Albanian Travels and Travails: Elbasan

Today is my second day in Albania.

On the 18th, we left Dulles International Airport at 6:50 PM and reached Vienna, Austria around noon. We took a one hour flight to Tirana at 4:00PM. I didn't sleep a wink throughout the entire trip. On the first plane, I re-watched Never Let Me Go and Home Alone while compiling music for my new iPod. During the second flight, I sat next to a young, tattooed Frenchman who was visiting his girlfriend in Tirana.

Surveying the land from above, I caught the glare of the sun off the wing. However, the country still presented itself as being very beautiful and varied in landscape: snow capped mountains, white sand beaches, green forest hills, orange-roofed villages, stony rivers, and patchy fields.

My first breath of Albanian air reminded me much of Goto (the Japanese island my father is from). It smells fresh, like chopped wood. Once we exited the airport, we were met with another familiarly nostalgic Japanese scent--a cloud of cigarette smoke.

We are staying at the Univers Hotel in Elbasan, a large city in the center or, as the mayor described it, at "the navel" of Albania. Below, is the view outside my window. The hotel has all the typical western amenities. Perhaps, it is different in that the internet is less reliable and you can't flush your toilet paper, but it's nothing to complain about. After a welcoming dinner of brussels sprout soup and fried river fish, I quickly fell asleep around eight or nine.

Out of the things that I didn't expect in Albania, what is probably most striking is the near-constant rave and techno music. It's playing outside now, started by at least nine this morning, bumped during breakfast, and was present pretty much any other time of day. Almost reminds reminds of being back in Isla Vista. Though it's not exactly my cup of tea, it may mean that my electronic music will be more appreciated than I expected.

The coffee here is potent. For my first cup, I used the dregs of two near-empty pots. It kind of reminds me of the stovetop espresso that we brewed in college: kinda thick, strong in flavor. When I get the chance, I'll talk about the coffee at length. Maybe, I'll even bring a notebook down to jot down some fresh impressions of tomorrow's cup. During my interview with the TEFL supervisor, we had a good laugh when he saw that my/our college radio program was called, "Black Coffee."

I'm going to shower and sleep soon, so I'll wrap this up. However, I'll quickly end by saying that the staff appear very reliable and the Albanian people have been nothing but warm and welcoming. The landscape is gorgeous. The produce is fresh and diverse. Best of all, the coffee is plentiful.