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@urugwhyareyouthere
I did it! I finally went out to Punta del Diablo and Valizas to see the most beautiful beaches in Uruguay. I was not disappointed and found myself imagining that I lived in these beautiful spots. Absolutely worth visiting!
Wow
Girls Score Goals is the official name of the soccer program I have been telling you all about! We now have a wonderful website, complete with photos from the year and a video!
Check out: www.girlsscoregoals.com for more information!
Enjoy the video!
The final school to join my program was Escuela #31. They were absolutely a joy to work with because they really just love to play the game and were very excited to learn English! I set up a friendly match for them and the voted Martina and Ailen captains. The girls played a fantastic match with so much maturity and sportsmanship! Their fans were so rowdy! They truly believed that someone paid the referee and even threatened to find him at 4pm when they got out of school!
ahahhahaha
I DID IT!
Yesterday I ran my first 10K ever! Nike's We Run Montevideo race brought in over 10,000 runners from all over the world. It was an extremely windy day, I started in the back of the pack but I somehow ran my personal best time: 46:11 and finished in 22nd place for women between ages 20-29. I finished as the 84th woman overall.
I honestly am so so proud. I started training a month ago and was completely out of shape. I knew I had to run this because every day I was teaching my girls to lead healthy, active lifestyles and there was a point where I did not feel that I was 100% holding myself to those same standards.
I am now boxing four times a week and running about four to five times as well. Here's to permanently staying in shape!
The last game of the program was actually today! I organized a private friendly match for Escuela #31 open to teachers, family and friends of the players and it was fantastic. The energy was unmatched and the girls played with so much fight and zest. One of my friends commented on how talented the girls were and frankly, they are phenomental. Their soccer technique is so advanced and recently, some of the girls have begun looking or joining some teams even though the only teams for girls available are for U-15 only(all girls are between 11-12).
So many parents came out to support the girls which was really beautiful. The game ended 4-1 and some of the boys began to threaten my friend, the referee, that once they got out of school at 4pm, they were going to find him and beat him up! Thankfully, the boys were about ten years old so Kyle can rest tonight knowing he is relatively safe.
Post match, the girls gifted me a lovely mug as they knew about my tea obsession. Soon enough, we all began to tear up and tell each other that we'd never forget one another. I don't know if I've ever meant, "I will never forget you" as much I did today. I will write another post about my final feelings on the program overall but for today I am so so proud and wish there was some way, I could stay with them until they were too old to need me anymore...
Another fantastic game. After working, planning, coaching and executing the first game, this time was a breeze. The girls of 255 played a friendly against each other and while the score was 4-0, they finished with pride and happiness (the losing team probably would have been more upset but it was a scorching 90 degree day)! Even cooler, was that the game was run practically all in English! YES! Girls who had never ever had a single lesson in English, can now understand a native speaker in just 6.5 months! A few girls even yelled, "Girls! Stretching in a circle!" Their progression is so moving that I almost teared up before the match. It's absolutely incredible how much they have grown, really.
Once again, the boys were there cheering as loud as they could for the entire 40 minutes and the teachers wore smiles the whole match, even through the fire blasting sun. My favorite part of the match was when cars began to line the streets to watch the game. At one point about eight cars made up the fan base, all full of strangers surprised to see girls playing on the usually empty field. A number of parents made it out to the game, including some of my faves who came last time.
After the game, I let the girls in on the big surprise...they got to keep the Nike uniforms! AHHHH. They started hugging me and offering me a spot on their couches! (Although many parents smiled weakly at me as if to say, "Not in this life!" but it was the offer that was endearing!) Paula, the girl who I thought hated me all year (because she let me know frequently) begged me not to go which kind of made this all very real. I'm leaving them in exactly one week and I don't know if I will be able to handle it. I sit here now, extremely emotional as I just don't know how I can just leave them. I went into a few non-profits and talked to a few local athletes but in Uruguay, community service is so tough because many people don't have time for they work two to three jobs.
With one week left of my Fulbright grant, I am just stunned and shocked. I never thought the grant would end. Call me naive but eight months once seemed like eternity. I will really miss Uruguay and my futbolistas.
Last soccer game this Wednesday at 10:30am at the baby futbol field at Camino Carrasco and Emilio Ravignani in Malvin Norte!
Hope you to see you there!!
Today I said goodbye to the girls at Escuela 35 and presented them with cards and disks containing photos from throughout the year. A month had passed since I last saw them because the 5th and 6th grade teachers managed to convince the principal to prohibit me from entering the building. Women with the attitudes they have are one of the reasons why I began such a program in the first place. They are prime examples of women who were deprived of attention and extracurricular activities in their youth, were taught as children to be machista or to hold misogynistic ideals. They have grown so accustomed to being mistreated and pushed to the back of the line, that they project these archaic visions on the young women of today, which is an absolute shame. The girls were afraid to take a final picture with me and hid their gifts because they were afraid their teachers would later discipline them and confiscate the gifts! Thankfully, my only ally, the lovely English teacher, was there to protect the girls and me. She has really been the most wonderful person to me in this whole process, the biggest fan and is well respected by the girls because of her relentless support and love.
