Russian Sports

One of the things I've been doing a lot of in Russia has been engaging in one of their favorite national sports: ping-pong. It's helped me learn my Russian numbers up to 21 really well and it has been a fun way to spend evenings if it's cold and rainy.

The person I play most often is a guy named Pavel. Our lifetime series is a pretty even split right now. At first I could beat him in closely played matches but then he figured out my style and started handing me 7 game loss streaks regularly. After this embarassment for both myself and my country I spent a great deal of time in deep thought contemplating the art behind the technique. After this short absence from the sport I've returned with the ability to beat Pavel 3 out of 4 games.

I also play my friend Paul occasionally but his different style has me slightly confused. I have only played him twice, but he won both matches.

Here is a photo that Pavel took that puts a picture to the ping-pong action that occurs here:



Time to go consider ways to defeat Paul.