Half way through

Agandi! So me, Micheal and Kerstin have been coaching for just over 2 weeks now and i have to say it has improved my outlook on everything here. The satisfaction of coaching the kids here and getting through a succesful and fun session puts all the other day to day stuff into a more positive light. Our first school we coached at was called Kazuru primary and we were there for 2 weeks. I go to breakfast at 7.50am and i'm normally the last person in the lodge to arrive at the table. I'm not a morning person so i tend to stroll in, gruntle a few ga'mornings and settle down with some breakfast. I Eat as much pineapple to satisfy a king, smother some bread with jam and enjoy a Ugandan tea.

When we were at Kazuru School, we would set off on a walk from the lodge at 8.30am and arrive pretty sweaty but in good spirits at 9am. The walk was a massive highlight of my day over the first 2 weeks of coaching, it was so quiet and the scenary was thought provoking. We would stroll on the hillside which took us through many banana trees, as the path would open up you would get wide ranging views of Bwindi rainforest, splattered out houses on rolling hillside and in the distance, was Congo! The environemt we coach in certainly adds to the quality of our sessions. It puts you in a good spirit and all of a sudden coaching 30 kids turns into a reward not an obligation. Coaching sessions will go well if you are positive in the first place, and thats where Uganda helps. We coached three classes at Kazuru which were P4,P5 and P6. P4, who were very new to the english language would have to be encouraged by our scintalating demonstrations. One demonstration led to me knocking kerstin over as she tried tackling the ball off me. The obvious eruption of laughter followed from the class, and out of embarrasment and awkwardness me and Kerstin felt the only option was to laugh loadly too. I've read from psychology books that humans only spend around 10% of their thought process on the way someone else is acting in a certain situation, most people are to aware of themselves. Nothing will stop embarrasment, especially for Kerstin in that moment. A bit off topic there but to put it simply, here in Uganda people laugh alot at things that to me or you will not be funny at all. For example a save that David Ospina made against Tottenham was hysterically reinacted in the local bar. Its just a save guys? Some cracking dribbling sessions took place that week, with passing the agenda for the following week in Kazuru. If the kids are enthusiastic about being there, we make sure we do our best to put on a fun session that allows them to learn a few key skills. The pitches are not great by our standard, but this is their standard and it's more than ok for the people of Kazuru primary. Long grass, sloped hill, the occasional goat(s) and the path that allowed anyone to walk through during your session made it brilliant, typical Uganda.

Talking of Standard, thats the name of the current school we are coaching at, well Standard Academy for long. After enjoying Kazuru for its enthusiastic kids, great environment and top quality Posho, rice and beans served by generous teachers, i thought it was about time we got some lazy kids, boring scenary and splodge plonked onto a plate served by a disgruntled dinner lady. For me the positive vibes continued. We have only spent 3 days at Standard but so far it has been even better than Kazuru. I miss the walk, however the drive to school is enjoyable. The scenary would be perfectly appreciated with some traditional Ugandan music, however instead we have to listen to our Driver's Mix-tape which encourperates lots of power ballads and R&B remixes (DJ simple Simon) check him out. The Simplicity of the way humans act towards each other can give you real happiness. If you walked around this school with a frown on your face then you're in the wrong place. Every single person portrays the single emotion of happiness, its like a collective mission to stop you from being at all sad. Why do some kids in english schools complain? why do some cry at first thought? and why cant they get on with each other? Culture is vastly different, but there is a massive feeling of "just get on with it" over here. There are so many dangerous tackles that occur, but the will to get up and carry on to try and score a goal stops any arguments or fights from happening. You wont get a scout out here from a top club like Barcelona, but seriously there should be. Any team could do with a Standard academy player, the commitment to the cause is greater than anywhere i have seen. If you polished some of their skills and eradicated their rash tackling you could find the Ugandan Yaya toure. Sadly this wont happen, if only i had Wenger's number! I seriously love going to school! Today is exactly half way through my time here, i currently have a really positive attitude towards Uganda. You just adapt to the way of living after a while, with all the talk of mild cheddder cheese back home becoming more and more uneccesary. A very wise person at the lodge said, embrace your natural self... well until you get back to england and you go straight away to Toni&Guy (Hair-dressers). So Gap yah.

#Home #Uganda