Kubb Corps!

8-16-09

Ahh… The first few months of being a Peace Corps Volunteer, where the only thing that is expected of you is to take it easy and become a part of your community. So far so good.

Things are going well. I have made friends with a group of guys in the village who are my age. There has been quite a bit of time to read and drink tea. Ideas for projects are starting to develop. I even remember the names of some of my neighbors! (It is actually kind of difficult. I am not familiar with a lot of the Bulgarian names.)

This week, something quite exciting happened. Something that has made me tremendously happy. Something that no matter what happens with the rest of my service, it has a complete success.

Kubb has been introduced, and warmly received, in my village!

For those of you who are familiar with me and my close friends, you know that for the past five years we have been living, breathing, and eating an obscure yard game known as Kubb. The game consists of throwing sticks at wooden blocks. My friends and I have spent countless hours playing and discussing the game. We have built many different Kubb sets. We founded a club at our college devoted to playing the game. My friends Dan, Keith, and Ryan are even the Midwest Kubb champions for the past two years.

In pre-service training, I was able to describe the construction of a Kubb set to the host Dad of my fellow trainee Val. A few passes through a table saw later, I had a Kubb set! Unfortunately, things were quite hectic towards the end of training and I didn’t get to play much with the people in my training village. I played one game with my fellow trainees C.J. and Meg. They enjoyed it.

I didn’t want to try to push Kubb on anyone in the village so; I waited for the opportune time to introduce the game. The kids around the village spend a lot of time playing table tennis or soccer at the school. One day last week, after a group of kids and I got board of playing table tennis, I grabbed my Kubb set. I wasn’t sure how describing the game play would go; I can hardly describe how to play the game in English. Fortunately, playing the game is the best way to teach it. We played a few rounds, and what do you know, they love it! We have been playing every day since!

One of the T-shirts that I brought was given to me from my buddy Ryan. The front of the shirt is a design of a Kubb set and the back says “Kubb unites people and creates peace on earth”. Perhaps it is just a game and won’t create peace on earth but, I can attest to the uniting people aspect of Kubb.




Joke:

A bumble bee was chasing a rabbit. Finally the bee turned around and flew away. Why? The rabbit had two b’s already!



Cultural Observation:

People in my village spend a lot of time in cafés. They drink coffee “normalno” (Espresso) or “Duragol” coffee (Americano). Often, they also order a soda water or Coca Cola to drink with their coffee. Let me tell you, you haven’t lived until you have an espresso and a Coca Cola. Surprisingly, it tastes wonderful. It is also a good way to get your daily recommended amount of caffeine. Next time your at your favorite coffee café, give it a shot. An Espresso shot that is…