Tuesday, July 28th: Christ the Redeemer

     Nothing was planned until 10:00 AM today, which is when we left the hotel for the Christ the Redeemer statue. But two of my teammates and I went out to the beach at 6:30 AM to see the sunrise over Sugar Loaf mountain and it was definitely a great decision. The view was absolutely gorgeous. It was just us three, the waves crashing onto the beach and the sun peeking it's away over the mountains in the distance, it was quite the picturesque moment.

     The sun went behind the clouds soon after it rose, so that was our cue to go back to bed until the Christ statue. We woke up at 9:30 and was able to fit in a quick breakfast before departing to the most anticipated part of the whole trip. The way to get to the top of the mountain is by a train ride, so we boarded the train and started our way up the mountain. During the ascension, there was some incredible views of the ocean and the city, which was just a preview of what was to come at the top. The train arrived to the top and the statue was in sight but we had to climb a few steps to get to the foot of the statue. Once we made those last few steps and got to touch the base of the Christ statue I was in awe. You could see for miles on top of the mountain, not to mention the gigantic Christ statue looking over us and the city is within an arms length. Naturally, I had to get a selfie with the big guy. 

     Our team spent a lot of time taking in the view and taking pictures of this unforgettable sight. Unfortunately, we had to go back down to sea level and say good bye to Christ after more than an hour on top of Brazil. 

     We didn't have much planned for the day besides the Christ statue so we went out and got some food once we got back and then took the subway across town to the Centro, which is a large market, full of vendors selling all type of goods. You could get everything form some Brazil and Rio souvenirs to new phones and other electronics. There was a lot of Jersey vendors, some of which were selling real jerseys and some of which were selling rip off jerseys. Either way, it was fun trying to communicate and barter for a price on the goods across the language barrier, as most of these people did only spoke English. This was a very cultural experience, as it appeared to be more of a local mall than a tourist mall.

     We road the subway back to the hotel after all of our purchases and we were able to go out to walk the beach and hang for a little bit before going off to dinner. The restaurant we went to was the best meal of the trip, it was an all you can eat steak house, which brought out delicious steaks on swords and the waiters cut off a slice of meat right at the table and onto your plate. They had a buffet of sides to go along with the steak, chicken and all other types of meat. For dessert, they brought out the most delicious grilled pineapple on a sword as well as a piece of cake. This was a great last team dinner, and on the way back to the hotel, we stopped at another small market with multiple vendors that was right on the beach. After we were done at the second market of the day and all of my Real was gone, we went to check out the nightlife of Copacabana again and made it up to the rooftop of a hotel which had a great view of the beach. 

     This was the last night in Brazil, a very bitter sweet feeling. I could stay and hang out in Rio with the team for one or two more days but it will be really nice to get back and see the family and sleep in my own bed! We will have free time all morning tomorrow and we will depart for the airport in Rio at 3:30 PM so I am not sure what tomorrow will have in store.  For the last time, Boa Notie from Brazil!

Monday, July 27th: Sugar Loaf Mountain and Botafogo

     This morning we had nothing planned until touring Sugar Loaf Mountain at 1:00 PM, so my roommate, Kyle Zimmerman, and I met up with the other guys at 11:00 AM and went out to walk Copacabana beach and swim in the ocean.  It was quite the experience for my first time in the ocean, it is a picture perfect beach. 

     At 1:00 PM we headed out to go on the Sugar Loaf Mountain tour. There was two different mountains and we took gondolas to the top of both. The first had a gorgeous, 360 degree view of the city of Rio and it was a spectacular view. Unfortunately, I only took pictures with my camera and I don't have the cord to get those onto the computer, so I will have to put those up later. We did take a team picture in the first ever gondola on Sugar Loaf Mountain. 

     From the top of the first mountain, we took the second gondola to he top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, which was a little more than 1000 feet higher than sea level. More gorgeous views from here, including the Copacabana beach all of the bays and the rest of the city.  Barely visible in the distance on top of Rio de Janeiro, the Christ the Redeemer statue in was the peering through the clouds as it was the only thing visible. That was an amazing view, to see Christ looking over the city, and even though the original picture was on my camera, I had to take a picture with my phone of my camera. 

