Ciao from Italy!
I am moved into my apartment in Pavia, Italy. These first few days I have spent trying to unpack and get settled in. I have met the team and staff members for Pallacanestro Pavia (Pavia Basketball team). Everyone has been very helpful trying to acclimate me to my new city. My teammates seem like a lot of fun and I think I will enjoy the season with them.
But let's back up a little bit first...the plane ride over here...
It was a 17.5 hour total trip between flights and layovers. Besides the long layovers (2-4.5 hours) it was a very smooth trip. I guess I am glad I had the long layovers though just in case something didn't go exactly right. I really wasn't sure where I was going and just asked questions as I went. I am glad I flew through London though so that everything was in English the entire trip. I landed in Milan, Italy hoping that my bags made the trip along with me. I was relieved to see both of my bags made it. As I followed the exit signs out of the airport I was hoping someone was going to be there to pick me up. I have no idea what I would have done if nobody was there. But my assistant coach was waiting for me as soon as I stepped out of the terminal. Again, I was relieved.
As I stepped outside I realized I wasn't in North Dakota anymore...a heat wave was there to welcome me to Italy. The first few days it was above 100 degrees F. I think it hit 40 deg C which is about 104 F my first day here. Oh...and no AC in the apartments here. It is rare to find AC. And all the fans were sold out of every store. So I spent the first couple nights sweating while I slept. I am not complaining at all...I don't tend to let stuff like that bother me. It was almost funny how hot it was. They assured me that this week is the hottest week and it will soon get better. It is tough to eat though when all you are thinking about is how hot it is.
One thing I did notice right away was that there are a TON of pizzerias. I literally have eaten pasta or pizza every day. I also have had some sandwiches as well. The pizza is good. They are large in diameter, but they are thin compared to most American pizzas. But it is enough to get full off of one pizza.
We have started our preseason workouts. This week is mostly conditioning and some agility/ab workouts. Sunday I think we are starting our two-a-days.
Well, that is all for now. If any of you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments section and I will answer them if possible. Thanks.
Talk to you soon.
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Brett, so good to read about what is going on over there with you. I can't believe you couldn't find a fan! Bummer! Amazing they do not have A/C. We could not survive withoug A/C in Okalhoma. :/ I'm not sure how you did!?
ReplyDeleteKeith survived his "Totally Insane Week" of conditioning and says he feels good. He loves college and yesterday he posted that he "Loves Baseball" so that is a good thing! :)
We will miss his first inner squad scrimmage as Curt & I are driving to MN again Labor Day weekend. We are going to pick up my sister and her boyfriend now of 1 1/2 years at the MPS airport to go visit my parents. We will be staying at Mike & Michelle's on the 3rd. Looking forward to visiting them and Joel's.
The sacrifices we have to make driving that trip so often when we live so far away from everyone. :(
Thanks for posting the info. I think of you often and pray you are enjoying your team and time there.
Love, Anita & all