Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Le Dolomiti
It is much too late to write up the story of the Dolomiti from this weekend in English or Italian. Pictures are posted on Facebook and all I have to say is that I had a fantastic time with everyone who went on the trip (turned out to be a great group, some teammates, many guys from another team in the area and some family members of the guys as well), I ate some pretty fantastic food and saw the most beautiful mountains...absolutely indescribable. Hard to put in words in English...harder in Italian with limited vocabulary! They close the roads for a day the week before the famous Gran Fondo there, so the riding was great and free. Gilberto Simoni (recently retired Italian pro) showed up for the ride. Cooler yet was to run into a couple who I had met riding to Gubbio a couple of months ago (from a city far from here) who I had wanted to ride with again, but didn't realize we were all going to the same place on the same two days. There were thousands out there, amazing weather and definitely how one could describe paradise. Hope to update more, but no promises...spending the week off from classes doing a lot to improve my Italian and putting some reasonable miles on the road, as well. Buona notte!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Ti Amo e Grazie Mille!
Pensando alla mia famiglia! Buono "giorno di padre", DAD e buono compleanno, Nonno!!! Translation: Thinking about my family! Happy Father's Dad, DAD and happy birthday, Grandpa!!!
Going to switch to English now really quickly. It's late and I have to sleep, but I'm a little wound up after a 7-ish course (molto buono) 4-hour dinner that I just returned home from.
Can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged or Facebooked. There is too much going on to spend the time and I feel everything must be written in Italian. Yes, I'm keeping some sort of journal, much of it is comprised of the pictures I've taken in various places...and I'm pretty well documenting every single gelato I've eaten since I've been here. So far, I've missed 2 gelato photo opportunities.
The highlight of last week was meeting up with Ciclismo Classico in Gubbio and riding with them to Spello. I have pics, will post later (hopefully!) Great time to visit with Frank & Marcello, the same two guides from my trip last summer. It's weird to look back on last summer...Frank reminded me of how little Italian I knew back then (I remember not knowing the definition of va bene, sort of the cornerstone of the Italian language) and now I can understand the full conversation when people speak good Italian (not slang).
Here's a shot with the Ciclismo group as we were leaving Gubbio (Frank took the pic).
We also got together in Bevagna for the opening ceremony of their medieval week. I ended up seeing 3 cousins while I was there that evening. It's cool to have historical ties to a place, but even cooler to have living, breathing relatives in a place who are close enough on the family tree to see the resemblance to the rest of the family!
Here's a pic with me and Prof Piatti. He is a friend of Ciclismo's (lives in Bevagna) and he (via Marcello) helped me to get in touch with my relatives here last summer. We ran into him, as well, Thursday evening after the show. He looks much younger than this in person.
This coming week is my one and only exam for the past 2 1/2 months of Italian classes. I have been great at sitting down for hours at a time studying when there isn't an exam coming up...just when I want to know Italian better. Today it was really hard to force myself to study (and it was raining so it's not like I had an option to do much else). While I was taking breaks from studying, I found myself on Monster.com checking out the work scene in the world. It's becoming time to start figuring out what comes next, though I have a sneaking suspicion it might take more than a month or two to get to where I'm going (which is not yet known).
Reading job descriptions just makes me shutter. Really, you want someone who has a passion for something that is absolutely impossible to be passionate about? And you want him/her to do this meaningless work for all of the good hours every single day? Good luck to the "lucky" candidate. I've received more than one email from friends encouraging me to not re-enter the working world as they are currently in the process of being overly stressed out with their jobs.
I'll leave it at that for tonight. I'm still too full to fall asleep, but I have an Italian newspaper that should make for good reading material prior to shutting off the lights. (Actually, reading in English puts me to sleep, in Italian it wakes me up since I have to look up words and be very actively thinking about each word as I'm reading.)
Buona notte a tutti and THANK YOU to the wonderful DADs in my family AND to the wonderful MOMs who bridge the communication gaps to the DADs!!!
Going to switch to English now really quickly. It's late and I have to sleep, but I'm a little wound up after a 7-ish course (molto buono) 4-hour dinner that I just returned home from.
Can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged or Facebooked. There is too much going on to spend the time and I feel everything must be written in Italian. Yes, I'm keeping some sort of journal, much of it is comprised of the pictures I've taken in various places...and I'm pretty well documenting every single gelato I've eaten since I've been here. So far, I've missed 2 gelato photo opportunities.
The highlight of last week was meeting up with Ciclismo Classico in Gubbio and riding with them to Spello. I have pics, will post later (hopefully!) Great time to visit with Frank & Marcello, the same two guides from my trip last summer. It's weird to look back on last summer...Frank reminded me of how little Italian I knew back then (I remember not knowing the definition of va bene, sort of the cornerstone of the Italian language) and now I can understand the full conversation when people speak good Italian (not slang).
We also got together in Bevagna for the opening ceremony of their medieval week. I ended up seeing 3 cousins while I was there that evening. It's cool to have historical ties to a place, but even cooler to have living, breathing relatives in a place who are close enough on the family tree to see the resemblance to the rest of the family!
Here's a pic with me and Prof Piatti. He is a friend of Ciclismo's (lives in Bevagna) and he (via Marcello) helped me to get in touch with my relatives here last summer. We ran into him, as well, Thursday evening after the show. He looks much younger than this in person.
This coming week is my one and only exam for the past 2 1/2 months of Italian classes. I have been great at sitting down for hours at a time studying when there isn't an exam coming up...just when I want to know Italian better. Today it was really hard to force myself to study (and it was raining so it's not like I had an option to do much else). While I was taking breaks from studying, I found myself on Monster.com checking out the work scene in the world. It's becoming time to start figuring out what comes next, though I have a sneaking suspicion it might take more than a month or two to get to where I'm going (which is not yet known).
Reading job descriptions just makes me shutter. Really, you want someone who has a passion for something that is absolutely impossible to be passionate about? And you want him/her to do this meaningless work for all of the good hours every single day? Good luck to the "lucky" candidate. I've received more than one email from friends encouraging me to not re-enter the working world as they are currently in the process of being overly stressed out with their jobs.
I'll leave it at that for tonight. I'm still too full to fall asleep, but I have an Italian newspaper that should make for good reading material prior to shutting off the lights. (Actually, reading in English puts me to sleep, in Italian it wakes me up since I have to look up words and be very actively thinking about each word as I'm reading.)
Buona notte a tutti and THANK YOU to the wonderful DADs in my family AND to the wonderful MOMs who bridge the communication gaps to the DADs!!!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Ho Capito.
Mi dispiace, amerai a scrivere più qui, ma c'è non abbastanza tempo. Tutto i giorni sono come una settimana, ci sono troppo cose sempre a dirvi!!! La cultura di Italia, la cultura di le gare, come persone allenare per le gare, le modifiche di me stesso...
La settimana scorsa c'era no gare, quindi c'era tempo per le altra attività! Ho visto una bella fattoria con dei animale grande , questa fattoria è il tipo di romanzi della vita Italia. I carni di questa fattoria è più buona per la salute...i animali mangiano erba e hanno molto terrazza per pascolo.
Sono andata in bicicletta tutto i giorni con amici. Dopo, siamo andati in una piscina in Toscana. Il tramonto ha stato bellissimo!!! E naturalmente, abbiamo mangiato una pizza. Sono passato il intero fine settimana con i miei amici Italiani e era molto divertimento. Sì, ho studiato, anche durante il tempo.
Questa settimana, divento una ragazza Italiana. Mio amico mi serve. Oggi mi sono tagliata i capelli a un posto che lui conosce. Domani compererò le robe più femmina. Vestiti di REI (i vestiti che persone indossano di solito in Colorado) non sono va bene in Italia!!!
Oggi ho mangiato con i miei amici di Cina...il cibo Cinese è molto buono e va bene per la salute! Anche divento Cinese...posso mangiare dei arachidi con bacchette.
