Spring Break Roadie '18

Disclaimer: We are wholeheartedly aware that we have fallen off the figurative and literal map since moving to Albania. I'd like to say that we have been overwhelmingly busy but its just not true. We've spent the better part of a year hibernating from our first winter in 4 years, lounging around the cafes in Tirana, watching a lot of Netflix, diligently going to school, and intermittently having some pretty sweet vacations. So in truest Canadian fashion...'Sorry!', we'll do better at keeping up with our favourite folks and know that we genuinely miss and love ya'll! 

How to sum up the last 8 months..well let me work backwards starting with our most recent Spring Break road trip. We kicked off the trip by picking up our friend Hutchy from the airport--You might recognize Hutchy from various past Asian adventures. He's hilarious, a Positive Pete and the ultimate 'Yes-man'...not to mention a constant friend, neighbor and travel bud from the good ol' Malaysian days.

When you're late for the airport pickup...Hutchy is Here!!

The next day we had our rental car, we had our Hutchy, we had 11 days off school--Time to hit the road!

We covered some ground!

We left school on Thursday afternoon and headed south towards Himarë, Albania. We had heard a lot

about the Southern coast of Albania and have been itching for the weather to turn in order to begin to check it out. We had also heard a lot about the Mount Cika pass and that it wasn't for the queasy-prone travelers. With precision, Tyler navigated up and over the mountain, and way beyond our expectations or any description we had heard, the coastline, vistas and panoramas were stunningly beautiful! The sparkling water, the craggy mountains, the heaven-meets-earth kinda sunset, wow! After rolling into Himarë, having our bellies filled with delicious shrimp saganaki and raki (homemade plum/grape liquor similar in taste to a fine lighter fluid) and hitting up all the nightlife a beach-town, off-season Thursday evening  can offer, we were buzzing--Off open roads and unreal scenery, of course.

With a 9 hours trek across Northern Greece to the Turkish border ahead of us, we hit the road thinking our mountain driving trails were behind us. Well, the Albanian road towards the the Greek boarder was nothing but unanticipated mountainous scenery (have I already mentioned how surprisingly beautiful it was?!). Following the Ceraunian Mountain range, the road was never-ending switchbacks, climbing way up only to come winding down the other side. The Ionian Sea and relatively untouched coastline were amazing! If we didn't have a bus to catch on the Greek/Turkey border we would have easily been caught up on the coast for our entire trip.  But onward! After being held up at the Greek border (to be fair, Tyler is a very suspicious looking character), we put the pedal to the metal and drove across the all of Northern Greece.

Blasting these pictures because it was just that beautiful!

Why the manic dash to the boarder? Well, we wanted to head to Istanbul to spend the weekend with our friends Serkan and Anastasiya. The only hitch was our rental car didn't have the insurance to go into Turkey. You would think this detail would dissuade us. But, no. Instead we found the closest boarder town in Greece, abandoned the car and booked a bus ticket across the border. Easy peazy...or so we thought.
After arriving in Alexandroupoli at 10pm, finding the bus stop and having a healthy portion of slouvaki, we were eagerly awaiting the 2am bus. We were assured that it would arrive sometime before 3am by the very confident and seemingly helpful parking attendant. Spirits were high as the rounds of time-busting charades rolled on, but when 3:15am ticked by, we were definitely weary and deflated. When we asked the previously valiant parking attendant about the status of the bus, he simply said 'I think you missed the bus.' Uhhhhh...You mean the bus you said would definitely come to the spot we've been standing for the last hour and half?? Without offering anymore explanation, we returned to our car and had a choice to make; Find a hotel for a couple or hours or sleep in the car. Hoping to catch another bus asap, we opted to sleep in our car. The three of us. In a Ford Focus. It was cozy...and possibly farty by the time we 'checked out'. The next day we did not make a quick getaway, but instead forcibly waited until the afternoon to get the bus. We were so so happy to see that bus roll up and finally have a sleep.

A journey through our temporary homelessness.

Fast forward a few hours and we were drinking cocktails and loving life with our dear friends Serkan and Anastasiya in Istanbul! After some bevvies, we headed out to check out Serkan's neighborhood, Ortaköy. With its bumping bars and restaurants, iconic mosque and sweet view of the Bosphorus Bridge, we rambled about. Finally, with our bellies stuffed full of kebab, we were all so happy to lay down in actual beds and sleep.

