Brady's Blog

When it rains it pours. I am pretty sure whoever first uttered these words looked into the future at Tirana this past week. It has not stopped raining it seems. I am from the high desert and thus am not attuned to this downpour of moisture. That and I really hate rain. It gets me wet. It gets my clothes wet. It gets everything I carry wet. And wet is not my biggest goal in life. Aside from the weather, becoming accustomed to the city is going quite well. I know where I am going whether it is work or church or Institute or home and I know where some of the good places to eat are. I just have to hope that no one stops me while I walk to try to talk to me. That won't work. Before coming to Albania, I was trying to learn a little Shqip (Albanian) so that I could impress the people around me with the fact that an American knows some of their language. Well, they aren't very impressed. Yes, I know some words and sentences but communicating has proven to be my biggest obstacle (...

Before I left my anxiety was pretty high and I told people that once Monday came around I would be pretty okay because I would be in the city safely, settled, and beginning to work. What I didn't expect was large amounts of rain and large amounts of cats. For those who saw the picture you already know the ending to the story but what is a story without a plot? It was a simple, easy morning and we did not have a meeting with our employer until 3pm so we took our time getting ready for the day. We were almost ready when the rain outside started to pick up and became quite heavy. In our apartment we could hear the rain and the wind well but what happened next was louder and more intense sounding. My first thought was that the wind was blowing pieces off of the roof or even a tornado. Thinking quick, I ran to a doorway to wait for it to blow over. Once the noise stopped all I could hear was the water running in the bathroom (my compatriot was taking a shower at the time) and a fain...

Jet lag and culture shock have officially set in and I have only been in the country for 24 hours. But my, what a place. If you have watched movies or seen TV about and second or third tier European cities, they are spot on in their depiction. I guess for movies it also seems like a top tier African city if that helps. If that doesn't help then allow me to attempt to explain the magic that is Tirana, Albania. Traveling into the city to get to my new home I learned about traffic. The main roads have lane lines that nobody really uses. It is an attempt at organization that isn't totally lost but isn't completely followed. In contrast to the large main streets are the tiny side streets that fits one car and one human in width. It is just enough for a car to get around a human that is walking, but forget about fitting two cars wide, won't happen. In my previous life of "first-world problems" everyone drove to the store bought everything they needed and returne...

So I haven't posted in a very long time on here. I tried starting a new blog which kinda failed because of my lack of time (and motivation though I will never admit that out loud). Also, reading past posts I became really emo. (If you have not read past posts, you aren't missing much and I don't recommend destroying your pristine image of me by clouding your mind with my past troubles.)  Yeah, sorry about that. I think I am better now though. Life with its supposed craziness brought me little excitement and thus not much to post about, or so I thought. So I didn't post. Now I have a life and a reason to write. I still make no promises on how often I will write as I have learned to not make promises I haven't kept previously. My reason to write is pretty simple: I, though not a hobbit, am embarking on an incredible journey! Like many hobbits, my life and lifestyle have not been akin to grandiose adventures and I have preferred stay in my little hobbit-hole of a...