SKATE OR DIE MAN!!!

So in Baku down by the Caspian Sea near downtown they have some amusement rides for kids. Well about a month ago we were driving by in a taxi and saw some sort of skateboard ride. Obviously I flipped out and have been eagerly awaiting my moment of happiness when I finally got to ride it. Well fortunately last week Bethany and I had some spare time in Baku and thrashed away! While it wasn’t quite as cool as the Texas Giant, for 1 buck and being in the Peace Corps, it wasn’t too bad.

In other news:

We had our first softball weekend of the year in Barda which was tons of fun. An AZ5 got a grant so we got some free hotdogs for everyone for lunch and ended up playing about 10 games in two days. We had great weather and I was really sun burnt afterwards. A few of us stuck around for Cinco de Mayo margaritas, Ben’s famous refried beans, and kabobs.

I then spent a couple of days in Baku for some medial stuff, the skater ride, and crashed with my friends who have the indoor pool and sauna-life was good!

Then I headed up to Bethany’s village for her birthday. She had two parties thrown for her by her students, so that was fun. The high light was the first party about 20 sixth grade kids threw it and she had to cut a red ribbon to get into the house to start the party while a kid had “Eye of the Tiger” from Rocky blasting! I was dying laughing the entire time because the scissors were too dull to cut the ribbon so she had to fake cut it and tear it at the same time.

My medical supplies project is 100% dead due to new regulations from the Azeri government on importing medical type supplies that the donor organization cannot meet. I was really disappointed when I found that out.

A few of us are going camping this weekend and are going to do a big day hike that is supposed to be beautiful. Hopefully I’ll have some good pics next week. For now, I hope the skateboard ride and bday pics can keep you satisfied…