Augie: Looking for some home cookin’

HuddleThe Augustana basketball teams are in Brazil this week and are blogging on the trip. Ben Ryan 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 early for us with a bus trip to Rio de Janeiro. Along the way we made two stops, the first was to get paperwork that we needed and the second was our lunch. At lunch we had different places to choose to eat but most of us choose to eat at McDonald’s.

After loading back on the bus we started the part of the trip that was most scenic; going through a beautiful mountain range that led up to the city. We drove through the city to get to our hotel, which sits across the road from the first beach and ocean that a few of us have ever seen. The view from the rooms show the beautiful Copacabana Beach and Atlantic Ocean that stretches as far as the eye can see.

After unpacking we made our way to the beach which was packed full of suntanners, volleyball courts and soccer fields. The most impressive sport that was being played on the beach was a mix between the two sports and that was volleyball without using your hands. The beach is also lined with vendors and restaurants for those who work up an appetite on the beach.

After the beach we were free to explore the part of the city by the hotel. It was full of shops of all kinds and restaurants.
Judging by the man following us chanting USA! USA! for a block we stand out as Americans. It is amazing to see how much is going on in this city at all hours of the day.

Augie: Brazil’s Olympic Village

GoofyThe 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. Mark Roth is blogging for the men’s team.

Today is a day that will definitely be remembered as a highlight of this trip.

After being able to sleep in a little bit, the team got to go to what the Brazilians call an Olympic Village. These complexes are in areas of Rio that are very poverty-stricken. The people from these neighborhoods, called favelas, go to the Olympic Villages to get exercise, socialize, and have the opportunity to participate in other recreational activities.

The complex offers many different sports including karate, ballet, soccer, volleyball, swimming and basketball. When we first arrived we got to see the soccer field and then went into a building where a lot of younger kids were participating in ballet and karate. We got the pleasure of seeing them play and enjoy while also being able to join in ourselves.

After playing with the young kids, we went to an outdoor basketball complex. The court was surrounded by stairs and if anyone had been an onlooker, you would have thought celebrities walked into the building. The kids cheered and clapped as if they were meeting famous people.

And the appreciation didn’t stop there. They wanted to watch us play, so we played 5 on 5 for a while and then we were able to play against some of their teams. They even gave us jerseys to play in and keep. We will be returning the favor when we return home and will be sending them T-shirts. These kids are very poor, so this was probably the only time they will ever get to interact and see Americans. It was a pretty humbling experience to say the least.

Because we all wanted to get an opportunity to play against the local teams at the village, we would sub in and out often. But while not playing, we definitely weren’t bored. Many of us were bombarded by children asking us questions and trying to learn English. So many wanted our Facebook names and many of us already have friend requests waiting. Others wanted us to sign their arms, or shirts, or whatever they had with them. It was so cute to see the little kids come up to each and every one of us and be truly excited and happy to see us.

Many little boys were asking Jessica Baids, Molly Etheridge, Natalie Tomerlin and many others for kisses. They especially loved the blonde hair of Jenna, Andrea McNally, Amy Hicks and me.

Valerie VanRoeyen, Marissa Pezzopane and Kayla Boers were always being asked for pictures and signatures along with Dominique Hartsfield, Maddie Kerr and Britt.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed being able to play against them and interact with them. It shows us what trips like this are truly for. As Coach Beinborn says a lot, it is really bigger than basketball, but through basketball we were able to bring smiles and joy to children who probably don’t get to experience the best things in life. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience here in Brazil and I can honestly say that it will be hard to top the fun, joy, and experience that I had today. It truly was amazing.

After the Olympic Village we returned to the hotel and went to dinner at a restaurant down the street from our hotel. We ate typical Brazilian cuisine. It consisted of a prepared fish not even on the menu (our guide Joseph hooked us up) and a cut of beef that is not even sold in the US. For many of us it was the best meal that we’ve eaten yet. It’s only been 4 days and we are already having the time of our lives. We can’t wait to see what else we can find in Brazil.

Tomorrow we are off to visit the Christ the Redeemer statue in Corcovado and tomorrow night we will be going to Lapa with our guides to see what typical Brazilian nightlife really is. To say we are excited is definitely an understatement.

