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Clough: A Brief Oasis For Chante and Mazie Black
DURHAM, N.C. -- For senior center Chante Black, it started to really sink in at her first home game last season. Despite having lots of fans cheering her return from a redshirt year, her most important fan was not in the stands for the first time in a long while. That fan is her mother, Mazie.
Mazie, who lives in the Winston-Salem, N.C. area, took advantage of a tremendous opportunity and spent a year teaching fifth grade in Saudi Arabia. After having spent time there in the Army as part of Desert Storm, she felt drawn back to the area for a number of reasons. Her ability to speak some Arabic made her attractive to the international school there, and she finds the area to be an "exotic place" with people who are "warm and friendly." The children she teaches come from all around the world: Jordan, France, Egypt, Malaysia and the Philippines. She spoke warmly of those children and the school’s principal.
Mazie Black has spent most of her life either in the service or as a teacher.
She was involved in personnel management in the Army, a career that took her to a number of places in the U.S. Chante was raised an army child, and this was a major factor in her becoming a strong, independent woman. Early in Chante's life, Mazie's military career kept her separate from her as a child. A precocious youngster, Chante told her mother that she needed to choose between the service and her. Though living with her grandmother was fine, she was frustrated that they didn't have much to do together. As a seven-year-old, she was "bored" and wanted to hang out with her mom. She noted that "time is slow" as a child and that missing two Christmases in a row was quite enough. Mazie left the Army to be with her child, and Chante said that this experience made her "eager to see her all the time."
Mazie speaks warmly of her experience in Saudi Arabia, though it clearly wounded her not to get to see Chante play in person. She was able to follow some of her games on ACC Select, and her school children were quite avid in following along. Mazie's classroom has become a group of fervid Duke fans, with every child writing Chante's teammates a letter. The girls at her school are eager to start a basketball team, and Mazie is trying to negotiate this with the authorities. Clothing restrictions for women and girls in Saudi Arabia make this a tricky proposition. This highlights one of the main differences she's experienced in her daily life: women are expected to be escorted when they go out in public.
Despite the differences in culture, one thing Mazie has taken from the experience is that people everywhere have common interests. The children in her class like video games, pop music, sports and clothes. At the same time, they're also much more cognizant about wars, the environment and their future.
While Mazie loves shopping in the local markets, one of the biggest draws for her to return to Saudi Arabia was a spiritual one. As a Muslim, she was able to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. Of course, there are certain comforts of home that she misses, the biggest being North Carolina cornbread and grits. She's made sure to stock up.
Basketball has always held an important place in Mazie's life. She played in high school, college and on the Army intramural team (with men). Even as a three-year-old, people would be amazed at Chante's focus on the game. Like her mother, Chante has an "independent spirit" that allows her to "go with the flow." This time around, Chante was sad to see her mother leave but was much more sanguine about the experience. She said, "When you get older, you understand why people do things." She knew her mother really wanted to do this, and gave her her blessing.
Both women are now together for Mazie's one-month vacation back stateside. She has re-upped with her school for another year and so will have to miss Chante's senior year. This time, it'll be easier for them to stay in touch. They subscribed to Vonage, which makes all overseas phone calls local through their computers. They had to depend much more on email last year, so they both look forward to a more direct form of communication. Chante does hope to visit her mother in Saudi Arabia at some point. Mazie noted that Chante would be treated like a celebrity from the moment she stepped off the plane. Chante is open to the possibility of one day playing nearby as a professional.
Right now, the mother and daughter were planning a trip to the beach. While it clearly pains both that they'll have to be apart for a while soon, they at least will have a couple of weeks to enjoy each other's presence. Both learned long ago to treasure every moment they have together.
