Last Weeks of Summer, Ramadan On The Way

Qiriazi Center
Last Tuesday we offered a workshop for students on the basics of applying to American colleges. In a sense the workshop was at their request. A recent U.N. survey found that 44% of young Kosovars (we would have guessed a higher) intend to leave Kosovo to live somewhere else. That outlook on life combined with the troubled higher education system here, explains why many students have asked us for help getting into US schools.

Since we're not experts on US student visa policy, we stuck to the topics we understand quite well from recent personal experience. We tried to help the students brace for the multitude of decisions they'll have to make in system made up of nearly 7,000 colleges that are all trying to find good students and also make a buck. Our aim was to enable the students to use key terms like admissions, tuition, financial aid, merit/need-basis, major, int'l student programs, etc. to navigate college websites so that they can begin making these decisions.

Social Time with Locals & Expatriates
This week we had significant social times with both Kosovars and fellow foreigners. We visited the home of one of our students on Wed. morning and spent nearly 3 hours conversing with his parents and eating various treats they prepared for us. We especially enjoyed discussing his father's stories about leading underground education and social welfare programs in the 1990s when Kosovar Albanians were heavily and violently repressed.

On Thur. evening we had a picnic in the mountains at a camp that some friends are building. We spent the night in tents, and the next morning pitched a few hours with the ambitious construction work that was underway.


Ramadan Begins this Week
Sometime late this week (depending on when the waning moon is sighted) the Islamic month of Ramadan begins. Kosovo's many Muslims will join Muslims worldwide in observing this month with fasting during daylight hours, practicing charity toward the poor, and seeking spiritual purification through prayers and and meditation on the Quran. We anticipate that during this month folks may be less active and less patient during the daily fast, and that there will be an indulgent, celebratory atmosphere in the evenings. We will also probably have a lot of conversations about the tenets of Islam and how these compare with the tenets of Christianity.

Everyday Life
We made two noteworthy purchases this week: last Sun. we got houseplants, four of them, at a nursery outside of town. We're very proud to report that they are all alive and well 7 days later! The second surprising purchase was a pair of great hiking/snow boots for Landon for €5. They were on display in a shop in one of Peja's old Ottomon-feeling neighborhoods, but the shopkeeper told us he actually imported used/overstocked clothes from Germany. As they say, "the world is flat" even over here!

"Promotion," Swimming & Home Improvement

"Promotion" - On Wednesday Dr. Mark Bryant, professor at a local private college and Qiriazi Center's director for the past year, returned home to the US. The end of his year here came fast, but there's no questioning the big strides forward that his students and the Qiriazi Center took during that time. Our board of directors planned for this day at a meeting in July; as Mark transitions to being a board member, I (Landon) am replacing him as the center's acting director. It is an exciting opportunity to oversee the Center's operations and continue growing its effectiveness in developing servant leaders!

The Uni. servant leadership camp staff, with Mark at bottom left.

Swimming - On Tuesday, Mark's last day, we spent the afternoon with some of our high school students at Peja's newest pool. For a €1.5 entry fee we got gorgeous views in every direction and a huge pool full of clean cold water, perfect for the August heat! The students almost spent the whole four hours we were there trying to dunk or push one another into the pool... but we did also manage to have some deep good conversation about faith/religion (and a bit of politics).

Home Improvement - We've also passed some milestones this week in home decor, and, in my opinion, crossed the threshold of homeyness, even though it's still in progress. We replaced two bare light bulbs in the hall with fixtures to match the golden color paint Lacey put up earlier in the month.

Today we fixed choc. chip cookies and had our landlord's family over for their first visit and so that they could take away their stuff that was filling our second bedroom. In Lacey's words "I just made some chocolate chip cookies using a bag of Nestle chocolate chips that another American left behind :) The butter here is a bit...farm-y and there is no brown sugar--but I think they are going to turn out well. Our landlord and his family are coming over, a bit to visit and a bit to move some of their things our of our second room...finally :), so we'll host them 'Albanian-style' with tons of snacks, sweets, coffee, and juice."

A rainbow at sunrise!

