A different way of living

Today I want to clarify and explain some of the differences between my lifestyle in Albania and the United States. I personally like both ways of living even though they are significantly different from each other. I think the best way of describing the differences for me is by categorizing different aspects of day to day life. I'll start of first with my diet.

This is one of the categories I favor Albania in heavily. Over here I'm eating significantly more healthily. Not only is the food more fresh but it is also less fatty and has less sugar than what my typical meals would be like in the states. In the morning I will typically have toast with jelly and butter. For lunch I will have soup with spinach and a small cut of beef or chicken. In addition to the soup there is always bread, hot pepper, and cabbage as a side dish. For dinner a typical meal will be one of many options but for the sake of time (I'm going on a hike in a bit) ill give you three examples.

1. Rice with fish and bread. This is also usually served with wine or Raki (a strong Albania alcoholic drink).

2. Bean soup with bread. Served with a salad with Albanian lemons (they taste like a tarp Clementine), lettuce, green peppers, hot peppers, carrots etc.

3. Byrek with spinach. A byrek is basically a thin pie that has cheese and spinach in it. Typically in my house this is served in a large portion.

Sometimes my family and I will eat on our front porch. My house is very beautiful as it overlooks the many orange and olive trees in our front yard as well as a big lake.

Next ill talk about daily life in the house. Gas heat is not readily available in Albania. Instead there is wood stove heating for the house. Typically the stove is in the family room. This is where me and my family hang out after the day. We typically talk about what we ate for the day, what we did, and whats going on in the week for us. Me and my family are very close and I share everything with them except things Im not obligated to share due to government policy. My room is not heated but it is not a problem because I have a lot of blankets. Sometimes I get too warm with all  the blankets. Also its important to note that in most to every buildings there is no carpets but rather tiles. If you do not have shoes on you best be wearing slippers because the floor does get chilly.

Bathroom culture. Yes this will be a section. In Albania you do not flush toilet paper. It can clog the pipes and creating issues with the plumbing. Instead used toilet paper is discarded in the trash. This is something I have become very used to. Most toilets are either regular toilets or Turkish toilets. Turkish toilets are basically holes in the floor with two foot slots for you to stand on. I have not used one yet to do a number 2. Stay tuned.

Last Ill finish off with living with less internet. This is something that may surprise some of you back home. I enjoy living with less internet. Out here we get 2gs of internet data for the month before we cap out. I have already caped out due to watching the superbowl highlights on YouTube early in February at 6 in the morning Albanian time. Now I can only access the internet at Cafes in town. Which is typically for 45 minutes a day total. I found that this dilemma pulled me away from my phone and I am not on it as much. I love it.

That's all for now! See ya!

FYI: best ways to contact me are with facebook messager and whats app.

Update on my PST

Hello everyone! These last couple of weeks have been very busy for me. Not to mention that internet is not always accessible to me. I apologize for not posting sooner.

My PST site is becoming more and more familiar to me as time goes on. Much of my free time outside of PST is exploring the community I live in. Pretty much every other day I walk with other vollunteers in the main town area and out into the farmland of Albania. It's very beautiful here. My site is very modern in the town center and it feels like the further I walk out from the center the older it becomes. It isn't uncommon to see people riding mules and carriages around. The culture here is thousands of years old and it is clearly evident in the mannerisms of the people.

Time is viewed differently here. In America everything is rushed. People are always rushing to meet deadlines and move from one activity to the next. Here people take more time to be intimate with each other. It is acceptable and almost expected to be late due to catching up with colleagues and friends. Family coincidently is also much more intimate here. Throughout the day and night my host family is calling and receiving calls from their family members. In addition, the family spends most of their time together in one room. When I return from school, I spend multiple hours with my host family. We talk, watch T.V. and sometimes do homework together. They're very kind and helpful. I consider them my in country mom and dad and call them that. Over these past two weeks I've becoming better at talking with them. I can understand Shqip more and speak it a lot better. I can have basic conversations and explains general ideas. It's feels good to make progress with such a difficult language! Thats all for now until next time!

I'll try to upload some recent photos of me in Albania! You can also check out my facebook for more photos!