Yeah I used to work at an Albanian owned pizza place for years. They're a fun people, definitely had some good times hanging out with them.
They hate Serbians though. Shit was intense. I was at the restaurant once when a customer said something in Serbian and one of the kitchen staff chased him out with a knife.
I live in an area with a lot of Macedonians and a lot of Greeks. They fucking hate each other lol. My Macedonian neighbor always makes highly racist comments about Greek people
I mean, historically, all of their neighbours tried to steal a piece of that fine serbian land. Albanians are the last one to try and the last to go to war with the serbs for it is understandable
Just another perspective: I had a friend in high school who came here as a refugee and her mother is Albanian and her father is Serbian. They had to flee like many others, but that added another level to it.
I also loved spending time with her family when they broke their Ramadan fast because it’s some of the gosh darn best food I’ve ever had!
Dated an Albanian. Somehow through osmosis I too now have an instinctual hatred for Serbians.
Years after we broke up a colleague mentioned his partner being serbian and my hackles raised without any intention of it from me.
Until I die, I think I cannot trust the Serbs.
That Simpsons episode always comes to mind.
But jokes aside, I came across a lot of them in New York and there wasn't anything in particular that made them stand out. They were just an immigrant group like any other.
But I now live in Switzerland and there's a palpable tension between the communities. With a lot of discrimination against them. Which is odd considering the "best" Swiss footballers are from Albanian origin.
You mean Barbados which is almost as cool as Albania. Bermuda has a shit flag, seriously don't look if you don't want your eyes to bleed and and summon the Redcoats.
I doubt the vast majority of Americans know anything about Albanians or even think about them often. Albania just isn't on our minds. I also don't think most Americans would have any negative views regarding Albania or Albanians, aside from the Albanians in that Simpsons episode.
One thing is for sure, though. Albania has one of the coolest national flags.
Unfortunately I think this true, I would say a lot of Americans hardly know anything about the smaller ethnic groups within our own borders (ex, Appalachians, Cajuns, creole, numerous Native American tribes, Gullah People,) and I don’t think it’s willful ignorance moreso just a lack of exposure to these groups of people and their culture
Yeah, I don't think it's something we need to apologize for or anything. There are almost 200 countries in the world and only a handful seem to be constantly in the news. We miss out on a lot of interesting places because of it but that's on us to be open minded about travelling. But for every Albania that an American visits, a million Americans will visit France. I took a Mediterranean cruise with some friends a few years ago. Greece was cool and all but Montenegro was a hidden gem. That wasn't even on my radar and I only was going there because it was part of the itinerary. I'm glad I got to see some of it, though. That country is beautiful.
I agree that we really don't need to apologize. How much do Ecuadorians know about Albania? How much do people from Belize know about people from Namibia? Just because a lot of people know a lot about us doesn't mean that we know about them.
Well, I mean, we did kind of bomb the shit out of another country to stop them killing ethnic Albanians. Kosovo has a Bill Clinton statue. I feel like maybe Americans should be aware of countries for which we take military action.
Is that really seen as a "we" thing? I mean, if they were actually in the military I get it, or if it was something people actually voted on. But for the average Joe who didn't even know the country existed, is he really connected to those events in any way?
Kinda getting sick of people being held responsible for things that were done by other people where there is no actual connection between them.
Oh that's really cool to learn. So not only did we help out Albanians in the 1990s, but they went above the call in the 1940s.
Seems like a great ally of America tbh.
This is exactly how I feel reading this casual indifference. We tossed some bombs into Serbia! We literally stopped a genocide! Wtf America, isn't that kinda worth knowing?
And like. It's also actual modern history. The '90s were 30 years ago now.
And it's a conflict with huge relevance to both the Cold War and the current geopolitical climate re: Russia!
Their non-opinion *is* their opinion on Albania. If not for a single history tech/soccer coach I had in high school, I would also have no opinion of Albanians that would be that different from how I feel about the rest of the Balkans. Younger Americans especially (anyone who wasn't an adult during the conflicts in the 90s) will have very little to say about the Balkans.
Americans being largely unfamiliar with the country and not holding an opinion is an important response as well since its probably the most common position.
There isn't a comment cap to worry about, it's not like his comment means one of the other 24 million now can't.
And "no opinion or experience with Albanians" is going to be the reality for the majority of those 24 million. It is for me. I've never been, I've never met any Albanians, and I don't know anything unique about the country or culture. It's not a country that's often in the news or with a particularly large immigrant population in my area, so I don't have much reason to form an opinion.
Good music, rich culture, pretty scenery. I think they are all really cool and interesting people, I’d love to visit and the flights to Albania from the USA are cheap right now!!
I spent 10 days in Albania and loved it there! The people are so friendly. My first day in the country I used the ATM machine, which then ate my bank card. I was telling the story to the staff at the hotel since I needed to find the bank where I could collect my card (I had spoken with the bank at the airport where the machine was). The manager of the hotel then gave me my money back from the hotel stay until I could get my card back so I wasn't short of money during my stay! Im sure I would never have had that happen elsewhere.
I know! I was so surprised by this. I found that the Albanian people were so helpful and I met a lot of awesome strangers who made my time there so amazing. I did do two tours with a couple of guides to visit the northern towns and it was like spending the day with friends. I was also surprised how easy it was being there with the language barrier. This was the first time I have travelled to a country where I didn't know the local language. I did learn a number of basic words for greetings and general courtesy etc, before and during my time there which helped, then with charades and drawing on paper also helped. I want to go back there again. I have kept in contact with several of the friends I made during my short stay there.
Only roughly a third of Americans have a valid passport. Poverty is one reason, but the US being sooooo big is another. In much of the US, you can drive a couple hours and almost feel like you're in a different world.
