Hey Qianaha-You’re In!

Let me explain the origin of Qianaha. For quite some time, the girls on the team have a chant for me. They yell, “Qiana-ha! Qiana-ho!” Several Brazilian players have these same endings as well Robinho, Ronaldinho, Pretinha (former Team Chicago Player now a pro player in Japan or England (I forget)). I simply take it as a compliment, chant along and laugh.

On Saturday, our team participated in the first game of the Liga Dinamite. It is a championship will take place over the course of the next two months on selected Saturdays. All of the games will be played in Pavauna. Therefore, the coach decided that everyone should meet at the Pavauna metro station. And, we should bring plenty of bug spray because Dengue (some disease that is killing people) is rampant in the area so we needed to make sure to spray.

Since I was coming from Copacabana, I had to leave from the Cantaglo station. This would be my first time riding the metro by myself so I made sure to ask one of my helpful translators, Isabella, for travel time estimates and other important details.

Our game was scheduled for 3:30 or 4:00, but we had to meet at the Pavauna station at 1:30 p.m. I have a usual pre-game schedule of things that I must do, but I also needed to incorporate a quick run-through of my trip to the metro station. Therefore, I started my morning at around 5:45 a.m. I had my water and protein shake. Read my written game visualizations. By this time, Zona Sul was open so that I could go eat my breakfast and buy my pre-game apples and water. I rounded off the remainder of my schedule with a quick birthday call to my granddaddy, some rice, beans and bread and another re-check of my equipment bag.

With my Portuguese travel book in hand, I headed quickly into the Cantaglo station. I was slightly confused because Isabella told me to look for line 2. After asking two gentleman, I realized that I would have to take the Line 1 metro for 10 stops and then switch to the Line 2 train and take it to the last stop. Fortunately, I was able to confirm that I understood everything that they instructed me to do once I saw the metro map. Plus, as an added precaution, I had my new Claro cell phone. Isabella’s number was in my address book in case I needed to make a quick call.

Everything went smoothly, and I was one of the first girls to arrive at our meeting spot. I could see a sigh of relief on some of the girls’ faces when I stepped off the train.

Once everyone was accounted for and all hugs and greetings were exchanged, we proceeded to walk to the stadium. One of our technical coaches served as our guide. Our walk took us through the middle of an open air market and a restaurant. We walked on a bridge, by a church and finally ended up at the field.

Some other teams were playing a game so I had two apples in my bag. I shared one with my teammate Maria Clara and I proceeded to eat the other while we watched the game. Some of the players did the same. There was a really fluffy cat walking around so some people found entertainment playing with it. Other people danced and sang songs from their headsets.

As the game neared, the coach called 11 of us over to his table. He showed us the formation, and so as not to be presumptuous, I checked the board to notice my name penned in the position of left zaga. Nice!

After the pre-game discussion, time went pretty quickly. All uniforms were handed out. The starting 11 went through the warm-up with Igor. All starters signed the starting card, and the game got under way.

I think for me, whether I am playing in a park, or at practice or in a game, it takes one or two plays to my side of the field to help me settle into a game. It allows me to get a read or two on some players in my area, see some possible passing options and get a touch or two on the ball.

The field was not even so there were some sketchy places. Despite the conditions, I didn’t have a problem retreating to defend runs. Actually, there was one play where a forward had passed our lateral. (I will use a runner’s term here.) I “walked” the girl down. I remember thinking in the back of my mind (Chris & John) that I can catch her if I pump my arms just a little faster. I came towards her at a slight angle and reached her quick enough that she didn’t have time to cross the ball or cross me up to go to the inside of the field. To be honest, I don’t know if she even saw me coming. Well, I was able to knock the ball out of bounds. The crowd cheered and we were able on the next play to get the ball back up the field. After the game, one of my teammates came up to me and said (in Portuguese) that I am very fast, and she wanted to know if I liked the game. I told her thank you and I did enjoy the game. At the end of every game, everyone wants to know whether or not you had a good time. This is probably one question that I am never asked in the U.S….

Other game recaps: The referees made some outrageous calls. Two of our players received yellow cards for fouls. Our coach came on the field to rightfully give the referee a piece of his mind, and he was ejected from the game. The other team received a penalty kick, which resulted in a goal. We didn’t really get any calls in our favor. The girls wouldn’t even shake our hands after the game. One girl kept saying something to me, but it didn’t matter because I couldn’t understand what she was saying anyway. Our team won 2-1. The coach said I played very good. Igor said I played well. We talked about some timing/trapping questions that I had. The crowd was overwhelmingly cheering for us, and I realized it was because some of my teammates had thrown wrapped chocolates to them before the game! The power of chocolate continues to amaze me.

