update
It's been a while since I've been back from Greece, and my life seems to have actually changed in this time... because now everything feels like a countdown to the end...
I woke up every morning this week -- and unfortunately that's no exaggeration! -- to rain and grey skies that lasted all day. Wow. Just like the West Coast. Then, every evening the thunderstorms would roll around, and we could sit out on the balcony (six and a half stories up) watching the sky light up for hours. Hmm. Just like Ontario. I've seen Toronto on the telly twice this week (on CNN and a sports-related something-or-other) and had hand-made sushi for dinner last night... an *extreme* luxury here, but one of the staple foods at home.
Now that I've got North America on my mind (which I'll get to eventually, after a little in-between European sightseeing), it dawns on me that I have only two more weeks here. Two weeks! Seems crazy. I've been ready to head home for a full four months (mostly due to a severe lack of things to do with my time), but now that leaving is an impending reality, I find myself feeling almost regretful.
Almost.
Of course, there's the typical rush to do and see everything that I want to do and see before I go...
Waterfalls in Kosova that I'm told are stunning. More time at a near-by lake that, low and behold, was actually a pleasure to swim in when I went last weekend. Perhaps a short trip to the coast of Montenegro, in the south of Serbia, to lie on the Adriatic shores?
And, the count of what remains...
Only five more games of ultimate, which has remained the single constant thing in my life for five months. Since many of my friends will be heading for vacations to return after I leave, only a few more days with some wonderful people. And what I imagine to be are the last two weeks in my life in which I'll ever need to speak Albanian :-)
I've also been trying to create a mental list of what I have accomplished here (in terms of work), and sadly, the list isn't too long! This week, after waiting two and a half months, I finally received a response to the last grant application I had written. Rejected, like all the others. I did manage to get a single desk donated to my office, but that's about it in terms of concrete achievements. (But hey, if anyone out there wants to donate a vehicle to a good cause, just let me know!) In general, it seems to be getting more difficult to find funding for projects in Kosova since most organizations are losing interest in this area and moving on to other locations. I guess it's not a surprise that I had no luck, but still, I wish I had been able to do more.
Not achieving a lot, however, does not mean that I didn't learn a lot, but that's an entire topic on its own.
Until then...
I woke up every morning this week -- and unfortunately that's no exaggeration! -- to rain and grey skies that lasted all day. Wow. Just like the West Coast. Then, every evening the thunderstorms would roll around, and we could sit out on the balcony (six and a half stories up) watching the sky light up for hours. Hmm. Just like Ontario. I've seen Toronto on the telly twice this week (on CNN and a sports-related something-or-other) and had hand-made sushi for dinner last night... an *extreme* luxury here, but one of the staple foods at home.
Now that I've got North America on my mind (which I'll get to eventually, after a little in-between European sightseeing), it dawns on me that I have only two more weeks here. Two weeks! Seems crazy. I've been ready to head home for a full four months (mostly due to a severe lack of things to do with my time), but now that leaving is an impending reality, I find myself feeling almost regretful.
Almost.
Of course, there's the typical rush to do and see everything that I want to do and see before I go...
Waterfalls in Kosova that I'm told are stunning. More time at a near-by lake that, low and behold, was actually a pleasure to swim in when I went last weekend. Perhaps a short trip to the coast of Montenegro, in the south of Serbia, to lie on the Adriatic shores?
And, the count of what remains...
Only five more games of ultimate, which has remained the single constant thing in my life for five months. Since many of my friends will be heading for vacations to return after I leave, only a few more days with some wonderful people. And what I imagine to be are the last two weeks in my life in which I'll ever need to speak Albanian :-)
I've also been trying to create a mental list of what I have accomplished here (in terms of work), and sadly, the list isn't too long! This week, after waiting two and a half months, I finally received a response to the last grant application I had written. Rejected, like all the others. I did manage to get a single desk donated to my office, but that's about it in terms of concrete achievements. (But hey, if anyone out there wants to donate a vehicle to a good cause, just let me know!) In general, it seems to be getting more difficult to find funding for projects in Kosova since most organizations are losing interest in this area and moving on to other locations. I guess it's not a surprise that I had no luck, but still, I wish I had been able to do more.
Not achieving a lot, however, does not mean that I didn't learn a lot, but that's an entire topic on its own.
Until then...
posted by melissa at 5:04 p.m.
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