To my four or five faithful readers out there…. Sorry I’ve been out of touch for so long. I will be more active in my blogging for the remainder of my stay here. Speaking of which, I’ll hit the halfway point of my time in Italy in just five days. It’s amazing to think that I only have two months left in this adventure. My emotions will be mixed when it’s time to say goodbye… I’m developing good friendships over here, and yet there are things and people that I’ll be eager to get home to.
Obviously a lot has happened since I last wrote. I’ll mention some highlights. Those of you who know me, know that I’m a very relational person… so, obviously my best times here are those spent in the company of friends. Brennan and I have made a few trips to Pompei to visit our friend Saverio (and others). Each time we’re treated to a remarkable meal (usually seafood) and great conversation. I’ve also had a chance to spend a few nights playing cards with some of the players, which is fun because, as we all know, poker is an international language! I’ve also been playing a lot of basketball down on the courts on Via Napoli, which is a street not far from our apartment that connects Pozzuoli to Napoli. There are two really nice courts right on the sea and we occasionally are able to get a decent game of 3-on-3 going.
Easter weekend was a good time for me. We went to a Good Friday service in Pompei that was beautiful. The service took place outside the lovely church on the town’s square. The Bishop and those participating processed around the square during the service, stopping at placards that depicted different scenes of Christ’s trial, execution, burial, and resurrection. Needless to say, the service was followed by an unbelievable seafood dinner (the picture above was taken after that great meal). The next day, we hit up a beach for some sun, though the breeze made it a little too chilly for all-day event. That night we met up with some players for a night at the Covo, which is a club owned by one of our linebackers. Fortunately, we were able to experience a Napolitan Easter supper on Sunday at the house of Stefano Ciotola, our tight end. His mother prepared a delicious meal and we washed it down with a lot of chocolate egg… it made me feel right at home. The Italians set aside the Monday after Easter (Pasquetta) as a holiday itself. The unofficial tradition is to travel to a nearby city to spend the day. We went with some players to Scauri, a coastal town a few hours north of Napoli for an all-day BBQ. Lots of fun! I tried to document the weekend in photographs and I’ve posted them on Facebook.
I’m writing this after our team’s third consecutive loss. This brings our record to 2-3 on the season. The first loss came to the defending league champion Bengals. The next two losses came on Saturday night games on the road. Now, these road night games are difficult for a few reasons. First, they’re usually in the range of 8-10 hours away… so we leave early Saturday morning, get off the bus, play a game, then hit the road only to return to Napoli sometime Sunday morning. Also, several of our starters are unable to play in Saturday night games because they can’t get off work. In the first night game, we lost to the Frogs, a team we should have easily beaten. Our offense was only able to muster a single touchdown in the game, bringing our grand total to just four touchdowns in four games! This greatly frustrated the offensive coordinator.
In our most recent game, the tables turned and we found ourselves in a shootout against the Red Jackets, the top team in our division. Finally, the offense clicked on all cylinders and it seemed like we couldn’t be stopped. Max, my quarterback, had his best game by far, throwing for two touchdowns and completing 9-of-10 passes as one point in the first half. Paolo, our running back, ran for two scores and our fullback, Tommy, ran one in and made a TD catch as well. Ciotola had at least six catches including a beautiful wheel route for a TD. For those of you reading that have ever played for or coached with me, you’ll be happy to know that the defense bit hard on the Jail Fox to open up an easy touchdown pass. Unfortunately, the opposing offense had an even better night and we lost by a score of 58-34. The losing streak has been frustrating for sure. Hopefully the offense can build on its success and the defense will return to its dominating ways and we’ll turn this ship around. We host the Gladiatori from Rome on Sunday… and the winning streak begins there.
I’m still very much enjoying the Italian culture. The language is coming slowly. My players assure me that I have a good accent… I just don’t know enough words! And I already know that I’m going to terribly miss the food here when I have to leave… so good. It’s also nice to live in a town in which most things are within walking distance. It’s not exactly enjoyable to drive in this place anyway, and I like being able to walk to the nearest salumeria or pizzeria or fruit stand or café or basketball court. I especially appreciate the warm, affectionate, considerate demeanor of the guys I coach. I wish we were more like this in the States.
I’ll leave by saying that in the last few weeks I’ve also begun to miss bits and pieces of home more and more. It’s mainly the relationships and being around friends that I miss. Of course I really miss my family, close friends, and Bishop. And of course it’s not easy being in a long-distance-relationship… I miss my girlfriend tremendously. And I miss little things like stopping in and chatting with Stike in his office every day. And shooting the breeze with Laf and D and Ben at lunch. And coaching the VES guys in lacrosse. And getting a group together to grub out at La Carreta. So, to all of you back in the States, I’m looking forward to hanging out this summer! Ciao!
