(January 12th, 2017)

Journal Entry:

So this evening I decided to check out Albania for the weekend after hearing there wouldn’t be class tomorrow. Shortly after, I hopped onto the last local bus out of Greece, paid my 8 euros and was on my way. An hour or so later I found myself walking down a dark and icy road leading to the Albanian border. Upon my arrival I asked the customs agent how to say "hello" and "thank you" in Albanian considering I'd done about 10 mins of research leading up to this moment. He kindly interpreted the words then stepped outside the modest booth and continued the conversation, walking with me as I headed towards the buses that would ideally take me to Gjirokastër. About a hundredish yards beyond the border was a bar. Sam asked me if I wanted a drink, I said "sure" and within minutes I was having Coniac with an Albanian customs agent. It wasn't long into the conversation before he offered to give me a lift to Gjirokastër, a 30min drive away. I eventually accepted and found myself in a minivan he'd borrowed from a friend. After stalling it multiple times he finally got it started, almost immediately however, we were flagged down by a police officer due to smoke coming out of the car. He pulled over, ditched the van, and told me that the police officer would give us a ride the rest of the way and like that I was sandwiched between a customs agent and a police officer specializing in contraband. We talked about the illicit marijuana boom and their relationship with bordering countries. The moment was fascinating. The night was crisp. I couldn't help but smile as a peered out the humvee into a foggy night sky, thinking about my current life situation and the warm Albanian welcome.

Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing with my life, wandering around this earth the way I do and then I have nights like these....