Being a child in Albania and Growing Up There
About Jonida Floer
Jonida Floer is a woman with a daughter and a husband, she works at the Credit Swiss bank. She is always ready to answer a few questions, and if you don't know her very well, it might come as a surprise that she is Albanian.
What were some of your best memories in Albania?
“Having a big family, and when we would all gather together, that would be 15 cousins and my grandparents, and all the food my grandmother was cooking and all the kids sleeping on the floor next to one another. We would also play every day outside on the streets, there were never any cars so we had the roads to ourselves. Another one is when we would eat chicken and meat on the same evening for new years eve (food was rationalized).”
Have people ever judged you for being Albanian?
“yes, especially the first years I arrived in Switzerland, they would exclude me from discussions or make remarks like “ ugh Albanians create a lot of problems here, but you seem to be different.” or “ you can’t understand this because you grew up differently.”
If you would get into a relationship with someone, how would your dad react? What about your mom?
My dad would say “ either you marry the person, or stop the relationship.” relationships were not allowed in Albania, if you met someone you would have to get married.
“When I’m in Albania they notice that I have been a long time away, and in Switzerland, they notice that I come from a southern country, but I will always remain a mix.”
-Jonida Floer
Are you proud of where you come from? why? Why not?
“Yes, I am, because despite the difficulties I was given some slid and good principles, like respect for the elderly, working hard, loving and supporting your family, don't cheat, etc…”
How was it like going to school, how was the school quality? And the school supplies?
“We had very few school supplies and we cherished them dearly, losing a pencil was a big loss, school was very demanding and we had to always obey and show respect. Some teachers would hit us if we missed behaved, the biggest problem for me was that there were no functional bathrooms, we would wait until we get home, or if it was urgent we had to beg one of our friends to use their bathrooms if they live close by. We started school at 7:30 and we would finish at 1.”
