Softball Love Connection

Olive Garden
I just want everybody to know that Olive Garden is a lie!!!! Everything that I knew about Italy before I came here was a lie, especially the food!! We had a team lunch Saturday before the game and I sat with Eva, Irene, Ellie and Ivano. They informed me that there is no such thing as fettuccine alfredo. I told them about the tour of Italy at Olive Garden and they thought it was funny. Than I told them about how you can get ravioli in a can. Irene and Ellie gave me a look like I just killed somebody. Than they told me how their grandma makes it from scratch and I need to have it and that I should never entertain ravioli in a can again.

Gilmore Girls!!!
Everybody that knows me knows I LOVE Gilmore Girls! We found it on our Sky TV. Its called Una mamma per amica (That's what it said on the tv guide). I'm so excited about this new development. I get made fun of because I like it (Jami Lobpries) but I'll proclaim my love!

Grappa
Remember when I was telling yall about the grappa we had at the little Easter dinner and Michi and Stefi's house. It's whats left over after the wine is made and it's supposed to be good for digestion. Here is the video of us drinking the grappa. Watch Ty afterward she looks depressed!



A moment
The other day after practice I was sitting in the dugout by myself and I was in the zone. Ty walked by and she was like Sho snap out of it. She asked me if I was having a moment. I realized that she caught me mid-moment. A moment is when you realize that you are in Italy and you think to yourself what am I doing here so far far away from home. I'm in this completely different country, I don't know the language, the food, the people, nothing here is familiar to me at all! Me and Ty find ourselves snapping each other out of the moments every once in a while. But we talked about it and we think its ok that we have these moments. Ty joined me and the dugout and we started chatting about life and she said to me, "Sho, you know what I really want to do." I said, "What Ty," She said, "Be a wedding planner." (I thought it was important for me to put this convo in quotes so yall know I'm not making it up!) I said "What! I love planning weddings too." We both discovered we have a secret love for bridezilla! We both decided that we have to be soul mates!



What's that Hawaiian saying!?
Me and Ty were really bored on day so we came up with a game show. Its called What's that Hawaiian saying? Apparently in Hawaii they speak a slang called pigeon. Sometimes Ty will start speaking her Pigeon and I have to tell her to used the other version of English she knows. There are even books you can buy on how to speak it and translations. You can even get a Bible in Pigeon its called "Da Jesus Book." (I being so serious!) To play the game you watch the video and try to figure out what Ty is saying.


This is what Ty says in Pigeon: "Ho bah Sho, u seen da kine's hit!?! Was mean eh!?! Ho, mean da dope."

A. Hey there Sho, did you see that kid get hit. That was so mean.
B. Hey Sho did you see that person's hit!?! That was a nice hit!
C. Oh man Sho, you see that dope deal go down. They almost got caught.


Softball Love Conneciton
We were sitting around talking before practice. Some of the girls on the team play on the Italian National team and they were talking about some of the cool gear they got. I told them I wanted to be on the team so I could get some good stuff. They informed me if I married an Italian I could have duel citizenship and play on the national team. I thought that was a great idea so we are on a hunt to find me an Italian husband! I decided that I would find 3 candidates and let the people of the blog vote. I'll give one prospect per blog!

Prospect #1









Name: Ivano
Age:29
Occupation: Athletic trainer
Perks to being his wife: He gives really good massages!

Pasqua & Florence

Pasqua (Easter)

The Monday after Easter in Italy is a holiday called Pasqetta (little Easter). Stephi and Michi invited us to their house to celebrate. Their mom made a four course meal! It felt like we were at a restaurant but better! I didn't know I could eat so much! First there were appetizers and then came the pasta. I thought that was the end of the meal, I was full and happy. They cleared all of the plates and then they brought new plates out. I thought maybe they were getting the table set up for next time they were going to have a big meal. Nope I was wrong, the meat came out! So of course I had to eat some more! When we were all done eating the plates were cleared, the meal must be over, wrong! Bowels and spoons were brought out next. There is always room for dessert so of course I ate more! It was the greatest meal I've ever had in my life! After we were finally done eating Michi and Stephi's dad gave me, Ty and KG a shot glass with grapa in it. Grapa is what is left over after the wine is made and it is supposed to help with digestion. That was some strong stuff! It taste just like patron! If somebody ever offers you grapa, don't do it! They live in one of those Italian villas that you see in the movies! We were taking pictures of their house like we were sightseeing, Stephi and Michi laughed at us.

