Kryemadhi: Week 2

 Pronouncing My Last Name

    Kryemadhi. One word with thousands of stories behind it. Over the years, almost everyone- teacher, peer, family-friend has asked me, “How do you say your last name?” And for many years, I dreaded having to help them understand the pronunciation. But, the summer before high school changed my outlook on this entire ordeal.

    My parents are immigrants, born and raised in Albania. They moved to the United States in their early 20s, and, soon after, they had me. With that all being said, practically our entire family was still overseas, and considering everyone wanted to meet the first Kryemadhi child, to Albania we went. I was only about 7 months that time; we went again when I was 3 and once more when I was 7. But, those memories didn’t really last. All I could recall was seeing some random barracks and mountain goats. That wasn’t exactly the best impression to hold on to.

    In August of 2018, my family visited Albania for over two weeks, and it was an amazing experience. We spent our two weeks driving up and down the country (which is only about the size of New Jersey). We visited Peqin, a super old town where my mom is from. From there, we drove to Tirana, which is the state capital. It’s nothing like the big cities we imagine, but that doesn’t make it any less special. It is filled with countless apartments, boutiques, and of course many bakeries (Albanians are big foodies). 

    Our next destination was Peshkopi, where my dad grew up. The drive there was absolutely incredible. This town was in the midst of the mountains, so as we drove, the views were spectacular. It was so peaceful- just us, the mountains, and of course the random goats. While we visited my dad’s family, my cousin took us to an icecream parlor with her friends, and we had a great time. I know you are probably thinking, “What’s so special about an icecream parlor?” And I will tell you, absolutely nothing, but at the same time, everything. It was just a regular icecream shop, but speaking a foreign language and spending time with foreigners made all the difference, and that’s part of what made it such a unique experience. 

    One more of the many places we visited was Sarande. Besides the mountains, this was probably my favorite part of the trip. We spent about 4 days at the beach with my aunt and her family. Though we rented an AirBnB, we were almost never in it considering we were constantly at the beach. Think about the clear Caribbean water. That’s what the beaches looked in Albania, and it blew my mind. My parents always said the beaches were beautiful, but I didn’t expect that. I spent the beach days laughing and having a great time with my family.

    I told you all about this amazing trip, but what was the point? The point is that this trip was an eye-opener. I got see where my family was from, meet countless inspiring people, and eat tons of great food. It taught me to be proud of my last name, the story behind it, and the country and people it comes from. From now on, I will be happy to teach people how to pronounce my last name.

A collage of pictures from the trip including the plane, beach, mountains,and lots of family.

The view from our balcony at the beach one night. By far one of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen.