During my time in Albania, there were a handful of things that surprised me, confused me, or simply made me shake my head a bit. Typically, these were things that the locals thought nothing of, but that caught my foreign attention quickly. Thus, cultural exchange…
1) If you order hot chocolate, you will be served a cup of hot, unsweetened pudding with a small spoon with which to eat it.
2) Most cars are Fiat, BMW, Audi, or Ford. Considering how frugal most Albanians are and the high unemployment rate, I still haven’t made sense of this.
3) People often wear shirts that have English phrases on them that don’t quite make sense. “Bad!” “Never Really” , “One of those mornings” , “On the phone”, “Jump!” You roll with it.
4) A man might walk into the church chugging a beer. He sits down and finishes it during the service.
5) People are up and awake incredibly early (Many before 6am), and yet the town doesn’t really “wake up” until 9:30 or 10pm. People kind of hibernate during the day because it’s so hot out.
6) Albania’s currency is called Lek. Somehow, 5,000 Lek and 5 Lek can both mean 500 Lek. Something about “old Lek” and “new Lek”. I just handed the amount that was either the lowest or the most reasonable, and it usually worked out.
7) People shake their heads sideways to say yes, and up & down to say no. It was especially confusing during beach evangelism when we spoke through a translator. Is that person disagreeing with everything I’m saying? Oh, wait, they’re excited about it!
8) I still don’t know if there are facial features or physical characteristics that are strictly Albanian.
9) You’ll get lots of cheek kisses, especially from older women. These are precious, regardless of how sweaty you both are.
10) The Albanians we met didn’t seem to have a middle gear. They were either working their tails off or hardcore chilling (often with a cup of coffee in hand)
11) Sometimes, you are asked to lead worship five minutes before the church service. In Albanian. With songs you’ve never heard before. Without chords. You grab a twelve year old to lead the words, while you make something up on guitar. Or at least, that’s what I did.
12) People eat ice cream regularly. So often, in fact, that it is confusing. Old people, young people, punks, hipsters, poor people—they all have an ice cream cone in tow. Huh??
13) Likely, you’ll feel like you are almost always about to get hit by a car. This is true whether you are in a car yourself or you are walking. This isn’t much of an exaggeration. You walk forward confidently and pray you’ll still have legs on the other side of the street.
14) Every Albanian I’ve asked is disgusted by Asian food. Lots of them had never had a taco, either. Mind blown.
15) Walking down the road, even in a quiet pair, elicits stares from everyone. You’re not being checked out (probably); Albanians just like to stare. You try to get used to constantly feeling like a herd of cows.
16) You are either sweating or showering. Sometimes, you do both at the same time, but you are always doing at least one.
17) There are no McDonalds in Albania. This is because Albanian meat is not up to McDonalds standards.
18) Speaking of meat…You eat an exorbitant amount of hot dogs during the month. You call them “breakfast sausage”, “pasta meat”, and “meat pastry” for variety. Sometimes, you put jelly on them. That’s when you decide: life is weird.
19) Old men have coffee and a shot of raki each morning as they sit and smoke at the small café tables. You rarely see women sitting at the cafes.
20) You don’t have to walk more than thirty seconds to find a little coffee shop, or “Bar-café” as the Albanians call it. (Praises!)
21) About ten different letters in the Albanian alphabet sound like “Shh” or “Chh”.
22) Peach, pillow, car, and for sale are bad words in Albanian. Unfortunately, your whole team has been yelling “Car!” throughout the village streets to warn each other of oncoming traffic. Whoops.
23) Yogurt, water, and salt mixed together is a well-liked snack.
24) There is a significant disparity between respect of the sexes, but it’s demonstrated and lived out subtly. Apparently, women are taught in school to give up their seat on the bus to a man.
25) All of your Albanian friends are really into coffee with “Panda milk”. As it turns out, Panda milk is sweetened evaporated milk.
26) The Albanians are super (pun intended) into soups. The soups are delicious and full of fresh vegetables. This makes them palatable, even as it is pushing 100 degrees outside.
27) The word for “said” in Shqip sounds like “thought”. For example, Simon says is “Simony thou”. I like that it sounds like anything you say has thought behind it.
28) If you get a haircut, people will slap you on the back of the neck to celebrate.
29) Albanians are incredibly hospitable people. If you visit someone at home, they will likely bring you candies, snacks, fruit, juices, and coffees to welcome you properly.
30) Most of the church staff are in their twenties or younger. They are passionate and dedicated, and you are surprised at their maturity in their faith and their leadership. (The worship team at the church is primarily between 15-17 years old)
Albania does not feel dark, but it does feel very spiritually “stale”. Everywhere you go in Albania, pastors, missionaries, and other believers are all referencing the same three to four random passages of scripture. God is preparing to move mightily through Albania, especially through the younger generation. The country is full of history, but is still finding out who she is.
We’ll miss you, Albania!
