It's always sunny...

Seven days have come and gone so here are some week one thoughts/observations:

• There had to be a perfect storm for this academy to exist: a powerhouse school with accessible facilities and personnel, a city that, when rugby is in full swing, has dozens and dozens of teams playing each week, a live-in high that serves meals to the students that can also feed us twice a day everyday, a house in walking distance to all of these things, and who knows what else being the scenes.
• Players either make smart, well-timed passes or they don't pass at all.
• In terms of sporting facilities, there are rugby pitches, tennis courts, and seemingly nothing else.
• On the whole, goods are notably less expensive here. I don't know if the cost of living is also lower but the fact that things are less expensive makes me want to spend money.
• There is no rest for the weary. My legs (and the others') have felt tired since the day I started. We run in the stadium or mountain, work legs at the gym, do water aerobics, walk everywhere for the first half of the day, and then referee multiple games in the afternoon.
• College level players are not faster than the top college players back home but their fundamentals are rock solid. I'm convinced all players, even the barefooted ones, wear stickum.
• As solitary as a referee's work can be, all five of us are here as a team; we challenge, critique, laugh at, debate, and support each other everyday.
• I haven't referred an official matches yet but no one argues with the refs. They don't even speak to Emily.
• There are no clouds in Stellenbosch.
• There are no police in  Stellenbosch.
• There is one squirrel in  Stellenbosch.
• Walking around town with bare feet is not only accepted but not questioned.
• Walking around town in tiny shorts is also not questioned.
• The five of us have high hopes for ourselves. Among us are dreams of the Olympics, 7s World Cup, 15s World Cup, and 7s World Series.
• The next eight weeks are going to be great.