False teeth

When we're doing training or planning with the promotores and the communities, we always break to play games. One of my favorites (that I learned years ago working at SMYRC) we called "I love my neighbor." The Spanish version is "El Cartero" (the letter carrier). Everyone sits in a circle, with one person standing in the middle. The middle person announces a mail delivery from [Brazil/Portland/Chacanceo...] with letters for everyone who...[is wearing tennis shoes/likes mangos/has long hair, etc.] Everyone who fits whatever category is called out has to get up and try to find a new seat. The person in the middle also tries to sit down, so a new person is left standing. That person starts over, announcing a mail delivery for everyone who...And so on.

I played it this time when I first met the proms from Estero Piedras. It never fails to get people laughing, and this group loved it. One person called out "Everyone with earrings!" and one of the male proms got confused and accidentally switched places. I don't think the fashion of male earrings has come to the communities, so people were falling off their chairs laughing at the idea that this guy would have earrings. When I went to visit them several days later they were still recounting the story.

Later, at the community meeting in Estero Piedras to discuss project options, one of them led people in playing El Cartero. There were at least 30 people playing, with 20 more crowded around the outside to watch. It took a while for people to figure out how it worked, and some people would get totally tongue tied when they ended up in the middle. One of the school teachers took to coaching people from the side, trying to get them to say things like "everyone wearing underwear." It was hilarious, and we went on and on. One person said "Everyone who's fat!" which seemed to be no more controversial a category than "Everyone with striped shirts." Four people dutifully switched.

My absolute favorite was when the middle person called out "Everyone who has false teeth!" And a good third of the room scrambled for a new seat, perhaps a tad embarrassed, but laughing.