Voley

Let me tell you a story about volleyball. It is a sport that is wildly popular in Peru, every kid starts to play when they are little and it is one of the two sports (soccer and volleyball) that dominate Peruvian recreation. I on the other hand am horrible at volleyball. I rank somewhere between a Peruvian 9 and 12 year old. It’s to the point where I am beginning to think that my community does not believe that I in fact played a sport in college. Every that I actually manage to hit the ball, even if it is entirely the wrong direction I get applauded from the director of my primary, my health post and whoever is actually playing at the moment. Kind of sad when you get applauded for sending volleyball straight towards the river, guess I never honed my volleyball skills in 7th grade gym class. Also probably doesn’t help that I am usually wearing about 8 layers when I am playing. Limited arm mobility.

Generally in any given game I either don’t play or get badgered into playing for a brief moment. I say a brief moment because inevitably there is a kid named Diego patiently waiting for me to fall, get hit in the head with the ball, totally not realize the ball is coming my direction or fly the ball into space, to take my place on the…almost said field...defiantly not a field…I know the word in Spanish…losa…but I now realize that I have no idea what a volley ball playing area is actually called. That is just how experienced I am. Court maybe. That is my one and only guess.

There was one time that I actually managed to play for more than 7 seconds and I got a point for my team, rather than the other team, which is my usual forte. My theory is that everyone was so distracted by the fact I briefly seemed to know how to play that everyone else seemed to forget to play at the moment. I got basically a standing ovation at the end of it. I feel like a little kid whose mom is proud that they touched the soccer ball once during the game.

Anyways I am now determined to look up the rules of volleyball and some information on the sport, considering I don’t even know where to start when I get on the losa, and have my sister teach me how to volley. I am also buying a lacrosse stick from a fellow volunteer because I feel that it is time to prove a. that lacrosse actually exists and b. I do know what I am doing in some sports, just not ones where balls are raining down on your head.