Fall activities

Tempo fugit …..autumn is here, and activities are in full swing again after the summer lull.  

Some days I really have to overcome a seemingly lack of energy going to my aqua aerobics classes, just thinking that the water is going to feel colder (which is so during seasonal transitions), but, after pushing, pulling, and puffing for an hour at the huge indoor pool, the feeling of warmth that engulfs the entire body is gorgeous!

The fall also brings the reopening of sessions at the UN, which clog the traffic in midtown NY for more than a week, with foreign representatives of all kind in attendance, and scurrying all over town.  This yearly event becomes a traffic nightmare, which New Yorkers have learned to endure just as much as others due to the occasional visit of Heads of States or of the US President.

Some of my recent activities relating to Albania included attending a presentation by the current Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (Edith Xarxhi) at the offices of Smith Barney’s in midtown Manhattan.  It was an informal, but worthy of note talk, which included quite a bit of Q & A after the projection of well prepared PowerPoint slides, with interesting current statistics about Albania’s economics and future governmental plans.  The obvious purpose was to attract more business investments into the country. Some literature (including flyers, cds, videos, and catalogs) was of very high quality, but unfortunately in too small quantity to satisfy all attendees.

Completely unrelated to the above events, and by pure coincidence, this past week I had the pleasure of meeting two Albanian ladies that live and work in NYC (one of them actually just a couple of blocks away from my residence).  They are both very bright, well educated in the States, and successful in their established careers, respectfully in large non profit and banking organizations.  I enjoyed an Albanian dinner at one’s apartment one evening, and a leisurely lunch with the other at a café, while exchanging info about our origins and life experiences. From different backgrounds and with a lot of history behind them, they have come up in the world and succeeded on their own, and I feel proud of them!  

Next week my calendar is also crammed with appointments, but a couple of them are related to the other side of my family (the maternal one), which have to do with Italy.  I know I’m going to enjoy them, and eventually will report on them too.