I only needed a single drive from the airport to my temporary home, on a warm Friday afternoon, to realize how different our countries are. The infrastructure, culture, beliefs, and even people’s behaviors are different here. These aren’t the only differences I have noticed. I have seen other differences at West Ottawa High School that made me say “Wow”. Here are some things that look odd in Albania:

Community:

• Urban Planning

   The expansion of the urban area here is huge. I have noticed that Americans have a different perspective on their home. Usually in Albania living in a flat, rather than living in what we call a “Private House”. It doesn’t have a lot of privacy, but community collaboration is thriving because of that. 

   In the U.S. I have seen a completely different style. Here people like to have their property. I also got the chance to see most of Holland, and what I noticed was that there were only a few three or more-story buildings. This has created larger cities and a huge urban area.

• Shops and food

   I have seen a big difference when it comes to shops and food. So far, these have been the changes I had the hardest time to adjust to. Because the cities are a lot larger, shops are far away from where the houses are. From what I’ve seen so far there are separate areas for housing use and commercial use. For example, when I went shopping for school supplies and clothes, I saw a whole zone that had only shops and fast food. 

   Food has been another hard change for me. I have noticed that American families don’t consider lunch an important meal. The most important meal here seems to be dinner, when the whole family gets home from work, school, etc. In Albania, on the other side, there is usually a break for lunch, some other jobs end before 3 pm, so the family gathers for lunch, making dinner less important.

• Here cash is almost extinct

   I have noticed that most of the people here prefer the usage of credit cards over cash. Some still use cash; however, I have noticed that shops barely use the cash register. This has been hard for me since I like to pay with physical cash rather than using a credit card.

• The People

   So far I have noticed that people here, especially teachers, are friendlier and they help you whenever you ask them. I have also noticed that friends, classmates, and other peers tend to not always tell me the truth, so they won’t hurt me. In Albania, at least the people I know, always tell me the truth, even if it hurts sometimes. 

   For example, when we were writing an essay one time in my school in Albania, some of my friends read mine, and without flinching told me where I was wrong. This same story has never happened to me here.

School system:

• Grading System

   Initially, I had a hard time understanding the American grading system. In Albania the grading system works with numbers, from 4 to 10. 4 being the lowest grade, indicating that you failed, and 10 the maximum, excellent. Here the school system works with letters, from A to F .  F being the failing grade and A the maximum grade, excellent. 

• Hall pass

   Something that caught my attention was the hall pass. In my understanding, the hall pass permits you to go to the bathroom or somewhere else. In Albania, we don’t have anything like this. Students only need to ask the teacher for permission, and they can go anywhere if they get permission.

   I’m sure there will be more differences that I will notice throughout the year. Some will be good, some bad, but the one that I’m looking forward to is winter weather. Until then, I will have to get used to the ones I have noticed until now.