Getting to know Granada

I've been in Granada now for just over two weeks, and in that time have been keeping myself busy getting to know as many people and getting involved in as many activites as possible. Last Thursday, Chepe (one of the main coaches) and I went to a local public school, Padre Misieri and taught soccer in the sixth grade gym class. Chepe coached the boys and I led a group of 10-12 girls in a couple of different games and then a scrimmage. I held the attention of the girls for almost the entire class until a girl fell and ripped her jeans, and the drama that ensued was much more intersting than me or soccer. Once we finished playing, I talked to the girls about Soccer Without Borders and the different programs and practices we offer throughout the week. Our plan throughout the fall is to visit to at least one school a week, teach soccer in gym class and then recruit the girls to come to our events!

This afternoon, SWB is hosting a community meeting for different organizations throughout Granada that work with youth. Every organization that comes will present their mission and bring information sheets about themselves. The hope is to begin to build relationships with these other organizations, and to be able to partner with them or refer girls to them in the future. I spent two mornings this week walking around to the different organizations, meeting their employees and inviting them to this meeting. It helped me get oriented in the city and also get to know some of the organizations we'll hopefully be working with throughout the year.

For the last two weeks the theme of our office activites (girls night, language night and arts & crafts night) has been music. We've had all sorts of activities: an exercise where the girls changed the lyrics of "Nicaragua, Nicaraguita" (the national anthem) to make their own songs, a presentation of folk music and dance from throughout the world, and the grandes are making themselves a warm-up mix. Tonight is the last night of our music theme and we're concluding with a concert. Cesar is playing guitar and singing and the grandes and pequeñas are each singing a song as well.

I've started to get an idea of what types of activites the girls respond to and also to figure out how to best communicate and work with the coaches and staff. Communication with the staff is fine, but I think it will be a constant challenge throughout the year to integrate everyone's ideas while making sure practices and events are still fun and meaningful for the girls.

Living with the family is going well, I finally got all of the names down and have more or less figured out how everyone is realted. We're in the rainy season right now and almost every night there are huge downpours, along with lightning and thunder that make me think the roof is going to blow off, but so far so good.

Hope everyone is well.

Bienvenidos a Granada y Fútbol Sin Fronteras

My internship with Soccer Without Borders (SWB) began last week when all of the organization's long-term interns met in San Francisco, California for a weeklong training. We spent the mornings working at Soccer Without Borders' annual camp for refugees in the Oakland area. The camp hosted about 80 kids from fifteen different countries and was a great way to launch into the internship. The week was full of informative sessions about what to expect when working and living abroad, the formation and philosophy of SWB and a lot of practical sessions giving us examples of team building exercises, soccer drills, and activities to do with the girls that also implement life skills lessons. My favorite part of the orientation sessions was learning more information about my site in Granada and the goals SWB has for its development as the year progresses. There are already nine Nicaraguans on staff in the office and the programming is well organized and established. Therefore my main role down here will be to help bring SWB to self-sustainability by identifying and involving more locals and local organizations that can support its development.

Right now, I'm writing from Granada! I arrived yesterday morning and since then have been meeting all of the SWB (Fútbol sin Fronteras in Spanish) staff and getting to know the barrio where I am living. My "host mother" is Doña Chilo and has hosted interns from SWB for the last three years. Both me and my co-intern, Larkin live there along with seven other family members. The barrio is a street about 10 blocks from the central plaza of the city and is full of many families involved with SWB. They have all been very welcoming and I'm excited to get to know them better. This afternoon I attended my first SWB practice. Every Tuesday there is a practice for "las grandes" girls ranging from 14-18 years old. It was fun to see them play and help when needed. There are two main Nicaraguan coaches, Chepe and Cesar along with at least five youth coaches. They definitely seem to have a great handle on the practices and how to motivate the girls. I'll attend every practice and assist where needed but let the Nicaraguans lead the way. After official practice ended most of the girls, all of the coaches and a bunch of locals stayed to play pick-up soccer for an hour. The field where we play is on the shore of Lake Nicaragua, and as we were playing there was a pleasant breeze, making the heat a bit more bearable for this gringa. A great way to end my first whole day here!

That's all for now! Hope everyone is well!