Another day of rest

Another Sunday with Albanian friends, who insisted I spend the day at their home. I planned to reach their apartment after a visit to the family plot at the cemetery, where I hadn’t been yet since my latest arrival in Tirana. It’s not the only burial ground of the capital, but this one that I am familiar with, and houses 3 different sections, has doubled in size in the past 13 years that I have come to it.


On the way this morning, I made some observations. The traffic in Tirana, for the past few years, has always been heavy, but, this time it seems the number of vehicles must have dramatically increased, for two reasons: very often now, one moves a bit forward and then must come to a full stop because of a car jam, and the smog is so thick it could be cut with a knife! Both conditions have been experienced in the past, but not to this excess, and when I observed the smog today, it was only 11 o’clock in the morning!

Another culprit is also the large amount of dust everywhere due to continuous large buildings’ construction, as well as upgrading and repaving of streets, which still necessitate a great deal of intervention to meet today’s telecommunication and traffic requirements. There are still, however, many very old, one/two story houses in town, which are quite a contrast to the modern means of transport, as the following pictures shows. As shabby as the house on the left looks, I was surprised to see that it accommodates a restaurant and a bar!


The bountiful, and delicious, full course lunch at my friends’ home was followed by a few hours of interesting conversation on a variety of subjects and I am always thankful and delighted of learning something new, as it was today. I even came home with a ‘care package’ that was sneaked into my bag!

Mementos and some daily trivia

Today I enjoyed a long visit by a good friend, a well known historian and writer, who surprised me with an unexpected, but quite welcomed gift. During one of his many visits at the Albanian Public Library (he actually spends most of his time there and at the National Archives doing all sorts of fascinating researches), he, very coincidentally, found an copy of an old Albanian newspaper, the front page of which includes the announcement of the wedding of my father and mother a long time ago in Rome, Italy.

For some time now he has gone through many old archival files of my family, the Court of Cassation, and the Council of State of Albania, in search of significant papers dealing with my father, who was a lawyer, Chief of the Cassation Court when I was born, and later on also a Member of the State Council. So far he has collected more than 500 documents that reflect my father’s legal opinions, judgments, and objections throughout his career, which, he feels very strongly, should be collected and published for future use and reference. While we reminisced a bit (his father was also an attorney), we also discussed a lot about current situations in the country, the still persisting problems, and the hopes for the future of Albania.

This was this morning. Now, as I am writing, the Italian TV channels are going nuts about the marriage of Tom Cruise and his Katie that will take place in about half hour in the huge castle of the small town of Bracciano (north of Rome). The direct coverage shows the arrival of the many foreign guests, and mentions the only Italian one, Andrea Bocelli, who will be singing at the party. Their cars find their way up the ramp to the castle lined with lit torches, while on the top of the 3 towers flags are flying in the late afternoon breeze. The town is jammed with on lookers, cameramen and reporters, and everyone is doing a booming business, especially the people lucky enough to have their apartments facing the entrance to the estate. More than 3,000 euros is going price for the privilege of such sites for just a few hours!

For me it’s time for a break, and I am going to enjoy a couple of Albanian tangerines (called ‘mandarins’) that you can find everywhere here and they are so sweet!

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.

An ideal Sunday

Today it turned out to be a warm Sunday in more than one sense. The weather was just perfect - sunny and no wind - and one family of friends came to visit making the day a very pleasant get together. We hadn’t seen each other for several months so we had a lot to catch up with.

While imbibing aperitifs at my place I was able to convince them to have a leisure lunch with me at one of Tirana e Re restaurants. This most modern district of the capital is a very busy and crowded business center during the work week, but today it was a pleasure to walk along its tree lined, almost deserted avenues. Few the strollers on the streets, but quite a few families inside the “Tavernetta” that offers a large, self service salad bar, and good main courses. A bottle of good Sangiovese Tuscany red wine accompanied our meal, which lasted more than a couple of hours.


On the way back we ended up making a couple of stops. Days ago, from a distance, I had noticed a display of very large old photographs in front of the Parliament building, and I really wanted to study them closely. I was informed that this display was the idea of the current Head of Parliament, Mrs. Josephina Topalli.

