From Hubs on Saturday

As hard as it is for me to admit this, I feel as though our game being cancelled today was a blessing in disguise. I’m still recovering from Myra and my pilates class this previous Tuesday…

On Wednesday night we had our third Life Skills meeting…it was unbelievable. We had about 30 girls show up to the office with two moms in the mix as well. The theme of this meeting was to introduce Girls for a Change (GFC). At our Life Skills session, Myra, Becky, and I used the curriculum from GFC along with some exercises we had done with our college soccer team to accomplish a few things. First, we played a game called “Crossing the Line” where the girls stood in a line (shoulder to shoulder) while Myra, Becky, and I read questions and statements to them. If the sentence we read applied to their life, they had to cross the line (step forward) until we said “Thank you,” and then they could fall back into the line. The point of this game was twofold: first, we wanted to get the girls to open up to us, each other, and themselves. Second, we wanted to highlight some of the major problems that are present in Nicaragua, whether these be in their homes, neighborhoods, and/or schools. The game was very effective, and I’m confident that every girl present learned a bit about themselves and realized that they are NOT at all alone when facing one or all of the problems mentioned.

After “Crossing the Line,” we broke the girls up into groups. Each group was told to write a list of three or more problems they are aware of in their community. Afterwards, the group was to assign one spokesperson from their group who would share with the entire audience the problems they wrote down. It was interesting to hear the same problems repeated by the different groups. Listening to the girls open up about the different issues they deal with on a daily basis was equally shocking as it was inspiring, and we’re all really anxious for next week’s session on ways to deal with these problems.

We devoted most of Thursday to the office. I can’t get over how great everything looks. I want to bring it back to the US with us so we can show off our work to everyone...but that’s not possible, so pictures will have to suffice. While I struggled through sore limbs (pilates class) to hand wash my clothes, Becky and Myra led the afternoon practice with about fifteen children from the nearby barrios. Thursday evening after showering and eating dinner, the crew (Myra, Becky, Suyen, Chepe, Neyton, and I) drove to the airport in Managua to pick up Myra’s boyfriend, Sean. Sean brought some more equipment for the office and some treats, so we decided it would be okay for him to hang around for a few days…

Schools were cancelled on Friday, so instead of visiting gym classes, Myra, Becky, Sean, Suyen, Chepe, and I did the Mombacho Canopy Tour. It was unreal. There were about 15 platforms on the tour that you can rest on and see the beautiful scenery. To reach these platforms, however, you take zip-lines (cables that range from 10-100 feet off the ground). Needless to say, the canopy tour turned out to be quite an adrenaline rush. We planned to use this energy from the zipline for our game on Friday afternoon, and although we fought a good fight, it wasn’t good enough. We lost 3-2. We eventually put aside our disappointment, regained our appetites, and decided it was okay to eat fritos (chicken in a bag) for dinner. Sean truly had quite the first day with us!

Saturday morning’s practice was crowded with girls ready to play soccer. There were about fifty girls, so we broke them up into eight lines for some relay races to start off the practice. After the relay races (which would be a form of what our Dartmouth soccer team calls “fitness in disguise”), we split the girls into two groups to work on passing and technical skills. At the end, we had three fields set up for the girls to play games on. The “regulars” who come every Saturday are showing improvement in their play and attitudes. Many of them help us with drills (along with the various coaches that help us out each Saturday), and at the end of the practice talk to the girls about our Life Skills meetings on Wednesdays. It is great to see how comfortable and confident the girls are when they are given the opportunity.

It’s hard to believe that our time here is winding down. With about two weeks left, we’re excited for other coaches to arrive and see all that we’ve accomplished!