Landing

We finally landed in Tirana @ 1:00AM Tirana time (7:00 PM East Coast US) after another 2.5 hour delay in Munich.  As we left the secure area, I saw a large crowd of people all peering into the doorway whenever it opened.  I knew we didn’t have that many people on our flight, so I was curious as to what they were all doing here at this time of night.  And then I remembered that this was protocol in Albania.  There were at least 10 people there for my husband and I alone.  In fact, my mother-in-law broke the barrier to come greet us before we even had a chance to get all the way to them.  Before I describe the emotional scene that followed, let me explain a little bit about exactly what it takes to meet someone at the airport in Albania.  First, not everyone has a car.  So you have to find a friend or family member that is willing and able to take you.  There’s no reliable internet, so you can’t really check to see if the flight is on time.  You can call the airport from your landline at home (cell phones are pay as you go and not everyone has one), but they may or may not have the most updated information.  There are not many flights into Tirana, so if a flight is going to get bumped, that’s the one.  So basically, you go to the airport and you wait.  And you hope that the plane hasn’t been bumped for the next day, or is possibly many hours late.  And you really hope that the friend that drove you there doesn’t have any other plans. 

Even with all that trouble, there were at least 10 people at the airport to greet us.  And when I say “greet” I mean the most amazing outpouring of love and excitement I think I’ve ever witnessed.  I say ‘witnessed’ but truly I was a part of it.  I was kissed and hugged and cried over, rocked to and fro, held onto tightly, sometimes by people I hadn’t even met yet.  I even cried some myself, I was so touched.  (I think Lifetime channel should install cameras in that terminal and broadcast the greetings as a sort of reality show. I think it would do really well.)  I looked over at my husband and saw that emotion I was talking about earlier.  There were tears in his eyes and he was choked up.  He too was being kissed and held in death grips (of joy!).  I was so happy for him at that moment, I was so overwhelmed myself, I could only imagine what he was feeling.  It was truly amazing. 

[End Scene]

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            The car ride home was 25 minutes, but it felt like longer as I had my husband leaning over me trying to look out every window at once.  The conversation was punctured with Albanian and went a little like this:

“Kristina, Look! That wasn’t there when I left!

…That building wasn’t built!

…That road is new!

…That used to be all fields!

…My grandfather built that building!

This was, of course, what he said to me in English.  What everyone else was saying in Albanian, I have no idea.  I just tried to look around and take it all in for what it was. Even though I couldn’t understand all of it, I could practically taste the nostalgia in his voice.  It was great to see him be excited and feel connected to something; to see the emotion in him.  I rubbed his back as he leaned over me once more.