Nicaragua 2015: Day 3

This morning we woke up at 6:45! An early start to the first full day of camp! After we woke up,we went down for breakfast and had a great surprise waiting for us...
Rice and Beans! :-|  
With a plantain fried in sugar. :-|
After consuming our sustenance to survive, Enmanuel ran up to me asking for an "enormous favor." Apparently, in the competition for King and Queen of camp, his community was short 1 girl and he was wondering if  he could borrow one of the girls. Amy, Elena, and I immediately pointed to Ariel, the obvious choice as the most outgoing one of the group. Ariel blushed, buried her face in her hands, and then emerged with a big smile saying, "Okay, I'll do it!" 

After breakfast, we started the devotional. We have a devotional twice a day and each community takes a turn in running the devotional. This morning Enmanuel's community, Caroza was in charge and Enmanuel did a fantastic job. We sang some of the very popular church songs that have a little dance
involved. The girls enjoyed trying to dance along... we got the hang of it pretty quickly!

After the devotional, the campers started their morning classes. Today, the topic was HIV and AIDS. All of the campers are responsible for taking this information back to their community and educating the people around them. 

During the classes, we have some free time so we decided (and by we, I mean
me... I am their coach after all) to do 30 x 40 yard sprints... suicide style and up the hill! Enmanuel got permission to participate with us so the five of us took our water bottles, marked out the yards and after a good warm up, we started our sprint work out! By the time we got to our 40yd hill sprints we had generated some excitement in camp. 

Slowly people started to congregate and before I knew it the guys were challenging me in a sprint to the top of the hill. Truth be told, there are some pretty athletic Nicaraguans here and as the organizer of this program, I was feeling pressure to keep my "street cred"... so yes, I tried really, really,,,,,, really hard and, thankfully, won all of my races. haha. 

Once we finished our sprints we headed over to the trees. Yes, crazy Coach Ali (who has recently fallen in love with rock climbing) brought pull up grips to Nicaragua to hang over a tree branch for our work out... and not just any pull up grips- climbing grips that also build grip
strength. (To me it doesn't seem crazy at all, just a practical and brilliant idea). We set it up and took turns doing pull ups and abs. Each person had 30 seconds to get as many pull ups as possible and then had to hang for the remainder of the time. Repeat. Several Times. Once we finished the work out we showered up and went back to the rooms for some down time before lunch. It felt soooo good to lay down, hang out, and recharge for the afternoon. 

Finally, lunch was served and we were SOOOO excited to see that for lunch we were going to have Rice and beans :-|

After lunch, Enmanuel and I organized the schedule for the tournament: 2 games/day for each team and then the Semifinal and Championship games on Wednesday morning! We had a little bit of time to kill before the tournament so the girls went to take a nap and Alexander changed his clothes to work out because I told him "Cuando estas listo, estoy lista"... "When you are ready, I am ready." It was his turn for a work out! 

Alexander will be traveling to the US this upcoming summer to learn coaching and
come back to Nicaragua to take over as the program leader in Nicaragua year-round! So not only are we encouraging him (and I have been for years) to be HEALTHY but this year we have an extra emphasis... in order to run the program and come to the US to coach he MUST lose weight. He must be able to actively coach and work with kids to assume this position.
So today... dun dun dun.... was his first work out! We recruited Gigiermo and Lenny (another camp participant) to join the work out and off we went to the bottom of the hill. We started with 10 sprints up the hill! Alexander was working hard and smiling at the same time! I was so happy to see his positive attitude during the start of a really hard work out.

And yes, little did he know... that it was just the start. haha. We went over to the shade and the main and final exercise of the day was 100 Up-Downs! Alexander, Lenny, and Gigiermo had to lay all the way down on their backs and stand all the way up, jump, and clap over their heads 100 times! I told them they could take as many breaks as they wanted but they wouldn't be finished until they got to 100! Lenny finished first with an impressive lead followed by Gigiermo.

Once Gigiermo finished, Alexander was left with still over 40 up downs left to go! I encouraged him yelling, "Adios Peso!", "Vamos", and hooting and hollering. I also kept saying "Soy Sexy" (I am sexy). This is a joke amongst the friends of the central church because our beloved Rabin (another youth leader) has recently decided to start working out at the gym and as facebook is emerging as the new, very popular thing in Nicaragua, Rabin is often posting gym selfies with the hashtag, "#SoySexy" hahahaha. 

Over 30 minutes later Alexander was finally finished. We were all so excited for him and I was especially proud of him. I told him to remember how he felt during that work out because in a couple months he will be crushing it! 

