The Case Western Reserve men’s basketball team is in Brazil, and blogging about the experience as well. Brian Curth writes:
Our third full day of the Brazil trip provided a long day as we drove from Guaraja to Rio. The drive provided many eye-opening views as we neared Rio and drove through the slums or favelas throughout the city.
As someone who lived internationally before in Tokyo, Japan, I often feel I have a good perspective on foreign places and different cultures. However, what we saw today was like nothing I’d ever seen before and really put things into perspective for me and how fortunate I am to live in the United States and all the rights and privileges I have there. The amount of poverty and poor living conditions that thousands of people have to suffer through everyday really makes you count your blessings.
After we drove through these conditions and got closer to our hotel is when we saw the beach and the waves. The waves here seem significantly bigger and more powerful than those in Guaraja. Pat, our tour guide, warned us that it is extremely dangerous to go further than waist deep as the pull out to sea is quite strong. Once we reached the hotel we had a little bit of time until dinner and were able to walk around a little bit and shop in a market area with small booths aimed at tourists with various T-shirts and souvenirs.
After we finished shopping it was time for dinner, which was one of the best meals I think I’ve ever had. We were fortunate enough to dine in an upscale Brazilian steakhouse, which was all you can eat. As a team, myself included, we indulged to the fullest and tried various different types of steak and meat. We ate for quite a while until we could barely move, because it was so delicious. The different flavors and seasonings on the steak were plentiful and there was never a dull moment as the chefs continued to bring new cuts. As somewhat of a picky eater I decided to get a little bit adventurous and even tried a frog’s heart, which was certainly a different taste, but good nonetheless.
Along with the meats there was also a plethora of different side dishes to complement the different steaks. Fried bananas seemed to be a crowd favorite among our guys. Once we finally finished the chefs invited us back into their kitchen to see all the different steaks and cuts and how they were prepared.
Overall, for mostly a travel day today and no basketball, there was by no means a lack of activities as we arrived in Rio and continue our adventure in Brazil.