Football (Soccer)

Yesterday we had our first of what will hopefully be many PIUMA soccer practices. In an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle, as part of our Home Based HIV Care initiative, PIUMA members will be facing off against members of another NGO in Makete next week. So, we have to train and get fit!

The practice was a pretty cool experience. Things get organized very differently here, and it was really amusing to watch. Particularly because I don't understand the majority of what is said, watching the events unfold had a cinematic quality. Think the cricket match on that terrible field in the movie La Grande Seduction.

It started like any other day in the office. Yes I knew we had the big game next week and yes I had heard plans of practicing, but I guess I didn't understand how that would go down. In the past we had kicked the ball around on the little field outside Lupasso, where one wrong kick sent the ball deep into the surrounding valleys, so when I was told we were going to practice, I thought that was what was meant.

I follow the staff outside, and keep following as we walk right past the nearby open space, and head towards town. We are led by the general secretary, Anna, who is bouncing the ball as we walk along. Slowly, people are drawn to our group, mainly, I think, because we have a real soccer ball, and what you often see being used is bundles of rags taped into a spherical shape. So, our train keeps growing, and we keep walking - 45 minutes, all the way to a "real" soccer field in a valley on the far side of town.

This field is really just a meadow where cows graze by a river. It is beautiful, surrounded on all sides by mountains. It's also not really level, is full of cow dung and random gopher holes (but I don't think there are gophers here), and in some areas, little shrubs that can out-deke even the skilled. The nets are made of wooden posts.

Turns out one of the guys who joined us has a whistle that he begins to blow incessantly. I thought this meant the game was starting. No. We wait and pass the ball around as people converge on the field from all directions over the next 20 minutes, clearly having heard the whistle. We begin to play, and everyone is loving it. Our group spans all ages and all abilites, luckily, since we all know about my lack of foot-eye coordination.

And then, everyone slowly disperses, and we walk back home. The next practice is tomorrow!

Note: The picture is only of who remained after everyone dispersed.