Welcome to Albania!

We made it to Albania!!!

After hours and hours of traveling. We have finally made it! And let me tell you, it is absolutely beautiful here! We arrived in Tirana thinking that it was going to be bitterly cold. But, to our surprise it was SUPER warm! Like t-shirt and shorts warm! And as we made our way to Elbansan, our site for training, we passed through many types of ecosystems. From the beaches to the mountains. It was a beautiful sight to see. Could this really be my home for the next 27 months? Amazing!

But it wasn’t as smooth of a trip to get here as we thought it was going to be.

The group’s main problem happened when we tried to check into our flight with Luftansa in New York. Firstly, somehow the tickets that the Peace Corps staff gave us were not up-to-date. In other words, the ticket people weren’t accepting them. But we quickly got that figured out, thankfully. The biggest problem was that Luftansa was only allowing each person to bring one carry-on luggage, regardless if you were taking an additional purse or laptop bag. One bag means one bag only! And here we are, 30-something Peace Corps volunteers who have packed belongs to last us each two years in a foreign country and the Peace Corps only reimburses us for two checked bags. How the heck were we suppose to only bring ONE carry-on bag? So, some of the ticket counter people were charging us $100 for an extra checked bag. It was absolutely insane! And, the worse part was that no one knew who was going to be charged extra and who was going to slide by; it all depended on which counter called you up. It was like Russian Roulette with baggage. Most of us got by without paying extra, but there were about a handful of unlucky ones that had to pay the extra fee. It took A LOT longer than we had anticipated but thankfully our flight was still a few hours from departing. The good thing is that we all made it through. Plus, we all got to go on the same flight! Woohoo!

I think one of my favorite parts of the traveling day was when we were waiting for our flight to Germany in the JFK airport. While waiting, everyone was starving for some food, yet there were only like two small restaurants in the entire terminal. Almost the entire group ended up at the restaurant closest to our flight’s gate so we pushed together tables so that we formed a long line of tables, spreading straight through the middle of the entire restaurant. The funny part was that the cooks at the restaurant were on break till 2:00pm, about 30 minutes from when we sat down. So while we waited for that, we sat and got to know each other more. It was a grand ole time! The terminal definitely lit up after we arrive! We were so loud! In a good way of course. All you could hear is laughter; people really enjoying their time. It was great! I could tell that this was going to be a good group of people! 

As bad as the luggage situation with Luftansa is, they definitely made it up with their hospitality and service! I mean, oh my goodness! It felt like we were on a first-class airline! The flight attendants were constantly refilling our drinks, giving us yummy snacks, their meals were tasty and had a vegetarian option (always a plus!), and they had many free movies, tv shows, and radio stations to listen to. It was probably the best airline I have ever been on. Loved it!

When we made it to Albania, Rudy, the Safety & Security Coordinator was there to welcome us at the baggage claim! And, everyone’s baggage made it all the way to Albania! Yay! After gathering all of our bags, we made our way to the bus that would take us to our final stop, Elbansan. As we made our way to the bus about a handful of the Peace Corps staff were there to welcome us with huge smiles on their faces. I felt like a VIP

When we arrived to the hotel in Elbansan, we all were so excited to be done with traveling and to explore our new home for the next three months. We all hurried to get off the bus and to get our luggage up to our hotel rooms. As soon as we got off the bus, Ghenti, the Volunteer Training Coordinator, was there to greet us. 

The Peace Corps staff was so excited for us to arrive that they had plans for us as soon as we stepped off the bus. After dropping off our bags into our hotel rooms, they split us into groups and had a staff member give us a tour of the city. I was so tired from all the traveling that I didn’t really take in too much of the surroundings. But it was nice to get some exercise after sitting down for so many hours. Elbansan is a pretty neat city, from what I saw of it. The city is kind of built around this the walls of an old, beautiful castle. There’s lots of coffee shops, bars, and other small businesses. It’s a lot different than other Europian cities I have seen. Not as much of the cobblestone, fancy street lamps, and pigeons you see in most cities in Europe. But I can definitely see myself getting use to a city like this. 

After the city walk, we got an hour break before dinner. Both Ian and I crashed! We didn’t even have to try. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out. Luckily, I have a good biological clock and I woke up just in time for dinner.  At dinner, the Peace Corps staff gave us our new cell phones and gave us many announcements about the days to come. Like I said before, you could tell they were excited for us to be there. We even got to meet the major of Elbansan who wished us luck in our service. Unfortunately, all of us were so exhausted that I think we only retained like half the information. But at the same time, we were all so excited to be there. I think we all went to be at like 8:00pm that night. haha. 

The next two days were Orientation days. Lots of meetings and eating! With each meeting, I got more excited about starting my future projects. We even had some of the current volunteers serving in Albania to come talk to us about their service so far. All of them were so happy and encouraging. They kept telling us that Albania is like the all-star place to do Peace Corps service! Every volunteer here loves it and every volunteer elsewhere wishes they could be here. And the best part is that all Albanians LOVE the US! Ever since George Bush came to visit during his presidential term (which was the first time in history for a US president to step foot in Albania), Albanians adore Americans and almost wish that they could be the 51^st state. This is going to be an awesome experience!

Oh, and OMG, we started language classes! You won’t believe how long all these Albanian words are! I mean, like to say “Thank You”, you have to say “faleminderit.” That’s just one word! Not to mention that saying “Hello” is “Përshunditja!” Crazy Albanians! haha. But I must say, I’m really surprised at how quick all of us are catching on to the language. 

Now tomorrow is the big day...we are moving out of the hotel and into our host family houses! I’m nervous and excited to meet my host family. Surprisingly, Ian and I have the same host family which will definitely make the transition easier. I’m not sure what to expect but from what we’ve been told, I hear it’s most volunteer’s favorite part of PST (Pre-Service Training).  Wish me luck! :)