VARSITY ATHLETICS

August 13, 2007

THE JOURNEY DOWN SOUTH [AMERICA]

By Kevin Vick - Sophomore Center - Avon, OH (Avon HS)
Monday, August 13, 2007

The trip started out like all the previous trips, only this time we had an additional 10-hour flight. We gathered at the Veale Center around 1:30 p.m. as we lugged our bags to the bus loading zone. After checking some of the baggage weights we departed for Cleveland Hopkins Airport. Upon arrival, we herded into the terminal and checked our bags. There was a brief confusion as to the expiration date of our visas, but after much debate, August really did come after July.

We had a couple hours of waiting, in which many of the players could be seen delving into a good book. The flight from Cleveland to Newark was pretty uneventful. I was lucky to get my seat changed to one of the emergency exit rows, which provided a tolerable amount of leg room compared to the normal plane seat. After the brief hour-long flight to Newark, we were then forced to wait 30 minutes to taxi to our gate of destination.

We then had a three-hour break before our next departure. I bought a few slices of pizza, as well as a new book (The Golden Compass) to help pass the time on the long flight. As we waited to board the plane, we met our first Brazilian natives. We talked with a Sao Paulo mother who was in New York visiting her daughter. From her, we learned a little about the cities we were visiting, as well as the culture. When boarding time finally came, I was already looking forward to the moment when we get off 10 hours later.

Once everyone was situated and ready to go, we taxied out to our runway. Lucky for us, one of the passengers decided at this point that she didn’t feel like going to Brazil. We then had to endure the hour-long process of taking her back to the gate and finding her bag amongst the hundreds of other bags. After the long delay, we were treated to a second showing of the safety video and then we were on our way. Each seat was equipped with its own personal TV and remote along with several other TVs hanging above. With these TVs, we had access to 10 different channels, featuring Spiderman 3 and Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. We were also able to pass the time with classic games such as Bzzz the Bee and Caveman Crunch. We were treated to a three-course dinner shortly into the flight, including a lush green salad, your choice of roasted chicken or beef, pasta, and grilled vegetables, and a dinner roll and brownie to top it all off.

The majority of the passengers were able to fall asleep after this point, however, I was not as lucky. After many failed attempts, I helped pass the time by observing the overhead TVs, which continuously updated our position as we moved fractions of millimeters on the red dotted line from New York to Sao Paulo. After a successful hour nap, we were treated to a morning snack of a croissant and grape fruit. As I write this blog, we are currently only a half hour away from reaching our destination of Sao Paulo. I can’t wait to finally get off this plane…

Posted by: Creg Jantz August 13, 2007 03:18 PM | Category: Brazil

Posted by: cnj4 (Creg Jantz) August 13, 2007 03:18 PM | Comments (0) | Trackback