Un Partido de Fútbol

Early in the week, Ali stirred up some interest in having a game of football among the students on Thursday afternoon. I was glad to have a chance to do something different for a change, so I signed up and paid my Q20 (to use the field). When Thursday rolled around, however, it started raining around noon and we were supposed to play at 2:00. When we returned to school after lunch we had assumed that nobody would want to play because it was still raining, but surprisingly it was the teachers that were more intent on us playing. (Teachers need to be with their students if they leave the school during class time. Some students even take their teachers with them to run errands and such.)

We set out in the rain, which slowly changed to a drizzle, and arrived at the Luteranos campus. I had walked past it a couple weeks ago but there is a gate and a guard so I wasn’t able to look around. Inside the wall I saw a sign for Sunday worship, but I have no idea if it’s affiliated with a church in the States. The campus is pretty big, with flower gardens and a large building that doesn’t resemble a church in any way. I still don’t know exactly what its purpose is.

The fútbol field was a little rough, with more dirt than grass—which was growing in haphazard patches. But there were two goals with nets, which was a plus. We divvied up into teams and played for the better part of an hour until the rain stopped. The sun came out and it got quite hot again. We played for almost 2 hours before heading back to school. I scored 2 goals, but we weren’t really keeping track. ¡Mis pobres zapatos! (My poor shoes!) They will never be as clean as they used to be.

I’m now considered a “beginning intermediate” student instead of a “beginner” because I have learned the conditional tense. I’ve also been starting the perfect tense, but for me Spanish is still easier to translate on paper than to understand in speech. When I can understand, it’s then even harder to respond correctly. I usually mix up an ending or use the wrong tense. Poco a poco entenderé español mejor. (Little by little I will understand Spanish better.)

When I was studying the perfect tense on Friday, Marta wrote out several sentences for me to translate. I burst out laughing when I got to this one: “Juan dijo, ‘¡Finalmente mi suegra ha muerto!’” (Juan said, ‘Finally my mother-in-law has died!’)

I gave in and got internet on Friday. It’s a little on the slow side, but I still like the convenience of having it right in my room. I’m excited to be able to listen to online music!

I slept in on Saturday, got up to have breakfast at 9:00, and went back to bed for a couple hours after that. Después del almuerzo, estuvo lloviendo a cantaros. (After lunch, it was raining by pitchers.) A few of us had been planning on visiting a hotel and spending the afternoon by the pool, but the rain quickly put a hold on that. This weekend is going to be a lazy one.

Adios!

“Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty.”

Psalm 104:1