We decided to sign up Turi and Bitsu for soccer camp. We thought it would be helpful in getting out, making friends, learning language, etc. They have been having a great week. Day 1 resulted in Turi injuring her foot (but not enough to wipe her out for the rest of the week) and Bitsu quitting an hour early because she was "sooooo tired". Day 2 turned out much better with both girls feeling good at the end of the day and having a great day. Although it's been good for them to be out all day and hearing English from a lot of different places, they have been having a harder time making friends. You can pray for them. First of all, the other kids all have cleats and matching soccer gear (see the pics; can you pick out our girls?) and I think they feel a little left out. Secondly, although the kids play great together, lunchtime seems to be a little lonlier as the girls are hesistant to join any of the other groups eating because of language. I think it's been a good experience for them and they are learning a lot but it has also been a challenge being away from their support structure all day. As a mom, it has been hard for me to watch them exposed to the "big, bad world" :).
It probably won't make them feel any better about it at this point, but ours have been nearly the only ones on their teams without cleats for years... Sorry it was a little rough for them. My kids would love to play again this week if you have time! I'll give you an official invite when I figure out which days are good!
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