Jenna once again proves her "Americanness"

And the hits just keep coming! Last night I had my first opportunity to play soccer here at CPI. One of the workers asked if any of us students would be willing to go to an indoor field to play against the kids participating in CPI's soccer camp. Of course, I volunteered right away! I figured that some other students would be playing too, and it would just be a big ol' party. Not so much. First of all, I came back to school last night only to discover that I was the only student volunteering to play. I had to ride to the field in a bus with 5 other male teachers/workers/random people, all of which spoke fluent Spanish very quickly. They then informed me that we were playing high school-aged students and that the girls were pretty good (note: I'm already sweating by this point). I got to the field where there were two other rec teams playing. Wow. These were like 40-year-old men who were playing like 20-year-olds. I seriously started fearing for my life. These guys were intense! I was worried that our game was going to be this nuts and that I would not only make a fool out of myself, but that I would also die from a hit to the head. Fortunately, when I was on the brink of panic, my friend Makeba showed up. Her bus came to school late, so they brought her over separately. Whew! At least now I had someone with me who doesn't eat, sleep, breathe soccer. Better yet, two female employees from the school showed up a few minutes later, meaning that Makeba and I wouldn't have to play the entire hour (two girls had to be on the field at all times). With all of this female support, I started feeling pretty good about the game. One of the female employees and I started on the field first, and within the first 2 minutes, I tripped and ripped up both of my knees on the nasty artificial turf. Nice. I had black, slightly bloody knees for the duration of the game. Now, I won't say that I was the worst on the field, but I was up there! I tried to tell myself that I was rusty, but let's be honest. It was the Latin Americans vs Jenna. I didn't have a shot! I did get better as the game went on, and I still had a blast so it was totally worth it. I'm hoping that I get to play in a few more pick-up games while I'm here to brush up on my skills.
Apart from soccer, life is pretty routine here. Classes are a bit too easy this week, so I'm hoping that next week the intensity picks up. My speaking continues to improve, and I feel much more confident communicating, so I know that I'm still learning everyday. Right now I'm off to walk Hannah home and later this evening it's off to the mall! By the way, I'm currently boycotting rice and beans...aka I'm only eating it for 1-2 meals a day rather than all three. For lunch I splurged on a huge chicken sandwich and LOVED it! I fear I'm more American than I care to admit...