This week we experienced our first African drought which was certainly different. There was no tap water or shower water in Uitenhage from Saturday evening until Wednesday morning. Because of this we had to buy water in bulk and wash in the school swimming pool.
On Wednesday, Aaron and Eoin played a T20 game for the thirds in a hefty 34 degrees’ heat. Aaron took 2-10 off his 4 overs and Eoin scored 44 not out as they chased the total for the loss of no wickets. The rest of the evening was spent enhancing our American football skills by the pool.
After training on Thursday we got in the school bus as Mr Du Ploy gave the kitchen staff a lift to the bus terminal and taxi ranks in downtown Uitenhage. This drive was very interesting as we got a chance to see some of the extreme poverty and a lot of rundown shops in the town. After this we spent the about an hour trying to get a lizard out of our room to the shock of the other lads in the hostel.
Friday morning was an early start for the five of us as we went to the gym at 5am and then hopped on a four-hour bus journey to George, South West District to play York High School the next day. We took the 'Garden route' to George which was full of lovely scenery. We stopped off half way to look at "The Big Tree' of Tsitsukama which really wasn't that big at all. A 9 o'clock start on Saturday morning meant another early rising for us. Ian, Max and myself turned out for the 1stXI in Muir's first win of the season. We bowled York out for 79 and chased it for the 2 with our fast opening bowler Neo Pepeta claiming six wickets. Ian top scored with 25 at the top of the innings before Max and I finished the game off with 15 not out each.
We spent the majority of Sunday in the huge brand new shopping centre in Port Elizabeth called Baywest. This shopping centre has a huge variety of shops and facilities such as an ice rink, a bowling alley and a cinema. We did a little bit of shopping and went to a very nice Italian restaurant before going to see a movie and getting home late.
Rory McGovern
Gonzaga College & YMCA CC