December 20th, 2008
I am going to start off this e-mail by telling you a little bit about something that occurred in the midsts of this past week. This past Wednesday, my team played in it’s second game of the Swiss Cup. A little background information on what the Swiss Cup is and what it means, in the words of my General Manager, Filippo,
“Swiss cup is another tournament we play, less games but almost the same importance, 'cause who wins the cup is allowed the next season to play Euro Cup as well as who wins the conference... we reached now the quarter finals (then eventually semifinal and final) so max 3 games to play.
We will play also another Cup called League Cup, but that is less important, even if is still a prize to win :-)”
Ok, now with that being said you all remember who we got absolutely pulverized by last weekend? Neuchatel. And how many points did they beat us by? Almost 60. Now, the team that we played this past Wednesday is a team by the name of Sierre. Sierre is also in our conference, and the first time that we played them we lost by about 20pts, however, at the moment Sierre is the best team in our conference. Yes, Sierre beat Neuchatel just a couple weekends ago. So, going into this game not many people had faith in our little Riva team, but all that doesn’t mean a thing, right? All that matters is that we have faith in ourselves, and that morning I woke up and told Keisha that for some strange reason I just had a good feeling about tonight’s game. Well, I probably just gave it away but on Wednesday night, Canti Riva Basket bolted out of the gates and never looked back. We took it to a very unsuspecting Sierre team, and showed them our pearly whites as they numbly exited our gym dreading their 5 hour bus ride home.
Now, there is one moment during the night’s events that stands out in my mind above all the rest, above the baskets scored, above the horrible calls, above the half time talk, and above the automated radio recording, chanting RIVA! RIVA!, that the Riva fans would blast during timeouts and dead balls. What was this memory searing experience that took place immediately after the final buzzer sounded and all of our teammates, coaches, president and vice president stormed the floor? Hands down, without a moments hesitation it consisted of me finding myself in a situation where I was holding a grown man in my arms.
Not only was he in my arms, but his feet were not on the floor, and he was covering my hot, sweaty, flushed cheeks with kisses of pure happiness, excitement, joy and pride. Who was this mystery man? None other than Willy Trimboli, our 5 foot tall vice president. He caught me totally off guard and with the way he was acting along with the rest of my team I would have thought that we just won the NCAA tournament! People here treat the Swiss Cup like it’s the chalice of ever lasting life from the movie Indiana Jones, and every step that brings us closer to actually holding it in our hands is a momentous occasion! Let me tell you though, bouncing back and knocking Sierre out of the Cup was a very, very nice feeling. Here is our VP, Willy and I on a hike in the beginning of the year. As you can see, I've got several inches on him.
Ok, now to scale back a few days in the week. On Monday there was another Mercatino de Natale (Christmas Market), but this time it took place in Chiasso just a couple blocks walk from my apartment. It’s always a pleasure to stroll up and down the walking streets and gaze at all the interesting knick-knacks, but even better is walking while sipping on hot vin brule, which is hot red wine.;) Of course everyone and their uncle was out walking with their dog, and the dogs were dressed to impress as well. People say that you are what you eat, or that pets often times resemble their owners, well that could not be more true. Each of these tiny little dogs was dressed in a very fashionable jacket, equipped with different types of colorful thread, pom pom balls and I even think I saw some sequins! Never a dull moment when people watching OR tiny dog watching.
Tuesday night was also a night in which I will forever remember. Cinthia’s Aunt, Onorina, had invited me to a Gospel Choir concert in Lugano and so I spent the night amongst a crowd of Swiss people while listening to Gospel music. The choir sang familiar songs like “This little light of mine” and “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” The choir even had all of us standing up, dancing and singing a few words. I was happier than a clam because it was the first time since I have been here that I was the one who got to translate what was being said.
One song in particular asked us to sing “Amen” over and over again. After the concert I asked Ono if the word Amen was the same in Italian and she responded, “yes, it means a man, or un uomo.” Now, after hearing her say this I was somewhat confused because un uomo in Italian means literally, A man. I proceeded to explain to her that “amen” is what many people say after saying a prayer. Immediately a look of recognition spread across her face and her and her husband, Roberto, and Cinthia all started laughing. “Well, that changes the whole meaning of the song, doesn’t it?!” We laughed about this for the whole drive home.
I also got a kick out of the woman standing next to me. For the majority of the evening the choir had all of us clapping to the beat. The entire audience would be clapping together and this one woman standing next to me would forever be clapping on the off beat! ha, I laughed silently to myself and continued to enjoy the concert.
Wednesday, before tasting our sweet victory over Sierre I was tasting delicious Christmas cookies! I joined Cinthia and her mom, Liliana, in Liliana’s kitchen where I helped make my first batch of Swiss cookies or should I say Biscotti. The three of us sat at the kitchen table and punched out quite a few christmas trees, bells, stars, mushrooms, bears and hearts, while the cheery music of Christmas danced in our ears.
I also made Christmas cookies of my own, American Christmas cookies! I brought quite a few of them to our game on Saturday and everyone was asking me what the colorful cream was that covered the cookie. I smiled and replied, “Frosting!” knowing full well that the word meant absolutely nothing to them. I tried my best to find ingredients besides frosting in which to decorate my cookies, but for the life of me I left the grocery store empty handed. Here in Switzerland they have no such things as red hots, or decorating gel, and so I bought two items that I had no idea how to use and just prayed that I would figure it out when I got home.
On Saturday we had a conference game against Troistorrent. The first time that we encountered this team that hails from the French side of Swiss I was unable to play due to a sprained ankle. Saturday, however, found me feeling good and excited to play. The game was extremely physical and I found myself sprawled out on the floor more than usual. We started the game off down by 6pts, but we rallied back, took the lead and not once was there another lead change. I was so proud of our team. Everyone contributed and people stepped up and hit really big shots. The game itself was a complete team effort. Now we have the whole week to practice and we will be taking on Helios for our last game before the Christmas break!
Quick side note: On Sunday I had the opportunity to watch my first men’s volleyball game. There was a World Cup volleyball tournament taking place in Lugano, but it wasn’t the official world cup, just a slightly lower level of competition. We watched Slovenia play against Bolivia, and then the championship game was between Italy and Brazil. All of the different national anthems were played, which I thought was pretty cool and they had each country’s flag hanging up on the walls.
Our last game will be on Sunday, and I will be taking off on Monday to return to the Land O Lakes, so this might be my last e-mail until I return in January, we’ll see. This does not mean, however, that all of you are let off the hook for updating me on your lives! ha, I love hearing from all of you and really appreciate the time that you take to drop me a line;)
Take care everyone, enjoy the holidays and safe travels to wherever you are headed!
love,
Leslie
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