While snow piles up in Vermont and New Hampshire, I have to buy a pair of sunglasses to shield my eyes from the bright Prishtina sun because it never occurred to me to pack my own. It is in the mid-fifties and I sweat a bit under the scarf and winter coat that I packed for my February trip to Kosovo as I walk with a quick pace to keep up with the urban throngs on the pitted sidewalks. I’m heading to Mother Theresa Square, the pedestrian mall lined by benches, bistros, and shops. As I pass the government complex, I look up and I see the American flag. It flies third in a row of five flagpoles in front of the buildings that house, among other governmental agencies, the Ministry of Education and Sports, or MEST as it is known. It is where I have come to work as a consultant and how I landed by myself in this tiny Balkan nation. read more…
From 2010 to 2018, I had the privilege of serving as a consultant to the Ministry of Education in Kosovo. I was struck with the warmth of the people, the commitment of the educators, and the deep love and appreciation held for the United States. These “notes” are dedicated to the friends I made there.
America As Seen from Afar
It turns out that I had worried needlessly. America is still king in Kosovo. The country that led the NATO charge in the Balkans war in the nineteen nineties is still revered beyond all others in this tiny nation state.
I’ve been to Kosovo three times since our (2016) election. I had been looking for clues to their reaction to the surprising result. I wanted them to be as concerned as I was. But I hesitated to criticize my country while abroad, so I proceeded guardedly. I found when I would make an oblique reference to the new president, it would be met with polite silence. What were they thinking? I would wonder. Is it that they didn’t agree with me and were not bothered by what they saw and heard? Or were they afraid to offend me? By the end of my trip, I would discover the reasons for their silence. read more…