Are you ready for some futbol?

Growing up Kayla and I loved playing soccer. We found the sport through a handout that was sent around our school and our parents were game to let us try anything we wanted. We were hooked after our first practice and played competitively all the way through high school. When the children at the home discovered this information a "futbol" game was immediately scheduled. We soon discovered that there are several differences between the game we played and the one played here aside from the name:

• Traditional rules are not enforced
• You don't wear shoes (unless you are a weak foreigner)
• There are no field boundaries
• There isn't any grass, only a dirt field
• Trees can substitute as players since they are located on the field

AND the most distressing difference is that they do not provide orange slices and other snacks during half time!

The kids were all very excited about the game and Kayla and I were more than a little nervous. The field had brush behind each goal and neither of us were willing to wade in to retrieve the ball due to the multiple snakes the children have killed since our arrival. Soccer is normally a pretty fast paced game that can get physical at times. We did not want to run over a kid or hit them really hard with the ball and ruin our first game at the home. These concerns were quickly dashed when we realized that the kids were MUCH tougher than we were. By the end of the game I had to remind myself that I could not cry after getting hit in the face with the ball if the 8 year old didn't.

By the end of the game everyone was very hot, sweaty, and dirty but it was decided that we would definitely be playing more often.