“Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.”
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| Left to right: Cory, Me, Benjamin (nephew), Trevor, Pops |
I arrived around 9:30am on Sunday morning, the 4th, in the Milan airport. After waiting 2 hours for my luggage to arrive I walked out of baggage claim and saw my president, French, and my assistant Coach, Giovanni, waiting for me. In Switzerland it is custom to give and receive three kisses (two on one cheek and one on the other) when you greet someone, but this cultural norm does nothing for me, especially when I am really excited to see someone, so in other words a somewhat awkward “hello” took place between these two men and myself. Ha, both of them went in for the kiss on the cheek while I oh so suavely maneuvered around the kiss and went in for the bear hug;)
The car ride home immediately reminded me of how people drive in Italy, as my president cruised at a comfortable 180 kilometer clip, passing cars left and right and not once using his blinker. As I tried to calm my nerves in the back seat my thoughts were interrupted by French asking if I was hungry, “Hai fame, Leslie?” So, from there we went to his house where is wife, Lorenza, had prepared a meal called Fondue Chinoise (shin-waz) which means Chinese Fondue. This type of fondue is eaten with thin slices of raw meat that you spear with a skewer, roll up and then dip into a bowl of very hot broth. After a minute or two when the meat is done you remove it from the skewer and choose a variety of sauces in which to put on your “carne” (meat). The meal itself is interactive and entertaining, which I enjoy. I loved the familiar food that I ate back home, but it sure is fun to be back and trying new foods, as long as it’s not cow tongue!
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| Here is the Race Car driver: Francesco Markesch |
That night I accompanied French and two of his friends to a men’s basketball game in Varese, Italy. The men’s team in Varese is a second league team, not as good as the first league but still very exciting to watch. The gym itself reminded me of a college gym, holding at least 8-9 thousand people. We got to sit in the front row because both of French’s friends are handicapped and use wheelchairs. I didn’t even know that they were handicapped until we got out of the car. I had rode with one of them to the gym and hadn’t even noticed that he was driving with his hands, pressing a lever for the gas and for the brake! Pretty cool.
Anyway, the thing that I will remember the most from this game were the fans. There was this massive section of people who were all standing and chanting in unison. They were being lead by a shirtless man who was standing on the railings in-front of them, holding a microphone and leading them in cheers. There was not a moment during the whole 40 minute game when they were not cheering, waving huge flags or whistling at the top of their lungs. I was truly in awe of this die hard group of fans, I have never seen or heard a more rambunctious cheering section. Duke’s “Cameron Crazies” couldn’t hold a candle to these fans, I will tell you that right now.
Monday through Saturday was full of practice, weights, running, all that good stuff and SNOW. I am told that last year, in this same location, it never snowed. I am also told that I am living in the warmest part of Switzerland, this I believe considering that I have my porch door open right now because I am literally melting in my apartment. Cinthia, her aunt and Uncle and myself took advantage of the snow on Wednesday by going on a very lovely/rugged walk/hike through the mountain trials by her house. Cinthia is 30 years old and very young at heart, her uncle on the other hand is even more young at heart! He was like Will Farrell in the movie “Elf” and I was on the receiving end of all his chirades! I managed to hit him with a couple good snow balls too, though:)
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| Caneggio, the surrounding neighborhood of Cinthia, Roberto and Onorina. |
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| La Cinthia, READY, AIM, FIRE! |
Saturday rolled around and instead of my oh-so-comfortable sweatpants and t-shirt, I was wearing dress pants, a silky shirt and some high-heels! Fabio was taking Polona, Jess and I out to a very nice, authentic Italian restaurant. Villa Baroni is a very warm feeling restaurant, with salmon colored walls, gold curtains, dark brown ceilings, tasteful chandeliers and too many wine bottles to count. The food was very good, but I think that what made the meal great was the atmosphere and the ambience of the restaurant. If Italy is ever on your list for places to visit and you would like to experience some fine dining you can look this restaurant up at info@villabaroni.it. They also have beautiful hotel rooms that are available for rent and if you go during the summer there is a very nice pool right outside. Ok, enough of my little sales pitch;)
Sunday was game day. We played Sierre, again. This was the team that we beat almost right before I came home for winter break, and they were the best team in our league and I couldn’t quite figure out exactly how we ended up winning. Well, we played them at their place yesterday and got clobbered, 95-61. Some days our team is really good and other days it is like we are a completely different squad. Oh, and I guess I should mention that my roommate, Keisha, did not return after Christmas. Her and our President didn’t agree on many things related to basketball. They didn’t fire her but she opted to leave anyway, so now I am living solo for the first time in my life and we have a new American player. Her name is Jessica Smith and she actually played for Riva last year. She went to Stony Brook University in New York and is one year older than I am. I like her a lot and she is a good post player, but I miss Keisha.
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| Keisha and I on the train in September, going to Milan to obtain our Work Visas. |
So, that about sums up my first week back. I hope all of you had a wonderful Holiday and A Happy New Year!
Love,
Leslie
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