New arrivals- from Jess written Saturday

Hola!!!

Greetings from Nicaragua where we have joined Soccer Without Borders for its annual spring-break girls soccer camps in beautiful Granada. The weather is always near 90 degrees, sunny, and the mangos are plentiful. Each day we will do our best to say a few words about what is taking place with the girls camps and coaches clinics.

We all made it here safely and can already say that we are going to have an incredible time. For the past two nights we stayed in a very nice hostel, but today we moved in with our host families. April is not staying with Sarah and me, but Sarah and I absolutely love where we are staying. The family is very welcoming; there are two girls and two boys, and the house is large compared to the rest of the houses here.

It's incredible how simple life is here. We love it. Sarah's Spanish is coming back to her, and she is good! I am all right, learning more and more every day; staying with a host family is going to be a huge plus in regards to how much we are going to learn because only one of the daughters speaks some broken English.

Yesterday April had to stay back while Sarah and I went to "la laguna" for a day trip. It was this secluded lake about 45 minutes from the town and it was awesome! We were able to get some serious relaxation time in. Last night we were able to come back to Granada in time to experience 'girls night' at the office of Soccer Without Borders. It was a night meant to promote soccer and discuss how to stay involved by continuing to attend sessions. At least 50 girls from the neighborhood showed up to watch a movie about soccer and to receive an official card noting how many practices they’d gone to in the past week, along with a blue Soccer Without Borders bracelet.

This morning was the official opening, where more than 90 children showed up to play soccer in the streets and dance. Although Soccer Without Borders has been running for a while now, the office is a huge step and these “grand openings” seem to have created even more interest in the program. Hopefully we will have an even bigger turnout at camp this week.

Also to note, Sarah caused a three-bicycle collision last night. You can ask her about it when we get back. Tomorrow we must wake up at 6:30am (yikes!!!) to take a bus to Managua for our game against the Nicaraguan National Team, so I better get going. More to come!

P.S. April is planning on "adopting" at least five dogs, or however many she can fit into the overhead compartments on the plane.