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BADGERING WHERE ARE THEY NOW EDITION RAE LIN D'ALIE For the last three years, former Badger Rae Lin D'Alie has been playing professionally in Italy. She returned to Wisconsin during the holiday season and even attended the Green Bay game in the Kohl Center on Dec. 30. D'Alie played for the Badgers from 2006-10. The 5-foot-3 point guard started 131 of 132 games during her career, setting UW records for consecutive games played and started. The Waterford, Wis., native finished her career ranked second in career assists (483) and sixth in assists per game (3.66). "Living in a foreign culture is an experience that I am so grateful for and will always remember. I have loved getting to know the ways of the Italian people and the experience has helped open my mind to the idea of being different and adapting to new things. The Italians I am surrounded by have taken me under their wing and have taught me many things. They have taught me about food and the importance of family, two things they do the right way! I have had the opportunity to travel to many of my teammates' home cities and stay with their families, which has been a true blessing." What is living in a foreign country like? "In Europe, we play with a 24-second shot clock, where in the U.S., women's collegiate basketball plays with a 30-second shot clock. There are also a number of rules that are different like traveling calls and some foul calls. Also, I have found that American basketball seems to focus more on the physical part of the game ― how strong, quick, and fast an athlete can be, whereas Italian basketball is focused more on the technical aspect of the game." How is European basketball different than U.S. basketball? You also played with the Italian National Team. What was that experience like? "The experience with the Italian National team was really fun. I spent the summer of 2012 with the team playing in the qualifications of the European Championships. We traveled around Europe playing and visiting various cities, I learned a lot that summer and even had a chance to meet up with former Badger Ivana Mijalcevic in her home country of Serbia!" "Before I lived in Italy I took two semesters of Italian at UW. While the courses were a good start to the language, I still found it difficult to communicate. I am the only American on my team and outside of one other player, I am the only English speaker. I found myself frustrated often as a point guard because I wanted to help out my teammates and be able to communicate, but I just didn't have the ability to do so. One of my teammates, Camilla Ardito, was a huge help. In the first months, she was basically my personal translator. I learned the language over time by being saturated in it and I also taking courses in the city with other foreigners. I was in class with people from all around the world, it was wonderful!" You had to learn Italian. What was that like? 26 // VARSITY January 23, 2014