To my great surprise they depict politicians whose names I’m familiar with, since they were in government during the early days of my family, and I recognized some of them from similar photos that I inherited from those days.



The second stop was a visit to the new supermarket, of the Italian chain ‘Conad’, which is housed in one of newest business centers in Tirana, called, I believe, the European Tower.
The building houses several offices, banks, and the supermarket

One of the building 2 main entrances

Here I couldn’t resist buying some of my favorite Italian foods, which were carried home for me by the youngest member of my friends, a 16 year old, bright and excellent student, who at the age of 9 was known as the youngest Albanian painter, and now dreams of becoming an architect.


An ideal and relaxing day overall, indeed, among devoted friends!

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.

Facilities

It took a few days to get everything in working order in my Albanian apartment since arriving in Tirana. The place, unused for a few months, was plenty dusty, as expected, but the water system had to be activated, the boilers and the fridge turned on, the lights checked, the cell phone recharged, the TV and Internet connection checked, etc.

Not surprisingly, a lot of these things were not functioning, but, little by little, I was able to solve the small nuisances, while the TV repairman that promptly responded to my call had to change a part in the satellite dish so that I can get most of my news, at least in Italian and English. I have almost 460 channels at my disposal, but, interestingly enough, no access yet to the Albanian state and private channels, which require an additional antenna on the roof and special wiring, which I choose for now not to bother with. My apartment is so quiet that without a TV or radio it feels like a tomb! I also asked an electrician to come and change some outlets in the kitchen, which have been defective all along. This shall be done by tomorrow.

Another annoyance that actually impairs and greatly slows down my work is the dial up connection to Internet. The Albanian telephone lines are quite poor, and, it is extremely frustrating to work this way, when time is of the essence. Although I have heard from friends that even a costly, high speed, dedicated line is not the best here, I have placed an order for it, but it’s not so easy to get the installation in a timely manner. Everything takes time here, but, if one persists, it eventually gets done, and it is usually accompanied by a good natured, and very friendly smile. During my previous trip I succeeded in getting the satellite service installed, and this time, hopefully, I may get the speedier connection taken care of.

Thank goodness the weather has warmed up a bit and the daylight hours are beautiful, but as soon as the sun goes down, the heating facilities must be turned on, at least for me, and we have been fortunate enough, so far, not to suffer any real power cuts as in the past.

Not alone....

Just heard that late last evening many parts of Europe (in Germany, France, Spain, and Italy) were affected by a blackout due to a failure of a power plant in Germany.

Albania is not alone having put up with this sort of problem for many years, and until last year the shutdown lasted several hours every day for complete lack of power. The situation is better today, at least in Tirana, although finding oneself in the dark can still be a daily, albeit brief, occurrence so far into this fall/winter season. Snow has already covered the mountains above 1,000 meters, temperatures have dipped quite a bit here this week (almost near freezing point at night); thus, the shorter sunny daylight hours are relished by all as much as possible.

While yesterday the electrical stoppage was only 5 minute long, today it lasted about half hour, but, unfortunately, it’s never a good time when it happens. I was in the midst of cooking and the sun had disappeared early behind some dark clouds when everything shutdown unexpectedly. Obliged to exercise patience that I normally don’t have when in the US, I just sat down and forcibly rested for a while. The results of my culinary efforts, however, did not suffer from the interruption, and I really enjoyed my dinner that included a veal, old fashioned, roast with mashed potatoes that melted in the mouth, while sipping a bubbly Italian red wine (OltrePo’ Pavese Bonarda that I’m familiar with since way back then…)...all of which were bought upon my arrival at the large modern supermarket (Euromax) in the outskirts of Tirana!

Traveling to Tirana

The flight from NY was ready to depart and left the gate on time, but, had to park near the runway for another 1 1/2 hour before getting the ok to take off due to the clogged up air traffic. As per previous experience with Austrian Airline I felt pretty confident, however, that connecting in Vienna would not be a problem, and fellow Austrian passengers confirmed to me that the airline phases in the extra time at departure knowing the situation at JFK airport. Sure enough, we arrived in Vienna on time, and made the connection, as expected. Thus, here I am in Tirana again! It’s is unusually chilly and even windy, but the friends are always prepared to be warm and hospitable.

