The Schlatt Family

We've landed in Albania! And only one bag was delayed. :) (The team still declared it a miracle that ALL of our 28 bags were 50.0 lbs or under at the airport and 27 out of 28 bags arrived on time.)  Things we discovered while traveling: there is a Lego vending machine at the Cincinnati airport.  A few days before leaving, some of our supporters, who had raised their kids on the field so they get it, handed us some cash and said, "Do something extravagantly fun for your kids with it." Unfortunately, we didn't have time to ride roller coasters or visit the aquarium or anything like that. But there was a Lego Vending machine by our gate at the Cincinnati Airport! And that felt plenty extravagant. :) When we told our kids that a supporter had given money just for something fun for them, they gasped and ran to the Vending machine. They had the best time choosing their Legos and watching the machine click, clack and deliver the box. It also kept the entertained when they wo...

  We're here... we're back... we're processing... but most of all, we're together again.  While in Tirana, we saw a lot... we walked a lot... we talked a lot.  And we drank a lot of coffee and tea.  (Tigey McTigerson traveled with us. Each of our kiddos had an identical stuffed animal at home. It was a little bit of each of them on the trip with us.) Even though parts of the country try to function like a European city, Albania still has a tribal culture background. Because of this, it is still a highly relational culture. "Oh, you need something fixed? I got a guy." We laughed the number of times our team leaders said "we got a guy" when we asked them how certain parts of life function in Tirana. If you want to have a chat with someone, you meet them at a coffee shop.  If you want to discuss a business deal, you meet them at a coffee shop. If you're a man and you don't have anywhere else to be, you meet people at the coffee shop. (Unless you...