Not For Tourists

Some of you who have browsed the travel section of your local bookstore may have come across a book series entitled, Not For Tourists. These books give the inside scoop on a particular city. You can find out the good places to eat, where not to go and how to have a really good time. Not For Tourists provides you with the wisdom to experience the local flavor without having to invest the time or money to become a resident.

Now, I will be one of the first people to tell you that you really don’t know a city until you have spent a significant amount of time there. A week vacation is just not going to cut it many times because you are not operating in a daily routine. I liken it to those first few months of dating someone. It’s great and they can do nothing wrong. However, as time progresses, you start to see a few behaviors that may raise an eyebrow.

So, I have been working on a small treat for everyone. I have compiled a list of things that you may want to keep in your back pocket or palm pilot when you make your trip to Rio. Keep in mind that I am not judging the people, places or situations that made the list. I am just merely penning my observations. Take Notes!

Where are the Black Men from America?
Let me preface my answer by saying that I love Black Men from America. They are my family (literally). With this being said, I will tell you that you can find 94% of the African American men from the U.S. walking within a 6 street radius of Avenida Copacabana at McDonalds, KFC, Facil Internet Café and at the corner of Rua Xavier da Silveira and Avenida N.S. Copacabana.

I have been using a laundry service on this street for almost one month, and I kid you not, the volume of AA men who are standing in groups talking about everyone that passes by, what they have seen thus far, etc. is quite entertaining. What I find most strange is that they make comments about the female passersby but do not make an attempt to approach them. I wonder if it is because they did not take the time to learn the language.

I will admit that I am a little curious as to why what these men hope to gain from their voyage to Brazil. Do they just want to look and talk about the ladies? Do they wait until sunset to start striking up conversations? Do they pay Jesus Cristo a visit at Corcovado Mountain? Do they think Rio is all what the videos make it out to be? Do they think that they will get a good return on the money that they spent?

In case you don’t make it to the corner of Rua Xavier da Silveira and Avenida N.S. Copacabana. Here are some other ways you can spot an AA man standing out from the crowd

1. While in the Internet café, you usually hear him talking really loud in the phone booth about being in Brazil. (Now, I am not saying that all AA men are loud. What I find is the volume of the typical Brazilian conversation pales in comparison to ours. I think we might have a little more noise in the U.S. Plus, I think these men are just excited about being in Brazil.)
2. He is walking down the street talking to his friend about where they can buy a beach towel.
3. He is wearing his street clothes while walking on the beach. In Rio, the average male will wear the long surfer type swim trunks or the speedos to the beach. If you want to blend in guys, you have to change up the wardrobe.

Rua Bolivar/NE Copacabana: A Multi-Purpose Corner

The streets of Copacabana are filled with a variety of street vendors selling their products and services. I noticed that at least 3 to 4 businesses share the corner location of Rua Bolivar/Copacabana. If you need your blood pressure or glucose checked, there is a gentleman, wearing an all white outfit, who will be sitting on a stool waiting to service you from 9:00-4:00 p.m. If you want to buy flowers, there is a flower vendor who will provide you with a lovely bouquet between 4:00-7:00 p.m. Now, if you are looking for a late night snack, a lady will be selling freshly made tapioca from about 8:00-11:00 p.m. I know you are wondering about this fourth business. It is the watch repairman. He usually occupies a different location. However, when the medical technician is absent, he likes to set up his business on the corner. (It is an opportunity for more foot traffic.) If it is raining, the watch repairman will temporarily halt is repairman duties to sell you an umbrella for 5 Reals.

Copacabana Beach Alert: Menino Tyrant

Menino is a Portuguese word for boy. Tyrant is the English word for someone, in my opinion, who wreaks havoc. On Copacabana Beach, there is a chair/drink stand that is located between Rua Bolivar andRua Xavier da Silveira. It is a white canopy without a name on it. A gentleman and his son sell beach chairs, umbrellas and cold drinks. Since my arrival in Rio, I have witnessed this rotund kid (nothing against fat kids—they are a rarity here, hence the description) be environmentally insensitive (after eating a pudding cup, he then tosses it right on the beach by the water), try to scam customers on their chair fees (fortunately these customers were smart and walked off) and attempt to steal my size 1 soccer ball and throw sand at me when I wouldn’t let him keep it. I am giving you just the facts, no opinions here. For more about Menino Tyrant, please see my entry entitled “Best In Show (will load later).” Beachgoers Beware!

