Leader

Sadly, the trip is over.  I’m back home in Regina, SK for a few weeks and I’ve finally gotten back onto the Canadian time schedule and am over jet lag.  As a good-bye present from my trip I caught a little bug, but I’ve taken my rest and medication and I’m feeling 100% back to my ol’ self.  It’s all part of the traveling experience!

Now it’s time for me to meet old friends and tell them all about my adventures of the last 5 weeks.  Luckily, I have mostly only highlights to talk about.  So here’s a few final thoughts on my first ever Euro-Trip:

- I’ve see few things that have taken my breath away like Prague, Czech Republic at night.

- I still don’t think a sandwich that is half the size of regular sandwiches in North America and 1/4 as thin is worth $15 US simply because I’m in Geneva, Switzerland.

- Budapest, Hungary is such a fascinating place — it’s full of attractions and fun things to do while at the same time has a dark and heavy history of events that have happened so recently.

- There are so many currency exchange booths that want to take you for a ride.  Words of wisdom: the further you get away from the airport or tourist centre the better the rates get.

- I never found out the reason but I have to say Bucharest, Romania is the wedding dress capital.  There was actually a bridal shop on ever corner! I guess I know where I’ll be going one day in preparation for my big day.

-The people of Moldova are incredible — so smart, talented and giving.  I learned that I’d rather be doing something when I travel (meaning I would always prefer to be working in some fashion with the local people of a country) any day than touring and seeing the sites!

- Istanbul, Turkey is so great!  Not just because the city is split between two continents but also because the people that live there have such an expressive nature.  No one is afraid to approach you and they are always trying to sell you something.  But, they are also very hospitable and can give you some great stories (just be careful because many taxi drivers will definitely try to overcharge you).

And I could go on and on with moments and experiences that I’ve loved from this trip.  Thank you for taking the time to read my blog over the past few months.  It’s been great to have an outlet to share what I’ve experienced with you and I hope that one day (if you haven’t already) get a chance to travel to some of these same places and create some great memories for yourself.

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

Yesterday was my birthday.  I don’t think I could have planned a better day myself.  The sun was blazing, the skies were so blue and I think everyone I passed had a smile on their face.  After traveling for about five weeks now I thought there would be nothing better to do on my birthday then nothing.  So I took a cruise with fellow LEADERites on the Bosphorus.  We started the cruise visiting some ancient mosques and then for the first time in my life I went to a Sultan’s palace!  I swear I felt like Jasmin at that moment.

Afterwards, I ate the freshest fish and laid on the ship’s deck and soaked in all the sun I could.  Then, I was pleasantly surprised to see pods of dolphin’s in the water (again, I’ve never seen wild dolphins before).  We then took a 20 minute hike up to an old ruined castle.  Honestly, during the steep walk I was wondering if it would be worth it at all.  But, this site was incredible (and that is even an understatement).  You could see all the way from the Bosphorus to the Black Sea.  I looked like a photo it was so perfect.  We got back on the cruise ship and headed for the Black Sea — as soon as the ship stopped I plunged in the water.  Swimming in the Black Sea surrounded by green hills and water as far as the eye can see was truly amazing.  Just when I didn’t think the day could get any better a local offered to take myself and Sylvia (another LEADERite) on a cruise on his small boat.  So imagine, a small boat that can’t fit more than 3 people and we were holding on by just a rope and he was C-R-A-Z-Y.  Several times I thought for sure I was going to be flipped outside of the boat.  I’ve been white-water rafting before and I think riding with him I reached the same level of fear and adrenaline rush.

Once I reached back home I realized I had turned 3 shades darker from the day and we topped the night off with a fabulous traditional Turkish dinner with birthday cake and a birthday back massage from Sylvia.  Really, what more could a girl want??

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

Well, I left Chisinau, Moldova on Saturday.  Two weeks flew by so quickly.  For the final day, we had our students present their business plans to the class.  One group in particular blew us away.  They had incorporated so much of what we had taught them into their presentation. I’m talking about full financial statements, future cash flow budgets, sales forecasts, etc — top quality work.  Seeing that they had really taken something away from the course made me so happy.  That is why we’re here.  And not only that, it was oustanding how their classmates really questioned them on their business plans and offered alternative to strengthen their plan.  The students from Moldova have talent that’s for sure!

