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An Epilogue is a summary or a pulling together of all the events in a book. It is appropriate to finish this series of blog posts with a summary or at least a reflection on the past ten months of this story I call Kosovo. While it might be simple (though lengthy) to merely go through each chapter and pick out the highlights of each month I lived in this tiny southeastern country, the researcher in me tends to sort the data I’ve collected and report to you what has been most meaningful to me. Teaching in Europe is as easy as Flying a Kite! My journey started with a message on Facebook. A former education student of mine contacted me asking if I would consider teaching fourth grade at Prishtina High School in Kosovo. She said it was a “big ask”, but they needed a teacher. That was a Friday night. By Sunday I had accepted. I moved to Prishtina to teach. You might think this summary would be about teaching. It isn’t. It’s about learning. Learning to be independent. Lea...

I’m back in Ohio now. My last week in Kosovo was filled with visits to friends houses. Several people invited me over for coffee. Of course coffee may include a light meal but always a hefty dessert.  I cleaned my apartment, packing those memories to bring home and dividing the spoils of my pantry among my friends staying there. It was a bittersweet moment as I closed the door Saturday morning and made my way to the taxi. My taxi driver, Faton, has driven me many places. His wife is my friend.  “You’ll come back,” he says. It isn’t a question.  “You never know what God has in mind,” I tell him. “But right now, it’s not in the plan.” “You must come back,” he tells me.  I smile. I’ve heard this all week. I was surprised and oh so happy to see my family! My plane leaves for Vienna at seven in the morning as planned. I board another plane in Vienna to take me to New Jersey. It’s a long flight across the Atlantic. I measure it by the movies ...

As I write this I am looking at the calendar. My class of fourth graders will be moving on to fifth grade next year. I suppose all teachers look over their class at the end of a school year with mixed emotions. A sense of relief that we all made it…a feeling of concern for that one child who still struggles with reading…and of course the pressure to finish everything, get grades in, and supplies put away for next year. I’ve been through this transition nearly twenty times with elementary students and fifteen times I’ve watched my college students graduate. You’d think I’d be totally prepared to say my goodbyes. I’m not.  This year is different. I’m not sure when I’ll see these students again.  I’m not merely saying goodbye to fourteen students…I’m saying goodbye to Prishtina High School, to the friends I’ve made here. I’m saying goodbye to my church family at Drita e Botës. I’m saying goodbye to Prishtina, a city I’ve come to love. And I’m saying goodbye to Koso...

I love Albanian food. I do. I love all the fresh vegetables and fruits, the meat and potatoes. I love the stuffed peppers and the peppers in cream sauce, byrek (bur-rek) and tave.  But one of my favorites is pite (pea-tay).    Pite is a flaky pastry roll stuffed with cheese or meat or spinach. At least that’s the way I’ve eaten it.    My friend and mentor, Zara Through a crazy set of circumstances in the winter, I wound up spending one evening with my pastor’s family. He and his wife and children were going to Imir’s parent’s house for dinner and they invited me to tag along.    Imir’s mother, Zara is a gracious hostess and genuinely likeable woman. His father has lived an interesting life. That night, along with other traditional foods, Zara served us warm…fresh from the oven…golden brown…flaky cheese pite. I was hooked. She said it was easy to make and told me, with Imir acting as our translator, that she would teach me sometim...

This Little One has a Rich Heritage Ever since I arrived in Kosovo, I’ve heard stories of  Bajrush Ibishi . The first person to greet me in the country was Bajrush’s son, Valdet. Valdet takes care of every employee at Prishtina High School.  He is a good man.  So when I started hearing stories about his father—a man who had been an educator, an entrepreneur, a government official and mayor of the place where the director of Prishtina High School, John Chesnut made his home, I was anxious to meet him. My chance finally came. Bajrush Ibishi is a well-educated, well-spoken, and interesting man. He graduated in 1979 with a Degree in Philosophy and History from the University of Prishtina. He subsequently taught for six years, was the principal of a local school for ten years and served as a high school professor in Podujeva following that. In 2001 he worked in Prishtina in the Ministry of Labor and Social work while also serving his community in Orllan as may...

I’ve said it before. One of the perks to living in southeastern Europe is the ability to travel easily to other countries. Well, mostly easy. I did have one minor glitch on my recent trip to Spain.  The World Wide Conference on Qualitative Research (QRCA & AQR) in Valencia offered more than great conference topics for me to explore. My youngest daughter was one of the presenters. The fact it was held in a beautiful Mediterranean city was merely a bonus. But for a moment I wondered if I would get there. For the best rate, I flew from Prishtina to Frankfurt, Germany. I had an hour to make the connecting flight. You guessed it. I missed the connecting flight. So instead of arriving for lunch, I arrived in time for dinner. However, sitting across the table from my daughter made me forget my earlier airport ordeal.  Beach Party After the Conference The conference itself was engaging, starting with the rather well known author of  Curious , Ian Leslie, and...

My Dear Friends, Matt and Julia My British friends, Julia and Matt, live in a Serbian town near Prishtina. They are a sweet young couple I met at church and until recently we were all active in the same small group meeting every week. They invited me to visit them in their home one Saturday. I happily accepted. We set a date. Julia texted to say she and Matt “love to show off the gems of Gracanica,” I was pretty excited. I have always been curious about the Serbian enclaves in Kosovo. After all, there was a war. Many Serbians left the area. Yet, for the people in Gracanica, life goes on. I took a taxi to the center of the town. Julia and I had agreed to meet in front of the monastery. We walked from there back to her house. I thought we might have lunch and she had mentioned seeing the monastery and perhaps the Bear Sanctuary, but I was in for so much more.  Ulpiana Matt drove us out to the Roman ruins just a few minutes from their apartment. Ulpiana is one of the ...