Monthly Archives: August 2010

Augie in China: Pick and roll comes in handy

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Augustana senior Kyle Nelson and his teammates are in China. He will be blogging regularly on D3hoops.com about the team’s journey.

Currently at a comfortable cruising altitude of 32,000 feet, I think back about what we saw on our last day in China. Our final day was dominated by a seven hour trip to the Great Wall. We boarded the bus and took the two hour drive from our hotel to the far outreaches of Beijing where the Mutainyu section of the Great Wall is. This part was built over 600 years ago during the Ming Dynasty.  Driving up we were able to catch glimpses of it on the tops of the mountain range.

Once there we prepared ourselves for the long climb up more than one thousand stairs to finally reach the wall. We figured this hike would be some good training for the upcoming 2 mile. The hike took a while, but once it was done it was definitely worth it. The Great Wall was a sight to see. It seemed to go on forever. Just walking around on it gave you a great sense of pride just for being up there. We were on the Wall for at least an hour and a half, snapping photos and just looking out onto the mountain range.

After spending time up there we took the cable cars down and got ready to eat our final Chinese meal as a team. By now we were pretty used to the food served at these places; baked fish, eggplant, cabbage, pineapple chicken, spicy beef and egg drop soup. However, that doesn’t mean that were not thinking about having some good American food once we get back home.

Our last stop was at two of the largest markets we saw during the whole trip. They were the Pearl Market and the Silk Market; both located in downtown Beijing. These markets we essentially like the department stores we are used to, as they were indoors and were either four or five stories tall. But we were still able to barter with the salespeople at these places. The Pearl market was most obviously known for its extensive pearl vendors and the Silk Market, you guessed it, had practically a whole floor dedicated to silk materials. The popular items continued to be watches, scrolls, and souvenirs, but bootlegged DVDs made their first appearance in a market this trip and were a popular purchase.

We have quite a bit of time to kill on this flight to Tokyo, Japan (about three hours), and I’m sitting next to Bryant Voiles. Here are his thoughts thus far about the trip:

Thus far China has been an incredible experience individually and as a team. Not only have we been able to bond as a team at some of the most influential places in Chinese history and one of the seven wonders of the world, but also places such as the markets, hotels, dinners and night life. For example, in Beijing the silk market had some very determined people wanting to sell their items. On more than one occasion, they would corner someone in their store and block them from exiting until they bought an item. Being the skilled basketball players we are we managed to effectively use the pick and roll on the salesman so that we were able to leave the store.  The person not being blocked in the store would walk up unknowingly behind the salesman and set a back screen, then the person being cornered would run the salesman right into the screen being set free of the trap and both people would then jog away as the relentless salesman yelled at us to come back. I entered this trip with an open perspective on the culture that I was about to embrace anticipating major differences. Looking back I realize that I have earned a greater appreciation for my own culture and even the little things in life that are sometimes taken for granted such as a toilet seat and clean water that can be drunk from the tap.  
Bryant Voiles ( Senior Co Captain)

Kyle Nelson

Case in Brazil: Rio de Janeiro

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The Case Western Reserve men’s basketball team is in Brazil, and blogging about the experience as well. Colin Mulholland writes:

Today began with a 6:40 a.m. wake up call and was followed by a 7 a.m. sprint workout on the beach. As delightful as a beach workout may seem, think twice about running sprints in quick sand. During our workout and in between gasping for air, we witnessed several kids in wet suits riding humongous waves. The locals made the boogie boarding look easy … little did we know.

After the workout, we showered, ate, and made our way to the Christ the Redeemer statue. A brief tour of the city in route to the train stop which all seemed like common procedure; however, if you ask Kevin Carduff, he may tell you otherwise. Kevin spent the majority of the train ride with his head between his legs due to a tremendous fear of heights. He battled and was able to say that he saw one of the modern era seven wonders of the world. From the platforms, we were able to view the entire city. One of the key landmarks was a soccer stadium, which hosted the 1950 World Cup.

After the statue, we were given some time to spend in the hippie market or try our hand at bogey boarding. The cold temperatures and huge waves deterred most of the guys, from the ocean, but Bokan and I had decided to give it a shot. It turns out the other ten guys made the better decision. The current took us a couple hundred yards down the beach in a matter of minutes, and the only waves we caught were not by choice. We were thrown around for about ten minutes until “Scuba Sam,” the Brazilian life guard, in his manly Speedo and flippers decided it would be best if we got out of the water. We agreed.

