Day 3 - I'm out of shape!

I'll begin with a quick summary of yesterday's activities before discussing today. Yesterday wasn't incredibly exciting. Luckily our group of 14 split into two different groups, advanced and "less advanced." Needless to say, me and the "less advanced" students were glad to have our own class. Don't get me wrong - the classes are still intense, but at least I can understand the material. We had about three, hour and a half sessions and then free time after 4:00pm. After dinner a group of us went to study in the library.

Today we had class as usual. Instead of the afternoon session, we watched a play about a Tanzanian family. They weren't slowing down their speech for us, so I didn't understand much. We also began talking about our host families, where we will live starting next week for about three weeks. We ended the day a little earlier than usual, so me and three others decided to go for a run (finally!). We ran outside of the compound and around the nearby area for about 20 minutes. It wasn't a long run, but it was nice to leave the campus. We had a great view of Mt. Meru but didn't get a chance to see Kilimanjaro. After we returned, I took a turn on the treadmill for a bit. Then, I made a poor decision (which I will probably continue to make).

Every night, a group of local boys (aged 5-20) plays pick-up soccer at the basketball court on the campus. I've passed them a few times, but decided to join the game today. It took me a second to figure out "Ninaweza kucheza?" (Can I play?), but they were okay with it - although admittedly some had looks of disbelief on their faces. Most of them play without shoes (which is common), but some had sandles. Needless to say, I was keeping my shoes on. I was harassed at the beginning ("Mzungu? Hatutaki mzungu!" - White guy? We don't want the white guy!), but my knowledge of Swahili (and ability to make contact with the ball) won most of them over. Still, if I made a bad pass, it was because I was mzungu. If I fell, it was because I was mzungu. I was trying hard not to conform to the stereotype. They were good though. I became exhausted pretty quickly.

Even though they all knew English, they exclusively spoke in Swahili during the game. I had to translate soccer terms into Swahili, which was interesting ("Pass back" = "Kurudi," which means "to return"). By the end I met a few of them and will try to return tomorrow (if I can move). It was definitely fun, despite constantly being the center of attention.

After the game I took a shower, went to dinner, and am now going to the library! Have a good night!