Find Your Next Picasso:

On the second Saturday evening of every month, you can go to the corner of Rua Bolivar and Avenida Atlantica (right in front of Copacabana Beach) to visit a wonderful artist market. There is a large variety of artwork available for purchase. You will get to meet and speak with the local artist. Also, the prices are extremely well and they can help you prepare your selected piece for shipment to your respective country. If you want to revisit the artist on Sunday afternoon, you can see them at the Hippie Market a few blocks away in Ipanema.

The Book Is On the Table

The book is on the table phrase that people use to joke that someone is slow to understand. Even if a Brazilian cannot speak English, they know this phrase. It derives from the English courses that are taught here in Rio. One of the first phrases they teach you is “the book is on the table.”

Has this phrase been said to me? It has been said twice. Actually, my coach said it to me yesterday. *Note an opinion forthcoming: As far as I am concerned, the book is on the table for everybody because it is easy to be confused when someone speaks 500 miles per hour to someone who is learning a new language. My coaches have blank faces when they ask me to tell them an answer in English, and I look dazed when they are asking me questions in Portuguese. Very Fast, Muito Rapido(Very Fast in Portuguese)

—In sum, the book is on the table. Listen for it because you will hear someone say it at least one time if you are in Rio long enough.

Beach Towels Anyone?

You have arrived in Rio. Due to space constraints in your luggage bag, you didn’t have room for your beach towel. You are going to just pick one up in Rio. Well, you can look all day long, but you are not going to find a beach towel.

In case you do not know, Brazilians have a different idea when it comes to beach towels. It is not that extra long towel with pictures on it. I learned this quickly when I asked my host if she had a spare “beach towel.” The Brazilian beach towel looks almost like those sarongs that women wear around their swimsuits to the beach. It is a piece of thin, lightweight cotton with fringes on each side. There is a walking vendor that will sell one to you at the beach (15 Reals) or you can walk right up Avenida Copacabana and purchase one from one of the many lojas (stores) for 7 Reals.

A Birds Eye View

Do you like birds? I hope so because they are everywhere. They look like pigeons to me, but they could be some other type of bird. I haven’t taken the time to ask them. I was at a street corner two days ago and counted 36 birds standing (in a group) at the corner waiting to cross the street with me. One thing is for sure. They are pretty smart because the drivers here will run you over.

Is that Rain?

Some variation of precipitation always seems to be falling on the streets of Rio. Is it from the sky? Most of the time, it is coming from the buildings. I am not sure if it is water. However, it can prove to be frustrating to have a huge drop of something hit you right after you have washed your hair. To try and avoid being tagged, always check the pavement to see if there is a visible liquid puddle. This way you can at least avoid the bigger drops!

A Little Sun & A Lot of Vendors:

While at the beach juggling one day, I decided to keep a list of vendors that offered to sell products to me. In case you find yourself on the beach and are missing an item or two, you might be able to purchase what you need for a premium price. Don’t worry. I do not need to give you a location because the vendors will come right to you. Here is a list of what you can buy at the beach. You can buy sodas, beer, water, necklaces, bracelets, shrimp cocktail, empadas, mate (brazilian tea), sunscreen, sunglasses, beach towels (Brazilian), hats, bikinis, ice cream, artwork, poetry, tattoos, potato chips, gum, candy. Just keep in mind there is a vendor for each of these items. Therefore, if you want chips and a soda, you have to buy the batatas fritas from one guy and the refridgerante from someone else. Sellers are product specific here!

P.S. I am writing down the specific names to fill-in the blanks on this entry. I will update after training.

Feliz Pascoa!!! Jesus Cristo esta Otimo!

Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is Excellent! I know people are up early taking care of Easter dinner preparations, getting those outfits ready and rehearsing those parts for the Easter play. I love holidays because it manages to bring out the best outfits, food, singing and acting debuts that you may otherwise not have an opportunity to see in one day.

My morning started off with a protein shake, pear and a large bottle of water around 5:30 a.m. We have training at 7:30 a.m. so I have to make sure that I eat and be ready to catch the bus at 6:30 a.m. I don’t know if the bus schedules are different because of the holiday (although parts of the city have been on holiday since Thursday evening). After training, we are supposed to have sporting and cultural activities in honor of the holiday. I am curious as to what this will entail, but I am pretty sure it will be fun and include….Chocolate!

Later:

We had training as usual, but there were some twists. There was a score keeper for our technical drills. We took five penalty shots. We did a passing accuracy game. All of the points were tallied for Pascoa gifts. Now, I don’t have to tell you what the gifts were because you already know. Chocolate! J

After training, the cultural activities involved everyone dividing into teams of three persons to answer questions about your knowledge of foreign countries and the World Cup and Formula One. I did get an answer correct because I said Beijing is the capital of China! Formula One is a huge sport in Brazil so I was at a loss.. L

One thing I did notice was that more of the people (parents, trainers, and teammates) were making an effort to ask me how to say certain words in English. In response, I consistently conversed in Portuguese for almost the entire time. Now, my sentences were all in present tense and I know I may have missed a word here or there, but it was good enough that people were able to understand.