     After we had taken enough time on the top of Sugar Loaf, we descended the mountain and made our way to the mall and had a quick bite to eat before making our way to Botafogo Club to play our last game. This club was in the middle of the city and is home to a top league soccer and basketball team. The women's team played first and got their second win. The team we played had some of the guys on their top team, but it also had some players on their youth teams. However, all of them were members of the club. We got off to another fast start and ended up playing the best basketball of the trip in the last game and we won by 30 points. We became the second team to go undefeated on the tour, and Ron has done about 20 of these tours in multiple sports. After the game the Botafogo players were more than willing to trade shirts and jerseys, I was able to trade two Concordia Shirts for both a Botafogo Polo and jersey. This guy will be wearing his Roll Cobbs shirt around Rio de Janeiro, that's pretty cool stuff! 

     After the game at Botafogo, we went back to the hotel and got ready to go out and eat at an all you can eat pizzeria and buffet. The food was much like the food before, a lot of rice, meat and fruit, along with many different flavors of pizza. We topped the night off by hanging out at the beach walking around seeing the night life of Copacabana Beach. The last game was today, which means we are now tourists for a day and a half before we head back to the States. We will be making the most of it tomorrow as we are going to Christ the Redeemer!

Saturday, July 25th: Making A Difference in Brazil

     We woke up early on this Saturday morning so we could get some breakfast in our stomach and get to the gym we are playing at in time for the beginning of the clinic.

     It was a short 15 minute drive out of the city of Jundiaí to Club Jundiaiense, which is a rural fitness center and is going to be the gym where we play and we work the basketball clinic. When we arrive their was about 50 kids shooting on the two basket gym and havin a good time getting loose. After our coach introduced the players, a group of four USA players took an age group and worked on different skills. I was with the 17 year olds, which was the oldest age group, and we worked on all the basics of dribbling, passing and shooting. The skill level of all these players differed greatly; however, the passion for the game and the enjoyment each kid had during the camp was consistent. Everyone in the gym had a smile on their face, from the kids to the coaches. Afterwards, one of the kids in my age group came up to me and thanked me in English (we asked if they could speak English and they said a little, but all the kids were conversational in English) for coming in and working with them, he seemed so grateful that we would come from USA help them out. That was a very cool moment, as was the massive amount of selfies and pictures they wanted to take with us after the camp!

     After the camp we got a tour of the fitness center, which had a nice weight room with machines and free weights, a cardio section with treadmills and bikes as well as a lap pool. There was also a large room that had about 50 workout bikes in it and as we walked in they started playing some techno Brazilian music and turned the lights on low. So naturally, we all got on the bikes and had a quick 5 minute bike class. The tour was interesting to see that even in Brazil workout regimens are very similar to that in America. 

     Today's games were against the Club Jundiaiense team, so it was a wide range of talents and ages of people who belong to the club. As the women played and won we talked to a lot of the kids who were at the camp as they watched with us. It was fun talking to the young kids and although they grew up in Brazil, they act just like American kids. As the women's game wrapped up we took the floor against the men's team, who had some professionals and some people who still play on this team just for fun. This Club team plays other club teams in city and state tournaments but don't get paid for it. We took a double digit lead early as we were ale to run by the older legs. The other team was able to hold with us for a little bit but we ended up whining by about 20. After the game, not only did we talk to them and enjoy their company but they invited us down to a barbecue in the park. We intermingled with some of the players on the guys team, who all spoke dry good English and the girls talked to the women's team. I enjoyed taking to the other team to learn about their culture and what their everyday is like and how it compares and differs with ours in America. 

     After the barbecue ended, we took a two hour bus ride to the city of San Jose. We checked into our hotel, which had an open middle like an Embassy Suites. I roomed with Sean Martin from Springfield College and we had two balconies looking out onto the rest of the city. We stayed at some awesome hotels but this was the best one yet. 

     The last event for this packed day was going to the mall of San Jose. Walking around the mall and the food court was great people watching and a great way to become acclimated with the culture. It was a busy day and we will be getting up at 6:30 AM to start the road to Rio at 7:00 AM tomorrow!

     

Sunday, July 26th: Oi, Rio de Janiero!

     We woke up at 6:30 AM for an early breakfast and an early start on the travel day to Rio de Janiero. We had a four hour bus drive in front of us and most of used that to catch up on sleep. There were some pretty spectacular views drivin through the hills of Brazil. 

     After the long drive we finally made it to Rio de Januero and the drive through the city to our hotel was very beautiful. It was along many lakes and bays but the best view is from the foot of our hotel which is right on Copacabana. 

     After checking in we walked the streets of Rio and ate at a place that sold homemade hot pockets for cheap. Then we walked to a park that had plenty of street venders selling all type of Brazilian goods. I didn't get anything but Ron informed there is a cheaper vender on Tuesday at a place called Centro, so that is where the damage will be done. 

