I hurt all over

Last night, after obtaining my certificato medico and recovering from my cold, I finally took a Judo class in Italy. (And it was about time, too. My fat pants were starting to fit better than they're supposed to.) It went pretty well, all things considered. The instructor spoke so fast that I couldn't understand a word he said, but there was another instructor who spoke English, and the girl I was working with didn't trust my Italian, so she continuously translated into English, of which I sometimes understood less than I did the Italian. Between them all, and watching very closely, I managed. Linguistically, that is. Physically...well, I've been to Judo thrice since before Christmas, and gone running as many times, so I'm certifiably out of shape, and I guess I looked it, because they kept telling me I could stop whenever I wanted to. Thanks.

Unfortunately, the belt systems are different here, and this leads to unfulfillable expectations, e.g. the expectation that I'm good at this. I should definitely be wearing a different color (read: lower) belt here, but I asked in the office and they said not to worry about it. The people in the office not worrying about it, however, doesn't change the fact that the people on the mats are probably expecting something (i.e. decent Judo) that I couldn't deliver even if I weren't badly out of practice.

All things considered, however, it did go well. I ripped the skin off one of my knuckles, because my hands aren't used to handling anything rougher than Italian bread, and my feet were killing me, because they're accustomed to the comfortable protection of my sweet new Pumas. Tonight, however, my feet feel fine. It's the rest of my body that hurts. Comfort is so last week.

In an unrelated news update, for which I'm sure you've all been waiting, the translator used "giurare," which means "to swear (a promise, a vow)," but which I was unaware also meant "to swear, to curse, to cuss." I'm assuming it does, because Anna explains to Diana about the two different kinds of "giuramento." My most trust-worthy online Italian dictionary doesn't mention anything about the other meaning, though. hmmm...

Furthermore, for anyone who might have been worried about how my non-working, non-studying, violin-playing roommate was going to feed herself, she did take a job - that she doesn't like - playing violin on a political talk show Tuesday nights. In Italy, political shows have live classical music. It's the other one (one moved out) who I guess we should worry about now, because she broke her leg at the beach (I missed the how. She was at Cinque Terre, and then she was in the emergency room. I didn't quite catch what happened in between), so not only can she not work, she can't leave the house at all (no elevator). She watches a lot of TV and other people cook for her. Doesn't sound too bad, does it?

Speaking of cooking, I've decided that the stir-fry is the way to go. Chicken and peppers? Good. Veal, broccoli and asparagus? Good. Veal and peas? Good. Veal, asparagus, and peppers? I might have been getting a little too adventurous there. My adventurous streak extends only to climbing school buildings and visiting foreign countries, not eating asparagus and peppers together.