After lunch we head to the township to play soccer with the kids. The program we're doing is only about a month old, and so it feels like they're still figuring a lot of things out. In retrospect perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised, but our first day I was a little disappointed to see that there are no girls who play soccer with us. There are about twenty boys, aged 10 or 11. We warm up and do some stretches to get started, and then do some drills and activities with them. The last 30 mins or so are devoted to a scrimmage. These kids are tough. The field we played on the first day was essentially mud and weeds, because it had been raining a lot. Some kids don't have shoes that fit properly or the soles are falling off, so they just played in the freezing mud in their socks. They get in fights with each other fairly often, on and off the soccer field. Volunteering with these kids in the afternoons is unlike anything I've ever really experienced.
Our evenings have been spent relaxing and making new friends. We are currently sharing a house with a few more Americans, a couple Brits, a South African and a Frenchman. Soccer has dominated our lives, especially in the last couple days. The energy and excitement surrounding the tournament is incredible! We've been watching games in Cape Town, where they have a fan park with a huge screen and lots of avid fans. Everyone is dressed up in their countries' colors, waving flags, and drinking lots and lots of beer!
Katie
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