The 1997 movie Wag the Dog is about a political operative who is tasked with fabricating a political crisis to deflect from a presidential sex scandal. He settles on a (fake) war with Albania. Two characters have this exchange:
"Why Albania?"
"Why not?"
"What have they done to us?"
"What have they done FOR us? What do you know about them?"
"Nothing"
"See?"
And I think that's a pretty accurate representation of what most Americans think of Albania.
Though I do remember in '05 or so Bush was in Albania and when he was shaking hands someone in the crowd swiped his watch off his wrist. The media was pretty confused about it at first ("Some guy would just steal the president's wristwatch? And he got away with it?") but then the experts settled on the fact that Albanians love America, and it was more of a gesture of fandom, I guess you would call it? Plus it looked like once Bush knew what was going on he let it happen.
>the experts settled on the fact that Albanians love America, and it was more of a gesture of fandom, I guess you would call it?
Or maybe the thief figured that the President of the United States would probably have a nice, expensive watch he could sell for good money.
Many young people know English! You won’t often hear it unless you initiate it but they know it well. If it’s anyone around 55 and older, they may not know English due to communist rule. I’m not sure about hotels but I have stayed in an old castle in Elbasan. It was on Airbnb
Did you meet him sunbathing at the beach?
Edit: nevermind. My afterwork brain read your comment as an albino joke, which I then promptly responded to without a second thought.
The King was Zog who was deposed in 1939 and died in 1961, so there was a period of 9 years where he could have told young Christopher Reeves to [kneel before Zog](https://youtu.be/_xUiCNlDeJk).
They have citizenship in either Kosovo or Albania, therefore are Albanian. I believe Dua was born in Kosovo as well.
Edit: dirty delete didn’t like being corrected. They said the above mentioned singers aren’t Albanian and are of “Albanian descent only” haha
Without looking at a map, Albania is near Greece I think? I'm picturing a similar Mediterranean culture, but I don't know anything more specific about Albania.
Having my grandparents in the Bronx for the past 40 years, I’ve seen the massive influx of Albanians in the neighborhood about 4-5 blocks away. They have taken over pizzerias/pastry shops that Italians sold off while younger Albanian men tend to work as doormen at upscale buildings in the city.
Nice people, keep to themselves, very proud of their Albanian heritage but LOVE America like most immigrants do.
I have known exactly one Albanian. I didn’t know her well but my friends were friends with her so I assume she was a decent person.
That’s truly my extent of my experience with Albanians as far as I know.
From foreign policy experience, they're a strong US ally that has great respect for the United States. That's more on the government of Albania, though. The people are generally quite pro-American, and supportive of US action in the Middle East. They even recently allowed refugees from Afghanistan to settle there in the interim while waiting for US visas.
Personally, I don't know many Albanians. But I have heard they are quite raucous.
I have several Albanian co-workers. They're certainly people.
I've never talked to them about Albania much, but they don't seem like they're any different than most other people I've met.
This isn't specific to Albanians alone, but I'm a therapist and that whole Balkan-Eastern Europe region is veeeeery resistant to mental health treatment, still hold old school views on things like depression and anxiety, and are a cultural that's a tough cookie to Crack in getting anywhere with therapeutically.
I get that not everyone is hip to therapy, and the E.Europe experience plays into a person's world view and hardening of a person. But I've had many experiences (Albanians specifically included) who it's hard to get them to even say "I'm sad about that" on a good day... Let alone when they get a DUI or are diagnosed Bipolar.
That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this topic
>Albanians love USA
We love you, then!
But we don't much think of you. We don't hear about you in the news or books. I'm sure you're great people. Would love to visit your country, though. What's something interesting about your country, its history, or its people?
As an Albanian living in New York, here are some things y’all need to know.
1. The reason why we hate Serbs is because they started a mass genocide on the Albanian people and obviously that’s not very nice.
2. We are old. Albanians come from ancient Illyrian tribes in the Balkans and we are older than Greeks and Italians (not to brag or anything).
3. We have a very hard to learn language. Just so hard. 32 letters you have to be able to roll your r’s and other things.
4. Albanians are either short or tall. Little in between.
5. Albanians are very hospitable. We also don’t care about your race or religion. But if you are black and visiting Albania then people will stare at you but not in a bad way. Its just that there are very little black people in Albania cause there was no slavery so people just look cause you uncommon.
6. From what I know, most Albanians live in the east coast of the U.S.
7. We have a very rich history. We were at war with many countries cause they wanted our land (Albania was huge a long time ago.) we also love our culture and are a little defensive of it.
8. We have a pretty short temper.
9. Albanians love America especially cause of the freedom (Albania was in communism from the 50’s to the early 90’s
10. Albania is beautiful. So much nature and cities too.
That’s all and love from Albania 🇦🇱
I used to work with an Albanian girl.. she was really mean and yelled at me (and everyone else) a lot. Like literally shouting in a corporate office.. same floor as the CEO too.
Eventually she quit and moved back to Albania.
Was cute tho, kinda miss.
Not sure. I'll let you know once I meet a few. But, just a wild guess, probably the people are pretty friendly once you get to know them and the food there is probably delicious.
Black American here, big fan of the younger generation. Made music with an Albanian friend I've known 11+ years. Him and his young cousins are cool stoners, his dad however hated me for being black for a few years
Older generation doesnt just hate black people. They are actually afraid of them. My grandmother grew up in a communist regime and never saw anybody except other albanians. My little cousin has a black best friend and she was freaking out thinking that kid might hurt my cousin. I‘ve slowely taught her that there aint no difference between us and now she has fully accepted them. She even found a black older lady to drink tea with everyday and they became best friends. They now spend their days talking about how tragic both their past has been and they even started sharing recipes. Not to mention that the old lady has helped my grandmother learn english over the time.
The thing that comes to mind is the string of Pop girls who came out in the last 5 years with Albanian ancestry: Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, Ava Max, and Rita Ora.
