The other side of the Albanian postcard

Hi,
Living in a foreign country is a unique experience but on the other hand there are some difficulties. I'm lucky because Albanian people are very friendly and helpful, but sometimes it's not enough for living:) The country is not very far away to Turkey but the culture is very very different... Minds are very different. I can't find all the foods that I need, I can't find a foreign languages bookstore .. etc. In Turkey the city I lived (Istanbul) lives 24 hours a day, here is different, at 9 pm you can't see anybody in the streets. My husband and I like having a drink coffee or like this after a dinner, but at here we can't find anywhere open at this time.
If you'll live in a foreign country, you must find some friends from this country, if you want to used ofcourse:) But for searching different habbits, cultures, tradations and having a good relationship, living in a foreign country is the best challenge.
All the people live in a foreign country, must help eachother, it'll be greatful:)
Regards,

Elif

Hi Elif,

Thanks for your contribution 

I'm Albanian, but I have lived in Italy half my life (I do mean literaly half!) without even visiting for 10 years and now I've lived there for some months (first time since I was a teen), so my experience of Albania is sometimes that of home, sometimes that of a foreign place.

There are huge differences in Albania, despite being a small country, depending on where you are. The capital, Tirana, is quite modern (althought not exactly Paris, LOL) and you have basically all the facilities you might like, but it's still a poor country so a little less from what you can find in an EU country or USA. I mean, there are supermarkets and trade centers, but with less variety, there are cinemas, but not multiplexes... things like that. That is somewhat true for the coastal cities too, but the further you go from the capital and the coast the more poverty you'll see, less nightlife, less facilities of any kind. So the experience you'll have will depend very much from where you are.

I'll not comment in how we are as a people (kinda biased) except to say that we usually love foreigners so finding warm and friendly people that'll help you if you need it is not going be that much of a problem.

Traffic though... that can be an issue if you drive. I'm afraid many of my compatriots consider traffic rules more as "suggestions" that anything else.