Day 5 - English lesson, Women's shelter, Educational Foundation, and Match #3

By the time our lunch arrived today, we had already had a full day of activities! Because today is St. Patrick's Day which is Erin's favorite holiday, here is Erin's account of the day...

"We had another early start today! Our team left our beautiful hotel at 8:30 to help teach English to local waiters in town. The four waiters, Javier, Genaro, Carlos and Ariel were really fun to talk to and hang out with, and we learned as much from them as they did from us. It was amazing to learn more about how the people here grow up and live. After we said goodbye to our new friends, we met back up with our trusty guide Brook who then took us to a local women’s shelter to learn about domestic violence and to give more of our donations. The women’s shelter, Casa De La Mujer, is run by an amazing woman named Mayra Calderon. It was developed to help women who are suffering from domestic violence. The volunteers speak on behalf of the women and teach them their rights in situations of domestic violence. The group has been helping women for 30 years, and the actual physical place we visited was built by a group of Dutch volunteers 12 years ago. The shelter helps to teach the women basic skills such as sewing, family education and housekeeping to better their lives and the lives of their children. The women were very appreciative of all of our donations, especially the shoes and soccer balls (special thanks to Yogi’s Mom)! After the women’s shelter we went to the Galeria del Sur. This is a place run by John Thompson that helps to maintain the culture in areas like San Juan del Sur that are heavily affected by tourism. We dropped the last of our donations off at the Galeria. Our donations will be used for things like school uniforms and a yard sale where all of the money goes to community events. This is the same group that helped to set up our match today. After visiting the Galeria, we had what I thought was one of our best meals. We went back to the Restaurant El Timon where our waiter friends work, and they were able to practice their English on us one last time while we ate. We had a bit of down time after lunch, which was spent at the beach, in the pool, and other various places. We all got lots of rest before our match ;) We got to the court early to teach a clinic for the local girls in San Juan. After the clinic we played our third match against the National team. This match was far more exciting than the others. We played on an outdoor court, and with the wind and loud music we found it difficult to concentrate. My favorite part of the game is standing next to coach to hear her comments about the match. I have been threatened with bodily harm if I repeat them here though! ;) We lost again, but we will have one more rematch tomorrow night! Bring it!"

Another highlight of the day was the quick salsa lesson that the team got from the dance instructor at the Galeria. He leads a group of dancers in an attempt to preserve the local culture. They perform for the cruise ships that stop in San Juan as well as various other local performances. Here is a brief video of our lesson...

Tomorrow morning we are going to hike up to the statue of Jesus which provides amazing views of the coast and inland. Then we will be visiting a school for special needs students. After lunch, we will drive to Jinotepe where we will play our fourth and final match tomorrow night. It will be our last chance to claim a victory against the national team. It has been so much fun to watch the girls playing well together in some pretty extreme circumstances. I am looking forward to it coming together more consistently tomorrow! Echaremos de menos a San Juan del Sur!