8th anniversary

In September 2004  I started this blog for the simple purpose of updating my friends and relatives on my travel and experiences about the volunteer work I have engaged in my retirement.  About one and a half year ago,  out of curiosity, I added a simple counter to see how many people access my site, and, lo and behold, is not the total number that counts, but that they span over 100 different countries!! 

Although some may be one time visitors, many others are repetitive ones, form all corners of the globe. This is an amazing realization that pleases me mainly because it shows that the information I provide, mostly about the progress, or the odds and ends, of my 'still little known' country of origin, is of interest to a wider audience. And this is wonderful! Forward we go!!     

New Albanian hostels

I had written about this subject a while back, but, lately the news about an innovative use of the infamous communist-era Albanian bunkers that permeate the entire country is reappearing from various sources, such as this one. This is probably due to the fact that  Albania has been touted since last year as an interesting new tourist experience that appeals especially to young travelers. 

What is, however, interesting to me is that the project currently described in the above and also this article, involves German students.  What is not mentioned is that these bunkers, ordered by Enver Hoxha during Albania's long isolationist period  of his dictatorship, were built, at a very high price, by the then East German government .   

It's nice to see now that the younger generations, and not only the German ones,  are effectively and fervently changing the wrongs of the past in more than one country. 

Northern Albania

The very scenic, but impervious region of Northern Albania is well described in this enjoyable article by an English instructor, who spent this summer "Teaching among the peaks" in those mountainous areas.

(Vermosh - photo from Trekearth)

(Valbona - photo from Outdoor Albania)

Latest assessment on Albania

What I tried to describe several times to American friends and acquaintances interested about Albania and its religious context, here is a confirmation of the religious harmony that exists within the country's borders, as reported by IRD.

Travel plans....

If I was younger......would love to travel outside our planet, to the moon like Neil Armstrong, or to Mars like NASA's Curiosity..... notwithstanding their naked landscape and uninviting appearance.....

 
Instead, next month, I can just hop across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, to happily however spend some useful time in Albania!

This tiny nation, a speck on the surface of our earth, offers so much not only for its beautiful scenery, along its coastline all the way up to its mountain tops, but for the great warmth and hospitality of its population, touted by anyone that was or is able to experience it.
 
Its handsome youth is willing and able to compete with their equal generations anywhere in the world, and our work there is to help them accomplish that and beyond.
      

Vacation time?

It's the middle of August, and, traditionally, especially in Europe, half of its world  is on vacation somewhere.  I remember that when I lived in Italy, the cities would become ghost towns, and the factories completely shut down their operations during this month. Today, only tourists flock in them since the museums and art galleries are kept open.   Here in NY, today,  I noticed that, of the nine apartments on my floor, I am the only tenant still in town.

During this strange summer, we continue to roast and sweat in NY stormy and sticky weather, but  I spend lots of time indoors, fully occupied with loads of desk and paperwork, in addition to a large reorganization of computerized files and data that needs to be done for both my personal and work record keeping.  Notwithstanding the now, no longer new, concept of striving toward a paperless society, we are still continuously buried in paper, whether we like it or not.  Just from unsolicited mail I continue to receive daily at least a dozen unwanted envelopes, and catalogs, which require address concealment  before they are discarded, and so my shredder gets a workout daily.  These chores, quite boring if not alternated with other distractions from time to time, are unfortunately a necessity.

  

Thank goodness for online news broadcasts and personal connections,  which interrupt the above monotony!  And here is, again, another article and video about the '(in)famous'  Albanian bunkers constructed during the paranoid communist dictatorship.  The idea of using these steel and concrete structures for tourism is not new,  and it has become a reality already in some areas of the country.  They were built in different sizes, for population and military use.  Now it's unthinkable of removing or destroying them;  the cost would be prohibitive!  So... they remain and continue to attract attention everywhere across the countryside, on top of mountains, along roads, and the entire coastline, now that foreigners are visiting the country  more and more because Albania has been touted lately as the number one tourist spot to be discovered.

Chores.... and the weather

Since my return home I have been busy with chores galore!  It's a seemingly never ending process when I come back from a long stay abroad. 

