Today was less eventful in the beginning because my stomach had to recover from all the junk I put in it yesterday. I know I mentioned it before, but as a reminder, eating American fast food is not the best idea in China. I was supposed to get a massage, but I didn’t know if I could do it given my “situation.” But, as I was getting settled again, my co-workers wanted to play basketball so I decided to join them. I put on my last clean pair of basketball shorts, socks, and one of many T-shirts and prepared to leave as I remembered that I had told one of the Zimbabweans, Christian, that I would tell him whenever we were going to play basketball. So, I went to get Christian and told my co-workers I’d meet them downstairs in the lobby. When I went to get Christian from his “cursed” floor (he lives on the fourth floor, and 4 is a cursed number in China because it also means death when pronounced with a different tone), the most pleasant noise invaded my ears as I heard a few of the Zimbabwean guys singing as one guy and a girl danced to the music. It was the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen because I could tell that the dancing was innocent, without expectation of anything more. As I was eavesdropping, another guy, Tawana, came out and started teaching me some words in one of his native languages as I waited for Christian to change- it was so cool. Then Christian came out and we met my co-workers to play a game of 21 and a 3 on 2 game for an hour because it was all we could take playing on the outdoor court. I left drenched, tired, and feeling a little frustrated because of the heat. It’s a different type of heat in China that’s hard to describe, so I wouldn’t advise anyone to go do ANYTHING at 1 in the afternoon. I got back to my room and took a shower and wanted to sleep but couldn’t because the sun was so bright, so I decided that I needed to leave knowing that my roommate had already left with the only key to our suite. After walking around the building for no apparent reason, I went back up to my locked room and one of the workers took me back downstairs to a person who would unlock my door. But, when I got back up there with the person, my door was open, so I decided to try to talk to the workers who were cleaning my room about where I could get a phone. This proved to be somewhat fruitless because of the language barrier, but one of them disappeared and reappeared with several more workers, two of whom could speak English. It was the most amazing sight in the world, watching them all work together to help me. One of them even agreed to take me to the supermarket to buy a phone ( the supermarket is kind of like a mall with food in it). We walked to the market after she got off, got a phone for 200 RMB (about $25), and rushed back so I could make it to work on time. We both took the bus for the first time, and we got back in a fraction of the time. I was glad to be to work on time and also to work with the big kids first for most of the camp on something I know a good deal about- defense. We worked hard and all the kids got Show 1 basketballs (the company I’m working for attempts to mimic And 1 in America) and a few asked me and Joe (my co-worker and head coach for the camp) to sign it. It was amazing that they would do such a thing, but it just shows their level of gratitude for education of any sort. They appreciated our presence and instruction because it allowed them to dream, if only for that moment, that they could actually play basketball professionally in China or elsewhere (it’s a dream because, unlike in America, aspiring professional athletes must be skilled enough to qualify for and attend college to even be considered ). The last day of camp is tomorrow, so I hope the review session goes smoothly…