Last Monday was Copceac's День Селе (Village Day), and it was a lot of fun. I'd say it's sort of the equivalent of July 4th in the States - full of people playing games, eating, drinking, and relaxing outside. There was the annual chess tournament, in which I played one warm-up game before realizing that to participate in the tourney I had to play 5 games in one day. Since I wanted to see everything the day had to offer, I decided to skip out on my chance to be crowned champion - maybe next year...
Instead, I got to play volleyball, which I LOVE to do. My team came in 2nd overall. Of course, since I was playing the whole time I didn't have a chance to snap any
pictures, but this is our team and others gathered at a local bar later that night to celebrate. [Funny story: I was a bit late to meet up with the group because I went home after a long day in the village center to take a shower. I got all soaped and shampooed up, only to have the water pump break down. Only a thin trickle of water would come out, so it took me about 15 minutes to rinse off. Sometimes a bucket and a bowl look better than a faucet...]
On a stage in the center of town, kids performed and at the beginning of the day, speeches were given about all the groups of the village - teachers, factory workers, farmers, etc. It was nice to see everyone being given their 15 minutes (or seconds) of fame.
Bottom line is I had a good day. It didn't involve any successful projects or real work on my part - it was just being there and being culturally involved, which is part of Peace Corps, anyway. I really liked walking through the crowd and seeing everyone I knew, just saying hello or chatting for a little while. It's not everyday I get to see a three donkeys race around a field...
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