A few weeks ago Mark and I played golf in Choma. There were cows in the “fairways.” I don’t think I really need to say more than that to give an accurate depiction of the experience -- but I will anyway. For those of you who are familiar with the course conditions at Haven Golf Club, they were about the same except here parts of the “fairways” had not been mowed for a few weeks. Thus even in the “fairways” it was hard to find the ball. Luckily we had a spotter who went out ahead of us and marked the location of our balls. Not only did we get a spotter we also got a caddie. We only needed one caddie because they let both of us use the same set of clubs, which weren’t in too bad of shape. Unfortunately they had regular flex shafts so I kept hitting everything left (at least that’s what I am blaming it on, although not playing for 5 months could have been a factor also).
On the 16th we did get to go to Choma Secondary to play games. The school took boys and girls soccer teams, boys volleyball, chess, boys and girls basketball, and girls netball (which is like basketball but without dribbling or backboards and is played on a grass field). We got there about 10:00 AM. The first item of business was to have a coaches meeting for each sport. So I met with the other coaches and we determined how long the games were going to be and how we were going to set up the tournament. Since there were only 2 girls teams and 3 boys teams we decided that the boys games would consist of 15 minute quarters (yeah, they were long games even with running clock) and the girls game would be 10 minute quarters with running clock.
The first game was between the two other boys teams. As we were watching the game it was immediately apparent to me that we were not going to beat one of the teams. They actually had some fundamentals and organization on offense and defense. I felt somewhat vindicated for my coaching efforts however when one of my players came up to me and said, “Coach that team does what you want us to do.” haha (ie – not run around like a bunch of headless chickens on offense). Unfortunately despite the recognition of what we should do, we were unable to actually do it in the game. Our first game was against the good team, which beat us by about 40. However, we did win our second game 31 to 29. Because there were only 3 teams, second place was not good enough to qualify for the next round, so boys’ basketball is over until May.
The girls faired better. There were only two teams and thus only one game – which we won 14-10. We were propelled to victory by our monstrous 8-point 4th quarter. I was not planning on coaching the girls’ team but their coach couldn’t make it so she asked me to fill in. With our victory we qualified for the quarterfinals on March 8.
Overall it was an interesting experience. It had a similar atmosphere to MAYB but outdoors and less organized. For example, the schedule of games changed several times. The coaches who changed the schedule didn’t bother to tell me. Jocelyn, who also coaches basketball at Choma, informed me of the changes. When the other coaches were asked when they were going to tell me, they replied, “When he asks.” Ha. The other major difference was that the referee was the coach who didn’t have a team playing at the time (although they didn’t ask me to be a referee, which was fine).
This past weekend Mark, Amy, and I went to Kitwe, which is in the Copperbelt in the northern part of Zambia, to see the Smiths. They are MCC workers at a peace institute.
I would like to end by thanking Mark's brother for sending him The Best of the Colbert Report DVD. I really miss that show

It is hard to believe it is February already and I my term is half over. Sometimes I am excited that I am already half-way finished and at other times depressed that I am only half-way finished. I guess it depends on whether or not I am having a good day.
It continues to rain almost everyday, although it is abating somewhat. I have to ride my bike through several inches of water everyday where it is flowing over the dam between me and the Secondary School. Also, the water table is so high it is causing some buildings to be unstable. I have heard of people suddenly having springs of water popping up in their living rooms. Also, the latrines at the girls’ dorms collapsed (yuck). Thankfully, no one was using them at the time.
Not too much is new in Sikalongo except for the sudden influx of paparazzi. Even with the rains and the bad roads it is hard to find a moment to myself. People are always asking for pictures and autographs. But hey, I guess that’s the price you pay for being put on the back page of “The Common Place.”
Because of my new found fame, they have asked me to use my influence and teach Sunday school to the grade 12’s. (Or maybe it’s because they couldn’t find anyone else to do it.) Our first lesson was on Jesus being able to relate to our human needs, desires, temptations, etc. Once again I found it to be more for me than for the pupils. The material suggested that I begin class with the question, “Have any of you ever felt like no one understands you?” No response. So I asked again, this time slower and with more of my Zambian accent. (I do have one, but for some reason it only comes out when talking to Zambians. I can’t really turn it on and off.) “Have any of you ever felt like no one understands you?” No response. So I said, “It must be nice to always be perfectly understood.” To which, a boy in the front row said, “Sir (pronounced “suh”), we are not getting you.” I thought about trying to explain irony, but decided against it.
Despite my frustrations with being understood, I was encouraged this last week when I learned that some students told the Deputy Headmaster that “we are getting used to speaking English because we are taught by an English speaking teacher.” English is one of the subjects that every pupil must pass to graduate. (I learned of this because the headmaster had to write a report evaluating myself and the school’s partnership with MCC at the half-way point. Guess who typed it...haha.)
In other news, Obama-fever is spreading through Sikalongo. The school accountant told me he stayed up most of the night watching the coverage of Super Tuesday. (He has a special satellite with CNN). The school also has satellite TV in the staff room which gets two news stations – a French one and an Iranian one. Both of which have quite a bit of coverage of the primaries. Whenever a report comes on about the elections in the States everyone stops what they are doing and listens. The extensive coverage by both the French and Iranian stations as well as the interest of the people in Sikalongo has given me a new appreciation for the fact that whoever the next president is will affect not only Americans but the rest of the world as well.
As for basketball, I am quickly losing interest. It was fun for a while but now I am finding excuses not to go to “practice.” The problem is I want it to be something that it will never be. We will never run an offense or really be able to gameplan or anything like that. And despite my attempts to teach some fundamentals, whenever we scrimmage everything goes out the window. Also we did not go “tripping” on the 26th so we have been having lots of practice with no games. However, the official schedule came out and we will be going to Choma on the 16th of February. I wonder what we’ll do if it rains?