Then it was time to say good-bye.  We gave out our final prizes, presented certificates to the participants and said our final words to the class.  For me, I hope this is far from the end of how I connect with these students.  All of us LEADERites offered continued help with their projects.  I saw real passion in what they envisioned Moldova being one day.  Thankfully, with today’s technology the dialogue with them does not have to stop once we leave.

All in all, this was such a rewarding experience for me.  I learned so much about another country and their culture while I was there.  I grew as a communicator, and really loved teaching and seeing the students challenge each other in class everyday.  Plus, us LEADERites had a whole lot of fun together hanging out just as a team and with our students.

Luckily, the fun is not over for us.  All four of us LEADERites are currently in Istanbul spending a few days touring the city.  Actually, I’m off right now to go to the Turkish baths and get a massage (oh, what a hard life I lead!).

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

The LEADERites had a night on the town — or, at least the best karaoke night of our lives!!  We booked a table at a popular karaoke pub and arrived at 8pm to an empty house.  So, we decided to make it a party regardless.  We were up on stage singing with each other, eating great food and doing dance routines.  Thankfully, the place filled up as the night went on and the evening continued getting better.  We met other visitors from the States, Australia, Thailand and of course plenty of Moldovans were there. 

I love Karaoke but I have never had the experience where I got to sing (or attempt to sing) in English, Russian, Moldovan, Romanian and perhaps one or two mroe languages.  Oddly, a lot of people sing while sitting at their tables — BORING!  So, the four of us soon got the place alive!  We had people from all the tables getting up on stage, others began dancing and we have swaying sing-a-longs with people who did not know a word of English other than the Summer of 69 by Bryan Adams. 

We did not even noticed when it hit 4 am and we realized we had spent 8 hours singing karaoke.  But, all in all, it was a night I will never forget!

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

Yesterday, our team got a special treat.  Some of the students came over and taught us how to make traditional Moldovan food — Plachenta and Pancakes.  We have had these dishes already at different restaurants and I loved eating them there. But, truly nothing beats homemade. We started from scratch making the dough, rolling it and putting together all the ingredients.  The whole process took a few hours and we have some problems with our kitchen (yes, same kitchen that we burnt bread) but it was well worth the wait!  The food was beyond incredible!  A thin dough crust stuffed with cheese or potatoes and then for desert we made crape-like pancakes with Ja (our Nutella substitute), homemade jam and bananas. 

What I found most interesting was the similarities I find in foods from different countries.  I know there are a lot of differences too!  But with these traditional foods I remember having a similar Egyptian and Indian dishes before and another Leaderite mentioned Russia and France have similar dishes as well.  I guess the world is not as different as we think.

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

Despite a few challenges and disruptions in flights due to volcanic eruptions, everyone from Team Tolyatti arrived at the Togliatti Academy of Management . The site in incredibly beautiful as it is situated in the forest, roughly 30 minutes from the city. In addition, their is a lovely beach nearby. The facilities are pretty nice overall and the food has been very good.

We have been teaching two classes. The first consists of younger undergraduate students while the second is an EMBA type of class. These students are older and more experienced and they come to class straight from work. We have found that these two classes are quite different that that we must adjust our teachings for each group.

By now, we’ve taught several cases including Lululemon and No Pudge. We continue to be surprised by some of the dead pan responses our students give us. For example:

Shazia: “Dmitry, why don’t you describe Lululemon for me?”
Dmitry: “No.”

Overall, though, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the aptitude and creativity of our students and we are finding that they are becoming more and more engaged each day.

As we near the conclusion of our teaching program, we realize that our time here is almost up. Personally, I only have one case left to teach and I am looking forward to it. Hopefully I will continue to get some creative answers will spark more interesting debates.

