Teaching American Football - By Ben

When we left the United States I deflated my football and brought it along. Halfway through the year I did a unit with my students on sports. They were very curious about baseball and American Football, so I brought the football to class. I explained how the game worked and did a few very small passes in the classroom. After that moment they asked every week if we could play. So I finally gave in. We had a short day back in April because the teachers were taking a trip which I attended with Dana. So since Dana was at my school I asked her to take some pictures when I had my 11th grade class.

We spent the first half of class playing word games like Scrabble.

It took a little while for them to understand how to hold it.

The first few throws were definitely not the best :).

They were really good at catching. They just
wanted me to lob passes at them  for the most part

They were great at kicking. You have to remember
that in most of Europe soccer (normal football) is king.
 These kids learn early on about foot work while
 a large chuck of Americans learn to throw a baseball or football. 

They really enjoyed it. We actually had classes and
 teachers in the windows cheering us on.

It looks like I am off but I am actually throwing it to a student
on the run. You can see him on the other side of my left hand.

All my classes loved the experience. They all wanted to see how far I could throw it. I have a pretty decent arm so they were a little impressed. Like I said in one of the pictures the rest of the school got a kick out of it. They would cheer when I would throw it far or boo when a pass was dropped. It was really entertaining.

I love how in a foreign country the most simple things to us are fascinating to them. I am always getting questions about American Football, Texas, cowboys, guns, poisonous snakes, wild animals, national parks, US cities, etc. They never seem to get tired of the information. At the same time I am always asking about the Soviets, the government change, the revolutions, the castles, the traditional outfits, name days, palinka, etc. I think it is wonderful to be able to sit down and share cultures with people. I definitely miss home and I am looking forward to our return. However, there is a great deal of things that I will miss about Hungary. I am going to feel some real sadness when we leave the great people we have met and the times we have shared with them.