going to court
I walked downhill to Baguio Gold Elementary School to play Sepak Takraw with the kids. I had learned a little of the game from Mack earlier and from the internet. See my primer, listed in “pages” on this site. Most days in April we have rain showers, and some days I haven’t gone down to Baguio Gold. Today I had a good time on the Sepak Takraw court. My team lost one set, then we switched sides of the court and my team won. I didn’t contribute much, though. And I didn’t ‘call’ the ball when I should have. Oh, well; live and learn. We didn’t play the third set of the match, because…
The school’s custodian, who presumably lives nearby, heard some commotion (laughter and so on), and roused from his siesta, he walked to the school and grumpily told Mack that we ought to remove our Takraw net and leave. The boys said that he doesn’t like to see people have a good time and that he sometimes chains the school gate between semesters.
The custodian works there some days of the summer, so he leaves the gate unlocked as he comes and goes (lunch, siesta, etc). So the kids feel free to play on the empty courts (no basketball backboards or hoops, no volleyball nets, no Takraw nets), and he doesn’t complain. The kids said that the “caretaker” has something against the ‘Americano.’ Oh, well.
Here are some photos made by kids and me on the courts while the good time lasted.
6-year-old Rose and her brother Nick (11 y.o.) met me on the sports courts of the elementary school
Nick practices with the new, synthetic Takraw ball
eldest brother Mack hangs the Sepak Takraw net
Andy takes a turn practicing a bit before the match
Mack shows us how to juggle
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Arnold sets up to send the ball over the net behind him
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Nick chased Margie with my camera
Margie, Rose and me resting
Rose make faces for her brother behind the camera
I climbed the school’s flag pole
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We walked down steep steps near the school to the home of Andy, Nick, and Rose to rest and refresh.
neighbors J.R., Kenneth, Maritess (behind), Kerwin and Kurt on the steps nearby
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Goats await a bus ride, I guess.
I can’t get a jeepney ride uphill, normally. I walk more than a mile up steep Baguio Gold Road, then up Main Avenue then up Azucena Street. After playing sports and returning home, my legs are usually fatigued. †