My lodgings are in need of a thorough cleanup; my plants, which always endure my absence thanks to the occasional watering by a friend, necessitate lots of pruning of old leaves and branches; my accumulated printed mail demands immediate attention to sort out important communications and bills, among hundreds of posts, sales catalogs, junk stuff, and an innumerable amount of solicitations from a variety of charities. 

My sleeping pattern is out of whack for at least a week, due to jet-lag, but waking up in the middle of the night offers quiet times to take care at least of the desk and related paperwork. There is not much time to rest during the day since I am also due for medical checkups that in NY require lots of additional time to travel to and from related medical establishments. 

All of this goes on while the body attempts physical readjustments to the change of environment, which is quite noticeable to me, as I age. NY weather greatly affects my osteoarthritis, which does not bother me when abroad; thus, while at home, I have to resume my physio-therapeutic sessions and take analgesic medication from time to time.  

The heat waves of this summer have taken a toll everywhere. I am used to the mostly humid ones in NY for more than half a century, although getting in and out of highly air conditioned areas, taxes our body, but the current 'African temperatures' being experienced in the Mediterranean areas during these past few weeks are hard to endure, especially for people that cannot afford the time to go to the beaches or on vacation somewhere else.

Today's travels

Just returned home safe and sound, via my favorite airline, which this time disappointed me a bit. The aircraft used for the transatlantic flight was an old Boeing 767, packed to capacity, which I thought I left behind when I began to enjoy newer types  planes, such the 777 or the Airbusses.  The quality of  food, however, seems to be getting better, time after time, a consolation perhaps for other stressing conditions affecting today's travels. 

Going thru Vienna for a connection always works out smoothly due to the efficient operation of this hub, but, this time, arrival at JFK in New York offered a  shocking view.  The amount of passengers being processed was incredible. This, I was told, was caused by a variety of flights' schedule changes, involving, at the same time, both delays and even some early  arrivals. Unbelievable sights faced the passengers in passport processing and luggage retrieval!

  

The mammoth hall of arriving passengers  at  passport control was completely full, equivalent in size to a Times Square gathering!  All baggage carousels were in use, and, each one had luggage piled up to the tilt.  It was amazing to watch as the handlers actually had to dismount some carousels, lining up all bag on the floors, in order to recycle their use for the additional arrivals. In other words the luggage handling was quicker than the passport processing, so that passenger had to scramble in search of  their belongings on the floor.  

I consider myself extremely lucky due to the assistance I requested. I was out of the airport within an hour and at home after an additional 45 minutes, riding in a very cool and comfortable taxi, which was a blessing,  exhausted as I was.   My apartment is another story, of a different type....After a two months absence, everything in it needs to be taken care of, but,  within an hour I was able to restore at least needed utilities, and online connection! 

Found NY weather hot, but in the 80's F, which should be considered a relief after more than 3 weeks of African temperatures  that affected the entire Mediterranean areas.   As reported also online, Albania yesterday experienced in some areas 102F!  I don't remember in my lifetime having to endure heat such as I did during my stay there this trip.  A couple of times last week, while walking in Tirana, I had the frightening experience of coming very close to a sun stroke!! 

A last minute news also just read about Albania,  and its reverse role in the Balkans today,  can be read in this self-explanatory article:    http://greece.greekreporter.com/2012/07/11/albanians-used-to-come-to-greece-to-work-now-they-come-on-vacation/  

Tempus fugit

Even though way of  life in Europe is quite different from the one in the States, time flies wherever one is, when one is busy. This is what happens to me both in the U.S. and in Albania. I am forever racing the clock....

I have been in Tirana for two months now, and now it's time to head back home in NY. It seems like yesterday when I came and now I must return.

I have not had time to post here anything personal lately since I have been involved full time (I mean day and night) in carrying out the plans I have been working on for the past several months, on behalf of the organizations' projects I am in charge of.

Two major events were sucessfully completed in Tirana, during May and June, and additional time is needed now to document their results, which, I am happy to report, were extremely satisfactory.  Those of you that know my work, know also where to find online the postings related to these activities.

On a personal level there is not much to report, except that it has been very difficult to deal with the extreme heat that has hit the entire Mediterranean area. There has been no rain in Tirana for almost one month now, and the temperature has been relentlessly high, with no relief in sight.

