My World Cup Experience

[Nash]

Hey guys, as many of you know I am off to Brazil 2014 Lucky bastard, I know! I've worked hard for this, including 3 jobs over the span of 8 months - I was determined to make it Helps having the support of family and friends and most definitely my partner - she's all for me going!

I've paused life for just under 2 month's to experience as much of Brazil as I can (I'll be spelling it Brasil in 7 days time ) and to talk as much football as possible with people of the same passion!

I fly out tonight, and I apologise for the rushed initial thread post, but I'll be in contact as often as I can

I will spread the Gospel of Josep!

(Will try and get pictures up as well)

[EdDog]

Have a blast mate and safe travels!

Soooo jelly.

[sevengoals]

Have a good trip and safe times.
Looking forward to reports from "Our man in Brazil".

Good luck and "Bon Voyage".

[Nash]

thanks guys!

here's a little something I wrote to my friends and family on Facebook..

5 years ago I made a decision, and tonight, after many hard months of work, I'm proud to begin this journey!

The reality has begun to kick in and the adrenaline is pumping. I’m going to a World Cup!! The biggest sports tournament in the world, being held in Brazil, a mecca for football… I just had to say it out loud lol

There are many shadows lurking over this tournament, but I am looking forward to the experience as a whole – from the lows to the highs. On and off the pitch (I just hope we at least score one goal lol. C’mon Super Tim! ..seriously).

I will be as safe as possible and take all precautions within my control to avoid trouble. Even though I am not anticipating any major hiccups, I am travelling knowing the dangers that could lie ahead.. but I love an adventure too much!

A quick comment in anticipation - I strongly support the causes behind the protests that will likely occur as many people of Brazil are not happy with their country’s situation – on way too many levels. The country will be on the world stage for 6 weeks, and they should rightfully take advantage of this opportunity. They should put pressure on their government to fix major issues of poverty, lack of opportunities and wealth distribution, which is just the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully the situation remains peaceful with no tragic dramas, but unfortunately there are many factors involved that will determine how it will play out, including the media and the military, so we’ll have to wait and see. I wish the protesters the best of luck and empathise with their desire for change. Power to the people.

Ok, Cow and I are ready to rock this! See you soon Mauricio and E-Z! I’ll be in touch Australia!

[Nash]

Cow is my travel buddy (currently in Peru, E-Z is in Indonesia but meeting us in Rio and Mauricio is my Brazilian friend - I'll get to him )

[shinAUFC]

I mean this in the nicest possible way......fark you!!! Lol

Seriously though keep this thread updated, pics vids , blogs ....anything enjoy and stay safe

[EdDog]

If Huge gets a game, pls try getting the "Eugene Galekovic, clap clap, clap clap clap" going.

[Stuckey]

Enjoy it mate! As Shin said fark you!

I hope it turns out to be the trip of a lifetime!

[Nash]

haha thanks lads!

have been in Rio for about 15 hours now.. can not sleep..

off early to the airport tho to start a travel day heading towards the Iguaçu Falls get there late at night, taking a trip to the actual falls the next day!

spent my first flight chatting with an older Greek man heading back for a visit. been in SA since 1962 so fully identifies as an Aussie through his thick accent still great guy! we chatted about the game in SA and world wide. he´s an ex Hellas fan who stopped supporting when they cahnged to West Adelaide lol.

fyi, gonna take away to get used to Brazilian keyboards! haha

i will get into details a bit more when i can, and get some photos happening (should open a flickr account huh? anything better out there to use?)

it´s pretty mental over here! reminds me a bit like Bali and/or Barcelona so far - can´t wait to get out of the big city tho! in my jet lagged state its been a big culture shock but i know i´ll settle in quickly. so far tho i´ve learnt that without basic Portugese you´ll struggle to get around Rio at least. will be interesting when the masses flood in soon! so much work going on around the place, lots of clean up work like re-painting bridges etc. The taxi driving here terrifies me somewhat lol, although i trust them!

If Huge gets a game, pls try getting the "Eugene Galekovic, clap clap, clap clap clap" going.

will definitely do! saw on my tickets that instruments are banned from games that sucks, i wanted to hear drums! stupid FIFA..

[Nash]

No photos to share yet as all I've really been doing is travelling so far. Which is great in its own right bcoz of the people you meet and the culture around you, but no snappy happy moments.

Had two flights yesterday to get out to Foz do Iguaçu We were going to check out the Falls but it's thunderstorms here today and we have 4 days to fit it in so going to postpone for nicer weather.

Met a CCM fan last night and chilled with him and my travel mate. It's not often I get to chat with other non-United A-League fans in the flesh so I was a little bit stoked lol. Bloke lives and works in Sydney now so travels to Gosford for match days. Didn't think about that being a reason for their poor crowds on a Friday, coz fans in Sydeny can't make it after work. I asked about Arnie, he said he was gutted when he heard he was linked to Sydney, and then was stoked it was Sydney in the end after he was linked to Newcastle before it fell through lol.

Ended up just chewing the fat, sinking beers and playing FIFA all night whilst avoiding the buckets of water dropping. Today may be very similar, except we're gonna go out on the hunt for some form of Brazilian BBQ for dinner

[sevengoals]

Enjoy the Churrasco Nash.

Enjoy it all!

[Nash]

Obligado!

[Nash]

Yesterday brought very heavy torrential rain all day, so we decided to postpone our trip out to the Falls. Instead we battled the weather and had a wander around Foz's CBD - stopping every 2/3 minutes for rest under shelter lol. Was good to get amongst some local people.

Ended up grabbing a late lunch/early dinner at a local eatery, and I do not understand how Brazilians eat such large portions of food! Cow and I (mostly Cow ) made solid dents in our food but there was no way any human could finish that I swear! We both ordered steak (Brazil's specialty!) which turned out to be 7 steaks between us - not to mention the sides!

But, I have to thank beef for getting me over my jet lag! We got home at 5pm in food comas, so I decided to take a nap and didn't wake up until 10 hours later! Haven't been able to manage much sleep at all since leaving home, so i'm very glad to have found an insomnia cure! Lol.

It's currently 3:20am here, so I'm going to sleep a bit more and hope that we wake to some better weather!

[EdDog]

Weather sounds similar to Radelaide at the moment!

Naive question - what season is it over there weather wise? Do they have wet/dry?

[sevengoals]