The next day was Tyler's 30th birthday! We started the day with an amazing Turkish breakfast---which is seriously the best breakfast of any culture we have checked out thus far---meats cheeses, olives, honey, breads, fruits, oh my! The best. After which we trekked down the bank of the Bosphorus to a tulip festival happening. Next up more primo cocktails a la Serkan's bar and a dip down to Beşiktaş area for some drinks and dinner.

The next day while Serkan and Anna were at work, the three of us hit up a couple of the tourist hotspots in the old city; Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern and the Grand Bazaar. As the traffic is so bad in Istanbul we were loving catching the ferries to get to and from Serkan's neighborhood-- We even saw two dolphins out for their morning swim in the sun---Istanbul Magic!

So a reaaalllyy long time ago the Hagia Sofia was originally built as a Greek Orthodox Christian Cathedral under the Byzantine Empire. It burned down a couple of times and the third attempt (the one standing today) was completed in 537. Then the Romans came, then the Byzantines came back and finally the Ottomans rolled into town and decided the Hagia Sofia would become a mosque. Although lots of changes had been made to make it mosque-esque, the mosaics of its Cathedral days still remain. Now that I've just condensed 1500 years of history into 4 sentences....let's move on.

Next up, the Blue Mosque. Obviously a mosque built with a lot of blue materials. Built to outshine the Hagia Sofia, which is just across the way. Both impressive buildings, you make the call.
Then down to the depths of the damp Basilica Cistern , basically a huge underground cathedral-like dungeon used for water filtration in the days of Constantinople. Figuratively and metaphorically, very cool. Featured in the final scene of Inferno (not important, but a film that was later featured in a Smet/Harwood family movie night)

Then out for a little gander at the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world. Said to be the oldest shopping mall in the world, there is literally mountains of everything you could ever want in these shops. The spices, dishes and lanterns, oh my! If only shipping was free, our house would be looking like a Turkish palace.

Riding the Bosphorus with the dolphins!

After which we got back on the midnight bus back to Alexandropolis to get our car. We arrived at 3:30am, and instead of sleeping in the car again, we decided to hit the road towards Athens. With Tyler taking the first driving shift, and Hutchy asleep in the backseat we decided to make our best effort for Athens (who needs to sleep?). It was all going so well until about 6am when we desperately needed a gas station to open up, and we couldn't keep our eyes open. We pulled over for a 45 minute nap, refueled our bodies and automobile and soldiered on.

Our hard-work paid off, because we were chilling by the rooftop pool in Athens with a beer in hand by 1:00pm. Riding our one-drink, amnesia-fueled buzz, we made our best efforts to get out of the hotel and soak up the city. Instead we weaved through the touristy neighborhood of Plaka and soaked up a lot of wine and calamari. To say we were K.Oed by 9pm is an understatement. The next couple of days we wandered around the ruins and tried to unweave our fleeting knowledge about the Spartans, Alexander the Great, Greek Gods and general history surrounding ancient civilizations. Thank goodness for Google because none of us had retained anything from those high school textbooks.

Pickled. 

The Acropolis of Athens...from the 5th century B.C. To be honest, I still do really know. It's just too much. I do know that relative recent years (in 1800) a British dude heisted a bunch of sculptures and took them back to England where they remain today. The modern-day court case will be the plot of Hutchy's next Hollywood flick. Stay tuned!

Next up was a little resort time in Patras, a city on the northern shores of Kalamata Island (of course the island is named after olives..or maybe the olives were named after the island?) We checked in and hit up the seaside tavernas. After a long afternoon of calamari and wine, we couldn't resist the lemon trees anymore and went for a little glean. Being a huge lemon meringue pie fan, I was crushed to find no one was baking lemon desserts, serving lemonade, or even offering a slice in our water. Come on guys--- Coming from towns who base their yearly calendars around Apple Fest and Chocolate Fest, when life gives you lemons, you make a weekend out of it!

As the week was quickly dwindling away, we started our way north, crossing the boarder into Macedonia to check out the lovely save touristy town of Lake Orhid. A beautiful picture-perfect lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains and fresh fresh air was a perfect way to sew up a pretty busy holiday.

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.