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.  

      

Sorrowful chore

After lots of postponements due to a variety of reasons, I finally tackled the dismantling of my oldest Pentium computer. It has been idle for quite a while, and although it’s one of the earliest models, it’s still a perfectly functioning machine that served me well for over 10 years!  

I’ve tried to get rid of it by donating it, but no one I know wanted it. Its system unit (full tower desktop) is too bulky, while its monitor is too small for today’s taste for larger screens. It’s also not easy for me to deliver it to the dumping grounds that are setup twice a year in Manhattan for this purpose.  In any case, I still had to undertake the big chore of destroying its content.

Sometime ago I downloaded a special program to accomplish this task, but didn’t have the nerve to use it… and wondered why. Today I put all excuses aside, and got down to do the job. Inexplicably, I was hesitant to start the process, but when I did, somehow, I realized why I almost unconsciously kept postponing it.  It felt like …..performing euthanasia!  While, from time to time, I was watching on the screen the ongoing data and software blanking process, I felt sadness about the demise of a useful friend destined to the dumps!  The noiseless, but constant  agony lasted for 1 ¾ hour!  

So long my buddy!

Unusual activity

After a busy work week that usually keeps me stuck to a computer for several hours a day, this Friday I decided to get a break, and do something unusual outside of my environment.  I had plans to meet a friend for lunch and we both decided to attend first a cooking workshop presented by the Italian region of Campania in midtown Manhattan at noon.



Although I knew this was strictly a marketing promotion for both the region and the workshop presenter, Arthur Schwartz, I thought the occasion of actually being part of something that I had only occasionally watched on the food TV network, would be a novel and curious experience, and it was.

The showroom displayed many products that this southern region of Italy (with Naples being its largest center) offers, such as oil, tomatoes, wines, and cheeses, which form the basis for which its regional cuisine is known. What I didn’t expect was the actual anecdotal talk by Arthur, the self called “food maven” that I had met years ago, and recently stumbled upon while shopping at an international food store in my neighborhood.  He made a very delightful and informative presentation about the entire region, including some historical background, while preparing a couple of recipes with tomato sauce and giving hints about what to look for or avoid when shopping for some of the ingredients he was using.  His newest book on the cuisine of this region was obviously available, as were tastes of the various products and the two prepared dishes. The region is also known for quite a line of wines, and the one I tasted was excellent!  

The lunch that followed was also a delectable event. There was no specific choice planned ahead, and we just picked a nearby restaurant, which, very coincidentally, turned out to be known for its southern Italian cuisine and very fresh fish.  The place was crowded, both inside and in its outdoor patio, but we managed to get a table indoors and enjoy a leisure and delicious lunch. We actually were the last ones to leave the dining room at 3pm, and had an unexpected and interesting chat with 2 young waiters that were Albanians, and, to my great surprise, even knew about my family name and history. We surely live in a small world!

Peaceful time in NY

Half a year has gone by very quickly, it seems. It’s Independence Day time already and this long weekend, started since Thursday for many in the working population, is enjoyed by most either at or away from home. During a holiday such as this, a lot of people usually plan to escape from their daily surroundings, and travel to the beach, the country, or even abroad.

I, instead, thoroughly look forward to the peacefulness and relaxation that engulfs not only my apartment, but this city, especially the area of Manhattan where I live, when its frenetic life comes to a screeching alt! I always had such a pleasure, even before my retirement, since I’ve lived in the same building for the past 42 years.

Sometimes now, I hibernate for days (yes….in the middle of summer!) in my very comfortable air conditioned environment since I am lucky to be able to work and follow up on my many projects right here, in my own residence. This is what I’ve done in the past few days, but since yesterday I am also enjoying the gentle, non humid breeze that finally flows in from my windows exposed south and westward.

More thunderstorms and high humidity are forecasted again from tomorrow on, but, even when my windows are shut I can look out toward the greenery that surrounds my apartment even at its 7 floor height! Trees that were mostly non existent when I came to NY more than 50 years ago are now lining practically every street or avenue, and most high raisers are accessed through path and drive ways surrounded by manicured gardens and gurgling fountains.

A happy and glorious 4th of July to you all!

New York, New York.....

It's midday in midtown Manhattan. While waiting for the bus I need to take to reach my destination, I'm observing the huge traffic, and have a chat with a couple of tourists from Norway. Meantime, I'm rediscovering this city: the sun is hot, the vehicular movement noisy, and the number of sightseers incredible!


Busy 59th St. with Time & Warner buildings in the background

Anyone ready for a ride in Central Park?




Just as relaxing a few minutes of sun bathing at the base of the statue at Grand Army Plaza, right at the entrance of the park.