The planes are always almost fully booked these days, and, before departure, all sorts of seat exchanges do take place, with the hostesses’ help, to accommodate the passengers that were not lucky to sit together. It is the single passenger that usually obliges in this ritual, and this time it was my turn. I was happy to do so as long as the seat was on an aisle and I handed up in the center raw with 2 delightful Austrian young businessmen, who had just experienced for the first time a NY vacation.

The seat I gave up was to accommodate another couple of very young American men, who stood up in the crowd due to their being dressed in black leather and metals with their arms completely tattooed up to their necks. They were unhappy to have been separated and the one next to me was fretting about it like a child, while avidly reading a comic book. The hostess that provided the switch not only thanked me profusely, but even served me some Austrian chocolates, and from time to time checked that I was comfortable enough in the new seat. Never had such service in economy class before!

Austrian really stands out for me so far on the transatlantic flights for the courteous and efficient assistance, the good food, accompanied by free wine and wonderfully fresh hot small rolls that everyone asks seconds of, and the continuous service throughout the night of drinks every 2 hours on the clock! I also find its partner, Tyrolean Air, that services the European cities, very efficient, although is not liked by some because it charges for food and special drinks. There is really no need to eat on board during a 1 to 1 1/2 hour trip, however, if one plans accordingly. An Austrian chocolate ‘bon bon’, on the other hand, is always offered!

During this trip from Vienna to Tirana I noticed a rather large number of mature German businessmen, in addition to the usual crowd of Albanians that are returned visitors, for whatever reason. Many don’t think twice about traveling back home for a wedding, a funeral, or a birth in the family, and they are the ones that furnish millions of dollars worth of income to the country on an annual basis.

Now I must complete getting my apartment livable, connected, but I already have stacked it with food for myself and the visitors that, I know, I’ll have soon.

Washington

I did spend a few, busy days in Washington, which is always a beautiful city to be in, even when it rains, which it did during my recent stay.

Instead of the usual train or air shuttle, this time I decided to make the round trip via a new special bus line. It turned out to be a very comfortable 4 hour drive, at a low cost, and included a good movie along the way. I’m lucky to have good, long term friends that always host me there and also shuttled me around town in their car.

The Albanian Embassy, where I had a very cordial meeting, has not changed much. Have been in it several times in the past on a variety of occasions. It’s an old style Washingtonian mansion, with a round wooden staircase to the upper floors and fireplaces almost in every room, including the small 1st floor lobby, and well located in the fashionable North-West part of the city, in the midst of several other foreign embassies.

Having a meeting at the State Department may sounds like an intimidating affair, but I always found it to be an easy and friendly occurrence. Even with today’s increased security measures, the entire process of being admitted into this enormous complex is so clean cut, quiet and well organized, and carried out so competently, that it works like a charm. I cannot help thinking how very different similar occurrences have been in other countries I’ve dealt with. Here one is welcomed and helped at every step of the way with cordial and friendly greetings….and it goes to show that the American state employee surely knows who pays his salary!

More traveling is coming up for me, and my next news will be forthcoming again from Tirana, Albania

A thought-provoking piece of news....

Italy's Sanpaolo IMI agrees to buy American Bank of Albania
The Associated Press

Published: October 20, 2006


TIRANA, Albania Italy's Sanpaolo IMI Group said Friday it agreed to buy American Bank of Albania in a deal that values the lender at US$156.9 million (€124.91 million).

Sanpaolo will acquire an 80 percent stake in American Bank from the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund and an option to buy the outstanding 20 percent, the Turin, Italy-based bank said in a statement.

The two parties remain in negotiations on the "necessary details to finalize the operation," and the deal remains subject to regulatory approval.

"Thanks to this operation Sanpaolo IMI strengthens its presence in Albania," Sanpaolo said in a statement. Sanpaolo bought Albanian Italian Bank in May this year.

The Albanian-American Enterprise Fund — a U.S. corporation first funded through a US$30 million (€24 million) grant from the U.S. government, the only shareholder of the bank — confirmed the agreement "in principal," according to a statement from the American Bank of Albania.

