Thursday, November 09, 2006

We call it Volley, they call it Walley

Imagine yourself in a racquetball court. There is a net strung across the court, separating the small court into even smaller halves. Teams are divided into three to four persons, you’re handed what looks like a beach volleyball and the walleyball game begins.

What is walleyball you ask? Well, it is the Bolivian version of volleyball, played in a racquetball court. The most tricky part of the rules to walley is that you USE the side walls, but NOT the back walls. Now, it sounds easy, but when you are used to serving the ball in an outdoor court, your forget your own strength and smack the ball right into the otherside´s back wall, earning a point for that team. Which points out yet another change in rules, you earn points for your team simply by not being able to return the ball back to the other side, whereas in outdoor volleyball when you fail to return the ball, the other team gets to serve for points. Tricky does not even begin to describe the point system, especially when some people try and cheat you out of points, which does happen from time to time.

Some of the best moments here in Bolivia with my Bolivian family have been spent in las canchas (the courts) playing walley with both my host family and the HCA group. The level of competition each time we play rises as does our ability. Every time we get to the court, all rules are left at the small door and we just let loose and have a blast. We fall down, we laugh, we get balls to the face, yet we always manage to come out from the game excited about the next court reservation. Plus, I have never seen grown men (my Bolivian dad and brother) be so competitive, where they play the whole court and steal your opportunities to spike the ball, granted my host dad is by far the worst ball-hog. I think I went through a whole game without once touching the ball or if I did touch the ball, it was a mistake on his part.

It’s a funny sport this walleyball, yet I have really come to love it. It’s great for me to play, since the net is slightly shorter than regulation nets and I can pretend to be Gabrielle Reese and spike the crap out of the ball. Plus, it’s a wonderful chance to bond with not only my Bolivian family, but with the HCA group as well. So, if I had to pick between walley and volley, I might actually go for the Bolivian version, after all, where else can I pretend to be the queen of the court?

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