Driving down Young Street on a Friday…

A bit of a random blog.

I was feeling so nostalgic the other day listening to some good ol’ K-OS Canadiana; and it reminded me of this young man’s impression of Canada. Let me set the context. I met Peter at the Sport for Social Change conference in Kenya. He is a part of MYSA’s (www.mysakenya.org) “Shootback” program- therefore filming and photographing the conference events. He had been invited to Vancouver for the launch of this book he was a part of publishing. The only thing he said to me was “China town”. I immediately started laughing as I recalled that notorious East Hastings is next to Vancouver’s Chinatown.

Isn’t that awful- this kid was horrified by the drugs, homelessness & addiction he saw in Vancouver. This is a kid who comes from one of Nairobi’s biggest slums. And Nairobi is infamous for Africa’s slum-life.

How’s that for perspective. I love awakenings like that!!

The next story is non-sequitor…but I have to share! I had a great evening yesterday as I was set for a ‘working day’ with my basketball team. (We’ve had an incredibly slow start to the 2007 season as we actually do not have a court). The agreement has been that we must patch the court, extend from the concrete into the grass line (which involves slashing the grass & turning/ leveling the soil) manually. Of course, this is not really a project suitable for a respectable mzungu woman. I find myself- as the sun is setting and emblazoning the wispy clouds across the sky- with an enormous pick-axe in hand. My commitment to the team is not only as a figurehead. I had the boys (& several older coaches) beside themselves with laughter as I swung the heavy axe to uproot the stubborn grass at my feet. I was so chuffed with myself! It was like heavy-duty gardening that I have been missing so much! I managed a small patch and felt at least a part of all of the work that was going on around me. And as we have less than a month before our league starts…we really need to make ourselves a court- keep your fingers crossed for us! Wish I had my camera...