I Run In Circles

So a few days a week, after it cools down in the afternoon (around 5), I play soccer at the school with some boys. One day I decided I wanted to play soccer so I showed up to the field and said I was playing. No questions asked. I am the only girl that plays with the boys and I think I am probably the only girl in the history of the village who has played soccer with the boys. On the field I am quite the sight. Even after playing soccer for nine years, I am still being schooled by boys about 1/3 my age. Their ages range from about 7 to 20. I mostly end up running around in circles—mostly chasing after the boys. I’m pretty positive I am the most watched person on the field. Not only because I am the only girl/ white person on the field, but also because compared to them, I am really awful. However, I do attack the boys and try to steal it away from them. Sometimes they will even pass the ball to me. Every other kick is a head bunt and these kids chase after the ball like no ones business. It still impresses me that about 90% of the kids play without shoes. And it’s not like they play on grass…they play on some sort of gravel/dust field. It’s hard to explain. I wear my Chacos sandals and when I get a rock in between my foot and shoes, I have to stop everything to take the rock out. But when I say stop everything, I just mean stop running in circles because I usually don’t have the ball. This happens a lot. Sometimes, a donkey cart will cross right in the middle of the field or a woman herding some goats. It is really funny because you think they would stop playing until the donkey cart or the goats have gotten off the field, but they don’t. They just play around them.