Surface differences

View of my street in my PST community of Dobroshtë.

This post is going to be about all the surface-level differences I've personally seen or experienced in my PST community of Dobroshtë.  Many of these differences apply to most Albanians living here, but just remember that all families are different and my situation isn't always the same as everyone else's.  I'm sure I will notice way more once I become more integrated and comfortable with my family and with the town.  For now, enjoy these 8 differences.

1. Toilet paper. Toilet paper is disposed of in the trash can, so as not to clog the septic system.  This is why the trashcans have lids on them, otherwise it could become very smelly, very fast.  Now this issue of toilet paper disposal is only an issue if the family even uses toilet paper.  A volunteer in an Albanian village told us to bring some toilet paper with us, as there might not be some in our homes.  I told her I didn’t mind, as I got used to bidets and washing with water when I lived in Kuwait.  That’s not the case, however, and there typically isn’t even water available.  I can only assume that they wipe with their hands or don’t wipe at all...I’m not quite sure.  All I know is that there wasn’t any TP in my family’s home, but after the first day they put up a holder, and the second day they added TP to it.  Luckily our toilet was next to the bathtub and the shower head is attached to a hose...so it wasn’t an issue for me.  If I DID use the toilet paper, though, I would have to carry it, soiled, to the “trash can” (plastic bag) in my room...and that just seems unpleasant.  All that’s left to figure out is how to dry off afterwards, or if I just pull up my pants with butt water still on them.  Time will tell what I choose to do.

   

   Notice how there's no curtain or place to put the shower head. I try not splash water outside the tub, but it seems the my host siblings get water EVERYWHERE when they shower.

2. Gardens. Everyone here seems to have a garden.  The food we eat is pulled off the plants or dug up from the ground mere minutes before eating it.  My family has carrots, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, parsley, kiwis (yes, they grow here but won’t be ready until around November), figs, and apples.  I had never had a fresh, non-sugar coated fig before and they are absolutely delicious.  A lot of families have grapes and they are hands down the most delicious grapes I’ve ever eaten.  If I had grown up eating these tomatoes, I would’ve actually grown up eating them (they grossed me out up until about 6 years ago).  Part of the reason for all the food from the garden is because salaries here are low and in order to get by, people need the extra food or revenue (if they sell their produce).

   

   Our beautiful garden.

   

   Fresh-from-the-vine fig.

3. Çaj/Kafe. At all times of the day--during, before, after, and in between meals--we are drinking tea or coffee. I don’t drink coffee (I told them I was allergic), and so I just drink tea; I don’t know if the family normally does this or not, but I haven’t seen them drink any coffee since being here, they’ve only had tea.  I am SO glad that I forced myself to like tea. So. So. Happy.  [Yet another reason to eat/drink things until you like them. You never know when it’s culturally gonna come in handy.]  I think I will drink more tea in my first week here than I have in my entire life. In their tea, though, they put a TON of sugar. So much sugar. The first tea they made me (given to me in the same small glasses that they use in Kuwait) was so incredibly sweet, and I was glad to know it was just added sugar and not how the tea itself actually tasted.  Now I drink my tea without sugar, and they just don’t understand how I like it like that. I tell them it’s healthier and you can really taste the çaj [chai].  My host sister Amire even tried it with no sugar; no one believed her when she told them the next day because she has a major sweet tooth. 

   

   It's in little tea glasses just like in Kuwait.

4. Children. I see children all the time running around without supervision.  I know Americans can be overprotective of their children, but I’m talking about 3-5 year olds (mostly boys) just running around in packs and playing in the streets.  I don’t know how to feel about this just yet, and I don’t feel negatively about it, just a little surprised to see this. Plus I know I’m in a village so that could have something to do with it.  However I did see this at night in the neighboring (decently big) city of Tetovo, so it seems to just be part of the culture here.  I’ve been told that leaving children unsupervised happens in classrooms as well.

   

   What a great photobomb by Larry, a fellow PCT.

5. Çaj/Kafe. No, seriously. You don’t understand how much tea I’ve been offered and drank already...and it’s barely been a week.
6. Bukë. I will not only be consuming massive amounts of tea, but also massive amounts of (white) bread--though it is from a bakery.  With each meal I try and eat about 2-3 slices of bread.  I will put other foods on the bread or dip it in the main dish; if I don’t constantly have bread in my hand, mouth, or next to my plate, they seem to feel as though I’m starving myself and that must be encouraged to keep my will to live...so in reality I’ve probably eaten about 3-5 slices each meal to appease my host mother and father.  I’m sure I’ll find the right stew to bread ratio and eat the bread slower so as not to cause alarm. **Shout out to Deutschland for hands down having the best bread of any country I’ve visited thus far.**
   
7. Home decoration. The way the Albanians decorate their homes is very minimal.  Almost nothing is on their walls, very few pictures are out, and it just seems a little unfinished.  Carpet isn't installed the same as it is in the US: it's more just laid over floors and it sticks up in corners and on walls. I don't know if this is just my house or not, but most of the rooms just have lights without light fixtures and things just seem unfinished.  I'm still trying to get a feeling for how well off my family is or not, but I've talked to some of the other PCT's (Peace Corps Trainees) and they also say their homes also have a sense of being unfinished.  To sum it up, they just just aren't decorated.

   

   My awesome host sister Amire in the living room.

   
   

   

   Like an extra room for the fridge, freezer, some wardrobes, and washing machine.

   
   

   

   Do you see the pot stacked on the other pot? That's where the tea lives.

   
   

   

   My room.

8. Language. It’s hard to understand people here. It’s like they’re speaking another language or something.

   

   Host mom, Imërzat (I think that's how you spell it). She's so sweet and doesn't speak a lick of
   English...and we seem to have taken different charades courses, so it's hard to understand each other. It's getting easier, though.  Everyone keeps saying how crazy/funny she is, so I can't wait to actually start understand the little quips she keeps saying under her breath.

   
   

   

   Qemal [Chay-mall], my host father. The smiliest man ever. So kind, and quite funny. We like to communicate by laughing and pointing and not understanding each other.