Football and Independence

Happy Groundhog Day! I’ve been teaching this holiday all week—the students are very confused, but they love it. I have been showing them pictures of what a groundhog looks like as well as using the tongue twister—how much wood could a woodchuck chuck? I simply explain the meaning of the tongue twister and then transition to the kooky holiday. When I come back to the United States, I am going to take this day off at my next job and travel upstate to Punxsutawney to see what that overfed rodent has to say about February in Pittsburgh. But I digress.

This week marks a transition. I am definitely feeling more comfortable here and liking each passing day. I feel confident around the town and my roommate is letting me go to work alone. (After three unsuccessful attempts of getting keys copied, we finally have two separate sets). I understand the price of taxis and cost of three oranges(ten cents, give or take). It is a really great feeling. My favorite days are Thursday when I can go to Ganda, our boy’s school. It is out in the bush and is beautiful, has a soccer pitch and a farm. It reminds me of some of my personal goals when I come back to the states.

Also, I am exercising more—and if you know me well—is essential. Okay, I understand these past three paragraphs were more or less a “I had a dream last night, let me tell you about it “ ego-centric rambling, so let me tell you about soccer here. I am training with a team called Malindi United. Every Tuesday, I coach volleyball to our girls, but the owner saw me juggling a soccer ball and asked if I wanted to stick around to train. I said sure… changed my clothes and met the program manager—and ex-professional Italian player. We talked for a bit and he has created more or less a scouting program in Kenya. He sets up training, games, and travel (for free, mind you) and in return, these very talented teenagers are allowed to play each other’s towns. A pair of the players them have been going to play in Italy as part of their training to become professional. The players are very, very good. They don’t mind who comes to play, though, and accepted the mzungu with open arms. I thought that I could help out with coaching, but once I saw them playing, I couldn’t resist. I had a decent session (with my limited skill set) and I think that I will be back to a decent touch in about two weeks. You should read more about it here… a cool program: http://www.malindiunited.net/ and some more news about the players: http://www.futaa.com/football/article/Malindi-United-Italy-pair-to-return-for-paper-processing-in-late-September.

Perhaps the coolest part of soccer though, is the ‘lawnmowers’—a flock (or herd?) of goats that simply chew the grass down so that we can play.

I must teach soon, so I will write about Mombassa (including some pictures) next post. Hope you all are doing well. Saw the Pens lost... and GO GIANTS!

-Adam