Youth Promote Albanian Culture

We have had the opportunity to do some traveling this past week and experience the culture even more. There were a few things that really stuck out. First, we saw people joining together doing their traditional dances. Now that might seem normal for some and maybe not even special, however,  what made this special was the fact that those dancing were all between the ages of 18 to 24. We were amazed to see the younger generation get together and outwardly show their appreciation for their culture. What made this even more memorable was that before the traditional dancing started there was modern music playing in an attempt to get everyone dancing and having a good time. However, it wasn’t until the traditional Albanian music started when everyone got up and started dancing.

If someone were to start playing traditional music back home we wouldn’t know what to do. Most would probably just wait to see what everyone else did, and odds are no one would know how to do the traditional dance. Even if there was one person that knew how to do the dance I doubt they would start dancing because it wouldn’t be the “cool” thing to do. It is sad to see parts of one’s culture die off; however, it is unlikely that the Albanians will ever let their culture die off. That is proven in the way the youth promote their own culture. 

Quality Food and Service in Tirane

In our time living in Tirane, we've had the wonderful opportunity to visit numerous restaurants, bakeries, and markets, each of which sport a wide range of freshly prepared, and very affordable, food. One universal feature here is the fact that no matter where you go to get food, you will always be treated with kindness and very efficient service.  Even at fast food restaurants, your food will be served to you directly by a waiter who will go out of his way to make sure you are treated properly. 

The food itself is some of  the finest we've ever had. There is a wide array of food types to choose from. Anything ranging from Italian to Arabic can be found in copious amounts throughout the city (there are even a few Mexican restaurants near the U.S. Embassy). No matter where you go, the food you order will almost always be prepared from materials fresh from the local markets.   

In the time we've spent out and about, neither of us have yet to go to a restaurant that has had poor food or service. We have always been treated with extreme kindness by the locals, and the language barrier has hardly been an issue. It's been very surprising for us to have such high quality food  so widely available and for very affordable prices. In the U.S., the same quality of food would cost a great deal more and would certainly not be as fresh nor as widely available as it is here in Tirane. We're definitely going to miss it when we return home.