Che Pizza - no way!

A new fun expression I just learned is "Che Pizza." It means something to the effect of "how boring." This is funny considering how highly reveared pizza is in Italy. Might I add that Italians have every right to be proud of their food, pizza included. It's awesome. The only thing, though, is that the American food I've seen here is bad. Waaay worse than it would be in America. So if they compare their food against what they see of American food, it's not a fair compairison.

Last night was a team pizza dinner and it was wild, quite the opposite of the title of this post. The team is fantastic. They have totally welcomed me with open arms and are so warm and friendly with each other. Now mind you the table was full of guy Italian bike riders/racers, with the exception of my one female teammate and I (she and I being more reserved than the rest at the table).

I didn't get a great picture, but here's one where many of the people in attendance were discussing team stuff (no idea what exactly). There are probably 4 others in attendance not in the shot.

The Italian conversations were flying from one end of the table to the other all night long. I tried to stay out of the way and catch what I could, but no one was slowing down for a second. I loved every moment. I am so happy in this sort of environment. I often catch myself grinning ear-to-ear from my inner emotion bursting out. Watching the language being spoken, being expressed, with full body language included, is a joyous thing to me. I do wish I knew more about what was said, but maybe it's best right now that I don't. I know when people are talking about me, I just don't know what they're saying.

They brought out the schedule of Gran Fondos for the summer. They marked an X next to each that I'll be doing...good thing I like racing so much, it's easier to not disagree. We're on the same page in this book. One race that I'm particularly excited about is one that involves two days on the Adriatic Coast. I've always, always adored traveling to races. So to do that here will be awesome. All of the races will involve new places and terrain, that one is just a bit further to get to.

A note on the pizza. The pizza was super thin crust and brought out on a large plate. Eveyone got their own pizza that stretched over the side of the plate. I got a little more than 1/2 of it ingested before I couldn't eat more. Darn it was good, I wanted to have more.

They raised their glasses of wine and beer and saluted America, I returned the gesture to Italy. Note that Italians typically drink beer with pizza and this is the only time they do so (of course with a group of bike racers, the rules are probably a bit different). These guys also eat bigger breakfasts so they're not the typical Italian.

I'm loving it that so many of you are reading and enjoying this blog. It's a huge time commitment and to have the emails and comments on the blog and Facebook really mean a lot to me. I have very little time to write back, but I do try. Know that I think about all of you a lot. You're very much here with me. Typically, when I have spare time, I need to be spending it studying, especically on the weekends. During the week after class is over, I'm simply too exhausted from class to study more. Time on the bike is really great time to step away from the computer, the books, all of it.

I'll close with news about the weather. Today I didn't get rained on while riding...that's one for 5 (and it did rain a bit today, too). Not a great average this past week, but at least the rain is warm and it doesn't bug me that much so long as I simply get out...I won't leave the house for a ride if it's already raining.

On my way out yesterday, I checked in to see if D was looking to ride. He was. It was a great evening to be out there until we got on this perfect traffic-free road for about 10 seconds and it started raining. We flipped it around and he knows of this box-like large thing that is easy to sit under and stay dry. It was a long wait until the rain slowed down enough to continue.

In the Italian, I asked, "So you come here often?" I thought it was funny (since this is an American pickup line in bars). There's probably a direct Italian translation. Fun to say things that I might not otherwise be able to get away with. I know there's some of that going on the other end, too. Sometimes I use the puzzled look card when it's easier than responding when I don't have the right words to reply.

One of my new problems is my worry about being presumptious. Was that a compliment just now or a comment about someone else? Maybe it wasn't a compliment at all. Do I say thanks or just smile and hope the topic changes? I'm catching a lot of words, but the concepts are still fuzzy. Sometimes I listen too hard. Catch the jist and roll with the rest. Yesterday, I could tell a big difference in my comfort in speaking. But this is interspersed with I-feel-stupid days. Much of it has to do with being rested and mentally on. Mornings are always better than evenings with the language. Being fresh is super important.

Speaking of which, I'm blogging outside (chilly out) since internet at home isn't working. Time to get back and get some solid sleep. Tomorrow will be a very short pre-race ride and I don't know what else. Sunday's race starts from Montrefalco, a very small town next to Bevagna (where amazing wine comes from). There will be 9 serious climbs and 500-700 guys in my race (unsure of exact numbers or number of women). I think 148km, too. It hurts to think about it, but I can't wait.