Oh, by the way, I received one bom bom from our medical guy. He had a healthy Easter because, before training, my teammates and I watched him run, shirtless in some speedo shorts, around the track… Also, I received this chocolate creation from Pam’s sister & her boyfriend. I thanked them and ate it. It was from the store that I had bought her birthday chocolate from back in February…

Now, in the midst of all of this chocolate, I did make time to reflect on the true reason for the holiday. Without Him, I would not be able to have or report this experience to you. Thank you Jesus for paying the cost!

Jesus Christ is Alive! Let´s Eat Chocolate!

Now I cannot reiterate to you enough that I am a little out-of-sync with my time here. I knew that Easter was coming, but I really didn’t know when it was almost here until….I went into the grocery store and the store was dark. I would go to other stores and the lighting was dim. Moreover, there were these multi-colored, egg-shaped things hanging from the ceilings of these stores. Sometimes due to my tall heightJ, they would hit me in the head, and I would have to duck.

Whatever these things were, they were not cheap! People were running around pulling them from the shelves and ceilings. I decided that I would give myself some time and just observe. Perhaps, I would just be able to figure some things out for myself. Over these next two weeks, I realized that all of these pineapple-size eggs were filled with Chocolate!

I don’t know if I have mentioned this to you before, but Brazilians love three things Jesus, coffee and chocolate. I am thinking I have the order correct too!

I want you to imagine being in your hometown grocery store during the height of shopping for Christmas dinner. Now, I want you to add the Valentine’s Day and Halloween candy craze into the picture. I think that best sums up what I witnessed during the days leading up to Pascoa (Pah-skwal) (Easter).

On Good Friday, I had to get to the bottom of it because I wanted to make sure that I was on the right side of the law. For those of you who do not know, Brazil is a democracy. However, you will get punished by the law if you do not vote. Therefore, I decided if I needed to buy a Twix or a small egg to fall in line with the rest of the population in my support of Jesus’ resurrection, I was going to do it before he arose on Sunday.

I happened to get to training a little earlier than usual. Igor was there. I have been working on my Portuguese so I asked him what is the situation with all of the chocolate and Easter. He seemed amazed that we did not eat chocolate for Easter. To sum it up, you buy these chocolate eggs, and give them to people. They have tiny ones for kids. They have big ones for adults. There are different types of chocolates or bom boms contained in the eggs.

This discussion was joined by a few more of my teammates who all decided to give me the rundown on how good it is to eat chocolate for Pascoa. My trainer seemed surprised that I had not received an egg from someone yet.

We shall see because I have two days until Pascoa. While your out picking up those lace socks and new ties for your Easter celebration, make sure you pick up a little piece of chocolate. Jesus is alive, and we all should celebrate by eating a little chocolate! J

Does Opportunity Even Matter?

A few entries ago, I mentioned that a coach from a university in U.S. came to watch the members Team Chicago scrimmage. There are a number of people on the team whose age and technical ability make them perfect candidates to play at the collegiate level.

When the coach talked to us after the scrimmage, I was slightly sad. The coached mentioned that they would have to pass the English equivalency exam to be considered. Please keep in mind that all of this information was being conveyed to everyone through a translator. So you can pretty much figure out, from that previous statement alone, how many girls are able (at this time) to pass an English equivalency exam.

Being witness to this conversation was the equivalent of all of the stories that we know or hear about in the United States. There is that great athlete that wants to play college sports. Schools want them to come. However, they are just lacking that required SAT, GPA or other academic competency. Many times, these situations can be overcome if someone can just instill the knowledge of other preparations that may be necessary for this person to achieve their dream.

After our next training session, the coach talked to us about the coach’s evaluation of our game. He named 7 to 8 players that the coach had a strong interest in for possibly joining his team. Out of those people, only one person has the ability to speak English.

You can receive all of the opportunity in the world, but it does not matter if you lack the preparation to take advantage of it. I don’t have to tell you how this opportunity could change the lives of those 8 people and their families. Many of these people take buses from all over the Rio region just to come to train.

The coach continued with his explanation of the importance of learning English and how it can allow them to take advantage of these opportunities. Moreover, the coach mentioned to them an email that I had sent to him a day earlier offering to help the girls learn English during the remainder of my time in Rio.