La ultima cosa per questa blog è: mio amico ed io possiamo avere conversazione lunghe e lui ha detta alla sua madre sta sera che io posso capire tutto conversazione senza slang. Questa è un sentimento strano: quando ho ascoltato bene, HO CAPITO!!! E le parole sono cominciano a fluire per conversazione casuale. Realizzo più ogni giorno come simile la lingua Inglese e la lingua Italiana sono. Spesso provo a indovinare per le parole giusto...è abbastanza del tempo, i Italiani hanno capito che cosa ho detto.
La settimana scorsa c'era no gare, quindi c'era tempo per le altra attività! Ho visto una bella fattoria con dei animale grande , questa fattoria è il tipo di romanzi della vita Italia. I carni di questa fattoria è più buona per la salute...i animali mangiano erba e hanno molto terrazza per pascolo.
Sono andata in bicicletta tutto i giorni con amici. Dopo, siamo andati in una piscina in Toscana. Il tramonto ha stato bellissimo!!! E naturalmente, abbiamo mangiato una pizza. Sono passato il intero fine settimana con i miei amici Italiani e era molto divertimento. Sì, ho studiato, anche durante il tempo.
Questa settimana, divento una ragazza Italiana. Mio amico mi serve. Oggi mi sono tagliata i capelli a un posto che lui conosce. Domani compererò le robe più femmina. Vestiti di REI (i vestiti che persone indossano di solito in Colorado) non sono va bene in Italia!!!
Oggi ho mangiato con i miei amici di Cina...il cibo Cinese è molto buono e va bene per la salute! Anche divento Cinese...posso mangiare dei arachidi con bacchette.
La ultima cosa per questa blog è: mio amico ed io possiamo avere conversazione lunghe e lui ha detta alla sua madre sta sera che io posso capire tutto conversazione senza slang. Questa è un sentimento strano: quando ho ascoltato bene, HO CAPITO!!! E le parole sono cominciano a fluire per conversazione casuale. Realizzo più ogni giorno come simile la lingua Inglese e la lingua Italiana sono. Spesso provo a indovinare per le parole giusto...è abbastanza del tempo, i Italiani hanno capito che cosa ho detto.
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Maratona Appennini
Oggi era ancora una altra gara non troppo lontano di Perugia. Questa gara era il più difficile gara di mia vita perché due ragioni...1) 93 miles è più lungo, 7742 feet di dislivello è più salite di quanto io ho fatto in una gara e non sono andata questo tipo di giro in bicicletta in il passato 2 anni. Numero 2) Il tempo (weather) era pazzo! Ho fatto solo 2 o 3 gare in mia vita con pioggia. Oggi, il tempo cambiavo molto, cominciava a pioggia a meno 9 volti durante il gara...A uno punto (chilometri 90), ha stato un acquazzone. Era molte discese technicale ma ho paura durante queste parti. Il tempo era caldo uno minuto, e dopo era freddo.
Lungo storia corto, la gara andava trascorso bei paesaggi, ma era difficile a piacere perchè i condizioni. Sono contenta con la partenza...prima la partenza, Mario Cipollini (un bravo corridore Italiano) ha venuto alla gara e lui diceva. Ho avuto una grande vista davante le altre corridore. Comincivava piove essactamente alla partenza.
Il mio posto era 2° (second) in mia gara...ho ricevuto una maglieta (mi piace) e duo bottigile di vino. Anche, questa:
Dopo la gara (e pasta festa, naturalmente...ho mangiato troppo prosciutto, ma non bevevo vino perché era bianca e nella scatola), noi abbiamo mangiato gelato insieme (con persone di la squadra)...i miei gambe era (e ancora) sono assolutamente stanche!!! I miei compagni di squadra erano contenti, anche, ma nessuno hanno piaciuto i condizioni.
Vorrei studiare adesso, già ho comprato 4 libri nuovi per la lingua Italiana e non vedo l'ora a cominciare leggere. Se non leggi bene perchè il traduttore non è va bene, perfavorè mi chiedi domande.
English note: 1. a corridore is the term for bike racer as well as runner. 2. Cipollini looks larger than life, dude is solid muscle. The world champ woman (M. Gorini) won my race and prior to the race, she had pictures taken with Cipollini. On the podium after the race, I asked her about how she liked meeting him. 3. I wrote this yesterday, but the internet broke and I fell asleep really early!
Lungo storia corto, la gara andava trascorso bei paesaggi, ma era difficile a piacere perchè i condizioni. Sono contenta con la partenza...prima la partenza, Mario Cipollini (un bravo corridore Italiano) ha venuto alla gara e lui diceva. Ho avuto una grande vista davante le altre corridore. Comincivava piove essactamente alla partenza.
Il mio posto era 2° (second) in mia gara...ho ricevuto una maglieta (mi piace) e duo bottigile di vino. Anche, questa:
Dopo la gara (e pasta festa, naturalmente...ho mangiato troppo prosciutto, ma non bevevo vino perché era bianca e nella scatola), noi abbiamo mangiato gelato insieme (con persone di la squadra)...i miei gambe era (e ancora) sono assolutamente stanche!!! I miei compagni di squadra erano contenti, anche, ma nessuno hanno piaciuto i condizioni.
Vorrei studiare adesso, già ho comprato 4 libri nuovi per la lingua Italiana e non vedo l'ora a cominciare leggere. Se non leggi bene perchè il traduttore non è va bene, perfavorè mi chiedi domande.
English note: 1. a corridore is the term for bike racer as well as runner. 2. Cipollini looks larger than life, dude is solid muscle. The world champ woman (M. Gorini) won my race and prior to the race, she had pictures taken with Cipollini. On the podium after the race, I asked her about how she liked meeting him. 3. I wrote this yesterday, but the internet broke and I fell asleep really early!
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Sono qui...
Ciao a tutti! Ho ricevuto molto email di voi relativa questo blog. Dopo molto pensa, ho deciso che è importante avere un blog, ma quando scrivo, devo scrivere in Italiano. Quindi, è possibile che le storie sarà più corti e difficile per voi a capire. Mi dispiace! Ma ho bisogno imparare la lingua Italiano cosi. Anche, se tu sai Italiano e vedi errori, perfavorè dimme sapere.
Oggi ho comprato i libri per Italiano per studenti con conoscenza di Inglese. Sarà bello sapere dove le differenze sono tra Inglese e Italiano. Non vedo l'ora quando comincio gli leggere.
Dopo scriverò più...ci sono qualcosa a scrivere di la fine settimana scorsa e domani, una altra Gran Fondo (gara) ...piove domani...domani è uguale in Italia alla 4th di Luglio in America.
Un grande GRAZIE per noi persone in il militare per voi servizio a noi Paese (mi dispiace, questo messaggio è un po' tardi per Memorial Day).
Ciao ciao e baci!
Oggi ho comprato i libri per Italiano per studenti con conoscenza di Inglese. Sarà bello sapere dove le differenze sono tra Inglese e Italiano. Non vedo l'ora quando comincio gli leggere.
Dopo scriverò più...ci sono qualcosa a scrivere di la fine settimana scorsa e domani, una altra Gran Fondo (gara) ...piove domani...domani è uguale in Italia alla 4th di Luglio in America.
Un grande GRAZIE per noi persone in il militare per voi servizio a noi Paese (mi dispiace, questo messaggio è un po' tardi per Memorial Day).
Ciao ciao e baci!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Full Immersion
If yesterday was the best day I've had in Italy so far, today was the worst (granted it really wasn't that bad, I just one too many difficult Italian conversations). I'm shutting down the blog for awhile, possibly the rest of the summer. I wanted to share this experience with everyone, but the blog and computer severely cut into my Italian time. It's too high of a cost. I really, really, really want to be good at this language and the realization that June is here just hit. One more month...a lot of people are expecting me to be fluent in that time (including myself) and I'm just not there yet.
