Two things happened just before I left, though, bad and good, that I have time to mention:
Bad: Lost my Star Wars baseball cap. I've had it since I was 12 and it's been to every country I've been to. And how do I loose it? My pants didn't have belt loops, so I stuffed it into the back waistband while I was walking around Kyiv. It must have fallen out somewhere. I completely retraced my steps and looked for over an hour and a half (stopped only because I had a train to catch). I guess I can reassure myself that I left a part of myself here in Ukraine, but damn that sucked. I try not to attach myself to things, but I did love that hat.
Good: Got the grant for the bikes! That was a long, frustrating process. I actually didn't get the first grant it was written for because it didn't fit the requirements (it should never have been written for that grant in the first place, but that is what Peace Corps had recommended; writing it the first time was like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole). The idea was liked, though, and when it failed to get the first grant, an exception was made to submit it late to another one. That required cutting out $2,000 and changing huge sections to get it to fit this new one. Let's say I've learned a lot about how, when it comes to grants, it's not in the idea itself but how it's written that matters. In any case, I got it and $5,000 will be coming in Mid-June. By July we should be taking kids out on bike trips. That, I feel very good about.
Here's some pics from TOT:
Jon (from Georgia), myself and Mike jamming on "Last Dance" by Tom Petty. To be forever known by the TOTers as "The Indiana Song"
At the TOT social. Mike, myself, my 'fro, and Lana
Me and seven girls. It's a rough life. Georgia, Serbia, Russia, Ukraine and America are all represented in this picture.Also, here is a link to a video of us playing "The Indiana Song". It's funny the way train wrecks are funny.
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=674138096&n=2