Now, I hear that I will face similar conditions in New York, where, by the way, due to my long absence, I have lots to catch up with.  Let's hope that at least the travel goes well, with no delays or problems.   

 

View from the 12th floor

Although busy as I am these days, trying to complete the plans for a project that is quite challenging, I still cannot miss what goes on around my lodgings on the 12th floor of the highraise I live in, here in Tirana. The glass doors of the balconies offer great views, even from where I normally sit at my desk.
 

As reported earlier, the swallows that decided to make their home between my kitchen and bedroom windows have completed their nest, which now has only an opening toward the outside, but hidden to my photographic reach. I notice them especially in early morning hours when these sub-tenants take turns coming and going to feed themselves. 

 

Not too far, across from the canal that runs in front of my building, there is a little park where elderly men congregate every day to play games. Sometimes they're not deterred even by bad weather. They come provided with pieces of cardboards that they can use as a cushion to have a dry seat.

 

There are no special requirements of separating garbage when disposing of it into the metal bins that the city provides on the streets. In my neighborhood’s corner the sanitation trucks come around, like clockwork, twice a day (by midday and midnight),  and empty the bins, producing quite a bit of noise for a few minutes, every time. Each truck carries four workers. Two of them cleanup with brooms what may drop onto the street when the bins are turned over for discharging into the truck. This has been going on for quite a few years now, but my mind goes back to the days of my early visits to Tirana in 1993, when there was no modern equipment, but the collections were quite frequent and they were loaded and squeezed by hand and showel into some old trucks.

As of this year though I noticed that, every few hours, some young men now provide an additional service that, I'm guessing, is just performed on an personal, entrepreneurial basis. They are usually twosomes that travel on tricycles, some of which are motorized. Out of the bins they pick all plastic materials, which they compact by just crushing them with their feet. I have no idea where they deliver their collections, but it's certainly done for a profit.

This past Tuesday morning we were hit by a terrible storm that awaked everybody up with its thunders, lightning, strong winds, and even a bit of hail. It lasted for a few hours and produced lots of floods everywhere. 

 The Lana Canal below me surged  to very high levels, and looked ominous.

One item for which I have no picture, should actually be called an event, and was quite unsettling, when it happened on Thursday, around noon time.  Although I was sitting at my desk, I had the feeling of losing my balance;  when I turned to look outside, I realized that the entire building was swaying….. Yes, there was an earthquake and it was felt quite a bit in Tirana, mostly on the upper floors.  Just to make sure that I was not dreaming, I turned on the Albanian TV that confirmed the happening by just flashing the news in writing, while a reporter was talking about something else. Its epicenter, I learned later on, was in Macedonia and reached 4.5 on the Richter scale.

 

I have experienced earthquakes over the years in Albania, in Italy, and in New York,  but the uncomfortable feeling of being completely powerless is always very upsetting. Expecting further sismic movements it took another 15/20 minutes before the anxiety subsided.

These are all the news and comments that I wanted to share with you this week, when the weather is turning hotter and for the next few days the temperature will hover around 90°F.

School event

Today I participated in an event that involved a contest, organized by Microsoft Albania for a selected number students, chosen from the public schools in Tirana that are using game technology. More than 75 students were present with their teachers and good number parents. 

It was a joyous occasion for the participants notwithstanding the nation’s mourning due to the loss of 12 students, caused by the crash, yesterday, of the bus they were traveling in, during an excursion in the southern part of Albania. 

The event's participants covered two groups of students - ages 9 thru 13, and 14 thru 17 - everyone having the chance to present their own little projects using technology, in a variety of subjects.   98% of the competitors were boys, but the small representation of girls displayed just as much creativity, capability, and spunk. They were even more at ease than the boys in their presentations.

The three judges’ panel had a difficult time choosing the 6 top winners in three categories of prizes consisting of a small gift at the third level, and a notebook from Microsoft at the second level, while the number one prizes were two Kinect Xbox 360 offered by the organization that I work with, which cosponsored this event. 

More details will become available in the appropriate online sites of the participating organizations that also involved a particular department of Albania’s Ministry of Education. No need for interpreters during the opening statements and conversations with the students and teachers on a one to one basis. They are all tri-lingual, but, for me it was exhilarating to watch this youth of Albania display their enthusiasm, energy, eagerness and creativity!

 Congratulations to all!