Tirana: Transformation

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I feel guilty to say this but when I lived in Tirana, in a way I felt a bit bored and understimulated. I didn't see alot of culture or arts in play. The city's residents seemed a bit conformist to me and the entertainment options seemed limited.

Now, on this trip, I see a new Tirana. The residents are going through a transformation where there is more diversity, more demand for culture, arts, style, entertainment, etc. The city's visual appearance is changing to become more modern, bigger, and more prosperous. There is more activity everywhere.

Today, I walking from the apartment and I saw the clear blue skies and the mountains behind the city. I just felt taken by the city and its march to a brighter future.

But I still some signs of the rough past of Albania. In all apartments, for examples, the front door is like the door to a vault at a bank. No other countries locks you in like that when you're at home. I guess having a bullet proof door was a necessity here at some point.

Being a writer is much harder than I had expected. Everything depends on other people--their schedules, their willingness to talk to you, their answers being interesting enough to publish. It's quite difficult. The last few days, we have had terrible luck with photos, with cafes either being empty or not having stylish people in them. But today, a bright spot came out and we did the interview and photos with Nada Nikolla. She's a former top model and became a fashion designer. So she helped out quite a bit to describe the transformation going on in Tirana and also it seems like her answers for her own work mirror the point of the article. So great.

Today I met with the director of an Albanian architectural studio, and she used language intelligently which was both technical and artistic. And I met with one of our former staff who was so worried about us closing our office here and if she would ever have another job. Now, she is working in the prime minister's office coordinating donor and ministry strategies. I just see that this country is coming to life and it is so inspiring to me.

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