Firenze (Florence)

Me, Ty and KG took a trip to Florence. We drove and we went the back way instead of going on the highway because you have to pay. Unfortunately the back way was up and down a mountain with lots of windey roads!! It was like a never ending roller coaster. I got a little sick on the way there but it was worth the trip. We got to see a lot of sites and some extra stuff we didn't want to see. We got lost walking back to the car.

What language do you think in?

Me and KG were sitting at the table eating breakfast and she started telling me about a crazy dream she had. I started to wondered what language she dreamed in and she said Czech. Then I asked her what language her thoughts were in. She said mostly Czech but lately she has been thinking in English. That sounds confusing! Sometimes I'm glad I only know English. I wish I knew a little Italian when I went to the post office to send a package home. The lady helping me didn't speak any English. I think it got sent to the U.S., I'll see in a week or so.

Me, Ty and Char when to a local elementary school to teach the kids the basics about softball during their P.E. time. When me and Ty were introduced they told the kids that we didn't speak any Italian. We know a few words like cambio which means change. We were doing a hitting drill with the kids and they would go one at a time. When it was they were done we would say cambio. After one little girl went we said cambio and she started laughing and ran back to her friends and they all started pointing and laughing! I told Ty I think we were getting made fun of by some ten year old girls! When they were done all of the kids were putting on their coats and getting ready to leave. It was 12:30 and they were getting out of school, me and Ty were so confused! Char explained to us that they get a 2hr break everyday and they parents come and get them. That is why all of the shops clothes during the day. Its all starting to make sense now! It blew our mind that the school has no cafeteria.

Game Day!!!
This week we played Parma. We won both games and afterward my friend Angel that played at University of Houston, Shannon that played at Tennessee and Tish, she played at UC Santa Barbara stayed to hang out with us. Of course we had to take them to pride with us, it was a good night. The next day we went to eat at a restaurant called American Graffiti. From what I hear the chefs go to America to study and learn how to make American food. I had a hamburger and it was good! Shannon and Angel were so happy because that was the first real meal they have had since they have been in Italy. They have been living off of pringles and twix!! I'm glad we could send them home full and happy!

Package!!!

Package Yea!
I got a package from my mommy!! Me any Ty have been sitting around waiting for a package from home. She has one coming from Hawaii and I had one coming from Houston. Everyday we sit in the office (our couch) hoping Bombacci comes over with a package. Monday he came over and we got really excited but he walked in with no package! He came by to check on us after the earthquake (which was also nice). On Wednesday at practice I got a package and inside was magic!! It had Little Debbie chocolate cupcakes with the white swirl on top, Reese's bunny rabbits, starburst jelly beans, oreos, Doritos, Fritos, cheetos and a few movies!! My heart was happy when I ate my first cupcake! My Italian teammates had never heard of jelly beans. They were big fans of the pink but not the purple. All I need now is for somebody to send me a hamburger!

Italian National Anthem
After the game on Saturday I was determined to learn the Italian National Anthem. Sara, one of my teammates, came over and she taught us how to say the words. She got a few laughs out of it but we finally figured out how pronounce all of the words. We found a version of it on YouTube and sang along to it. Strigiamoci is the hardest Italian I've ever tried to pronounce and I have no idea what it means! Me, Ty, KG (Kate) and Ornela practiced for a few days and we sang it for the team. I think they were impressed, we got lots of cheers! Here are the words:
Fratelli d' Italia,
l Italia s'e desta,
dell elmo di scipio
s'e cinta la testa
Dov'e la vittoria?
Le porga la chioma
che schiava di Roma
Iddio la creo'

Strigiamoci a coorte
siam pronti alla morte
siam pronti alla morte
l' Italia chiamo'. Si!

Hard right!!?

Giri turistici (Sightseeing)
Me, KG and Ty took a trip to a couple of nearby cities. First we went to Rimini which is on the beach. That made Ty happy. After we took a stroll on the beach we went into the information center and a guy told us what to see in the city. We got a map and took of walking. First we went to a museum, Museo della Citta Lapidario Romano. There were 3 stories of paintings and artifacts. We walked the entire city and saw lots of interesting and really old stuff! After leaving Rimini we went to San Marino, The City on the hill. It was a ways up and we had to take a long hike but it was definitely worth the trip. The view from the city was unreal. San Marino has an interesting history. From what I was told it is in Italy but its own country. It even sends its own athletes to the Olympics. On the way back down my legs were shaking. When we got back to the car I couldn't stand without shaking! I thought i was in shape until I went to San Marino! More pics from the trip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZUiqAK4kdo