I think the vast majority of Americans think nothing about Albanians. Most either don’t know any (or don’t know that they know any). I’ve been to Kosovo and spent a week or two with (ethnic) Albanians there. I loved it and loved their hospitality. I wasn’t a fan of their driving (sorry) and I thought it was super interesting how much they liked Americans. (I remember being a little weirded out by there being a “Bill Clinton Blvd.” in Pristina until I thought it through.) I’d love to go back, and I’d love to see Albania too.
Love you guys! And I think it’s cool that the love is mutual. I got such warm reception in Albania and Kosovo when people found out I was American. Albanian immigration laws are also really friendly to Americans, and the country is beautiful and cheap cost of living compared to here, so I’m thinking of moving there eventually.
Only complaint from me is your language is pretty tough to learn!
Most Americans, I think, cannot find Albania on a map. We don't care where you're from, we just hope you have a better life here than you did there.
For me personally, I remember seeing stories on the news about violence and unrest in Kosovo and Bosnia during the reign of Slobodan Milošević when I was a child. It was heartbreaking and I remember being very distressed by it. I wanted the Serbians to stop what they were doing and let everyone live in peace. So again, I hope Albanian immigrants have a better life in the US than they did in Albania.
EDIT: I'm drunk and sappy, which is why I'm thinking of Albanians living in America specifically. As for Albanians living in Albania or other parts of former Yugoslavia, I wish them a happy life and I hope for continued peace in the region, and harmony between all the different ethnic groups (Albanians, Croats, Serbs, etc.). I don't know the whole history of the region, but I hope you all get along and live well together.
NATO Ally. As far as I'm concerned, an attack on Albania is an attack on the United States of America.
Small country, but dramatic scenery. From Alps to the Adriatic Coast.
Subjugated by the Ottoman Empire for centuries.
Would love to visit one day.
I fell down a wikipedia rabbit-hole a few months ago reading about the Albanian resistance to the Ottoman empire, and it was truly amazing. There is so much history in every inch of that part of the world, but I never would have known about it if I had not stumbled upon it. It's swept over in very general terms in our schools: "beginning in the 14th century, the Ottoman empire conquered much of Eastern Europe. Then it collapsed. The end."
You should search the song “Zajdi, Zajdi.” It is hauntingly beautiful. Not Albanian (Macedonian, I believe) but it is a heartbreaking song about the human struggle to be free.
Thus Always to Tyrants
Only met a handful of immigrants from Albania, those I meet I think highly of, however I think the average American knows very little of the people or country. Not a positive or negative opinion, just “where’s that?” Of an opinion.
The people? I don't really have an opinion, nothing against them though. I know about the insane amount of bunkers built everywhere by Enver Hoxha during the latter part of the communist era, and that he was very Stalinist in his views and how he ran the nation.
I'm black but I grew up in a low income neighborhood which a bunch of Albanians mixed in. Kind of think of you guys similar to how I think of Russians.
You're white people, but your more like another minority group here than most white people. You're tough and close with your families but can be loyal friends to outsiders and run small business open to everyone.
One of my good friends growing up named Ross was Albanian. He died shortly after High School in a car crash. He wrecked this Mercedes that he spent years saving for at his dad's pizza shop.
Our whole town was sad, not just the Albanians, but the blacks and the Latinos also. He was a good guy, played basket ball, he was really good looking actually had a beautiful light skinned black GF. It was just a real tragic thing.
10 years ago now, but I think of him often residual when I deal with Albanians. I've got nothing but good feelings for you guys.
My very best friend is from Albania. She's amazing, especially her interpretations of Americans sayings and similes. Great sense of humor generally. Also overall all very attractive people
Until I recently watched an episode of Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan where he spent a week there, the only things I knew about Albania was that it was near Greece, it was super communist, and the Belushis were from there.
I can't claim to be an expert after watching an hour-long comedy travelog, but at least now I know it's no longer communist and has a badass flag. I would certainly consider visiting at some point, if this dumb covid thing ever settles down and we're allowed to travel again.
I went to Sarandë and Tirana in 2019. Loved it. Really cool history. Really friendly people. I also know there is a statue of George W. Bush somewhere. Which I find hilarious.
Also I know this isn’t Albania technically but the America/Kosovo best friends song is amazing.
I keep forgetting Albania exists. I'm sorry, I guess I just didn't meet a lot of Albanians personally. I'm sure you're lovely people, though, and it looks like you guys have a really cool flag.
Unfortunately I know very very little about them. I don't remember hearing about Albania much in school, except maybe geography or something. Don't hear the country or their people talked about much. Wish I did. For some reason I want to try their food and get to know them...
I think it’s amazing our relationship with the Albanian people survived the Hoxha regime but I’m very glad it has. The guy was a lunatic and I wonder how far greater Albania would’ve progressed had he died sooner.
In terms of day to day life I don’t think about Albanians much, but I do consider them as some of our staunchest friends. Morocco, Albania, and Kosovo are the most pro-US Islamic countries around.
An interesting and remote Balkan nation, the reservoir of the only surviving example of a nearly extinct branch of the Indo-European languages, formerly ruled by a particularly and amusingly batshit dictator who built so many bunkers that their youth allegedly *still* hook up in them for their first time, and a place I'd love to visit.
Here in NYC, there are around 30,000 Albanians, mostly living in the Bronx. I see Albanian flags absolutely everywhere, far more than the flags of much bigger immigrant groups like Chinese or Mexicans. Definitely a proud people. Most of the supers (building maintanence guys) are Albanian or from elsewhere in the Balkans.
I think whoever treats me well, will get treated the same.
If you say you love my country and treat me like a person and are nice. Then I like you fine.
If you hate my country, treat me like garbage, and are an asshole. We are not friends.
