Apwoyo cho!! (Good morning in Acholi)
or.......
Dong maber (good day...depending when you are reading this haha)
Hard to believe I've been gone for two weeks now!!! I have done a lot while traveling, but it still doesn't seem like I've been gone that long. Time flies. Bittersweet as this is the halfway point on my summer 2013 traveling adventures.
Coaching the Negri boys was a lot of fun. They really do have a good grasp of the game and some of them have really good natural talent. They are a strong team and I am excited to see how they will do in the tournament this Saturday.
The captain of this team is amazing. He is currently not training because he is training for the track and field athletics competition that is taking place Thursday and Friday here in Gulu. This is a competition where the entire school gets let out and goes to see and support their fellow athletes. The assistant coach of the Negri team was trying to guilt them into staying behind for one of the days to train for the tournament on Saturday. The captain of the team actually stood up to the coach in a very polite way and stated that all of the boys want to go to athletics and that they would be willing to train on their day off and on the mornings. Ugandan culture is that the younger people listen and do what the elders, or older people say and suggest. I think it is incredible that he spoke out for the team. Obviously he is a very good captain. I will definitely not forget him. He is what a captain should be.
Wednesday was spent teaching the patrons of the high schools (like, the teachers who are supporting rugby) the basics of the sport and game. A lot of them had no idea what the concept of the game was. It was very difficult for them to help out and to even watch games due to their lack of knowledge. They had a hard time believing that this game was safe. (My mom can agree to this. At the beginning of Danielle's and my rugby careers, she hated coming to watch the game because to her it looked like a game without rules and where everyone just tackles and runs over everyone else. This is how a lot of the patrons feel. She enjoyed watching us play much more once she understood the basics). We taught them about the field of play, kick off, passing, tackling, rucking, mauling, scrumming, line outs, knock ons, forward passes and tries/kicks for points. They all had a blast and I'm sure are looking forward to watching some rugby on Saturday.
I coached the wonderful girls at Gulu High in the evening on Wednesday. They are typical high school girls. They would get easily distracted by the boys team that was practicing beside us. I guess that type of boy crazy is universal. They are super excited to play some rugby on Saturday!! We did some ball handling drills (I taught them how to do a switch and told them it is a good play to do in 7's. They caught on quickly!!!!), and lots of tackling. They love to tackle! We played some touch rugby at the end of practice.
After practice I gave them the letter/package Kellie sent for them. Kellie was their coach from Gainline last summer, and she is also my teammate at Western and at St. George's. oh my goodness I don't think I've seen a group of girls get so excited! They definitely miss you Kellie and hope to see you again!!!
Today (Thursday) we plan to head out on a bus to some waterfalls somewhere to go swimming. It's a little chilly and overcast so I hope the weather is better where ever we are going.
Here are a few links.
Gainline Africa website: go here to read more about this wonderful organization as well as read more blogs from the coaches here in Uganda.
http://www.gainlineafrica.org/
Gainline Africa Facebook page: Gainline will be posting updates and pictures throughout the trip. Also, like the page and spread awareness of what Gainline is trying to accomplish here in Uganda.
https://www.facebook.com/gainlineafrica
Fundraising page: if you are able to donate to Gainline, please do. It's a non-profit organization that depends on donations and fundraising to keep going. Donations above $20 will receive a tax receipt.
http://raiseathon.ca/gainlineafrica/profile.php?id=6nidet2
Still can't believe we only have 2 weeks left here in Uganda!!!
-Steph
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