The Summer Vols Have Landed

For the next 2 months, we will have a full house with 10 extra volunteers here. They are helping us with existing programs and even starting some new ones. There are 2 one-month sessions with 10 volunteers in each session (3 of the 10 will be here for both sessions). This weekend we have been going around with them as they get aquainted with Quito and the valley we call home. It's exciting to have new faces and fresh ideas in the house, but 20 mouths to feed and constant shannanigans has made life here crazier than ever.

Today we also had our last soccer game of the year (tear). It was quite the battle. Krysta, Sarah, and I were all bleeding, Krysta got a black eye and chipped her tooth, and Sarah was covered from head to toe in dirt. Can't say we went out without a fight!

Fierce

oops...

Dear Blogging world,
Please forgive me for the lack of posting in the last month. Life has been crazy as usual. I've been teaching an average of 9 women per exercise class. I have been shaddowing a doctor at a rural clinic every Wednesday. Children's English has kept me on my toes, while test making for Adult English has given me a new respect for teachers. Life in the house is chaotic, as usual. I spent a week with Dave, who came to visit and experience life "Manna Style". And I've been a slacker at updating my blog. Please accept my apology with a few annecdotal stories and pictures from Dave's visit.
Much love,
Haley

Fútbol!! I played in my first soccer game (EVER) last weekend, and I still have bruises on my legs to prove it. The best part of the game was not being as tall as the goal, or getting schooled by intense Ecuadorian ballers (whoever told us this was a non-competitve league, was SORELY mistaken), but when I got a yellow card. Why, you ask? I wasn't too aggressive, I didn't talk back to the ref, and I didn't kick anyone. I picked up the ball. I bent over and picked up a soccer ball as it rolled towards me. Despite my lack of soccer skills (what can I say; I'm a basketball player), we tied 3-3 against the toughest team in the league.

Listening to small Ecuadorian children (ages 4-9) trying to pronounce English words continues to be something I look forward to week after week. I always get a kick out of the enthusiastic "APPLAY!!" One of my favorite stories from Children's English arose out of our alphabet lesson. We asked the niños to give us an example of an english word that starts with the letter. With every letter, we would get responses in spanish or with the wrong letter (for c, one kid yelled "HORSE".... maybe because "caballo" is horse in spanish? who knows). When we got to "W", every kid raised their hands. Sarah and I looked at each other and were excited that the kiddies knew a word. When we called on them, in a loud unison, they all screamed, "WHISKEY"!

Soccer Times

A few of us recently joined a soccer league. Now, if you know anything about my previous experience with soccer, you might be laughing.... as it is none. Never ever played before, and I joined a county-wide women's league in a South American country. Am I insane? Yes.

We had our first practice several days ago, and BOY was it a day worth blogging about.

First thing in the morning, Sarah, Jackie, Krysta, and I hopped on a bus to meet Bibi at our field (about halfway in between our house and Quito). Once we got there our "coach" took us on quite the route to her house, because she wanted to see how the gringas play. After scooping up no less than 17 pounds of poop from her backyard (they have quite the collection of dogs), she through some tires down in her back yard, and we were off. She was having us run drills and yelling that our kicks were too hard, too soft, or just bad! All the while, a crowd had formed in the backyard to watch us while listening to Lady Gaga's new hit, "Pokerface" (where am I?!?!). Frustrations were rising on our end, as we were assured that this was a non-competitive social event.

An hour later, we were scrimmaging with other women on our team. We showed our loud mouth, nazi-esque, abrasive woman just how gringas can play, as we ran around aggressively and it showed that we were some of the best players on our team.

Of course, we didn't look as good as Liga (a pro soccer team from Quito of which we've become avid fans), but give us some time.

LIGA Game!!

mmm.. footlong hotdog with mustard, mayo, ketchup, tomatoes, onions, potato chips

The crew after the game

As far as our Ruminahui team goes, looking forward to jerseys and our first game next weekend!