Journey to the World Cup: Day 6
11am-12:30pm - Again, I had the pleasure of waking up to natural light and a gentle breeze. The four of us spent about an hour lounging around the apartment, listening to some nice music.
1-2:30pm - We took a cab to the Ipanema area, and ate lunch at a restaurant called "Garota de Ipanema." This place is famous for being the birthplace of the fantastic song "The Girl From Ipanema," and you could totally tell how entitled they were by their prices. Regardless, the food was quite good. Before we were even done with our meal, I left because I absolutely couldn't wait to go play soccer.
2:30-5:30pm - I played so much soccer that I think my calves are permanently bigger. Beach soccer is a serious workout. But it's amazing, and it was so beautiful to see people from every corner of the world playing peacefully together, an atmosphere only a World Cup could create.
8pm - After dinner and some hanging out (I had the best smoothie ever and we watched some crazily athletic people play soccer volleyball), we went back to the small restaurant one last time to visit our friends and give our final thanks. As I was absolutely flabbergasted to find out, one of the guys there - Nuny - had brought me a brand new, factory-sealed Manchester United shirt! Everyone in the place clapped when he gave it to me, and we had a mini photoshoot. Afterward, we hung out for another 10 or 15 minutes, then began saying our goodbyes. The town drunk was sad to see me go, but I don't think he actually remembered who I was...
Everyone at the restaurant asked me "Vai voltar?" ("Are you going to return?"), and I told them my life wouldn't be complete until I came back to Rio. Now I have another city in which to search for jobs after graduation!
A life-changing trip.
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