El Salvador

Seeing as soccer is the national sport of every country other than the United States, it’s seems only natural that Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos would have its own international soccer tournament. This year marks the fourth annual torneo, and it was held in El Salvador. Teams from Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Mexico all compete (we have 4 other homes which don’t participate for one reason or another). Since I went to NPH El Salvador last summer, I’d been begging to be taken along for weeks so I could see my goddaughter and my other friends there. Last Tuesday, Stefan finally gave me the go ahead. Here are the highlights (although maybe I shouldn’t call them that, since they include the good, the bad, and the ugly):

Bus Ride: You would think that 47 people plus luggage riding in a school bus for 44 would be pretty awful, but I actually enjoyed myself. It reminded me of a band or a dance team trip. On account of being a skinny-mini, I got voted to sit three to a seat. But it wasn’t too bad - lots of listening to iPods, playing travel games, and sleeping on each other’s laps. The best part was when I finally figured out why the boys kept calling the folding paper map a “hay-pay-essay.” That would be GPS in Spanish.

Soccer: I watched a lot of it. What I didn’t see a lot of was my team winning. Turns out backing the NPH Honduras teams is sort of like being a Seattle sports fan. The girls played really hard all four games, but didn’t manage to win a single one. They were all real heart-breakers, too. It wasn’t for lack of talent or effort; it just wasn’t in the cards for them. The last game was the worst; they were neck and neck until 3 goals were scored by El Sal in the last minute. The poor things had just given up, and we ended up in last place. The boys fared marginally better. They tied three games and lost one, which put them in the semi-finals. They were up 2-0 the first half, but gave up two goals in the second. It came down to penalty kicks. After NINE, we finally missed and lost the game. They didn’t even try to win third place in the last game and ended up in fourth. It was really hard to see my kids lose. I felt a strong mama bear righteous indignation about the whole thing (including throwing a minor fit when one of my kids got pulled out of the game).

Azucena: My precious 10 year-old ahijada was one of the best parts of the trip. She was as sweet and affectionate as always, and a little less timid than last time. She was thrilled to have me there and glued to my hip whenever she got the chance. I loved bringing my consentida from Honduras to meet her. She told her how pretty she was and asked her where she got her headband, knowing it was from me. That’s the two of them in the picture.

El Salvador Girls: Roxy was so surprised to see me, and I got the best hug from her. I was reminded of what a dear person she is when I attempted to hand wash my clothes. She walked me through it, did some of it for me, and then hung my clothes up next to hers. She took them down the next day, folded them, and put them in her locker for safe-keeping. I know she took care of her brothers and sisters for a long time when her mom died, but it just impresses me when a young person like that has those skills as well as the desire to care for others. It was great to cheer on her sister Gloria in the games (I got in trouble for being at all the Honduras games and missing hers, so I had to make time), even though she had to go to the hospital with a sprained wrist. Susy was shy with me at first, but eventually opened up and we fell back into our old level of comfort. Doris gave me a hard time for writing to the other girls and not her, so I made sure to give her all my contact information. She’s leaving for a convent in a few weeks, but I guess even nuns have Facebook. I had a lovely visit with Juana, and Tía Silvia was delighted to see me and wrote me a lovely letter. My Chicas Uno called my name wherever I went, and my favorite part was reading to them in their jammies on my last night there.

Honduras Girls: I really got then opportunity to form new relationships with girls I didn’t know too well and strengthen those I already had. I painted fingernails, held hats and jewelry during games, encouraged reluctant girls to dance for the noche cultural, and took girls on their first water slides on our excursion day. When you’re in close quarters with 20 women and girls, you learn to share a lot. I shared my iPod, camera, clothes, comb, nail polish, nail clippers, lotion, chapstick, ponytail holders, barrettes, you name it. The other volunteers seem surprised that I get things back, but I trust the girls (although I am pendiente of my things).

Glenda: On Tuesday, we received the sad news that one of the pequeñas in Santa María Reina (the special girls’ house on the Ranch) passed away. She was unwell in the morning and taken to the hospital, but there was nothing the doctors could do for her. Father Phil said a special mass for her, and all the Honduras delegation attended. Stefan was able to go for the funeral and return on Wednesday.

Dinner Out: On Wednesday, all the adults were treated to a dinner off the foundation at a house on a lake. It was just beautiful, and the food was delicious. We even had tiramisu for dessert! That night really helped me get to know the tías and tíos better. My Spanish was really on that night, and I felt like I could really be me. It felt great for me to feel funny in another language!

The trip had its ups and downs; it definitely wasn’t all sunshine and roses. I’m grateful that I got to go, but I definitely had some hard times. My emotions were running pretty high, and I felt alone at times. I was always included, but I didn’t quite feel like I belonged. I wasn’t a pequeña playing soccer and visiting my friends from other countries and I wasn’t a tía there to take care of the girls. I loved seeing my El Salvador friends, but they were busy running the tournament. Deysi, one of my Pilares, was my safety net this trip when I felt lonely, and she was always at my side making sure I was okay. I have to admit, I did get really homesick at one point and had some tears. I’ve been doing really well and this was supposed to be really fun; I wasn’t expecting to feel what I felt. But what I’ve realized here is that even though the lows are really low, the highs are that much higher. And I just have to remember that.