Play soccer in Costa Rica: √

This post is going to be very short but I feel it is extremely necessary. All week I've been kind of dreading today because that meant that my program group was going to go play soccer. If you know me at all you know that when I was little I played soccer and instead of running towards the ball I ran away from it and proceeded to pick dandelions  You also know that I'm not very coordinated and don't really play any sports. That being said....

Before I came to Costa Rica I told myself that I need to do everything possible whether this meant going outside of my comfort zone (which is typically all the time) or not. Here in Costa Rica everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, plays soccer. It should be the symbol for this country aside from it's amazing scenery. So when we all met up to head to play soccer at the indoor field I was a bit nervous to say the least and hadn't really decided if I was going to play or sit on the side lines.

Once we arrived to the indoor fields, which mind you were in pretty grungy shape and had the little rubber pieces everywhere which made the field feel slippery, a few of the members from my group convinced me that I should play. I caved to the peer pressure and decided, what the hey! "when in Rome...." plus I knew that some of the other girls hadn't really played soccer much so I couldn't be the worst one right...?

Our group split into three teams and the USAC leader that brought us to the field also brought his friend and they were on a team together with some of us. Which I think wasn't very fair but oh well...Anyways, we all had SO much fun! I think I played better today than I have all my life, please keep in mind this does NOT mean that I played well, I played alright/okay/not terrible, aka I ran towards the ball, I kicked the ball, etc. I ended up being on a team with members who had played soccer before and knew what they were doing which was really helpful. We "rented" that field for an hour and played a bunch of games that were either 10 minutes each or first team with 2 points. The best part of the whole hour was.....wait for it.....I SCORED A GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think in my whole life I've EVER scored a goal. Let alone played soccer in Costa Rica, and scored a goal. That seriously made my whole night and I'm so glad that I decided to suck it up and not be a party pooper and play.

I'm so grateful to be here with such a great group of people who can have fun and laugh at each other when we make complete fools of ourselves. I can't wait to spend this weekend at the beach and park with this crazy group! :) We leave tomorrow at 12 for Manuel Antonio and will return Sunday afternoon. I can't wait to take a bunch of pictures and be able to relax and just have a good time! I'm planning on bringing my lap top with me because I've figured out that's the only way my camera will charge here...We'll see if I have time to update my blog too while I'm there....

I guess this post wasn't as short as I thought it would be...oh well!
Until next time,
♥SEJ