Yesterday (8/7) morning we got a sprinkle of rain at sunrise (around 6:45 - while Lacey was on her jog) and a rainbow! These pictures show the view from our balcony. The white minaret is the closest of several mosques that serenade us 5 times each day with their call to prayer.

Uni Camp Done Too! Post-Camp Excursion Was Today.

Hi again everyone! We've officially crossed the hump in our summer schedule - both leadership camps now done.

In the last six weeks many visions and plans of work here have been replaced by actual experiences. And incredibly, the realities have almost all been more positive than the anticipations.

We're in a transitional stage now. Several of our coworkers - both temporary volunteers and permanent staff - are returning home to the US and we're both adopting some of their responsibilities. In planning for fall, we're looking to continue some of the Center's standing activities and also to expand its impact with new activities.

We'll leave it somewhat vague for now until we get more time for a detailed update. : )

Enjoy these pictures from our excursion to Mirusha Falls today with students who participated in the University camp!


Lacey jumps from the lowest waterfall (L), while our group watches from their rock perch (R).


Lacey walks the path to the first waterfall.


A group of sweet little troublemakers sidled up to Lacey when she offered them snacks. Later they escorted us back to our vehicles and helped us pick up the blanket of litter beside the path.


This is the rock face on one side of the lake (footpaths are hidden throughout). Large plastic pipes supply a waterwheel (bottom R) that generates power for a boom box and refrigerator at the concession stands down near where we sat.


A student and Landon both enjoying the technical solution. If only Kosovo could harness natural forces to get reliable power for the entire country!


A partial group picture.

High School Leadership Camp Complete!

We did it! As you all know, leadership training is central to our vision for working in Kosovo, and the summer leadership camps traditionally are the pinnacle of the Leadership Center's calendar.

Last week fellow staff members, volunteers from the US, and a small team of students who completed the program led the 2009 program for High School students. It was hugely gratifying experience and it felt that we were as effective as we could have been in transferring the principles and passion for servant leadership. The students were visibly inspired by the new ideas, facts and skills! We're now working to enable and mentor them as they implement a style of leadership that contradicts the self-serving style of leadership that is pervasive here.

Preparation for the first camp involved a host of details -- lots of "to do" lists. Our colleague, Jo, oversaw most of the logistics and helped us pull off a variety of activities each day that all tied into one another and might have even looked effortless to the student participants. : ) Her experience and stability behind the scenes critical to the successful training!

Landon's role: I was dedicated to delivering presentations at the daily group sessions (Mon-Thur, no session during the half-day on Fri). The work on those sessions began several months ago with reading through various resources and notes on leadership that I've accumulated. Drawing upon observations and a survey of the students, we chose the themes: 1) What is Servant Leadership? 2) Leadership is a Lifestyle, Not a Position, 3) Leaders Practice Integrity and Transparency, and 4) Leaders Enable Others to Act. It was a fantastic feeling to present messages that were burning inside me and to feel that I'd done so effectively! With Lacey's help, I developed a lot of audio/visual elements to make the themes gripping and memorable.

I also provided the four team leaders with activities and journal questions to help them lead the students in taking ownership of the ideas in small groups. And for the final day, we planned a circuit of games/simulations called "The Big Game" for the teams to practice the themes under the stress of a competition.

Lacey's role: My job was to lead five students, the Green Team, in two or three team times each day. We began each morning with a fun team-building activity, followed by discussions and activities to introduce the daily leadership theme. Later after Landon's session, we would further discuss the themes, journal, and run other activities to help us re-teach the themes to whatever extent the students still needed. It was a thrill to personally engage with the students, challenging them and inspiring them to pursue a higher standard than most others in their community. Throughout the week we also developed a written plan for a service project in the city that the students could accomplish within 2 mos. and with a budget of 200 Euros. I had the pleasure of working during the whole week with a "Jr. Trainer" who was selected from among the program graduates and a translator who is currently in college.

Below are some pictures from the camp (click to enlarge).

We're spending this week regrouping because we will run the exact same camp next week for university students. We look forward to seeing what different group dynamics come with with this older participants who have already entered the adult world.