We finished just in time for the soccer tournament to start! Usually we find a piece of grass somewhere and set up a field for the tournament with cones. Then we dig post holes in the dirt and insert tree branches for goal posts. This year, we are so lucky and excited to have 2 side-by-side courts on the retreat center campus. The courts have real soccer goals on them and it is very exciting to have the boys and girls both playing at the same time in the tournament. It also makes it possible for us to get in all of the games without having to cut time or rush before it gets dark. Everyone was able to play 2 games today! 

When I first walked onto the courts and saw a sea of blue uniforms I was so
so excited. It's always exciting to see everyone in their gear but it feels especially exciting this year since everyone is in all blue, really nice, Nicaragua National team-esque uniforms. Everyone just looked so good and unified. 

Between the two fields was the huge white board with the game schedule and

points chart. We used yellow pinnies during the game to differentiate the teams and the tournament was under way. Amy, Elena, and Ariel all captained one of the girls teams. They said they were excited to see that some of the girls here were pretty good! It has been really great for the 3 of them to be able to play in the tournament together but separated onto different teams. They have really had the opportunity to experience new friends in camp and learn how to integrate themselves into the community independent of each other. They all said they had a lot of fun playing today! 

The boys games were super-intense as usual. One thing is for sure... it is tough being a ref no matter what country you are in. LOL. We only had 1 outburst and we squashed it immediately. I had to explain that I might not see EVERY call and that when it comes to hand balls, if
the team gets the advantage, then the referee should allow the game to play on. Other than that one instance, the tournament went great. I refereed 5 games on the boys side while Enmanuel and Sergio refereed the girls. I wouldn't mind reffing the girls but the boys need a little more supervision and last year, when Enmanuel relieved me for a game while I took a quick break, he ended up issuing a red card to his brother! 

Now, I know I introduced Enmanuel in the blog yesterday but I don't think that I introduced Sergio yet. Sergio is a friend from the church from the very beginning. He has been involved with the church ever since I have been traveling down to Nicaragua and a few times when visiting Nicaragua, I stayed at Sergio's parents house while Sergio gave up his bed for me to sleep in while he stayed at a friend's! What a pal! Sergio currently works for the church and is shortly going to Brazil to receive a masters in Theology (following his BA in Sociology). He would like to become an instructor to the pastors of the various communities in the church. Anyways, one of the reasons I have such a long-time relationship with Sergio is that he speaks fluent english and has been very involved in translating for the groups I have traveled down with... he has been helping a lot this week! Sergio deserves a solid introduction here since he is just... so awesome! 

Back to the tournament... all the games went really well. Everyone and a lot of fun and we had opportunities to interject and encourage the themes of the tournament like teamwork and cooperation. In the first game, Gigiermo's team lost 12-0. Yikes. So, before the next game, we told the team that during the game, their attitude really hurt them. They need to focus on positive communication, working together and if they do, they will have a better result. That's exactly what happened. In the next game, they only lost by one goal. I know we are all rooting for an underdog win but this is extremely impressive considering their first showing! 

I really enjoyed watching all of the games while reffing and the opportunity to interact with and encourage the players. Of all the games, my favorite game was the last game of the day between Enmanuel's team and his brother Jordy's team. These two are so competitive and
2 of the best players in camp. I just love them both so it was fun to see their teams compete against each other. Enmanuel's team won 4-0! Jordy was not too happy about it. haha. 

Once we were finished the games for the day, we showered up really quick and went to dinner. We were so happy to find out that for dinner tonight there were.... NO BEANS! Seriously, there were no beans. We had 2 fried chicken drumsticks, rice, and dinner rolls..... For Realz, I said DINNER ROLLS................ :-) 

We also cut up a cucumber. We grabbed some at the store when we arrived anticipating the lack of vegetables in the meals. Got to stay healthy! 

After dinner there was a big room search. One of the campers had his phone stolen so while everyone stayed in the main hall, the church leaders took all of the room keys and went through every room. After the room check, everyone got in line and was padded down 1 by 1. In the end, no cell phone was fine. I was disappointed to hear that it happened but now I'm wondering if, perhaps, he just misplaced his phone :-/ 

This put a small delay in the night but it did not kill the mood. The camp continued to go strong! All of the candidates for the King and Queen of Camp, including Ariel, congregated to get ready for the presentation of

contestants! 

While the contestants organized themselves, Sergio played some fun games to keep the rest of the group entertained. Before we knew it, Ariel came strutting across the floor with her Nicaraguan partner for the competition. Each of the contestants, including Ariel had to introduce themselves, answer a fun "beauty pageant"-esque question and then they had to demonstrate their

dancing skills for the group. Before we knew it the entire camp broke out in dance! What a fun night! Ariel said, "Well, that was a new experience!" 