Ultimately, while the program did not go as smoothly as it has at the other schools, I think that fighting for them was more than worth it. I look back to the day where they watched me stand to a group of boys that was heckling them and the time when I stood up to their teachers who said that the girls were spoiled and did not deserve play soccer. I look back to the proud moment of watching the girls play in their first game, to listening to them form their first sentences in English, do their first headers, score their first goals and when I replay all of those images, my heart smiles, I know that in a strange way the goals of the program were reached: to create a safe practice environment to learn English and increase life skills development such as leadership, self-esteem and teamwork.
I am so fortunate to know them all and I think they too, loved meeting me. I know this because almost all of them wrote some form of “I love you” on the jersey they signed for me. One girl told me that although she is only eleven years old, her mom has agreed to let her play on a U-15 girls’ soccer team. Stuff like that warms my soul. Gosh, I’m getting emotional. A special thanks to the futbolistas of Escuela 35!
Pictures with two of the three main classes I was involved in at the IPA.
Besote grande,
Chauu
Goodbye IPA...
These last two days have been fairly emotional, not because I’ve found four spiders near my bed, but because I’ve had to officially say goodbye to two groups of very important people. The first is the third year class taught by Susana at the IPA. I spent about eight months attending and teaching lessons pertaining to US culture and American English and to be honest, I never knew if they valued my presence in the classroom or not, as the IPA structure is not one where anyone ever gives or receives feedback.
Apparently they did care for me. After reading their goodbye letters, they all began to cry. Of course this prompted me to cry as well because once I see one tear, I too begin to cry, usually more than everyone else which makes it awkward. So there we were, a class of twenty to forty year olds, sobbing our faces off despite the fact that neither party deeply knew one another. Perhaps that is exactly what we were crying about.
In the end, this polite group of scholars managed to make me nostalgic. I still sit here wondering how it could all be over in just three weeks. Wondering how people you call your students could impact you so much without ever doing anything overt. I feel that as humans, whether we know it or not, begin to thread ourselves into our surroundings and secure ourselves to its people. I feel like that desolate classroom almost suited me, like if you snapped a photo of me at any time, I would look natural there. Now it’s gone. I can see now that I felt a deep connection when speaking to the students and knowing their faces of understanding and confusion by heart. I liked that each student had his or her own distinct accent, some on Team USA and others on Team UK. I loved listening to Susana teach grammar because she is truly an expert, introducing me to themes that I never thought to pay attention to. I am just realizing now how attached I really am...goodbye IPA.
BELOW, you will find the unintentionally emotional goodbye letter…
I went to Buenos Aires this weekend to renew my visa and had a wonderful time. This was my fourth time in this city but the first time I decided to take pictures! The first night we went to this wonderful Thai place, Phuket, where Elizabeth and I pretty much ate the largest portions of Pad Thai and Panang curry in under 6-7 minutes. It's been a while since we had spices of any kind since the Uruguayan palate is not equipped to handle anything picante.
Of course I forgot my camera in La Catedral, my ABSOLUTE favorite place in Baires. La Catedral is one of the most famous places to dance and watch tango. The whole night is a mix of milonga, classes, shows and bands. The venue is a large warehouse with incredibly high ceilings and independent art covering almost every surface of the walls. The tables are each lit by a single candle and of the three hundred chairs, I'm pretty sure that no two match. The milieu is anything but sumptuous and that feeling comes across as the night goes on and you begin to feel engulfed by the warmth of the tango that leads you to a trance-like state wondering how anything so marvelous could exist and even further, how you came across such a wondrous place.
The biggest honor of the night was that I was asked to dance tango...three times! I danced at La Catedral!!!!! I can sleep soundly and smile wildly all week replaying my steps over and over. So lovely.
Of course I went to my favorite barrio, Palermo, and people watched, drank horchata at La fabrica del taco and shopped the feria. I also finally bought a mate. I resisted for almost eight months because drinking mate is so Uruguayan that I never thought I was worthy enough to do it. Argentines drink mate but for Uruguayans the mate is an extension of the body. Furthermore, there is an onda or an energy that accompanies the act of drinking and sharing a mate. One cannot drink mate unless he or she is absolutely in a state of a complete tranquility that almost borderlines boredom. Drama is the antithesis of mate. That said, I am finally ready to partake. Finally.
On Sunday, we ended the trip with a walk through the feria in San Telmo. Two years later and my favorite artist, Pablo Cassulo, was still there selling his drawings. Pablo is fantastic and only draws what he loves: fish, cars and women. Smart man, very smart man.
I don't know when I'll go back but I know I'll be back. Buenos Aires is truly one of the most fantastic places I've ever been. Ay Dios, ya estoy nostalgica. Es obvio que tengo que volver. A volver, dale!
