Thursday June 3, 2010 visit friends

The picture is of Mango Dog with his dog and home in the background.

Today we spent the day traveling around the Island, visiting friends, and then went to Vincennes, where Nanan is from, and spent the evening playing cards (All Fours) with his friends. They made a big pot of Oil Down and the entire neighborhood came by to eat, visit and enjoy the day. It was a nice evening and very relaxing.

Friday, we have a meeting with Mr. Patrick Simmons, Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports to discuss my report and review the events of my visit. This was truly an incredible trip and I feel we have accomplished our mission. I look forward to visiting friends today and we have a cookout at Nanan's brother's home Winston (Cokie) later today.

This will be my last writing from Grenada.

God Bless.

Respect and Love.

Wed June 2nd, 2010 Senior vs Junior men's scrimmage

Today was a big day. We played the much anticipated scrimmage match between the Senior Men's National team and the Junior Men's National team. The Junior team is comprised of secondary school athletes 19 years of age or younger. At least three members of the Junior team will make the Senior National team (and likely 4) and three may start! The Junior national team is very talented and athletic, but not big or experienced.

The Senior National team, however, is experienced, intense and although not what I would call a tall team, we have good size.

There was a good crowd in attendance (maybe 150 people) and much excitement. We played at the outdoor hardcourt at the Carenage. It seemed the crowd favored the underdog Juniors at the start of the match.

The Seniors won the match 4-1 with scores of 25-23; 25-18; 25-21; 21-25; 15-10.

The Seniors utilized a 3-person serve receive all night and player specialization and switching. There was some confusion, as expected, but more because we kept switching up the lineup so everyone got a chance to play. For the most part, the switching (Outsides always swing from the outside, etc.) went well and I was impressed how quickly we have learned this.

The Seniors ball control was very good and we were able to effectively run our middles at will. We ran mostly 1s in the middle and they were pretty much unstoppable. Adam Laffeuillee was tremendous on the outside and from the back row and in my opinion our MVP. Donovan Burke, setter, also had a tremendous match and could also have been named our MVP. He made good decisions, jump set everything, kept the team calm under pressure, and helped direct the offense on the court. Now if we could only get to play "defense first!" and stay down on defense!!!

Alex, our Cuban outside hitter also had a tremendous match and is a difference maker not only from the front row, but also the serving line. He has a blistering jump-topspin serve. Peter, our right side and libero on occasion played consistent and had tremendous diving saves on several occasions (on the cement!). W also had surprisingly good performances from middles Kimon, Pastor John, Andy, Jensen, and Shak. All ran very quick 1s and blocked well. Outside hitter "Underdog" passed exceptionally well in serve receive and actually moved up in my books as a potential defensive candidate. Solomon (libero) played well as did Patrick on the right side and Junior on the outside.

For the Juniors, their starting six of Greg (setter), Josh and Arnold (outsides), Steve and Darrin (middles), Akim (right side), and Kevin (libero) played tremendous. They seemed confused and disorganized at times with some switching, and other times not switching. They have the talent, now they simply need to learn how to 'play' together.

It was really a great match and the local television station (GIS) was there throughout. I'm not sure they video recorded the entire match, but they were there the entire match and video recorded the majority. Afterwards, Nanan and I had television interviews with Trevor, the announcer. By the way, Nanan coached the Juniors and I coached the Seniors.

After the match, the men made Oil Down (the national dish) and it was delicious! We ate, drank juice and caribs, and visited for an hour. I was presented with a couple of very nice gifts that mean a lot to me because of who they were from. I have made great friends while here and they have made me feel appreciated, respected, and like I sincerely helped them with volleyball. Do you ever feel like words cannot completely express your thoughts....that is how I felt last night with these guys. Shaking hands, pounding fives, hugs, and saying "Thank You" just didn't seem enough from me. But that is all I have and I think the guys understood. I have tremendous respect for this group and wish I could travel with them to the tournament to join in their battles. I'll keep in touch through Nanan though and will be there in spirit.

Sidenote: Skoal is $13.00 (U.S) a tin here!!!! Holy Cow!!!

The next two days I am told we will be visiting friends and eating all day. Nanan said that is how Grenadians say Goodbye to friends. Hearing that made me smile.

Respect and Love.

Tuesday June 1, 2010 Women's national team

One picture is of the Women's National Team (missing 3 starter) and the other is of the indoor practice facility.

