Category Archives: D-III overseas

Augie: A magnificent statue

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GroupThe Augustana basketball teams are in Brazil this week and are blogging on the trip. Tayvian Johnson is blogging for the men’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team.

Today was a day of breath-taking events. After an early rise we went to see one of the most photographed statues in the world, Monumento do Cristo Redentor or the Christ Statue. After a long wait in line and a card scan we were traveling up Corcovado mountain.

To get up the mountain we took a train and out of both sides of the window there were small glimpses of what would be one of the most amazing views we could ever ask for. When the train ride was over we had reached the monument and neither pictures nor the view from ground level do this amazing piece of art work justice. This was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen, standing 98 feet tall and a wingspan of 92 feet it was breath-taking to say the least. You could see everyone on our team light up as we finally reached the top of the stairs and looked up.

Along with the breath-taking view of the city of Rio de Janiero, the statue lit up faces from people of all nationalities and ages. It is a true spectacle when you can cross language barriers and see true enjoyment on people’s faces. Underneath the statue there was a chapel where I found teammates Brandon Motzel and Ben Ryan. Ben was putting in an offering and Brandon was praying.

Seeing that made me stop and realize how fortunate I was to be on this trip with such great people. I sat down said my prayer, took a few more pictures then we all started our trip back down the mountain. While waiting for our bus we saw two men playing a game that looked like a cross between badminton and handball. They we hitting a small ball with a tail in front of us and surprisingly hit it to me with no warning. I returned it to the men and one of the men started playing the game. It must have excited our whole team because we bought about 10 of them and will be bringing them back to the states.

After we got back to the hotel it was more giant waves on the beach. After we washed off and started gearing up for what would be the hardest game of the trip. We played C.R. Flamengo. Coach Giovanine had been telling us we need toughness to compete and we found that tonight. After being down four at half and down two with one and a half minutes to the best youth team in South America it was clear that our trip was a success from a basketball standpoint.

Although a few calls that didn’t go our way and some free throws ended up in a loss it was still a great game to play in and be a part of. Today might have been my favorite day and I know everyone on the trip had a blast.

Augie: Women sweep Brazil

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With their socks.The Augustana basketball teams are heading to Brazil this week and will be blogging on the trip. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Kevin Schlitter is blogging for the men’s team.

Well we’ve done it again!

We’ve managed to go undefeated here in Rio and had quite the time doing it. Today we played a game that was full of unselfish, team basketball. I think we can all say we’ve made huge strides while we’ve been here and it has been a great experience!

Yet again the girls we played were full of fun and welcomed us with open arms. Today, instead of exchanging shirts, many of the Brazilian players wanted our socks. Although many of us had just played in them and they were definitely smelly and sweaty, the Brazilian players wanted to give us jerseys for our socks because they can only buy white socks in Brazil and many of us had black or navy that we wore. It was a bit different and I won’t lie: I feel bad for giving them my socks because they were not something I should let anyone else touch, especially after a game. But, in good fun we exchanged laughs about the smell and sweat and they assured us that they were a wonderful gift!

Tonight we will head to a traditional Brazilian steakhouse where we will have quite the traditional meal and we will of course celebrate our three wins and the time we’ve spent here.

Tomorrow we will head to the beach bright and early to watch the sunrise and take in whatever we can of this wonderful city. I’m sure it will be another one of the great things that we get to experience while here. Then, tomorrow night we will head back to the United States. First, we will fly from Rio de Janeiro to Miami and then back to Chicago.

The time has flown, but it has been anything but wasted. We can’t be grateful enough for the opportunity we’ve had to come to Brazil and see some amazing things!

Augie: The view from up here

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GroupThe Augustana basketball teams are in Brazil this week and are blogging on the trip. Kevin Schlitter is blogging for the men’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team.

The day started overcast, but the views we saw made it seem like a bright day.

Sugar Loaf Mountains in two words is “simply breathtaking.” We started off zipping up the world famous cable cars that can be seen in James Bond’s movie Moonraker. The ride up was a little unsettling for most of us seeing how the cars swayed so much on a windy day.

Once we made it to the first mountain we were amazed with the views of the city of Rio de Janeiro and more importantly, the several beaches and mountains in the background.

But we weren’t done just yet.

Another cable car ride brought us even higher into the sky where it seemed like we could see for hundreds of miles. A great team picture at the top and then it was straight down on solid ground.

After the mountains we did a little shopping at the international market where they were selling everything from t-shirts to earrings to even ‘love sacks’. Hundreds of vendors flock the square right off Ipanema Beach every Sunday. A brisk windy walk back to our hotel and it was right back to the beach where there were the biggest waves I have ever seen in person. These waves had to be at least 15 feet high.

At first only a few brave souls wondered out to take on the beasts but as time passed more and more came in. Coach Giovanine’s wife was talking to us about how someone’s bathing suit was bound to come off with how strong the waves were. Sure enough, the words were barely out of her mouth and Ben Ryan’s bathing suit showed up right in front of me!!!

Dinner tonight was at a Churrascaria or Brazilian steak house which is famous down here. We ate and ate and kept on eating until we physically could not fit anymore. Later tonight we plan on heading down the beach to another local night market in search for souvenirs.

Tomorrow will be my favorite day when we visit Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer statue. We finish the night by playing a very tough C.R. Flamango team which beat Kansas State last summer.

Augie: Shopped, then dropped

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Shopping.The Augustana basketball teams are heading to Brazil this week and will be blogging on the trip. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Kevin Schlitter is blogging for the men’s team.

We’ve definitely shopped until we’ve dropped.

Today we spent our morning shopping at a little market in Ipanema, which is about a 45 minute walk from Copacabana, where we are staying. While we shopped and browsed throughout the morning, we even got to see some of the guys from the Augustana men’s basketball team. It was fun to get to see people we know in a place where not many speak English or know who you are. We exchanged waves and short conversations and then went about our day shopping.

Clearly we enjoyed the shopping a little bit more than the group of guys considering we were there for about three hours.

After getting a lot of souvenirs and fun gifts for ourselves, we made our way to a restaurant called Banana Jack, where we had lunch. It was a really cool burger place with a jungle theme. We ate there and then hailed cabs to give us rides back to the hotel.

For now we are going to relax and get off our feet so that we can prepare for our third and final game tomorrow here in Rio. We are setting out to get win number three on this trip!

Augie: Time to go shopping

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The girls. And Ipanema.The Augustana basketball teams are heading to Brazil this week and will be blogging on the trip. Chaney Tambling is blogging for the women’s team and you can catch their blog posts on the D3hoops.com Daily Dose. Kevin Schlitter is blogging for the men’s team.

Today’s our free day, so naturally we are going to the beach and going shopping!

Our guide, Joseph, and his wife, Roberta, are going to take us to the market at Ipanema, which is supposed to be one of the best and biggest markets in Rio. We are all hoping to get the last of our souvenirs and presents for everyone back home.

Then, we’ll do the typical beach day with fun in the sun and the waves. Hopefully it gets a little sunnier because it is looking a little gloomy outside right now. Tonight we’ll find a place for dinner and then tomorrow we’ll play our last game.

Our time is winding down in Rio and it’ll soon be time to leave, so we are looking to have the last of the fun that we can here before heading back to the States on Tuesday!