Birthday! (and pics from Venice!)

Elena, Simona, and I
On the main street/canal on the taxi boat
The famous Piazza San Marco!
Start of the day with Elena
This is now my second birthday in a row in Italia!  My buddies do a good job of not making me miss home though.  Last year, we had a huge group go out to dinner on my b-day night, along with a few presents, and this year... well, first we have to RE-play a game.  Yeah, let's talk about that one first.  So, our roof is leaky in the gym.  It's really one beam in the ceiling that seems to drip water on the floor in a straight line from wall to wall.  When it rains really hard, very small puddles form, which is SO dangerous for basketball, even if it's just a few drops.  On top of that, it just happened to be the first very warm day in Ribera, so as the game went on, the court sweat more and more from the condensation and humidity.  Needless to say, people were slipping and falling right and left.  In the first possession of the game, before it was understood that someone had to wipe the floor every possible time, my leg slipped, and as I was standing up, they scored because I wasn't in "help-side" defense.  I knew it wasn't going to work.

As time went on, we would slip, and they would score, then they would slip, and we would score.  Both teams were under the same conditions, but it was NOT a fair game.  They really needed to win, and it just wasn't worth it to some of us players to go 100%.  The risk of a serious injury is way too high.  They talked before the game, at half-time, and then again in the middle of the third quarter about postponing the game, but it wasn't until with 8 minutes left, and we were down by 20 points that they decided to call it (which I learned from Eric and Pam's experiences is NOT the first pro games to get rain-delayed, but probably the first this millenium!).  The other team was furious. 

So, today is the day we replay the whole game.  On my birthday.  But afterwards, Daniella and Fabrizio invited me, Kiki, and Elena over to their family's house for dinner to celebrate the day.  We also have a team party scheduled for Thursday to celebrate mine and Simona's special day, which is April 4th.  Still no word on whether or not we won against Viterbo for sure, so we would need to win this game or the "last" game in order to continue our season.  Fingers crossed everybody!

Victory and a Vacation

Since I've last written we've played two games, and actually won the one last Sunday!  It was such a great feeling.  I didn't even play very well, but we had multiple players in double figures (4 out of the 5 foreigners including me) so it was the needed team effort we needed to win.  It was against a team that's not too good, but contains Doneeka Hodges, who played at LSU and even was my assistant coach one summer when I was 16.  She had a really good game though.  

Coach gave us the next day off even though we had a Wednesday game in Venice.  Kiki, Mol, and her friend Erin decided to go off to Taormina for the day.  I had been there last year with the HPC group, so I knew it was a great spot.  Again, it was so nice to get away and get a break, and the four of us had an awesome, and adventurous time. 

Unlike the last time I went, we went EVERYWHERE possible on top of this little mountain.  We hit the Greek Theatre ruins first, and then even though Taormina is on top of a mountain already, we continued to climb these seemingly endless stairs to another destination.  When we got there, we caught a ride up to another mountain to another smaller town.  It was a surreal experience at times, we saw some FANTASTIC views (at the penalty of a lot of walking and stair-mastering), so we got lots of pics, including a snow-capped Mt. Etna, the volcano.  

This trip (yesterday) that we were on in Venice, Coach gave us the permission to head into the city for a few hours as long as we were back for lunchtime.  It ended up being 4 players and 4 staff guys, and the two hours we ended with were just teasers, but the city is amazing!  It lived up to all my expectations.  It's so unique and full of character, and the gondolas that take you through the winding canals of the sinking city are fantastic.  Such a romantic place as well that everyone told me that I have to return there with Morgan :)

Venezia is of course famous for Carnival, so they sell what we would consider Mardi Gras masks all over the city, along with blown glass.  Now, I've been saying for years that when I have a place of my own, I want to collect blown glass because I just LOVE it, but it's just too breakable, and too expensive at the moment.  However, when that day gets closer and closer, I will need to take a longer visit to Venice to stock up because one of the islands right off the city (Murano) specializes in blown glass.  I had next to no time to shop, but I did manage to get a gorgeous glass necklace that I hope to get to wear soon!

My video I made at Teatro Greco and Mr. Etna!

I.H.P.'s

Near the beginning of the season, the Americans coined the term I.H.P. which stands for "Italian Hand Positions".  Some of them are classic, and some of them may be more specific to Sicilians, or possibly just our coach!  They were a great source of entertainment for a while, some of them we absorbed as our own hand gestures (for jokes or for real), and at the same time it's been a celebration of the differences in cultures and the passion and exaggeration that Italians put into their conversations so that even before one learns the language, you understand them pretty well already!

IHP 1: The classic Italian hand gesture.  One of the most fun to imitate, but also one of the most contagious!  There are two versions.  One is a movement directly in front of yourself that Italians do more often.  It can be very subtle, or a whole 90 degree arm movement at the person or thing in front of them.  Sicilians keep this hand position, but the arm position changes.  It turns into a horizontal position, where the fingers and thumb point to the middle of their chest, sometimes using a circular motion.  I'm not sure if you can put a definition on the meaning, but my personal explanations are "What am I gonna do with you?" or just a simple "Mamma mia..."

 IHP 2 Probably the second most common.  If you see a heated Italian talking about something that angers them, you would know without hearing any words if they use IHP 1 and 2.  This one is almost like a prayer, but only the fingertips touch each other.  Then with locked wrists the arms move up and down a little (depending on mood of course).  This IHP is normally accompanied with annoyed, straight face.  Can also be linked with a "Mamma mia..."

IHP 3 This is more of a fanning or waving motion normally done in front of the face, but can take place at other heights as well.  It's like an attempt at directing a pleasant smell towards their nose with both hands, but arms extended farther away from the face.  Another gesture that can have many meanings, but Simona is famous for this move.

