DAY 12: 9 August 2009

Hello Iowa!

This morning the boys traveled by bus outside of Belo Horizonte to play Club America, our last game of the trip.  Club America’s is a lower division club than Atletico and Cruzeiro in terms of facilities and resources but a quality opponent nonetheless.  Club America assembled a very strong team that included a few 93 birth year players.  We came out on the short end, 7-0. 

We traveled back to the city center to take in Belo Horizonte’s large outdoor market, which occurs each Sunday morning and is a well-known city attraction. The boys made a few last purchases and then met at an open-air pizza restaurant for another good local meal.  The pizza is served by the slice from waiters who travel around the tables offering various types of pizza slices during the meal, with pizza toppings and combinations not typically found at home.  After the meal, we returned to the SESC grounds for the afternoon where the boys swam, played more peteca and relaxed in their rooms.  We traveled to a local mall for our evening meal and any last minute shopping. 

Our official activities ended this evening with a wrap-up group meeting led by Ian Bradley with comments by Ian about various aspects of the trip including the teams’ good overall performance on and off the field, a reminder of the lessons and education that the boys should draw from the trip, and an opportunity for each of the boys to comment on their most memorable moments from the trip.  The meeting was a good ending to an excellent tour.  

Tomorrow morning we pack up and head to the airport by noon. 

– Submitted by Brian Bergstrom