I’ve been saving this gem of a text message for months:
“She has a motorcycle in her bathroom!”
To explain: as volunteers, we rent houses/apartments/rooms – and every volunteer’s living situation is different. Cities differ, availability differs, landlords differ. In fact, Albania is plagued by the post-communist difficulties of sorting out property ownership – so renting is a really far-fetched concept for many folks. Landlords who live in Tirana come to town and ask to share the house for a few days while they’re on vacation (I’ll just stay in the spare bedroom, okay?), or ask to sub-let the space for a few weeks at a higher rental rate (can’t you just stay with some friends for a little while?), or leave personal possessions in the homes we rent (clothing – photos - motorcycles). It’s just different.
Back in May, Aimee and I met in a nearby town to help a new volunteer move into her house; while I was still 15 minutes away by furgon, she sent this text message. She does, in fact, have a motorcycle in her bathroom.
To be fair, it's a huge bathroom. Photo cred to Aimee D
