Since we don't work many hours this semester the foreign teachers have enjoyed an abundance of game playing including basketball, tennis, badminton, Clue, Scrabble, Crowns, Cribbage and of course, poker.
One of the most entertaining highlights of the spring has been the staff basketball round robin. So far Team Foreign Language is 2-2 in the tourney and the next game on Monday decides whether they continue into the finals or not.
Being on the sidelines is a lot of fun and each time I think we are joined by more people (usually very interested and adoring female students keeping a close eye on Peter and Jordan). Ken's girlfriend, Zhen zhen usually stands with me and helps to translate what is going on in the game since I don't really know much about basketball rules and I know even less Chinese. Sometimes my tutors come and watch or students from class with nothing else to do. But a lot of people come to see just how talented the crazy white foreigners are at playing basketball. I have no doubt that many come expecting to see a game similar to those in the NBA but I bet they are not too disappointed since our team holds their own on the court and usually put on a pretty good show.
Sean and Jordan alternate between center and forward and Ken and Peter usually play point guards (I think I have this right). Jordan has the most experience and he and Sean definitely enjoy the advantage of being tall. Ken is fun to watch as he brings the hustle and emotion and constantly squabbles with the refs over unfair calls or calls that should have been made. It is pretty entertaining. Peter is solid on defense and a key team player who doesn't relish the spotlight and keeps everybody passing.
Some of the more frustrating games have included some unscrupulous refs (everyone agrees on this) who made an obscene number of foul calls on Jordan who eventually had to step out of the game. Sometimes being tall and good at basketball can make you a target here it seems. Though I was expecting the staff basketball games to be all fun and fair play, it seems the Chinese take sports and competition VERY seriously, no matter if the stakes are the Olympics or a university staff tourney; they are in it to win it.
But when the refs are good and the calls are fair, the guys have a really good time and each game they play a little bit better individually and as a team. The fans are improving too - we are practicing our cheers and chants in English and Chinese! But I think if one more person asks me if Sean and Jordan are ever going to dunk the ball, I am going to go crazy.
A great way for most of us relax, stay engaged, stave off boredom, or even burn hours on the job is to play video games, computer games online (if you do not know, there probably some addictive games your word program, right?) online games, or.As we now know, too, that when you play games (in any way and for some types), the games help to refine some of our mental faculties, Alzheimer’s disease, and co-coo in my world The folly of such a necessary mental aberrations as ADD, ADHD, and this advantage is not necessarily spent OCDthough demonstrated empirically. There has been little research done on this subject and you can bet there will be many more to come.allows So sit back, kick your shoes and relax playing your favorite games.
I won't go into all the details of how the game is played, but I will say that Bet You Know It is a very clever twist on the traditional Trivial Pursuit game. The box said the game was for ages 16+ so the questions weren't all that difficult, but there were a few that threw us all for a loop. Basically, when its someone's turn to answer a questions, the opposing players bet poker chips on whether or not the person will get the answer right or wrong -- so its helpful to know your opponents and categories that they could do well in. It was a really great game, and I highly recommend it for any game night enthusiasts!