Typical

Thursday, September 18, 2008
This is so typical. I don’t know why I didn’t see it coming. I went to the outdoor volleyball courts today to observe and see if there could be a way to help the girls’ team. I was greeted by the coach, who is a teacher at the school. When I got there, only one girl was present, but about nine guys of varying ability. After talking with the coach a bit, I discovered that the girls and guys practice together and that he really doesn’t know anything about the game. He handed me the whistle and said to do whatever I wanted and then he went over to talk to a few other men. I was left with a breathy whistle that was basically ineffective and a dozen players looking at me expectantly. From watching them scrimmage, I knew that some basic techniques needed to be taught so I started with passing the ball. After demonstrating the proper position, I had them attempt it. Hmm. I can see there will be a lot of work to do. But I enjoyed it. I loved seeing them try it and occasionally being successful in getting the ball where they wanted it to go. I loved encouraging them and pointing out what they were doing right and giving them a tip or two to improve. And I loved the feel of the volleyball in my own hands. I love this game.

Afterwards, I talked to the coach again and said that I would be willing to run practices but I could not guarantee getting to all the games as they happen to be scheduled. And that I would need his help doing the drills. He was open to this, saying that he learned a lot just from today’s practice. I left the practice dripping with sweat (it’s the hot season, remember?) yet energized. Did I already say that I love this game?

One of the drawbacks of living in a developing country is that things are very expensive but without the quality expected from the amount you are paying. This has been our experience with toys that we buy for the kids and meals in restaurants. But it also seems to be true for education, even private international education. We attended the “Meet the Teachers” night at the boys’ school this evening. After listening to both teachers talk about their plans for the year and the curriculum they will be following, both Peter and I were less than impressed. I’m sure it will be adequate but not creative, stimulating, or advanced. For the high cost of tuition, I expected more. But it is the best option in town and I don’t think homeschooling is the answer for us. So we will keep reading to our boys, and try to supplement what they are receiving at school.

Saturday, September 20, 2008
Remember last blog when I said that we have water all the time now. I lied. What I should have said is that we SHOULD have water all the time. But for some reason, yesterday there was no cold or hot water running out of our taps. My first response is to be irritated with Peter, like he is some water guru or something. But I did my best to rein that in and make do without water once again. By this morning there was water once again, and we really don’t know what the trouble was with our water tank.

Sunday, September 21, 2008
It seemed like a typical Sunday afternoon: I was taking a nap, the boys were watching a video, and Peter was in the living room reading a novel. Little did we know that someone had climbed over the wall in our backyard, using the space that no longer has shards of glass sticking up as a deterrent, and nicked our garden hose. We are thinking that he/they used the pawpaw tree to get back over the wall. It seems that tree will have to come down. There have been kids from the neighboring compound who have been sitting on that wall before, throwing rocks into our garden and harassing our boys. We told the MEF guards about it but there is nothing they can do. We don’t know if it was these same kids who stole our hose but I wouldn’t be surprised. It is a major inconvenience not to have a hose when it comes to watering our garden. Plus, hoses cost almost $100, not a cheap thing to now be in someone else’s possession. More disconcerting is that if they made off with our hose in broad daylight, they will probably come back for more.

Monday, September 22, 2008
It was a pretty typical morning. I went to town to get three things accomplished but only came back with one checked off my list. I had been told over a month ago that our Zambian driver’s licenses would be ready in two weeks time. I gave it a few extra weeks for good measure then went in this morning to collect our licenses. I should have known that they wouldn’t have been there but the gentleman I talked to before was confident it would be ready. I was told to come back again in two weeks. Maybe I will make it two months.

Then I went to the market and found Zambian men harassing me more than usual. One was berating me, in Bemba, for not speaking Bemba. He seemed drunk so I chose not to engage him on that one. Another man followed me saying, “I want to marriage a white woman!” I went to find a man that I had talked to about making a gift for Peter’s birthday but the product he showed me was not worth buying, especially not at the muzungu price he was quoting me. I walked by a woman frying chicken heads in oil, a delicacy I’m sure. I’ll pass on that one. But then I went to see the older gentleman vendor that I always go to first. Mr. Nkonda has the sweetest pineapples, the freshest green beans, and he is always gentle and welcoming. Today he threw in an extra pineapple as a gift to me. So no driver’s license, no gift for Peter, but I got my fruit and vegetables and an extra pineapple to boot.

Thursday, September 25, 2008
I returned to the volleyball court this afternoon in the blazing heat. Some of the guys were more vocal about not wanting to learn proper techniques. They just wanted to play, smacking around the ball and thinking they are hot stuff, even though the net sags so much that even I, with my limited vertical ability, could spike the ball without a problem. One guy told me that he had been playing volleyball for a long time (maybe four years) and he pretty much knew what he needed to know. Incredulously, I asked if there was any room for improvement in his game, knowing from observation that there most definitely was. Not really, he said. Ah, to be young and an expert. But I made them practice passing the ball anyway, and some of them are really improving. I think they will all enjoy the game a bit more if they can at least pass the ball decently. There were only 11 players out today so I got to play with them. Pretty fun, even if it deteriorated into jungle ball. Somewhere along the way, hopefully at the end, I managed to split the seat of my favorite crop jeans. They were pretty old and threadbare but I didn’t think I would be returning to the car with a rip under the pocket, the full length of my cheek. Brendan and Jason nearly died laughing when I showed them. Glad they got a good laugh out of it. I’m going to miss those jeans.

As I am typing this, Hero is laying on the desk, taking occasional swipes at my moving fingers. Hero has got the nastiest farts in the whole world. He is totally stinking me out right now. Time for him to go outside!

Next week will be a little crazy. It is both Peter and Brendan’s birthdays. That always takes a bit of doing. But now it looks like Peter will be traveling to Sudan for eight days, leaving on Wednesday. This weekend he will have to do quite a bit of work in preparation for leaving the office that long. We will have to celebrate Brendan’s birthday early since Peter will be gone by then. I’m not sure what kind of celebrations we are going to have for Brendan yet but I may need to tone it down as I will be doing the single parent thing. And Carmen isn’t here anymore to step into that other parent role so I am really on my own. Peter feels bad about the timing of this trip but I think it will be interesting for him. By the way, he will be going to southern Sudan, away from the violence, so that is good. But it will be several days of traveling, both ways, so he will be exhausted. If you think of us, send up a little prayer on our behalf.