I spent some time in Albania back maybe 15 years ago. It's an amazingly beautiful country, especially as you get away from Tirana. The people were open and we

I spent some time in Albania back maybe 15 years ago. It's an amazingly beautiful country, especially as you get away from Tirana. The people were open and welcoming, even in areas that are poor and desperate, whether that had anything to do with being seen as a rich westerner or not, I've no idea. We were warned about besa before we went there, from the perspective of "You have to be very careful what you say", for example if you're a guest and you compliment the rug, there's a good chance they'll offer it to you and you'll have to take it or cause offense. I really dislike coffee, but offering "Albanian coffee" to guests (not too dissimilar to Turkish coffee) was a staple part of the culture. So I dutifully practised schooling my expression and drinking coffee, so that if the situation came up I could drink it without grimacing and even be appropriately positive.