IHP 4 This one is one that's probably very specific to our coach.  Should only be used when you are really mad, and involves palms facing out, fingers pointing down, and both hands below your waist.  This is followed by near violent downward motions.

IHP 5 I am proud to have an IHP named after me.  It was used through out the beginning of the season, multiple times a practice, and now is used just every now and then.  This is a coach-invented IHP used to mean "Jami translate", and his words were often "Jami, ho bisogno di te", "I need you".  His hand became a mouth basically, and always reminded us of a Pac-man.

IHP 6 This one confused me and Duffy last year until we figured it out.  This year, I was ready to explain it to the others.  It's definitely an Italian thing to beckon someone with the hand faced downward and then they contract their fingers.  For Americans, it seems like you are being "shooed" and that you should go away!  We use the upward facing hand gesture for come here with either the one pointer finger calling you over, or all four.

At one point there were others that after further investigation, they weren't all that common.  I felt this info was interesting, and I hope others do too!

I've actually become a little known for an American hand position for the 3-pointer.  American referees use the three last fingers (pinky, ring, and middle) for a "3" and all of Europe uses the thumb, pointer, and middle finger, which I refuse to use by the way.  There's just something about it that I don't like.  So, whenever I score 3-pointers at home, I raise up my American 3-point sign, and I've been told that the people (as few as they are at times) go crazy for it.  It keeps the crowd in the game, and it pumps me up, and gives me a little personality for my game.  I used to think that any interaction with the crowd was a distraction, but the fact that I score so much more at home speaks otherwise to me.  Plus, with all the frustrations of the game this year, this part is actually pretty fun (if I actually remembered to do it!)

Ok, NOW we've seen everything!

I've already written about the "off the wall" things that have happened this season (unfortunately not many of them have been very positive) and several times, we've joked saying that "we have seen everything" this season.  Well, something else occurred in our most recent game (yesterday) to prove us all wrong.

We were playing at Como, which is really a beautiful city with second largest lake in Italy and just surrounds you with green-covered mountains everywhere you go.  We need to win 2 out of our last 5 games for the play-outs, and we have yet to win a game on the road this season.  In addition, I have yet to have a really good game on the road (nearly a 10 point difference).  My first shot of the game didn't even hit the rim, but for the rest of the time, I shot "lights out" including three left-handed drives to the basket and finishes.  We've been down for most of the game, and I've played the whole time, getting fouled, getting pushed, fighting through fatigue and frustration, and with less than 20 seconds left, we at least had a chance to make it a game.  They were shooting free throws, and we needed a quick shot.  I think we were down by 6 or so at this point.  Our point guard throws the ball down the court to another guard, who is about to get double-teamed and kicks the ball out to me behind the 3-point line.  I'm thinking "3 points" at this time, totally focused on the ball coming in the air when WHAM!  I get basically TACKLED.  I mean, I didn't get "wrapped up", but I felt like I basically got blindsided by a linebacker.  Immediately, I'm thinking "Pass interference, two shots and the ball", right?  The clock stops, we probably have a chance.  I don't remember at what point I took a peek back to see who had run me down, but I didn't see a pink jersey like the rest of their team.  That's because it was the REFEREE!!!!!!!  I wasn't hurt physically in any way, but when I saw that I just laid on the floor face down in disbelief.  Yes, it was very improbable that we could have won that game, but when you're still trying your best to do all you can, and something like this happens, it just hurts to some extent.  I couldn't do anything but get up and smile in disbelief, and even the other team felt bad for me, helping me up and sharing how they felt.  My teammate, Molly, who passed the ball to me said, "That basically sums up our season right there."  Unbelievable...

This morning in the airport, however, my coach showered me with compliments.  He's just so proud of all the progress I've been making, and how I listen, and how he can depend on me.  Some of what he said was borderline bogus, but it felt good to get some feedback, and he really cares about me and my future, so I listened.  After one left-handed finish he said he leapt in the air in joy because that's one of the weaknesses of mine that he has tried to help me with in the past week or so.  He's always trying to be a gentleman, and even carried my little team bag for me to the bus.  He does do many things I disagree with, but as a person, he certainly does care for me and my teammates, and for that, lots of those negatives get cancelled out.

 Lake Como, taken last year.

Finalmente!

Finally, Finally, Finally!  We had a three day break, I went with Kiki to her home in Ostia, right outside of Rome, and the warm Sicilian weather is FINALLY returning!  We still haven't won a game in such a long time, and my knee is telling me that the end of the season needs to come soon, but this weekend was such a necessity.  Let me recap what we did:

Practiced Friday night, drove to Palermo, flew to Rome, slept in Ostia with the Perfetti's.  Breakfast and Lunch with the family, played Nintendo Wii with Kiki's adorable nephew Leo, went to the cinema with him to see a movie, dinner with her Kiki's friend and work colleagues for a good dinner and to hear their boss sing (so entertaining), slept, breakfast and lunch at "home" then we spent a beautiful afternoon at the packed Ostia port and beach area with her aunt and cousin, saw her other cousin perform in a choir for "Festa Delle Donne", basically "Festival of Women", dinner in Rome at the Hard Rock Cafe (Ribs!!!!), slept, lunch with Kaayla and her mom, along with Kiki and her cousin and another friend, and then shopping with Kiki and her cousin.  Leo and I played some more Wii before we left, and then he and his mom brought us to the airport.  The car broke down on the way there, and when the Taxi didn't come soon enough, I volunteered to push the car out of the street with Kiki's help (not totally safe, but mom was panicking for good reason with a six-year-old in the car).  Kiki's brother showed up before the taxi, and we made it to our flight on time :)  

It's a little sad to have had to come back to Ribera, but the weather is almost beach weather!  That's something exciting to look forward to.