This month we are living in Elbasan, one of the largest cities in Albania. It is located in the center of the country. They call this "eagle country", but the only ones I have seen are on their flag. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Eastern European geography, Albania is north of Greece, south of Macedonia and Montenegro, and west of Italy across the Adriatic Sea. So it has a very Mediterranean feel and has been largely influenced by Turkey. A large majority of the population here is Muslim and the Christians we have met are typically first generation believers.
We generally walk everywhere…my pedometer has been working overtime… but those who do drive, travel in style. The most common car on the street is the Mercedes, including taxis and even delivery trucks. When we go shopping for groceries, we usually have to make about five separate stops in order to get everything we need. There is no Wal-mart or one stop shopping, but I love it. We go to the Super Bliri (it is kind of like a mini grocery or corner store), the meat market (which carries whole lambs, including the head), the cheese/milk store (which sometimes has an actual cow standing out front), the bakery (which is getting the best of me because all of the desserts are so good and I want one of each), and finally the fruit and vegetable stand (there is one on every corner). My new favorite fruit is a hurma. It’s yellowish-orange in color and it is so good. That is unless you get one that isn’t quite ripe and in that case one bite will dry out your entire mouth. And my other new favorite is the “fast food” delicacy called a Sufllaque. (It is a bit like a Shwarma.) It is a pita filled with some kind of meat, typically pork, which has been cooked on one of those large spinny things and then is thinly sliced off. It is all topped with french fries and a delicious white sauce. And if that wasn’t enough, at some of our favorite places they also add tomatoes and lettuce as well as ketchup and mustard. It is too big to get your entire mouth around, but luckily they serve it with a tiny plastic fork. Basically, it’s a sinfully wonderful smorgasbord and it’s a very good thing we walk everywhere.
The team is split up and living in two locations. Jenna, Molly, Ben, and Joshua are living at a small kish or church called Jesus Brought Us Together. Kursti, Ruth, and I are staying with our female contact, Anxhela, and her cousin, Nertila, at their cozy two bedroom apartment. It definitely feels and looks like what you would expect of Eastern Europe. First off, we live inside "the wall" which is probably the remnants of an old city wall or castle. Secondly, there are small alleyways and back streets that feel like an endless labyrinth, and at any moment Jason Bourne might coming running around the corner as he tries to evade the local authorities (that is from The Bourne Identity for those of you who never saw the movie). As you walk through the city, the streets are lined with an assortment of eclectic items. There is the lady that roasts ears of corn and hazelnuts in her little cooker, the men selling Coke bottles filled with what I’m guessing is olive oil, the little old ladies knitting pot holders, and my personal favorite, the man sitting with his scale… still not quite sure if it is intended for people or something else. I also love to see the large gatherings of old men who are sitting in the park playing chess. Before coming here, I’ll admit I knew very little about the people and culture, but I love it here and would love to come back one day!
Here’s a short video to give you a better picture of what our life looks like.
