Football or soccer

 We finally attended one of the games of the village football team, you'd probably call it soccer if you are from the US or Canada. The team started playing last year, and one of our guys, Kolya plays on it. Garry tried to get to a couple of games to watch him last year, but it never worked out.

Kolya waiting to go in for the second half
Sorry Garry is blurry, I used my cell phone

 We have donated a few things for the village team, the Steinbach team brought some nets for the goals for the school, but they did not work for the school, because they have smaller ones. However the village team was excited to get and care for the nets, which fit the goals on the big football field way behind the school. They also got some practice balls, and last week Kolya got a set of matching white t-shirts from the attic for back up jerseys (I think Jack brought them last year).
 The home team -Nikoliapolia- in the red jerseys (someone donated them because last year they didn't have matching shirts)- won 3-1. So far this year they have won several times and only lost once.

It seems like many people in the village were there cheering, kids running up and down the sidelines and some of the 8-12 year olds playing football behind both goals during the game- and on the field at halftime. Teenage girls dressed to see and be seen walking up and down the sidelines, and people cheering, drinking and watching the game. A fun time early Saturday evening.

2009- the boys made the goal and played all summer

Garry said he recognized a couple of the young men on the team as the boys he and our sons Seth and Jonah played with down the street in 2009, right in front of where our school and-apartments are today. That was how Garry and boys learned the Russian word for car, Ma-sheen-na! was yelled to get everyone off the road when a car was coming.

Today a couple of our students were kicking one of the balls in the same place, I even heard someone say "machina" to warn of an approaching car.

today