Day 12

As memorable as it was, the trip was finally coming to a close (with only a day of travel left). As I’m sure you have read in previous entries, many new relationships were formed during the course of this past week, hopefully ones that will last a lifetime. Thinking back, I realized just how much we had managed to accomplish, both on and off the court, in what seemed like such a short 11 days.

On the court, most of our time was devoted to training and playing matches against various Brazilian volleyball teams. We started off a little rusty, as we were learning to play together as a new team. In the end we came together and finished our tour on a high note, having won our last five sets! We also had the privilege of hosting three volleyball clinics. Although we did the same drills, each clinic had its own challenges and rewards. The children varied in age and skill, sometimes making the challenge of coaching them difficult, but that much more rewarding when they learned a skill. In only a few short hours, it was amazing to see how much we had impacted each other’s lives for the better. Not only were we teaching them how to play a game, but we were able to show them that hard work and determination can help them be successful in life. On a lighter note, we were not always the ones teaching. At all the clinics, there was a station where the kids had the chance to teach us a few things. We learned all sorts of new dances ranging from scandalous booty shaking to fight dancing (called Capoeira). All of which I’m sure will come in handy one day.

Off the court, we felt like all we did was eat, sleep and ride on the bus. However, that was not the case. We went on several excursions that resulted in many photo opportunities. Of course taking pictures was never as simple as one, two, three, CHEESE! As every time we posed, the coaches had to take billions of photos. The pictures that we have will be a lasting memento of the times that we spent at: the market (bartering with boob grabbing, bum smacking salesmen), the Christ statue, the Sugar loaf (a.k.a. Candy Mountain), various food parlors (pei dei to the cook) and lastly the beach in Rio. For most of us, visiting the beach was one of the more memorable days. We spent this day bronzing/ baking our b-e-a-utiful bodies in order to prove that we had been to Brazil. We were a little disappointed by the weather in Sao Paulo so by the time we got to Rio, many of the girls were prepared to take drastic measures in order to achieve a tan. To cool off, we went swimming in the ocean. Many of us got our rumps handed to us by the waves and we have the bruises to prove it. When we grew tired of being pummeled by the MASSIVE waves, we returned to the “ridiculously good looking”, soft, white sand and soaked up some more sun.

We want to thank all of the parents for giving us this opportunity, and would also like to thank Gelson and Christina for all of their hard work on this side of the trip. It is a trip that will never be forgotten. We LOVE YOU!!!!!!

P.S. This awesome entry was written by Myrte (a.k.a doo doo) Schon. I would like to holla at my family. I love you so much!!! See you soon.


Myrte Schon