It's official! The Plan Ceibal Teacher's Project packet I created is now accessible to all Uruguayan teachers at public schools. The Plan Ceibal teacher is one with an "XO" (all computers administered by the One Laptop per Child Program, or Plan Ceibal, are cutely coined "XOs") and a new expectation to smoothly implement technology into the classroom in innovative and unique ways.
The creation of this packet during my internship at Plan Ceibal organizes and displays various ESL websites and online tools that include online chalkboards, flash-cards, animated short stories, interactive field trips and educational sites for parents. I was inspired to create such a powerful resource because I noticed the lack of materials available to public school teachers in Uruguay. Teachers are not given stipends or higher salaries to account for classroom materials which means most teachers cannot afford to print worksheets let alone access textbooks. With these XO computers, now officially available to every teacher and student in Uruguayan public primary schools, teachers can create online lesson plans and blogs, complete with activities, that allow their students to learn, read and produce written work...without spending a peso.
Please contact me if you would like me to send you the PDF of this document!
A few weeks ago, a friend invited a few of us out to his beach home in Costa de oro, located in the department of Canelones, Uruguay. In the summer, this private beach becomes a surfer's haven. We had a wonderful time eating asado, singing, relaxing, conversing about everything and nothing...perfect weekend.
Montevideo at night.
-Photo taken by V. Vaupre from a rooftop in Punta Carretas.
A friend passed along a few more fantastic shots of the game!
*Photos by L. Villalba
The Importance of Increased Implementation of Programs for Girls in Uruguay
About two weeks ago, I began working in the third school of the program, Escuela 31. The physical education teacher chose the top five girls in all of her PE classes to participate. I wish there was some way that I could find a volunteer coach to help me at this school so that all the interested girls, regardless of athleticism, could participate!
My quest for non-profits and coaches to continue my program after I leave Uruguay is proving more difficult than I thought. Non-profit executives, founders, government leaders keep telling me that they either do not have the money or the time to implement something or this scale. Others have expressed a lack of passion or even distaste for the creation of “discriminatory” or girls-only programs.
While I understand the discrimination argument, I must also make the argument that while boys have access to hundreds of soccer programs in their respective neighborhoods, girls have less than a handful of existing teams in the entire country. If the program were offering another skill-set outside of sports, perhaps I would be more inclined to include a co-ed group; however, for the girls in my program this is their only opportunity to participate on a team for free. Free is the salient term here because most of my students would not attend school if transport were not complimentary, many of my students come to school to eat; therefore, it is imperative that low-income students are offered extra-curricular options free of charge as the benefits of keeping students off the streets and active are immense.
Many families are willing to invest a small sum for their sons to play soccer because in Uruguay, it is an actual realizable dream for boys to go on to play professional soccer. The country is so small and there exists a sizable quantity of professional teams that the odds are certainly there. Even the modest $1000 USD per month salary of a footballer can contribute significantly to an otherwise negligible family income. Therefore, for a lower class family with extremely scant odds of going to college, the opportunity cost of not putting your son on a team seems very high (although perhaps, encouraging their sons to take up a career in carpentry or cab driving may be much better in the long run). As a short-term option, it makes sense that families would put their sons into soccer with the hope that they will flourish into pro players who can put food on the table.
In the case of girls, there are no professional sports teams to strive for and the opportunities are few for girls who do not graduate university. Most Uruguayan girls in lower and middle classes start learning domestic skills very early and never get a chance to play, to run, to learn values of responsibility, teamwork and leadership—skills necessary for mothers and businesswomen to be acquainted with. In the program model I have developed, I have provided the only organized group in which girls are surrounded only by other girls. When these girls get together, they have started talking about personal themes that many boys their age cannot relate to such as boyfriends, pregnancy, periods, female social skills, responsibility, curfew, etc. Girls feel comfortable asking me about when I’ll have children, if women can play sports while menstruating, why I have waited so long (Again, I’m twenty-three, I like to think that I am fairly young!) to get married, when I had my first kiss, if I know any gay people and even what it feels like to be black. Wowza, they are incredibly inquisitive and something tells me that they have never had a safe environment to ask these questions which shows just how much they are expected to learn on their own and also explains why such independent learning may be a contributing reason to the significant teenage pregnancy and high-school dropout rates.
Ultimately, I will continue to look for interested non-profits and coaches with the objective of raising awareness to the fact that Uruguayan girls are not receiving enough attention and this ignorance does not create an isolated danger, but rather an almost infectious effect. If girls are continually ignored in the Uruguayan public educational system, while Chilean and Brazilian women surge forward as a growing number are entering the workforce and even becoming entrepreneurs, Uruguay will unfortunately be left atrás—a regressive society unable to compete in a booming Latin-American economy.
A good friend of mine wanted to ride bikes through Montevideo and create a film capturing a city that after one year, he really came to love. I think the shots of the rambla, the old man, Ciudad Vieja and the general vibe of Montevideo really came through. Enjoy.
This is also my acting debut...