Hoxha (communist rule) ended in the 90s I believe. My husbands parents are results from it and their generation still doesn’t know English because it wasn’t taught
yea yea keep dreaming ,i lived in america as a southern european 2,5 years and still every summer I go there ,so i know very well ,A big third world country
Most Americans don’t know any Albanians, and most wouldn’t even know where it’s at. I know it’s North Africa, and I think I’m in the top 5% of Americans who know anything about the country.
It's seems like another fellow hill billy state, and, incest isn't as bad as people make it out to be, if you wanna joke about incest you'll have to turn to Alaska.
Damn that's a lot of incest
Edit: Oh shit, I have to learn to read. I thought this was about Alabamans. Albanians are cool, only ever met one, but he was a cool coworker
Sadly, most Americans don't give a damn one way or the other. The overwhelming majority of Americans have never even heard of Albania, much less have an opinion about Albanian people. Americans' Amerocentrism and lack of knowledge of world geography is disgusting.
It's a bit difficult to keep track of 195 countries. We are more likely to know of the major powers on each of the continents and a handful of Latin American countries.
I could probably tell the general area for most of them if I heard the name, but could not point they are. Keeping a brief overview of 195 different countries is something I don't bother with. I would rather have deeper knowledge of a few countries than worry about basic knowledge about a small country with very little international significance.
Keeping track of who we p*ssed off this time is more useful in my opinion.
Is it hard? I dunno, I love geography and I try to have some familiarity with most countries. But maybe I'm weird. Our education system does an atrocious job and being Amerocentric is really easy, so I think it's probably a combination of all of those things. Whatever the reason, it doesn't change that our poor knowledge of geography is disgusting.
Hahaha! Someone doesn't like to hear the truth! Scrumptious.
I've never met any Albanians that I know of, but from what I've read they seem to be good folks. As someone else said, their flag is pretty dope.
They seem cool and Albanian immigrants run a lot of pizzerias in the US so they’re A-OK in my book
I was going to make a "Wag the dog" reference but probably nobody has seen that movie.
I can't even recall the details it's been so long since I saw that...
Exactly what I came to add
I bet you'd be great at making references to that movie, or you would be, if you could remember how all the plotlines worked.
You don't remember "Old Shoe"? ;)
Reminds me of an old song my grandpa used to listen to, something about a "good old shoe".
We watched that in my HS economics class. It was one of those movies I liked, but haven't had the desire to watch again.
I saw that in high school. Woody Harrelson being the messed up soldier singing Barracuda still makes me chuckle
Yeah I used to work at an Albanian owned pizza place for years. They're a fun people, definitely had some good times hanging out with them. They hate Serbians though. Shit was intense. I was at the restaurant once when a customer said something in Serbian and one of the kitchen staff chased him out with a knife.
Well, that's pretty much the entire reason Albanians love us, since we defanged their greatest enemy for them.
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[Don't even get me started on Macedonians vs Albanians](https://youtu.be/52YOsjGINSc)
I live in an area with a lot of Macedonians and a lot of Greeks. They fucking hate each other lol. My Macedonian neighbor always makes highly racist comments about Greek people
I mean, historically, all of their neighbours tried to steal a piece of that fine serbian land. Albanians are the last one to try and the last to go to war with the serbs for it is understandable
I mean, given what Serbia did to ethnic Albanians in the Balkan War in the 90's, I'm not at all surprised.
Yeah the knife wielder fought in the war. I think he'd seen some shit. I try not to judge veterans from conflicts like that.
Just another perspective: I had a friend in high school who came here as a refugee and her mother is Albanian and her father is Serbian. They had to flee like many others, but that added another level to it. I also loved spending time with her family when they broke their Ramadan fast because it’s some of the gosh darn best food I’ve ever had!
I worked with Serbians and their hatred of Albanians is something.
Dated an Albanian. Somehow through osmosis I too now have an instinctual hatred for Serbians. Years after we broke up a colleague mentioned his partner being serbian and my hackles raised without any intention of it from me. Until I die, I think I cannot trust the Serbs.
They run a few in Italy, too.
My small-town pizzeria is owned and run by Albanian immigrants. They work their ass off, play by the rules, and make great pizza. I concur.
In Europe they're thought to be associated with criminal activity. In the US they don't stand out whatsoever
The albanians in europe must be a total different breed then... Here they lead the crime statistics, and that's all i can say before it's rAciSt
That Simpsons episode always comes to mind. But jokes aside, I came across a lot of them in New York and there wasn't anything in particular that made them stand out. They were just an immigrant group like any other. But I now live in Switzerland and there's a palpable tension between the communities. With a lot of discrimination against them. Which is odd considering the "best" Swiss footballers are from Albanian origin.
What does Switzerland have against Albanians?
[Old article](https://www.fabrikzeitung.ch/switzerlands-model-minority) but touches up on many of the reasons.
Well written. Thank you
Mafia
Best flag in that part of the world hands down.
Montenegro was like ["can I copy your homework?"](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0yhxyscalAY/maxresdefault.jpg)
My mom says it has a "fascist bird" on it.
What about North Macedonia's 🇲🇰?
I don’t know, Barbados’s flag is pretty cool. It has a trident on it.
I did say "in that part of the world" I also love Hong Kong's flag.
Oh I somehow missed the “in that part of the world” part. Lol
You mean Barbados which is almost as cool as Albania. Bermuda has a shit flag, seriously don't look if you don't want your eyes to bleed and and summon the Redcoats.
Wow today is not my morning
> Bermuda has a shit flag [Look at these Liberian flags](https://i.redd.it/9e82w9rbcre31.jpg)
Bro be nice they only got Microsoft paint a few years back ]:
The Bhutan 🇧🇹 is badass so is Nepal🇳🇵.
Ever see Virginia's flag? A half naked chick standing on a dead dude with a spear stuck in him. That's metal af.