     A dinner at a very delicious Brazilian Buffett restaurant called off the night as we walked the streets and beaches of Copacababa to end this transition day from SanJose to Rio de Janiero. 

     Tomorrow will bring a lot of events, including our last game and the trek up to the top of Rio de Janiero on Sugar Loaf Mountain! 

Friday, July 24th: Adjusting to Life in Brazil

     This morning we had breakfast at the hotel, which was my first Brazilian breakfast. The fresh fruit was incredible and the pineapple was to die for! There was some very delectable pastries that were coated in chocolate, coconut and other heavenly toppings. Not to mention the vast array of fruit juices being served. Even though the breakfast was delicious, the yogurt here in Brazil is not good, it is very bitter and the texture is a lot like cottage cheese. 

     After breakfast, we had no scheduled events until 12:00 PM lunch at the hotel, so our coach advised us to walk around and check out the Carrefour that was down the road. The Carrefour is a Brazilian Walmart for all intents and purposes, so a few teammates and myself ventured over there and became cultured in the little things of Brazil. It was interesting to see how the prices compared to America. The prices were all over the place, some items were much more expensive here in Brazil when compared to America, but other items were pretty cheap. There was a lot of American made items and brand names for sale as well. This picture shows all of the TVs in the store showing the movie "Rio," which Rio de Janiero is only 200 miles away and we will begin that trek via bus tomorrow!

     After another great, all-you-can-eat lunch at the hotel, we were off to the the city of Piracicaba. On the one and a half hour bus ride to Piracicaba from Jundiaí, my eyes were fixed out the window for the whole trip. I love looking out and seeing all of the terrain and farm land which is so much different than the Midwest. Also, the villages with all of the same types of houses and windy, narrow roads in between the houses are very cool to look at while riding on the bus. Once we got to Piracicaba, we found our way to the stadium in which Clube XV de Piracicaba plays their home games in. When the women's team was warming up in the gym, our coach took us to the Clube XV de Piracicaba soccer stadium and we walked around in there for a bit, which is home to a team in the top league of Brazilian soccer. 

     The ladies team had another tough battle on there hands and faught to the bitter end but lost a close one to Piracicaba women's team. So far, the women in Brazil have been incredibly athletic, extremely long and very athletic, so although our women's team is 0-2 they have played respectable basketball. 

     As for our game, we played some grown men today. This basketball team is in the top league in Brazil and had a few guys that were at least 6'8" and had some real man strength on them. Although this team was very tall and strong, they relied mainly on their jumpers, which were pure and even the tall guys could shoot it. We got out to a fast start and I don't think Piracicaba was ready for us to be so uptempo right away. But they worked their way back into the game and we only took a four point lead into halftime. Towards the end of the third quarter Piracicaba got really tired, as they only went 7 deep so our fresh and youthful legs were able to keep hitting our shots when theirs were falling a little short. We faught off a late flurry of threes to eventually win the game 79-72! As we have come to expect on this journey, the Brazilians were ever gracious in defeat and were more than willing to pose for pictures after the game and talk to us. Unfortunately these players were not as willing to trade t-shirts, but we still had a good time talking to the guys and sharing Facebook information. 

     On the long bus ride back to Jundiaí the guys team really bonded and the trip flew by as we were talking about everything from SeaWorld to D3 hoops. On the way, we stopped to have dinner at a steakhouse, which was an all you can eat steak buffet, so the guys and I took full advantage of that. It has been fun at these restraints as our Portuguese vocabulary is growing and we are becoming more familiar with the culture, but the waiters still laugh and smile when we order. Slowly and surely we are getting acclimated with life here in Brazil. 

     One more game tomorrow in the afternoon and then we have a very needed, and well-deserved off day.  Tomorrow will be a very rewarding day as we will be putting on a basketball clinic for the young players of Jundiaí before our game. It has been a surreal experience here in Brazil, and working this clinic tomorrow will be an even greater experience and memory for me to rake back to the states. After the game we will be making the our way towards the picturesque city of Rio de Janiero. Although this whole trip will be, and has been fun, I am looking forward to being in Rio and seeing all of the beautiful sites! 

Bom noite!!

