The heart and soul of cultures have many external faces. From foods, to celebrations, to recreation. Sports, being one of those faces, has a unique appeal to many people here. It's the only country I know of where volleyball seems more popular than soccer. Recently as a part of our NGO work, we funded a Judo tournament for the village. Approximately 60 kids, ages 7-17 came to test their talents. Judo is a sport that people here thrive in, even on an Olympic level.
Despite the sub-freezing temperatures inside the gym, a four-hour power outage, and crowds that could hardly fit in the space provided, it turned out to be an amazing event.
Here are some pictures:
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| Facing off. |
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| Lunch for the organizers. Amazingly tasty. |
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| Osh! Notice the garlic bulb. Oh so Yum! |
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| Exciting. |
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| Judo is centered around throwing moves. |
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| I had the honor of giving out some of the medals. |
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A good day to get to know faces in the community. People
have already come up to me since, saying they'd seen me there.
I mean, do I really stick out that much? :) |
