I have been told that some would like to know what our living situation in Albania is, so I will try to describe that today. The description is pretty straight-forward, and may not be interesting to everyone, but I hope it answers some of the questions that people have.

When we first arrived in Albania, as a Fulbrighter Nancy had the luxury of the active support of the US embassy. This meant that the embassy had arranged for a realtor to show us some apartments that he felt would serve our needs. We only had two criteria, both of which were met by the first apartment he showed us. Those criteria were: location and sun. Knowing that our mode of transportation would be walking, we did not want Nancy to have to walk far to get to her classes at the University, and having heard about the cold, damp winter weather that lay ahead, sun was important.

We have now spent almost two months in our apartment, and are pleased with our choice. Regarding location, we look out of our bedroom window at the lawn of a dorm for high school students, while just across that lawn is the University. The walk for Nancy is about two minutes. Regarding sun, the morning sun shines full in our bedroom window, then moves around our apartment, shining through large windows, until it sets in the west in our full view.

We live in a corner apartment on the third floor of a 9 story building. Our windows and balcony overlook a busy street, the University and the US embassy. Our building has an elevator which works most of the time. Our apartment is furnished by IKEA, and probably recently. We have three rooms, each of which has a wall heater, plus a bathroom. All the floors are tile. Our bedroom furniture consists of one bed, a wardrobe and dresser, and one small bedside table. The middle room has one old table and an ironing board. Our kitchen has a table and 7 chairs, a couch and a TV table on which perches and old, and useless, TV. We have a refrigerator, a combination gas and electric stove, an oven, and a dishwasher. The bathroom has a sink, toilet (which fills so slowly that it always sounds like it is leaking), a tub, a clothes washing machine, and our electric hot water tank. The front door is a massive metal one, my guess is it is burglar-proof.

On the ground floor of our building are 6 café/clubs, one fast-food place, an internet site, a beauty parlor, a Western Union and money-exchange office, a defunct travel agency, and a small market. If we can not find what we want in the market, we go through an alley to a student-populated area full of internet sites, cafes, and small stores. Banks and ATM machines are just a couple minutes away. The walk to Tirana’s city center takes about 20 minutes, to the churches we attend about 10, and to the largest city park about 5. We have walked all around the city at all times and, except for traffic, have never felt at risk at all.

The down-sides (besides traffic)? Really not many. The water goes off once or twice a day, but predictably enough that you plan ahead. I’ve been told that the power will go off periodically in the winter, and if that happens the electric heaters will not work and it will get cold. The first several weeks here there were no lights in the outside corridors and the stairways were pretty dirty, but after a building-wide meeting things improved. We have no phone, but our cell phones work fine. Then there is the meager TV and no in-house internet, but for a price we could have either or both. Not having a car is an advantage as places are readily accessible on foot or cab, and who needs to deal with driving, parking, and gasoline, etc.

When we sold our house in Seattle we intentionally set about down-sizing. Here in Albania, although we have more than many in the world, we are living a down-sized life and it is good. We know that all that we have is given us by God, and we also know that we are accountable to him for how we use our things. When I see people living in large houses filled with things that are seldom used and with whole rooms that are almost never occuppied, I wonder. I think of the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19ff) and the awful fate of the one whose wealth was spent only on himself, and I think that we who have much need to heed this warning today. Maybe here in Albania Nancy and I are learning more about living simply and responsibly. Maybe that is one of the reasons we are here…