June 22, 2010

Hey everyone!

Today is my last day in Brazil. My plane leaves tonight at 7 p.m. and I get home tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning. I have had so much fun these last couple of days, we fit in so many things. And today we are even going to go the beach in Rio de Janeiro. I know it's been awhile since I have blogged, we have been so busy, so I am going to fill you in.

On Saturday, we got to explore the training center more. They have so much there besides nice gyms; Weight room, dining hall, and nice living quarters. We started with going to the beautiful beach that was right across from our place. On our way to the beach we walked around and saw many sand volleyball courts and a couple tennis courts. After the beach, we came back and went to an outdoor pool. We laid around there for a while. It just so happened that while we were at the training center there was a guy's team from the USA playing the guy's Junior National team. So, in the early afternoon we went to their game. When their game was done, it was time for us to play again. We all wanted to win because this was the first time that we had ever played a team for a second time. We all played so well together and we beat them in three games!

On Sunday, we played them one more time in the morning so that we could get on the road to Rio early. This game was a lot closer as both teams had picked up on the other team's tendencies. It went to five games and ended for us with a loss. We were disappointed about the end result, but looking back at all the games we played, we could not be disappointed. For a team that had only played together eight times, we were playing great against teams who had been playing together for a lot longer. On our way out, we traded jerseys with the team and thanked them for letting us stay there and play them. Then we were on our way to Rio. When we got to Rio, we went straight to a popular restaurant to watch the Brazilian soccer game. Again, everyone was dressed up in Brazil's colors.

On Monday, we got to do some tourist things. First, we went to see Christ the Redeemer, a huge statue that looks over the city and the bay. I was told that it is one of the seven wonders of the world. On the way up to the statue, we saw a spider monkey. It was so cute and it got about 10 feet away from us. When we got up to the top, it was so foggy that if you looked off the hill all you could see was white fog. Once it cleared for a moment, we could then see how high up we were. We could also see the city below and the bay. After that, we went to the soccer stadium in Rio, where the national team plays when they are here. It was huge and we were told that it seats 95,000 people. The stadium we saw is going to be the stage for the next World Cup and for future Olympics. There was an arena right next to it where the national team plays volleyball, which will also be used in the Olympics. After that, we went to the beach and some sat on the beach while others shopped in little shops. That night, because it was our last night, we went to a nicer restaurant and ate. We talked about our trip and everything we had done.

This whole trip has been really great. Thanks to everyone who helped me get here. I got to meet a lot of girls who play volleyball, ones from the U.S. and ones from Brazil. I also got to see some major sites in Brazil and learned about their culture. Thank you to those who have been reading my blogs. This is my last one as I am heading to the airport shortly. Thanks for your support and I hope you can make it to an NIU volleyball game in the fall!

Mary Kurisch

If you have any questions, comments or concerns for Mary, please e-mail Volleyball SID Zach Peters (zpeters2@niu.edu).