Pushing, Catching, and a smaller, better world

Captain's Log: 8.20.2008

We're four months out from port. No sign of the whale but we're not giving up hope. Our beards are thick and manly. Thank goodness.

Okay. So the beard thing did not work out. I honestly tried. I do not want to give up entirely but I'm beginning to think that I just do not have what it takes. Don't worry. I have good support around me. It may take me a while but I want to give it another go.

Things have become so drastic that I'm considering performance enhancing drugs. A new friend, Kyle, is a scientist. (That's right. He makes science.) He won a big science award for creating an algae miracle grow to help in the process of converting algae to gasoline. I have since commissioned him to create a facial hair miracle grow for men (or boys) like myself that find their facial hair, well, lacking (read: invisible). I'll let you know when human trials begin.

This past week I volunteered with a group from my church at the Wadi Sports Camp. The camp is located about an hour west of Cairo toward Alexandria. The camp is supported by the Kasr Al-Dobara church in Cairo. It was amazing.

My main responsibility at the camp was to coach baseball. Baseball is not a popular sport in Egypt so many of the kids were unfamiliar with the rules and the skills. We definitely had to start from the beginning. Another counselor suggested to me that we start by playing kickball. Kickball is a game they know and would help introduce the basic rules of the baseball. We had to clarify, however, that you do not get someone out in baseball by pegging them with the ball. Important distinction.

After kickball, we practiced throwing, catching, hitting, and fielding. The kids learned amazingly fast. I was quite impressed. After covering the major components of the game, we started playing games. Apparently baseball can be boring so the kids were happy to start playing games and competing.

The campers were of the 12-14 year old age group and candy still wields a mighty influence over thier behavior. (I'm 20. I still respond to candy incentives.) A funny story involving candy and aforementioned (I'm so glad I just used that word) Egyptian campers invovles my Egyptian counselor friend Toto. When the campers saw we had candy, they would swarm me and my American co-counselor Daniel. Toto would see this and say, "Egyptians. Egyptians. We have candy in Egypt. Calm down." Toto kept me laughing the entire week. I am so glad he was with the baseball group.

The accommodations at Wadi were really nice. Wadi also hosts corporate groups who come for team building exercises so the rooms for the coaches and campers were cozy. I had two roommates. Their names were Kyle (the scientist) and Michael. They are amazing. I miss them already.

My Arabic was a novelty at the camp. Most of the foreign coaches that come know very little Arabic. After a while it felt a bit like a party trick. The campers and counselors spoke incredibly good English so the sports instruction was done in English. I would try to mix in some Arabic phrases or words which elicited from friendly laughter. Hanging out with the kids and counselors did help me learn some good Egyptian. The counselors are great people. I hope and look forward to seeing them again.

Kyle had the funniest observation about Arabic. He said, "Arabic is nice but it sounds like a lot of pushing. Too much pushing." Perhaps one had to be there. I still think its funny.

There are no rules in Egypt. Sometimes at night the campers would participate in games. One night they played a game called Commandos. The camper's objective was to find a hidden base to earn points for their cabin. As a coach, my job was to catch the campers and send them back to the start. Imagine over 150 kids running and being chased around a sports camp campus at night. Everyone, including the campers, knew people were going to be injured. Kyle told me stories about campers who tried to run through soccer nets (with no success) and through the low ropes course (with no success). Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt but there were some scraped knees and sore ankles.

You could never do something like that in America. You would be sued for more amounts of money that do not even exist. Go Egypt.

One day, Shady, one of the coordinators, took the group to Alexandria. It was neat to see my future home. We ate some delicious seafood and ice cream. I am excited to try new restaurants and foods. I will post some pictures of the city for all to see. I will also soon have links to two videos from the sports camp of myself being silly. Please enjoy.

I am now in Cairo with my friends Lizz and Anne. I have four days until I catch a train to Alexandria with my group. I am looking forward to seeing more things in Cairo.

I also had an interesting conversation with my taxi driver the other day about Egypt and water usage. I hope to learn more about water use in the Middle East, its economic and political impact, and sustainable practice.

Good friends, beach balls, and more good friends,



ps. Olympic weight lifters are unreal. If anyone aspires to become an Olympic weight lifter, I will heartily support you.