Visas

Hello everyone~

It's been a little bit since my last update so I sure hope I don't tell you something that I've already told you! This past week has been pretty basic, however, I did get my first chance to go see Milan and the classes at the fitness center are giving me a run for my money!

The trip to Milan was made specifically so that I could go to the Embassy and check in with them. Why did I go check in at the Italian Embassy when I am living in Switzerland, I don't know, I just do what I'm told. On the train ride to Milan I sat in a quad with my teammate Keisha, my assistant coach Giovanni and his wife Stephania. To our right was a couple who happened to speak english, so naturally Keisha and I gravitated towards them and talked about what brought them to Switzerland. I could tell right away that the woman was from somewhere in the South, her accent wasn't super thick but it was still there. Well, at the same time that I was thinking all of this in my head she looked at me and said, "Are you by chance from Minnesota?" Ha! I was totally shocked! I replied that yes, I was and is my accent THAT obvious? She said that just by listening to me say my O's, for example when I say No or Minnesota that she could tell right away! I was kind of depressed that I was pegged so quickly, but oh well, MN is a great place to be from!

Stefania and Giovanni, our speed walking tour guides.

Milan is a really neat city. For all of you who have been there you know what the Milan Cathedral looks like, absolutely breath taking. We were walking through this large building when all of a sudden my assistant coach reaches up and puts his hands over my eyes. I had no idea what he was doing and then we walked outside, turned a corner, and he unveiled me. As I stared up in awe at this incredibly magnificent building I understood why he wanted to surprise me. This cathedral is probably the most immaculate building that I have ever laid eyes upon, granted I have never been to see Rome, the Sistine Chapel and all of that, but this building was really something else. A woman in passing said that it took 250 or 350 years to build.

Duomo of Milan.

Another neat faucet about Milan is that it is known as the fashion capital of the world. Gucci, Armani, Chanel, you name it, they are all there. I saw some pretty interesting outfits and some high heels that I know would break my ankle if I ever attempted to walk in them.

Changing gears now and getting back to the fitness classes. Has anyone heard of the fitness program called Les Mills? In the Les Mills program there are a bunch of sub programs or classes. So far I have participated in Body Pump, Body Step, Body Balance, and just yesterday I suffered through Pump Attack. Ha, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit, I secretly enjoyed it, but it was definitely the hardest class I have done yet. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape and I was really impressed with all the other people in the class who were going as hard, if not harder than I was! During the class I had to try and tell the woman in-front of me to be careful not to slip in the LAKE that was quickly emerging from where I was standing!

As of right now there isn't too much else that is worth your precious time. We have our first press conference on Monday so I'll have to let you all know how that goes. I am curious to see if they will speak to me in Italian, expect me to try and answer back or how all of this will work. Well, I hope everyone has a great weekend! Go make use of that new bridge!!

Love, Leslie