Blogs from Albania, Europe - page 22

Luggage has yet to arrive.... It turned out to be a beautiful day driving up north to Shkoder . I had heard prior to my trip not to travel North in Albania, but that was a misjudged statement because not only was it beautiful countrysides, but all of the people were so helpful and nice. I do not speak Albanian, and it is very comforting to know that most Albanians speak English to a certain extent. Most of the photos are of the country drive between Tirana and Shkoder (took approx 2 hours). We picked up Katarina, the Head of Antiquities for Greece this morning and drove to Shkoder to meet with more archaeologists and tourism directors. Here we discussed the issues facing not only Albania but also Greece, Montenegro, Serbia, and Croatia (basically the coastline ... read more

Week 2 My second week here in Albania has been nothing short of emotionally exhausting. On my way to work today I was caught off guard by a man who had some form of mental disability, most likely Down Syndrome, sitting and begging on the street. This is the third mentally disabled person that I have seen who is homeless and ignored by the rest of society. Not only am I learning about women's rights here during my stay, but my eyes have been opened to the problems involving minority rights such as those of the disabled. Today, I visited the first government sponsored domestic violence center in Kamza. We stood and waited outside a large metal gate that blocked the entire center from public view, and when we were finally let in I was ... read more

Geo: 42.07, 19.51 GÜN 04 GÜNLERDEN PAZAR: Bu saatlere bir türlü alışamadım. Erken kalktım . Lobiye inip Ayşecik' e internetten bir selam yolladım. toparlandım. Vedalaştım ve yola çıktım. Oldukça karmaşık bir yol ama biraz MIO (GPS) biraz ben, doğru yolu bulduk. Yolda fazla trafik polisi vardı ve zırt pırt arabaları durduruyorlar. Benim acelem yok . Kuralında gitmeye çalışıyorum. Kendimi, daha önce saptadığım bir kampa gidecek gibi ayarladım . Ne var ki şehir yolları kazılıp duruyor ve gideceğiniz istikameti yakalamak o denli kolay değil. Oradan oraya şuursuz bir şekilde sapıp dururken, bir otel buldum . Hemen durdum ve vaziyete bakayım dedim. Harika bir otel 3 yıldız… Gecesi ise kamptan ucuz .15 E… Önünde mükemmel park y... read more

Hello Everyone, I cannot even begin to describe the experience I am having. I arrived in Albania two days ago (without my luggage of course), and I was in culture shock from the moment I stepped off the plane. It is so different here. When I arrived I was bombarded with cab drivers tugging at my bags and pleading with me in Albanian to choose their cab. Driving into the city, all I could think to myself was "what the hell did I get myself into this time?" The poverty and filth is overwhelming. I arrived at the HDC (Human Rights in Democracy Center, (http://www.hrdc.al/index.php?lang=en) where I will be working and researching throughout the course of my stay. Everyone was very welcoming and excited that I was here. When I got to my apartment I was ... read more

M - We can't recall exactly when we first thought that we wanted to go to Albania and why. We think it was either a Sunday Times magazine article or a Top Gear show. Regardless, when we looked at our potential routes from Greece north into Europe we were both excited at the chance of visiting a country that was pretty much cut off from Europe until communist rule ended in 1992. Albania has a reputation for being a staging post for imigrants coming into western europe and as a chop-shop for high end stolen cars stolen in more affluent areas of europe. They certainly drive more mercedes benz per car on the road than I have ever seen! By european standards Albania is very cheap (16 dollars for 2 courses with a bottle of wine ... read more