Day 11-Friday

Today was the day of the big soccer tournament. I used to play soccer in high school and so did my brother. I love the game. Huz and I played on a co-ed game right after Two was born. We only played that one year, though, because I was pregnant with Three. Anyhow, I really love to watch a good soccer game. This was actually a mini soccer league where there are only 4 players on the field at a time and one goal keeper, and our internat is the best team. Just last week they beat one of the teams they were set to play today 18-0. It's obvious they have played together for awhile because it is such a smooth team. We met the bus on some obscure road in the middle of nowhere Zap. Seriously, we drove and drove down winding roads and onto a dirt road for miles. When we got to the field (it was covered in turf by the way) one of the other teams had not arrived yet, so it put the starting time back significantly. The boys were super pumped. You guys all know, and I'm becoming more aware, of how important serious physical exertion is for the teenage boy. After the game, they had been told we would swim in the Dnepro and they were way excited for that, too.

The boys were out on the field running drills and warming up in the 85 degree sun when they were called off the field by their coach, Olga. I think she's more the athletic director. There was another younger guy there, too who was coaching them as well. Both of these coaches were speaking very seriously to each other and you could tell they were both upset. They started going through the paperwork they had. Yana began to translate to us that the 'league' had just informed them that they were not going to allow 16 year olds to play in this tournament and that we had to show the boys birth certificates to prove they were under the age of sixteen.

You can probably guess that did not go over well with the boys. Out of the eleven boys that made up the team, 6 of them now could not play. So crappy for so many reasons. These boys have been looking forward to this for months, if they win they travel to Poltava for a national competition where they would most likely win, they needed to run, now our team couldn't sub any players, and on and on. The older boys had to take off their jerseys and sit on the bench for the game.

The younger boys did a great job, especially given the fact that they had no subs and no water. Yeah, that's right. No water. Had we known that we would have brought water for them all. BoyOne played well and even scored a goal, but ultimately we lost. It was a very close game and the other team ended up scoring a goal at the last minute to win 4-3. The younger boys were devastated and the older boys were rehashing every. little. thing. Another team played and then our boys had another game which they played a little better and won. We took second for the tournament. The boys got a trophy and medals, but none of them would even put the medals on because second was not good enough. They were so mad. To top it off, many of the boys knew the kids on the other teams and they were all playing their 16 year olds. The boys begged their coaches to protest this injustice and so they did. The other teams admitted to playing their older players, but the league said it was too bad, the game was over. So our older boys donned their uniforms and called the older boys from the first place team out to the field for a match, basically to prove to everyone that they should have won, and they did. I think that it helped tremendously to get some serious physical activity and at least mentally it helped them. Some of them were still rehashing the whole thing and even yelled at the coaches that they should've cheated, too and why did they have to be so honest. Another boy on the team said that they play fair, that they must always be fair no matter what others do. A couple other boys agreed. It was impressive to see that in such a situation, especially under their circumstances where they are treated so unfairly in society anyhow, that some of them still have the resolve to have integrity. I don't know if I'd have done the same thing at that age or not.

Things didn't exactly get better after that either. Keep in mind that the boys ate at 7 a.m. and it was now 1, still no food or water. We called their bus driver who was still 40 minutes away. By the way, this guy is a little crazy. He finally gets there and the boys are consoling each other with the fact that at least they can still swim, when the driver passes the turn to the river. One of the boys asks if they can stop to swim, but the driver does not answer and keeps going. Niiice. Insult to injury, it's now almost two and it is seriously fifteen degrees hotter in this bus. We are hot and thirsty and uncomfortable, I can only imagine how the boys feel and I'm worried about their health, too. I ask our interpreter to ask the driver to stop at a grocery store so that we can go in and buy some water for them and she tells me that the driver is crazy and if she says that to him he will curse at her. So, I have her teach me how to say the phrase and walk up to him and ask him. He doesn't answer me, so I just tell him thank you for stopping and sit down. Yana asks if he cursed at me and I say that he was silent. Thankfully, he pulls over and tells Yana to tell us that we have ten minutes to cross the street to the market and if we are not back, he will leave us here. Yana grabs my hand and starts running, so apparently he is serious?! This guy needs a new job! Huz and I were almost out of money (we hadn't had a chance to exchange that morning) so we were only able to get water and bananas, but plenty of it.

When we got back to the bus 7 minutes later, the driver snorted at us that we took such a long time he could've given birth. Okay, ornery. The driver takes off, but stops about ten minutes later on some street in a neighborhood somewhere (drug deal??) and leaves us alone with the bus for 1/2 hour. At one point I was seriously thinking that I could drive the bus back to the orphanage as it is not that much bigger than the suburban I drive back at home. This driver is a joke!!! We all get off the bus where it is cooler and several of the boys start asking us questions about America. They asked about the exchange rate and how prices of things compare, along with the costs of living. They asked about the condition of Zap compared to other cities in the U.S., if we really used shampoo to clean our streets:) and taxes. It was a fun conversation. They asked if we liked it here, and of course we do and we told them, but then they said it was because our circumstances were so good here. Our apartment is nice, we have food and water, etc. Of course they are right and it made me sad to know that so many people have so little of everything.

When we got back to the internat, after Mr. Crazy decided to come back and drive us all home, BoyTwo was ticked that we had been gone so long. He was kind of pouty, sitting on a bench playing a game on my phone when all the other kids came up to me. I handed out my suckers to them and got out a couple coloring books for them to color in and began to play catch with them when all of a sudden BoyTwo ran over, grabbed the coloring books, threw them down a really deep window well and started snatching the suckers out of the other kids mouths, yelling. Yana said that he was yelling for them to leave me alone and to quit asking me to play and have treats. It was a pretty funny tantrum, but I felt bad that he felt bad, but it was a good sign that he wanted us to himself. He was still a little miffed when we left so I snuck him a bag of skittles and told him he didn't have ot share. He is soooo funny.

That was our day. I'm fried. But it doesn't hurt. It felt so good to sit in the sun all day!! Captions for the pictures are under the picture and take notice that I am remembering to hold the camera horizontally:)

This is the older boys game where they are trying to prove/redeem themselves.

This picture is heartbreaking. It is the older boys on our team who were not allowed to play, sitting and watching their younger teammates.

BoyOne facing us:)

Pregame when they called players from each team onto the field to flip for sides.

I found a rope swing. You better believe that when the boys weren't looking I gave it a try! I was actually hopping off here, not falling.