And of course, we had to have some kind of futebol experience while we were in Brazil. Unfortunately, the timing didn't quite work out for us to see a match while we were there, but we still got to see how much Brazilians love soccer.
(While I'm writing this, I can hear Ellie downstairs in quiet time, playing pretend with the animals and guys, with one saying emphatically to the other "Nao! Eu falo Portuguese!")
We visited the Museu de Futebol in São Paulo, inside one of their stadiums. While it was fun to learn more about Brazil's history with soccer and read/hear the interesting facts and fun details about the sport, it was really amazing to see the wonderful ways they displayed all of this information. Like an art gallery or design gallery with a soccer focus. It was really just super cool - I wish I had some pictures, but I probably couldn't have captured the cool-ness of it all anyway :)
Other futebol fun -
* This FIFA scandal came out while we were there, and for the rest of our trip, it was all over the news. Every time we walked through the hotel lobby, FIFA was the headline broadcasting on their lobby television, and every news station was covering the story. (I just thought this was interesting because if we'd been at home, we probably wouldn't have even noticed a news story like this)
* Jordan was amazed at the International night that all of the teachers and parents let the boys play soccer alongside all the activities. There was a mesh divider between their soccer field part of the gym and all of the dance/musical numbers and food, but several times the ball would fly over the divider, and someone would just pass it back so their game could continue.
* Our hotel balcony looked out across a rooftop soccer court across from us, and we often saw kids out playing and practicing there. Such a fun, unique sight!
