A Piece of the Puzzle

“Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle.”

Lewis Carroll

As I continue on with my project, I am always fascinated by the connections that people have to one another. Even perfect strangers halfway across the world have some connection, some bit of knowledge that can guide a person to discover long-awaited information: each person is a key to the puzzle that makes up each and every one of us.

Thinking back on it, Vera’s great adventure began because of a love born out of familial inspiration; she wanted to travel and work overseas after visiting her family in Italy. It is only natural that, after succeeding in her endeavors and getting a job in the US Department of State, she felt a strong connection to the two countries from which her family came: Italy and Albania.

While Vera was stationed in Albania, she and one of her coworkers wanted to get out of Tirana, the capital, and see other parts of the country. Vera was there during the 90’s, right after Albania had ended its communist regime and was opening up to the rest of the world. She and her friend talked to a driver at the embassy to see if they could get a taxi with an English-speaking driver since neither of them could speak Albanian. A young man was arranged to come pick them up. “He knew about as much English as I knew Albanian,” recalled Vera. However, most Albanian people knew how to speak Italian since the only television programs they had were in Italian. Vera was therefore able to communicate with the driver, though her friend was not able to.

“Don’t you know of anybody who speaks English?” Vera asked the driver in Italian.

He thought for a while and responded, “I think so.” Without a telephone to call for his friend he drove them to a woman’s house. She came to the window and they asked if she would come with them to act as a tour guide and she said that she would. “Her English was beautiful,” said Vera.

The woman’s name was Adriana, a language professor at the University, and she began talking with Vera during the car ride. Vera mentioned that her father’s side of the family, generations ago, came from Albania.

“Go to the museum,” the woman told her. “They have a map of where the majority of the people from Albania went through the centuries.” The woman promised that she would do some research as well. Of course, at the time no one had computers in Albania, so research would have to be through word of mouth; Adriana began asking around the University.

Adriana directed Vera to a tailor in Tirana. The tailor’s background was somehow intertwined with Vera’s family and he was able to give her some information. Through Adriana’s research, the tailor’s story, and the museum’s map, she was able to trace her lineage and piece together some of her puzzle.

Vera learned that her family came from Albania about 500 years ago and settled in a small town in Italy. The town would later be called Frascineto: the surname of her father’s ancestors. Even today the older generation of people in Frascineto speak Albanian as their second language.

It amazes me that, in this peculiar anecdote about two women in Albania, a young taxi driver who could not speak English, a professor, and a tailor, Vera was led to a new piece of her family’s history.

My name is Jillian DiPersio and I am a sophomore at Windham High School. After learning the stories of my own grandparents, I have been interviewing the elderly. Through my research and interviews I have been able to dig up some incredible bits of history from the lives of local residents, as well as learn about people who are the products of a different generation. If you or someone you know would like to share your stories, please contact me at jillian@dipersio.com.