Planes, Trains and Automobiles Part II

July 10-11, 2008 � Washington, D.C. to Formosa, Argentina

Departing the hotel in DC around 3:45 p.m., the U.S. squad made a dinner stop at the Reston Town Center where they feasted on burgers and other delights at the just-opened American Tap Room. Happily sated, they hopped back on the bus and headed to Dulles. After checking in, maneuvering their way through the security line and finding more snacks at the airport, the flight was finally boarding.

Since none of the guys have �mileage� status, and it was a group ticket, nearly everyone was in the way back of the plane. However, a few lucky ones were able to get seats in Economy Plus � those five extra inches can make or break a marathon flight. One of the staffers swapped an extra five inches of leg room with Mason Plumlee and headed back to his seat in the back of the plane. Seeing a flight attendant helping out a family so they could all sit together with their young kids, the staffer approached and asked about moving more of the guys � especially the bigger ones � up to exit rows or at least Economy Plus. He more than obliged, thankfully it wasn�t a packed flight, and everyone was able to stretch out and snooze away on the trip down.

In fact, it wasn�t just the one attendant who was helpful, the entire flight crew was overly accommodating. One of the women was a huge college basketball fan, especially Duke, and had plenty of questions to ask of the staffers. Another gentleman wanted to know if there were any players from Kansas (yes, right there in 15C). They were so pleasant and continually commented about how polite and nice the USA team was, making us all very proud.

Arriving in Buenos Aires at about 9:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m.) EDT, we found that all the bags made the trip and after clearing customs headed out to a pair of short buses that would take us across town to Buenos Aires� second, more regional, airport.

�I�ve never been out of the country and I�ve never had to get on more than two planes,� commented Matt Humphrey, freshman-to-be at Oregon next fall. �Well, I�ve had connecting flights and things like that. But I�ve never had to get off one, get on a bus and drive far to another airport, get back on a plane and take another trip. That was almost like four different trips to get here.�

�Oh my gosh, I hate flying planes,� chimed in Kansas-bound Travis Releford. �The traveling, getting off the plane, driving, getting on another plane and driving again, it was a lot of traveling.

Since there were a few hours, the team took the opportunity to have some lunch. The meals on the plane somehow aren�t big enough to calm the appetite of big guys like these. Chowing down on pizza, ham and cheese sandwiches, burgers and other fare, the team realized that they weren�t going to go hungry in Argentina.

As usual, the typical questions were asked by first-time international travelers: is it really $43 for a sandwich? (no, that�s 43 Argentina pesos); do they take our money? (sometimes in airports, but generally you�ll need to exchange your money); why are there bubbles in this water? (people drink sparkling mineral water a lot more internationally than they do in the U.S. Look for �still� or �sin gas� on the bottle of water), and other such queries.

After about a 30-minute delay, the plane was boarding en route to Asuncion via Corrientes, our stop. At Corrientes everyone deplaned and waited in what was possibly the world�s smallest baggage claim area. The team was awed with the small regional airport (see the photo gallery), surrounded by fields, trees and some livestock � definitely different from what they see going through O�Hare or Newark or LAX. It was yet another new site for them to absorb during the extended travel day.

�It was interesting,� said New York native Kemba Walker.  �I never really traveled that long. I slept for most of the travel, but the plane ride was fun. I was with my teammates and I got to really get to know them better. I got to talk with them more, some of the guys I haven�t had a chance to talk to before, I had a chance to talk with them. Other than that the plane ride (to Argentina) it was pretty cool.�

We got outside to the bus � a plush double-decker with first class lounge chair seats and the players immediately took the seats in the front of the top deck. Featuring a windshield that was more like a bay window, it allowed everyone to see the countryside unfold before them. Miles and miles and miles of pastures with cows, goats, horses and every so often a large country home was spotted at the end of a dirt lane.

�I saw a lot of animals, a lot of cows and horses along the way (from Corrientes to Formosa), a lot of fences keeping in the cows and horses,� commented Humphrey, who doesn�t see that kind of landscape during his daily life in Chicago. �There were a bunch of dirt roads but other than that it was just land everywhere.�

Unfortunately the sights disappeared early. Because it�s winter here in the Southern Hemisphere the days are shorter and in this area of Argentina the sun dips below the horizon around 6:30 p.m. But the players continued to peer out the windows at the lights of the passing towns, watching the stars appear in the night sky and through it all spent a long time talking about the day�s adventures.

�We were all up in the front of the bus talking with each other, we�re our best company so that�s cool,� said Humphrey. �We�re still getting to know new people, adjusting to the way they live and things like that. We�re also adjusting here, which is okay.�

 ï¿½Two weeks ago most of us didn�t know who each other were,� said Releford. �Now we�re practicing against each other two times a day, hanging out with each other, eating with each other, spending most of our day with each other. We�re kind of getting to know each other really well. We�re getting comfortable with each other. We can talk about anything.�

Finally, about 8:00 p.m. on Friday night the bus pulled up to the hotel. Formosa is situated right on the Paraguay River, which separates Argentina from their Paraguayan neighbors. It is also the capital of the province that bears the same name and lives up to its translation of �beautiful� twist on the river.

Unfortunately it was too late to get a practice in so after checking in and eating, many of the players walked around town a little bit to stretch their legs and soon became fan favorites of the city�s youth. Followed around by kids and teens, the team was asked for autographs, photos and other various memorabilia.

�I�ve had a chance to see some new things,� said Walker. �How different it is in other countries. It was really interesting. I never really saw anything like it. It was really different to me. This is giving me a chance to see the way other people live.�

�We walked around the town last night and there were a bunch of little girls following us,� said Releford. �They couldn�t speak English so we were using hand gestures and stuff. Other guys knew a little Spanish so they were talking a little to them.�

Saturday brought sunshine and more of the same. The team is adored by the area�s kids and hopefully that will translate to a few fans in the stands � as long as the USA isn�t playing Argentina that is! 

�We�re here now, it�s not really what I expected, but it�s okay,� stated Humphrey. �The people are real friendly, especially the people we saw walking around last night, coming up and shaking your hands, asking for your t-shirts, jerseys, things like that.  But we need all that, we can�t give that away.�

During practice this afternoon the team also was able to get in about a 20-minute scrimmage with Mexico and then spent the remainder of the day exploring some more.

�As far as playing I think everything is coming together and whatnot,� said Humphrey. �We didn�t really get a good feel for the way the game�s going to be played in our scrimmage, we only played like a half today. Coach was subbing in and out real quick and stuff like that. Guys haven�t really gotten a good feel, but once we get going we�ll be alright.�

�We bonded a lot in Washington so we kind of knew each other on the way out here, but this gave us a chance to talk some more. It was kind of cool. It�s been a fun experience so far,� concluded Releford.