Day 2, Friday, June 13
Drive to Finca Java and Volleyball Clinic
By Ashley and Mallory, Jacksonville Florida
The next morning we got up and drove 3.5 hours to Finca Java up north of
Matagalpa and inotega. We rode on an old yellow school bus with no AC and
on pretty bumpy roads. Outside you could see cows, horses, and little tiny
villages. The scenery was pretty at times, but sometimes there was a lot of
trash lining the roads. Overall the ride was great and we really got to see
a lot of the countryside. It got cooler as we got higher into the mountains
as well, so not having AC was actually fine and pretty authentic!
After we arrived at Finca Java we settled into our rooms and then almost
immediately boarded the bus again to drive to the local school to play
volleyball. As we arrived to the school, tons of kids piled out with joy to
see us. Once we walked in, we lined up on their (outdoor) volleyball court
to be welcomed by the principal of the school. Then we split up in two
groups of six on six and scrimmaged. As we were playing, the kids were
watching, cheering, and excited to have some new action in their little
town. After a few games of six on six, we mixed in the kids from the school
to play free-ball madness with us. While we were playing free-ball madness,
Shelby, Meghan, and Whitney were playing soccer with some of the younger
kids, Wes was playing football with some of the boys, and Gale was teaching
a few of the kids to dance. Chelsea was also playing basketball with some
kids and Jenny was gathering some of the kids to play with together. After
all this chaos, Rico was talking in Spanish to the kids to get them to
participate in some of the drills he was teaching them. We did hitting lines
and passing drills. Once Rico got the kids started on the drills, they
caught on very fast to how the drills were working. While Rico was occupied
with that, some of our older girls walked over to talk to some of the older
girls from the school to get to know them. All of us girls asked them who
they were, how old they were, and what they like to do. It was amazing to get to know these sweet girls and be able to say we got to play volleyball
with them. It was a blast to see how interested the kids were to hear
English and have someone else to play with. Soon after, we all got our
cameras out to take pictures with all of them. Then the principal thanked us
for coming and we got in the backs of several pick-up trucks to head back to
Finca Java for the night. When we left the kids ran after the cars just like
a movie.
Dinner was in the dining hall overlooking the lake, and we had a huge and
awesome meal repared by Austin and the staff of Finca Java. We had tons of
bar-b-cued chicken and sausages, salad, and "gallo pinto" (beans and rice).
It was really a great bonding experience as we all sat around playing cards
and board games prior to the meal and as we were the only guests up there,
we really had a chance to get to know each other and enjoy some time away
from our TV sets and computers.
