My first impressions of Albania weren't quite what I'd expected. But as I wandered the streets of Durrës, I began discovering beauty in unexpected places, kindness in everyday moments, and a little something about myself along the way.

I don't know if I'm an expat or an immigrant — and that uncertainty says more about privilege than confusion. This post isn't about untangling the terminology, though. It's about what actually happened once the excitement wore off: the tasks that suddenly felt impossible, the loneliness of not understanding or being understood, and the night I told my husband something I didn't mean at all.