I'm going into full-immersion mode. I'll talk to family members in English, but September isn't far away. I will get back in touch with everyone else when I get back home. Know I'm thinking about you always, but the thoughts have to be in Italian now. As long as I'm here, I really need to be here: body, mind and soul.
Hugs and kisses to all!!! Ciao e ci vediamo presto!
I'm going into full-immersion mode. I'll talk to family members in English, but September isn't far away. I will get back in touch with everyone else when I get back home. Know I'm thinking about you always, but the thoughts have to be in Italian now. As long as I'm here, I really need to be here: body, mind and soul.
Hugs and kisses to all!!! Ciao e ci vediamo presto!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The Magic of Bevagna
Today (yesterday now that I'm posting this, internet was broken, still is) was most likely the single best day of my Italian life thus far. This one is for the story books.
The day began as an average day, I took my time with breakfast, studied a bit and passed time before going for a ride. Today was said to be a bellisima day in the Giro d'Italia...one not to miss. I'd had a ride planned with a friend, but he was tired and interested in watching today's stage of the giro...and it was supposed to rain as well, so we scrapped the ride.
Hmmm, said I to myself, "Self, what shall I do today?" A full day with nothing scheduled and warm enough that if it does rain, I really don't care too much. It's been a burning priority to get to Bevagna to see my cousin (he's in his upper 80s, I had met him last summer when I came to Italy). It was great last summer, I had Marcello (Ciclismo guide) as a translator so my cousin talked to him and Marcello translated. I couldn't understand anything he said and I knew that when I would return, I'd need to have a certain proficiency in Italian.
Earlier this week, I had a nice conversation with the father of one of my Italian friends. Considering the ease of that exchange, I decided that the time had come, it would be okay for me to pay a visit to my cousin.
It's not a long ride to Bevagna, but I felt like I couldn't go fast today. The big discovery of the day was an Italian school bus. It looks fairly different from a school bus in the states (though yes, it's yellow), but the children waving in the back window gave away the vechicle's purpose. For a few moments, I decided it would be totally cool to chase after the bus and wave to the kids. That was the first magic moment of the day. I laughed outloud from the joy of watching those kids as they kept waving. I waved back and gave it everything I had to stay in the draft of the bus. For all I know, one of those little girls will be inspired and ride a bike when she grows up.
A few minutes later I was in Bevagna. I got there during siesta and this is a town that takes its siesta time very seriously so the place was quiet. Seemed to make sense to ride into town, look for a gift of some sort for my cousin and check the place out. For all I knew, I'd find him sitting on an outside bench as many of the elderly can be seen doing every day. Take note: the elderly here grow old together, in their community, supported by each other and their families. And they live an incredibly long time.
I rode over to the main piazza and saw some people eating lunch at some outside tables. I overheard the conversation and it sounded like American English to me, so I strolled over and asked them where they're from. Tennessee. Really cool couple, they come to Italy a lot, even for the weekend sometimes. I tell them I'm from Colorado and we chat for a moment. They turn and tell me that the couple sitting a few tables down is from Colorado. Ha ha! Two days in a row of Coloradoans and Americans, and in Bevagna.
Then, something happened that was surreal: I looked up and took a closer look. I stammered, "YOU WERE MY PROFESSOR AT CU!!!!!!" The couple from Tenessee enjoyed watching my jaw drop and this reunion of sorts. This was Professor Zable, he was one of my two favorite mechanical engineering professors at CU; I hadn't seen him in 10 years. He and his wife had just sat down for lunch so I joined them for a good conversation. It was a very odd full-circle sort of thing: I told the story of why I came to Italy, how I wished there had been more liberal arts classes and study abroad expereinces as an engineering major, etc. I told him about the Sharp Shooters (senior design group members) and caught him up on what everyone is doing with their professional lives. He told me about what's up with the mechanical engineering program at CU--really sounds like a vastly different (improved) program than when I went there.
He and his wife had gone on the Arnaldo-Caprai winery tour and the owner of the winery happened to be in that restaurant for lunch as well at the time. They introduced us and I explained the random situation to him. He was super sweet. I was glad to be able to thank him for the wonderful wine that we got at the Montefalco Gran Fondo a few weeks ago.
I'll post the picture as soon as I can, the internet is broken yet again so it comes on for 2 seconds and is gone again for 10 minutes...
It was time to part, but not yet the end of siesta so I found one of the only open bars and found bread with salt and rosemary on top. Outside of the bar was a bench with two sweet looking older gentlemen. So I plopped down next to them and started talking. Turns out one is 96...didn't look a day over 80 to me, though. Of course, they're both from Bevagna. I have a hard time finding locals who aren't still living in the same place where they were born.
I wished them a good afternoon, went shopping and then headed to where I was hoping was my cousin's house. He had pointed it out last summer, but you never know if it's really on one side or the other or something...
There were a couple of men working in the front yard putting in a new front porch. I spoke to one who looked to be in his mid-sixties and told him that I was looking for my cousin and did he know where I could find him? He looks up at me, tips his hat back (the same kind of hat my grandpa in the US wears) and it's only then that I realize this IS my cousin! And he realizes that it's me, the girl from last summer! He looked so young to me, I didn't recognize him. It's the hat hiding his gray hair. The hair is the only thing on this man that signifies old age. If I remember correctly, he's almost 90. No possible way.
I was able to talk to him and I could even understand a lot of what he said. He started to go into a story about a thief, but the story got too complicated for me to follow. He asked me about my grandma, I was so happy to be able to tell him that she is in great health and she smiles a lot. He spoke about Dora, he really remembers her well, he also asked about their brother and his children (part of this conversation got lost in translation). I met his son-in-law and we spoke for a few minutes. He invited me to lunch in a few days. He said someone will be there who knows some English. I am willing to bet that the English-speaker will only know the words in English that I have no problems with in Italian (frequent occurrence...actually I prefer when the conversation stays in Italian and people re-word things for me to understand better). I will be there, I can't wait.
I handed my sweet cousin the picture of the two of us together last summer, he took my heart. "Sono molto contento che sei qua." This translates to, "I am very happy that you are here."
I couldn't wait to blog this story, so I tried to make better time getting home. But there was one last stop to make on the way...
Today was the birthday of my friend's mother. She has been so wonderful to me, I wanted to do something for her. It also gives me a bit of heartburn that I'm not around my family for their birthdays and Mother's Day so couldn't do anything for the mothers in my family...I figured a nice bunch of flowers for her would be the equivalent of a gift to all mothers, in general. It was a fun experience of going to the flower shop, telling her what I wanted (very simple) and watching her create this amazing bouquet of yellow and orange roses. And the price was incredibly low compared to American prices.
On my way to the shop, I heard a honk from a car. I looked up and it was my friend's father, smiling and waving. Again, I know I'm repeating myself, but being part of a community is awesome and I feel like I have a place in this one. It's the whole "Cheers" concept.
After delivering the flowers and a short conversation, I made my way back home. On the way I ran into my friend...he had already heard about the flowers. I told him about the visit with my cousin and the small world story of my former professor. He appreciated hearing it. He told me about the Giro (bellisima and Ivan Basso is in the leader's jersey so the stage couldn't have been any better for an Italian). I realized that I'd completely missed it after getting sidetracked in la-la land with all of everything that had happened in Bevagna. We parted and I got home the moment a storm rolled through.
There's actually even more that happened tonight (open-air rock band/huge party in Perugia). I went with my roommate and her friends. That was cool to hang with her crowd for awhile. We met up with our other roommates (her bro, his fiancè and our other roommate). They had a bunch of friends over for a couple of days from Rome--5 extra people here, but it seemed to work okay for them. No problem for me, the more the merrier. Back to the concert: I can't understand English being spoken when there's loud music around. Forget it when it comes to Italian. At one point I asked her if the band was singing in English or Italian. English. Ha!
All in a single Italian day...
