We are the Champions!

After the last blog entry, which in retrospect was rather dark and depressing, I guess a more upbeat and positive entry is in order. Fortunately there is plenty to talk about.

This seems quite ironic, as yesterday was merely a rest day, with no teaching whatsoever. Most of the day was spent recovering from the drain of teaching, but of course us volunteers couldn't be happy sitting on our butts all day without doing something intense. The logical decision? Play a super tough game of basketball with a bunch of local adults. 

A little back story is in order: this isn't actually the first time we played a game of basketball with the people here, a motley assortment of adults with varying levels of height, speed and girth. We had played against them once before, and boy was that an embarrassment! They wiped the floor with us, beating us by more than 10 points. Of course, our group isn't the sort that gets crushed after a single loss: we would have to be grinded into the dirt for us to give up. So we decided on a rematch, which took place yesterday, and it was one of the most intense games of basketball I have ever participated in.

Then again, I'm not exactly someone who has played lots of basketball, and I don't have that much skill playing it. But I knew the basics, if not the many intricacies of the sport, so I joined the team in order to help out. Here's a run down of the team:

Karl: One of the American volunteers, he lives in Washington DC, and is by far the best player among us. He is the one who gets the most shots in, and is a vital part of our offense.

Kabeer: Actually a volunteer from England, he is another vital part of the offense, as he is great at setting up shots for Karl, and is an expert at managing the ball.

Jerry: The other American volunteer, he's from Chicago, and is a great all around player. He's the biggest out of all of us, so he is great for wading past the defense, and stopping their offense.

Freak (Yep, that's his actual English name): as his name suggests, Freak is a bit of a loose cannon on the court. A Chinese volunteer, his movements are crazy and unpredictable, and always goes straight for the shot.

Alex: The other Chinese volunteer on the team, Alex is descent in every aspect of the game, from shooting free throws to holding firm on defense, despite his small size.

And finally there's me, Diego, the lone Mexican holding the line on defense. As my aim with a basketball isn't exactly "Micheal Jordan" level, and more along the lines of "confused old person", I was tasked in focusing all my efforts on defense. This seems rather easy, but I have yet to describe the other team: just to give you a hint, the rest of the volunteers decided to name the other team, and they chose "The Potbellies". Most of the local players were, excuse my bluntness, pretty freaking fat, and consequently had a lot of weight to throw around. This helped us in the long run, as they would quickly get tired, but considering my thin, light body versus their gargantuan mass of flesh, I think my defense was more akin to a feather trying to block an incoming meteor. Despite this, I was actually pretty descent in keeping the other team from scoring: while it was physically impossible for me to physically stop the opposing players, I was able to effectively distract and annoy them, keeping them from ever shooting as straight as they would like. Also, my low weight helped me as I could jump rather high, deflecting their shots and stopping their momentum. 

So overall, our team was pretty good, and we had practiced a great deal since our last defeat. But it was far from an easy game. First of all, the opposing team fought dirty, and most of our team finished the game with their fair share of bruises, scratches, and bite marks. And the local team was far from being terrible. Rather, they played very well most of the time. Because of this the game was extremely close, with each side gaining and losing the advantage. There was even a time, near the start of the second half, were it seemed like our team was surely going to lose, as the opponents had gotten a long string of good shots. Fortunately, near the end, we made an incredible comeback, and soon we were once again winning. As the timer struck zero, we were up by two, and Karl finished off the game with an unbelievable half court shot. Final score: 22-19, China Summer Team wins!!

So yeah, it was a pretty great game, and I was happy to be a part of it. Unfortunately, now we have to worry about preparing a ton of classwork for the following days! I'm especially nervous, as I have been working on a solo class on Geology. Still, I'm excited, and I hope I can do well on my own.

Thank a lot for reading, see you all next time,

The MVP of Blogging

Diego Molina