I’ve been trying to find a small rubber or plastic ball to use as a model for my drawing class. There are lots of small toy and general merchandise kiosks throughout the shopping areas of Tirana, and although you can find plenty of soccer balls, ping pong balls, tennis balls, even plastic bowling balls (with pins) among the merchandise, you can’t find a simple rubber ball. Perhaps it’s because there is no tradition of baseball or handball here, but it’s just another one of those ways in which Tirana is different from the U.S.