Volleyball Training

Some photos of training that goes on Monday to Friday of the week, this is the court we practice and play on and the one I have spent the last couple of days working on with a shovel by myself trying to get rid of some of the ditches. Its slow work as I literally have just me working on it with one shovel and the ground is hard as there it has not rained in a long time, but I am getting there, hopefully I will be finished for next week when we are holding several games at our grounds. Will have to see how it goes.

But it is a long way form where I used to play volleyball in High School where we had 4 courts inside a sports hall with about 30 balls on hand to use. Out here we have just 1 ball if we are lucky, currently we don't even have a ball, which is fortunate as its the exam periods and we are hoping to get some more in soon otherwise, I don't know what we'll do. We trained last week with a football, which wasn't perfect but it was better than nothing.

Practicing Blocking

Coach Chiko Demonstrating A Serve

SAVE!!! 

(in a warm down at the end we have matches of our first team against Coaches)

Patricia Serving

(Patricia is a 14 year old girl who is on our starting team)

Demonstrating A Spike

Stretches 

Warm Down

Lusaka, Zambia 2011

So there was 2 Americans (Chrissy and Sarah) who were living with me in the house I am staying at and had been out here in Zambia for 6 weeks before I arrived and left last sunday (I miss them a lot already) but I managed to borrow a cable off of one of them which allowed me to upload some of the photos I have been taking on my DSLR while I am waiting for my card reader to arrive (I spend the rest of my time working, in the office or juggling oranges, there is a lot of oranges to juggle). These photos are from my first few days in Lusaka, Zambia - apart from A New Pair of Shoes which was taken last friday at the leaving games of Dwayne who was working for Sport In Action and had given out 80 pairs of trainers to kids who he had been teaching football for 2 months.

African Sunset

(The view from the water tower at the house I am staying at which is in Chilenje South, a 2 mile walk from where I work in Kabwata) 

Wares in a Wheelbarrow

(a man walking past the house with the wares of his stall this is the road next to the house)

New Shoes

(A local child receives a new pair of shoes (well, a new pair of second-hand shoes) from Dwayne at his leaving session. The area around him is the football pitch that they play on everyday on the far side is a main road and behind where I took this photo from is Bush and rubbish that has just been dumped)

Rice Sold Here

 (Nakonde Rice is a special type of rice that smells really good and has a very distinctive flavour, this woman wants some apparently as I was just watching people walk down the road she walked past, saw the sign and came back around) 

Welcome to the Neighborhood

(this is the road leading away from the main road through Chilenje South, this is quite a good quality road for the area. High fence and walls a must have around here, most with smashed bottles or electric fences around the top. The house I am staying in has an electric fence which runs straight from the mains with nothing to make the voltage smaller, if you get shocked - you die. Its a Zambian thing....)

First Photos from Zambia - the Heart of Africa

These are the first photos from Zambia, they were taken on my compact digital (Canon Ixus 120) as I accidentally forgot my card reader in England, it is being sent out to me but it hasn't arrived yet, so these will do for now. These are a selection of photos from the water tower for the house I am staying in and then a photo with some kids I am teaching out here and then a photo with some of the people I am working with at Sport In Action with a famous singer called Dali Soul (who everyone in Zambia knows of) was pretty cool watching him perform and getting in for free. Was a good day

Towards the main road

The other Direction in to the bush

The Real African Sunset

The Real African Sunset2

Untitled

A Tennis Session

Workers from Sport in Action and Fountain of Hope with Dali Soul (spot the Musungu)

a few photos from a trip to the Quay.

These are a small selection of photos that I took back before I left for Europe (and subsequently Africa) and have only now had time (and internet capability to get them online) these where taken at a quay in the South of England that I won't disclose as I enjoy the peace and serenity of the place and like to keep it as a private paradise. If that is selfish or making me a bit of a dick, I don't care - everyone has these sorts of places and wants to keep them to them selves as much as possible.

Amy Under the Quay

Watching

Watching2

Light at the End of the Quay