"Mirupafshim...."

sun above the clouds, but more rain upon arrival in NY!

Tirana's airport "Mother Theresa"

Tirana - New York

As I was leaving my apartment in Tirana it started to rain again. As much as I hate carrying additional stuff I decided that an umbrella was a must if I didn’t want to get soaked to the bone, a condition that could not be afforded with a 16 hour trip ahead. The half hour car ride to Rinas (“Mother Theresa”) airport was uneventful, with my usual, careful driver skillfully avoiding the many huge potholes in certain areas that turn into small lakes when it rains.

At the airport I found new pleasant surprises.....

First of all, there is no longer an exit fee, I was informed with a smile. From the new monitor displaying the departure schedule, I can see that in the space of 3 hours there will be over 10 flights to a variety of destinations that I never expected to see.

Austrian Airlines was, as expected, very efficient and prompt for the checking process, with a fully functioning computerized system. The security screening as an outgoing passenger, for the first time, was up to par with the rest of the other world airports: thoroughly and efficiently carried out. Inside the departure area, there are now 3 main gates, a larger number of shops, fully stacked with souvenirs, duty free items, newspapers from all over the world, and a wonderful collection of books, especially about and on Albania, including dictionaries, and language learning courses with cds. The bar was doing a booming business and was also equipped to sell a variety of sandwiches. It was a pleasure to see all these new activities, which include also the ongoing construction of a huge, modern style new terminal right next door to the present building.

The rain magically stopped when I boarded the bus that would take me to the plane, but I noticed that the airline I was taking even had a “covered” staircase!

The Tirana-Vienna leg of the trip is short and food is served only if purchased on board (this is apparently a standard in continental flights). The connection in Vienna for NY was as easy as the one which I experienced in reverse when I went to Tirana. The distance between the transit gates was very short, the checking in for the transatlantic flight extremely efficient, and the departure pretty much on time. The 10 minutes delay was caused by the need to fix a malfunctioning overhead bin, which was promptly handled.

While this was going on and I was watching the seemingly never ending care with which the stewards were accommodating passengers, I again had an extraordinary experience.

I was sitting on an aisle (in a 2 seats row) and the fellow passenger of my left was just as stocky and wide shouldered person as I am. I was resigned to spent the next 10 hours squeezing myself in the space that these days have shrunk on all long distance carriers of 767 type of aircrafts…..when a watchful steward offered me to move a couple of rows back where the 2 seats there had become available. I was extremely pleased to accept such a stroke of luck, especially since I had not asked for anything!

The food on this leg of the flight was of top quality and delicious, and the service on board never stopped! Austrain Airlines gets a A+ from me, and I’ll certainly fly them again whenever possible. Meantime, would you believe that the rain followed me all the way to NY?

Goodbyes

I hate goodbyes and I should be used to them by now, after so many travels abroad, but it's always a sad time for me when I have to leave friends and relatives to hop onto another plane.

For two days now I've received email from the US, Italy, and Albania wishing me a trouble free and safe return to NY. Some of the Tirana friends have squeezed in brief visits at all hours, and now I am ready to move on. They surely enjoy a good conversation, and so do I. For me it's also a continuous learning experience talking with them.

The weather has changed drastically in the past two days with temperature dipping in the teens (C.) and outburst of rain especially at night. Right now, as I am writing, the sky has darkened, and thunder sounds really menacing....I better close this session, otherwise I might loose the connection!

Wasteful time....

My stay is Tirana is winding down, and, as usual, the last few days here are always hectic.

All the things that were postponed because .... “oh, there is plenty of time ahead”, as they say here, must be crunched in at the last minute. I am much happier planning ahead, and I always try, although I know that is not always possible to do so here. I am forced to wing it to adapt to this trend of life, but the results frustrate me because I don’t accomplish as much as I want, and I am used to otherwise.

This afternoon I had booked an appointment for a hair cut, and I had the full attention of the hairdresser that gave me also an invigorating head massage while washing my hair. It was an unexpected, but welcome treatment that totally relaxed me, and I certainly needed it. This soothing time was briefly interrupted by two different appearances of other customers, who just dropped in and were expecting to be taken care of immediately. The owner of the shop calmly refused and after they made their exits, she felt obliged to explain, with a smile, that was not unusual here because most people do not make appointments ahead of time.

A refreshing view from a friend's balcony

 

The Palace of Congress in the background and the President's office on the right

Center of Tirana with Dajti Mountains

and one more highrise!

The President's office hidden by trees

Baffling processes

Spoiled by the American system that I’ve dealt with for over half a century, I always experience frustrating processes in dealing, for one reason or another, with state or governmental offices in Europe.

