Day 3: Monday, January 4, 2016
Like a rock. That is how we slept last night. I don’t think I moved one single inch from the time I went to sleep until the time I woke up in the morning. We were so excited to get to breakfast and find that they were changing up the food a little bit… For breakfast we had beans “with” rice instead of beans “and” rice. haha… my apologies, I’ve bean going a little bean crazy. We were ahead of the game though… knowing what was in our beans and rice future, we stopped at the grocery store on our first day to pick up snacks and so with breakfast this morning we had apples, bananas, and other small breakfast items to supplement! Breakfast, and everything we do here is very relaxed and at a very calm pace. I find myself even walking around at half speed every where I go. I don’t think we realize how much we rush around until we slow down the pace of life (I highly recommend it… save money on therapy and lower your stress level by just coming down to Central America with us).
We started the day with a devotional which is like a mini-church service. One of the 13 communities is responsible for presenting the devotional and today it was the community of
La Grecia from Chinendega, Nicaragua. The devotional was beautiful. Everyone knows all of the songs by heart and you can tell that faith is at the center of their being. When we shared “La Paz” (the Peace) at the end of the service everyone hugged at least 30 people.
After the devotional, the youth worked on an exercise while we journaled about the trip and then we split the youth up into 
Lunch time was finally here and we were hungry… pretty much always feeling hungry… luckily we had a traditional Nicaraguan meal served for lunch of… beans and rice. After, Kara and I did a little circuit
Finally, it was time for the soccer tournament to begin. While we got everything set up, some of the kids started playing soccer with a rolled up piece of paper until we brought out the balls.
Kara refereed the girls and I refereed the boys. It is always a challenge with the boys because they are intense and no one likes the referee :-( Usually after the first day it gets a little better but I have to be on my A-game which can be difficult when sometimes friends are talking to me during the game (if they are not playing) and because I ref for 3 hours straight. During the first game of the tournament, Enmanuel launched a shot over the neighbors wall that was very high and with barbed wire at the top. Somehow, 20 minutes later, Enmanuel and Juan (from Somotillo) emerged with the ball covered in stickers. Juan is the camp joker, he has been here almost every year since I started. A young teenager when I first met him, Juan was married and at camp with his pregnant wife. Now, his wife is at home with their 3 kids and Juan is still making his way to camp!
Anyways… back to the tournament… long story short, the drama with the guys did not end there. Most of the players, especially those who have participated in camp before (and know how it works), are fine. The new ones are a little too aggressive and too argumentative with the referee. The second day is always better.
Maya and Ariel participated with the girls in the tournament. Since girls are not as socially encouraged to participate in sports, it’s great for them to play with Maya and Ariel. Kara said that the girls gave her no trouble, they just had fun and enjoyed playing the game.
Once we finished up with the games we came straight to eat dinner. In a shocking turn of events there was no beans and rice served with dinner. There was a small piece of chicken, a slice of white sandwich bread, and a small salad (which we are not permitted to eat). The chicken was delicious but this was definitely not enough food to survive the night haha. Hmmm… beans and rice were starting to look pretty good at this point…
Don’t worry… we had a back up plan. In our room we have bananas, cucumbers, apples, peanuts, chex-mix, and cereal bars. So, we were okay.
The night ended with the movie “Inside Out” in spanish on a screen set up between 2 trees outside. It was a great set up and the campers loved the movie. While the girls watched the movie, Katia asked me to come over and speak with a man that she was talking to. His name was David and he is from Barcelona spain and staying at the same retreat center as us. David married a Nicaraguan woman and moved here 7 years ago. He does a lot of work in the community and especially with soccer programs for the kids. He also said that he has some connections to FC Barcelona and that they help with his operation. He was very interested in our new soccer league we are creating and wanted to find a way to possibly work together. I could tell by talking to him that he really new his stuff when it came to soccer and I was happy to make a good soccer connection here in Nicaragua with someone who has experience with organized soccer programs.
Before the night ended we planned to get a little journal/blog writing done back in our room but as soon as a laid down I could not keep my eyes open. Maya and Ariel came into the room and tried to have a conversation with me. I can remember trying to answer all of their questions and laughing at myself for half dreaming and talking at the same time but I have NO idea what we talked about. haha.
Thanks for following along! Apologies for being 1 day behind on the posts but the only free time I seem to find is in the mornings. After soccer today, we have a whole night of activities planned for the youth so I will have time to write the blog for today and catch up so stay tuned for another post tonight! Today is our last day full day of camp and tomorrow we wrap up with the Championship and head back to Managua!
Here are some questions to follow along with the girls experience at camp! Always fun to hear their answers…
1) How has the experience of soccer been with the Nicaraguans
Maya: It was awesome, I didn’t expect them to be so enthusiastic and competitive.
Ariel: My fútbol spanish vocal has increased and I feel more relaxed as a leader on the team this year.
Kara: I was a ref and found it very entertaining. I enjoyed being engaged in the game with the players.
2) How did you enjoy your first full day of camp?
Maya: It was awesome, everyone was really nice and sometimes sassy so it’s really fun.
Ariel: It was awesome, when we were completely willing to make fools of ourselves we could talk to so many new people and learn names.
Kara: Although tiring, it was rewarding. I can tell its a long day when my feet hurt at the end.
3) What was the best part of the day?
Maya: Fried chicken dinner.
Ariel: I enjoyed sitting down with random people and trying to remember everyone’s name. The names are very unique.
Kara: Sitting with Guiermo at lunch because we got to speak and joke with each other english and spanish and joke around a lot.
4) What was the hardest moment of the day?
Maya: Not falling asleep before washing up.
Ariel: Showering when I didn’t want to.
Kara: Eating beans. Again. At 7am.
5) What was the funniest moment of the day?
Maya: Every time I tried to say the Nicaraguans names I would mess up, they would laugh, I would try again and mess up again.
Ariel: During Inside Out I cried out when Bing Bong died and then everyone laughed.
6) Did anything interesting happen today?
Maya: The 1 on 1 experience I making a new friend in spanish was really wonderful.
Ariel: I had a conversation in english with a guy who is trying to learn english like I am trying to learn spanish.
Kara: It’s interesting that they don’t shower at night and think its weird that they do. Also, seeing people play soccer with a rolled up piece of paper.
7) What do you think is the impact of the More Than Fútbol program? How do the people respond to it?
Maya: Before we actually went to camp I saw kids on the street playing with a ball so I think the program allows kids the opportunity to come together and play organized soccer.
Ariel: Come together as at team. When we first came together for our skits we weren’t talking much but by the end we were all laughing.
Kara: Brings people together and teaches teamwork. At first people seemed surprised that they get a uniform and shy to receive it but on the first day of soccer everyone put their uniforms on as soon as they could!
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