Taking Off in a Pandemic

If you are wondering why we are not locked in our house in Albuquerque, here is my reasoning: We could spend the next year in Albuquerque sitting at home with no jobs, no school and nothing to do but watch the news or we could spend the year in Europe where the virus situation is more under control and the cost of living is less expensive.

Where are we? Albania! My favorite place! We spent a month here in the summer of 2018 and loved it. It is also one of the few countries open to Americans (Serbia and North Macedonia are the other ones). We also considered Greece with the hope they would open to Americans. Unfortunately, if Greece does open for us it will require a COVID test taken within either 48 or 72 hours of arrival. It seems that in the US it is not possible to get results this quickly. Will we stay in Albania the entire year? I can’t say. But it is unlikely we will return to the US before next summer.

There are pros and cons to living anywhere in the world and I have found that wherever I am living there is something I am always missing from somewhere else, whether it’s family, weather, Cockta or Costco. So I don’t expect a year in Europe to be perfect, but it will be an adventure. It was just a bit too easy to live in a comfortable house in a comfortable routine. While we might miss a few things, I believe the experience will be one in which we learn some new things and form some interesting memories.

The plane trip here was kind of tiring, but wearing a mask for 20 hours (changing every 4) was not as bad as I would have thought. I was a bit disappointed in enforcement though as I noticed that a number of people at the airport in Dallas were walking around without masks. One Texan even got off the plane in London without a mask (where signs are posted threatening fines for the maskless), but nobody did anything except steer clear of him (and that might just have been because he was a Texan).

How did my friends and family react when I told them I was leaving (again)? Most just shrugged their shoulders. At this point, I believe, it doesn’t surprise anyone when I decide on doing something odd. I did get a couple of negative reactions: “What?? It’s dangerous!” Also some positive: “Great idea to go now!” It’s neither one of these. It’s a difficult time to travel but it does feel safer in Europe. We don’t have to worry about sending the kids back to school (they’re doing it online), but we do have to miss out on some great restaurants and activities because of the pandemic.

NG is starting fourth grade online with her teacher and classmates back in Albuquerque. So far it is going great from Europe, although since it is live learning this means she is in class until quite late at night. She has been eager to move to Europe permanently as she likes that we go out more in Europe. Also, the beaches. Maybe most importantly the ice cream.

ND is starting tenth grade with some challenging courses like Calculus and Latin. He would have been hesitant to leave, but after a sad spring without baseball, friends or school he was ready to go.

Tola likes trying new foods, learning new languages and meeting new people so she will definitely enjoy Albania as it is interesting in all of these respects.

As for me: it is an adventure, somewhere.