20 September 2010

Back in Kosovo

It has been about 10 days since we arrived back in Kosovo. Though we miss our friends and family in the States, we are very happy to be back to work in Peja.

The smell of ajvar floats through the air, a crisp wetness settles in, the sound of children walking to school surrounds us each morning, and the leaves begin their colorful retreat to hibernation. The Kosovan Fall is a spectacular sensory experience.

Since our return, we have met with most of our Sweet Bean employees to reconnect after our furlough. We are very proud of how our entire staff solved business challenges while we were away this summer. A few quiet afternoons last week gave us the opportunity to debrief the summer with our three managers and discuss the important role that a manager plays in guiding the entire staff toward our “golden moment,” the moment in time when a customer is standing at the display case to see if any of the baked goods strikes his or her fancy. This moment is the moment on which Sweet Bean’s survival depends—and the manager’s job is to bring all the multi-sensory components of the bakery together to make that moment a success (for us, to make a sale; for the customer, to satisfy). Our managers have grown in their effectiveness even since we’ve returned, and we are looking forward to a fruitful semester with them as our drivers.

Lacey has been back to experimenting with new products, streamlining operations, and pioneering new revenue streams. Since we’ve been back, she has tried out a few recipes from the Tartine bakery cookbook (croissants, lemon bars, apple squares, chocolate squares, gingerbread); Beautiful Breads, Fabulous Fillings by Margaux Sky (goat cheese and ajvar wrapped bread); and her favorite blogs (cinnamon raisin bagels, spiced cider, coconut cake balls). The croissants, apple squares, gingerbread, and wrap bread will likely make it onto our regular menu.

Our work at Qendra Qiriazi is also evolving this month. Our colleague, Joanna, will soon return permanently to the States after 3+ years in Kosovo. We will miss her joyful, enthusiastic spirit and natural ability to connect with high school students in Peja. In her absence, we will continue Qiriazi’s weekly leadership club, which plans and executes a bi-annual community service project. We are also collaborating with another colleague to expand Qiriazi’s work with university students in Prishtina, the capital city. Landon will continue as the Acting Director of Qiriazi. In all, we sense that our work with Qiriazi will be more focused on leadership training in the next season. We look forward to developing original, simulation-based leadership curriculum in the Albanian language and training high school and university students with that curriculum.

On a personal front, we are both exploring potential Master’s programs in the States and in Europe. We would begin a program as early as Fall 2011 and are discerning how that would play into our work in Kosovo.

We wish you all a bountiful and peaceful Fall, wherever you may spend it.

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