THANK YOU to all of those who are contributing to make our presence here possible! You should definitely share the feeling of accomplishment and excitement for the future of leadership in Kosovo. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions, or just to say "hi"!

L&L

Showtime for the Leadership Center

On Monday the Leadership Center will begin the first of the two annual leadership camps. The one for high school students will happen on the second week of July, and the one for university students will follow in the fourth week of July.

These camps have usually been the biggest activity on the Center's calendar. Board members and several volunteers have come to Peja, which multiplies our capacity to cover the camp-related logistics and to develop student relationships.

Landon will be the speaker for all (4) group sessions at both the high school and university camps, so he has spent much of the last several weeks preparing. The daily themes are, "What is Servant Leadership?" "Leadership is a Lifestyle, Not a Position," "Leaders Practice Integrity and Transparency," and "Leaders Enable Others to Act."

Camp staff (Americans, local students who participated in the past, and translators) will support session lectures with an array of other activities designed to give students opportunities to digest and practice the themes:

• Designing a work/service project
• Videos
• Small group discussion
  
• Journal questions
• Simulations
  
• A "Big Game" competition, composed of several games that simulate the leadership themes of the camp

Lacey is helping to cover logistics for camp prep and pre-camp trainings, managing the Center's finances, designing graphics for slide shows and calendars to help the various types of staff members keep their roles straight, and more.

We are so excited to be offering a well-designed, high-quality training on such critical skills!
High School Camp Staff Training 7/2


Board and Staff Meeting (two members not pictured) 6/29

Now We Too Have Firewood

Home Life

As of today we too now have firewood on our balcony, ready to dry over the summer and burn in the winter.
The plan was to meet our landlord at 9:30 am to go wood shopping together. We had collected a list of criteria and tips to get the best deal at the wood market:

1) get a combination of soft and hard woods (beech and oak)
2) measure to make sure it's actually a cubic meter
3) expect to pay in the mid €30's/cub. meter of wood
4) expect to pay €3/cub. meter to get it chopped and stacked at your house

Our good plans will have to stay in the file for another year though, because our landlord showed up at 8:30 am with both the wood and the mobile sawmill unit.

I (Landon) dashed to the ATM for cash to pay the guys and picked up some nylon sacks for hauling wood upstairs. When I came back, Lacey had just returned from her run and the wood had been chopped into foot-long sections. Another friend came shortly after that (9:30 am) and the four of us spent the next several hours bringing the wood up to our 4th floor balcony.

In the end we were all sweaty tired, but in good spirits. We had some good conversations with our landlord about the war and reconciliation with one's enemies. Halfway through the work he asked if we could make some coffee and take a break and we served him US style drip coffee, which choked down wishing it was turkish coffee.

The cost was quite a bit lower than we anticipated, and the opportunity to share a project with the landlord was great for our friendship.

Preparing for Winter Before Summer Even Starts

Home Life

What kind of person would buy several cubic yards of firewood a week before summer begins? Just about every homeowner in Peja, Kosovo.

Huge piles of firewood deposited in front of people's homes were one of the first things that caught our eye when we came here. If you're the type of person who doesn't like winter, it's a scary sight. Winters so hard that people are preoccupied with it in late June? On the other hand, the piles of wood are also a thrilling sight, because they represent foresight, discipline, and planning, which are lacking elsewhere in society. It is common, for example, for people to think that they can skirt the consequences of other decisions such as ignoring utility bills, paying bribes, littering, and waiting for foreign investment to help their economy.

Nobody here suffers under the illusion that firewood can be bought at the last minute or with left-over money. Buying firewood after the family vacation could mean getting stuck with green (wet), expensive wood, and having too little money to afford it! The "principles of firewood" are going to be helpful in upcoming lectures and conversations on leadership!

On the advice of some wise friends, we're also filling our freezer with some produce that is in season right now. So far we've prepared several 4.5 pounds of spinach, 4.5 pounds of peaches, and 6.5 pounds of strawberries.

The firewood will be another blog entry sometime after next Tuesday... that's when we plan to take our landlord to the edge of town where the villagers bring their wagons full of wood. We'll bring the deal home with us where the villager will chop the wood and stack it on our balcony.