Author: Eni Mihilli

I can’t believe I’ve finished the second week of my internship, that’s 1/3 of the time that I’m here! This week was filled with new experiences. I added another project to the one that I was working on, and am now researching tour companies throughout Europe that we can contact about the new destinations in Albania for them to consider when creating their tour packages for clients. I’ve been working with a few of the other interns and office members on these projects. I love how collaborative everything at this office is–our director loves hearing our ideas and honestly takes them into consideration, and often times if our ideas are good, he lets us work on our own projects!

On the social side of the week, I spent most of the time hanging out with my family in Tirana. Throughout most of my life, I’ve only known my dad’s side of the family, so this week I was able to meet my mom’s side and spend time with them after work, which was a great experience. I spent the weekend in Tirana, relaxing and enjoying the city. The weather has finally improved, so I am appreciating the lack of rain!

Sadly, Amanda and Will have left us (for other internships, but Amanda will be back)! As a good-bye send off, we had a dinner at our house. I took the opportunity to cook some Albanian food, like “fergese” which is made with peppers, tomatoes and olive oil, and “pilaf” which is spiced rice. Siri also made onion shrimp which was yummy!

In the following week(s), I hope to do more work on my project and travel more! Next week, we the interns will hopefully be visiting my hometown and going into Macedonia as well!

Until next time,

Eni

This marks the end of my first week in Tirana! What a wonderful week it’s been. I was born in Pogradec, Albania and lived there until my family moved to the United States when I was eight years old. Although I’ve visited Albania almost every summer since then, I’ve spent little time in Tirana (sticking more to my hometown), so visiting and living in the capital of my home country has been amazing! This is the view from our apartment, and I love it.

My internship at the National Coastal Agency has been great so far. Our director, Auron Tare, is working to improve the tourism in Albania by managing the coastlines, as well as the island of Sazani, which he plans on turning into a sustainable tourist attraction and a research hub. The other interns I’m working with have been very helpful, especially given the fact that I was the last arrive in Albania this month and had to learn the ropes! Everyone has been very welcoming. My projects have included some translation work from Albanian to English, but I’ve been mostly helping to create a framework for reaching out to people and institutions that may be interested in conducting research on Sazani Island. My goal over the next week will be to reach out to various university programs that perform research and ask about their framework (such as the Bio Station and Camp Davis) in the hopes of creating these similar opportunities for students and universities in Sazani! Below is a photo of the boulevard we walk on to get to the office (which is just outside of the picture)!

The first weekend in Albania, I decided to go home and spend time with family. It’s been great seeing them. However, over the next few weeks, I’m hoping to join Auron and the other interns in exploring the coastlines and Sazani itself! This has been a great week, and I get the feeling that the rest of the summer will only top it! To say goodbye, I will leave you with my favorite food in Albania (and the reason that I keep coming back, my friends joke): it is called sufllaqe!