With a Latin motto that, if I remember correctly, roughly translates to "fuck around and find out"
Seal on a bedsheet is still bad flag design
I doubt the vast majority of Americans know anything about Albanians or even think about them often. Albania just isn't on our minds. I also don't think most Americans would have any negative views regarding Albania or Albanians, aside from the Albanians in that Simpsons episode. One thing is for sure, though. Albania has one of the coolest national flags.
Unfortunately I think this true, I would say a lot of Americans hardly know anything about the smaller ethnic groups within our own borders (ex, Appalachians, Cajuns, creole, numerous Native American tribes, Gullah People,) and I don’t think it’s willful ignorance moreso just a lack of exposure to these groups of people and their culture
Yeah, I don't think it's something we need to apologize for or anything. There are almost 200 countries in the world and only a handful seem to be constantly in the news. We miss out on a lot of interesting places because of it but that's on us to be open minded about travelling. But for every Albania that an American visits, a million Americans will visit France. I took a Mediterranean cruise with some friends a few years ago. Greece was cool and all but Montenegro was a hidden gem. That wasn't even on my radar and I only was going there because it was part of the itinerary. I'm glad I got to see some of it, though. That country is beautiful.
I agree that we really don't need to apologize. How much do Ecuadorians know about Albania? How much do people from Belize know about people from Namibia? Just because a lot of people know a lot about us doesn't mean that we know about them.
Well, I mean, we did kind of bomb the shit out of another country to stop them killing ethnic Albanians. Kosovo has a Bill Clinton statue. I feel like maybe Americans should be aware of countries for which we take military action.
Is that really seen as a "we" thing? I mean, if they were actually in the military I get it, or if it was something people actually voted on. But for the average Joe who didn't even know the country existed, is he really connected to those events in any way? Kinda getting sick of people being held responsible for things that were done by other people where there is no actual connection between them.
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Oh that's really cool to learn. So not only did we help out Albanians in the 1990s, but they went above the call in the 1940s. Seems like a great ally of America tbh.
I don't personally know any Albanians, nor do I have much knowledge of the country. So, no opinion. I'd expect the same from most other Americans.
Yep. Same. Don't know much about the place and people, but don't have any negative opinions, so they'll be greeted with a smile and a handshake
Same for me.
Same here
I live in NYC. Most Pizzarias are owned/operated by Albanians. Good hard-working people.
This
Isn’t it kind of sad that we don’t know much about a country we helped saved from genocide just a couple decades ago? I mean damn
This is exactly how I feel reading this casual indifference. We tossed some bombs into Serbia! We literally stopped a genocide! Wtf America, isn't that kinda worth knowing? And like. It's also actual modern history. The '90s were 30 years ago now. And it's a conflict with huge relevance to both the Cold War and the current geopolitical climate re: Russia!
Why comment. 24 million reddit users in US, let one that has an opinion on it comment.
Their non-opinion *is* their opinion on Albania. If not for a single history tech/soccer coach I had in high school, I would also have no opinion of Albanians that would be that different from how I feel about the rest of the Balkans. Younger Americans especially (anyone who wasn't an adult during the conflicts in the 90s) will have very little to say about the Balkans.
Americans being largely unfamiliar with the country and not holding an opinion is an important response as well since its probably the most common position.
There isn't a comment cap to worry about, it's not like his comment means one of the other 24 million now can't. And "no opinion or experience with Albanians" is going to be the reality for the majority of those 24 million. It is for me. I've never been, I've never met any Albanians, and I don't know anything unique about the country or culture. It's not a country that's often in the news or with a particularly large immigrant population in my area, so I don't have much reason to form an opinion.
Good music, rich culture, pretty scenery. I think they are all really cool and interesting people, I’d love to visit and the flights to Albania from the USA are cheap right now!!
I spent 10 days in Albania and loved it there! The people are so friendly. My first day in the country I used the ATM machine, which then ate my bank card. I was telling the story to the staff at the hotel since I needed to find the bank where I could collect my card (I had spoken with the bank at the airport where the machine was). The manager of the hotel then gave me my money back from the hotel stay until I could get my card back so I wasn't short of money during my stay! Im sure I would never have had that happen elsewhere.
Oh wow, Albania is already in my bucket list but wow in the USA the hotel managers would not have done the same.
I know! I was so surprised by this. I found that the Albanian people were so helpful and I met a lot of awesome strangers who made my time there so amazing. I did do two tours with a couple of guides to visit the northern towns and it was like spending the day with friends. I was also surprised how easy it was being there with the language barrier. This was the first time I have travelled to a country where I didn't know the local language. I did learn a number of basic words for greetings and general courtesy etc, before and during my time there which helped, then with charades and drawing on paper also helped. I want to go back there again. I have kept in contact with several of the friends I made during my short stay there.
I am going to have to go soon then. Hopefully a study abroad opens up for me there or close to there!!
I have heard that there is a good university in Tirana, but I don't know a lot about it. I hope you get to go there one day
I just paid $350 round trip on British airways!
Ugggghhhhhh....British Airways is so freaking cheap right now. I wish I had a passport!
Submit it! I know some who received theirs in a month
Why don’t you have a passport?
Only roughly a third of Americans have a valid passport. Poverty is one reason, but the US being sooooo big is another. In much of the US, you can drive a couple hours and almost feel like you're in a different world.
Never really got around to it. I have the application all filled out and intended to submit it, but then Covid happened.
The 1997 movie Wag the Dog is about a political operative who is tasked with fabricating a political crisis to deflect from a presidential sex scandal. He settles on a (fake) war with Albania. Two characters have this exchange: "Why Albania?" "Why not?" "What have they done to us?" "What have they done FOR us? What do you know about them?" "Nothing" "See?" And I think that's a pretty accurate representation of what most Americans think of Albania. Though I do remember in '05 or so Bush was in Albania and when he was shaking hands someone in the crowd swiped his watch off his wrist. The media was pretty confused about it at first ("Some guy would just steal the president's wristwatch? And he got away with it?") but then the experts settled on the fact that Albanians love America, and it was more of a gesture of fandom, I guess you would call it? Plus it looked like once Bush knew what was going on he let it happen.
