July 20- Soccer Speaks all Languages
This is Monica and Kylie and we’d love to share our favorite experience in Haiti so far. What started off as a walk to the lake turned into a very messy situation. About thirty of us headed out for a mile walk to the lake to spend some time away from the campus. It was drizzling and dreary, but we decided that rain would feel pretty good after a hot day Sunday in church. About half way through our walk we came across some boys hanging out around a dirt soccer field on the side of the road. TJ called for the soccer ball from the front of the pack – which in TJ-speak means it’s game on! 8 of us answered the call and took on the local Haitians in a friendly game of soccer.
After establishing teams (Americans vs. Haitians) we decided to kick of our shoes and play barefoot in true Haitian-style. The ground was the softest dirt we had ever felt – it was like playing on baking flour. Despite this soft bliss, the field was surrounded by thorn-ridden bushes. Whenever the ball went out of play and into the bushes, it came out encapsulated by thorny branches. Every time, the Haitian boys came to the rescue, ever so carefully removing each spike. You could tell they cared so deeply about this ball by how tenderly they handled it off the field. It was as if they were showing gratitude for us by paying special attention to this ball we brought to play with.
The game began with the four youngest boys watching from the sideline. The Americans came out strong scoring two quick goals to make it 2-0. After a few close calls, the Haitians started to battle back. The intensity grew and more and more people from the local village came to cheer the game on. There were little boys and girls, teenage boys, mothers, and even some elderly men laughing and yelling from the sidelines. The score was still 2-0 so we thought we were sitting pretty and heading towards an easy win… then the rain started coming down. The floury field quickly turned into a giant mud-covered slip-n-slide, removing all self-control and sending us toppling to the ground. The once carefully tended ball turned into a muddy medicine ball. If you tried to dribble it would stay in place, and if you tried to shoot it would only roll a couple feet. Our laughter grew as we slid and splashed through the mud. Our sideline fans were having so much fun laughing at our ridiculous falls that they didn’t seem to notice how drenched they were getting from all the rain.
Home-field advantage was now in full swing. Apparently, these Haitian boys have played mud soccer before because they were schooling us. The youngest boy scored four goals by patiently waiting as American after American slid past him. They killed us 10-7, but we all loved every minute of the game. By the time the game finished, we had mud EVERYWHERE!!! We shared our muddy marks with our Haitian opponents and laughed as we reenacted our best falls. As we left, we knew we had formed a special bond with our brothers and sisters of Chambrun.
It is hard to put into words how joyful and unique this experience was. Without words, we had shared triumphs, trials, laughs, and a mutual love of “The Beautiful Game.”