Family time

MILAN » Of the things Hawaii and Italy have in common, one in particular stands out. The importance of family.

Ohana.

La famiglia.

That both cultures so embrace it made Jay Anderson’s journey to play professional volleyball in Italy for Olympia Pallavolo Bergamo a little easier. Anderson, father of Hawaii defensive specialist Clare-Marie, spent just one season as the only "Americano" on the team, but it was an experience that remains close to his heart some 35 years later.

"I loved the people, they were fantastic," said the 1975 Punahou graduate, who went on to an All-American career at Pepperdine. "They are such big sports fans.

"Soccer is a religion, but our volleyball team was really popular. We were almost like the Wahine. We were a big deal in that town. They were just the most embracing, welcoming people I’ve ever known."

Although the Rainbow Wahine won’t get a chance to visit Bergamo during their four-day stay in Italy, Clare-Marie did so eight years ago when her father’s team had a reunion.

"It was so cool to go back and see the people he played with and stayed with," said Anderson, who was 10 at the time. "The people are so nice and so welcoming. Even though I was meeting them for the first time, they felt like family after a day.

"What was really cool was you saw that the love they had for each other never went away, even after all those years."

Jay Anderson was fresh out of college when he decided he wasn’t ready to stop playing volleyball. Through connections he ended up with Bergamo, arriving "alone, naive and not speaking a word of Italian," he said. "I was picked up by the coach, Nuccio Longhi, and two players. No one spoke English.

"It was total immersion. The first 12 days, I stayed with a different player every night. After 12 nights of eating and bantering in Italian, I was exhausted, but I was learning Italian. Then I ended up staying with a family for an entire month because they didn’t want me eating alone."

Ah, food. Cibo. The international language.

Anderson’s favorite became ravioli bergamasca, a regional speciality of handmade pasta shells stuffed with a mixture of bread crumbs, egg, parmesan and meat. However, it wasn’t the best thing he ate.

"We went to a very special restaurant, maybe sat only 20-25 people," Anderson said. "There was a guy in a tuxedo playing a grand piano.

"They wanted me to try the specialty that the restaurant was famous for. It looked like oatmeal, but it was the best thing I’d ever had in my life.

"I asked what it was and they said cow’s brains. I had to finish it — it really was the best dish I’d ever had — but I’ll never have it again."

The family wasn’t as adventurous when dining on their viaggio di ritomo (return visit). Clare-Marie particularly remembers one dessert.

"The food is amazing, it’s so good," she said. "My favorite was the tiramisu. It was homemade and the best thing I’ve ever had.

"I’m really excited. My Italian is not very good. I took six years of French, so maybe that will help a little."

She knew enough that, when she learned she’d be making the trip, she called her father, saying, "Ciao, Papa." ("Hello, Dad.")

"Even though it was just one year in Jay’s life (the 1980-81 season), he just loved the people and really bonded with them," Janet Anderson said of her husband’s experience. "Even when he was playing in Switzerland for six years, we’d drive down once or twice a year to visit.

"It was special to share that with Clare-Marie that, after so many years, he was so highly revered, that he not only loved them but they loved him."

Bergamo, which traces its founding to 49 B.C., is about 30 miles northeast of Milan. The team’s reunion week in 2007 included an exhibition at the club’s gym, many large meals and the news from Hawaii that Clare-Marie had been accepted at Punahou.

Jay Anderson has been in contact with friends in the area and some might attend one of the matches the Wahine will play against Italian teams in Milan.

"When we went back in 2007, they asked what we wanted to see," Jay Anderson said. "We told them we just want to visit with all of you and share our family with yours.

"That Clare-Marie is going with her volleyball team is very special. They may be surprised at how wonderful the reception is."

» Hawaii was scheduled to arrive in Milan around 9 a.m. Sunday Hawaii time. The Wahine then were to head to the Italian National Training Center for practice and lunch while waiting for their hotel rooms to be ready.