Later in the afternoon, we were told that we would be in the stadium we saw earlier, amongst 60,000 crazy Brazilian fans watching a tournament game between the fifth seeded Internacionals and the first seeded, host Fluminense. The game ended with the local team from Rio, Fluminense, winning 3-0, but the real excitement was the fans. We were easily picked out in the crowd, but when we found out that screaming and jumping around was encouraged, we were just like everyone else. All in all, it was another incredible day in Brazil. We are headed towards Partay in the morning.

Behrend: Last game

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The Penn State-Behrend men’s basketball team is Brazil. Dom DiVito blogs:

After an early check out on Sunday morning we were off to play our last basketball game of the trip. When arriving to the gymnasium we knew we were in for a competitive game since the court was better kept than most in Brazil. The team we were facing was the best team we have faced thus far. We were extremely excited and ready for the challenge. The fans were surprisingly very loud and were very appreciative towards both teams.

Although we came up short in our game, it was a great learning experience for us and it will really help our team for our upcoming season.

Day 5

We received a shirt and postcards from the opposing team so we tried to make sure every player received some of our Behrend gear in return. It was tough to see a player from the other team wearing our jersey after he just scored 20 points against us … But that’s what it is all about. Russ (the big fella) got hooked up with a uniform that is big even on him.

After leaving the game we had a five hour bus ride to Paraty. During those five hours, most of us were in and out of sleep. If you couldn’t sleep you were lucky to see more beautiful mountains within the forest. Our highly skilled bus driver (Stocko) propelled us on the winding and dangerous roads without a concern in the world.

When arriving to the resort I was truly impressed with how nice the location was. There was a beautiful pool in the back with a river running behind the pool deck. If you are up early enough you can interact with the monkeys that jump from tree top to tree top over looking for bananas from the tourists.

The scenery in Paraty is a different experience from the other resorts we stayed at mostly because of the historical village. Little history lesson: Paraty was colonized by Portugal to be used to export the gold found deeper inland. The result is a beautiful village with stone roads and historical buildings at every corner.

Some of the buildings from the Historical Center were from the 1700s and the road remains the same as it was. Another unique intricacy about the village is that it is located at sea level. This means when the tide is high, some of roads in the historical village get washed with sea water.

I have been extremely impressed with the sites in Brazil and couldn’t expect more. Fernando told us that 90% of the wealth in Brazil is owned by 9% of the population. We have seen the eye opening poverty areas as well as the picturesque areas, and we appreciate the experience from both.

Augie in China: From now, just tourists

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Augustana senior Kyle Nelson and his teammates are in China. He will be blogging regularly on D3hoops.com about the team’s journey.

Our second day in Beijing marked the end of the basketball portion of our China tour. Our final game was an afternoon contest against the very talented Tsinghai (Ching-wah) University.

First, however, our team made the twenty minute ride from our hotel to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple ground was an ancient and sacred area for Chinese people. It was a large section of Beijing cut out for prayer, before the Temple became a tourist attraction. The Temple is 600 years old and contains multiple areas of prayer.

To get to the most recognizable Temple, the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest, we walked under a large covered walkway which had many Chinese locals playing games, sitting or dancing on the large squares that surrounded the walkway. Once by the temple it was a very impressive structure that was made entirely of wood. An interesting fact about the Temple that Dr. Moline, who has been superb as our educational liaison on this trip, pointed out was how everything was built in multiples of nine, because the number nine signified that it was imperial.

Outside the temple

After the Temple, our focus shifted to getting out of China on a winning note. We knew Tsinghai University was going to be a very good team and that they were coming to America later this year to play Washington University in St Louis, a team who we also play later this season. The game was very physical from the start and they made it clear that they could compete with us. In the end, our constant defensive pressure, ball movement and rebounding was too much for Tsinghai and we cruised to an 86-68 victory.

The end of the end of basketball in China is bittersweet. We had a great time competing this summer against some of the best China has to offer. From this point on we are in China just as tourists. Still left to see are Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. To finish China by seeing three of their most historical landmarks in going to be something special.

Kyle Nelson

In Brazil: Case’s day off

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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.