Kickin' It With The Soccer Team

Blogger's Note: I apologize for the delay in posts. Things have been quite busy lately and I haven't had a chance to use the internet. Next update should be this weekend-ish.

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On Tuesday just after giving my final at 1:50 pm, eight boys from the soccer team ran up begging me to take them to watch the Guyana vs. Grenada game. They already had tickets from the school, but apparently the teacher that was supposed to take them no longer could.

I was done with classes for the day and couldn’t resist their sad puppy dog faces, so I asked the Headmaster if it would be ok if I took the boys. He then informed me that we needed to be there in 10 minutes, and that the game was 45 minutes away.

By the time we made it to the game, we were fashionably late, and right on time for kick-off. The game was quite enjoyable. Every time Guyana was about to make a goal, the boys would run up to the front to catch a better glimpse of the excitement and the players’ remarkable athletic ability. The game ended 4-0 Guyana, leaving the boys in high spirits.

Since they were so well behaved, I promised them I would treat them to ice cream on our way home. We were heading straight down the street when all of sudden four boys veered off the path and around the corner. When I caught up to them, I turned to see a line of boys in uniform urinating in the grassy area on the side of a shop. So being a good teacher and embedding some civility in the students, I took out my hand sanitizer and made each one of them wash their hands.

After the boys had each received their ice cream cone and finished it, it was already dark. It made me nervous waiting in the bus park with the kids, especially since we were warned by the US embassy about lingering there after dark. Every attempt I had made to get the children transportation had failed since the locals were pushing their way to board bus. After 30 minutes I grew anxious and frustrated. The boys sensed my apprehension and bolted towards the next bus and fought their way on. Then they held back the oncoming crowd to ensure I boarded the bus safely and saved me a seat. It was so unexpected, yet sweet, that the boys were the ones taking care of me, even though I’m the Miss.

On the ride back the boys were in a jovial mood, singing and laughing the entire way. I started to relax knowing that we would all be safe going home, until I heard someone yell out, “Miss, John is licking the mini-bus,” followed by another shout, “John, Miss bought you ice-cream and you’re still hungry?” At that point I had intervene and using my teacher voice I had to say, “John, please stop licking the mini-bus,” words I never thought I would have to say.