“So you’re finally leaving the US?”
“Yes, I’ve got all the stuff I need and I fly tomorrow. Maimi to Barcelona, Barcelona to Corfu, and then the ferry over to Albania.”
“You’re moving to Albania?”
“Yes.”
“You look to be taking a lot of things with you.”
“It’s all a result of detailed research. I’ve got a large tent, three months rations, an inflatable dinghy, an Albanian flag - Black double headed eagle on a red background, a range of stylus’ for playing vinyl records, an astrolabe, a foot pump, a Halloween hamper complete with Count Dracula outfit, and a bear trap.
“What was it that made you decide to leave?”
“It started with small things, such as the collapse of the constitution, the attacks on rationality, science and higher education, which then snowballed into a general feeling of demoralisation wrapped up in a daily dose of blithering idiocy. This was all made worse by everything becoming a lot more expensive than it should be when it was already a lot more expensive than it should be. But the straw that broke this camels back was when I tasted European chocolate for the first time and I realized I’d been lied to.”
“But why Albania? Isn’t it a flawed democracy with a low level of involvement in politics, basic difficulties in voting, attempted supression of political opposition and critics, as well a having a significant part of its media broadcasting fake news?”
“Yes, so in many ways it will be very similar to what I’m used to, the difference being I won’t understand what they’re talking about and will have a bold curiosity for the adventure ahead.”
