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Team VolleyHut’s Sibillini Journal 2005
Volume 1: Rome
By Megan Bowman, University of Michigan
The author and her cohort from U. Michigan
We finally made it! After about a fourteen-hour trip and almost missing our connection we arrived in Rome, Italy. Four of us from the team traveled on the same flight, and I am glad we did. We found the train station no problem, but then we had to figure out how to get tickets, and many places did not take credit cards, only cash. We found some express machines that took credit and went over to the platform, and watched others to figure out how to validate our tickets.
We got on the train, and saw the Virtue sisters who had been here before, and they kind of explained what to expect in the days to come. The train trip was about twenty minutes, then there was about a fifteen minute walk through the station and up to the hotel, where we carried all of our luggage the whole way, and it is about ninety degrees outside. Lets just say a few people should have packed a bit lighter.
With the six of us we arrived at the hotel met two other players and Tim. We headed upstairs changed, and headed off to see the sights in Rome, since it was nine o’clock in the morning. We did the tourist thing and enjoyed every minute of it, although close to the end most of us were petering out due to lack of sleep. We were awake about twenty four hours straight, and really tired at about six o’clock. We still saw the Coliseum, Pantheon, bunch of ruins, fountains, the capital building and the Spanish Steps. We went to dinner that night then headed back for an early bedtime.
Our crazy girls in Rome…
The following day, we woke up early and were out of the hotel, off to Vatican City by seven thirty am. We took the Metro everywhere in Rome. It was a little crowded and a few people needed some deodorant, but it got the job done for wherever we needed or wanted to go. We saw the Basilica, the Vatican, the Sixteenth Chapel, and St. Peter’s church. Great fun, and there were a ton of vendors on the street, so lots of bartering and shopping. No need for makeup either day, since it was so hot we would just sweat it off the instant we started walking outside. Sweat towels and the gelato made the heat seem not so bad. Just as a side note the gelato is awesome, it is extra sweet and rich ice cream.
That evening Alex and I were asked to play with AS Fidia Cesano, an Italian team who needed a few extra players to have a match against Cornell University. When we arrived we met the team. One of their outside hitters spoke a little broken English so we attempted to use her as our translator. The other team members knew just a few words, so hand motions and body movements were basically our forms of communication. The coach knew a few words in English as well, but he had a piece of paper that he would draw a court on and then try to explain.
This experience was really fun. The Italian women of the team ranged in age from eighteen to twenty five, and were very cagey/scrappy players. They were smaller in size, but were good. They were all very friendly and encouraging the whole time. The first game of the match we lost by three points to Cornell University. We had a few missed serves, and plenty of mis-connections with the setter, still trying to figure things out. For example, in the middle their ones are run about a one and a half in height,; meaning twice as high as a normal quick. Just little adjustments had to be made.
As the match progressed, we became a much better team. We won the next three games for the match. We were asked to play the fifth game just so Cornell University could practice, so we played it out and won the final game.
Even through the different languages and sets, we figured it out. Volleyball is the same anywhere you play, the athlete just has to be willing to adjust especially out of system.
After the game we got a cheer with the Italian team and said our good byes.
One girl asked me for a t-shirt that I had already worn and sweat profusely in because there was not any air conditioning in the gym. I tried to explain that it was wet and she did not want it, but she offered me a dry one and persisted that she did not care. So we traded, and she put it on right away. I would not have put that on and I don’t know how she did.
We headed back to the hotel for some Pizza, the preferred post-game meal, and then up to the room to hang out with our other team members. Bedtime followed soon after that. We wanted to be ready for the bus to Falconara the next day…
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