So the last 3 months in South America was full of new things because I’d never been there before, so I was a little nervous going to Eastern Europe that my list wouldn’t be as fun because I’ve been before. But man oh man did Albania give me fun new experiences!
Drinking coffee with a stache no big deal.
So without further ado, never have I ever since coming to Albania:
- used a bidet—our bathroom had one so why not?
- drank so much coffee and eaten so much chocolate and cheese in such a short amount of time! (I love this country)
- hiked a huge hill to see castle ruins. (then discovered a nice easy road to get to it. Awesome.)
Part of Rozafa castle we toured
- walked so much! Albanians walk e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e.
- Had to warm up the water for 30 minutes before showering or I would have frozen to death.
- had the greatest grilled cheese of my life (Rikki is AMAZING!).
- experienced such great hospitality! Our contact invited us over for dinner and not only did she cook amazing food she also bought us chocolates and my favorite flowers!
- had an interpretive dance party. (we love Taylor Swift)
- been to an internet café (like every single day!)
- lost the game
- been in the Lifehouse skit—I was vanity, I’m awesome.
- slept on a couch for a month (WAY better than sleeping in my tent!)
- taught English classes! Our classes ranged from 3 to 7 students and were always hilarious!
- walked into a random academic building at a University I don’t know and just started talking about life and spirituality with random students.
- took a quick day trip to another country (MONTENEGRO!!) just because we could.
Montenegro was beautiful!!
- took out 10x the amount of money I needed from an ATM because I couldn’t figure out the exchange rate. Ouch.
- missed Dunkins so much for the simple facts of getting coffee to go and getting more than 3 ounces at a time. They drink a ton of coffee but in these teeny tiny cups and only in cafes or homes. There were some mornings we were running late and it was freezing and I would have given my left arm for a hot coffee to go!
- been to used stores/flea markets so much! In fact I’m going as soon as I’m done writing this—I’m still on a quest for shoes, mittens and another pair of pants. Rumor on the street is Romania is going to be even colder than Albania—I’m not ready.
- Wore a single pair of jeans for three weeks straight (without washing) minus two Sunday mornings, yesterday, today (finally washing them) and two days when it was raining and they got wet and since we line dry they didn’t get dry for a while. Hence the above comment.
- Been to a dentist and hairdresser who couldn't really speak English. (on a side note no worries, I’m fine! My wisdom tooth is poking through and it’s causing my gum to swell and hurt oh so much but she did some magic and I feel great now)
Our bathroom with bidet! Not sure why it's sideways…
Well hope you enjoyed my list! As always I’m sure there’s a ton more but I can’t really remember. I'm now in Bucharest, Romania for debrief for the week and then I'll be heading to my ministry site (which I can't remember the name). But look forward to a birthday blog! It was awesome and interesting all at the same time!