Sanpaolo IMI Group has a leading position in Italy, and after merging with Banca Intesa total assets would be €550 billion (US$691 billion), with over 6,200 domestic branches and agencies and more than 1,000 foreign branches.

The combined net income in the first six months of 2006 was €2,6 billion (US$3.2 billion), the bank statement said, adding that the group was the third-largest bank for market capitalization in the Euro zone and the fourth in lending.

"With this transaction, the American Bank of Albania brings into Albania the full power of a major international Banking Group for the continuing development, not only of the banking system, but also for the country itself," the statement said.

Last week, the AAEF said it had received offers from several financial institutions interested in American Bank.

ABA, the single largest lender in the country, serves 67,000 clients, manages US$656 million (€522 million) in assets, and employs 385 people in offices throughout Albania and Greece.

Some 17 commercial banks operate in Albania.

Italian week

During this past week everyone in NY seems to feel Italian due to the Columbus Day celebrations in a lot of places.  As I was walking from one appointment to another on Monday, I had the chance to see a few floats and marching bands of the traditional parade on 5th Avenue, which lasts several hours with more than a million people involved.  




The weather was perfect, the viewers, in cheerful mood, lined the entire avenue, the politicians were yelling thru bullhorns even a few Italian words, and elderly people and children alike were having a good time listening to the music, clapping hands, and waving flags.  


By pure coincidence I met an Albanian acquaintance, who manages a luxury building along the avenue, and has the chance to see every parade that takes place in this city. He smilingly agreed when I expressed the idea that it would be nice one day to also see an Albanian parade, possibly on November  28/29; after all, there are enough Albanians here and many would flock in from Boston, Detroit, and neighboring areas as they do, every time, for other Albanian gatherings. During our brief chat I learned that he owns 3 condos in Florida, where he was going to spend some time this coming week. Every Albanian in the real estate business in NYC (and there are thousands in one category or another, from doormen to building owners!) are all doing very well!  

On Tuesday evening I was invited to a new exhibit of paintings and sculptures by a Neapolitan artist, who just opened his own gallery in Chelsea. He has specialized on various representations and forms of the Italian "maschera”  Pulcinella.  For his latest sculpting he has used, as material, over 2007 kg. of aluminum, collected from different sources.
Lello Esposito, painter and sculptor





On Thursday I took an hour to attend the annual party offered by the State Governor every October 12, when he always likes to claim some Italian (Sicilian) blood running in his veins from his mother’s side. I missed most of the speeches, but was able to chat briefly with some old friends and colleagues, and sip some champagne with a taste of a variety of specialty cheeses.
an Italian jazz quartet
two ex colleagues (of ages ago!)

While in Buffalo 2 feet of snow unexpectedly fell yesterday.....New York is dressing itself in fall colors.....

and I must prepare for a business trip to Washington…..

Frightening moments

I was walking home about 3 hours ago, with my sight still blurred from an eye checkup, when fire engines, police cars, and sirens began to flash by while helicopters began circling above ……something very wrong was happening, as we all know here in NY when the copters hover…..and, as far as I am concerned, a very uncomfortable feeling sets in.  

I had just done some food shopping and I was at an ATM machine of my local bank when a woman nearby seemed shocked by whatever was been related to her over a cell phone. The sense of fear was justified: a small plane had just crashed into a high rise in my neighborhood. As I turned into my avenue smoke was raising into the sky, and as I got in front my apartment house I saw flames raging out of some apartments, which turned out to be the 40/41 floors of a new condo building just 2 blocks away.


Large crowds were everywhere and the entire avenue was closed and occupied by all sorts of emergency vehicles with flashing lights and armed personnel at every corner in the vicinity.  

The real details are still coming in through the tv coverage: it was a single engine place owned by a Yankee team player (Cory Lidle), which apparently encountered trouble while flying over the East river and was trying to get altitude, when it crashed killing the 2 place occupants and a couple on the ground.  Incredibly, another couple that was in one of the apartments that was hit, was able to leave their residence unarmed.  

The scene on the ground, however, as chaotic as it may have seemed, was one of “controlled pandemonium” as it was labeled by a tv reporter.  I must admit that what I was able to observe in the response by our city services was impressive for timing and coordination: thumbs up for our city emergency teams!