On this date, I began my day with a morning swim. It rained most of the morning so it was actually overcast and cool. The rainy season has completely changed the appearance of Grenada. Everything is green and lush, and truly beautiful. It is a good way to see Grenada before I return home.

I returned to my guest house after my swim and began work on my reports. I finished my report to the IOC and now have only my Strategic Plan to complete. It is half done and I hope to finish it this morning. Thursday, Nanan wants to take me around the Island and visit family and friends and we will probably go from cookout to cookout. This will be our Lime day. Thursday is a holiday in Grenada (Corpus Christi) and everyone is off work. This will be a good day to bid farewell.

Tuesday, we had the women's national team practice at the indoor facility in Lacerne. I had no idea what to expect. The picture actually makes it look much different that how it looks in person. First impressions are lasting....and I remember my first impression when I entered the building. It was somewhat dark in there as it is enclosed, however, there are no windows. The walls are made of "holey" brick which provides ventilation. The ceiling is high and there are cement bleachers. The court is recessed with seating high above. The court itself is also made of cement, however, it is painted green. It is a nice facility and the paint gives the illusion of a 'softer' surface and it is fairly smooth. Wind is not a factor in here and that is a different experience. Sand players understand how wind affects the ball and actually the game, but indoor players will not understand as much. I learned the OECS competition will be held indoors on a wood court surface. I'm excited for the athletes to compete on that type of surface and feel we will adjust well. Better to practice in tougher conditions than vice versa.

Tonight we had a limited showing of athletes for practice. We started at 5pm with only 6 athletes. Two more arrived at 5:30 and then another two arrived at 6:00pm. We worked on ball control, team transition, and then serve receive sideout options. We introduced 3-person serve receive formations, but it was difficult because we were missing three starters. They had a championship Netball competition and were unable to attend. I was a bit sad to not see everyone because this was my last practice session with the ladies, however, I understand.

The players presented me with a thank you card and gifts. It was a nice evening and I appreciate their generosity. The gifts were a computer mouse pad of Grenada, and a small tile of Grenada.

After practice, we went to Nanan's house where we had prepared one of my favorite dishes, Crayfish soup. It was delicious. I returned home and sat on my porch for a bit and looked at the night sky and harbor. It was a good day.

I wanted to tell you a bit more about Mango Dog, because he fascinates me. He is an older 'gentleman' and I must admit, when I first met him, I thought he was homeless and a wanderer. He has no teeth, is about 65 years old, very thin, a beard, and greying, longer hair. He talks with a strong Grenadian dialect and I could understand maybe one out of every four words he spoke. Nanan said he comes from a wealthy family and owns several nice homes in Grenada. He has 10 children, a wife and keeper and all live in the U. S. He also has several brothers and sisters that live in the states, as do his children. They all want him to move there, or at least move into one of the nice homes. But Mango Dog says NO. He lives alone in a one room shanty with his dog. He says he's not going anywhere and will die in Grenada. He is well respected for willingness to lead a simple, old-school Grenadian life. One man and his dog....that is his motto. A very unique individual indeed.

Today is a big day as the Junior National boys scrimmage the Men's national team. I am excited for the match tonight and am anxious to see how we perform.

Respect and Love.

Monday 5-31-10 Report and Men's National Team

The picture today is of my buoys. The first bout seemed like miles away when I first arrived. After reaching the first buoy, I would look at the second one, but would easily become intimidated. For some reason, it is a bit intimidating to me to be out 'that' far. The third bouy was not even a possibility...I saw other people swim there and was impressed...but not something I wanted to do. So I suppose, this trip has been about doing what I thought I could not, conquering fears, setting high goals, adjusting goals, learning to stay calm when it would be easy to panic, facing challenges forthright, and overcoming.

Today, Nanan let me spend most of the afternoon working on my report. I finished a major part of it, only to find out I included too much detail....not typically a problem. However, he said they prefer a more general, narrative report and so I will redo that today. In the evening, we had Men's National team practice from 5-7:30p and used this time to prepare for the practice match on Wednesday. I am very excited for this match and am anxious to see how we perform. Last night in practice with worked on serve receive options, calling out the hitters when we are serving, play calling in serve receive, and transition offense and defense. We have spent considerable time on that and I am hopeful it pays off. We are trying to focus on defense with this team and learning how to better the ball and play a very disciplined, intelligent game.

Respect and Love.

Sunday May 30,2010 Off

The picture is of Grand Anse Bay taken from a high point in St. George's.

