Spelling Albanian

They tell me Albanian is an easy language, as you pronounce the words just as they are written. So unlike English that has different pronunciations for the "ough" sound - "bought", "through", "enough", "cough", "thorough" and "bough" ( all these have different sounds!). - Albanian is far easier to pronounce and to spell.

Well, maybe not that easy!

The Trials of Shopping

Shopping is different from abroad, and you really need to have a lot of patience to shop in Albania.

There are some things that no matter how long I stay in Albania, I just can’t get used to.
I am referring to the form of “bartering” for a decent price.
Most shops don’t have prices. You have to ask the shop keeper how much the article costs.

So, you want to buy a new pair of shoes. You ask how much they are and then you have to haggle the price down. That is something I have never been used to and still am not used to. It is far easier just paying the price they ask for!

I have an uncle in Scotland that gets discount on all his purchases, even though there is no sale price. He always seems to get a bargain by asking for money off. No doubt he would get on great in Albania!

Me, I am resigned to be embarrassed at asking for money off. I just don’t do it. I get the feeling that the shopkeepers are looking at me thinking to themselves, “ This guy is foreign, he must have lots of money!”, and then I should ask for a couple of pounds off the price!?
( If I did that, then they would be probably thinking, “ Typical Scotsman!”)

Another difficulty is in the cost of an item.
Albanians still speak in the old money. So they will tell you the price is 20,000 lek when it is really only 2,000lek. This can still be very confusing. Especially when buying something like a painting that you really do not know how to value!

Then another most frustrating problem is when you come to pay for the item.
At times, just as as you are paying, someone will eneter the shop and ask the shopkeeper the price of an item, and the shopkeeper will leave you and go and serve the other person. I mean, he is adding up your bill, and you have your money in your hand, and someone comes in and says…
“A kilo of cheese please” and the shopkeeper stops adding up your bill and starts serving the other person.
I am left pulling my hair out!

Once you have got past these problems, you get your weekly shopping in plastic bags that have the strength to hold no more than a bunch of grapes and you can head off home again!

If you have purchased a new pair of shoes, then be prepared to be asked about 100 times - Where did you buy them and how much did they cost you!
Sometimes I get stopped by complete strangers in the street asking me about something I am carrying and where I bought it, and how much it cost!

Then on return to the house you will be asked - how much did you pay for the tomatoes or peppers, and why you bought apples that are “soft” and “bruised”!

Shopping – it seems to be gift that men are never born with, and never learn!

Rudi Vata

A new football season has begun, and so I think I will write a few words on Rudi Vata. The Albanian from Shkoder, played for my favourite team and in fact married a Scottish girl, and I believe they still live in Scotland, with their son.

Glasgow Celtic are my football team, and in fact probably my first ever realization of anything Albanian was the signing in 1992 of Rudi Vata for Celtic. Following a France- Albania football match in 1991, he and some other players left the stadium and went to police station and claimed political assylum.

Rudi played 55 times for Celtic, sometimes in midfield , but mostly at right back. Unfortunately, his career was not helped by breaking his wrist. Rudi then struggled to get back into the team.

Celtic by that time were under the management of Tommy Burns, and were pushing for their first trophy in 6 years. Rudi made it back into the team just before Celtic's semi-final.With the game at 0-0, Celtic scored late on from a header from a Rudi Vata free kick. It was probably just what he needed and he kept his place for the final. Celtic won the final 1-0 against Airdrie.

What will I remember Rudi for?
Maybe , for him running around the pitch celebrating the cup final win with a massive sombrero Mexican hat.
Or, maybe for a rather cruel comment in the fan magazine NTV, that said the following year that Rudi would get a good run in the Celtic team as soon as he got a decent haircut!
But, probably I will remember Rudi Vata for one of his four goals for Celtic. The one against Rangers, from a free kick in a 3-0 win for Celtic!

No matter who you are, or how many games you play for Celtic, you are always a hero if you score against Rangers!

World Record for Albania

An Albanian artist has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for a THIRD time, this time with a large mosaic constructed out of bottle corks.

Saimir Strati, 42, used more than 300,000 of the corks in the mosaic of a young man playing a guitar, measuring 12.94 metres wide by 7.1 metres high (39 by 21 feet).

"This work is dedicated to the Mediterranean spirit which is nourished by music, the sun and wine," Strati said at a ceremony to unveil his latest piece of artwork.

In September 2006, his first record was with the world's largest portrait made of nails, of Leonardo da Vinci. It required more than 500,000 nails.


In 2007 he was back with a mosaic using 500,000 toothpicks dedicated to Antonio Gaudi, the Spanish architect famous for constructions including Barcelona's Sagrada Familia church.


Now 300,000 corks for the guitarist!
(I'm just glad it wasn't my job to count how many corks or toothpicks that he used!!)

Truly a work of art, and fantastic creative imagination and hard work!
14 hours a day for 28 days!
Congratulations!

Wiki information here.
His own website here.
Some excellent photos of his work here.