The good news and the bad news

Amazing views of Tirana

Slowly but surely I'm getting settled to Tirana. I have just moved away from the high school dormitories and now I live in a nice, big apartment. Quite ironically, and without any exaggeration, this is overwhelmingly the best apartment where I've ever lived. Yes, this is much, much better than any of the many apartments where I have lived in Glasgow or London. Luckily, the apartment is only a short walk away from my office, although I have to be extremely careful of those so annoying open manholes in the streets.

So what are the good and the bad news? The bad news is always-so-frustrating rejection after a job interview. This was not even a "real" job position but an internship. I feel like I'm now paying the big price for studying so much, and not caring about doing too many of those unpaid internships that-would-look-so-good-on-my-CV. If competition is this high into underpaid internships, what will it be when applying for the real jobs?

Then the good news (besides of my new apartment). I finally got the long-awaited results of my second master's degree and the grades really exceeded my expectations. So it looks like that my long (I mean very long) way towards applying for a PhD has taken one small, although significant step forward. I guess I'll be busy with proposal writing until January, probably longer. Now all thumbs up that my dream of doing a PhD will finally come true! Very good that I'm here in Albania, what a perfect place for inspiration!

Change Maker loves Tirana

Albania: Even more radical a change

 

After considering many, many options, I ended up choosing an AIESEC internship here in Tirana, Albania. I could have made my life radically easier if I had opted for an internship in good old Bosnia or in somewhere else in the former Yugoslavia. I mean I am now supposed to work in a country of which I know very little about; I have never been here before, I am mostly unfamiliar with the culture and customs, and after a few days I speak less than ten words of the local language (which is not related to any other language in the world). However, what attracted me in this internship was the opportunity to deliver an authentically Radical Change In My Life: a completely new situation in life, a completely new job in a completely new environment. As I have proven before, such shock therapy may result in enormous initial suffering, but after a while turns out to be the most rewarding and educating life experience.

I can honestly say that the radicalness in this change exceeded my expectations. It was indeed a really good idea to turn on an "adventure mode" before traveling here. I bet that 99% of my friends would have run away (and never come back) upon seeing my current accommodation. (I don't want to go too much into details in order not to shock anyone. As a hint, even the local Albanian girls hate it here. Some say even Albanian prisoners live in better conditions...) When I saw the showers I thought I had seen something similar before... Maybe in some film about Auschwitz or the Gulag.

Anyway, my initial impressions of Tirana and Albanian people are for the most part very positive. Am I right, is this an authentically liberal, secular and fast developing place? Or am I again buying into illusions of yet another Balkan town (and country)? Time will tell... Right now I truly hope that I don't soon find myself living in a country which is to become the dumping ground for the chemical weapons of Syria.

Once I get started, I will tell more about my job and my other (hopefully great) experiences here in Albania.

Time to go

Looks like the change I am going through is going to be even more radical than I first thought. I'm heading to a new country, I have never been there even as a tourist. Changing the country is never easy, and it is obviously even harder when I suddenly find myself in a new, strange environment where I must encounter with a new language, new customs and local bureaucracy. I know for sure (hopefully) where I'll be for the next three months, but what then? Such uncertainty is the reason why I have prepared myself for almost anything ranging from serious work to adventure traveling. Accordingly, I am taking a wide range of clothing and other items with me. How often do you see someone packing business suit into a travel rucksack, as I'm doing here?

I'm normally very seasoned in packing, but this time it has been anything but easy. First thing to consider: should I take a rucksack or a suitcase? Thinking about all the bumpy roads, narrow staircases, but first and foremost, my love of camping, I decided to go for a rucksack. Secondly, even though I have traveled many times, my long trips have usually taken place in the summer, when one obviously needs much less warm clothing. Squeezing all the winter clothing and shoes into the rucksack was quite tough, especially considering that I need clothes both for work and leisure time. Still have to practice for serious business packing (if I ever find myself in such a position...)

Where I'm going and what I'm going to do will be the topic of my next post.