Day 1 - Maria Leahy
Hello United States! My home in Oxford seems so far way, which makes sense because we spent about eleven hours in the air. Our flight from Dayton to Washington, D.C. went very well. Our taller girls had to duck while walking to their seats because the plane was so small, but we arrived safe and sound. The plane to Sao Paulo was the largest and nicest I had ever seen! There were TV screens for each passenger, we were served two nice meals, and the seats were about as spacious as you could ask for considering we were on a nine-hour international flight. I would have to say the hardest part about our flight last night was how hard it was to fall asleep, but we made up for that on Wednesday.
On our arrival to the Sao Paulo International Airport, security was tight. The Pope was scheduled to arrive later that day! Unfortunately, we never caught sight of him but he did travel the same streets we did as we began our tour of "Brasil belo" which in Portuguese means "beautiful Brazil."
Our tour guide, Rosa Maria, taught us some important Portuguese words. I learned that "banheiro" means bathroom and "real" means money. I never asked Rosa Maria how to say, "This is the biggest, most comfortable bus we have ever traveled on!" but that seemed to be the team consensus. She took us out of the airport and to through the highways of Brazil. I wish I could say we learned a lot from Rosa Maria, but every girl on the team fell asleep on the bus as soon as it took off.
Our first official stop in Sao Paulo was lunch. For anyone that knows our team, food is our favorite part of the trip and today's lunch was no exception. It was a pleasant, barbeque "restaurante." It's very different from how we order back home: they bring all the meat entrées to each table, you tell them how large or small of a portion you would like, and then help yourself to whatever is out at the salad bar. Our team tried all sorts of new foods like fried bananas, baked mozzarella, chicken heart, and coconut water. The desserts were also exceptionally delicious-lots of chocolate and strawberries.
Our full stomachs told us it was time for another power-nap. All twelve girls fell asleep on the bus again until we arrived at the hotel in Campinas an hour away from Sao Paulo. The hotels are also different from what we are used to in the United States: you have to open the door to get on the elevators, all the signs are in Portuguese, the TV programs are in Portuguese, and the when you flush the toilet the water spins the other way (just kidding).
After one more nap at the hotel, our team was ready to go out and see Brazil as we went out for dinner! Our first stop-the mall of course! We ate at the food court: some girls had Chinese and the rest had Pizza Hut (we really expanded our horizons at this meal). We saw a McDonalds, but I thought it was a lot nicer than the chains found in the US. I thought it was really cool to see the different fashion trends that are popular among Brazilian culture. As we loaded on to the bus one last time, with new clothes and lots of bottled water, we wrapped up our day with a few volleyball announcements. The city is bright and lively. I cannot wait to experience everything about Sao Paulo next week! I wish everyone could experience this with us. For everyone who so generously donated so our team could have such a wonderful trip, we truly appreciate it! You have made this international exploration possible and we cannot say "obrigada" or thank you enough!
- Maria Leahy #2
