Softball in Moldova! Otherwise known as slow pitch baseball.

Of all the sports that I have tried or watch over the years (not all that many years I know, but to me my life has gone on for awhile) I have to say that my favorite two are softball and volleyball. To be honest I haven't played softball in awhile but I brought my softball mitt just in case. Up to this point my poor un-used mitt just sat in my room but as summer got closer another volunteer was working behind the scene to get some softball equipment to Moldova. Kim (the volunteer I was talking about) used to play and coach softball in the states and her dream was to bring softball to the children of Moldova.

To start with many children in Moldova do know what baseball is, or at least have an idea of what it looks like, a ball, a bat and a ball. They may not know the details but if you say baseball they say "Oh yeah, I know what that is. I have never played it, but I know what it is". Some years ago a previous volunteer actually started a baseball little league that continued on for some time but is now largely defunct. However, none of them seem to know what softball is. Which is why Kim came up with the term "Slow pitch Baseball". Of course that is just to lure them in and then we hit them with the wonderfulness of Softball, slow pitch because none of us who are helping or have helped have been pitchers up to this point.

But in each of the 3 times that I have helped it has been amazing to see how fast these kids have picked up softball and started to enjoy playing it. With in hours of instruction and playing around the kids have been playing against each other in loose teams. They shout out advice and pick up the rhythm of game and enjoy the glory of a home run. At the end of each day those of us helping could not help but be amazed with the progress of these kids how had never even seen softball played or picked up a mitt and a ball before.

Some of the best moments for me also were seeing the quieter boys and the girls get right into it and shining. In one village we had a girl who picked up softball so fast it made my head spin. If she had been in the states she would have been able to easily move up to a competitive team with a little coaching and practice. It felt great to be able to provide the role model of a women who plays and enjoys sports as part of a healthy life style. I hope that it is something that will stay with the girls that we played with.

In addition to the experience of working with Moldovan youth was the language exchange as well. The two villages I was able to help in were both predominately Romanian speaking and I am predominately a Russian speaker in Moldova. But since I had not taken the time to translate the words for bat, ball, mitt, and some others into Russian I had to relay on the Romanian words that Kim had taken the time to translate. I feel that in addition to the great time the kids had learning to play softball they also had a great time listening to me freely mix my Russian and Romanian together in new and inventive ways to help them figure out some of the basics. Even now, after having asked what the Russian words are, I can only easily recall the Romanian words. Sometimes I feel like I am developing my own language of Rom-Rus-English with a few Gagauz words thrown in for effect.

All in all it was a wonderful couple of days helping Kim with her Softball clinics. I hope that I can continue to help her out and have a week of softball in my own town sometime in the future. It gets said again and again but it always rings true that change lies with the future generations and those of use who can help them along the way are working towards a better future.