Friendly group

Since my arrival I have had the pleasure of meeting a few more people, but I am not talking about locals. They are fellow ‘bloggers’ and a small number of foreigners that, for one reason or another, are now living in Tirana. They are part of an English speaking community here, which, I am told, meets monthly at a hotel so that they may share information of what’s available in the country and get oriented on how to live here.

It’s thanks to one, previously encountered, Canadian blogger, who lives on the top floor of my same building, that I had the opportunity of meeting some of these people. The chance presented itself on Tuesday, when I accompanied her to the new modern Taivan complex, where some of them meet to bowl on a weekly basis. I didn’t stay to play, but spent half hour meeting the ones that showed up for the game.

It was an interesting mixture of men and women, mostly spouses of foreign staff at various Embassies, and world governmental offices. Some of them have just landed here in the last two weeks, others have been here for a year or more, and the one present this week originated from England, Wales, Australia, China, and Ireland.

The bowling alley is in the sub basement of this complex, which is located in the midst of a central park of Tirana and includes also a casino, indoor and outdoor cafes, and restaurants. It is quite impressive and well known in town, and better described by my fellow bloggers in their own sites.