Last night it started to snow a lot again. Instead of staying in and cooking we decided to go the hotel and get pizzas and have a drink while they cooked. This turned into a raki fest and a mini party that lasted for hours. Since it was snowing no one was at the hotel and we had it to ourselves. We saw our friends, the hotel owner and the waiters, hanging out so they decided it would be a good idea to get some raki. Typically drinking raki in public like this is not something I do but tonight, why not?I was sitting at a table with about 10 men and we were throwing peanuts and trying to catch them in our mouths and just having a good ol' time. Of course the questions came up about why I wasn't married, why did I not have a boyfriend, the typical stream of questions. Then I was told I needed to be a "homemaker" in order to find a boyfriend which directly translates into "girl for the house." I then clearly stated, "nuk jam goc per shpi, nuk jam goc per qef, jam goc per respekt." "I am not a girl for the house, I am not a girl for fun, I am a girl for respect." Everyone got a kick out of it, you would have thought I just said the awesomest thing ever. This sparked conversation about women's roles in Albania, especially in the north, where it is more conservative, and got them talking.
Obviously, drinking with them in public is something most Albanian women wouldn't do but because I'm a foreigner I have a litte of a free card. Then what I said turned into a song and the entire table started singing this three part phrase. It was pretty badass.