    

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.  

  

Celebration

Last evening N.A.A.C. (National Albanian American Council) celebrated its 10^th anniversary at the annual dinner that took place at the huge Cipriani restaurant in the midst of  busy 42^nd Street in Manhattan . 

The Executive Director and dinner MC; Avni Mustafaj

It was an eventful and festive affair attended by several dignitaries from both sides of the Atlantic (including politicians from Kosova, Albania, and Macedonia),  and a large crowd of Albanian Americans that also traveled long distances to participate in it. 

The main speaker was Mr. Soren Jessen-Petersen, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the UN Mission in Kosova, who was presented the “Hands of Hope Award” for his historic role in enhancing the lives of the Albanian people in the Balkans and for his outstanding contribution towards Kosova’s independence.

A special “Lifetime Achievement Award” was given to Mr. Bruno Selimaj, who dedicated himself to the Albanian cause for almost 30 years of his life in NY, where his midtown restaurant has been the hub and host of countless Albanian activities throughout.
Mr. and Mrs. Bruno Selimaj

A White House representative recognized also several other Albanian activists that were awarded the 2006 Presidential Service Award, established by Pres. Bush in January 2003 to honor Americans that commit lots of their time as volunteers in civic participations, and I feel privileged to be now among them.  

A ½ hour video presentation at the end of the dinner celebrated Albanian American Heritage with a wonderful collage of pictures of first comers to these shores since the early 1900’s. Their lives and activities spanned over all sorts of work and fields, from restaurateurs to lawyers, from film makers to construction and real estate businessmen, from artists to clergymen, and even astronauts. Some of their children and grandchildren were present last evening, and proud of their successes, loudly applauded  with the rest of us.

The evening entertainment included the national anthems by a wonderful Albanian soprano (Lindita Lole Mezini), songs by a popular singer (Mariza Ikonomi), remarks by a beautiful young Hollywood actress (Eliza Dushku), who, while rediscovering her Albanian origins, had the national emblem (the double headed eagle) tattooed on her neck while in Albania recently, and finally floor dancing for everyone with a DJ. 

I was privileged to be sitting with some VIPs that included a Macedonian Minister, the Albanian Representative to the UN, and the newly appointed Albanian Ambassador to Washington DC and his wife and son.  Overall, a truly delightful, and swollen with pride, evening!

Ambassador Sallabanda and family

Technical glitches

Just to keep me on my toes, this past week I experienced some computer problems, which, needless to say frustrated me no end!

First of all, I could not access my accounting software all of a sudden, although no changes, to my knowledge, had occurred since my last usage, except for an automatic online update. After several trials on my own, which produced no immediate solution, I spent two full afternoons with the company’s customer support (located in India) discussing the issue and trying different ways to bypass the stumbling block. No concrete findings were reached with them online either.

The more and more I was asked to try different things, the more convoluted the results became, until I got tired of being on the phone although I had the facility of a head set. Eventually, again by myself, I proved that I could bypass the original problem by re-loading the software onto another computer with a different operating system. Bottom line is that some sort of a glitch developed between the software and the operating system on my first computer, but, at least now I can operate my data and the application on my other, older system, which is not where I’d like to be, however, for this purpose.

While I was working on this predicament, my patience was really tested again by a different hurdle, this one relating to Netscape mail.

I have never been a fan of Internet Explorer, which I use only when absolutely necessary, but for many years I have favored and have been happy with Netscape both as a (great for my taste) browser, and for its user friendly, well embedded, and additional email facility. Over the past several months, however, since its merger with AOL I have been experiencing degraded performance and service to my great displeasure.

Since this past weekend, to my great surprise, I could no longer login into my Netscape mail. With no direct customer support, I searched related user forums, which confirmed I wasn’t the only one to get the same error message without any further explanation.

Thanks to other fellow users I found out that Netscape had made changes to email ids and we shared leads on how to solve this unexpected nuisance. Although the original ids are still valid, they cannot be accessed thru Netscape anymore, but must be made active through AOL & AIM. A short note in this respect, appended to the displayed Netscape error message, would have made life easier for the users, but some things don’t make sense any more these days!!

