Perhaps it was the fact that my first United States passport, issued when I was only seventeen, bore the menacing inscription, ‘Not valid for travel to Albania, Cuba and North Korea’ that my attention was first drawn to this Balkan nation. It was, for me, who grew up in the west of the United States, terra incognita. I subsequently learned of its politics and isolationism in a secondary school class called ‘Current World Problems’, and I was at once daunted and charmed. Although my curiosity was aroused, I knew that Albania was not merely out of reach, but also forbidden. And hence it disappeared from my radar for seven years or so. During my unrelated graduate studies in Hispanic Languages and Literatures at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, my obsession with Albania was rekindled. At that time, an extensive bibliography project was required as part of my doctoral coursework. I opted to explore scholarly work on Brazilian literature in Eastern Europe. Although Yugoslavia was rather extensively represented, I was chagrined that I could not find anything at all published on the topic in Albania. During my doctoral studies, I quenched my thirst for all things Albanian by purchasing a typical 1970s audio-lingual method for the language at a small boutique for educational materials on MacArthur Park. This was the only course available at the time with an audio supplement that used the current spoken language. I further invested in a dated language course from the Defense Language Institute. More will be said to this effect in the ‘Introduction’ to this book.

I was determined to ascertain whether Albania was really all that inaccessible. Could Americans somehow get there? Through the kindness of a stranger, I was put into contact with Rose Dosti, a culinary writer for the Los Angeles Times, who dispatched me off to Ajeti's Albanian restaurant in Hermosa Beach, where I was able to meet my first live Albanian, Haki, a young gentleman born in Vlora. Also, through Rose, I entered into contact with the late Mary Romano, an Albanian-American, who had visited Albania multiple times. Although I never met Mary face to face, I was enthralled by her over-the-phone anecdotes on Albanian travel and culture. I learned that I was not alone in my interest.