Soon after coming to Sangwali, I was approached by my colleagues and asked if I wanted to join the teacher's soccer team known as The Legends. As a fan of soccer, I eagerly accepted and figured it would also be a great way to get to know my coworkers outside of school. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this league, if there are actual games, how serious are they about it, but as not having much else to do in the village, I figured it was worth a shot.
Practice, or training as they called it, took place in weekday evenings and sounded serious. There was even talk of fines for those who missed. Being I didn't live near the school, I only made it to a few, but I could tell I was way out of my league with these guys. They were good, exceptionally good. I was clearing going to be the weak point of the team but they didn't seem to mind how much I sucked. After about a month, as I sat at my desk at school, a colleague and teammate asked if I was going to the game at the neighboring secondary school against their teachers. It was the first I had heard of the game but being in the village and never having anything else planned,
I said “Most definitely!” I rushed back to my hut after school, got ready, and waited to get picked up. Didn't have to wait for to long as the bakki pulled up with my team in the back and a vuvuzela. I hopped in and The Legends were off with vuvuzela blaring. The drive wasn't anything special other than a flat tire along the way, but an hour later we arrived at the school and began warming up for the game.
The game got underway with some ominous clouds on the horizon and I was rewarded for my trek as being placed as a starter. The teams were fairly evenly matched and first half ended with the score tied at 1-1. I subbed out for the second half and took to watching from the sidelines. During the half the game got away from the Legends we became down 3-1. With 15min to go, the clouds rolled in bringing rain, sheets and sheets of rain. Some of the heaviest rains I've seen here in Namibia. Within minutes, I was completely soaked and shivering. The game was called early and we made a break for the nearby classrooms. As we wrung out our clothes, we looked around for our transport, but the bakki was no where to be found. Apparently since being close to Katima, the driver had decided to take a quick stop to do some shopping. The driver showed up about an hour later, and by now it was almost completely dark. It was then decided that the road through the game park was shorter and would be a good shortcut. Only problem is driving through a game park at night is not a shortcut. Every 5mi we would have to stop for kudu, springbok, and all kinds of other horned animals chilling in the road. The driver took it slow and navigated the bakki safely past all the animals. By the time we pulled into Sangwali it was past 10PM and I had school in the morning. Plus after being in the back of a open pickup, going 75mph, at night, and in wet clothes, I was quite chilly and miserable. As soon as I was dropped off, I threw on all my warmest clothes hopped in my bed and through on all the sheets. As I began to thaw out, I could only help but think this was going to be an interesting season for me and The Legends.
