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There is no group of individuals more nutty on the entire planet than Albanians. And I'm not talking about the "Albanian" ethnic group, if such a thing really exists, I'm just talking about citizens and expats of that nation. I don't know if it's because they all lived for fifty years under a totalitarian, xenophobic (even against other Communist countries), cult-of-personality state that was so repressive it made North Korea look like North Dakota; or something deeper that goes back hundreds of years in their culture, or both. But whatever the reason, they're largely INSANE.

One of PJ O'Rourke's books has a good chapter about the Albanian mindset.

"But whatever the reason, they're largely INSANE."

I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule, but I will admit that most Albanians I have ever met have been in their - uh, own world. Many of them in NYC work as supers in small apartment buildings in the Bronx and upper Manhattan. They were famous for their bizarre dealings with the tenants, their unpredictable tempers, and the dubious legality of many of their activities.

In my building, our Albanian super was guilty of all of the above. He was a lousy super and also ran a fly by night elevator repair company out of the building. Finally, he was stabbed to death in the basement by another Albanian super whose teenage daughter he had "dishonored." Unfortunately, the late super's wife and kids laid claim to the apartment provided for the super to live in, and could not be dislodged for years. During this time, they managed to take over the apartment and finances of a senile elderly lady in the building. Finally, we got state guardians to intervene, but in the meantime, they had looted her bank account. They finally left and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

I think you're right, life under the strange Albanian Communist regime permanently twisted the world view of Albanians. Or maybe it was sort of twisted to begin with, I don't know.