The delivery truck
Chepe, Becky, Myra, and I meandered our way through the streets of Granada in search of furniture for the office to start the day on Wednesday. We were shocked yet pleased with our instant success. We bought four rocking chairs, a coffee table, two desks, and four plastic chairs (for a great price with Chepe’s assistance), and even got a ride to the office to move everything inside. After our productive morning, the three of us played some 3v3 pick-up soccer with Chepe, Caesar, and another man from our barrio. We pondered what we could make ourselves for dinner with our limited food supply after working up an appetite on the field, and eventually decided that our day’s hard work meant dinner at EuroCafe. Over paninis, salad, and Starbursts, we searched for pictures and posters to enlarge and frame for the office, and we discussed Becky’s unreal Life-Skills curriculum. Afterwards, we attended a quick, informal meeting with Milton about our meeting with some representatives from the men’s soccer league scheduled for Thursday. Before turning in for the night, we got in a few games of cards with some of our friends from the barrio. Myra won twice…and Becky and I will never hear the end of it. I was skeptical of the game we played (which makes me question the validity of Myra’s victories) seeing as every time Becky put down a card, a new rule seemed to be implemented by Chepe. Regardless, I guess a win is a win. Congrats, Myra…ugh.
Yesterday (Thursday), Suyen, Chepe, Myra, Becky, and I made our way to the Ministry of Education to meet with Milton and the woman in charge of the Ministry to discuss our plans to visit elementary school gym classes. After arriving on time (promptly at 8:45), we waited for an hour and a half for the meeting to start. Our frustration subsided, however, and we left the meeting feeling great about a few things. First of all, the woman seemed to love our plans and she was just as eager as we were to get started. Second, she scheduled a meeting for Friday (today) with all of the directors of the schools. This was a relief, because it would enable us to discuss our plans with the directors at one time in place of visiting all ten schools that day. Phew.
Thursday night (last night) we attended another meeting at Milton’s house. Thirteen of us squeezed into the front room of Milton’s house (all men aside from Becky, Myra, and I) to discuss ways to clean Callejas Field, a field that we practice on during the week and play on every weekend. Milton, representatives from the men’s soccer league, and a member from an organization called “Vida Joven” (Young Life) were in attendance alongside the three of us and Chepe. The purpose of the meeting was to figure out how to (1) get people to help clean the field and (2) keep the field clean. Plenty of ideas were shared, and it was exciting to witness a meeting of active, excited individuals ready to make a difference. Chepe shared his idea of a campaign, while another resident of our barrio proposed that the teams who chose to not help clean the field simply cannot play on the field. Seeing as soccer is an important part of the lives of many Nicaraguan men, and this field is a crucial resource for playing, everyone was confident that there will be plenty of helping hands come time to clean the field (scheduled for next Sunday).
This morning was our meeting with the directors of schools. Suyen, Chepe, Myra, Posky, and I were the first to arrive to the Ministry, followed by Milton and (eventually) the various directors of the schools we plan on visiting. Milton introduced our ideas, and Myra followed his introduction (perfectly) with further information about our purpose and our goals (I think everyone was impressed with her Spanish…I know I was!). We provided everyone with a packet including a letter we composed, a schedule with our dates for visiting each school, a flyer with information about our Saturday practices, and a sheet with further information about Soccer Without Borders. The meeting would have ended on time, but the directors of schools decided to use OUR meeting to discuss other problems. Luckily, Suyen spoke up after we politely listened to an extra half hour of complaints from the directors (and after I almost had my eye removed from its socket from a frustrated woman’s finger wagging back and forth at Milton). Becky and Chepe scooted out of the meeting before it had reached this new topic to run our morning practice session. Myra and I parted ways after the meeting so that I could write this blog and she could join Becky at practice. This afternoon we have our second practice of the day and a game at 3:00 p.m. I just saw a boy who plays on the team we’re scheduled to play today, and upon exiting he teased, “Hopefully you guys bring your A-game today.” We lost to them last Friday…redemption today. Bring it on.
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