The most exciting–and sometimes intimidating–thing about my life in Albania is the fact that I wake up every morning not knowing what each day will bring. I can’t ever be sure of when I’ll come home, how I’ll feel, or what I will have accomplished (or not accomplished) from the time I leave the door. Most of the time, each day passes easily on to the next, but with little heartwarming or devastating or strange stories sprinkled throughout. It’s the little things, really, that make my life what it is here.

My first walk to school.

I have at least one ritual that I can rely on: the walk to school in the morning. I take the same route every day, pass the same buildings, see the same people, and dodge the same cars. It’s oddly comforting when everything else is so uncertain. So I’d like to share this, because…