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