The day began as an average day, I took my time with breakfast, studied a bit and passed time before going for a ride. Today was said to be a bellisima day in the Giro d'Italia...one not to miss. I'd had a ride planned with a friend, but he was tired and interested in watching today's stage of the giro...and it was supposed to rain as well, so we scrapped the ride.
Hmmm, said I to myself, "Self, what shall I do today?" A full day with nothing scheduled and warm enough that if it does rain, I really don't care too much. It's been a burning priority to get to Bevagna to see my cousin (he's in his upper 80s, I had met him last summer when I came to Italy). It was great last summer, I had Marcello (Ciclismo guide) as a translator so my cousin talked to him and Marcello translated. I couldn't understand anything he said and I knew that when I would return, I'd need to have a certain proficiency in Italian.
Earlier this week, I had a nice conversation with the father of one of my Italian friends. Considering the ease of that exchange, I decided that the time had come, it would be okay for me to pay a visit to my cousin.
It's not a long ride to Bevagna, but I felt like I couldn't go fast today. The big discovery of the day was an Italian school bus. It looks fairly different from a school bus in the states (though yes, it's yellow), but the children waving in the back window gave away the vechicle's purpose. For a few moments, I decided it would be totally cool to chase after the bus and wave to the kids. That was the first magic moment of the day. I laughed outloud from the joy of watching those kids as they kept waving. I waved back and gave it everything I had to stay in the draft of the bus. For all I know, one of those little girls will be inspired and ride a bike when she grows up.
A few minutes later I was in Bevagna. I got there during siesta and this is a town that takes its siesta time very seriously so the place was quiet. Seemed to make sense to ride into town, look for a gift of some sort for my cousin and check the place out. For all I knew, I'd find him sitting on an outside bench as many of the elderly can be seen doing every day. Take note: the elderly here grow old together, in their community, supported by each other and their families. And they live an incredibly long time.
I rode over to the main piazza and saw some people eating lunch at some outside tables. I overheard the conversation and it sounded like American English to me, so I strolled over and asked them where they're from. Tennessee. Really cool couple, they come to Italy a lot, even for the weekend sometimes. I tell them I'm from Colorado and we chat for a moment. They turn and tell me that the couple sitting a few tables down is from Colorado. Ha ha! Two days in a row of Coloradoans and Americans, and in Bevagna.
Then, something happened that was surreal: I looked up and took a closer look. I stammered, "YOU WERE MY PROFESSOR AT CU!!!!!!" The couple from Tenessee enjoyed watching my jaw drop and this reunion of sorts. This was Professor Zable, he was one of my two favorite mechanical engineering professors at CU; I hadn't seen him in 10 years. He and his wife had just sat down for lunch so I joined them for a good conversation. It was a very odd full-circle sort of thing: I told the story of why I came to Italy, how I wished there had been more liberal arts classes and study abroad expereinces as an engineering major, etc. I told him about the Sharp Shooters (senior design group members) and caught him up on what everyone is doing with their professional lives. He told me about what's up with the mechanical engineering program at CU--really sounds like a vastly different (improved) program than when I went there.
He and his wife had gone on the Arnaldo-Caprai winery tour and the owner of the winery happened to be in that restaurant for lunch as well at the time. They introduced us and I explained the random situation to him. He was super sweet. I was glad to be able to thank him for the wonderful wine that we got at the Montefalco Gran Fondo a few weeks ago.
I'll post the picture as soon as I can, the internet is broken yet again so it comes on for 2 seconds and is gone again for 10 minutes...
It was time to part, but not yet the end of siesta so I found one of the only open bars and found bread with salt and rosemary on top. Outside of the bar was a bench with two sweet looking older gentlemen. So I plopped down next to them and started talking. Turns out one is 96...didn't look a day over 80 to me, though. Of course, they're both from Bevagna. I have a hard time finding locals who aren't still living in the same place where they were born.
I wished them a good afternoon, went shopping and then headed to where I was hoping was my cousin's house. He had pointed it out last summer, but you never know if it's really on one side or the other or something...
There were a couple of men working in the front yard putting in a new front porch. I spoke to one who looked to be in his mid-sixties and told him that I was looking for my cousin and did he know where I could find him? He looks up at me, tips his hat back (the same kind of hat my grandpa in the US wears) and it's only then that I realize this IS my cousin! And he realizes that it's me, the girl from last summer! He looked so young to me, I didn't recognize him. It's the hat hiding his gray hair. The hair is the only thing on this man that signifies old age. If I remember correctly, he's almost 90. No possible way.
I was able to talk to him and I could even understand a lot of what he said. He started to go into a story about a thief, but the story got too complicated for me to follow. He asked me about my grandma, I was so happy to be able to tell him that she is in great health and she smiles a lot. He spoke about Dora, he really remembers her well, he also asked about their brother and his children (part of this conversation got lost in translation). I met his son-in-law and we spoke for a few minutes. He invited me to lunch in a few days. He said someone will be there who knows some English. I am willing to bet that the English-speaker will only know the words in English that I have no problems with in Italian (frequent occurrence...actually I prefer when the conversation stays in Italian and people re-word things for me to understand better). I will be there, I can't wait.
I handed my sweet cousin the picture of the two of us together last summer, he took my heart. "Sono molto contento che sei qua." This translates to, "I am very happy that you are here."
I couldn't wait to blog this story, so I tried to make better time getting home. But there was one last stop to make on the way...
Today was the birthday of my friend's mother. She has been so wonderful to me, I wanted to do something for her. It also gives me a bit of heartburn that I'm not around my family for their birthdays and Mother's Day so couldn't do anything for the mothers in my family...I figured a nice bunch of flowers for her would be the equivalent of a gift to all mothers, in general. It was a fun experience of going to the flower shop, telling her what I wanted (very simple) and watching her create this amazing bouquet of yellow and orange roses. And the price was incredibly low compared to American prices.
On my way to the shop, I heard a honk from a car. I looked up and it was my friend's father, smiling and waving. Again, I know I'm repeating myself, but being part of a community is awesome and I feel like I have a place in this one. It's the whole "Cheers" concept.
After delivering the flowers and a short conversation, I made my way back home. On the way I ran into my friend...he had already heard about the flowers. I told him about the visit with my cousin and the small world story of my former professor. He appreciated hearing it. He told me about the Giro (bellisima and Ivan Basso is in the leader's jersey so the stage couldn't have been any better for an Italian). I realized that I'd completely missed it after getting sidetracked in la-la land with all of everything that had happened in Bevagna. We parted and I got home the moment a storm rolled through.
There's actually even more that happened tonight (open-air rock band/huge party in Perugia). I went with my roommate and her friends. That was cool to hang with her crowd for awhile. We met up with our other roommates (her bro, his fiancè and our other roommate). They had a bunch of friends over for a couple of days from Rome--5 extra people here, but it seemed to work okay for them. No problem for me, the more the merrier. Back to the concert: I can't understand English being spoken when there's loud music around. Forget it when it comes to Italian. At one point I asked her if the band was singing in English or Italian. English. Ha!
All in a single Italian day...
The Magic of Bevagna
Today (yesterday now that I'm posting this, internet was broken, still is) was most likely the single best day of my Italian life thus far. This one is for the story books.
The day began as an average day, I took my time with breakfast, studied a bit and passed time before going for a ride. Today was said to be a bellisima day in the Giro d'Italia...one not to miss. I'd had a ride planned with a friend, but he was tired and interested in watching today's stage of the giro...and it was supposed to rain as well, so we scrapped the ride.
Hmmm, said I to myself, "Self, what shall I do today?" A full day with nothing scheduled and warm enough that if it does rain, I really don't care too much. It's been a burning priority to get to Bevagna to see my cousin (he's in his upper 80s, I had met him last summer when I came to Italy). It was great last summer, I had Marcello (Ciclismo guide) as a translator so my cousin talked to him and Marcello translated. I couldn't understand anything he said and I knew that when I would return, I'd need to have a certain proficiency in Italian.
