Guatemalan Winter Olymipics

Last night I played my very first game of football. All people except Americans understand this to be soccer. I played soccer!!

I was one of the student stars on our all spanish student team prepared to aid a real Guatemalan women's soccer team practice. We were all stars. That means we wee students played a real team with jerseys. It was quite the racket. My stretch pants and favorite teal shirt with bleach spots made a perfect uniform. Since I do not know soccer regulations, it was lucky that the game had very few. No off sides, just do not touch the ball with your hands (manos) and run a lot. So I did. I had many missed goal shots.. showing skill, not lack there of.. and two falls. One time I fell when I was running real fast ready to kick a goal with no one around when mid run a girl cruised up from behind and in a tangled mess we fell, hard. I know this to be true because the audienced gasped. A second time I tripped myself up on the sideline much to the entertainment of a family eating hot dogs on the other side of the fence. I lost some flesh over this one and obtained two new black and blue spots.

Better than my superstar soccer start was my teammate who did not have shoe laces. Her shoe flew in the air every time she kicked. It was over 6 times. Ahh soccer. After the game we teammates from Germany, US, and Guatemala celebrated the near win. (3 to 1 loss, only because we made a goal for them in our own... otherwise 2 to 1, not bad for scrappy students) One teacher named Gato joined. Gato, spanish for cat, is his nickname.

We drove to and from the game in the classic back of the pickup truck. The field was astroturf and quite a large impressive complex. This experience was strangely American feeling. Perhaps Xela is turning into a temporary home.

This end of the week marks 4 weeks into spanish, with 4 remaining. Today I figured out how to say in Spanish... I was going to say that we should leave early today. That was a victory.

Have a great weekend! I am enjoying Xela perhaps seeing friends and studying. A deserved break after last weekend in a bus.