Torero Diaries

Coming from Brazil to the United States was a very difficult transition for me. I had to adapt to many changes in order to become comfortable living in a country very different than my own.
My first and largest obstacle to overcome was the language barrier. Upon arriving in the United States I could not say a complete sentence, and only knew words like “eat,” “pizza” and “hamburger.” Being able to communicate with my coaches, teammates and other people was very difficult in the beginning due to this. Most of the time we had to signal to one another in order to get our point across. I came from one of the largest cities in Brazil, called Recife, to a town in the state of Iowa. One thing I thought to myself was that there were a lot of cornfields in the state. However, it was not only the living and communication arrangements that I had to adapt to.
In Iowa I played basketball at a junior college, and I quickly realized the style of basketball in America was very different than how I used to play in Brazil. I thought I was in good shape when I arrived, but playing with my new team taught me that I was soon going to need to be in much better shape in order to be a successful player. I realized that the tempo of play was much quicker and players were more individualistic than I was accustomed to. However, I knew that I was in the right country to play basketball because in Brazil basketball is not as highly valued as it is here. Due to this, the facilities and organization are not as structured as they are in the United States.
I began playing basketball at age 12 but became more dedicated at the first high school I attended. There, for four years, I used to go to class every day praying that it would not rain so that I could practice after class. The court was outdoors, so if it was raining I was not able to practice. I was also very careful because the court was made of concrete, so falling or getting knocked down could result in an injury, which I always tried to avoid. Also, the backboard of the hoop was made of wood and would sometimes break when someone would dunk too hard.
One time, for about two months, I could only practice from half court because someone had broken the backboard and I had to wait for the school to fix it before I could use the entire court again.
Since the day I arrived in the United States I knew I made the right decision to pursue basketball and complete my education. I am now able to practice and play in excellent basketball facilities that I would never have been able to use in Brazil. I knew before coming here that the United States has the best basketball players in the world, but I am now able to better understand why that is. Basketball is one of the most practiced sports for Americans because young people here have access to great facilities and the dream of playing in high school, college and beyond is attainable.