Thursday, September 20, 2007

A few pictures of my house and a story

I played in my first official soccer game with my town team this past weekend. It was an away game, which means about 30 of us pile into two small pick-up trucks to drive about half an hour up the volcano to a town called California. The whole way, the guys were making catcalls and pretty crude comments to any female that was unfortunate enough to be walking on the road at the time. I know, sounds like these guys are assholes, but it's really a cultural thing and the girls are used to it, so who are we to judge. Actually, the guys are all really cool.

We lost the game 5-4 and I only played the first half (pretty poorly at that) and my ankle is still not quite right. But all of that is unimportant. The important part is the pre-game rituals. We went through a pretty intense warm-up and then were checked-in by the ref. After check-ins, we ran onto the field in a single file line led by the keeper. Everyone, including myself, reached down to touch the field and then cross themself upon entering the field. The keeper then ran into the center circle, and we split of forming a circle around him, where he then punted the ball into the air and we all clapped. After that, we walked to the corner, all took a knee, and prayed. They were all mumbling some prayer I wouldn't have known in Spanish or English, so I started mumbling the only prayer I knew (thanks to Dayspring Preschool):

Thank you god, for the stars and moon
for the rain and sunny weather.
Thank you god, for this our food
and that we are together.
Amen.

It's a pretty short prayer, so I had to repeat it a few times, but it got the job done. Then, when the whistle blew, we all crossed ourselves one more time and began playing. After being an Evangelical Christian during training, I think it's now safe to say I'm a full-blooded Catholic. God Bless you all.




My house...


My pila and shower in the back



My latrine (which so far is still cockroach free)


My weight made of steel, cement, and milk cans (yeah, i know, I'm a badass)

And most importantly, my hammock

7 comments:

Mr. Swick said...

ok, i hope i don't sound naive or anything, but is sleeping in hammocks common el salvador? any aches or pains when you wake up in the morning? you said it was rural, and you don't seem to be lying. thanks for the pics.

Unknown said...

LOOKS PRETTY COMFORTABLE. PRETTY NICE HAVING YOU'RE OWN PAD. MAKE SURE YOU SET UP THE GUEST HAMMOCK FOR VISITORS.

Mark said...

nice pictures.

And just a hunch, but i bet most "full-blooded Catholics" aren't using that prayer. Next time try, "rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub. Yay God!" That was always my favorite.

Kevin said...

How about an action shot on the soccer field? A shot of the crowds going wild would be cool too! How tall are the keepers? The stories and pics are terrific! Mas! Mas! Por Favor!

Isaac said...

your picures are sweet, i can picture you living that lifestyle and i know you would be happy which is awesome

also, you got me topped, i have to live with a roomate, an especially interesting, i.e., very weird, roomate

Erla Ósk said...

Thanks for the pics. Always interesting and educational to read your blog :)

Mr. Swick said...

Alright, listen up Mike. Every 2 days I check in to see what new updates and pictures you have posted. For the past few days, nay, weeks, I've been incredibly disappointed. Put the barbell down for a sec and write a new post. Please.

Also, I may be stealing your former roomie. Things are looking good.