Joey Spano
West Virginia University College of Law, 2L
Thursday, August 7, 2009

Last Day in Vila Velha

What an eventful 48 hours! Not much more can be said to describe the last 48 hours in Villa Vella. It all started two days ago after dinner. Travis Righter, Matthew Stonestreet and I decided to head to the beach to play some futbol (Soccer). We had one mission: to play in a pickup game on the beach with the local Brazilians. We couldn’t speak much Portugese at all, but somehow managed to get on a team and play in the first match of the night. Five minutes later I was sucking for air. I had no idea how hard it is to play futbol in the sand. I also had no idea how good the locals could play. We lost a 15 minute game by the score of 2-0. But the real excitement started after the game. The locals boys were intrigued by us as we waited for the next game. They showed us all the tricks they could do with a soccer ball. I couldn’t do much but wasn’t about the be over-matched so I showed them all the tricks I could do using the soccer ball as a basketball. The atmosphere was amazing and the beach was thriving with life.

Guarapari Beach

The next mourning was our free day and we all met at the bus to head to a black sand beach at Guarapari. The only disappointment was the color of the beach. It was black in some spots, but not in others. Oh well, back to the sand futbol field. Ten of us from the group, including Carlos our UVV guide for the day, played a pickup game in the sand. The first thing I noticed was Americans are much slower and more clumsy than Brazilians, but no one else noticed as the competition was heating up. Professor Taylor scored the last goal on a great assist from myself as our team won 4-2. After so much futbol it was time for a rest.

The black sands of Guarapari

We soon vacated the beach for a kilo restaurant that consisted of many traditional Brazilians entrees. Once again I ate until I could barely stand up. One thing I cannot get enough off is Brazilian food. I have eaten more steak in the last 2 weeks that any one human can imagine?I AM NOT JOKING, I HAVE EATEN A LOT OF STEAK! The cuts of meat here are better tasting and much cheaper than in the U.S. The day was heading in the right direction, and would soon get better before it would abruptly turn for the worst (FOR ME).

Later that night we met at Shalom´s MTV CRIB (his house was that nice) to have a one hour discussion on race and then we were to head to the dance club. Professor Taylor led my discussion group and there was a very interesting discussion about the differences between Brazilian and American affirmative action. Thais, a UVV student, gave us much insight into why some Brazilians are disgruntled with their affirmative action plan. She explained that up to 50% of available seats in classes were reserved for minorities (mainly African Brazilians and Native Indians). This was very interesting because only 3% of college admissions are impacted by U.S. affirmative action. The discussion was very dramatic, but at the same time was also educational.

Next, we said our final goodbyes to our UVV family and by this I mean FAMILY. From our teachers to our guides to our hosts, we were treated as royalty for a week. I will never forget my experience in Vitoria. We then left for the dance club, San Fiminero. The music of choice was Brazilian and the club also served a delicious menu of sushi. All I can say about the dance club is too much dancing and too much fun. The party lasted long into the night?.which would lead to a big UH OH for me.

Our incredible Brasilian hosts and friends (Maga, Kalif, Caio, Victor, Carol, Tatiana, Tatiana and Thais)

Doomsday arrives. I woke up at 8:30 and had to be at the airport at 9:30, plenty of time right? Wrong! My ride to the airport arrived late and then the nightmare happened. There was a wreck in front of me on the bridge from Villa Vella to Vitoria. I was trapped and knew the flight would leave without me. Sure enough it did. Luckily my friends from UVV stayed and helped me through the ordeal. I am now sitting in the Vitoria airport getting ready to catch the next flight to Rio. I keep thinking, where would I be right now if it were not for the many friends I have met from UVV. Lost. But here I am getting ready to catch a flight only three hours after the original flight and all because of efforts of friends I only met five days ago. Like I said before, WE HAVE ALL BEEN TREATED LIKE ROYALTY AND WE ALL NOW HAVE A NEW FAMILY AT UVV!