Social Observations of Albania

As promised, a longer post today. We’ve begun work at the site. We scouted Butrint pretty extensively before I came, but all our work only revealed the tip of the beautiful iceberg that is this site. Pictures are forthcoming, but I can only say that this colony should be added to the list of Caesar’s best accomplishments, as he could not have picked a more picturesque site.

We’ve already had many interactions with the Albanians, and there is much to write about them as a people. Their language is a strange combination of Slavic vocabulary, and Roman grammar. It functions on the case system, no doubt do to Latin and Greek influence, but the words don’t follow the patterns of the Romance languages. The Muslims controlled this area during the Byzantine era, and the communists during the Second World War, and the language is a byproduct of this mixed heritage. Like some other languages, they go up in tone the longer they speak, with the result that if they speak about the weather for longer than five minutes they are yelling in each other's faces. I can’t decipher it, but those who can assure me they aren’t always arguing.

The older generations aren’t very well educated; if at all, and they often make mistakes when they are hired to help us at the site. I’m learning a greater appreciation for the value of education, and can understand why those who are uneducated are considered stupid. These men aren’t dumb, but many can’t read and those who can are dyslexics, and so they are unable to perform some of the tasks we ask them to do. The way it works on the site is that every item found has a specific number in relation to where it was found, as well as a number specific to that item. We had them sort by the first number yesterday by 100s, so all the 1500s went in one pile and all the 1600s in another. We had to then go back and check their work, and we found nearly 30 bags that were in the wrong piles. Any kindergartener in the states could figure out this matching, but these grown men were unable to, due to a combination of translation issues, lack of number knowledge, and learning problems like dyslexia. They’re not stupid, just suffering from a poor system. It was definitely a strange experience, and makes me value the power of education.

Despite some problems with translation, the people here really have an inner beauty. We were invited to attend a wedding party for a mixed couple (the groom is Canadian, the bride Albanian) and it was really a fun evening. The Hite men tend to come alive for wedding celebrations and cause some laughs, and I didn’t disappoint. The Albanian weddings aren’t tied to any sort of faith, but they celebrate in their own way. The week before the wedding is one pick party, culminating in a vigil ceremony that starts at 10 pm and goes till 10 am. We attended the party the night before the wedding, and joined in the festivities. The bride’s family was there, and they offered us drinks and toasted with us to the happy couple. Some members at wedding parties are all the same, and there were at least two drunken uncles representing at this particularly party. We followed the toasts by dancing traditional Albanian wedding dances, which I joined in with full merriment. This is a time for joy, and you could really see it on everyone’s faces. True to my own family traditions, whenever the bride was leading the dancing line, I made sure to hop in when the others went to refill their glasses or ducked under cover when it started to rain. A good time was had by all, and it was interesting to see the blending of cultures. The bride’s family went inside after the dancing to eat, leaving the bride and the Americans to switch music from traditional songs to the Beatles and get our jam on. I wish them all the happiness in the world, but if their marriage is half as much fun as the parties before, they won’t need too much luck to make it work.

           

Continuing in the vein of social observations, I thought I would discuss the Albanians foreign beliefs. First and foremost, they love the United States. Wherever flags are displayed it always goes Albanian flag, EU flag, US flag. They consider us their saviors due to the conflict in Kosovo, and they stereotype us as being a country of rock and roll, success for everyone, and a white picket fence for everyone. Secondly, they have little religious devotion. The country has been controlled by Muslims, Pagans, Christians and everyone in between, leaving a void in religious devotion following the country's independence. We spend some time in one of the local bars hanging out, and the Albanian bartender, who is a friend of the team and speaks excellent English, was surprised when I said I was Roman Catholic. His first question was whether I was against abortion. I said absolutely, and he laughed at me. He said that that has never been an issue in Albania, and that there’s no such thing as rules against it. Furthermore, it isn’t even considered odd to know people who have had abortions, and there is little shame in it. Definitely a different world, but more on that later.

I made it to a ‘mass’ today. I ran into an American girl on Peace Corps at the bar last night, and she said there was a bus that ran from Ksamil, where I am, to Sarande, where the church is. I took this bus, wound up in Sarande, and proceeded to spend 45 minutes trying to find the church. The Albanians didn’t know what a church was, even when I gave them the Albanian word for it and drew a cross, and when I finally found someone; they directed me to a building that had a cross on top. I entered the sanctuary at 9:45 for a 9:30 mass, and upon seeing a crucifix and pictures of the saints, I assumed I was at a mass, despite the Albanian being spoken at the front of the ‘church.’ However, there was no semblance of readings, the priest spent the mass behind a curtain, and rolls were handed out to everyone at the end of mass, without any sort of blessing ceremony before distributing them. Upon leaving the church, I was handed a bulletin in Greek, so I’m assuming I stumbled upon a Greek orthodox church. I will try again next Sunday.

That’s all for now. My parents want to know what I’m eating, so I’ll do a weekly list for everyone’s viewing. Breakfast is rarely served, and lunch is always tortillas, so I’ll just list dinner.

Thursday-Corfu-Calamari

Friday- Albania- Goat ribs

Saturday-Albania-Stuffed peppers

Sunday- Shrimp for Lunch and Octopus for Dinner