My Birthday

My first birthday in Albania just passed. It turned into a two-day event and was a whole lot of fun. On my actual birthday, my friend Alicia came to visit me. We had a laid back day, where we wandered around town and had a couple coffees. That evening, we went to go watch a soccer game at the new caged soccer field in town. It is a beautiful synthetic field. This game was going to be a very special game to see because the girls in town decided that they were going to play. It was a first and I was so excited to see Albanian women breaking the stereotypes and breaking through the invisible glass ceiling, which stipulates that women do not play soccer. When we arrived to watch, however, several of the girls got cold feet and decided they didn’t want to play. So the remaining girls were trying to figure out how to get enough people in order to play the game. They allowed some boys in the game, but they really wanted girls, so they came and asked Alicia and me. I was completely unprepared, but said ok anyway. I was wearing a skirt and flip-flops (not quite the proper attire for playing a game of soccer). They put me in the goal, so I wouldn’t have to worry too much about my skirt flying up. I then kicked off my sandals and entered the game. It was so much fun! My team ended up winning. I saved every goal that was shot at my goal that was airborne. The three shots that remained on the ground, I missed (I need some help with my foot-eye coordination). It was a great game. There was a large crowed watching, who cheered for all of the women playing. I hope that it will be all women in the game next time and that this will become a regular game.

The next day, Fushe-Arrez was flooded with Americans. Two volunteers from Shkoder, three volunteers from Puke, and two volunteers from the south, plus one of Kumar’s friends from Istanbul, came to visit and celebrate. Kumar dug a fire-pit in his front yard and made some make shift benches. We roasted chicken and potatoes in the fire and then had watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, and most importantly brownies for dinner. It was delicious. We passed the American football and had a truly American birthday cookout. It was fantastic.

As I am talking about my American birthday, I feel that it is necessary to explain some differences between how Americans and Albanians celebrate. Unless Albanians throw a surprise party, the person whose birthday it is has to throw the party and pay for everyone who comes. If they invite people to coffee or lunch, they are expected to pay for everyone there. It is basically the complete opposite idea of how Americans celebrate. Some volunteers have had a big surprise when they have invited everyone to lunch because it was their birthday and then they had to pay for everyone’s lunch.