because one of them was recuperating from a surgical intervention, came visiting the day after my birthday, and brought more sweets, flowers, and loads of fresh fruits.

It’s really hard for them to understand that it’s not easy for me cope with all these gifts. A simple wish and an enjoyable visit would be sufficient, but one must adapt somehow to local customs.

When you go visiting here and try to decline the food and drink offers, you get a deaf ear. Refusing what the host serves is considered an offense in this part of the world, thus, even if one feels full from a meal, or previous intake of food, one must comply by at least taking a small bite and a tiny sip of whatever is served. I should add that what they dish up is not usually an item alone. Last evening, for instance, I was served excellent fruit juice accompanied first by a deliciously fresh fruit salad ('macedonia di frutta'), which, later on, was followed by a huge portion of an extraordinarily light, soft ice cream made with mixed berries.

Last year, when dining at some friend’s apartment, I enjoyed a very refreshing dessert that my hostess claimed being very simple to prepare, without any cooking involved. She vowed to teach me one day how to make it, and, sure enough, this year she showed up at my apartment with all the ingredients (yogurt, condensed milk, lemons, a few hard biscuits and chopped nuts) and assembled this recipe right under my nose within 10 minutes! It’s really very cool and delicious!

From local bakeries that serve hot,fresh bread of all sorts until the wee hours of the night, one can buy a phyllo dough pocket for a mere 40 cents generously stuffed with apples, raisins, and cinnamon.

It is the equivalent of an american apple turnover; however, its content is twice the amount, is not very sweet, and it's very, very good.

Mini plums (the size of cherries) come free for me by just grabbing them off one of the trees outside my office's window.

Notwithstanding all these goodies, I am happy to report that I've lost a couple of pounds lately!

Greetings

On my birthday, yesterday, I received online several greetings (in 3 different languages) from friends and relatives in the States and Italy, while here, in Tirana, I had surprise visits of some friends bearing gifts.

A couple of them came as late as 10pm, after they closed their businesses, at the end of their work day.

We had a good time chatting, while sipping some Spumante, with the sweets. I had chilled a bottle of it in the fridge in view of another occasion, thus it came very handy.

Meantime, a toal lunar eclipse was taking place, so, from time to time, we peeked at its progress while enjoying a beautiful cool breeze that was coming through the open doors of my balcony.

Eventually, restoring its luminous white, full face, the moon began to play hide and seek amidst the clouds.

Some quiet time

I spent last week in a frenzy of physical activities at the office where new installations and unpacking of lots of stuff took place. During the first three days the temperature was rather high, and the newly installed air conditioning units were used at full force.

On Friday, however, I looked forward to a quiet day since I had no appointments on my calendar and no workers scheduled. And so it was!

An added bonus was great weather that turned milder (only in the mid 70's C), with no rain for a change.

Upon arrival I opened all windows and I could not get over how beautiful it was to enjoy the slight breeze of the natural cross ventilation. Since the office is recessed from the road, there is no traffic noise and the birds nesting in the neighboring trees were keeping me company with their chirping sounds.

The kitchenette corner was finally completed with the addition of a medium size, Italian made, refrigerator, and I was able for the first time to also have a peaceful lunch at the office.

Outside one of our windows there are some fruit trees and one of them is currently loaded with its strangely small plums, the size of which is similar to that of small cherry tomatoes.

Albanians sell them on the street when they are still quite green and enjoy them for their sourness, but the ones I could grab off the tree from the office window are now ripe and sweet.

It was delightful for a day to do desk work without interruptions and in such a pleasurable atmosphere!

Tirana's weather

Albania is in the Mediterranean zone, but, this year, the locals are calling its incredibly variable daily weather: tropical.

Since my arrival almost a month ago the early and midday sun beats down with vengeance, and a hat or parasol become a necessity when walking. Punctually, however, by late afternoon dark clouds blow into the city from behind the Dajti mountain chain, and the skies begin to rumble.

About half an hour of thunder and lightning are followed by a good downpour that clears and refreshes the polluted air, and provides a wonderful shower for all the greenery in the city parks and along all boulevards, which is thriving beautifully.

The wet occurrence usually ends before the evening sets in, and, after a short rainbow show, sunset displays its wonderful late day colors.

Rules of the road?

