Because of the earthquakes that rocked Durres, Thumane and Tirana, the authorities ordered the closure of all schools. Currently, building inspectors are checking all buildings to ensure they're meeting safety standards, and if they aren't, the builders are being jailed (for up to 15 years!) There were small after shocks on Monday, but nothing significant, so I tried to enjoy the day as best I could. I met Mark for lunch at Arberia, a small Albanian kitchen with 7 tables, one waitress and one cook. No one speaks English, there's no menu and the food is damn good. It's authentic and it's homemade and it means you're eating whatever they're serving. Mark found this spot with his coworkers and has been begging me to meet him for lunch ever since. Unfortunately, it's only open for lunch, M-F. I work during those hours, and have never been able to sneak away, until today. The chicken, mashed potatoes and peas I ate were DE-li-cious. I enjoyed the mom and pop feel the place had. I also enjoyed the fact that we were the only foreigners, and the clientele were definitely surprised. I walked through the park on my way home because the December weather was delightful. Paul and Nadia, my boss and his wife, had been out of town for the past week, so the three of us met for a beer at Loi (our favorite cafe) to catch up. It was so nice to hear that they both had nice trips to see their families back home.
3 Dec 2019
This morning started with coffee and Azerbaijani breakfast at Yoann (my co-worker's) flat. After catching up about our respective breaks (Kristin went to Bologna, Yoann to Istanbul and I to Vienna) we hopped on the bus for a day of tourism in Tirana. We first went to House of Leaves, a spy museum that was originally built as an obstetrics clinic in the 1930s. House of Leaves was used as the headquarters for the Sigurimi spy operations that infiltrated Albanian life during the communist era, from 1945-1991.
After the museum we went to Pazari i Ri to check out the food, tobacco, rug, and anything else you can imagine, vendors. Many locals shop and barter here
We then went to a cheap and delicious greek kebap house for lunch. We ordered pitas with tatziki, onions, tomatoes, pork and french fries for one dollar each! No wonder the place was packed.
After lunch we went to the Albanian History Museum. Upon entering I noticed two things: 1) there was very little English and 2) there were very many cracks! Not only were there massive cracks running top to bottom on many of the walls, there was a huge crack that separated the floor. I was incredibly uncomfortable with this, so decided to quickly make my way through the museum and then meet the others outside. That museum is definitely not worth anyone's 200 lek until it's earthquake proofed.
Finally, what would a day off be without a little bargain shopping? The last time we had an earthquake day Erin and I went to BerlinTexx but it was closed, so I crossed my fingers and hoped that today would be different. It was! I found some sweaters at bargain rates and now feel more confident in the variety of my cold weather clothing. Mark has a python meetup this evening, so I'll be doing laundry, unpacking, cleaning and above all else, trying to keep warm.
4 Dec 2019
Today I decided to play hostess and invite my coworkers for brunch. I made a French toast casserole and an egg casserole, both of which were very good but took much longer than expected to cook. Mark helped me open the table up which I was really appreciative about, because there ended up being more people than I thought. The best part was that a few of my coworkers from last year (who still live in Tirana but are not working with us) came by. It was such a nice way to spend the day, and a great way to distract myself. As a bonus we found out today that school won't resume until Tuesday, 10 December, which means this post is about to get a whole lot longer. Stay tuned!
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