Now, I will admit. I have not ever taught anyone English. However, I have been speaking it for quite some time, and I am hoping that my investment of 10-15 minutes, going over a worksheet or two with them after training, will give them a foundation to start from.

I haven’t located an easy-to-understand, English/Portuguese book at any of the bookstores that I have visited. If anyone knows of any resources, teachers or web sites that can give me advice or point me in the direction to where I can obtain free exercises to teach beginner level English, please email me.

On April 5th, I will have two months remaining, to my knowledge, in Rio. I want to make sure that every day, of these two months, that I have a new worksheet, exercise, etc. to provide to them. My teammates cheered when the coach made the announcement, and I became a little nervous because I know that I have signed up for, what many may consider, a daunting task. However, I don’t think I would’ve been presented with this opportunity if I did not possess the tools to make a meaningful contribution.

I look forward to receiving your advice and leads. Thanks in advance for your help!

The Show Must Go On...

The Show Must Go On…

Hey Everybody. I know that my blog has been a slight standstill lately. Please accept my apologies.
As I mentioned a few entries ago, my wireless is not working on my laptop. I tried to troubleshoot the matter, but it did not fix the problem. Actually, it seems to be a symptom of an even bigger problem (more than likely spyware L). My laptop is currently in limbo because I have the disk to do a reinstallation on the laptop, but I will lose all of my Microsoft programs because I do not have that disk…

I have made a decision to keep creating the newsletter for the kids (Hello from Rio), my blog entries and email content on my laptop, until I can get my hands on another MS software disk. I will be uploading several days of entries during the course of the upcoming weeks. Please keep checking the blog because I am dedicated to providing you with the inside scoop of my adventures!

P.S. I will add the entries and load the pictures as soon as I can a day or two afterwards…

Open Letter to Bill Gates & La Nina

Dear Esteemed Bill Gates:

I love your product offering. However, I have been battling a small issue that has mushroomed into a problem of seemingly seismic proportions. A few days ago I was hard at work on some small projects on a Toshiba laptop. Out of nowhere, my Internet Explorer started saying that it was experiencing an error and had to close. Next, the IP address disappeared. All of my IP configurations are unavailable, and your troubleshooter told me to uninstall and reinstall my adapter. After following your directions, the adapter would not reinstall. I am sad Mr. Gates. I communicate with many people with my laptop. I have numerous tasks to do, and I am having to type you this open letter, for a fee, at a local Internet cafe in Rio de Janeiro. Should I write Mr. Toshiba or Mr. Intel next?

Qiana (aka A Soccer Player who simply wants to communicate with the world..)

Dear La Nina:

I know that we have not been introduced formally. However, I have read a number articles about how you are affecting the weather all over the planet. If this is the case, I would like to ask that you please lessen your affects in the Rio de Janeiro area. I am currently in Rio playing soccer. Since my arrival, I have enjoyed the sun, basked the warmth of the temperature and had many long runs at Copacabana beach.

For the last few days, it has rained uncontrollably and I had to rummage in my suitcase to pull out all of the jackets, long shirts and one pair of jeans that I had in my bag. Moreover, I had to sleep in all of my clothes last night because it was cold. Please keep in mind La Nina, that I do not have the flu nor have I been bitten by a "sick" mosquito. Lastly, I have literally watched, over the course of 40 days, the water overtake the beach at Copacabana. The beach patrons are having to set up their umbrellas almost against the street, and I had to do most of my running, this morning, in the water. Although these conditions make for good surfboarding, I would like to ask if we can reach some sort of happy medium on these matters.

With love,

Qiana (aka A Soccer Player that has respect for the Earth)

Everything Has Led Up to This!

I am writing this entry as a reminder to myself. Sometimes when a “precarious” situation arises, it is easy to put more focus on the “irrelevant” details of a situation instead of the more important aspects of it. Therefore, this entry is so that I can maintain a correct perspective on everything that is occurring here in Rio.

After my last entry on Sunday evening, all of my available wireless connections simply disappeared. I will say that it was pretty strange to say the least because this has not ever happened in this particular location. Obviously, I am supposed to be doing other things with my time…

Prior to this happening, I contacted (via email) all (but 1) of my Brasilian referrals (from my American friends) to let people know that I am looking to rent a room. The upgrade that I so wistfully alluded to in one of my previous entries is something that I must pursue at this point. (In case you want to know, the image from that entry is a picture of guest suite at the JW Marriott in Rio. You may want to look into it if you plan on making a trip here.)

