Every country has its own traditions, cultural aspects and clichés. Today's article will highlight 6 cultural differences between France and Albania.
Beware, this article may not make everyone agree. Of course, it's important not to generalize, and every individual is different, but I'm writing these lines based on my personal experience in both countries.
1. Image
One thing I found very hard to understand at first was the need to pay constant attention to one's image. In Albania, the image you project is very important, and is often associated with family honor and reputation.
To illustrate my point, here are a few examples:
- At weddings, money is given directly to the bride and groom. So yes, there's sometimes a box where you can give as you please discreetly as in France, but you can be sure that at some point during the evening, the bills will rain down and everyone will be watching to see who gives the most.
- At parties, everyone is very serious. The girls often wear a lot of make-up, the boys somehow find a really nice car to go out in on the streets of Tirana and, above all, stay seated once they get to the bar or club.
- Girls often represent the image of the house, and are expected to remain serious. Albanian girls pay a lot of attention to their appearance, they are very coquettish, at least more so than in France.
- Boys have to succeed professionally; they're also the image of the family. They often feel the pressure to succeed in order to bring money into the household, because as you probably know, Albania is still a country where salaries are often very low.
Cars, clothes, the way you talk, the way you hold yourself, everything is always controlled, and often there's this need to show off an achievement, but we'll deal with that in the next section.
2. Relationship with money
The relationship between money and image is very different in France and Albania.
Many Albanians have a deep-seated desire to become rich. They often talk about it, and many go abroad to give themselves more chances of success. An Albanian with money will be the pride of the family, others will talk about him and it will be easier for him to find a partner. Now, I'm not saying that Albanian girls are materialistic, BUT they do attach more importance to money than French girls. They'll be more tempted to look at a man with a nice car than an average man.
Still on the subject of money, Albanians love money more than we do, but they're also much less stingy than the French (sorry, but we're known internationally for that). Indeed, it's common to leave a tip even for a coffee.
Let's not even talk about splitting the bill - I know it's a controversial subject, and I'm a proponent of the expression “good accounts make good friends” - but never expect to make 50/50 with an Albanian. Once again, it's closely linked to honor and the image you project by showing that you can pay for two, three, four or more.
3. Professionalism
We often talk about this in the workplace when we have to work with foreigners. I've experienced it myself, coming from a tourism background, and I've worked with service providers from the 4 corners of the world. It's very interesting to realize how different attitudes can be, even in the workplace.
I would say that Albania is more lax than us on many points. For example, we can talk about timetables/deadlines: they may tell you that tomorrow you'll have the document, then end up sending it back to you 3 days later (or more if you don't follow it up).
You may not experience this as a tourist, but you should know that Albanians are more relaxed than we are. By this I mean that for them, it's not a big deal if you're late, it's not important if you don't get things done on time - in short, we're very Mediterranean.
When Albania was in the early days of tourism, I remember booking a hotel at least 1 month in advance, without using an online reservation platform. Once we arrived with my parents, who were discovering the country for the first time, the owner announced without a hint of guilt or embarrassment that he'd forgotten our reservation, claiming it was a long time ago. As a result, we had to find other last-minute accommodation with no apologies and no help from him.
Finally, we can also cite the way in which we express ourselves to our colleagues as a point of dissonance between France and Albania. An Albanian won't go out of his way to tell you what's bothering him, whereas we... let's just say that we're more careful not to offend our interlocutor, even if the message is the same.
4. Family
As I've already mentioned in another article, the family is still the foundation of many Albanians, as it is in France, you might say, and it's true. Nevertheless, certain aspects are different, notably the link to community life.
You'll see in the Albanian landscape that there are many multi-storey houses, usually 2 or 3. They all look the same, with identical doors, windows and colors in the same places. Very often, these are family homes, with each member living on their own floor. For example, in a family with 3 sons, it's not uncommon for each to have his own floor with his own family. This way, they're all close together, but still have their privacy and independence.
When I first went to Albania to visit my husband's parents, I remember being amazed at the closeness between him and his parents. They're very demonstrative, calling each other lots of little names even though he's now a big boy of 28... ☺. In France, we're more restrained and often prudish. I think this closeness is due to their physical distance, families often being separated by the desire to succeed abroad, you could say that this distance brings them closer in a certain way.
5. Beaches
It's a point we don't often talk about, but it's one we should be aware of. Albania's beaches are mostly private, by which I mean that every beachside bar/restaurant buys or rents plots of land. As a result, it's almost impossible to think of just grabbing your towel and lying on the sand, as you'd be used to doing in France.
I've noticed that this sunbathing culture is also very present in Italy. It's a point that disturbed me the first few times, because since I was little I've been used to going to the beach with just my towel and spending hours playing on the ground.
There are a few places where you can simply put your towel down, but it's important to be aware that it's not very common. Fortunately, prices are less expensive than in Italy or France, but it's still an additional cost.
6. Opportunities
I'm talking here about a particular case that I experienced and that doesn't necessarily affect tourists directly, but it's still an important point for understanding how the country works.
Without going into detail about my life, a few years ago I was able to do an internship with the Ministry of Tourism and the Environment in Tirana when I was just a 20-year-old undergraduate student. In France, I would never have dared to apply. You have to come from a very specific background and then certainly go through a dozen different processes.
At the same time, I was able to meet the assistant to the French ambassador to Albania, and we exchanged contacts and had dinner together. All in all, these are really incredible things. Everything is much simpler here in many areas, and that's something really great.
I hope I've been able to tell you more about Albania through these France/Albania cross-comparisons.
If you'd like to travel to this magnificent country, please don't hesitate to contact me so that together we can design the Albania tour of your dreams.
