Going Home...Maybe

Greetings fellow readers! The day has finally come, the day I leave Albania to begin my journey home. I wanted to write 'Europe' there instead of Albania, but I guess this continent loves me too much to allow me to leave. Or something.
Shall I explain...
First of all, I should let everyone know that I've thoroughly enjoyed myself here. I spent two days traveling alone in Italy--more moving on trains than seeing stuff, but I met up with two friends--Zuleika Rossato and Giuseppe Armenise--on my excursion through Italy. They both showed great hospitality and helped me on my way. I also must say that Italy was easier to navigate the second time. Things just made more sense. So, I suppose that's a good thing.
I slept on the ferry again from Italy to Albania, only I thought that I would be smart to get the cheapest ticket and not a berth (read: sleep in a chair instead of a bed). Well, turns out that they close the big salon (yeah, where all the couches and nice chairs are) at night. I wandered out a little confused, thinking that there would still be some sort of chair to sit in. As soon as I got to the hall, I realized that I was quite mistaken. Everybody was in the hallway...sleeping on the ground. Haha. I went out to the deck and found a bench and fell asleep. I woke up at 2 in the a.m. absolutely FREEZING, and decided to go in to sleep on the ground.
I got to Durres and immediately went to visit some friends who fed me some breakfast, and then I met up with Gledi Peco. We went to the beach in Durres and then we went back to Tirana and went out at night to a venue. Yes, a venue.
The next day we woke up early and went to Dhermi with Edi Cuci. We swam there and had fun jumping off of rocks. The beach there is absolutely amazing. The bad thing is that hotels go for like 120 euro, a price Albanians are quite upset with. So we slept out on the beach. Man, it does get cold on the beach. It's so surprising because it's so hot here at this time. Anyway, after a freezing night, we woke up super early to catch a bus to go to church in Vlore. The bus was completely full and we had to stand up the entire way. I suppose only those that have been to Dhermiu really appreciate what we did. It's about an hour and a half of mountain roads. Anyway, we went to church and met with some people that night. The next day we did beaching in Vlore at a spot about twenty minutes from the port. Absolutely beautiful.
We stayed in Fier the next day and met some people then came home to Tirana. I went and met up with a good friend, Harbi Aliaj, and Gledi took a nap. After hanging out with Harbi, I went to go get MJAFT! shirts for some friends. Unfortunately, they had just had a party and given the shirts away (MJAFT! means ENOUGH! and it's an organization for change here in Albania). However, they gave me more posters and then invited me to do a radio interview on their new radio station. Haha. You know me, I accepted. They wanted to have a talk with an American MJAFT! supporter. I left quick to eat and I was supposed to be back at 4.45 to go to the studio, but the bus didn't come and so I was a few minutes late. They had already left, so I didn't end up doing to interview. I went and bought me a bag for luggage and some other Albanian food and stuff that I wanted.
Gledi, Tomi and I then went out for a night on the town. It was as we were returning home that I got a phone call I didn't want. Me mother called me and told me they had got a phone call from Orbitz--my flight was canceled out of Albania to Munich. Psh. Since my flight from Munich to the US was a different reservation, this screwed EVERYTHING up. So, after calling Orbitz and Delta, the only thing I could do was move my Delta reservation to the next day...for $477. What the crap, man? They wouldn't even waive the change of ticket fee of $200. So, I'll be complaining quite a bit to Orbitz and Lufthansa since they made me miss my original flight. Also, I'll enjoy another comfortable European night, this time in the Munich airport. Psh. The internet isn't even free there. And as of right now, my flight just got delayed again. Yay!
We'll see you all this weekend!!