The Albanian word for floor, that is, the floor you walk on, is shtresë. The Albanian writing system was developed recently enough for most of the written words to be pronounced phonetically without deviations like we have in English. Shtresë sounds exactly like the English word stress, at least is does to my ear. I suppose it would be most proper to pronounce it like a combination of the beginning of the word shock, the middle of the word strafe, and the end of the name Hermann Hesse; but if you say the English word stress, every Albanian will know you mean “the floor you walk on.”
I had planned for us to place the concrete for the floor of the remodel we have been working on at the International Church on Friday. Every one of my crew’s actions throughout the week led up to this day, this single activity. Concrete pours for flatwork, i.e., floors and other slabs, usually take place on Fridays in the States. This is because there is a built-in, two day break afterword for the concrete to set properly before the workers return to the site. It was raining Friday morning, but it has rained five out of every seven days since I returned to Tirana six weeks ago. I have heard that in Hawaii the people only work when the weather is comfortable. In the lower 48, however, we work in any and all conditions. Albania is more like Hawaii than I knew.
Friday at 8AM I was at the kafe in Tirana that I always meet Sajmir at. He did not come. At the church at 9AM, Sajmir apologized for standing me up, but I was happy to see him none the less. The other three workers, all men who desperately need money, did not make it in until around 10:30. Although no inquiry needed to be made as to the reason for their late arrival, one of the men indulged me with the universally accepted reason for tardiness, slow work, or choosing not to work at all: “Shi sot, shi.” (Rain today, rain)
Sajmir has been an anchor for my sanity throughout the process of getting this phase of the project built. He has a good sense for when to talk, and when to work, for when to laugh, and when merely to smile. All day long our standing joke was repeating that magic, earth leveraging, timeless, all-wisdom encompassing mantra: “Shi sot, shi.” To which the proper reply was always “Po, shum.” (Yes, much)
Thank you God for my good friend Sajmir. Without him I would think that insanity was my only sane choice.
albaniacalling 