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!!