Merigoesaround

This is what you more or less see when you get to Tirana from the airport. Political divergences between the municipality of Tirana (governed by the SP) and the central government (DP lead) are the cause behind this urban tragedy. I cross it everyday twice...and twice a day I feel the words "bad politics" over my shoulders. I wonder why the donor community, EC included, does nothing. I wonder why civil society remains silent. I can't help but wonder what PM Berisha thinks when his official car ventures in this bumpy tragedy on his way to the airport... Microchanges like this will be a real lesson to this country. And I believe the international community is covering its back ignoring this. "Il faut se couvrir"...dissent a Bruxelles. I do not believe in national/regional/local strategies anymore. Tell me where is the problem and what can we do to solve it. I hope you understand what I mean.

I am being ironic. I am developing an allergy to flat gigantic screens. Tirana must be the city in Europe with more flat screens per square km. Do Albanians know they are not playing in the World Cup? Am I in this mood because I can hear the masses screaming outside in the terrace of a bar besides my home? I think I am just annoyed by the huge constrast of Albania?! How can one be impervious to such visual (and emotional) ups and downs. One moment you are crossing a bridge that smells like dung, inhabited by Roma kids, a guy begging with no arms, an old lady with a depressed expression...and on the other side of the bridge the startling bar complex 'Taiwan' accommodates the masses, decorated with the most expensive white-leather sofas, teak tables and Illy capuccino...and flat screens in all directions. So, yesterday I decided to miss Spain-Tunisia match and attended one of the many cultural activities sponsored by donors and Embassies in Tirana. This was about experimental da...

Highlanders wear the oval one!

As my 28th anniversary approaches I think it is time to learn how to drive. To get a driving license. Since the hope of getting a Spanish one is fading year after year...I decided to get an Albanian one and try to drive around the world with it (well, with the international one that I will apply for after getting the Albanian). It is not clear at all whether I will be able to use the Albanian "patente" in EU member states. As a matter of fact, I think I am the first Spaniard in this situation. So, all started with the teacher hunting. I needed an Italian-speaking teacher with loads of pedagogy and patience. And I found him: Sokol. He lived 8 years in Italy, where he studied law. Upon his return to Albania he opened a driving school (Clash 2000) and a lawyers' buffet together with his brother. Wonderful Sokol is just the perfect person, funny, witty, patieeent. He told me that if I learn how to drive in Albania, I will drive in the wildest jungle, in the driest desert...ev...

Is this realistic? Probably not. Today I realized once more how lucky I am for being an EU member citizen. Life would be different if I were Bielorussian, Albanian, Moldovan or from one of the many countries with strict restrictions on visas and traveling of their nationals abroad. The first time I left Spain I was 17 and I went to the U.K. to improve my English skills. Erion, my landlord's son, has the exact same age, and the exact same purpose. But he is Albanian. The UK consulate rejected his visa application today. This is very wrong. To treat a 17 year old kid willing to have a great summer as a corrupt thug trying to do dirty businesses abroad is a big mistake. It makes people conscious about holding the right or the wrong passport...a passport is just a piece of paper that should not make the difference. Oh well, after all...I might be an idealist.