The spanish "r" is one I don't think my gringo tongue is capable of speaking. We had our first spanish lesson yesterday, taught informally by Chepe's older sister, who instantly morphed into a drill sergeant when we walked through the door. I never knew my brain could become so tired after learning essentially 20 words and the alphabet. It's confirmed, I'm the mental equivalent of a 3 year old in this place.
Pride aside we are really starting to get to know the area and enjoy hanging out with our local friends. We ventured onto the town last night for the first time and put our new bachata skills to the test. Judging by the number of toes I have still intact, I'd say it went alright. The other popular dance here is "reggeton" which sounds fancy but is really just the spanish word for frat party booty dance. After noticing that our host family girls watch a ton of MTV, we realized that MTV + reggeton music = scary dance party. I'll stick to bachata.
The project is starting to get off the ground as we've lined up 5 different elementary schools to visit the next two weeks during phys-ed. The idea is to reach out to girls that way, rather than hoping they will show up to a soccer camp without being familiar with us or the sweet prizes we intend to give out. Soccer may be a universal language, but bribery can't hurt.
Many more thoughts and stories to come, but we're off for now to coach a girls' team practice. This team is Granada's best women's team (ages 15-17) that expects to play in Nicaragua's national league for the first time this spring. We will be training them twice a week for the next 5 weeks to get them ready for the season. In the 90 degree weather, more than likely I'll be shouting incoherently from the sideline gasping for air and sweating profusely, but you can't blame a kid for trying.
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