Training in Brazil

Departing Santiago Saturday morning

It was an early departure out of Santiago as we headed out for our final training sessions before Canada. From our gate we rode a bus that took us to our plane and we climbed the stairs to the door. As we took off, the plane rose above the Santiago smog and we saw a beautiful view of the Andes. As we turned toward Brazil, a pre-recorded message warned us that we were about to cross the Andes and to be seated and buckled up. I've never heard a message like this crossing the Rockies, but I guess there's more turbulence over this 20,000+ ft. mountain range!

Andes and smog in Santiago

Drinking fountains in the Sao Paolo airport offered room
temperature water or cold water

Four hours later, we arrived in Sao Paolo. Icaro Ferrarini, an Assistant Manager for Brazilian basketball, picked us up at the airport with a large bus and we rode 5 hours north to São Sebastião do Paraíso.

Scrimmage with Brazil

We scrimmaged Brazil today, and played very well as a team. We had solid defense. Pancha (#8) had a great game and seemed to find her inside and outside game. Thiare (#4) had some solid minutes as point guard to give Sendy (#6) a breather. We kept score but we did not have refs. After 4 quarters we were within a few points, which is good sign! Tomorrow and Thursday we will play exhibition games with refs.

The gym where we are training this week

Outside the training center

We are eating and practicing at Arena Olimpica. The food is AWESOME! The meat is very flavorful and the veggies are crisp. Fresh squeezed orange juice and is made for us each meal. There are 4 meals a day here: breakfast, lunch, tea time, and dinner. Breakfast and tea time have identical food, mainly consisting of bread, cheese, and ham!

Fresh veggies, chicken, and pasta for lunch/dinner

Every culture has it's superstitions, and one I've learned from my teammates is not to hand the salt to someone, but rather set it on the table and then have the person you are passing it to pick it up.

Breakfast & tea time: Bread, cheese, ham, apples, bananas, orange juice, and coffee.

São Sebastião do Paraíso

So where are we in Brazil? About 5 hours straight north of Sao Paolo in a town of ~65,000 people called São Sebastião do Paraíso. According to Wikipedia, "The city and surrounding area are famous for the growing of high-quality coffee" and "it also ranks high in the country for its quality of life." When we arrived the first night we were told it was perfectly safe to wander the town--I was surprised! But it does seem safe and peaceful here.

Where we are in Brazil. Though it looks close to the ocean, we are 5 hours away!

Oddly enough, it's the same time as is was Chile. However there's light much earlier, which makes getting up a lot easier! The sun comes up here at about 6:45am, and sets at 6pm. We are also much farther north/closer to the equator, so right now that means more total sunlight during the day.

Getting to Know the Town

Stop lights and crosswalks have countdowns for green and red lights

Cool public phone

Lots of different fruits and veggies that we don't have in the US!

Main church in town

Inside the church

We found some acai sorbet/ice cream and added lots of fresh toppings. The acai berry is an inch-long, reddish-purple fruit that comes from the acai palm tree, which is native to Central and South America.

Angella and I went to check out a neat cave and waterfall

Gruta e Cachoeira do Itambe

"When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur...seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens--and when it happens, it lasts."
-John Wooden

Until Next Time Chile!

Hasta Luego Chile!

Time here has flown, I can't believe it's already time to head to Brazil and Canada! Though I'm so excited for the next few weeks (and to be in Brazil for the first time in my life), I am going to miss Chile, and I don't know when I'll be back. I'm going to miss being with friends and family I don't see often (and being taken out to eat at fantastic restaurants haha!). I'm going to miss our fans and the awesome support! I'm going to miss empanadas and raspberry juice!! I will carry the memories and people of this place in my heart as we go represent in Canada.

At many red lights young people attempt to entertain traffic in various ways,
hoping to make some $. Some are pretty talented!

A young couple dressed up and danced "La Cueca," the traditional
dance of Chile, outside the training center

The Olympic pool and stadium at the training center

They take pregnant parking/seating/lines here seriously! This is parking at a mall.
No, I'm not giving any hints, it just stands out as something different from the US :)
And though it might look the the English word for "embarrassed," embarazada is the Spanish word for pregnant.

Team Changes Heading to Canada

We have a couple changes in the 12 players that are heading to Canada from the 12 we had in Miami: Isabel and Nisse won't be able to go, so Jenifer Fuentes Carrasco and Thiare Garcia Gutierrez are coming. Jenifer is 19, has been on the national team for 5 years, and plays forward. Thiare is 15 years old, has been on the national team for a couple years, and plays point guard.

#11 Jenifer Fuentes Carrasco, Forward

#4 Thiare Garcia Gutierrez, Point Guard

Video and Pictures From Our 4th Game in Valparaiso 

Highlights from the game in Valparaiso

Team in Valparaiso. We weren't told the photo was being taken, so this pic is a little candid!

Exhibition Games 3 and 4 vs. Ecuador

Game 3 in Talca

We took some solid strides forward as a team in Game 3, as we won 59-43. We played aggressive defense that forced tough shots and lead to turnovers by Ecuador. Barbara, Cata, and Ziomara dished out some great passes for easy layups. We don't keep stats in these games, but I'd guess this game had the most team assists. The fans chanted and cheered, which gave the game an upbeat feel. The gym wasn't very big, but it was mostly full with several hundred people. It's always fun to play in a small gym that's packed and loud! After the game, it felt like most everyone in the gym came up and asked for a photo and/or an autograph (this also happened after our first game in San Fernando and our last game in Valparaiso). Many asked for "selfies." Some of the younger fans said "Eres seca para jugar," which directly translates as "you are dry to play" but it's their way of saying you're a good player. Overall, playing in the south was a great experience! Below is a video from a news crew in Talca that interviews me, Ziomara, Cata, and Barbara.

Team dinner after our 59-43 win in Talca

Game 4 in Valparaiso, 4-0 in Chile!

We won our final game in Chile by about 10 points in Valparaiso. We started out strong and at one point had a 20 point lead, but then we had some inconsistency. Ziomara had a great game and carried us in the second half of the game! The gym was about half full with a couple hundred fans, partially because it's winter break for the schools here and families are on vacation! 

We won all 4 of our games in Chile here vs Ecuador, which is a good building block. We have a tougher road ahead with the teams in our group in Canada. Playing against Brazil next week (we leave Saturday) will be a good test and opportunity to refine us even more!

Fortin Prat Gymnasium in Valparaiso (kids game before our game)

When the outlet is far from the floor and there's no place to set your cell phone, you get creative

Post-game dinner in Valparaiso

Very typical Chilean lunch/dinner: Chicken, rice, veggies, bread, and juice!

You know it's cold when you use your practice gear as a scarf and hat lol!
Our home gym in Santiago was super cold before our game!

Ziomara and others were bundled up for shoot around

Bus ride before our first game with Ecuador

Angella, Dafne, and Pancha

National anthem before the game in San Fernando

With great friends, Pito and Veronica Justiniano

Eating empanadas...my FAVORITE!!

I went to see the University of Chile play against Curico at the national stadium. Fans chanted the ENTIRE game,
and some had fireworks too! #Nuts

View from my floor of CAR. The building on the left is where we lift weights/train

Entrance to the athlete residence at CAR

View of the Andes in front of CAR

Thank you Dave Moross and Vicki Vaughan for the article in the Cheyenne Edition newspaper!