As an American woman in Albania, one must understand that some things that are acceptable in the States are very unnormal for women to do here. Such things as eat out, drink coffee with members of the opposite sex that aren't related to you, smoke or drink in public, have a boyfriend or sometimes even work outside the house. Woman are more than usually inside the homes a lot more than the men. Not in all cases but these are some of the general things that women of any age shouldn't do in smaller villages or more conservative communities. Being from America and having all the freedom in the world, it is difficult to understand parts of the culture like this.
This being said, the northern part of Albania is typically thought of as the more conservative part of the country. Emily and I experienced this since of patriarchy one day when we went to eat lunch. We went to a bar/restaurant that she typically didn't go to because it was considered a 'man bar' but since it was the two of us we thought it would be fine. It's become an average daily routine, going to a cafe and being the only woman unless we're with other Americans. We sat down inside and like usual were the only women in the entire establishment. We asked for a food menu and were given it by the waiter, who then returned after talking to what looked like the manager and told us that they didn't serve food inside only outside. We then look around and see men all around us eating. We kindly moved outside where there was one other table of 3 women sitting in a corner. We were obviously moved outside because we were women. Now whether they did that because they didn't want to make us feel uncomfortable the entire meal because we would have been stared at or because they simply didn't want to serve us inside, we'll never know. After attending an
all-women's school I was always called a feminist, but I don't think I'll be able to come out of Albania not identifying with the term at least a little.
This being said, the northern part of Albania is typically thought of as the more conservative part of the country. Emily and I experienced this since of patriarchy one day when we went to eat lunch. We went to a bar/restaurant that she typically didn't go to because it was considered a 'man bar' but since it was the two of us we thought it would be fine. It's become an average daily routine, going to a cafe and being the only woman unless we're with other Americans. We sat down inside and like usual were the only women in the entire establishment. We asked for a food menu and were given it by the waiter, who then returned after talking to what looked like the manager and told us that they didn't serve food inside only outside. We then look around and see men all around us eating. We kindly moved outside where there was one other table of 3 women sitting in a corner. We were obviously moved outside because we were women. Now whether they did that because they didn't want to make us feel uncomfortable the entire meal because we would have been stared at or because they simply didn't want to serve us inside, we'll never know. After attending an all-women's school I was always called a feminist, but I don't think I'll be able to come out of Albania not identifying with the term at least a little. 