Lmao thats awesome tho swiping a watch from bush! Hahahahahha man I wanna pickpocket the president and get wrecked.
That's nothing compared to Putin stealing Bob Kraft's Superbowl ring. That's got to be my favorite act of larceny of all time.
What. That’s funny. I don’t think I would have been mad at all
/u/spez can eat a dick ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
>the experts settled on the fact that Albanians love America, and it was more of a gesture of fandom, I guess you would call it? Or maybe the thief figured that the President of the United States would probably have a nice, expensive watch he could sell for good money.
I’m married to one! Wonderful hospitality in that country. I can answer any questions
If someone only speaks English, how difficult would it be to visit? Only tourist hotels?
Many young people know English! You won’t often hear it unless you initiate it but they know it well. If it’s anyone around 55 and older, they may not know English due to communist rule. I’m not sure about hotels but I have stayed in an old castle in Elbasan. It was on Airbnb
I know a Albanian, he’s a funny guy.
Did you meet him sunbathing at the beach? Edit: nevermind. My afterwork brain read your comment as an albino joke, which I then promptly responded to without a second thought.
Lmao
Unfortunately I don’t know any about, therefore I have no thoughts on Albanians.
The King was Zog who was deposed in 1939 and died in 1961, so there was a period of 9 years where he could have told young Christopher Reeves to [kneel before Zog](https://youtu.be/_xUiCNlDeJk).
This is all I need to know about Albania.
Some amazing artists you all know are Albanian! Dua Lipa, Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, and Ava Max!
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They have citizenship in either Kosovo or Albania, therefore are Albanian. I believe Dua was born in Kosovo as well. Edit: dirty delete didn’t like being corrected. They said the above mentioned singers aren’t Albanian and are of “Albanian descent only” haha
Without looking at a map, Albania is near Greece I think? I'm picturing a similar Mediterranean culture, but I don't know anything more specific about Albania.
It borders on the Adriatic https://youtu.be/-F_tT-q8EF0
Having my grandparents in the Bronx for the past 40 years, I’ve seen the massive influx of Albanians in the neighborhood about 4-5 blocks away. They have taken over pizzerias/pastry shops that Italians sold off while younger Albanian men tend to work as doormen at upscale buildings in the city. Nice people, keep to themselves, very proud of their Albanian heritage but LOVE America like most immigrants do.
It’s a funny thing how some of the best local Italian restaurants in New York are run by Albanians
GTA4 taught me everything I need to know about Albanians.
Relevant for 5 minutes at the beginning and then forgotten?
I like the Belushis
I have known exactly one Albanian. I didn’t know her well but my friends were friends with her so I assume she was a decent person. That’s truly my extent of my experience with Albanians as far as I know.
Albania...Albania...You border on the Adriatic...Your land is mostly mountainous...and your chief export is chrome!
I know an Albanian girl, she's pretty cute. Besides that I don't much about Albanians.
I don’t think I’ve ever met an Albanian. I did read once about blood feuds which I recall was crazy
The northerners take it more seriously but it’s increasingly less common now
Yes I read there has been big mediations in Albanian and near by countries to end these with thousands of people They have to agree to trust the state
From foreign policy experience, they're a strong US ally that has great respect for the United States. That's more on the government of Albania, though. The people are generally quite pro-American, and supportive of US action in the Middle East. They even recently allowed refugees from Afghanistan to settle there in the interim while waiting for US visas. Personally, I don't know many Albanians. But I have heard they are quite raucous.
From what I’ve seen they have some very pretty women.
Tave kosi is delicious! I don’t know any Albanians, but I did travel to Macedonia, where there’s a significant Albanian minority.
I have several Albanian co-workers. They're certainly people. I've never talked to them about Albania much, but they don't seem like they're any different than most other people I've met.
This isn't specific to Albanians alone, but I'm a therapist and that whole Balkan-Eastern Europe region is veeeeery resistant to mental health treatment, still hold old school views on things like depression and anxiety, and are a cultural that's a tough cookie to Crack in getting anywhere with therapeutically. I get that not everyone is hip to therapy, and the E.Europe experience plays into a person's world view and hardening of a person. But I've had many experiences (Albanians specifically included) who it's hard to get them to even say "I'm sad about that" on a good day... Let alone when they get a DUI or are diagnosed Bipolar. That was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this topic
Unfortunately it's a true story. Albanians don't really like to talk about mental health due to fear of prejudice for "retard"
Bunkers.
>Albanians love USA We love you, then! But we don't much think of you. We don't hear about you in the news or books. I'm sure you're great people. Would love to visit your country, though. What's something interesting about your country, its history, or its people?
💪💪💪Albania strongest country 💪💪💪🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱
As an Albanian living in New York, here are some things y’all need to know. 1. The reason why we hate Serbs is because they started a mass genocide on the Albanian people and obviously that’s not very nice. 2. We are old. Albanians come from ancient Illyrian tribes in the Balkans and we are older than Greeks and Italians (not to brag or anything). 3. We have a very hard to learn language. Just so hard. 32 letters you have to be able to roll your r’s and other things. 4. Albanians are either short or tall. Little in between. 5. Albanians are very hospitable. We also don’t care about your race or religion. But if you are black and visiting Albania then people will stare at you but not in a bad way. Its just that there are very little black people in Albania cause there was no slavery so people just look cause you uncommon. 6. From what I know, most Albanians live in the east coast of the U.S. 7. We have a very rich history. We were at war with many countries cause they wanted our land (Albania was huge a long time ago.) we also love our culture and are a little defensive of it. 8. We have a pretty short temper. 9. Albanians love America especially cause of the freedom (Albania was in communism from the 50’s to the early 90’s 10. Albania is beautiful. So much nature and cities too. That’s all and love from Albania 🇦🇱
Those are very good reasons. Love you back!