When I finally got to read my accumulated mail I found a Nescape message that confirmed the already implemented change! Why send out information post facto when it’s not accessible anymore to the public it is addressed to? Well…..that’s one way to loose customers I’d say!

Blissful time

A last minute invitation from friends to spend a long weekend out of town found me eager to leave metropolitan NY.  I am always ready to take off , since, basically, I am a country gal at heart, but had to live in the city most of my life. Thus, on Friday morning we headed northward to central-western Connecticut. In the Danbury and Candlewood lake region, at the foothills of the Berkshires, in a very peaceful residential community my friends have a full size, comfortable home, where I’d been a guest previously.

After  lunch at a local restaurant and some shopping in the early afternoon, we just relaxed on lounge chairs in the large screened patio, which is also setup for leisure dining at any time.  This comfy layout faces the big backyard with its green lawn, shaded by tall oak, white and silvery birch trees, and thicker woods in the background, where a host of small fauna has its home.  

A small water fountain, activated from the porch, provides a refreshing gurgle nearby and the closest trees are set up to feed a variety of colorful birds, squirrels and chipmunks, whose relentless dynamics do not disturb this quiet and peaceful atmosphere.







It’s amazing how just being in this serene environment, so far removed from the hustle, bustle, and noise of city life, and watching the almost imperceptible activities of these smaller living creatures, can clear one’s mind, and bring tranquillity to the spirit.  I enjoyed just as much the interesting conversations that took place at every unhurried meal that provided for me a welcome interlude in my normal city daily routines. On the whole, I recharged my cerebral batteries by being for a few days in a suspended state of animation, but in good company for which I am grateful.

The conference

I’ve been a member of the World Future Society, headquartered in Maryland, since the late 1970’s, and, all along, I have attended several of their conference and general assemblies over the past years.

WFS general session

I remember fondly the first one I participated in in 1980, which also took place in Toronto, as it was this year.  That one, however, has remained unsurpassed for number of attendees from all over the world (almost 5000), and concurrent sessions (over 300).  This year we were about 1,000 people, from 34 different countries, and, for the first time, I noticed a much larger number of young Asians, especially from South Korea. The oldest participant was a 94 year old man!  

I have always enjoyed attending these events, which, for me, represented an invigorating mental exercise due to the variety of arguments and subjects available at the same time, in a common place, where one can choose what to hear, react to, or even participate in, with ongoing conversations with participants and speakers for a period of three full days, from early morning until late evening.

During my employment I have been an active and very involved member of many professional societies, related to the fields that I worked in, but gave up these memberships when I official retired. One I maintained, however, is with the above society, which is a clearinghouse for ideas about the future and its members come from all walks of life.

I am a firm believer that the future is what we make of it, and nothing just happens. We, as individuals, with our actions or inactions, forge what will come, and every one of us has the power to make it good or bad, interesting or dull, constructive or destructive, rational or irrational, better or worst not only for us, but for everyone else on the crust of this earth.  It’s in this frame of mind that I have always enjoyed listening to whomever has chosen to study how we can affect our future, what are the possibilities of making a better world for ourselves and the society we live in, and I marvel when I realize that the forecasts of years ago, are the realties of today, and that all that happens that might seem bad, is really not to make things necessarily worst.  

There is a learning process that is part of the school of life and, as students, we choose our destiny and involvement, while, to cope with them, we must adapt to the constant changes and transformations that, meanwhile, are occurring in this world.  Thus, in Toronto again this year, I immersed myself in several sessions for 3 days, updated my knowledge, and reinvigorated my spirit!

My return home went smoothly, and even better than I expected.  At Toronto’s airport I was offered the possibilities of an earlier flight, which I took. It was a new experience for me to use a smaller aircraft by American Eagle, which, was perfectly comfortable. I was so relaxed that I even took out my camera for some pictures. As we left the gate, a larger sister plane was pulling in, while the hot temperature was soaring.  

A flight assistant on the ground taking cover in the wing's shade

At the gate of American Airlines

We flew over Canadian suburban areas with their peaceful patterned environment, the great Ontario lake, beautifully green NY state, and finally approached La Guardia surrounded by the NY coastal area and its small harbors.

