Ejona K. Albania. Week 3

The third week in Albania went by so fast. The work had been intense and the two other girls who are here with me have been working really hard. At work we have been translating a lot of documents and descriptions about different touristic destinations. We are learning so much about our country, our language and laws/ strategies through reading and translations. At the same time, after we talked with the Director of Marketing and Promotion of Tourism, we have suggested to make some changes in the Albanian tourism website, or fix the grammar and translate the material better. At the same time we suggested to add much more informations about several important cities/rivers/mountains/villages etc in the website so the people will have more choices. "Our Bosses" welcomed our suggestions and they will talk over them to see how we can implement the new strategies and our suggestions together. 

We also have been closely working and we are officially part of the team leaded from the Harvard Grad students and where are also part directors and tourism specialists. We are working on research how to make Karaburun Peninsula and Sazan Island two very developed and attractive tourist destinations in Albania. Currently there is no touristic development in any of the places. We are researching information to see how the infrastructure, water, power conditions are and what is the potential of those places  to grow and develop to hot turistic spots. 

Map of Albania...Zoomed in the part where Sazan and Karaburun is located. Albania has a very long coastline and rare natural beauty.

This is the island of Sazani, viewed from the shore. (I found this on the internet because we still have not had the chance to visit).

The work is intense but we have been able to create god relationship with the team, our leaders and other people who work in the ministry. Also we have built a lot of connections by working here and I hope to continue bein in touch with those people even when I return in the USA. 

This weekend we visited my city of birth: Korca. I went there for a few days to see my grandparents, but this time I went with Kledia nad Enxhi too. I wanted them to see where I was born and and raised. Korca is one of the most beautiful cities in Albania. It has old traditions and a very rich culture. The city is referred as the :Small Paris". It is a small city lying in the foot of Morava Mountain. It is very clean, fresh air, calm and with a charm like no other place. Characteristic of this city it is the narrow cobblestone paths in old neighborhoods and small balconies facing the street. This city is well known for his serenades, so years before lovers will grab their guitar and dedicate serenades to their girlfriends under their balcony/window. The reason we went this weekend was because it was the Carnival of Korca Festival. It was really pretty and it is a combination of Halloween and Mardi Gras. People especially the children, wearing different colorful costumes gathered to the city center and enjoyed the show and the music. It was amazing to be back home again!

Those are some pictures I took from the event's Facebook page (because for some reason I can't upload the pictures I took from my phone to my computer, which are pretty similar)