Today we had the girls do an exercise to help them branch out, integrate into the group, and make some new friends. They were tasked with making at least 4 new friends, learn about their life, and find some common areas of interest. The idea being to really transition from a new experience (expectations and first impressions) to being fully immersed and part of the community. I also asked the girls a few questions about their experience with the tournament and the impact of the More Than Futbol program here. 

Here are some of the things they wrote: 

1) How was playing soccer with the Nicaraguans? Were you able to take charge as a leader on the team? Did the girls enjoy the games? 

Elena: "It was really really fun! Everyone was really excited for it. They weren't necessarily the best players but it was fun. The only directions I was able to give were "aaqui" (here) and "atras" (back). I think some girls really got into it and others were happier watching. 

Amy: "It was great! THe girls on my team were very helpful and were very good. WE won 2 games today and the girls seemed very excited throughout the game to be playing soccer. I was not the leader for our team but the girls would help me understand waht they wanted me to do. It was a geat experience to play soccer with them today!"

Ariel: "It was fun! My team got a little frustrated with organization. Another girl really stepped up as a leader and she was good with keeping a positive attitude but it was a tough day for our team. I think we will have a lot of improvement... good days to come!"

2) How was your first full day of camp?

Elena: "I had a lot of fun although language is still a problem. It was better today because soccer doesn't require a complex vocabulary. I'm also feeling a bit more comfortable with the people."

Amy: "I was so excied to find out that rice and beans were for breakfast again! We also got to have an exciting work out which included many sprints, abs, and pullups. We had some rest time and then fun at the tournament followed by dinner with NO BEANS!"

Ariel: "I met a lot of new people and tried as hard as I could to make new friends even though I might make a fool of myself. It's definitely helpful to have translaters"

3) Best part of the day?

Amy: "I really enjoyed playing soccer with the girls. It was gret to see them so happy to be participating. When anyone scored their faces would light up. I really loved seeing them enjoy soccer so much." 

Elena: "The best part was definitely the bit between the tournament and dinner. Amy, Ariel, and I were fooling around with the ball and got a boy to join in. We passed the ball around in the air and eventually found out his name was Jared. With persuasion, we convinced Ariel's hot date (haha) to come. We for Cesar to join in and Rebekkah too. WE just juggled together and it was really fun and nice."

Ariel: "Having a full blown conversation with Ramon. I'm very proud of myself for that."

4) Hardest part of the day? 

Amy: "Eating rice and beans for breakfast and lunch. (No beans for dinner :-)"

Elena: "Ali challenged us to go 'interview' some Nicaraguans and find out about their lives. That's awkward in English, much less Spanish." 

Ariel: "Trying to communicate with my team when I have something to say and everyone's giving input and I don't have the words to say it."

5) Funniest moment of the day? 

Amy: "At lunch, I have no idea how we got on the topic but we had a very strange conversation about _______ _______ __. As Ali says, 'Power is key!'" (Sorry for the censor! haha) 

Elena: "Whenever we all get tired, we get delirious and suddenly, everything is hilarious and everyones hysterical"

Ariel: "When Ali beat all the guys in sprints while everyone was watching."

6) Any interesting things happen? 

Amy: "Ariel got introduced to her 'date' and then danced in front of everyone"

Elena: "I loved juggling with Jared, Cesar, Rebekkah, Ramon, and the girls. I also loved when Ariel was chosen (by us) to be one of the Camp King and Queen contestants with Ramon. Gigiermo also pulled me into the circle to dance with him. It was so fun and we danced with Ariel and Ramon. It's a whole buttload of fun."

Ariel: "I've grown really close to this one girl. We connected at a deep level and it's wonderful. She's really goofy... just like me. I also braided a girls hair, which was fun. She didn't speak any english but after she came back to me and said 'thank you' which was really cute"

7) What do you think is the impact of the More Than Futbol program? How does the community respond to it? 

Elena: "I think it doe a really good job of bringing the different communities together in a common sport to promote teamwork and togetherness."

Ariel: "It gives them a chance to experience something they would otherwise not have the opportunity to. It brings everyone together from different communities!"

Amy: I think the program has a huge impac on everyone in the community. They get to have fun playing soccer and learn about community problems."

I was particularly touched today when the girls said they feel like they are getting to know me in a new way. They said that
they love how I joke with them all the time. I know it's a little thing but it made me feel happy... I love my girls :-) 

Good night from Nicaragua!