Augie: A loss, but a learning experience

HuddleThe Augustana basketball teams are in Brazil this week and are blogging on the trip. Ben Ryan 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 we spend our last day in Jundiai. We ate breakfast as a team in the hotel. Then we had time to relax poolside and try not to get burnt in the hot winter morning sun or spend time in our rooms. Or we could take another adventurous trip to the market near the hotel.

Every trip to the market is a great experience to learn about the Brazilian culture from trying to communicate with the workers there by confused stares, hand signals and the narrow vocabulary of Portuguese we have learned (which for some just includes “obrigado” – “Thank you”).

We checked out of our hotel in the afternoon and drove from one side of São Paulo to the other which took two hours, which is about average to drive through the largest metropolitan area in the world that is home to 29 million people.

It is truly amazing to see how the people of São Paulo live.

Our third and last game in São Paulo was played in the Santo Andre sports club which housed a basketball and soccer stadium, it’s very easy to tell that these are the main sports and attractions here.

We lost hard fought game against the Santo Andre club team. With Nic and Kevin Schlitter not playing tonight we had some guys step up and contribute more.

We then traveled another two hours to Frango Assado, a restaurant chain that is attached to a roadside gas station. A local man helped us translate and order our food and in return we thanked him with an Augustana basketball T-shirt. After dinner we traveled a half-hour to São Jose dos Campos where we will rest up and leave for Rio de Janeiro in the morning.

Augie: Putting on a clinic

ClinicThe Augustana basketball teams are in Brazil this week and are blogging on the trip. Mark Roth 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.

Wednesday in Jundaia started out with a trip to the supermarket that was an eye opening experience for all of us. With no one there to translate we had to struggle through the checkout without Portuguese being spoken (at least by us).

After our trip we visited Scola Divinito Salvador School. A small private Christian school, we learned that they were famous for their women’s basketball program. We had a practice with their middle school aged girls and it was a huge success. The girls and coaches loved our ability to teach new things. After passing out t-shirts we went to leave and were swarmed for pictures and questions. Before Brandon Motzel knew it he had 15 new Facebook friend requests.

It was an incredible feeling to connect with these people. Basketball is truly an international language. We then drove two hours to Rio Claro and were met by men. We played a physical game and lost by one in overtime. We didn’t get the job done. No excuses we must get tougher.

Augie: A win, with a side of chaos

GoofyThe 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. Mark Roth is blogging for the men’s team.

Well we’ve done it again.

We have our second win of this Brazil trip and have just one more to go! Today’s game was by far a highlight of this trip.

While we played a normal game, even more fun came after the game where we split up Brazilian players and Augie players and played together on opposing teams so that we could play with each other and against each other. The language barrier provided a bit of an obstacle because we couldn’t run plays or most of the time even tell who was on our team, but that didn’t stop us from having fun.

We played more five on five for about five minutes, and then the Brazilian coach decided to have us play a 10 on 10 game where we couldn’t dribble. Then it became really confusing. Imagine 20 girls running around speaking different languages having different uniforms on and having no idea what exactly you should be doing or what others are telling you to do. It was a blast! Chaos of course, but a blast.

After the game we had more socializing time with everyone. We brought t-shirts to exchange with the players and they had brought some for us! Of course in true Brazilian fashion there were many photos and hugs to go along with the exchange, but it was fun to get to have a token from Brazil and to be able to leave something from Augustana there as well.

We’ve also decided that when we return to the Quad Cities, along with balls and nets we will be sending old jerseys and practice clothes for them to have and use. The women’s teams here do not have a lot of money. Their nets are worn and very old and they only have about six balls which are brought to the games in a garbage bag. We want to be able to share our things with them and allow them to continue basketball here in Brazil. Many of these girls are very good and some even end up getting recruited to play and study in the United States, so being able to help more of them is something that we’re happy to do.

along with balls and nets we will be sending old jerseys and practice clothes for them to have and use. The women’s teams here do not have a lot of money. Their nets are worn and very old and they only have about six balls which are brought to the games in a garbage bag. We want to be able to share our things with them and allow them to continue basketball here in Brazil.

For tonight we will be heading down to the beach to grab dinner, go shopping, and see whatever else there is to offer on the beach at night. Tomorrow we will go to the Olympic Village to meet some underprivileged children and be able to interact, play games, and have some fun with them while we are here.

Can’t wait for what else Brazil has to offer!