On Monday, I decided to keep operating in a business-as-usual mode of maintaining the typical routine of beach, juggling, etc. However, I felt that I needed to stand in the ocean just a little bit longer. I let the waves come and go around me for at least 45 minutes as I thought about a few conversations I had recently had with friends and how these conversations could be of use to me in making the best decisions now.

A week or two ago, I was talking about how I had decided to maneuver through a situation after my first week here. I said that I wished I would’ve known certain things ahead of time. My friend responded that the situation would better prepare me for my next trip, and she proceeded to remind me how my training in Boca Raton provided me with an ability to be so adequately prepared to be in Rio. Ironically, I received similar words from a different friend during my last conversation on Sunday.

With this being said, I understand that I have been presented with an opportunity to utilize some of the tools in my arsenal that I may have overlooked. Using these tools and relying on all of the experience that I acquired, in other cities that I have lived, will allow me to breeze pass any small hiccups that I encounter here in Rio. Everything has led up to this moment!

I have been in Rio almost 45 days. In this time period, I have been able to successfully do the following:

Attend all of my trainings and give 110%.
Learn how to take the bus to all of my trainings.
Rely on my intuition as to who to approach for assistance.
Effectively communicate in Portuguese to acquire the things that I need.
Utilize my memory to figure out locations in relation to landmarks that I know.

Imagine how this list is going to continue to grow as I live each moment (to its fullest) until my 120 days are complete. My playing level, language proficiency, intuition strength and firsthand witness of favor over my life will be off the charts!

Although I have provided you with a rare sneak peak into my self-motivational message for today, please do not think that this does not apply to you as well. All of your experiences have led up to this moment. Make today the day that you pull out your monkey wrenches, hammers and screwdrivers to begin recreating the situations that you want for yourself!

Tchau!

The Best Laid Plans Can Go Awry

From a very young age, I would make lists. I would make a list of the rollercoasters I would ride during an upcoming family trip to Six Flags. I would make a list of food I would carry in anticipation of a school field trip. I would make a list of schools that I would write for applications. All of these lists would lead to more paper, in the form of letters, and then on to more paper in the form of return correspondence from various institutions, individuals, etc. (Honestly, by age 9 or 10, I had one of those expandable fileholders!)

As I got older, these lists evolved into computer documents chock full of action plans. These action plans would name individuals that I would need to contact and finances that I would need to acquire.

When I began planning for my journey to Rio, I followed my usual protocol. Lists, action plans, letters, follow-up calls and financial projections. However, as many of you can attest, sometimes there are unanticipated situations that arise that you just don't foresee.

My experience in Rio, thus far, has been amazing; and I know that it will continue unfold for me in a miraculous way. However, there have currently been glitches here and there with meeting some of my "basic" day-to-day needs. As I continue to rectify these matters, I find myself in a financial situation that is not one that I ever would have anticipated.

As a result, I am relinquishing my pride and asking those that have the ability to do so, to please sow a seed into my dream. You can submit your donations through the Paypal button at the left of this blog.

Thanks for taking the time to read my entries. I know this is going to be a wonderful story that we all reflect on in amazement at the fabulous outcome!

Tchau!

Feed the 5,000

Yesterday, I decided to attempt a call to my grandparents. For the most part, it went well but my Skype connection just did not want to hold up so the conversation with my grandmamma was cut short. I was a little sad about it, but I have started to learn that when things like this happen I simply take it as a sign that I am supposed to be doing something else.

While talking to my granddaddy, he asked me what I had learned today, and I was at a loss for words. Most days, I definitely have a story that I can rattle off about an adventure taking a new mode of transportation, buying something at a store or successfully communicating in Portuguese.

After a few minutes, I concluded that maybe every day in Rio would not be a day for learning an obvious lesson. This was going to be my story to stick to because otherwise I would agonize over the fact that I had been up since 5:22 a.m. and had not learned one new thing for the day.

The progressed and, around 7:30 p.m., I finally decided to go have dinner. I was slightly annoyed by the fact that I was patronizing a particular establishment. I will not name the restaurant (because it is an American establishment) but I go there because of the price, convenience, vegetable selection (rice, beans, salad) and quantity of food.

