"Master of Table Tennis"

In my last blog I wrote about a table tennis tournament we had against another volunteer group. It was so much fun that we had another this week. I thought that it would be a good way to tell you a little about the people I'm working and living with. The tournament was so much fun. Clause ((pronounced Clous) German, he's very funny and plays a mean harmonica, and tries at guitar) and Ben (American from the other organization) decided to be the commentators. They went around and interviewed all the other contestant it was hilarious. We had 16 people come to play in the tournament, and the games got pretty intense. The first round I played Aden (Irish, doesn't live with us, but helps out with outdoor stuff). I beat him and we talked for most of the rest of the night. The next round I played Carolyn (Slovakian who also plays badminton very well and made the trophy for the winner) I won that match, but we had some great rallies, she had improved a ton from last week. This put me in the semi finals with Clause, Stefan (Slovakian last weeks winner), and Christoph (German, who had just gotten back from a mountain hike, and was the first person who I met because he was being picked up from 3 days in the mountains when we arrived) I played Clause and it was a good match, but I beat him, which meant that I would at least get second (better than last week). Stefan won rather easily. Clause and Christoph played for 3rd place, Christoph won. So I was playing Stephan (He's been at Greenhill for almost a year now. He helped get me involved in the local church, and is a very nice guy). Everyone was having a good time eating biscuits (which they have basically made into a sport of itself), drinking tea and watching the finals. It was a very close first game, which I barely won. Everyone was surprised that Stephan had actually lost a game. In game two he regained some dignity by beating me 11-1. Ouch! I regained my composer in game three and beat him! Afterward everyone went crazy (in a joking way) and we had the award ceremony. The crown that Carolyn and Pavlina (German, she hasn't been here long and she is still working on her english) was beautifully adorned with candles on top. When Seb (Sebastian: French or Peruvian depending on the day. He's the most experienced mountain climber in the group, and might also be the craziest) saw that there were candles he decided that they had to be lit. So thats how I ended up with a cardboard crown that said "Master of Table Tennis" lit on top of my head. It was such a fun time.
These aren't all the people, but I think it gives a good cross section of what this group is like. (sorry if it was hard to follow). We are all having a lot of fun together. If the rest of the time is as fun as the start I'll have a great year. Next week might be a football (soccer) game. :)