Obviously a lot has happened since I last wrote. I’ll mention some highlights. Those of you who know me, know that I’m a very relational person… so, obviously my best times here are those spent in the company of friends. Brennan and I have made a few trips to Pompei to visit our friend Saverio (and others). Each time we’re treated to a remarkable meal (usually seafood) and great conversation. I’ve also had a chance to spend a few nights playing cards with some of the players, which is fun because, as we all know, poker is an international language! I’ve also been playing a lot of basketball down on the courts on Via Napoli, which is a street not far from our apartment that connects Pozzuoli to Napoli. There are two really nice courts right on the sea and we occasionally are able to get a decent game of 3-on-3 going.
Easter weekend was a good time for me. We went to a Good Friday service in Pompei that was beautiful. The service took place outside the lovely church on the town’s square. The Bishop and those participating processed around the square during the service, stopping at placards that depicted different scenes of Christ’s trial, execution, burial, and resurrection. Needless to say, the service was followed by an unbelievable seafood dinner (the picture above was taken after that great meal). The next day, we hit up a beach for some sun, though the breeze made it a little too chilly for all-day event. That night we met up with some players for a night at the Covo, which is a club owned by one of our linebackers. Fortunately, we were able to experience a Napolitan Easter supper on Sunday at the house of Stefano Ciotola, our tight end. His mother prepared a delicious meal and we washed it down with a lot of chocolate egg… it made me feel right at home. The Italians set aside the Monday after Easter (Pasquetta) as a holiday itself. The unofficial tradition is to travel to a nearby city to spend the day. We went with some players to Scauri, a coastal town a few hours north of Napoli for an all-day BBQ. Lots of fun! I tried to document the weekend in photographs and I’ve posted them on Facebook.
I’m writing this after our team’s third consecutive loss. This brings our record to 2-3 on the season. The first loss came to the defending league champion Bengals. The next two losses came on Saturday night games on the road. Now, these road night games are difficult for a few reasons. First, they’re usually in the range of 8-10 hours away… so we leave early Saturday morning, get off the bus, play a game, then hit the road only to return to Napoli sometime Sunday morning. Also, several of our starters are unable to play in Saturday night games because they can’t get off work. In the first night game, we lost to the Frogs, a team we should have easily beaten. Our offense was only able to muster a single touchdown in the game, bringing our grand total to just four touchdowns in four games! This greatly frustrated the offensive coordinator.
In our most recent game, the tables turned and we found ourselves in a shootout against the Red Jackets, the top team in our division. Finally, the offense clicked on all cylinders and it seemed like we couldn’t be stopped. Max, my quarterback, had his best game by far, throwing for two touchdowns and completing 9-of-10 passes as one point in the first half. Paolo, our running back, ran for two scores and our fullback, Tommy, ran one in and made a TD catch as well. Ciotola had at least six catches including a beautiful wheel route for a TD. For those of you reading that have ever played for or coached with me, you’ll be happy to know that the defense bit hard on the Jail Fox to open up an easy touchdown pass. Unfortunately, the opposing offense had an even better night and we lost by a score of 58-34. The losing streak has been frustrating for sure. Hopefully the offense can build on its success and the defense will return to its dominating ways and we’ll turn this ship around. We host the Gladiatori from Rome on Sunday… and the winning streak begins there.
I’m still very much enjoying the Italian culture. The language is coming slowly. My players assure me that I have a good accent… I just don’t know enough words! And I already know that I’m going to terribly miss the food here when I have to leave… so good. It’s also nice to live in a town in which most things are within walking distance. It’s not exactly enjoyable to drive in this place anyway, and I like being able to walk to the nearest salumeria or pizzeria or fruit stand or café or basketball court. I especially appreciate the warm, affectionate, considerate demeanor of the guys I coach. I wish we were more like this in the States.
I’ll leave by saying that in the last few weeks I’ve also begun to miss bits and pieces of home more and more. It’s mainly the relationships and being around friends that I miss. Of course I really miss my family, close friends, and Bishop. And of course it’s not easy being in a long-distance-relationship… I miss my girlfriend tremendously. And I miss little things like stopping in and chatting with Stike in his office every day. And shooting the breeze with Laf and D and Ben at lunch. And coaching the VES guys in lacrosse. And getting a group together to grub out at La Carreta. So, to all of you back in the States, I’m looking forward to hanging out this summer! Ciao!
Dude, 11 documented followers. And countless unofficial followers I'm sure...
RispondiEliminaGood post. Thanks for writing.