As everyone knows the rules of the road are not strictly observed everytime, by everybody, almost everywhere.

During my travels in Italy I have noticed many infringments and consistently read about complains regarding excessive speed on roads, lack of precedence to pedestrians at crosswalks, illegal parking in designated areas for handicapped people, and also on narrow sidewalks, thus impeding pedestrian traffic.
Occasionally, I notice similar behavior on the part of drivers also in NY, where it seems these bad habits are becoming more frequent than they used to be.

Albania is no exception, with some additional other odd practices.....

Along the long boulevards and main roads, Tirana has provided, like other modern cities, slanted passages at corners to facilitate access to the sidewalks by the disables, but some people do not pay any attention to them. BTW, in Tirana a disable person using a wheel chair is in fact a rare sight. People in general, and especially seniors have been and continue to be good walkers and are in pretty good shape.

Many small cars are now part of Tirana's immense and chaotic traffic and they are positioned everywhere by their drivers. Some shops, restaurants, or cafes 'reserve themselves' a space or two in front of their entrance by positioning a chair or a plant along the sidewalk. Their owners or their help will hurriedly remove these obstacles to favor an incoming possible client.

Some drivers will enter a 'no entry' street in order to shorten their way to destination or cut thru the traffic, but the street police is now out in full force, and is cracking down on them and on double parking, which is permeating the city.

I remember just a few years ago when in Tirana there were no street lights, very few cops at some crossroads, and very old cars everywhere. The city now is a bustling metropolis with a population of 800,000, and about 250,000 new cars, of all shapes, colors, and brands, and life gets better, although still a lot remains to be done.

Albanian bargains

After a quiet weekend during which I was nursing an upcoming cold, Monday was a busy day with meetings that I had scheduled at the office. Today, Tuesday, I had to run around quite a bit with other tasks on my to-do list, but thanks to my trusted driver I was able to accomplish more chores in pretty good time.

The setup of facilities at the office is proceeding well. Two technicians came to install 2 HVAC units, which are going to be a blessing during the summer or winter. Tomorrow I expect an electrician to place additional outlets around the rooms to accomodate future electrical needs.

While my assistant was supervising the HVAC workers I was able to go to the cemetery to visit the family plot taking advantage of the good morning weather. The sun has been shining bright every morning since my arrival, and the midday hours are already very hot here, but in late afternoon storms fly in from behind the Dajti mountain chain with roaring thunders and give the city a good soak for a couple of hours. This change refreshes and clears the air for the night.

My excellent driver, a mature man whom I have known now for years now, is also a dependable handy man. He always makes himself and his car available to me anytime I need him, and has offered to install some shelving units we planned for the office. Thus, today I also went shopping with him to the Casa Italia center, where there is a well furnished store that, naturally, sells a variety of Italian made goods.

As we were looking around my driver was appalled by the posted prices and suggested that I go with him to a local carpentry shop. There he knew the owner, who, within 20 minutes, cut to measure and refinished the shelves I needed at the incredible price of 1/10th of what the cost would have been at the Italian store!

Tomorrow, my driver, who charges me about $6.00/hr, will pick me up and, after we purchase the necessary brackets, again at another local place he knows, plans to complete the job at the office.

I am really blessed to know such good people here in Tirana, and the same can be said for the many friends that I also have in this city. BTW, what's also great is that every service and every deal here is always furnished with a smile!

New band

While in Tirana a young cousin of mine, named Julian, whom I have watched grow up for almost two decades of my traveling to Albania, came visiting when he heard I was in town.

He is an author of music and songs, which he also sings himself when participating in national and international presentations. Although fully employed in an office, he continues to pursue the musical career that has always been his dream.

Yesterday he confirmed that he recently converted the family garage into a musical studio, which is now well equipped and functional. He has had his own website for a while, and now, with other friends, he formed the 'Unix Band'. They have just produced their own first official musical video, entitled "Jeta Ime" that is now on YouTube. Next month he'll be in Turkey for a week to be part of another round of Eurovision musical presentations for this year.

Unfortunately, this week's political predicament is not yet settled in Tirana where the final vote counting has not yet been declared, due a number of contested ballots. The situation is very fragile, in the midst of endless debates and confrontations, but most people go about their business and the young people I talk with are busy with their own goals. May all their dreams for the future come true for them!