Today was an off day. It was a beautiful day and a day I felt I could get caught up with things a bit. My day started with a swim in the sea. I typically go in the morning and am home by lunch time. Today I swam the farthest yet....I swam out to the 3rd buoy! It was a pretty amazing feeling and it is pretty intense (for me) to be out that far. My fears arise when I get past where the water is clear. Being a Jaws fan...it's hard to keep sharks out of my mind!!! Also, there is a bit of anxiety as I think "what if something goes wrong and I get a cramp, or suddenly realize I can't make it back in," there is no way anyone can help in time. It's about 250 yards out with small waves. That probably doesn't sound far, but when I first arrived here, I looked out there and thought "NO WAY!!"

When I returned home, I began preparing Mutton soup. I must say it was horrible! I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I used too much salt for one thing. And mutton is a very oily meet...maybe I should have boiled it in a separate pot and then transferred it to my broth....in any event, I was not happy with it!

After lunch, I cleaned and did laundry and began working on my Volleyball Report. I finished recapping my Itinerary for the IOC report, which was a significant accomplishment and something I wanted to get done. I'm a 'checklist' person and always feel good when I get things done according to schedule. Lists also makes me feel in control and less stressed as it gives me a plan for the day.

After finishing the report, I got to relax in the evening.

Monday begins my last week in Grenada. We will have national team trainings all week and possibly some secondary school visits. I may also have some visit-ending goodbye visits so I must prepare for full days every day.

I miss Joan and Lexi, Liza and Cole and am anxious to return home. It has been an adventurous, exciting, challenging, lonely 6 weeks without them and new adventures await.

Today I must get a portion of my report done, and also make a trip to the store for some minor groceries. Today we have men's national team practice and I'm not sure what else....Nanan is holding me in suspense!!

I met a very unique individual the other day with my favorite name ever.....Mango Dog!

Repect and Love.

Sat May 29, 2010 Junior National practice and Beach

On the right is a picture of the most beautiful tree in Grenada. The Flambouyant tree. This tree produces the national flower. It is in full bloom now and is seasonal, which surprises me because I assumed things bloomed year-round here because of the weather.

On Saturday, we had junior national boys and girls practice. The teams are selected now for the most part and both teams are impressive. Each have good athleticism and the girls have good size. The boys are very athletic and i would consider the team of average size at best. However, they make up for that with very good ball-handling skills and powerful, controlled hitting. Practice was from 9am to 12pm. Of course it began raining at 9am and we were forced to find shelter until about 9:30. We swept the court when it stopped and began practice at around 10am. Today, we focused on position specialization, switching, play calling, and team play. It is difficult because we had both the boys and girls team together and only one net. But practice went well and the boys are really starting to understand the switching concept.

They have a big practice match against the Men's National team on wednesday that we hope will be televised live. I think it should be a great match, however, I expect the Men's team to win. They are a bit more advanced and have been practicing longer. But there is a lot of talent on this junior team and actually four of the young men will make the senior national team (three may start!!).

After practice, Nanan and I took a drive to St. David to eat. The day before he bought a string of live crabs (6 on a string) and took them to a friends house to cook. She made Calilou soup with crab, breadfruit, yams, and dumplings. It was incredible!!! The crab tastes almost like lobster and the soup was delicious.

After that, he brought me home and of course I prepared to go to the beach. It was about 4:15pm when I arrived at the beach and it was crowded. I like my morning trips better because of the privacy. But, it was cool and very beautiful. The sea seems even more calm in the evening and I watched the sun set. The water seemed much cooler as well. I walked home and spent the evening relaxing.

Sunday, I plan to go for a morning swim in the sea, return to my house and clean a bit (sand and these little worms/bugs everywhere), and then I will cook. I've been marinating lamb and plan to either make a mutton soup or mutton and rice. I'm actually looking forward to preparing it.

Then I need to work on my Volleyball report. Time is passing quickly and my report must be be of the highest quality.

Revelations:

I actually feel healthier than I have in years. My weight is down and I feel very comfortable. Actually I feel 15 years younger. I've decided to write about the "Grenadian Diet" Not that's it's actually a "diet" per se...but more of a lifestyle. But it works and is partly how everyone here maintains their youthful look. Here is what I have learned:

• They eat two big meals a day and one light snack/meal. They eat a big breakfast and big lunch. For dinner (their light meal), they have porridge, cereal, fruits, or something light.
• They eat fruit all day and even use it as a source of water. The fruit is always fresh and right from the tree.
• No junk food...since I have been here, I've had only a few pieces of chocolate and that is it! No junk food period! I really haven't missed it at all. (except ice cream....I love ice cream!)
• Soup, Soup, Soup! I have eaten more soup since I've been here than in my entire life. The soup always has vegetables and meat (pork, chicken, fish).
  