Canadian country

Westchester County NY

Approaching La Guardia

Upon landing, there was an enormous amount of people waiting for transportation into the city, and a mile long line for cabs.  I luckily made it into a SuperShuttle within 5 minutes, and was the first one to be let out once in town. Thus, I reached home a couple of hours ahead of what I originally planned, happy for a safe and interesting trip!

Mini-vacation

A few days in Toronto, Canada, turned out to be for me a wonderful break from my daily routine work and projects.  I planned this break a few months ago with two objectives in mind: attending a conference and meeting an Albanian family I had been in touch with, mainly via email. Both met and exceeded my expectations.  

I must admit it was an effort to have to leave my residence in NY at 3am to make a 7am flight to Canada. In fact I actually didn’t go to bed at all the night of departure, but the early flight gave me more time to enjoy the new company at destination. The efficiency and facilities of transport at Toronto’s Pearson airport allowed me to get to the hotel by 10:45am, and to plan my first day with ease and comfort. It seems incredible, however, that for a 1 ½ hour actual flighing time one must spend overall several hours to go from start to end destinations, but c’est la vie aujourd'hui!  

Sheraton's inside garden

An oasis in the garden

The Sheraton Centre, where I lodged (and knew since I’d been there during other trips to this city), and attended the conference (that I’ll describe separately), assigned me a beautiful, large, corner room on the 11th floor, with an unobstructed front view of  Toronto’s City Hall, and with a king size bed to boot! Although I had to walk half a mile of corridors to get to it, it was heavenly quiet, very comfortably cooled, and a peaceful place to spend my nights.  It had all the modern facilities for news and communication, but I barely used the TV and intentionally left my laptop at home, thus concentrating only on strictly, old fashioned, but very gratifying, personal conversations!  

Toronto's City Hall

Churchill's statue at City Hall

Toronto's tram

Around noon I was picked up by my acquaintance, a bright, 32 year old, Albanian young business man, whom I met a couple years ago in NY. We had been in touch electronically since then, and, in the interim, he lent a hand as a virtual volunteer to the organization I manage.

He had invited me to meet his entire family, and even to stay at their home during my planned visit (Albanian hospitality is legendary anywhere in the world!) , but I gracefully declined because it was more practical for me to stay where the conference sessions took place, from early mornings until late evenings.  His young wife, who left Albania only 4 years ago, was very comfortable in driving around this busy city. Both he and she wanted to show me how Toronto has changed since my last visit of years ago, and eventually we ended up at a touristy, but very unusual, restaurant, for a long and leisurely lunch.  

We dined indoors since the beastly heat and humidity of these past days were also felt in Canada, and enjoyed a variety of delicious foods. In addition to the variety of its fare, this place is also known for its unusual ambience: roomy and rustic setting, full of tastefully displayed artifacts, with huge lamps and windows (including skylight roof) made of extremely colorful Tiffany type glass.  Our conversation was so involved that I never got around to take any pictures of this place, which I regret.

An unusual occurrence awaited us as we left the restaurant in mid afternoon. While we were walking back to the car, out of the blue, an unexpected outburst of heavy rain poured down on us with such speed and force that got us drenched almost to the bone, but we happily laughed about this bizarre experience as we drove to their home.

There I met the rest of the family, composed of mother and father, the young couple’s (6 month old) baby boy, and the family dog.  I found the parents very ‘simpatico’ and still young, and, as typical Albanian grandparents, they were baby sitting two grand children (including another 8 month old boy of their daughter), to whom they speak only Albanian. Eventually they’ll learn both French and English when it’s time for kindergarten.  

Surprise, surprise…. the dog, a very friendly shepard’s type dog with long hair, who reminded me very much of my own when I was a child in Albania, is also an ‘immigrant’ since he was brought from Tirana, and still understands only the Albanian language!  

Time flew in very exciting conversation about our historic backgrounds and experiences in life, and I even discovered that the bride’s grandfather was a very good friend of my family in the 1930’s.  This is surely a small world and I was grateful for an exhilarating day! By 7pm I was returned to the hotel, where another world was opening up to me: the conference of the World Future Society, which I’ll describe somehow above.