27.6.08

Ta Durosh Vapen ne Durres

Well, after a lot of technical problems...I'm finally writing again.
We went and got our rental car, which was a completely new experience for me, since I've never rented a car...let alone in Albania. Except for that Hummer...that one time. Hrm...(HINT: I use rhetoric a lot.)
We took off from Tirana, picking up Arjona Kocillari from the train station. Arjona was nice enough to get us our hotel in Durres, and she happened to be in Tirana to finish some stuff for school. So, we gave her a ride back to Durres.
When we got to her house, we had lunch with the family, but since my internet went down, I couldn't look up her number for a bit, hence, I called her later than I promised, HENCE, she wasn't able to call ahead to her mom to say when we'd be there for lunch, **HeNcE**, we arrived while lunch was being started. Nice. We hung out and talked with the family for a few hours, and finally were able to sit down to lunch. The lunch was good, with a soup as the first course, which was followed by lamb and potatoes. Mmmhmmm. That's a good Albanian staple dish. It was delicious.
Arjona took us to our hotel, and I decided to do a xhiro (walk) with the fam. As if they hadn't walked enough, haha.
We went down to the Volga, and I showed them all sorts of things, like the War Museum (it was closed) and then down to the old church in the center. Poor thing has been beat up quite a bit since we left, and nobody takes care of the lawn now, so that stinks...
We continued our journey stopping at the mosque (we didn't enter this time...I've heard they aren't as friendly at that mosque...and we didn't hear the call to prayer either!! It's a good one there in Durres. In fact, either I'm so used to it I don't hear it, or they have stopped doing the call to prayer over the speakers. I think we've just missed it, because that would be stupid for them not to do it.
I next took them to the excavated Amphitheatre, where we got in for 10 percent of the normal cost for foreigners, thanks to my language. Okay, okay, I flirted with the nena. Are you happy? Geez, perverts. We enjoyed our time there, but I could tell my family was tired. You see, according to the news, at that time, it was about 44 degrees Celsius. Which is hot. Really hot.
Haha, we were sweating like...well, like Americans would sweat walking for hours in 112 degree weather with LOTS of humidity!! With my HD camera, (bling!), you can see the drops of sweat falling from my face--and I lived here for two years!!! The only reason I could imagine working in such conditions was because...well, we did. That's why.
Okay, enough of that. We finished at the Vollga (I've never had to spell it...) and stayed by the sea. No luck. Not a breeze of any sort. Whatev. I figured we'd now go to a sister's house that lived close by: Sister Gjoni. One of the sweetest ladies. Ever. This was the first house I didn't walk right to, because they redid some of the roads, and they're paved now, so I got lost because it wasn't all broken up. She wasn't home, so we had to make our meeting with the Agalliu family.
The plan was to eat dinner with them, but due to a lack of communication (I thought someone knew I would be with my family...), we all had smaller portions. That was okay though, because our lunch was huge. The Agalliu's gave us pastice and fergese, which was quite delightful. Olsi wasn't home (the older brother), but Bela gave us a good time. She's still quite the jokester, and she was blonde today.
We left a little later than I hoped--around 9.30, and I realized I didn't have the Risto's number. Stupid internet going out. I text my support group and got the number quickly. Little did I know, this was the daughter's number. Stela, the daughter, has been going to school at the Y-I for a few years now, and is engaged-to-be-married to another member in Durres in the Logan temple on the 6th of September. Well, her fiance, Enri, answered the phone, and I could've sworn he sounded just like Brother Risto. Haha. He gave Stela the phone quickly, and she informed me that her parents were not around. What?!
Well, they actually were on their way up the stairs, so she told me to come over. Wap, as soon as we got there: BAM, power goes out. Great, so they've fixed the power...except when I come back. Sheesh. Sister Risto told me it's because I'm light myself so we didn't need electricity. Oh. I love that woman. We had an amazing visit with them; Brother Risto has been battling heart problems for a few years now, and has been forbidden by his doctor to work, so basically on bedrest. He, of course, doesn't do ANYTHING his doctor says (okay, well, he does--it's a figure of speach) and he didn't take his medicine, and his condition isn't so great. But, he's strong, and a wonderful man to talk to.
About midnight, we decided we needed to take off, so we could get to the hotel and get to rest before we took off early in the morning to Berat and Fier.
I must say though, I'm such a good Albanian driver...

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