Things about Albania

I have realized that I have left out some vital parts of Albanian life. First, I never described what a furgon is. It is a large van, similar to a 16 seater. The drivers go fast and pick up people on the side of the road. Sometimes you are accompanied by farm animals and sometimes you feel like you are in a clown car because they try to shove as many people as possible into the furgon. Overall it is a cheap way to travel, but not always the most comfortable.

Another part of Albanian life that everyone needs to know about if they ever plan on a visit, is that Big Brother Albania is the television show of the country. It’s in its third season and it has its own tv channel. The show is literally on 24/7. Sometimes you just watch everyone in the Big Brother house sleep or read. It is quite an experience. There are some entertaining challenges, such as getting all of the eels out of their swimming pool. On Saturday, it looks more like the American version and you get the highlights and you vote for the contestant that you want off the show. This season, however, has opened up a large controversial dialogue throughout the country. The first gay contestant appeared in this season. LGBT marches went through his hometown of Luzhnja. This topic is very taboo in Albanian society, despite having a law, which strongly protects gay rights. Most people do not talk about it and find it shameful if someone in their family is a part of the LGBT community. So the show is bringing up an issue, which will help the country move forward and on to its goal of joining the EU.

Another thing that you will see a lot of in Albania are loads of fake flowers. They are all over in every room of every house. You rarely see real flowers in vases in the house. You will see donkeys and horse carts right next to clean new Mercedes-Benzs. You will see animals being led to slaughter or in some cases tied up outside of butcher shops. You will see people in Dolce and Gabana, but it will be one of two outfits that they own. It really is a country of contradictions. It is a mix of modern and ancient.