Game Day!!
On Saturday we head to Legnano to play a double header. We have a travel suit that we wear on the bus when we travel to away games. Ty is not exactly built like an Italian so her pants don't really fit her, at all! So she wore shorts under her pants and she sagged them. The pants looked normal until she lifted her arms and her jacket raised up. I laughed so hard I cried when we got off the bus to get something to eat. On Saturday we also got to put our national anthem practice to the test. I sang the National Anthem along with the team and remembered the words. I don't know what they all mean but I can pronounce them! The first pitch of the game was a ceremonial first pitch. I'm the first hitter so my job was to stand in the box and not swing. After that pitch we had a moment of silence for the victims of the earthquake. I thought that was really cool. We won the first game 9-6 and the second 4-0. We had two really good team victories. All of my Aggies will appreciate this. In the second game I was on 2nd base and Ty was up to bat. JK, Our coach, yelled out to Ty to lay down a bunt and he yelled at me to not stop (I guess you can do that when everybody else speaks Italian). I said ok. I scored and we successfully pulled off the second base squeeze.

Rap Music
A few days ago we introduce KG and Ornela to rap music. Here is the outcome:

Game Day!!

Google translator
A few days ago me and Ty went to a pizzeria and spaghetti restaurant down the street from our apartment. Our goal was to find something that was like American spaghetti. We tried our best to communicate with the waiter but he spoke no English and of course we don't speak Italian. He brought out an Italian-English dictionary but that wasn't working out too good. So he brought out is laptop computer and the google translator was on the screen. I typed in marinara, meat and spaghetti. He typed something in and it translated to garlic, sausage and tomatoes. Yes!! It was the best spaghetti I've ever had in my life. Olive Garden had nothing on that spaghetti!

Chocolate!!
Anybody that knows me knows that I love chocolate or pretty much anything that has sugar in it. Italy has the greatest chocolate I ever tasted. Everyday I go to Conad (our local market) and get a chocolate bar. I'm addicted!! Ty is supposed to be on chocolate watch and keep me from eating so much but she does a terrible job. When we got home from eating at the pizzeria near our field I was on a chocolate rampage and ran toward my chocolate stash yelling chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Kate pointed out that is probably why my skin is brown because I eat too much chocolate. It was pretty funny.

Game Day!!!
It's finally time to play!! All day I was sooo excited. We had to be at the field ready to start warm up at 5:00pm for our 6:00pm game. So at about 3:30 it was time to start getting dressed. I got more and more excited with every layer I put on. It wasn't until after I got my uniform on that i realized I had to go to the bathroom!! So i got to get excited again when i redressed.
When the game finally got going I realized that the game of softball is the same in every country. It felt great to be back on the field and playing again. The oddest part of the day was the playing of the Italian national anthem before the game. Me and Ty are determined to learn the words. We played Nuoro and won one game and lost one. Our fans are awesome. The city of Forli really supports sofball which is awesome. To read about the game type in forlisoftball.it into google search and click on translate this page next to the first listed item. You can browse the entire website in English. Check out fastpitch.it for more pis and stats. You can also watch live play by play of our games! Just go to www.fibs.it. Scroll down and on the right hand side you will see Italian softball league Live. Click on it and scroll down until you see the Forli softball icon and our opponents icon. Click on Live to see play by play or box to see the box scores.



The day after the game me and Ty were walking back to the apartment from the store and a car stopped and yelled out something in Italian and win and they clapped and cheered. We thought it was cool that someone recognized us!

Terremoto!!!!!!!! (Earthquake!!!!!!!)
When the earthquake hit we were watching an episode of House and it was showing soldiers at war. As soon as the earthquake started my first thought was that something hit the building. I grabbed my phone and headed for the stairs along with the rest of my roommies because we had no idea what was going on!! Ty's first thought was i hope our sky dish is ok! That was my first earthquake experience and we thank God it was a small one!

Ingles. Italiano. Espanol. Hawaiian

Languages of the world
As I mentioned before my roommate Ornela is from Argentina. She speaks pretty good English but you have to talk to her slowly for her to understand. So she decided that I need to learn Spanish. I took a few years of Spanish in high school and it turns out I remember more Spanish than I thought. Saturday night we went back to our favorite place, Pride, the Irish pub. I spend most of the night learning Italian and Spanish. It turns out they are really similar. Apparently they have the same Latin roots. Who woulda know that the bar is the best place to learn a foreign language. We also learned that if you can drink in Italy you can drink anywhere in the world! When you ask for a mixed drink they will fill the cup 9/10 of the way with alcohol and the rest with juice. And they are pretty big glasses! If you ever come to Italy don't ever order a Long Island!!! According to my roomie Ty from Hawaii the beer here goes down real smooth and she definitely felt the effects the next day! The funniest parts of the night involved Ty. I kept having to remind her that I speak English and that she didn't have to talk slow to me! Earlier in the night one of the Italian players Michela set Ty up. She told Ty to say something to our trainer Silvia in Italian. So Ty confidently walked over to Silvia and say what Michela told her to say. Turns out it was something not so nice and Silvia's jaw dropped to the floor. Ty went on a rant about how she had been set up. Lets just say it was a good night at Pride.

