May 29, 2006
Throughout their 12-day trip to Brazil, Illinois soccer players will update their voyage through the team's Brazil Blog on FightingIllini.com. Today, junior-to-be Kara Gostisha reports on the unique format of Illinois' third game against two different teams, plus the team's shopping escapades and an update on the local cuisine.
"Today is the eighth day of our lovely vacation, but it feels like the 18th. We have been doing so many things and the days have been really long, which is a good thing because we are having a lot of fun! We got to sleep in a bit longer this morning, which was amazing because we all needed the extra rest. We ate breakfast, boarded the bus and the parents returned from Igazu Falls early, so they joined us to go to the mall. We had just a little over an hour to shop before lunch, so everyone had to hurry to try and find the things that they wanted to buy. The mall was enormous; they had a lot of stores that carried athletic attire such as Brazil clothes and souvenirs.
"When it was 11:30, everyone met back up for lunch and we all shared our purchases with each other. Ella informed us of cheap Brazil clothing that she found in the supermarket, located in the mall. We all hurried to find it and bought shirts, jerseys, and bracelets (they had some great deals). Janet could barely carry all the things she bought.
"We ate lunch in the food court in the mall, but it is very different than eating in a food court back home. They did have Pizza Hut and Subway, but the most popular ones had buffet lines with Brazilian foods such as salads, rice and beans, and meats. We ate at one of those places; it was very good. We then boarded the bus again to drive an hour away to play our third game.
"On the way, Janet informed us that two different teams wanted to play us. We picked up one of the teams and gave them a ride to the field. They were all very nice and interested in us - they kept taking pictures of us, especially Charlotte. We played one team for 30 minutes, the other team for the next 30 minutes, and for the final 30 minutes we played a combination of the two teams. We won all three 30 minute periods and scored a total of 10 goals! At the end of the game, we met with the teams, took pictures, and had a dance party. Janet and Ella were showing them how Americans break it down!
"After we showered, we traveled an hour back to around where our hotel is located and had a steak dinner. It was pretty neat there was a buffet salad bar and they would come around to your table with different cuts of meat giving them to you if you asked for them. There were different steaks, ribs, and even chicken heart! I think we all tried the little chicken hearts; I will admit it was not the best tasting food and it had a very weird texture. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and I believe everyone was pretty exhausted from today's activities and went right to sleep."
-- Gus
