Here are my favorite observations from my month in my little village in Gorre, Albania.
1. First of all, where are the women hiding?
2. All the boys look like they are out of the movie Grease or a bit like the Fonz and even act like they could be the characters too.
3. How my name has never sounded as beautiful as it does in Albania. Janyfare. Yes, please say it again.
4. Traditional Albanian dancing is amazing and if you are with the youth, intense and crazy, with the adults it goes on for hours and is slow enough to learn. I should have learned from the adults first.
5. You can buy a tattoo needle the same place you can buy your Barbies.
6. Sulfur water makes your hair sticky and nearly impossible to do your hair if it's anything like mine.
7. Don't get roped into playing football with a bunch of 10 year old boys because they'll make you be the only goalie and it'll be them verses you.
8. Stuffed animals and feathers are tied to buildings and houses to keep out the "evil spirits".
9. Wood burning stoves are amazing in the winter especially for a piro like me. And chopping wood is only fun for about 3 minutes.
10. At night and in the early morning, the animals outside sound something like out of a Halloween horror movie. I swear the cows are crowing and the roosters are barking and the dogs are meowing. It sounds messy.
11. Chocolat is chocolat an kacao is kacao is the answer you'll get many times when you ask what the difference is between the two.