So before a few days ago I didn't know that Hawaiian was a language. There are schools in Hawaii where the entire curriculum is in Hawaiian. Only a small percentage of Hawaiians speak Hawaiian. Ty only knows a few words and she will say them to me like I know what she is talking about. Apparently, within her friends and family they call all females Mary even if that's not your name! So if I happen to hear Mary she is talking to me! Ty is definitely a character! When Ty has to got number 1 she says she has to go shi shi.

Time Change
In the US the time changed in early March. Spring forward. So I though I was done with the time change for spring. I was wrong!! On Saturday the time changed and me and Ty had no idea. On Monday me and Ty were scheduled to get a physical at 2:30pm. So we woke up at 11ish (you know the normal) I went to Conad, our local grocery store and made some breakfast. By that time it was 1:20 and Char shows up to take us to the doctor. She told me that the time changed. So I was thinking they changed the time of our appointment. But no, the actual time changed. The funny part is that we spent all of Sunday an hour behind everybody else and we had no idea. One of our roommates told Ty about the time change but she didn't know what she was talking about because they don't do time change in Hawaii. She has never heard of it. I don't know if I believe her!

English TV
We finally got our Sky!! Sky is a box and dish that gives us channels in English! I felt like a little kid on Christmas day when they came to hook it up. The first show we watched was House. Its funny because they show really old shows like Baywatch! We literally cheered when we found NCAA basketball on ESPN America! It made my heart happy.

Italian Culture

Italian Culture:

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I'm beginning to learn a lot about Italian culture. For instance, everything closes around the city from 12:30 to 3:00. And everything is closed on Thursday. When you go out to eat at a restaurant or bar you don't receive a check. Everything is on the honor system. If you order a drink at a bar you can pay as you go or pay at the end and you keep track of what you got. Here are some words I've learned in Italian.

shortstop- interbase

centerfield- centro

leftfield- sinistra

right field- destra

oufield- esterna

home run- Fouri campo

catcher- receivatore

pitcher- Lanciatore

warm up- scaloaento

ball/s- palla/e

run- punto

home team- casa

bat- mazza

One of my first days here Ty and I were walking down the street exploring the city. We looked up as saw a sign for McDonalds!! I don't even like McDonalds but I got real excited! We followed the sign and searched the city but we came up short. We asked for directions a few times but we couldn't understand what anyone was trying to tell us! As we were searching for the McDonalds we approached an older man that was standing in the door way of a shop. When I got close he stuck his foot out like he was going to trip me and let out the most evil laugh! I guess he was trying to welcome us to Italy. It was pretty funny! It turns out we weren't even close to the McDonalds. One of our teammates took us a few days later and when we first pulled up it looked just like the McDonalds in America we were so excited. Our excitement soon turned to disappointment because it was disgusting! That will be the last time we go to McDonalds in Italy!

I went to the grocery store for the first time. My goal was to find anything that resembled American food. We came to the cereal section and I found some frosted flakes. The only reason i knew it was the good stuff is because Tony the Tiger was on the front of the box! When we got to the section with laundry detergent I had no idea what to do! I grabbed one and hoped it was right. We ran into our coach at the store and he helped us out. It turns out I picked up fabric softener! I got some yogurt, pringles and bread. It was a rough and confusing but good shopping trip.

Everything is Forli is pretty fast paced. Everybody walks fast and drives fast and crazy. Here, pedestrian cross walks don't mean a whole lot so you have to pay attention when you cross the street. We always say Ty is going to be the first person to get hit by a car because that girls does not pay attention.

A few nights ago we went to a restaurant with the team. Me and Ty ordered our meal in Italian and the whole team cheered. We ordered Tagliatelle al Ragu. It is supposedly the closest thing to spaghetti they have in Italy but it had no marinara sauce at all! It was pretty good so I had no complaints. After dinner we went to an Irish pub called Pride. It was a lot of fun. All I know is that those girls get more energy as the night goes on and they know how to have a good time. Our roommate Ornela from Argentina got hit in the eye by a crazy dancing elbow but its ok she didn't remember much the next day.