• No red meats (I will not be able to sustain this because I LOVE red meat!)
• Fish - I eat fish at least five times a week for one meal (yesterday I had a fish sandwich for breakfast)
  
• Cook - There are not many fast food restaurants so most people cook for themselves every day. I find this very healthy, enjoyable, and it helps you eat right.
• I don't have a lot of food in the house - mainly because I don't have frig space and food doesn't stay fresh long in the heat if left out, so I simply don't have much food around to snack on. I found this tough at first, but now don't even think about it.
• Get a tan - a tan hides many flaws and tightens the skin or something. It makes a big difference
• Show some skin - going to the beach and wearing a swimming suit makes you aware of how you look. Once you start looking good, you want more!
• water - I only drink water and juice...only 1 soda in 6 weeks. (and maybe a carib or two :) I'm not a big soda drinker anyway, so this was easy, but it makes a big difference. That includes NO diet soda!
• Be outside and active - I find being active and working outside keeps you busy and I am not as hungry. The more I lay around and relax, the more I lay around and eat.
• Heat - It is very hot here and that influences my appetite I think...sometimes it's just too hot to eat much
• Go Liming - Not really....I threw this in there for fun :)
  
• Eat pig tail and snouts - Ha Ha!!....because I really don't like either, it kept me from eating a lot on many occasions. So put some in your soup, and grab a smaller bowl!
• Don't eat late - I'm not sure if this theory is accurate, but because I typically don't get home until after 8:30pm every evening, I have not been eating dinners. I'm guessing this has helped quite a bit. Or, it is helping simply because I am really only eating two big meals.
• Go for walks daily - my walk to the beach is approximately 3 miles round trip....not much but a lot of hills. I actually enjoy this peaceful time now.
  
• Some of this may sound like you could only do it if you lived here, but I have learned "lifestyle" is the most important part to being healthy. Anyone can adopt a healthy life style. It is a choice. I need to simply stop making excuses about "why it is hard" and "how it cannot work" and begin to look positively at things and Make things happen. Life is short, it's time to stop wasting my days, and time to start enjoying.
  

That is it for today. Grab some fruit, make some soup, go for a walk, and have a wonderful Grenadian day!

Respect and Love.

Friday May 28, 2010 GVA meeting and on the Lime

Today, we had the morning off and I had another opportunity to walk to the beach. The beach was beautiful and the water calm. It is the clearest water I have ever seen. So clear, that when standing in water up to my neck, I can look down and see the tan line from my sandals on my feet.

Nanan came over at 2pm to meet and discuss the Adidas order. We narrowed down the roster, determined sizes and styles, and today placed the order!! Now we wait and hope there are no issues and that delivery arrives on time.

At 4:30p, we arrived at the Ministry for a Grenadian Volleyball Association (GVA) meeting. No one else was there yet so we watched West Indies vs. South Africa cricket. West Indies lost and in many opinions, did not compete well. Most Grenadians seem frustrated with their West Indies cricket team and feel they are underperforming. I've concluded people are more likely to follow and talk about you if you are very good, or very bad. And if you're very bad, they won't be talking or following for long.

The meeting finally got started at about 5:20 when everyone arrived. There was a good turnout and the discussion focused on what the Association needed to do to help volleyball survive and thrive on the Island. The meeting concluded at 7:30pm.

Afterwards, Nanan and I went liming. We ended up at his brother's grill, eating barbeque and drinking a carib or two. We also walked up to a nearby 'dance' bar. His brother located his grill, and it is simply a grill on wheels with five gallon buckets of chicken to cook, at the bottom of the hill to get late night 'disco' traffic. The dance hall was smaller than I thought and they do not turn the lights on inside. There is only a light over the bar...the dance floor is dark. To me it was not a very enticing environment, but it allows privacy on the dance floor I'm told. Okay then.

I'm writing a bit slower this morning so please forgive. We have junior national team training from 9-12pm today...I pray for shade and a breeze!

Afterwards, we are eating crab soup and hopefully swimming at the beach or I will watch Nanan play cricket.

Respect and Love.