Aug. 13, 2004
The Notre Dame women’s soccer team has logged a few days on its preseason training trip to Brazil but there are plenty of stories to pass along. Two members of the senior class who seemingly have been inseparable for the past four years – Mary Boland and Gudrun Gunnarsdottir – fittingly were selected as the authors for the second installment of Letters From Brazil but they were joined at the hotel lobby computer by sophomores Jill Krivacek and Jen Buczkowski to provide a truly collaborative effort. Letters From Brazil – Entry #2 (Mary Boland, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, Jill Krivacek, Jen Buczkowski)
Three of the authors of today’s Letter From Brazil – (from right, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, Mary Boland and Jill Krivacek – wait near the computer (they are joined by Miranda Ford, far left, and Kate Tulisiak at the keyboard.
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Greetings! These last couple of days have been really WILD! Yesterday, we finally got to play the game we “signed up” for … Though it took a little time to get the jetlag out of our legs, both of our teams played well and earned respectable results. The first game finished in a mind-boggling way, with the home town hero (a.k.a. the ref) rewarding a free-of-charge PK, which tied the game at 1-1. The second game starred “Big Bad” (Becky Tweneboah) pummeling a defender and bootin’ the ball into the back of the net with her left peg! Shout out to “her!” At this moment, we would like to take some time to thank Doc Leary for the yummy cookies and Pepsi, we won’t inform him that the “local” sitting near us made a hand gesture representing in America what we call vomiting. It was a great day at the pitch!
Gudrun Gunnarsdottir helped lead the tight defensive effort in the 1-1 game vs. Santana Una.
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After the game, we headed to a “barnyard” where they cooked up all types of animals, serving these animals fashionably upon sticks and delivering them right to our seats. Other than our Brazilian teammate, “shady” Shaner, none of us speak Portuguese. The most popular word used by the meat slicers was “corazon,” which in Spanish translates to heart. After Kimmy (Lorenzen) already had eaten seven of these corazons, we learned that there were lots of chickens grazing Brazil heartless! Jill would like us to mention the desserts. She says, “Mmm… i like it like that!” in reference to the deserts she put on sticks. We ended the evening with a late-night swim in ice-cold swimming pool to recover from our WILD day!
Mary Boland in action vs. Santana Una.
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Moving on to today (Friday) … Though there was a bit confusion as to what time we were to wake up this morning, the day started with toast, mu mu jelly and training. As a sidenote, Gunna would like to mention that mu mu is referring to the sound that cows make … what we Americans know as moo moo. Training went really well … shout out to “her!” And we are ready for our games tomorrow, as we are reminded by our coach Alvin, “THIS IS BATTLE!!”
Dawn Greathouse appears to be discussing proper puppy-holding technique with Nikki Westfall (left) and Erika Bohn.
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After training, a good lunch, and some quality roasting (on a stick, like everything else in Brazil), our team headed out to a stadium to do some shopping at a Brazilian “small” mall. Some popular purchases included: Brazil jerseys, some styling zebra-striped high-heeled shoes and matching sac (shout out to HaLA, a.k.a Sarah Halpenny), a Siberian tigre hat (shout out to Roch, a.k.a. Molly Iarocci), and Dawn was caught with four puppies in her goalkeeper gloves … unfortunately, she and the pups are MIA. On the way to dinner this evening, Melissa Tancredi (you may know her as “Canada”), led us in “special” camp songs … We learned about the moose who liked to drink a lot of juice and the man of the sea who liked to bop, hoist, and mop, rather quickly.
It’s already been a memorable trip for Becky Tweneboah (far right), who scored in the 1-0 win over Motorola before enjoying Melissa Tancredi’s world-famous busride entertainment.
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Dinner tonight … mmm! We ate at a Brazilian take on an Italian restaurant, where we got to try a variety of different types of food. The Waldrums enjoyed their meal. Shout out to the faculty! Bambi and sister nibbled on Pizza made with goat cheese … note to selves … NEVER EAT AGAIN! The biggest cheers were received by the meatballs … Shout out to the meatball man! Although, we discovered, the meatballs oozed once sliced upon … gross!!! Desert … ice cream … fabulous. Due only to the fact that there is only one computer in Brazil and an incredibly long line exists … it is time for us to say goodbye … tear tear … Holler to the Gunnarsdottirs, the Krivaceks, the Buczkowskis, and the Bolands (and ROCKY! I miss you pup!) And of course a shout out to “her!” Please say a little prayer for Dawn and her pups, that they find their way back to Campinas. Love, Hugs, and Kisses … And, most importantly, smooches, Gunna, Rudy, Sister, and Bambi “BM”