Albania--The Double-Headed Eagle has Landed!

Albanian flag

Months after making the decision and signing contracts in Albania, we have finally arrived! Tirana, Albania is our new home. If you're still wondering where on Earth (literally) we are, check out our last blog post which includes a handy little Google Map. Otherwise, more locally, we're in a great little neighborhood, tucked into a nice little apartment, a stone's throw away from restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and are happy as clams.

So we arrived six days ago, and haven't had a hiccup yet! *Knock wood* We were delightfully surprised when we wheeled ourselves through arrivals and noticed someone standing at the airport holding a sign with our names- That almost never happens! We are notoriously ripped off when it comes to negotiating airport taxis--We've come to accept it and have learned to let it go...along with our money. But this time there was no need! We jumped in our new school's van and were whisked off towards our new host-city, Tirana! While driving we received sim cards complete with activated cell plans and were informed that we were being taken to our new apartment. No time was being wasted.

We were a bit apprehensive about the apartment situation, as we had planned on spending some time over the next couple of days looking at different accommodations and checking out some different neighborhoods before we decided on a place to call home for the next two years. Through some meaningful eye contact in the darkness of the van's backseat we agreed not to take the apartment, as making a decision after 24 hours of travel and having only been in the country for about 20 minutes seemed a bit hasty. Welllll you know what, hasty decisions have often seemed to work out for us, and we're hoping this one does too--because we took the apartment. So, to recap, we've now been in the country for 25 minutes and have gotten our phone and apartment sorted (With immense help from our school, and our stellar abilities to make on-the-spot choices). We were feeling pretty good about the move!

Our new mini maison!

Wonders worth capturing
...at the time.

No such thing as jet lag!

Since we had sorted out some priorities pretty quickly, we decided that we would reward ourselves by continuing our summer vacation while chilling out in our non-refundable hotel (We went from being homeless to having two homes very quickly). We walked around the nice streets of Tirana's downtown neighborhoods, taking in first impressions. What strikes us as interesting in the first couple of days in a new place is always hilarious to look back on when you become more accustomed---In Korea we marveled at the mass variety of instant noodles in the grocery stores, in Malaysia we couldn't get over the size of flora the jungle produced...and in Albania, it's the coffee. There are cafes everywhere ...and boy, we've indulged. And with coffee comes pastries, with pastries comes the need to exercise, with exercise comes the need for more coffee, it's become a jittery cycle....even now, I'm typing at an extraordinary speed..WPM is off the charts!

On our quest to begin to get the lay of the land, we have been wandering. A lot. With Tirana's population of about 400,000 (compared to Kuala Lumpur's 7 million) the city feels pretty wide open for exploring! We've eaten a lot of great meals mainly consisting of grilled meat, cheese, tzatziki, tomatoes and peppers. We've frolicked in Skanderbeg Square, puzzled over the Pyramid of Tirana, lounged in parks, descended into a nuclear war bunker, ya know, the usual when exploring a post-communist country.

A huge shoutout to all the amazingly fresh food-Time to ditch the processed/frozen food section...with the exception of gelato of course ;)

The history of Skanderbeg Square is nothing I know of yet. However the very odd pyramid in the bottom right corner is a bit of a fun one--It was built in the late 1980's as a museum dedicated to communist leader Enver Hoxha; however since the collapse of communism in Albania in the early 1990's it has been used as a conference&expo centre, NATO headquarters, broadcasting centre...and now finally, a parking lot and vandalized, derelict jungle gym of sorts. Can't wait to see what's next for old pyramidy!

We came upon this ex-nuclear bunker turned museum called 'Bunk Art 2' dedicated to Albania's bleak history spanning between 1910-1990. Some pretty heavy stuff, and with only 1/2 hour until closing time, we did not do this museum or the contents justice, but certainly a glimpse into Albania's past.

Finally, we've had the obvious reminder that living in a foreign country often requires you to at least attempt to learn the language. In Malaysia we were spoiled and incredibly lazy when it came to learning Bahasa--We took full advantage of the fact that pretty much everyone spoke English as their second (or third or fourth) language, and learned an average of one phrase for each year we lived there---Yep, four phrases in four years. I know 🙍. Here in Albania, we've quickly come to realize that we're going to need to pick up the language-learning pace. So far we've successfully said 'thank you' or 'faleminderit', and are like two proud parrots repeating it everywhere we go. Next, who knows, maybe 'Hello'?

Alright, what was meant to be a quick little post, has resulted in the full blown ramblings of a heavily caffeinated, excited-to-be-here individual. Cheers to Albania!

Jumpa Lagi, Asia!

Change is afoot! When you follow the school-year calendar, June is always a wild, climatic and hectic time of deadlines, 'year-end' gatherings and flat-out energy. Of course this year will be no different. However after the cubbies have been cleaned out and the bulletin boards are taken down, we will not only be packing up for our annual summer bliss in Canada, we will also be packing and stacking boxes full of our accumulated chopsticks, elephant pants, saris, Buddha statues, lanterns and curry spices, and starting our next chapter in....Europe!

Ok 'Europe' is so vague, I know. More specifically, we will be joining a school in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. So where is Albania and why are we choosing to make it our next home away from home? Well, to start, Albania is sandwiched between Greece and Montenegro, with Macedonia to the East, and across the Adriatic Sea from Italy. Is that anymore clear? If not, don't fret...When we initially heard back from our new school, the first thing I did was plug Albania into the ol' Google Maps. To save you the time....

