August: A Month of Mostly Waiting
July was such a whirlwind of activity - getting AC installed, collecting the necessary documents to file for residency, turning the 2nd bedroom into a dressing room / office, and a trip to Pogradecs. On July 29th, we turned in our rental car, and we slowed down.
Waiting for the House to Sell….
Since, we left the United States due to the chaos we knew Trump would inflict, we are not the least bit surprised that the real estate market is dead. Between tariffs, and laying off hundreds of thousands of government workers, there’s just too much turmoil and uncertainty for most people to make major moves.
Waiting for our Vespa to Ship….
Since you are not permitted to buy or register a vehicle until you have been granted permanent residency, we decided to ship our Vespa to rely on while we wait for residency to be granted. Oddly, you can bring in a vehicle that meets certain standards and drive it for six months, before being required to register it. Anyway, the shipping company told us it would take four to six weeks. They picked it up June 4th. We were worried it might arrive before we did.
We needn’t have worried, it sat in warehouse in New Jersey until August 21st. It’s suppose to arrive the first week in October.
Waiting for Residency to be Granted….
This would not be a huge concern, except for the aforementioned Vespa. We could not locate a shipping company that would bring it all the way to Albania. It’s going only as far as Italy. The plan was for my husband to fly to Italy and ride it back. So what’s the problem? Once you apply for residency, you can’t leave the country until residency is granted. Our residency applications were filed August 4th. The typical time for processing is 60 - 90 days. We are hoping for 60!
Waiting to Be Well….
There was a gnarly GI bug making the rounds this month. I got it, and on the four days later started feeling better. Dan came down with it the same day. About the time he started feeling better, I had a complete relapse. I’m still approaching all food related activities with caution.
No Longer Waiting!
We started Albanian language lessons! Twice a week for nine weeks. Albanians call their language Shqip (prounounced Ship). I am grateful that the letters and dipthongs make only one sound in Shqip, unlike English. We are studying with a teacher in Tiranë via Zoom. It’s working well, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