In Italy, just in the past 3 years, I had to do summersaults and run around a lot from office to office to obtain documents or clarifications about procedures relating to the settling of an estate, payment of taxes, dealing with utility companies, etc. ….and I didn’t have a problem expressing myself since I speak the language fluently! Albania, not officially part of Europe yet, is no exception. In both countries it’s not possible to get precise information by telephone, ahead of time, so that what’s needed can be prepared and then presented for action where appropriate. One has to find out in person and being “ping ponged” from one place to another in the process. The procedures are convoluted (work simplification is unheard of!), the paperwork unnecessarily complex (forms design at times illogical!), and the staff interaction mostly unsatisfactory (inadequate training and laissez-faire in general!). Feeling powerless, the public yields to these situations and instead of fighting them, when and where it can, looks for more devious ways to offset these inadequacies in order to obtain the needed results; thus sustaining a corrupted way of life that tends to perpetuate and expand itself.

This week, in Tirana, I witnessed what a local has to endure in order to obtain the renewal of a passport. While in the first police district office I was impressed to find a modern numbering system to serve the large crowd, and the form filling was rather expeditious, the situation was quite different at Police headquarters (across town), where one has to go a couple of weeks later to pick up the new document. Six various teller windows, opened only for 1 ½ hour every afternoon, were completely mobbed by the waiting public, six lines deep, screaming and trying to juggle their way to be able to talk to the staff that, undeterred, kept on yelling out names of the fortunate ones whose passport was ready. The interchange was incredibly noisy and chaotic. Many were disappointedly turned away and required to come back with additional documentation the next morning to talk to a ”chief” about how to speed the process. A couple of people I talked to while watching all this happening sadly informed me that they had already spent four days going through this repetitive mode of operation.

The following morning the chief, supposedly available for one hour, appeared at the window 40 minutes late. Realizing that the large crowd couldn’t be accommodated within the time limit, asked a police woman to just jot down the names of those who came and retrieve the additional required documentation. The afternoon process of checking whether the passport was finally available was an exact duplicate experience of the day before. And so life goes on…..

Scenes of Albanian life in Tirana

In this capital the new modern structural (steel and glass) high raisers of this millennium are mixed in with a variety of old brick buildings, dating back to almost one hundred years ago. Some are originally Albanian (low 1-2 story) single family homes, while others (with 3-4 stories) were built by the Italians before and during their occupation during WWII (late 1930’s - mid 1940’s), followed by the ones during the Russians (1950-60’s), and Chinese (1965-70’s) influences that conditioned the country at the end of the war. This is the situation in many parts of the city, and also in the very center of it. The once private backyards (with grape vines and mandarin trees) are disappearing and living conditions are now crowded everywhere. Few are the remaining 2 story villas of the old fashioned wealthy families, which are now being renovated and can maintain a private garden area around.

Notwithstanding the clusters of assorted constructions and the incredible congestion of vehicular traffic that permeates the city, one can find astonishing quiet in their own quarters. Away from the main boulevards (4-6 lane wide), the movement of cars in the narrow passage ways in between the buildings has to proceed at a snail pace, parking spots are continually negotiated and inventively created, with the humble pedestrians carefully trying not only to avoid the traffic, but to find a few inches where to squeezing their way through. At night, even with open windows, there is complete silence in my apartment, with not a sound to be heard.

Due to closeness of the buildings, however, during the day, when the shutters are rolled up, I cannot help but observe how life in this city is lived. From the glass enclosed balcony of mine, just sitting down at my desk, I can see women appear and disappear often on their open balconies to hang and reposition their laundry, as it dries. They even talk to each other across the way, and some of them lovingly attend to their planted pots that display a variety of flowers.

As I got up this morning and opened my bedroom window I could see a city sanitation truck quietly picking up the garbage that accumulates fast in the open bins that are strategically positioned in the midst of the buildings. The system is the same as the one in Italy, where the metal bins are called “cassonetti”, but the trucks I see here are not specifically built for such a task. They are regular open vans and the men have no choice but to use bare hands and shovels to collect the stuff and throw it on top of the truck. They work in pairs and one of them, from time to time, walks on top of the collected pile to ‘compact it’ with his feet….
Here I never hear the noise produced when the trucks come rolling by for similar collections such as in NY or in Italy, but I do know that these rounds are faithfully made every 2 days. I also see quite often men and women wearing blue or orange uniforms carrying a sack and a picker and broom; they roam around and sweep away and collect paper or trash discarded in the streets. Such are some facets of Albanian life in Tirana these days.

The National Museum (left) - Tirana Int'l Hotel (right)