That thing called volleyball just follows me

This morning, I woke up, got ready, and decided to go grocery shopping.  I asked Lauren if she wanted to go, and on our way our we got to talking to Tori (the "main" missionary here, along with her husband).  Lauren told her that she had decided on a place to rent, but Tori wasn't super pleased with the price Lauren was going to be paying.  People were already cleaning up Lauren's place to prepare it for her move-in, but off we went to look at some other places.  I just went along for the ride (or the walk).  In the end, Lauren stuck with the same place but Tori helped her barter for a little lower price.  Anderson decided today on a place and will be moving Tuesday.  It will just be me, myself, and I at the Jungle Barn!  I'm glad Lauren's place is close, so I might be going over to watch TV or maybe even cook sometimes, and of course I always have Elizabeth, Carla, and Olivia's house I can visit.

I ended up going grocery shopping alone while Lauren was figuring things out, and decided to walk there.  Boy, it was a walk!  I hadn't realized how far the trike had taken me the first time I went.  I rode the trike back, at lunch, hung out on the beach for a while, and then...

...I put on a small volleyball clinic!  There's a man here, Clod, who does sports work here in Boracay as well as in Manila and knows Dan and Tori.  I'm not sure if he is somehow employed by them, but he asked me on Monday if I would do a volleyball clinic today.  His main sports are basketball and soccer, and the person he used to have do volleyball moved or became too busy or something, so this might be a commitment for me every Saturday!

I really didn't know what to expect.  I didn't know how many balls I would have because, well, I forgot to ask.  I didn't know how many kids to expect, but Clod estimated 10-15.  It was supposed to start at 4:00, and 4:00 rolled around and there were zero kids.  Thankfully, my experiences in Kenya have prepared me for all of the above.  After a few minutes, four boys showed up, and then a little more, and we did end up with about ten kids.  This isn't anything super formal, though, because Clod had said he really just wants to make sure the kids have fun in order to generate interest and get more people coming.  So, we went through the super basics of passing, setting, and hitting, and let me tell you, they will have fun doing ANYTHING.  We finished with a little King/Queen of the Court and then scrimmaging.  Similar to the so-called start time of the clinic, we ended in about the same fashion.  The clinic was on the beach, and Clod decided around 5:45 that he wanted to swim with his kids, so the clinic dispersed.  Some kept playing while others found something else to do.  It was fun!

A little later, Lauren, Carla, Olivia, Elizabeth, and I went way down the main road, further than I've been so far, and ate at a Japanese restaurant.  Super yummy!

Remember that loooonnng walk I had on the beach last weekend?  I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I was a little sore the next day.  My legs are feeling pretty pooped from the walk to the grocery store and the clinic, so I guess I'll really find out how they're doing tomorrow!