Earlier this week, I had a nice conversation with the father of one of my Italian friends. Considering the ease of that exchange, I decided that the time had come, it would be okay for me to pay a visit to my cousin.
It's not a long ride to Bevagna, but I felt like I couldn't go fast today. The big discovery of the day was an Italian school bus. It looks fairly different from a school bus in the states (though yes, it's yellow), but the children waving in the back window gave away the vechicle's purpose. For a few moments, I decided it would be totally cool to chase after the bus and wave to the kids. That was the first magic moment of the day. I laughed outloud from the joy of watching those kids as they kept waving. I waved back and gave it everything I had to stay in the draft of the bus. For all I know, one of those little girls will be inspired and ride a bike when she grows up.
A few minutes later I was in Bevagna. I got there during siesta and this is a town that takes its siesta time very seriously so the place was quiet. Seemed to make sense to ride into town, look for a gift of some sort for my cousin and check the place out. For all I knew, I'd find him sitting on an outside bench as many of the elderly can be seen doing every day. Take note: the elderly here grow old together, in their community, supported by each other and their families. And they live an incredibly long time.
I rode over to the main piazza and saw some people eating lunch at some outside tables. I overheard the conversation and it sounded like American English to me, so I strolled over and asked them where they're from. Tennessee. Really cool couple, they come to Italy a lot, even for the weekend sometimes. I tell them I'm from Colorado and we chat for a moment. They turn and tell me that the couple sitting a few tables down is from Colorado. Ha ha! Two days in a row of Coloradoans and Americans, and in Bevagna.
Then, something happened that was surreal: I looked up and took a closer look. I stammered, "YOU WERE MY PROFESSOR AT CU!!!!!!" The couple from Tenessee enjoyed watching my jaw drop and this reunion of sorts. This was Professor Zable, he was one of my two favorite mechanical engineering professors at CU; I hadn't seen him in 10 years. He and his wife had just sat down for lunch so I joined them for a good conversation. It was a very odd full-circle sort of thing: I told the story of why I came to Italy, how I wished there had been more liberal arts classes and study abroad expereinces as an engineering major, etc. I told him about the Sharp Shooters (senior design group members) and caught him up on what everyone is doing with their professional lives. He told me about what's up with the mechanical engineering program at CU--really sounds like a vastly different (improved) program than when I went there.
He and his wife had gone on the Arnaldo-Caprai winery tour and the owner of the winery happened to be in that restaurant for lunch as well at the time. They introduced us and I explained the random situation to him. He was super sweet. I was glad to be able to thank him for the wonderful wine that we got at the Montefalco Gran Fondo a few weeks ago.
I'll post the picture as soon as I can, the internet is broken yet again so it comes on for 2 seconds and is gone again for 10 minutes...
It was time to part, but not yet the end of siesta so I found one of the only open bars and found bread with salt and rosemary on top. Outside of the bar was a bench with two sweet looking older gentlemen. So I plopped down next to them and started talking. Turns out one is 96...didn't look a day over 80 to me, though. Of course, they're both from Bevagna. I have a hard time finding locals who aren't still living in the same place where they were born.
I bid them a good afternoon, went shopping and then headed to where I was hoping was my cousin's house. He had pointed it out last summer, but you never know if it's really on one side or the other or something...
There were a couple of men working in the front yard putting in a new front porch. I spoke to one who looked to be in his mid-sixties and told him that I was looking for my cousin and did he know where I could find him? He looks up at me, tips his hat back (the same kind of hat my grandpa in the US wears) and it's only then that I realize this IS my cousin! And he realizes that it's me, the girl from last summer! He looked so young to me, I didn't recognize him. It's the hat hiding his gray hair. The hair is the only thing on this man that signifies old age. If I remember correctly, he's almost 90. No possible way.
I was able to talk to him and I could even understand a lot of what he said. He started to go into a story about a thief, but the story got too complicated for me to follow. He asked me about my grandma, I was so happy to be able to tell him that she is in great health and she smiles a lot. He spoke about Dora, he really remembers her well, he also asked about their brother and his children (part of this conversation got lost in translation). I met his son-in-law and we spoke for a few minutes. He invited me to lunch in a few days. He said someone will be there who knows some English. I am willing to bet that the English-speaker will only know the words in English that I have no problems with in Italian (frequent occurrence...actually I prefer when the conversation stays in Italian and people re-word things for me to understand better). I will be there, I can't wait.
I handed my sweet cousin the picture of the two of us together last summer, he took my heart. "Sono molto contento che sei qua." This translates to, "I am very happy that you are here."
I couldn't wait to blog this story, so I tried to make better time getting home. But there was one last stop to make on the way...
Today was the birthday of my friend's mother. She has been so wonderful to me, I wanted to do something for her. It also gives me a bit of heartburn that I'm not around my family for their birthdays and Mother's Day so couldn't do anything for the mothers in my family...I figured a nice bunch of flowers for her would be the equivalent of a gift to all mothers, in general. It was a fun experience of going to the flower shop, telling her what I wanted (very simple) and watching her create this amazing bouquet of yellow and orange roses. And the price was incredibly low compared to American prices.
On my way to the shop, I heard a honk from a car. I looked up and it was my friend's father, smiling and waving. Again, I know I'm repeating myself, but being part of a community is awesome and I feel like I have a place in this one. It's the whole "Cheers" concept.
After delivering the flowers and a short conversation, I made my way back home. On the way I ran into my friend...he had already heard about the flowers. I told him about the visit with my cousin and the small world story of my former professor. He appreciated hearing it. He told me about the Giro (bellisima and Ivan Basso is in the leader's jersey so the stage couldn't have been any better for an Italian). I realized that I'd completely missed it after getting sidetracked in la-la land with all of everything that had happened in Bevagna. We parted and I got home the moment a storm rolled through.
There's actually even more that happened tonight (rock band/huge party in Perugia), but it was insignificant compared with the rest of the day. THIS is what it's all about.
The day began as an average day, I took my time with breakfast, studied a bit and passed time before going for a ride. Today was said to be a bellisima day in the Giro d'Italia...one not to miss. I'd had a ride planned with a friend, but he was tired and interested in watching today's stage of the giro...and it was supposed to rain as well, so we scrapped the ride.
Hmmm, said I to myself, "Self, what shall I do today?" A full day with nothing scheduled and warm enough that if it does rain, I really don't care too much. It's been a burning priority to get to Bevagna to see my cousin (he's in his upper 80s, I had met him last summer when I came to Italy). It was great last summer, I had Marcello (Ciclismo guide) as a translator so my cousin talked to him and Marcello translated. I couldn't understand anything he said and I knew that when I would return, I'd need to have a certain proficiency in Italian.
Earlier this week, I had a nice conversation with the father of one of my Italian friends. Considering the ease of that exchange, I decided that the time had come, it would be okay for me to pay a visit to my cousin.
It's not a long ride to Bevagna, but I felt like I couldn't go fast today. The big discovery of the day was an Italian school bus. It looks fairly different from a school bus in the states (though yes, it's yellow), but the children waving in the back window gave away the vechicle's purpose. For a few moments, I decided it would be totally cool to chase after the bus and wave to the kids. That was the first magic moment of the day. I laughed outloud from the joy of watching those kids as they kept waving. I waved back and gave it everything I had to stay in the draft of the bus. For all I know, one of those little girls will be inspired and ride a bike when she grows up.
A few minutes later I was in Bevagna. I got there during siesta and this is a town that takes its siesta time very seriously so the place was quiet. Seemed to make sense to ride into town, look for a gift of some sort for my cousin and check the place out. For all I knew, I'd find him sitting on an outside bench as many of the elderly can be seen doing every day. Take note: the elderly here grow old together, in their community, supported by each other and their families. And they live an incredibly long time.