[As an aside, I know many of you are thinking that I eat out a lot, and why I just don’t go to one of those Brazilian all-you-can-eat buffets. Here’s the quick response. The place I am staying in doesn’t have a kitchen, stove or refrigerator so I can’t store or cook anything. Secondly, there are lots of those Brazilian buffet places here (ones that do not look like those $40 per person places in America). However, they charge you around 2.69 Reals per 100 grams of food! It is pretty hilarious and scary at the same time. This is how people are able to stay so slim here. They do not eat a large breakfast (usually bread, butter, fruit and coffee) and they eat around 200-300 grams of food at the buffet restaurant. I don’t know the conversion rate of grams to ounces offhand but I will tell you that 2 pieces of pineapple, 2 small pieces of watermelon, 2 slices of mango, 2 dinner rolls, 4 miniature slices of turkey luncheon meat and one slice of bolo costs me around 7.15 Reals ($4.28) for breakfast. ]

Back to the original story- Since it is more expensive for me to order the vegetable choices separately, I usually end up with a meat option which puts me at a crossroads. I don’t want to waste it, but I really don’t want to eat it. Also, since I come to this restaurant after training every evening, the workers are really nice with the vegetable portions that they put on my plate.

I decided to make an executive decision yesterday, and it was amazing to me that I had not thought of this earlier. I did not want to stuff myself with mashed potatoes and meat. I owed it to myself and my stomach. I would just slice up the meat and put it in a small container with the leftover mashed potatoes for someone else. Who was this person? I wasn’t sure, but I would at least try something new.

I will be the first to tell you that I had several thoughts in my mind about whether I should go through with my new course of action. Would I find someone nearby? Would the person accept the food?

Then, out of the clear blue, I thought about a person that I know who absolutely will have nothing to do with pennies. The person hates pennies so much that they will literally throw them in the trash. I remember when they told me this I was, in my heart, pretty much shocked. You know how many times pennies have saved my day? Pennies have bought me gas, food, served as donations and bought me Debbie cakes on occasion!

After I recalled this story, I felt really good about giving my leftovers away. My intuition told me that someone was in need of “a few pennies” and would not be too proud to receive them. I walked out of the restaurant and headed down the street. I was at the second light when I noticed, on a corner across the street, a gentleman sitting on the ground outside of another restaurant. He was asking people for money and people were passing him by. I made my way over to him and he didn’t ask for money. He had his hand extended for the small container in my hand. I gave it to him and he had a look of pure shock on his face.

Last night, I realized that when you are in desperate situations, any gift (be it pennies, leftovers or a word of encouragement) is better than no gift at all. I can safely say that most of the readers of this entry have the ability to literally Feed the 5000.

There maybe a day when you don’t want to eat some left over vegetables or your wife may have missed the mark on seasoning a piece of chicken. Whatever the case may be, I would like you to consider giving that food (before it simply spoils in your refridge) to someone. We all know that you won’t miss it, your refridge will definitely smell better in the long run and you will have easily helped someone in need.

Every Win Deserves A Treat!

One of our trainers, Igor, works full-time with a professional club in the Rio area. To put in nicely, Igor is intent on making sure that I understand all aspects of being an effective sweeper. As a result, he immediately walked up to me after the game and recanted the two instances where I choose passing options that he would’ve preferred that I would’ve played differently. Igor is definitely that person who is short on compliments and long on detailed critiques! I appreciate that because everyone needs one or two of those people around to keep you on your toes.

With that being said, Igor invited me to come to his club on Monday to watch his team play against…the Jamaican National Team!!!! Absolutely fabulous! I think that is probably the biggest smile that I have given Igor since I met him. I think he probably thought that I was excited because I knew of the coach of the Jamaican team, who is Brazilian. However, our communication did not get that far since Igor and I are still working out the kinks in our English/Portuguese conversations…

One catch for this event was that I would have to take a bus and a van to the field. Let me take a moment to introduce you to another mode of transportation commonly used in Rio. It is the van. The van holds about 10-12 people and it makes less stops than a bus. The van is a little more intimidating because you really have to know where you are going and you have to be able to communicate that effectively.

Well, I had my Portuguese phrase book, the directions and a whole lot of prayers for assistance as I embarked on my journey that ended up two hours later at the back of the correct location. The van driver was kind enough to get out of the van and point to the alley I needed to enter to go around into the stadium.

I will tell you that the alley was “favella-esque” in appearance (I definitely didn’t have this on my agenda to do but oh well…), and I definitely just looked out of place walking through there. However, I ended up safe and sound inside the stadium.

Igor was kind enough to greet me with “you are late.” (I think he has been secretly learning English vocabulary.) I was 15 minutes late, but honestly that was irrelevant to the fact that I accomplished a huge feat by successfully making it to my destination. I had planned to be there early, but I didn’t think the trip was going to take so long.

On to the game, it was all that I hoped for and more. I had a seat two feet away from the sideline. I was instructed to “pay attention,” which I did and the teams tied 2-2. After the game, Igor had one of his co-workers return with me on the first leg of my trip to make sure that I didn’t get turned around.