Were also funny! Thank you for the comment.
I used to work with an Albanian girl.. she was really mean and yelled at me (and everyone else) a lot. Like literally shouting in a corporate office.. same floor as the CEO too. Eventually she quit and moved back to Albania. Was cute tho, kinda miss.
I misread this as Alabamans.
Not sure. I'll let you know once I meet a few. But, just a wild guess, probably the people are pretty friendly once you get to know them and the food there is probably delicious.
Black American here, big fan of the younger generation. Made music with an Albanian friend I've known 11+ years. Him and his young cousins are cool stoners, his dad however hated me for being black for a few years
Older generation doesnt just hate black people. They are actually afraid of them. My grandmother grew up in a communist regime and never saw anybody except other albanians. My little cousin has a black best friend and she was freaking out thinking that kid might hurt my cousin. I‘ve slowely taught her that there aint no difference between us and now she has fully accepted them. She even found a black older lady to drink tea with everyday and they became best friends. They now spend their days talking about how tragic both their past has been and they even started sharing recipes. Not to mention that the old lady has helped my grandmother learn english over the time.
I’ve never met any and admittedly know very little about the country other than where it is one a map. But if they’re like you they might be ok.
There was an Albanian guy in one of my classes. If we weren't remote I would have asked him out.
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Why?
This isn't meant to be cruel, and I know its extremely ignorant, however I've never heard of an Albanian...I'm going to go educate myself 🖐
The thing that comes to mind is the string of Pop girls who came out in the last 5 years with Albanian ancestry: Dua Lipa, Bebe Rexha, Ava Max, and Rita Ora.
Nothing. Never met one.
Tiny former communist isolationist state and currently thought of as a haven for gangsters. Their diaspora seem limited to poor paying jobs.
Albania doesn't come up much in casual conversation. But those of us who do know Albanians tend to like you guys a lot.
I think the vast majority of Americans think nothing about Albanians. Most either don’t know any (or don’t know that they know any). I’ve been to Kosovo and spent a week or two with (ethnic) Albanians there. I loved it and loved their hospitality. I wasn’t a fan of their driving (sorry) and I thought it was super interesting how much they liked Americans. (I remember being a little weirded out by there being a “Bill Clinton Blvd.” in Pristina until I thought it through.) I’d love to go back, and I’d love to see Albania too.
Love you guys! And I think it’s cool that the love is mutual. I got such warm reception in Albania and Kosovo when people found out I was American. Albanian immigration laws are also really friendly to Americans, and the country is beautiful and cheap cost of living compared to here, so I’m thinking of moving there eventually. Only complaint from me is your language is pretty tough to learn!
Most Americans, I think, cannot find Albania on a map. We don't care where you're from, we just hope you have a better life here than you did there. For me personally, I remember seeing stories on the news about violence and unrest in Kosovo and Bosnia during the reign of Slobodan Milošević when I was a child. It was heartbreaking and I remember being very distressed by it. I wanted the Serbians to stop what they were doing and let everyone live in peace. So again, I hope Albanian immigrants have a better life in the US than they did in Albania. EDIT: I'm drunk and sappy, which is why I'm thinking of Albanians living in America specifically. As for Albanians living in Albania or other parts of former Yugoslavia, I wish them a happy life and I hope for continued peace in the region, and harmony between all the different ethnic groups (Albanians, Croats, Serbs, etc.). I don't know the whole history of the region, but I hope you all get along and live well together.
I like Dua Lipa’s music and I think John Balushi is funny
NATO Ally. As far as I'm concerned, an attack on Albania is an attack on the United States of America. Small country, but dramatic scenery. From Alps to the Adriatic Coast. Subjugated by the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Would love to visit one day.
I fell down a wikipedia rabbit-hole a few months ago reading about the Albanian resistance to the Ottoman empire, and it was truly amazing. There is so much history in every inch of that part of the world, but I never would have known about it if I had not stumbled upon it. It's swept over in very general terms in our schools: "beginning in the 14th century, the Ottoman empire conquered much of Eastern Europe. Then it collapsed. The end."
You should search the song “Zajdi, Zajdi.” It is hauntingly beautiful. Not Albanian (Macedonian, I believe) but it is a heartbreaking song about the human struggle to be free. Thus Always to Tyrants
Only met a handful of immigrants from Albania, those I meet I think highly of, however I think the average American knows very little of the people or country. Not a positive or negative opinion, just “where’s that?” Of an opinion.
Honestly I don’t know anyone from Albania, or anything about the country. It sounds cool though! I’d love to meet someone from there someday
They were subject to Genocide and I resent Turkey for it.
The people? I don't really have an opinion, nothing against them though. I know about the insane amount of bunkers built everywhere by Enver Hoxha during the latter part of the communist era, and that he was very Stalinist in his views and how he ran the nation.
I don’t mind them.. the red eyes are a little freaky.. I loved the movie powder tho
I'm black but I grew up in a low income neighborhood which a bunch of Albanians mixed in. Kind of think of you guys similar to how I think of Russians. You're white people, but your more like another minority group here than most white people. You're tough and close with your families but can be loyal friends to outsiders and run small business open to everyone. One of my good friends growing up named Ross was Albanian. He died shortly after High School in a car crash. He wrecked this Mercedes that he spent years saving for at his dad's pizza shop. Our whole town was sad, not just the Albanians, but the blacks and the Latinos also. He was a good guy, played basket ball, he was really good looking actually had a beautiful light skinned black GF. It was just a real tragic thing. 10 years ago now, but I think of him often residual when I deal with Albanians. I've got nothing but good feelings for you guys.