I rode over to the main piazza and saw some people eating lunch at some outside tables. I overheard the conversation and it sounded like American English to me, so I strolled over and asked them where they're from. Tennessee. Really cool couple, they come to Italy a lot, even for the weekend sometimes. I tell them I'm from Colorado and we chat for a moment. They turn and tell me that the couple sitting a few tables down is from Colorado. Ha ha! Two days in a row of Coloradoans and Americans, and in Bevagna.
Then, something happened that was surreal: I looked up and took a closer look. I stammered, "YOU WERE MY PROFESSOR AT CU!!!!!!" The couple from Tenessee enjoyed watching my jaw drop and this reunion of sorts. This was Professor Zable, he was one of my two favorite mechanical engineering professors at CU; I hadn't seen him in 10 years. He and his wife had just sat down for lunch so I joined them for a good conversation. It was a very odd full-circle sort of thing: I told the story of why I came to Italy, how I wished there had been more liberal arts classes and study abroad expereinces as an engineering major, etc. I told him about the Sharp Shooters (senior design group members) and caught him up on what everyone is doing with their professional lives. He told me about what's up with the mechanical engineering program at CU--really sounds like a vastly different (improved) program than when I went there.
He and his wife had gone on the Arnaldo-Caprai winery tour and the owner of the winery happened to be in that restaurant for lunch as well at the time. They introduced us and I explained the random situation to him. He was super sweet. I was glad to be able to thank him for the wonderful wine that we got at the Montefalco Gran Fondo a few weeks ago.
I'll post the picture as soon as I can, the internet is broken yet again so it comes on for 2 seconds and is gone again for 10 minutes...
It was time to part, but not yet the end of siesta so I found one of the only open bars and found bread with salt and rosemary on top. Outside of the bar was a bench with two sweet looking older gentlemen. So I plopped down next to them and started talking. Turns out one is 96...didn't look a day over 80 to me, though. Of course, they're both from Bevagna. I have a hard time finding locals who aren't still living in the same place where they were born.
I bid them a good afternoon, went shopping and then headed to where I was hoping was my cousin's house. He had pointed it out last summer, but you never know if it's really on one side or the other or something...
There were a couple of men working in the front yard putting in a new front porch. I spoke to one who looked to be in his mid-sixties and told him that I was looking for my cousin and did he know where I could find him? He looks up at me, tips his hat back (the same kind of hat my grandpa in the US wears) and it's only then that I realize this IS my cousin! And he realizes that it's me, the girl from last summer! He looked so young to me, I didn't recognize him. It's the hat hiding his gray hair. The hair is the only thing on this man that signifies old age. If I remember correctly, he's almost 90. No possible way.
I was able to talk to him and I could even understand a lot of what he said. He started to go into a story about a thief, but the story got too complicated for me to follow. He asked me about my grandma, I was so happy to be able to tell him that she is in great health and she smiles a lot. He spoke about Dora, he really remembers her well, he also asked about their brother and his children (part of this conversation got lost in translation). I met his son-in-law and we spoke for a few minutes. He invited me to lunch in a few days. He said someone will be there who knows some English. I am willing to bet that the English-speaker will only know the words in English that I have no problems with in Italian (frequent occurrence...actually I prefer when the conversation stays in Italian and people re-word things for me to understand better). I will be there, I can't wait.
I handed my sweet cousin the picture of the two of us together last summer, he took my heart. "Sono molto contento che sei qua." This translates to, "I am very happy that you are here."
I couldn't wait to blog this story, so I tried to make better time getting home. But there was one last stop to make on the way...
Today was the birthday of my friend's mother. She has been so wonderful to me, I wanted to do something for her. It also gives me a bit of heartburn that I'm not around my family for their birthdays and Mother's Day so couldn't do anything for the mothers in my family...I figured a nice bunch of flowers for her would be the equivalent of a gift to all mothers, in general. It was a fun experience of going to the flower shop, telling her what I wanted (very simple) and watching her create this amazing bouquet of yellow and orange roses. And the price was incredibly low compared to American prices.
On my way to the shop, I heard a honk from a car. I looked up and it was my friend's father, smiling and waving. Again, I know I'm repeating myself, but being part of a community is awesome and I feel like I have a place in this one. It's the whole "Cheers" concept.
After delivering the flowers and a short conversation, I made my way back home. On the way I ran into my friend...he had already heard about the flowers. I told him about the visit with my cousin and the small world story of my former professor. He appreciated hearing it. He told me about the Giro (bellisima and Ivan Basso is in the leader's jersey so the stage couldn't have been any better for an Italian). I realized that I'd completely missed it after getting sidetracked in la-la land with all of everything that had happened in Bevagna. We parted and I got home the moment a storm rolled through.
There's actually even more that happened tonight (rock band/huge party in Perugia), but it was insignificant compared with the rest of the day. THIS is what it's all about.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Baci
"Love doesn't make the world go around, but it's what makes the trip worthwhile."Baci means "kisses" in Italian. The Perugina chocolate factory (located in Perugia) makes Baci which are big (much tastier) versions of the Hersey's kiss. In fact, they have a whole hazelnut in the top of them and a cute little sayings in multiple languages. I had a baci today at lunch and the above quote came from its wrapper. I lost the wrapper, otherwise I'd include the original Italian way of saying it.
Every single day, I exchange kisses with friends and spend time with some absolutely phenomenal people. It's nothing short of the coolest thing ever to have this community here. Make no mistake, this community is comprised as much by people of other countries as the Italians. There are quite a few days I haven't blogged, so here's an attempt to capture some of the highlights of those days.
Last Monday, one of the girls in my class had a birthday. One of the students baked a torta (it was a many-layer crepe-like strawberry sort-of cake) and we all surprised her during a break in grammar class. Here's a picture of everyone just before she came in (sorry, this means a few people are missing since she and a couple of others weren't here). Bottom left is one of our professors. As I've mentioned in the past, we are a global crowd. Every continent but one is represented in a single photograph. So many different cultures, with two things in common: the Italian language and we're all buds in this thing together.
Really never considered learning about cultures and cuisine other than Italian in Italy. After lunch, I watched a good hour (or more) of that day's stage in the Giro d'Italia with two of my Chinese friends and tried explaining the nuances of the race to them. Not sure if they were quite as jazzed as I to see that stage (they were great at letting me go on and on about tactics, team dynamics, etc.), but it was pretty fun having the company.
At one point or another, I need to find burrito ingredients and introduce everyone to them. If there are two things I miss here, it's Illegal Pete's burritos and almond butter. Okay, a smoothie once in a while would be good, too. Otherwise, I'm completely content. And if you wonder why I'm up so late, it's that I can't sleep after a big dinner. There have been a lot of big, good dinners lately...loving it and am okay with the new sleeping schedule (considering sleeping in is a fine option).
Gnocchi has been on the menu fairly regularly lately in my kitchen and in the kitchens of my Italian friends. Nice. Gnocchi with truffle sauce...even nicer. Tonight the meal revolved around super fresh asparagus. Mmmm. Oops, my stomach has once again taken over my brain. Back to la cultura.
Yesterday after class, a lot of us went for gelato (guess who's idea that was...yeah...) Afterwards we sat on the steps and talked for a good long time (like a couple of hours). Again, awesome to be having full conversations with my classmates who don't speak English, who come from way different cultures half-way across the globe...places I only know from a few news stories I've heard in the past. They give the place color: I have learned more in one afternoon with my classmates than I ever knew in the past or could have ever learned in school and remembered. The conversation I had yesterday won't be forgotten--thanks for the enlightenment and the non-media perspective!
Le Americane
Here's my Facebook post for today: Speed Play pedalati sono cose del passato per me. Sono un corridore della strada adesso. Ho visto 3 donne Americani (loro sono de Vail, CO) nella strada in biciclette. Gli aiuto a trovare Perugia. Quindi, oggi era il mio primo giorno come una guida!
