Leavin' On a Jet Plane

Tomorrow I am taking off for the West, albeit not very far West. Just to London. I am meeting my parents in London and spending some time there and also in Paris. Should be a nice trip and I am looking forward to finding some things that can't be found here, mostly different kinds of food.

I have only left Albania for 10 days over the last year, and that was to travel in Eastern Europe, so it will be nice to spend a little time in some big cities out West.

I am hoping that this trip will also help me come back with a fresh perspective on Albania and my final year here. Living here, I feel like I continue to lose perspective of where I really am and the history of this place. Daily life kind of just numbs me a bit. I am reading a book on Albania right now and it is really making me re-reflect on this place. I guess I will write more about that when I get back and have my fresh perspective :)

Sheern out.

American Influence Part Deux

After I wrote my last entry, I realized that I left out a new development in the area of American influence in Albania. Starting about two weeks ago, "Pimp Juice" has started being advertised on TV and sold in stores. I guess it is a new kind of energy drink developed by the rapper Nelly. I don't really know if this is a drink anyone buys in the States, but they sure are pushing it here. It has two kinda funny taglines. The first is "Energy nga Nelly" which translates as "Energy by Nelly", and the second is "100% American". I guess if Pimp Juice is 100% American, then I better start staffing a roster for the streets.

Also, just saw this article, kind of funny. Gilbert Godfried has been named the world's unsexiest man. That's not really a title anyone aspires to.

Professional wrestling has become pretty popular here within the last year. One of the sports stations started showing wrestling each week about a month after I got here. Now you see t-shirts with wrestlers on them. Just yesterday I was walking down the street and I passed two little kids. The only part of their conversation I caught was the name "Big Show", one of the more popular wrestlers.

All of this just made me stop and think last night about how Albanians are influenced by America, so I've made a list, cause everyone likes lists. Especially Americans.

1) Media - This is of course at the top of the list. Albania gets the mainstream stuff like Eminem and Star Wars, but I've also seen some really random stuff. I think that the TV stations here get a really good price for undistributed b-movies. Two nights ago I watched some movie with Sean Astin and Stacey Keach. It was so bad, I can't believe people paid to have it made.

2) Politics - Like everywhere else, the U.S. government's opinion makes a difference in decisions here. Albania has around 100 soldiers stationed in Iraq (part of the far-reaching coalition).

3) Food - Coke, Pepsi, Nestle, General Mills...All of the major American multinational food companies are here.

4) Clothes - As with food, all of the major clothing companies are here too...Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Levi's, Polo, etc.

5) Missionaries - It's not difficult to find an American missionary in about every city you visit here. Tirana is full of them, and the LDS church has about 70 missionaries in Albania. In fact, the Mormons are building a big new church in Keneta.

6) English - It's kind of an indirect influence, but the domination of English as the emerging global language is certainly felt here.

7) Me - I suppose I am an American influence as well.

Life

For a variety of reasons, this has not been a very good week so far. This is one of those times that I kind of just wish that I was somewhere else. I guess life here just gets to be a little much sometimes. Needless to say, I have not been feeling particularly motivated to do much. I plan on changing that tomorrow however. Maybe actually get some work done.

I am really looking forward to the trip I am taking at the end of the month. I am meeting my parents in London and then heading to Paris. Should be a great trip. I have never been to either city, and it will be nice to be back in the Western world for a couple of weeks. It was kind of nice getting back to Albania after my last trip in Eastern Europe. How I will feel coming back this time is a complete mystery.

Anyway, this post has been semi-depressing, so here is a funny picture to cheer us all up.