Thursday, July 23rd: I Have a Feeling We Aren't in Kansas Anymore

   After the long nine hour plane trip from Miami, we have finally made it to São Paulo, Brazil. After walking right through customs with no problems, we were met by Leo, who will be our tour guide for our time in Brazil. We then had a one and a half hour bus ride from the airport to the hotel. This bus ride was the first real exposure to Brazil, and São Paulo was not as different compared to a metropolis US city than I was expecting. The traffic was really bad, there was graffiti everywhere and a lot of American stores, everything from Sam's Club to Pizza Hut. 

     Once we got out of the large city of São Paulo and headed toward the city of Jundiaí the surroundings started to look much more like what you imagine Brazil to look like, shacks built right on top of each other with vibrant colors. There were a few villages of these shacks before Jundiaí and a lot of these shacks in the city of Jundiaí itself as well. Everything is so simple here in Brazil, they don't try to make anything fancy. As long as it gets the job done, it is good enough for the Brazilians and that is something very charming about this city. 

     We checked into our hotel which was right off the highway and had our first Brazilian lunch right away. The food was very good, fresh fruit steak and pasta all served right at our hotel. Then we took a power nap before we headed out to the first game of the tour. 

     I was not sure what to expect for this first game; in terms of level of play, refeeres, stadium, international rules, so I was very excited to get there and check everything out. The stadium was a multi-purpose court for the city of Jundiaí and although the facilities were not state of the art, I found it to be very unique and endearing. 

     The girls game was first and we cheered them on while we were getting lose and preparing for our own game. We also were able to get a feel for how the game will be played, which was pretty different compared to the American game we are used to. The refs would allow the team to pass the ball in right away, whether the other team was ready or not, which was much different. The other big difference was the physicality and how much they let go in the paint. Unfortunately, the girls team had a slow first quarter and ended up losing by 10 points. 

     As for the guys team, we got a 20 minute warm-up in on the court before we started our game versus the Jundiaí Club Basketball Club. As for our team, we got out to an early lead by running the ball down their throats, which was our gameplan going on since we are all capable of getting up and down and are deep coming off the bench. We were able to hold on to that lead through out the game, our team played very well together today and shot decently and handled their full court press as if we have practiced against it for months. The final score was 85-60, and even though the Brazil team got it handed to them today, they were more than gracious in defeat, taking pictures with us, chatting about NBA and even trading shirts. I was able to trade a "Roll Cobbs" shirt to Fernando for an awesome Jundiaí Club t-shirt!

     The best part of the day was talking to the guys we played against and seeing how genuinely excited they were to host us for the game. I should have gotten a picture of it, but Fernando was wearing his Cobber shirt with so much pride. I will have to make sure to get that picture after tomorrow's game.  Tomorrows game is in the afternoon, which means we will have some time to explore the city both before and after the game, which will be very interesting to take in more of the Brazilian culture. 

Good night from Jundiaí, Brazil!

Wednesday, July 22nd: Final Practice and Departing for Brazil

     Today I woke up in Orlando, Florida and tomorrow I will be landing in Brazil. The craziness of that is unexplainable. If this trip was just to Orlando and we got to practice as a team for a few days it would have been worth it, but I get to leave the country and play exhibition games representing America. Unbelievable. 

     This morning we had a 9:00 AM practice, it went a lot smoother and we looked much more like a cohesive unit while compared to yesterday. Yesterday's practice was more feeling everybody out, but today's practice we learned how to play together. Our team was very wisely constructed, we have a great complement of players. Two great, pass first point guards, who are also able to score when needed. A flurry of 3-point shooters and slashers at the wing positions to go with a few big bruisers and rebounders inside. Our first game is tomorrow and I can't wait to see what our team is able to accomplish!

     After practice ended, we went back to the hotel and had a team lunch at Wendy's. Then we had to kill some time until we left for the airport at 6:00 PM and depart for Miami and the connecting Brazil flight at 10:30 PM. During all of this free time a lot of team bonding occurred, not just between all of the guys but between the girls team too (I haven't mentioned this yet, but a girls team also goes on the trip). The first 24 hours in Orlando as Team USA, it was much like middle school, the guys went one way and the girls went the other. Not very much intermingling between the sexes occurred. However, during this down time we played cards together, hung out together and just got to meet all of the girls for the first time. For every great guy on this trip there is a great girl. 

     Even after just two days, I know this will be the trip of a lifetime. I am accompanied by so many great people and will get to see a new culture and all of Brazil's beautiful landmarks. I am in for one exciting week outside of the United States. I am currently in between flights right now in Miami, which means the next post will be from Brazil! 

Peace out America, see you in a week!