Alright, so why have we made this seemingly random choice? Well, all with good reason. After six years of enjoying all things Asian, Tyler and I were looking for a new experience both professionally and as travelers. We knew that we wanted to either make a try to fulfill a dream of living in Europe or head home to Canada. We also knew that we wanted to continue to work together at the same school, as well as continue to teach the I.B curriculum. Since we had that frustratingly special mix of quite specific to very general criteria, we decided to blanket both Europe and North America with resumes and wait to see what came back. We heard back from a number of schools, and after a bunch of interviews in half a dozen countries, we decided that the school in Albania sounded like it shared our values when it came to education. (The beauty of working for private schools is they are all different and can have a big range in focus and values...You gotta shop around!) Another big advantage to the school in Albania was it met three out of four of our search criteria. (...Sadly, Albania is not Canada's 13th province 😢)

So professionally, we're happy. Otherwise, what are the things we are looking forward to while living in Albania? Well, to start, we're very excited to have so many European countries at our doorstep, as this isn't an area of the world we've seen enough of--Three hour drive to Greece ✔, two hour ferry to Italy ✔, three hour flight to Switzerland or Spain (eh, Danielle? Ferran&Maria?) ✔. We are excited! Next, being one of the least developed countries in Europe, the cost of living is lower so we won't have the shock of our lives moving from Kuala Lumpur. Most importantly, the food- I predict that I will eat very little but cheese, bread, roasted peppers and pizza until Christmas. Of course, travel in Albania itself; --The curious post-Communist-esqueness, Mediterranean coastlines, mountains, lakes, winding goat-peppered roads..."get my driving gloves, Merla! We're buying a van!" And finally, four seasons! You can all remind me of this when I'm griping about the cold...but for now-- boots, scarves, coats, mitts, sweaters-- items steamy Malaysia would never allow for.
So until we get there and can see for ourselves, we can thank the internet and Lonely Planet for giving us a taste of what we're in for.

See you in August, Albania!
....And until then, we start to say goodbye to our beloved Malaysia, and I can tell ya, it's going to be oh-so-bittersweet.

Beautiful Boracay, Spring Break 2017

This was the second Spring Break we've spent in the lovely, sunny, picturesque Philippines. Although our last trip to El Nido started off a bit more dramatically, this time round it was smooth sailing all the way to Boracay.
Boracay is a bustling island. A very bustling and busy island. We had a great time, but I could understand why it may or may not be the spot for everyone's beach holiday. As our main goal was to unwind and relax, we went the low-key route and didn't get up to too much besides finding a pool or beach-side chair and reading a book. And how hard is it to fulfill those requirements anywhere while on vacation? Boracay's major leg up is that everywhere you look there is an unreal coastline staring back. So with little care to adventure too far, we basically rotated between three locations;

White Beach: As it turns out Koreans and Chinese tourists love the place! The main part of the island, White beach was seriously bumping when we headed down for sunset. Honestly, I was far more impressed by the sheer amount of people walking up and down the beach, than by anything else the beach had to offer. Besides Heaundae Beach in Busan, S. Korea at the height of summer, I've never seen so many people on a waterfront. It was amazing (in a contrary sort of way). White Beach wouldn't be the place you would go to find serenity. It is four kilometres of restaurants, bars and vendors catering to holiday-seekers. Lots of options for food--From local food, tiki bars, huge seafood buffets, Starbucks, Johnny Rockets and TGIFridays-- You can literally find everything there. As it's a pretty busy beach with lots of boat traffic, the water isn't great, however I was really impressed with how well the actual beach was kept! No garbage, no cars, strictly enforced smoking regulations...the quality of the sandy beach was great! We mostly moseyed down this way for an evening sunset cocktail and some dinner, but beyond that we were a bit skiddish of the crowds....

The sunset draws the crowds!

Puka Beach: A bit quieter, but still hustling and bustling, Puka Beach was where we set up shop for a few full days of sun, swim and sand. Puka Beach had stunning water and very little boat traffic, which again, for the amount of people there, has been impressively preserved and maintained. It was an ideal spot to grab a coconut and people watch. Conclusions drawn from a couple days of casually peering over the top of my book and catching a glimpse; 1. Everyone is happy at the beach. Once you've arrived at the beach, there's nothing else to do but splash about in the crystal clear water, push around some sand and lounge. Who wouldn't be happy? 2. A successful star jump group photo is tough, not for the faint-hearted, or those on a time constraint. 3. Western people like to bake in the sun (present company excluded) wearing as little as possible, while the majority of Asians do not. 4. It is extremely difficult to walk backwards on a crowded beach in the sand with a selfie-stick and not stumble---As proven by the lady who, as forecasted by Tyler, literally walked over me and ended up face-down, rolling in the sand (....she should've gotten her head out of the sand ! Har har har ). Initially I reacted with a blasé attitude, but once the lady had resumed her minute-by-minute vacation video, Tyler and I couldn't help but roll around laughing.

Our Hotel: We stayed at a hotel that was away from the heart of the tourist centre of the island (but to be honest there were tourists everywhere). We stayed at a big hotel that had a great pool, private little beach and was located on top of a hill, so beside working those calf muscles all week, we caught both the sunrise and sunset each day! With our duty-free bottle of rum and a bunch of great ham, cheese and rolls we bought at a deli in town, we were happy to post-up by the pool.

 

As you can see we did little else but hang by the pool, and wait for the never disappointing sunset.

Like I said, this was a week of lounging and relaxing, and when we do that we read...a lot! I'd like to recommend a few books for those looking for a decent narrative (nothing too mind-bending, just good stories that popped up at the airport bookstore). Summer is coming..Anyone have a good recommendation?