One of the most distinguishing and charming characteristics of the Albanian people is their wonderful hospitality.

Albanians treat their guests like royalty. When visiting an Albanian home, even just for a coffee, they will bring out a smorgasbord of goodies- chocolates, candies and caramels, something cold to drink like juice or soda, Turkish coffee to follow, a sweet liquor for the women and of course, Albanian “raki” for the men.  As your visit lasts a couple hours, the hostess will keep bouncing back into the kitchen to get fruit and salty snacks like pretzels and peanuts.

If you are visiting an Albanian family for dinner, don’t be surprised if they give you the best part of the meat, like the lamb’s head (with eyeballs still attached). This is the considered the choicest part and goes to the most important person at the table, which is YOU, their guest.

In the villages, you may find the hostess bringing in a basin to wash your feet and/or hands before you sit down for a meal.

The way Albanians kick off a visit when you sit down in their homes is by toasting to your health and happiness, saying “Gezuar” (guzz- u’- are) which you repeat after them and then clink your raki glasses together. They don’t expect you to necessarily drink their throat-burning specialty drink, but in order for the host to feel like he can drink freely, you at least need to bring the glass to your lips. If you don’t touch your drink or your food, then neither will the host/hostess feel the freedom to do so.

Albanians are very generous, not only in the abundant snacks or meal they set before you, but also in wanting to give you something to remember them by. I remember many years ago when I was living in Korca, a southeastern city, when my mom came to visit me in Albania. We went to my next door neighbor’s for a visit and had a very memorable evening. As we were getting ready to go, Frida, our hostess, left the room for a moment and then came back with a beautiful silver spoon that she wanted my mom to have. It was an antique heirloom from Frida’s family. Even as my mom tried to refuse this generous and touching gift, they emphatically insisted that she keep it.

A word of advice here: be careful about complimenting too many things (like ornaments, decorations, etc.) in an Albanian home. Their hospitality, generosity and desire to please you as their guest may compel them to give you the very thing you are complimenting. For example, let’s say you like a painting on their wall and praise them for how beautiful it is– don’t be surprised if they actually give it to you as you are leaving.

Can you imagine if this endearing aspect of Albanian hospitality played out in a similar fashion in American homes?? “Wow, I really like your Plasma 54″ Flat Screen Television” you comment during a visit to a new friend’s home…(hint hint). Nope, no bite.

Well, this is a very unique characteristic to the Albanian culture and one that makes indelible impressions upon all those who visit this lovely country! I often tell people that Albania is a like a magnet– once you visit this country and spend time with Albanians in their homes, you’ll be drawn back to visit again and again.

Photo courtesy of: Gaston Thauvin

One of the things I love most about Albanians is that they are warm and affectionate in relating to others.

A friend who visited Albania just last week told this story about his trip from the airport to the hotel.

“When we arrived at the hotel, I got out of the cab and asked the man, who was perhaps in his 60’s, how much money I owed him. He showed me the hand signals to communicate 2500 Albanian ‘leke’  (about $27).  I had a bunch of 500 bills, so I gave him 5 “500″ bills and asked him if that was correct. He got a big grin on his face and said with his limited vocabulary of English, ‘Per–fect!’ and then he grabbed my face with both hands, kissed me on the cheek and gave me a big hug. I was surprised by this outburst of affection and didn’t know if I had just greatly over-payed or if this was a common gesture in Albanian culture. I was glad my exact change made his day.”

As our friend shared his story I could easily picture this cab driver hugging and kissing him like that and I laughed as he shared this somewhat strange ‘cross-cultural’ experience. But it brings to light one of my favorite attributes of Albanians that I savor. Their affection and warmth is endearing and makes connecting with them simple and fun, even if you don’t know the language or are a newcomer to their country.

Photo courtesy of: Mateusz Stachowski