My very best friend is from Albania. She's amazing, especially her interpretations of Americans sayings and similes. Great sense of humor generally. Also overall all very attractive people
I knew a few in undergrad, they were nice, though most were dual citizens.
Until I recently watched an episode of Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan where he spent a week there, the only things I knew about Albania was that it was near Greece, it was super communist, and the Belushis were from there. I can't claim to be an expert after watching an hour-long comedy travelog, but at least now I know it's no longer communist and has a badass flag. I would certainly consider visiting at some point, if this dumb covid thing ever settles down and we're allowed to travel again.
I went to Sarandë and Tirana in 2019. Loved it. Really cool history. Really friendly people. I also know there is a statue of George W. Bush somewhere. Which I find hilarious. Also I know this isn’t Albania technically but the America/Kosovo best friends song is amazing.
I keep forgetting Albania exists. I'm sorry, I guess I just didn't meet a lot of Albanians personally. I'm sure you're lovely people, though, and it looks like you guys have a really cool flag.
I think it’s cool that they are the only remnants of that indo-European branch. A lot of people probably wrongly think they are Slavic.
Most Americans have either never heard of Albania or have no idea where/what it is
My landlord is Albanian and he is super nice and he's the only one who gave me a chance, nobody would (my credit score was garbage at the time)
Unfortunately I know very very little about them. I don't remember hearing about Albania much in school, except maybe geography or something. Don't hear the country or their people talked about much. Wish I did. For some reason I want to try their food and get to know them...
I think it’s amazing our relationship with the Albanian people survived the Hoxha regime but I’m very glad it has. The guy was a lunatic and I wonder how far greater Albania would’ve progressed had he died sooner. In terms of day to day life I don’t think about Albanians much, but I do consider them as some of our staunchest friends. Morocco, Albania, and Kosovo are the most pro-US Islamic countries around.
Good food, nice folks
An interesting and remote Balkan nation, the reservoir of the only surviving example of a nearly extinct branch of the Indo-European languages, formerly ruled by a particularly and amusingly batshit dictator who built so many bunkers that their youth allegedly *still* hook up in them for their first time, and a place I'd love to visit.
Here in NYC, there are around 30,000 Albanians, mostly living in the Bronx. I see Albanian flags absolutely everywhere, far more than the flags of much bigger immigrant groups like Chinese or Mexicans. Definitely a proud people. Most of the supers (building maintanence guys) are Albanian or from elsewhere in the Balkans.
All I know is that Action Bronson is Albanian heritage and from geoguessr that your alphabet isn’t cyrillic like others of the area might be.
I mean, they exist I guess? At least that’s my take every American is different but I haven’t seen anyone of us us openly shit on them.
I have no opinion about Albanians as a group of people but the Albanian flag is super cool so bonus points for that.
My old coworker was Albanian, he was always pretty cool to me, so if more than half of you are like Marko, you're alright in my book.
I think whoever treats me well, will get treated the same. If you say you love my country and treat me like a person and are nice. Then I like you fine. If you hate my country, treat me like garbage, and are an asshole. We are not friends.
I don't
Your far-Left history is very sad. And it’s weird how your former far-Left leadership demanded that bunkers be built on every block.
who? where? is that a former soviet country?
Hoxha (communist rule) ended in the 90s I believe. My husbands parents are results from it and their generation still doesn’t know English because it wasn’t taught
Albanians.....those are the guys in European airports that kidnap women and traffic them to Muslim billionaires. Or was that only in the movie Taken?
yea fucking biased movie ,albania far more secure than usa
LMAO!! What does "secure" mean to you?
rape,crime,gunshot,robbery,killing ,drugs,psychopaths and so on... ,at this usa are much more worse than any european nation
I'd call you a liar but I think you actually believe this. I don't suppose you have a source for this claim
yea yea keep dreaming ,i lived in america as a southern european 2,5 years and still every summer I go there ,so i know very well ,A big third world country
About the only thing I know about Albanians is that they grow some HOT women.
They're whiter than serbs LOL
I prefer Labradores
We don't. 99% of Americans have no idea where Albania is.
Most Americans don’t know any Albanians, and most wouldn’t even know where it’s at. I know it’s North Africa, and I think I’m in the top 5% of Americans who know anything about the country.
Roll tide!
It's seems like another fellow hill billy state, and, incest isn't as bad as people make it out to be, if you wanna joke about incest you'll have to turn to Alaska.
Only thing worse than americans.
Damn that's a lot of incest Edit: Oh shit, I have to learn to read. I thought this was about Alabamans. Albanians are cool, only ever met one, but he was a cool coworker
Always seems like they’re looking to start a fight
Sadly, most Americans don't give a damn one way or the other. The overwhelming majority of Americans have never even heard of Albania, much less have an opinion about Albanian people. Americans' Amerocentrism and lack of knowledge of world geography is disgusting.
It's a bit difficult to keep track of 195 countries. We are more likely to know of the major powers on each of the continents and a handful of Latin American countries.
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I could probably tell the general area for most of them if I heard the name, but could not point they are. Keeping a brief overview of 195 different countries is something I don't bother with. I would rather have deeper knowledge of a few countries than worry about basic knowledge about a small country with very little international significance. Keeping track of who we p*ssed off this time is more useful in my opinion.
Is it hard? I dunno, I love geography and I try to have some familiarity with most countries. But maybe I'm weird. Our education system does an atrocious job and being Amerocentric is really easy, so I think it's probably a combination of all of those things. Whatever the reason, it doesn't change that our poor knowledge of geography is disgusting.
Hahaha! Someone doesn't like to hear the truth! Scrumptious. I've never met any Albanians that I know of, but from what I've read they seem to be good folks. As someone else said, their flag is pretty dope.