So let me explain (if you ever need to translate anything I write, and you might more in the near future as these blogs slowly turn into Italian), go to Google Translator. It's good enough to get the gist of what I'm saying, just don't type in English, translate it and expect it to be right. With the verb conjugations, Google can't know what you are trying to say in Italian from the English most of the time.
Tonight I visited my favorite bike shop. They gave me a whole new setup of Shimano cleats and pedals for 45 euro (my Speed Play cleats were worn out again and Speed Plays are typically great in crits, not road races). On the trip home, I saw three women riding road bikes. Considering how many local women I've seen ride a road bike here (outside of races) since I've been in the country (2--YES TWO), I figured they had to be tourists. So I rode up to them and in my most casual, extra effort to have an Italian accent style, said hi and asked them where they're from in Italian. It was obvious they didn't know Italian based on their slight hesitation to answer back immediately. That was me last summer, so fun to be coming from the "local" perspective now. Anyway, these women are from Vail! It was fun to drop the accent when they said they're from Colorado and say, "ME TOO!" in my most blunt American "accent" in English. Crazy small world, eh?
One of them lived in Italy for 7 months years ago and returns to Italy once a year. They all commented on the crazy Italian drivers (drivers here have tons of respect for cyclists) and how they feel safer as cyclists here on the roads than than on those in Colorado. My thoughts exactly. We chatted and rode for about a 1/2 hour and they were a little unsure as to which way to go. I took them to their albergo, showing them the best gelato in town on the way. Before we parted in the town square, some other tourist wanted our picture for his photo collection of his trip--I so wish I had my camera on me! Town is fairly well full with tourists, tour buses, etc. I'm really glad I got to town before this season started.
I almost never see an American here, but I don't ever feel odd about that. It's got to help that I grew up being with a very mixed group of ethnicities and have always felt more comfortable when everyone was different. Thinking about it more, all my life I have always put myself in places where I don't exactly fit.
The Big Decision of the Day
I'm starting to feel that slight itch to work again. Safe to say that when I do start working, I'll be incredibly ready. It's not for financial reasons, either. Life here is very inexpensive (think college student cheap and the dollar is stronger now) so I haven't worried at all about what's happening in the bank. In fact, bills are paid automatically, I am turning a blind eye at the moment. The other day, I bought a huge bag of fruits and vegetables (monster red pepper, oranges, lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, a couple of bunches of bananas) all for 9 euro. If I didn't ride a bike (and eat sooo much), it would cost even less.
The reason I say all of this is that it's odd when the "major" stress of the day came when my roommate was in the shower when I needed to get in the shower. Fortunately, she got out in time. The big decision of the day was what flavors of gelato to get to take to an Italian dinner party. Really? Yeah, seriously. Winners: cherry, vanilla and pistacchio. Dinner was great and the company was, as well. It's totally freaky that I can understand almost every word people are saying. I'm still missing the point some of the time, but this is weird. Ever want to be a fly on the wall in a conversation? That's me...in some ways I think I liked it better when I couldn't understand anything, the "good ol' days" when Italians never uttered a curse word or had a dirty thought. That was a little over two weeks ago now.
I've had so many conversations where people (usually Italian men) warn me about Italian men. Hilarious. So I'm not here to fall in love; fortunately, this was the expectation going in. It'll be great some day, when it's right. (Nice advice I've received from family and friends on the topic.) While I am surrounded by people demonstrating love to each other and me every day and there are kisses as a bonus...how could I ask or wish for anything more?
Monday, May 24, 2010
The Mother of All Races
The Nove Colli is the name of the Gran Fondo of this weekend. It started and ended in Cesanatico, on the Adriatic Sea.
We (my teammates and I) arrived the afternoon before the race. We started with a nice, incredibly easy bike ride. I took pictures at random. Here are a couple. The town was gorgeous and it was great to see all of the cyclists doing their pre-race routine.
Considering the very odd weather Italy has had lately (rain in almost every stage of the Giro d'Italia, for example), I found it really strange to find this amazing town in a mid-summer-like state. Its beach-side businesses were teaming with people, the beach was full of volleyball players and sun worshipers, there was a full display of cycling companies' tents (think cross-race tent setups, but many times bigger) and temperatures where people weren't walking around in their mid-winter clothes (women are still wearing boots in Perugia, for reference). I enjoyed my first skirt-wearing days of the season.
The Nove Colli race celebrated its 40th year this year, the most historical of all Gran Fondos in the world (so I hear). It draws racers from all over Italy and Europe (and a few come from all over the world).
I fell asleep last night in the middle of putting this together. Today I feel good, but I haven't tried walking stairs yet (and I have to walk a lot of stairs to get anywhere around here!)
Here's the race summary. The race start was unreal, imagine the New York City marathon (actually it draws 35,000 people, there were 12,000 there yesterday), but almost everyone has a tricked-out Euro-cool bicycle to race. I couldn't see the starting line where I started (assuming mid-pack, but impossible to know). Fortunatlely, we had timing chips so the time starts when the cyclist rolls through the starting line.
This is a picture of what it looked like at the start...and imagine many, many other roads packed just the same as this one.
Here's another picture I found...they had one or two helicopters hovering above prior to the start. Must be how this was obtained:
Le Marche region (where the race course was) is absolutely fabulous. I loved this region from my Bike Across Italy trip with Ciclismo Classico last summer, these were very similar breath-taking areas with tons and tons of climbing (one town might be the same as one from last summer). Oh yeah, I had originally thought I'd be racing the 208 km version of the race.
The team asked me to do the short course (if you call 132 km short) because they didn't want me to trash my legs. I was disappointed not to do the long course because I wanted to see how I could survive the challenge...however, when it came time in the race to either continue on the 132 km course or take the right-hand turn for the 208 km course (this is at km 110, by the way), I was very happy to take the short route.
[Here's one picture of the great landscapes to be seen. I just looked all over the web for a good, representative of the lushness of Le Marche in this race...it's incredible, but I can't find the pictures to show it. Guess you'll have to come see it in person. This is what the descents looked like, the crowd thinned such that I wasn't scared to go fairly fast. I was happy that the corners were wide and a bit easier than those in the last Gran Fondo. All day I only saw one crash (I think someone took a corner too quickly).]
I had prepared mentally for the long course. So when it came time to race yesterday, I took all of that energy and raced as hard as I could in the short course (82 miles, 6,138 feet of climbing, took me a little less than 4 1/2 hours). Aside from the first 30 km of flat riding, it felt like we were climbing all day long. It's really weird: I only used to like criteriums, not climbing and not road races. Basically, I think I'm the opposite racer than I used to be. Long road races with climbing are AWESOME!!!
Everything in the race went great with the small frustration of congestion with too many riders on the climbs. I could have gone faster up the climbs had I not had to keep slowing down when it was impossible to pass people. All day (with 12,000 people out there) there was no one group to get with. I jumped from wheel to wheel moving up most of the time. I worked a little, too, especially at the beginning of the race where I wanted to open up my legs and this was a good place to move up positions (amazing, I thought it would be so congested at the start that moving around wouldn't be possible, but I was wrong on that).
There were hundreds of women out there (granted there are a few different classifications--it goes by age here for the most part), and I was happy to have more competition. It gave me a chance to see where I stand next to all of the other women racers in Italy (there were some pros out there, but the demographic is exactly as you'd find in a local race in the states: strong amateurs (wearing jerseys of their race teams), some there for enjoyment and some pros mixing it up).
It was almost too warm (high of probably 80 degrees), luckily the race started at 6:30 am, when it was a little chilly. I couldn't sleep the night before (we stayed at a motel near the race start, awoke at 4:30am) so I only got 2 hours in...fortunately as racers know, the sleep the night before the race isn't important, it's the sleep 2 nights before the race that counts.
