May 26, 2004
University of Illinois forward Tara Hurless is currently in Brazil with the U.S. Under-21 National team for a series of matches against international competition. On Sunday (May 23), the U.S. team beat Paulistana (a Brazilian club team) 4-0. Hurless scored a goal and assisted on another. Then on the 24th the U.S. beat a Brazilian All-Star team 3-0. Remaining games on the trip are against the Chinese U-21 National Team on May 28 and the Brazilian Olympic Team on May 29. Hurless will be sending back periodic "diary" updates of her experiences while on the trip - this is the second of those updates.
Monday - May 24
Today was a very nice day outside but we didn't get to lay out or anything because we didn't want to be tired for our game. I woke up the same time as usual and had breakfast, then I came down to the computer lab - well actually it is NOT really a lab because this office consists of ONE computer - but I wrote the journal till about 10 or so and then went back to bed. I don't know why I sleep so much here. Anyway, after lunch we just hung out 'til game time. We played the Brazilian All-Stars at 3:30 and won 3-0. No goals or assists but I played alright and was happy to get another win. After the game we came back to the hotel and had dinner. The Brazilian team is also staying here and they decided to put 10 girls in the elevator at once to ride up ONE FLOOR... they ended up getting stuck in there for an HOUR...it really isn't funny but it kind of was. We watched Sex and the City - I think episode 3, not sure though. Its a good show, I had never seen it before. After that Jo and I went to bed around midnight. Tomorrow we are going shopping...WOOOOHOOOOO! That's all the news I have for today.
Tuesday - May 25
Today I woke up at 8:30, checked some email, had breakfast and then we all were off to Sierra Negra for some shopping. Thinking that it was going to be a beautiful day out I wore a tank top and capris - well, of course it rained the whole time...errrr. :( But it definitely did NOT stop me from shopping. :) All the stores were pretty much the same...I really never have been shopping in this type of atmosphere. It was small shops side by side - I guess you could call it a strip mall. I didn't find much of anything that caught my eye, but I did get a leather jacket and a belt. Everything is really cheap here, so it was a steal. We had about 3 or so hours to shop and then we were headed back to the Oscar Inn to watch the Brazilian National Team play the All-Stars who we beat yesterday. The Brazilians were up 2-0 at half and we were allowed to leave once they were up 4-0, so shortly after half we were out of there. Like our usual routine we watched some Sex and the City and after we got bored of that we played an intense game of ping-pong. It was Jo and I vs. Tash (Natasha Kai) from Hawaii and Keeley (Dowling) from Tennessee. Let me tell you that match was SUPER INTENSE...best out of 5. It was tied 2-2 and guess who won? Jo and I! So the deal was whoever lost jumped in the outdoor pool in their clothes and had to go to everyone's room to say they lost. Thankfully we won because the water is freezing! It was SUPER FUNNY watching them do it though, I was dying...hahaha! :):):):) Ok, so Jo and I came back downstairs and played 1v1 and I realized that ping-pong is not my game. I definitely lost every game - probably like 10 or so...but whatever, it was a good confidence builder for her. ;) riiiiightttt.
Tomorrow we have practice at 10 and I think we are going to another shopping strip mall. Oh, let me tell you this...the stars are AMAZING here! I could honestly sit outside the entire night (if it wasn't raining) and look at 'em...so beautiful. Also, I was talking to my mom today and tried to explain the conditions of the fields that we play on. To put it nicely, they are not good at all! Picture this - a 120 by however wide soccer field that is full of a huge weed patch is basically what we play on. It's hard to describe the grass - it's very rough and you can pick it out of the ground, put it between your thumbs and make that whistle sound. There are also lots of ant hills randomly on the field...but it's all good, I'm not complaining. Ummm, that is pretty much everything that has gone on. I miss my friends and family lots!
EDITOR'S NOTE: Hurless will be a senior for the Fighting Illini next season. In 2003, she was named a second team All-American by the NSCAA after leading the Orange and Blue to a 16-4-2 record with 13 goals and four assists. She was a first team All-Big Ten selection and garnered Offensive MVP honors at the Big Ten Tournament after leading Illinois to its first conference tournament crown. She currently ranks second on the Illinois career goals and points lists heading into her senior campaign.