Mike Brosseau is an MBA Executive Director for the LEADER project. For more information on the program, please visit www.leadproject.com.

It’s crazy how within such a short period of time, you can get so close to almost complete strangers when you’re traveling.  My team consists of four people - myself, Lauren (MBA 2010), Syed (MBA 2010) and Noel (HBA 2010).  Really, we didn’t know each other very well before we came on this adventure but within just one week I feel as though these four are like family.  We teach together, run together, watch movies on our 10″ screen while all cuddled up together, eat together and even fight fires together.  (Side story: Yesterday when trying to make dinner we decided to roast bread for some homemade bread crumbs.  Unfortunately, we forgot that we put bread in the oven and were distracted while watching a movie.  All of a sudden, we smell a burning something.  We walk out of the room and see a thick cloud of smoke hovering in our apartment and so we frantically start waving our towels together trying to get the smoke out of the room.  Now, I understand the importance of smoke alarms.  I hope Moldova will see it soon too.)

Even though this trip is about teaching and building relationships with our students, it’s amazing the strong friendships we already have with each other.  (We’ve already planned our reunion dinner for the fall - hopefully no fires will occur). 

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

First, I need to apologize for lacking on my blog the past few days. Since reaching Moldova I haven’t had the easiest access to the internet. But, I will try my best to write more for the final week of teaching. So, week one of teaching just ended. And wow, it’s been quite the week! Full of surprises!

I came to Moldova with not much knowledge. But, since seeing the statistics that Moldova is the poorest country in Europe my expectations weren’t very high. I’ve been blown away this past week. Chisinau (the capital of Moldova where we are) is a very cute city. Peaceful and clean. I mean, you do see signs of poverty, but not to any extreme (or, at least of what I’ve seen so far). And our students are truly amazing. They have never done the case method of learning before, but they all jumped right in. I never have an issue with no one participating in the class. They ask challenging and curious questions, but are honest about the challenges and circumstances they face. And they are excited to learn. Before, I didn’t know if the students would even read the case before class — but they do, and they come with questions and are ready to debate their viewpoints.

Although our students are enthusiastic and extremely smart — they have a very negative attitude of their home. Moldova has a lot of corruption and so it’s difficult for students to see opportunity here and a lot would like to move elsewhere to live and work. I know I only understand a small amount of the real challenges they face, but we are here to try and find ways for them to improve their situation in their own country. So, it’s an ongoing battle. But, I think by talking, discussing and brainstorming are the first steps towards change.

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

The one thing I’ve learned about Bucharest, is that they love to eat and be entertained.  Almost every single restaurant I’ve been to here, has some sort of live music/dancing going on.  Yesterday, I heard a jazz singer, who sounded so good that I thought it was a CD and so had to go inside the restaurant just to see who it was.  And today, I was briefly entertained by traditional Romanian dancers while eating dinner.  They were all decked out in their traditional clothes and when they dance…they dance!  There was laughing, yelps and smiles on the whole restaurant’s faces who were watching. 

I’m going to miss this — either looking out onto beautiful buildings with interesting architecture while at the same time listening (or watching) music, dance, or even a man walking around with his parrots and music box (don’t ask, I didn’t quite understand that one either!).  Anyways, I was entertained while enjoying my delicious food.  I’d say this totally beats watching sports highlights while grabbing a slice.

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director

Today Kristina and I arrived in Bucharest, Romania.  Let me tell you, after a 14 hour train ride, a shower never felt soo good!  Anyways, after we freshened up, we went to see the city.  The hotel we’re staying at luckily gave us a map to guide us…or so we thought.  I’m not sure if it’s us, or the map, but honestly we couldn’t figure out north from south, east from west.  Every landmark seemed to be off from the streets in this map.  At this moment, I’ve never wanted my GPS so badly!  To simply press ‘current location’ and destination and have a small dot show me where to go would have definitely helped!  But, instead, we walked, wandered and finally after exhausting our capabilities, we asked locals.  Ooooh so THAT’S where we are!  We’ll see where this map takes us tomorrow! 

Melanie Thomas, Jr. Executive Director