Of course it seems that the bathroom facilities are the most notable. They had two buttons for flushing; big flush and little flush, makes perfect sense. Some even had a foot petal to flush, a germaphobe's dream come true.
In Albania, the bathrooms are completely open with a drain in the middle. The shower was a small square with no shower curtain. The toilet lid covered the seat and there was a cover over the toilet paper. The only thing missing was a squeegee to push all the water down the drain. I didn't have a problem with this set-up, however it seemed to be highly distressing to some of my fellow travelers.
Locks also operate differently. You put the key in with the flat part on the top and turn it two times. In the hotel rooms you had to leave the key in the door and lock yourself in if you wanted to have the door locked. If your room mate was out, you had to leave the door unlocked until they returned.
I have mentioned driving. One of the TIS administrators Ron mentioned that in Albania driving is new to everyone, which is an excellent point. This explains why traffic rules are merely a suggestion. What would be a four lane road is made into six or eight depending on how much traffic. But the funniest part was the honking. Yes, the honk in Italy like crazy, but it's more a move-it jerk, kinda honk. Not so in Albania. You honk because you're driving, you honk because the sun is shining, you honk because you are starting to move, you honk because you are stopping, you honk because you are driving past a pedestrian. We dubbed it the "Courtesy Toot". If it weren't for the fact that everyone has guns here in Texas, I would employ the courtesy toot. But alas, I would get involved in a road rage incident and possibly cease to exist. I do however love the phrase Courtesy Toot and will try to incorporate it into my speech at every possible opportunity. I get a giggle every time I try to say it. Say it with me...courtesy toot...bwahahaha!
A roundabout in the main drag in Tirane
0 comments:
Post a Comment