For some reason my health took an unexpected dip in form last night and I kept the security guard awake with my constant visits to the toilet. (The toilet door is really squeaky!)
I woke up still in a bad way, so when the nurse came in she gave me some extra medicine. Isn't it funny how I'm in one of the most poorest countries in the world yet I've received the most. At STB I've been housed, fed and now given medicine. Everybody I've met has been so generous as well, so it seems the kindness of Addis' population is inversely proportional to its bank account!
For breakfast I substituted food with planning roughly where I'm going to end up over Christmas. I was initially going to be in Nairobi but stopping at STB for longer means I will be watching my Christmas dinner flush straight down the toilet as I will be somewhere on the Equator.
Today was a sad day as I had to say goodbye to not one but two pairs of socks. Extreme circumstances require extreme decisions and I was gutted to see the footy pair go as they had been with me since day one. That's almost 6000 miles of foot coverage they were subject to but unfortunately they began to attract disease instead of provide a comforting barrier between foot and outside world.
This prompted a little shopping spree and I treated myself to an early Christmas present in the form of two brand new pairs. I bought them from a stall for well over the RRP but I was happy when I got them back and they actually fitted. They didn't have any sizes on them and socks always look deceptively small when they're not on your feet. I took a risk at some trainer socks and had visions of them not covering my big toe but the risk paid off and for the next week at least my feet can breathe again in comfort and freshness.
I got back to the office in time for some lunch time games. I had a little chat with coach Grimmy and was more than happy to take his U15s training session at 4. It was strange planning a session, it felt so long since I've coached and I had a momentary mental block on what I could do with around 30 players and just 10 balls.
Every evening there are always hundreds of people at the field either playing football or watching football. As I started to set up and the players began to arrive, I had a decent crowd growing pitch side and I started to feel a nervous excitement. I called all the players in, "hands up who speaks Amharic?" Everybody eventually put their hand up after Grimmy translated. "Hands up who speaks English?" Myself and about two people put their hand up, "hands up who speaks football?" We all put our hands up. I've said it before that football is the language everybody can speak and I was hoping i was going to prove this with the help of an array of actions and a few translated words from coaches Grimmy and Jonas.
I set them the warm up and with one clap of my hands to signal "GO!" they were all off and straight into it. I have never coached such enthusiastic and energetic lads in my life, there was no way that encouraging effort was necessary tonight. I got them to play a few games that involved thinking a lot more than they were used to and it took a while for them to understand but they picked it up brilliantly in the end. As a coach, this is what makes it all worthwhile, happy lads that listen and put into practice what you're trying to teach. The results were almost instantaneous which really boosts job satisfaction.
It was a beautiful evening that I didn't want to end. I love coaching and I love it even more when you're outside as the sun is setting and its still warm. I thought to myself that I've made it very hard to let go of Sport of the Bridge. The coaching session tonight was a great way to end a very eye opening week and meeting the staff and the kids and seeing what happens here has permanently affected how I will view certain situations in the future.
When I told Grimmy and Jonas I was leaving tomorrow I have never seen two of the most gutted faces in my whole life. I know if I stay any longer I will have the issue of getting too comfortable and will not want to leave. I need to focus on why I'm here though and first things first, the ride has to be completed. I'm finding myself picking up contacts of such great people that keeping in touch with them all when I'm back will be a 9 to 5 job in itself!
Sport the Bridge have been and are amazing and I did say I would try and see them again. It won't be next year and it won't be by bike but I would love to come back in 5 maybe 10 years and see the developments.
I had my last meal in Addis Ababa at quite a nice restaurant that costs 3 times as much as some of the other places I've been to. This meant I spent £1.80 for my chicken stir fry which I don't know about you, but i think is extortionate! I had planned to Skype home but my area was hit with a power cut for the second night running so just had to return back to the sick bed for a night of music and dreams.
Today was a great way to end a great week but I'm ready for the next phase. Addis Ababa seems like a half way point to me and I can't wait to see what happens in the second half, my feet are pretty pumped about it too.
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