Since I last wrote, Brendon and I have been concentrating a lot of our time and efforts in the neighborhood. Hockey took off flying and has continued to be a regular thing two nights a week. It has drawn out a lot of different people in the neighborhood and continued to be an avenue to get to know all our neighbors. The regular crowd tends to be 5 to 15 year olds playing hockey with us with all the older kids hanging around the sidelines. And, of course, new people still pass by or hop in which is always fun. By sitting on the sidelines with the different groups, I have had an opportunity to meet most of them. We keep getting to know everybody better and better but when I think about leaving, it feels too soon. We are just getting started!!!
I still have not met most of the young women of the neighborhood. They don't "go out" at night the way the boys do. I try to ask where their sisters are but they like to just shrug and say, "she doesn't like to go out". I did start a little girls' sports group a couple of months ago for girls ages 7-10. I was inspired by a girl who only has brothers and didn't know how to play soccer. Girls that live only one block apart have been able to meet and get to hang out for an hour or so every week. It is nothing earth shattering but the girls really enjoy it so that is something.
Brendon and I are also each helping out at different "apoyos" or before/after school programs. I work with high schoolers while he works with younger kids. Many of the kids overlap with our direct neighborhood and then the others expand into the nearby hoods. It continues to be a great way to build relationships and make connections with those around us.
But, it still feels like I am at the beginning of all these relationships. We have been able to have some of the University guys over and teach them Settlers of Catan (a board game) which is super fun. We can't walk outside or go to the local corner store without knowing almost everybody. But we still don't know anyone well. I feel like I am just beginning to feel Bolivian, to understand the norms of the culture, to get to know people's stories and start to truly learn from them. The more ways we get involved in the neighborhood, the more we find stories and lives overlapping, things making more sense. This is really starting to feel like my community. Two months to live it up.
I still have not met most of the young women of the neighborhood. They don't "go out" at night the way the boys do. I try to ask where their sisters are but they like to just shrug and say, "she doesn't like to go out". I did start a little girls' sports group a couple of months ago for girls ages 7-10. I was inspired by a girl who only has brothers and didn't know how to play soccer. Girls that live only one block apart have been able to meet and get to hang out for an hour or so every week. It is nothing earth shattering but the girls really enjoy it so that is something.
Brendon and I are also each helping out at different "apoyos" or before/after school programs. I work with high schoolers while he works with younger kids. Many of the kids overlap with our direct neighborhood and then the others expand into the nearby hoods. It continues to be a great way to build relationships and make connections with those around us.
But, it still feels like I am at the beginning of all these relationships. We have been able to have some of the University guys over and teach them Settlers of Catan (a board game) which is super fun. We can't walk outside or go to the local corner store without knowing almost everybody. But we still don't know anyone well. I feel like I am just beginning to feel Bolivian, to understand the norms of the culture, to get to know people's stories and start to truly learn from them. The more ways we get involved in the neighborhood, the more we find stories and lives overlapping, things making more sense. This is really starting to feel like my community. Two months to live it up.
