San Jose, Costa Rica
Ah, Costa Rica. How I missed you so, but not your rain!
I was in Costa Rica nearly two years ago and it was rainy season. It reminded me of a vacation to Florida in the summertime when the morning brings beautiful sunshine, but the afternoons bring downpours.
“I don’t like the rainy season,” I said to my Uber driver. “But somehow, I’m always here during it,” I joked to him – this having been the case at least the past two times I was here for programming.
I settled into my Airbnb, receiving a warm welcome from my host – Gustavo. I had been in touch with Berlin, the volunteer coordinator at Fundación Bandera Blanca, for a little less than 10 days. In that small time frame, we had already set up a morning full of soccer sessions for about 45 participants. She had already sent out digital fliers and I just knew everyone’s excitement was building, including mine.
Fundación Bandera Blanca is currently classified as a comedor infantile, but they do so much more than that. Located in Hatillo, the foundation provides hot meals for children from different circumstances at least three times per week. On the weekends, they help facilitate learning sessions for parents and adults, including financial literacy, english, etc., to promote and encourage real systems of change. As for the kids, they are exposed to a variety of different learning experiences thanks to the foundation like computer skills, arts, music, sports, and more.
The foundation typically operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, but Costa Rica was celebrating their Independence Day on Wednesday, September 15. The government had graciously moved the holiday up to Monday the 13th in order to allow people to enjoy a nice, long weekend. Therefore, the foundation was closed on Monday and we opted to run a soccer program on Wednesday for a late, but somehow just on time celebration of Independence Day.
Before I describe the program, I want to take you back to Monday. After arriving on Sunday afternoon, Gustavo asked me if I would like to join his family at his parent’s house for a celebration of the holiday. I enthusiastically agreed and hopped in his BMW with other family members in tow, as we drove to his mom and dad’s nearby house. There, we shared a huge meal and great, friendly conversation. If you know me, I love trying local food during all of my travels. This meal did not disappoint and consisted of chorizo con papas, frijoles, arroz con camárones, ensalada, fresh grilled fish, and some iced cold tea.
It was a delightful spread and I ate until I couldn’t eat any more, while Gustavo’s mother asked, “¿Esteban, quieres un helado?”
“Ay Dios mío, I have no space, but I can’t say no!” I joked.
To avoid going into a food coma, I went upstairs with Gustavo where he shared bits and pieces about his life, his family, and his country – while enjoying a beautiful view of the Tico mountainside. From the conversation and his generosity alone, it was so obvious that he embodied the Costa Rican pura vida spirit.
Fresh off of the Independence Day celebration and well-rested from a few nights falling asleep to the pitter patter of raindrops, it was time for programs. Berlin anticipated having individual sessions with three groups, the 3-6 year olds, 7-10, and then 11 and older. We were set to run them for 45 minutes each, sandwiched between the children’s breakfast and lunchtime.
I arrived bright and early at 8 a.m., though we wouldn’t be starting for another hour. I took the extra time to set up grids while kids looked on eagerly in anticipation. Speaking with one of the foundation’s volunteers, Daniel, a physical therapy student – he pointed out some of the talent in the group.
“See that older boy with the orange Nikes? He is very good. That boy with the haircut too,” he said.
When it was time to start, I called over one of the eldest boys that Daniel had singled out.
“Listen, I need a captain for today’s session. But you need to help me with everything, all the drills, demos, etc. Can you do that?” I asked.
He nodded his head and graciously received the arm band. It fit snugly around his arm. Knowing our time together was short, I jumped quickly into our active listening drill, going around a few times before letting my captain, Ethan, take over. Then, we ran through some relay races, with Ethan helping demo each step along the way – from stepovers to close-control dribbling and more.
After, we needed to work in some premios so I hit mano o cabeza until we had about seven winners.
“Quiero el Puma,” I heard a few boys whispering behind me, as their eyes drew towards the four shiny Puma soccer balls.
Next up were the youngest children. With the three year olds, things started off a little hectic, naturally, but after a few little games I had their full attention, well I mean as much as I possibly could. By the end, we were running a little passing game to win premios and the kids were all patiently waiting in a single-file line, waiting for their turn while cheering on those that won or were close to winning.
“I see this as an absolute win!” *Hulk voice”
As we passed out soccer balls, some of the kids wore the deflated ones on their heads as a hat and I swear it was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen. This had happened before in Panama actually!
I’m going to be honest, I really thought that after these two groups I was done for the day, since Daniel and I discussed two sessions for one hour each, but then came marching out a third set of about twelve kids.
I picked out a girl as our captain, Violeta. She immediately assumed the role, directing traffic and displaying leadership qualities without me even telling her what to do. It was really cool. She took that authority and ran with it! She ran our active listening drill a few rounds and I swear she was smiling even bigger than the other kids throughout it.
After, we did a few relay races before concluding with mano o cabeza. After that, I retreated from the outdoor plaza to the foundation’s main building. There, a bunch of kids lined up to receive my firma as I was enjoying a prepared bowl of lunch that Berlin urged me to take. Don’t worry, it was a welcomed distraction and worth the smiles and high fives in return.
From there, Berlin and I were able to speak more about the foundation. While bouncing ideas off of each other, we were able to plan out a future session – hopefully complete with a soccer-themed arts program by my mother. After that, I gave her an extra homemade bracelet to give to her daughter back at home, who she had told me the week prior is a huge fan of soccer and loves playing the game.
When I started this program, I wanted to inspire kids through a medium that would make an impact on their lives. Soccer transcends all boundaries and borders. Participants big and small are able to communicate and come together through the beautiful game. This program really showed me that my mission is becoming a reality. From toddlers to teens, I was able to work with a wide cross section of students, but yet I accomplished the same goal with each group: Play, Learn and Dream Together.