My adventure allowed me to get a few pictures for you. I have attached a picture of the stadium with the buildings from the alley that I had to go through, a picture of a horse that was standing two feet away from me at the bus stop (I wished that I could give him a hug and some apples. He looked overworked, uncared for and starved.) and a picture of the van I had to take.

1, 2, 3

Sunday morning, I had to get an early start because we had to travel about 150 kilometers to Sumidouro to play. Where is Sumidouro? I really can’t tell you but we had to travel up a mountain, down a mountain and I think back up another mountain in order to get there. I am quickly noticing that Brazil has more than its share of mountains.

I just assumed that because we were leaving at 8:00 a.m. that the game was sometime around 11:00 or 12:00. Well, I was definitely a little off the mark because we had a number of things to do before we played our game such as…getting everyone situated with their respective transportation (we took one shuttle and seven cars-we had two teams playing (under 15 and adult), waiting for some additional members of our transport once we reached Teresopolis, a city on top of a mountain where the Brazilian National Soccer teams train, stopping for a bathroom/snack break, stopping to wait for something to happen (that I can’t really explain), eating a prepared pre-game meal (which was excellent by the way) at a facility that seemed to be a school and watching the under-15 girls play their match…I am estimating that we started our game somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m.

I know many of you are wondering if I was annoyed with all of the pomp and circumstance of this full day of activities before the game even started. I was actually more fascinated by everything. I didn’t know what we were going to do next, where we were going to go next and who we might see along the way.

If people have ever seen video footage of the Brazilian men’s or women’s team when they are in the locker room or traveling to play, you will always notice that they are singing, dancing, doing soccer tricks and posing for pictures. I remember one commentator, I believe during the 2007 Women’s World Cup, was a little amazed that the women were taking pictures right before they ran onto the field to play in the final. He seemed slightly taken aback that these women were not in more of a “game mode mindset.”

To be quite honest, more teams can stand to take a page out of their book. It is just how they operate. I rode on the shuttle, the driver had the music extra loud and people were singing the entire trip. After lunch, somebody found a ball and people started doing soccer tricks and dancing. Right before we went on the field, lots of cameras appeared and everyone started taking pictures. (I will admit that I couldn’t bring myself to do it this game, but next game I will have my camera ready..) I had a great time, the coach said I played great and all of my teammates gave me hugs and told me, in Portuguese, that I did great too!

Details:

The coach has me playing sweeper (defense). He usually starts new players out on defense because he wants them to master ball control and possession. Prior to coming to Brazil all my trainers told me to be open to where ever I play on the field, therefore I have worked on being the best sweeper that I can be. Plus, in the system that we play, I still have goal scoring opportunities!

This leads me to letting you know that I fired 1 rapid, gorgeous and low shot during the game. It had the perfect amount of speed and power behind it. However, the goalie got lucky and stopped it…I am just getting warmed up people. Please stay tuned.

Next, I played solid defense. I did get 2 fouls. Fortunately, I didn’t get carded. I think the fouls that got called on me were not good calls. I had one girl try and hold my arm to keep me from receiving a ball, and I don’t think she got a call either. I wasn’t mad about it. It was just blatantly obvious and so I started laughing (which she totally didn’t expect). Why get mad? I knew the girl knew that she couldn’t keep up with me anyway so she had to resort to under handed tactics!

We won the game 3-1. Way to go Team Chicago Brasil! Everyone just picked up the celebration right where we left off before the game! Here’s a picture of some of my teammates.

Opportunity to Upgrade

I like spontaneity, to try new things, take risks, etc. However, I get a “little” beside myself when external circumstances alter my pre-set schedule. (Many of you can attest to that.) A little odd, don’t you think? Well, I have had to quickly learn during the course of my time here that a change in the routine is not the end all be all.

When I initially realized that I had to relocate to a new residence, I was little frazzled and a million questions ran through my mind. I had recently solidified a daily regimen of running at the beach, breakfast, vitamins, push-ups, ball juggling and lunch before I headed off to my team training session. How was all of this going to be accomplished in a new place? I would have to find new restaurants to buy my meals from and create a new, daily routine.

Well, we all know the outcome. Leblon was swell and my hosts were absolutely phenomenal. I rarely had to think about restaurants because scrumptious meals were prepared for me, clothes laundered at the drop of a hat, and the beach (although a little farther away) was more gorgeous and provided me with an opportunity to see the pro-volleyball players train.

So as I prepare myself to return to Copacabana, I don’t feel sad or worried that I am leaving the best, temporary residence-on-earth behind. I know that my relocation holds an inevitable upgrade for me. What exactly are the specifications for this upgrade? I am not sure, but I am open to it and grateful for it. Moreover, you can rest assured that I will be blogging to you about it.