I have a very specific diet pre-race and it's one that's impossible to find in Italy. The food I had the morning of the race was basically wrong. Good carbs, but bad for my system. The first 80km my stomach was really knotted up and yelping in pain. Fortunately, I don't think it slowed me down and I felt I had the energy I needed for the race. I also ate a lot during the race (gels). With so many racers, if one one wanted more water, one needed to pull over, fill up the water bottle and get back on the road. The food stops were said to be very generous...there were clearly people enjoying themselves at the stops. I stopped once for a bottle refill, but that was it.
This is a picture of one of four of the food/water/prosciutto/who-knows-what-else stops.
Besides the constantly amazing vistas, the waaaay coolest part of the race was the 18% climb that was part of the Giro d'Italia 2 days prior to this Gran Fondo. On that climb was PANTANI painted all over the road, there were tons of spectators, an announcer, music...it was the next-best thing to actually racing in the Giro. It hurt, but I was passing guys. Seriously, it is such a rush to pass men who are young, fit and there to race. Here's a picture that a race photographer took of one part of that climb, but it looked way cooler from my perspective. And yes, I saw a few people walking, too. It was steep enough that if you got stuck in traffic, it could be a little tricky to get going.
Again, as in the other races, I found the guys to be great to race with; every now and then I heard "brava!" from one of them or the spectators. The Italian language is great with the masculine/feminine: when I hear brava and I'm the only woman in sight, they might as well be calling me by name. Bravo! is for telling a guy "good job" and bravi is for a group of guys.
By the last 20km, a group had formed that was fast with very strong guys, we were cranking at 27-29 mph (with lots of short pauses to get through the roundabouts...there are very few lights in Italy, many roundabouts). We were flying towards the Adriatic during the last ~10km and the smell and feel of the sea became more obvious as the finish drew near, what an awesome arrival!!! I'm having small problems with photos at the moment...imagine the hugest finishing area you can with multiple banners and tons of spectators, etc. with the sea on one side and the town on the other and you have the finish. <>
We crossed the line sprinting it out, I came in with legs to spare, it is such a terrific feeling to finish a race sprinting, especially one as epic as yesterday. I got a rose (all women did) and everyone got a medal for finishing...cool, eh? The swag bag had a jersey and cycling gloves, recovery drink, energy bars and other useful samples for cyclists. After the race, my teammates and I enjoyed a pasta feast...we were glowing from great racing for each of us. Entry fee for the race was 50 euro. Compare this to a 45-minute criterium that costs $35. I'm really going to have a hard time paying that when I get home and leaving a race without a pasta party will be a major downer.
This pic (below) of the Selle Italia monster bus is simply here because it's cool. It is unreal to be at the heart of cycling in this country. Cycling has its roots here, people are super supportive of it, tons and tons of people do it. The culture surrounding cycling here is vastly different from that in the US. That being said, I'm still understanding it so I can't put it in words yet exactly how, but it clearly is.
To finish the story, I came in 10th place amongst the women in my category (ages 19-39, I believe it is) and 994 overall. So 993 men and women of all categories were faster than me...but I was faster than 5,424.
Here's the view from the ride home. This is in the vicinity of the race, but a little further south. The next Gran Fondo (in a week and a half) will be in this area. It's going to have even more climbing.
It was a great day and weekend. I feel so fortunate to have such a cool team and friends such that we could do this thing together. Definitely one to remember always! So wish I could share this with my teammates and friends from the US, thinking about you guys!!!
We (my teammates and I) arrived the afternoon before the race. We started with a nice, incredibly easy bike ride. I took pictures at random. Here are a couple. The town was gorgeous and it was great to see all of the cyclists doing their pre-race routine.
The Nove Colli race celebrated its 40th year this year, the most historical of all Gran Fondos in the world (so I hear). It draws racers from all over Italy and Europe (and a few come from all over the world).
I fell asleep last night in the middle of putting this together. Today I feel good, but I haven't tried walking stairs yet (and I have to walk a lot of stairs to get anywhere around here!)
Here's the race summary. The race start was unreal, imagine the New York City marathon (actually it draws 35,000 people, there were 12,000 there yesterday), but almost everyone has a tricked-out Euro-cool bicycle to race. I couldn't see the starting line where I started (assuming mid-pack, but impossible to know). Fortunatlely, we had timing chips so the time starts when the cyclist rolls through the starting line.
Here's another picture I found...they had one or two helicopters hovering above prior to the start. Must be how this was obtained:
The team asked me to do the short course (if you call 132 km short) because they didn't want me to trash my legs. I was disappointed not to do the long course because I wanted to see how I could survive the challenge...however, when it came time in the race to either continue on the 132 km course or take the right-hand turn for the 208 km course (this is at km 110, by the way), I was very happy to take the short route.
I had prepared mentally for the long course. So when it came time to race yesterday, I took all of that energy and raced as hard as I could in the short course (82 miles, 6,138 feet of climbing, took me a little less than 4 1/2 hours). Aside from the first 30 km of flat riding, it felt like we were climbing all day long. It's really weird: I only used to like criteriums, not climbing and not road races. Basically, I think I'm the opposite racer than I used to be. Long road races with climbing are AWESOME!!!
Everything in the race went great with the small frustration of congestion with too many riders on the climbs. I could have gone faster up the climbs had I not had to keep slowing down when it was impossible to pass people. All day (with 12,000 people out there) there was no one group to get with. I jumped from wheel to wheel moving up most of the time. I worked a little, too, especially at the beginning of the race where I wanted to open up my legs and this was a good place to move up positions (amazing, I thought it would be so congested at the start that moving around wouldn't be possible, but I was wrong on that).
There were hundreds of women out there (granted there are a few different classifications--it goes by age here for the most part), and I was happy to have more competition. It gave me a chance to see where I stand next to all of the other women racers in Italy (there were some pros out there, but the demographic is exactly as you'd find in a local race in the states: strong amateurs (wearing jerseys of their race teams), some there for enjoyment and some pros mixing it up).
It was almost too warm (high of probably 80 degrees), luckily the race started at 6:30 am, when it was a little chilly. I couldn't sleep the night before (we stayed at a motel near the race start, awoke at 4:30am) so I only got 2 hours in...fortunately as racers know, the sleep the night before the race isn't important, it's the sleep 2 nights before the race that counts.
I have a very specific diet pre-race and it's one that's impossible to find in Italy. The food I had the morning of the race was basically wrong. Good carbs, but bad for my system. The first 80km my stomach was really knotted up and yelping in pain. Fortunately, I don't think it slowed me down and I felt I had the energy I needed for the race. I also ate a lot during the race (gels). With so many racers, if one one wanted more water, one needed to pull over, fill up the water bottle and get back on the road. The food stops were said to be very generous...there were clearly people enjoying themselves at the stops. I stopped once for a bottle refill, but that was it.
Besides the constantly amazing vistas, the waaaay coolest part of the race was the 18% climb that was part of the Giro d'Italia 2 days prior to this Gran Fondo. On that climb was PANTANI painted all over the road, there were tons of spectators, an announcer, music...it was the next-best thing to actually racing in the Giro. It hurt, but I was passing guys. Seriously, it is such a rush to pass men who are young, fit and there to race. Here's a picture that a race photographer took of one part of that climb, but it looked way cooler from my perspective. And yes, I saw a few people walking, too. It was steep enough that if you got stuck in traffic, it could be a little tricky to get going.
By the last 20km, a group had formed that was fast with very strong guys, we were cranking at 27-29 mph (with lots of short pauses to get through the roundabouts...there are very few lights in Italy, many roundabouts). We were flying towards the Adriatic during the last ~10km and the smell and feel of the sea became more obvious as the finish drew near, what an awesome arrival!!! I'm having small problems with photos at the moment...imagine the hugest finishing area you can with multiple banners and tons of spectators, etc. with the sea on one side and the town on the other and you have the finish. <
It was a great day and weekend. I feel so fortunate to have such a cool team and friends such that we could do this thing together. Definitely one to remember always! So wish I could share this with my teammates and friends from the US, thinking about you guys!!!
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