Marco assured me that they lacked players. Well, I hadn't played organized soccer for nine years, but for sure I'm better than an empty position.
With this news, I pushed out of bed, turned on Arcade Fire to psyche me up and went in for breakfast in my scrubs—Matthew, this was the best gift ever. My host family was already eating breakfast (or for all I know lunch, they get up really early some days), my host-mom invited me to some Quinua which I accepted. I usually cook for myself (stomach reasons), but Quinua is delicious and good for you.
We headed over for the first game of the day—the 8 Oclock Game. Now remember, it's rainy season here in Ancash. The “field” would best be described as a gigantic mud bath with a few patches of overgrown grass here and there. Not thinking I would be on an official soccer team during my Peace Corps service, I left my cleats in Vermont. Having a size 12 shoe, I can not buy cleats in my entire department (I'm told they sell my size in Lima...). So there I was with my New Balance shoes (thanks Dad), ready to hit the field. I declined being put in goal (this is a good way to be culturally embarrased as I've learned before), and they put me at mid-field.
In the first five minutes I remembered that soccer is hard and requires a LOT of running. I held my own, took a forty yard header in style, ran up and down the field, tried to kick the ball really hard, fell down, pushed some smaller players around, beat my high school student for a ball, etc. By then it was 8:30, and the late-comers arrived, and I was pulled from the game, a decision I was ok with—the game ended as any riveting soccer match does 0-0. Team Cocha, our neighborhood should have beat the other neighborhood, but we couldn't put any goals in unfortunately. The league is inter-barrio where neighborhood teams play other neighborhood teams. Next week we're playing Cocha South, which is apparently like the Yankees-Red Sox Rivalry of inter-barrio play.
After the tie, we headed to the volley-ball court to watch the blue/red team (I forget their name) upset Puncu in 3 sets. After the game I headed home (a 2 minute walk, like everything here) cause it was time for my Sunday Run. Running in rural, traditional Perú is always fun. You basically just decide that you're doing it, and even if your showing more leg than usually gets showed in a week here, you're gonna enjoy yourself. Today I ran to the Virgen of Anta, a decent outing, passing sheep, pigs, angry dogs, sleeping dogs, and plenty of workers and people enjoying their Sunday. The whole way I have a view of Huascaran, the tallest mountain of Perú—not a bad deal...
After the run it was time to prepare my fruit for the week, a new tradition I'm trying to start—here for fruit peals to go down my stomach successfully, they need to be submerged in a diluted bleach solution—it's a decently long process, but then you eat an apple at the end and it's cool.
In the afternoon, as if I hadn't enough sports, we decided to pull out the old Pig Skin (thanks Mom and Dad). I taught Marco and Eladio (my other host brother) how to throw it, then we headed down to the soccer field—which by the afternoon (we got lucky w/ no rain today) had dried and looked somewhat like a soccer field. Finally I got to show off my sport skills, and I wasn't the gringo falling down on the soccer field, I was the gringo throwing the football thirty yards (just like Aaron Rodgers—shout out Packers!). Some students came by and we taught them, and by the end they were throwing it pretty well. I think we're a couple years off from creating an inter-barrio US football league.
And that's basically a Sunday in Peace Corps, I came home had a dinner w/ my host family, talked with my host mom for a bit and here I am, ready for bed—if I'm getting up before eight, I'm definitely going to bed around eight. In my last blog I talked about my specific job—in Peace Corps (for those who didn't grow up w/ a PC dad and then brother)--there are three goals—1 is the work you do in the community, the other two are sharing United States Culture, and learning Peruvian Culture to bring back to share in the US. Today was a goal 2+3 day. Tomorrow, I'm back teaching computer skills to 5-8 year olds.
Happy Valentine's Day—and Feliz Día de la Amistad (here's it's Friendship Day). So to all my friends back home—have a great one.
Your Friend in Ancash,
John William
great entry dubs.
ReplyDeletei looked up huascaran. UNBELIEVABLY beautiful. i definitely have to get down there.
on that topic, what are good times of year to go to peru so i avoid gross seasons? i need a few. my work gets busy between feb-may and september-december, so may-august and january are pretty much my best bets...
you're soaking your fruit in bleach? is that the safest thing? last i heard people died from ingesting bleach. but i guess if it's diluted enough it would work.
keep up the good work. i was shocked (SHOCKED!) to see you posted again so soon. i was expecting to have to wait another month or something.
Scrubs are nice, huh? All you gotta do is follow in my footsteps and you can spend the rest of your life in shared, slightly gross but washed pajamas.
ReplyDeleteMatthew--don't tempt me... They're really comfortable.
ReplyDeleteJean, May to August are DRY season which really means Hiking Season down here--so that'd be a great time to come down. I think I plan to write a blog for all potential tourists soon with what a week would look like down here.