DRMF 2012 Soccer Exchange

Saturday, August 11, 2012

SANVINO ARRIVES IN JAPAN

The Sanvino team arrived safely in Japan. The group that connected through Seattle made it all the way to Arao as scheduled. The group that connected through Chicago had to spend an extra night in Tokyo because their luggage did not make it onto the flight. Hiro Nishimura, our friend in Arao and World Campus coordinator, relayed the team's thanks for a wonderful exchange.

We hope to see a picture of Riki and his monkey at home in Arao!!!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Day 10 - SANVINO BOARDS FLIGHTS TO JAPAN

Our dear Sanvino family has left for Japan. There were many tears, but we say "until we meet again." Our homes will always be open to these wonderful friends. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Many of us waited until the team got through security and went underground to catch the train to their gates. As of now, the flights to Chicago and Seattle have landed and the first leg of the trip is over. Good luck and safe travels, Sanvino.

Host family final photo

Power food!

Goodbye Friends

Waiting to wave goodbye.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Day 9 - Last Full Day

Story and pictures in progress . . . Check back later.

Newspaper Article

Check out the article by Kim Turner and published in Wednesday's Colorado Hometown News:

http://www.coloradohometownweekly.com/news/louisville/ci_21257487/boots-loan-lafayette-nonprofit-louisville-club-soccer-partner

Day 8 - Garden of the Gods & US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs

Sanvino got a little extra sleep this morning. We scheduled a 9am departure time to avoid traffic in Denver as we passed through on our way to Colorado Springs. Our first stop was Garden of the Gods. The park is a registered National Natural Landmark. It has 300ft (91m) sandstone rock formations. Although it was very hot when we arrived we made our way to the visitors center and took some great pictures with the rocks in the background. Then we hiked around the formations and were even able to see some rockclimbers high up on the rocks.

After lunch, we were off to the US Olympic Training Center. We had a tour around the grounds, saw many training areas and watched wrestling practice. There were many photo opportunities.

Hooray!

We finished the day with dinner at a "Mexican" restaurant. It's more like a funhouse for kids with a kitschy (some might say tacky) Mexican theme. It has cliffdivers and amusement games. The kids sure liked the prizes.

Onamae wa nan desu ka?

Day 7 - Host Family Dinners

After cooking and eating in the open air, Host Families treated Sanvino to a wholly different affair. Host family dinners were all held in family homes. Most everyone combined with other families to create another big (aka American) affair. I was priviledged to attend the traditional Thanksgiving meal hosted by the Turcotte family. Every November, Americans celebrateThanksgiving in millions of homes across the country. The centerpiece of the meal is a whole baked turkey. It is often accompanied by mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce and gravy. As the story is told, Native Americans helped the new arrivals to the country by providing the food. For us, all families contributed dishes. And our interpreters even brought some rice balls to round out the meal!