24/6/2011
The morning started off bright and early in the lobby at 7:15am. We are preparing for a big footsaul scrimmage coming up this Monday. We will play against all the best players of two local women’s teams who were just accepted to compete in the national tourney here and I could not be more excited! After having scouted out a game the other night we are now aware what is in store for us. Although they do not use each other too often, they are each individually very skilled, as well as acclimatized! In addition to this, while on the subject of games, we are in the works of scheduling a friendly with the Bolivian army we shared the field with earlier this week. The staff decided it was best to wait until week three, however, the plan is to intermix our squads which should make for an exciting match! A fellow student coach filmed footage of them training, so I will try to get that up as soon as possible! Everything involving the internet here has been so difficult… The hotels signal is very weak and I swear everyday this week has been some sort of holiday, or recovery from a holiday, so internet cafes are rarely open.
After breakfast, the staff scheduled a meeting for us to meet the Bolivian girls at two of the three schools in El Alto in which the girls attend. “WOW!” Is all I can say. The minute we entered the first school, it was as if all learning came to a halt! Children were crowding windows waving from their classrooms and the minute our group stopped walking (more like the second) a class cleared their room to come interact with us. It was difficult to get a word in over their verbal excitement. Today was proof that kids are kids, no matter where they live, the color of their skin or the language they speak.. And in whatever language that may be, they sure do “say the darndest things” (Bill Cosby reference). They pleaded for pictures, asked millions of questions without offering the opportunity for us to answer, and yelled any English words they knew, disregarding how off the wall and/or random they may have been.
Once they were literally pried away from us, we were led to the gymnasium where about 20+ of the teenage players we will be working with awaited with anticipation. Unfortunately all of my Spanish pretty much went out the window in that moment, however, obviously that did not stop me from immediately approaching the girls! We didn’t get a chance to stick around for very long but in the short period I was there I am already convinced that they are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met, inside and out, unafraid of challenging the standards society had forced upon all of the female generations preceding them. Majority, if not all, of the girls were very nervous and a bit star-struck being introduced to us, so per usual, I was loud and outgoing and was definitely able to set the groundwork for some awesome relationships I plan to make over the next few weeks!
Seeing the field where we will be coaching was quite humbling (photo below). I am aware that not everyone has the amazing athletic facilities USF offers, but to see no nets, no grass, not even dirt, but dust, and the entire surface covered entirely by rocks was eye opening. I was told that the city is trying to raise money to lay turf, and I really hope that our time here and the actions we take with these local girls will truly rally the city and get the ball rolling on these plans.
It has been a very ,very, very long, but productive week here in Bolivia, so to reward us for our hard work the LPF staff took us to a concert at a local theatre near the political district. It was nothing like I have ever been to before! The music, the costumes, the dancing, all of it was almost hypnotizing and intoxicating to the senses! I hope it works but I will also try to upload a video of a portion of the performance on either this page or the previous
After breakfast, the staff scheduled a meeting for us to meet the Bolivian girls at two of the three schools in El Alto in which the girls attend. “WOW!” Is all I can say. The minute we entered the first school, it was as if all learning came to a halt! Children were crowding windows waving from their classrooms and the minute our group stopped walking (more like the second) a class cleared their room to come interact with us. It was difficult to get a word in over their verbal excitement. Today was proof that kids are kids, no matter where they live, the color of their skin or the language they speak.. And in whatever language that may be, they sure do “say the darndest things” (Bill Cosby reference). They pleaded for pictures, asked millions of questions without offering the opportunity for us to answer, and yelled any English words they knew, disregarding how off the wall and/or random they may have been.
Once they were literally pried away from us, we were led to the gymnasium where about 20+ of the teenage players we will be working with awaited with anticipation. Unfortunately all of my Spanish pretty much went out the window in that moment, however, obviously that did not stop me from immediately approaching the girls! We didn’t get a chance to stick around for very long but in the short period I was there I am already convinced that they are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met, inside and out, unafraid of challenging the standards society had forced upon all of the female generations preceding them. Majority, if not all, of the girls were very nervous and a bit star-struck being introduced to us, so per usual, I was loud and outgoing and was definitely able to set the groundwork for some awesome relationships I plan to make over the next few weeks!
Seeing the field where we will be coaching was quite humbling (photo below). I am aware that not everyone has the amazing athletic facilities USF offers, but to see no nets, no grass, not even dirt, but dust, and the entire surface covered entirely by rocks was eye opening. I was told that the city is trying to raise money to lay turf, and I really hope that our time here and the actions we take with these local girls will truly rally the city and get the ball rolling on these plans.
It has been a very ,very, very long, but productive week here in Bolivia, so to reward us for our hard work the LPF staff took us to a concert at a local theatre near the political district. It was nothing like I have ever been to before! The music, the costumes, the dancing, all of it was almost hypnotizing and intoxicating to the senses! I hope it works but I will also try to upload a video of a portion of the performance on either this page or the previous