Our Schedule:

April 4, 2009 Fiorini Forli'

vs Museo d'Arte Nuoro

April 11,2009 Fiorini Forli' vs Amga Legnano

April 17, 2009 Fiorini Forli' vs Cassa Padana Parma

April 25, 2009 Fiorini Forli' vs DES Caserta

May 2,2009 Fiorini Forli' vs Sanotint Bollate

May 9, 2009 Fiorini Forli' vs Europromo San Marino

May 16,2009 Fiorini Forli' vs Mosca Macerata

May 23, 2009 vs Museo d'Arte Nuoro

June 6, 2009 vs Amga Legano

June 13, 2009 vs Cassa Padana Parma

June 20,2009 vs DES Caserta

June 27,2009 vs Sanotint Bollate

July 4, 2009 vs Europromo San Mariono

July 11, 2009 vs Mosca Macerata

The top 4 teams compete in the playoffs and the winner plays in the European Cup. We have a three week break between the regular season and playoffs.

My first Week in Italy!

Hey Everybody,
I decided to start a blog so i can keep everybody updated on my new life in Italy!

I made it, finally! It was a long day of traveling. As soon as i got here i fell in love! The owner and coach are really cool, they really take care of their players here. We got something to eat on the way to the apartment. When we got here he showed me around helped me get settled in and made sure I had everything I needed. The apartment is all set up. The bed is made, there were towels here. Pretty much all i needed to bring with me was my body and some clothes.
Let me tell you about my day of traveling. When i got to the airport yesterday in Houston everything was pretty much smooth sailing. I didn't get charged for my bag being a little overweight. I was excited about that. When we first boarded the plane it was sooo hot!! Apparently the motor that runs the air conditioner was broken! We sat in the heat for 30 mins before they replaced the motor and we could get going! I had sweat running down my back. I sat next to an interesting character. His name was Zach from New Orleans. He was a cool guy and crazy. He asked me a million and one questions than let me know he wasn't hitting on me, he has a fiance. He passed out before the flight took off. Someone tried to wake him up because he dropped his phone but we couldn't get him up!! He snapped out of it after a while and we talked some more. He drank the whole flight!! My flight to London was 8 hours long. I like the international flights. You can have all the free alcohol (I chose not to have any :)) you want and you can watch almost any movie or tv show. I watched Rachel is getting married (its not a chick flick like you think) than I watched P.S. I love you (very much a chick flick). After that i tried to go to sleep but it wasn't happening. I even put on the complementary mask they give us. It might have been a little more comfy if my stupid seat wasn't broken. It wouldn't recline!! Since i couldn't sleep i watched an episode of everybody hates chris, king of queens and friends. By that time, it was time to land. When i got to London I got my stuff and thankfully i found one of the those carts because there is no way i could have carried my stuff to where i had to go. I found the bus station but my ticket was for 8:20 and it was now 9:10am so gate on my ticket meant nothing. I asked around and finally found where i needed to go. When i handed the guy the ticket he told me it wasn't valid anymore and that i need to buy another ticket! (i had no money at this point) Lucky for me another lady looked at it and she was like no the ticket is valid for the day. Phew! I was bout to have an issue. And i had no way of reaching the owner of the team.
I got on the bus and i still hadn't slept at this point. I think it was 4am Houston time. I got to the other London airport checked in and sat there for about 2 hrs until the gate that i needed came up on the monitor. When i landed in Italy the coach and the owner picked me up. They are very nice and seem like they are going to take care of us. My roommate is a Hawaiian girl. She is cool. She is so homesick. She told them she wanted to go home already. I told her to hang in there. She was happy i was here and spoke English! Our other two roommates are from Argentina and The Czech Republic. They call our house the melting pot! Everybody seems pretty cool. I passed out after I took a shower! Oh and everything that comes on the tv is in Italian. MTV is really weird!
This is our car. Its called a rover and it is really small like all of the cars Italy. The cars here have to be small because they still use the same roads they did a 100 years ago and they are all narrow.
Me and the car!








On Thursday I had my first practice with the team. Before every practice we do conditioning and a circuit. Our conditioning is distance running. ughh! I've been avoiding running long distance my whole life! The softball part of practice was good. We had to have one of the girls translate everything the coach said. After practice I had my first Italian pizza and it was amazing. We found out that when you order pepperoni pizza in Italy they will bring you a pizza with peppers! If you want pepperoni the meat you have to order salomy. It was pretty funny all of the girls laughed at me and my roommate Tyleen from Hawaii.

Today it snowed!! Tyleen has never been in anything but perfect weather in Hawaii so she was shocked to see the snow! We stood on our balcony and took pics.









That was my first few days in Italy. Eventful but good!