So we’re back, and here are some of the things I remember from the trip:
The trip was long, partially due to a layover in Minneapolis. But, they have iPads in their restaurants!

I was told this isn’t too uncommon, especially in more metropolitan areas- but I have actually never been to Minnesota, so to me the state is comprised of farms and the Mall of America, so I was surprised when I saw their totally modern airport….And if anyone is from Minneapolis, I apologize for underestimating you and I’m sure your city is lovely. And your coffee is pretty good as well: although I was a little weirded out by all the fish options on the menu… anyway, moving on.
Jiu jitsu! And more jiu jitsu!

we had people fighting every day, which was great, but we also have a really close team that wants to root each other on and spend hours upon hours upon hours sitting in the Bren Event Center, which can be a little tiring after a while.

Our team did all right: we had a lot of first timers out at an IBJJF tournament, some won some medals, some didn’t. Some of the matches were pretty interesting, if you are crazy…er, committed enough to looking through all the footage of the tournament. The most notable one that comes to mind are the fact that MMA fighter Ben Henderson competed (at brown belt) and the black belt final between Buchecha* and Andre Galvao.
And I competed as well!

As I reported earlier, I lost my first match in my division, but due to a by (bye?) I was able to compete in the absolute. Which I also lost. Welp, just more stuff to work on for the next tournament. Speaking of which, any brown belt girls registered for the New York Open?…Anyone?
*Cricket*
And then….Go Karting!

And the Beach!

The Panorama turned out a little weird, but I didn’t want to spend all my time taking and re-taking photos while I was standing in warm, gorgeous weather just a few hours before I had to head back to the East Coast.
It was all fun and good times were had, but now it’s time to get back to work and get ready for the next tournament.
*for anyone who reads this and doesn’t do jiu jitsu: Buchecha is a nickname for black belt Marcus Almeida. On an adorable note, it’s a Portuguese nickname meaning cheek, because when he started jiu jitsu he was overweight and had chubby cheeks.