Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Busy first day of classes

Sept. 29 - I met our fourth and final flatmate today. Her name is Stella and she comes from Nairobi, Kenya. She moved in yesterday so we went and walked around Poole for about an hour. Really cool person. Then Tim joined us for a Chinese food buffet. It was Stella's first time having Chinese food and she loved it. I ate with chopsticks.

Sept. 30 - First day of school for me! I was probably a minute late to catch the bus that takes the students directly to campus, so that meant I had to take a regular bus that stops at every stop. And because of that I was about 10 minutes late to my first class. On the walk through campus I was hoping I wouldn't have to walk into a large auditorium by myself with all eyes on me, the late guy. But that's exactly what happened. There's probably a couple hundred people in that class (business strategy...zzzzz). I opened the door and the professor turned to look at me. I nodded at him and he looked at the rest of the people there and gave a look I didn't see. People began laughing. It wasn't the start I was hoping for. But luckily I wasn't the only one late.

Later during the first intermission, I walked up to the professor (Nick Rowles) and introduced myself and apologized for being late. I said, "I should apologize for being late. I was watching cat videos this morning." That made him laugh, and we made some small talk. It turns out he's completely understanding because the busses can be late, especially in the first week.

My second class was much more interesting. It's sport principles and practices. There were just six people in that class, including me. There were two Germans, one person from Greece, a man from Bulgaria and two British people, including the professor. So there will be several different perspectives in that class. I like it because it's tiny and two of them are in that business strategy class and in the same group as me for a project due later in the term.

I then had several hours to kill, which I spent reading up on some recommended text for those two classes. One of which was an interesting article in the Independent about how various cities fared after they hosted the Olympics. Some, like Atlanta and Sydney eventually figured out how to use their new facilities to reinvigorate their battered areas whereas other hosts such as Greece and Montreal fell into debt and the Olympic facilities lay forgotten.

Finally, at night I went to a classroom session with the American Football club where we learned the basics of the game and terminology. I learned this team uses a 4-3 defense and plays Cover 2, and if I'm the Mike linebacker I'll rush up the middle and cover the running back. Or if I'm on offense, I'll know where to go if the play call is "under 2, X Z pinch" and I'm the tight end. At first it's garbled mush, but it becomes clear later, kind of like trigonometry.

So my routine is taking shape, and thus I'm feeling more comfortable, even with the daunting prospect of juggling a Master's degree and playing for a football team. But I'm sure I'll be able to do it. I'll have to admit: This is pretty awesome. It doesn't feel strange anymore here, especially because I'm starting to recognize random people around campus I've met and hung out with.

Just one last thing: BOURNEMOUTH UNIVERSITY, PLEASE GIVE ME MY DAMN LOAN MONEY. I'D LIKE TO BUY SOME MORE FOOD AND THE BOOKS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO MY CLASSES.  STOP DRAGGIN YO FEET. Also, I still don't have my debit card from HSBC and my iPhone is forgotten on the desk in my room. Maybe someday I'll sort it out. Peace out.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Assimilation

Sept. 28 - Friday night I went to the Bournemouth Fire Festival with Naomi, another postgraduate on the upper floors of Corfe House. It's strange how postgrads are stuck up at the top two floors of an otherwise all-freshman dorm so far away from campus. But I digress.



The festival was really neat. It was in the Bournemouth city center, and that's really close to the beach. So imagine hundreds of flaming clay pots that normally hold plants stuck into the ground at the park.

There were also vase-shaped fireplaces, a row of hot coals that stood above the stream and spherical fireplaces that hung from the trees. Additionally, there were metal art sculptures that were designed around actual fire, live music and food. Needless to say it was a great place to warm up. After the festival Naomi and I went to the beach where we met up with some other postgrads who were from Romania, Italy and Taiwan. Julia, the girl from Taiwan, speaks Spanish about the same level I do, and she lives in Corfe so that was pretty neat.

Today (Saturday) I met an American who had just moved in the day before. Oddly enough, his name is Michael and he's from Los Angeles. I guess you could say it's a comfort to meet another American over here because they have something in common with me. I've met several Americans so far and it's always a kind of relief to speak to them. It's a huge thing to have in common right off the bat. Yes, we're from the same place but we're both international students. We're foreigners.

This evening I played a card game with several people from China who live on my floor. Their door was open so I just went in and introduced myself. One of the guys was super friendly and explained the game to me (he made it up himself and designed the cards as well). Eventually Cloe,

their British flatmate, came in and played with us, so it was a truly international game.

I'm beginning to feel like Poole is my home. I feel relaxed. The accent doesn't seem nearly as intimidating or different anymore. Now, it's just people speaking. Of course it still sounds different, but I've found I'm much more comfortable opening my mouth to ask questions, order food or just talk to people. I guess you could say I'm assimilating into this community, though I still find it strange to not hear Spanish everywhere like in California.

A quick update on my phone: it's locked with AT&T, not Verizon. That means it will be cheaper to unlock. However, if I can get some account information from the Porterville Recorder, I can send that to AT&T and they can unlock it for free through iTunes. It turns out there was a law passed in July saying carriers must let customers unlock their phones so they can sign up with a competitor. It'll take some time to get this sorted, but since I haven't had my own phone for a month and a half, I'm not too worried. It's nice not being connected.

Sept. 29 -  Today was all about American football. It was my second practice, and it was incredibly different from the first. I made sure to eat something beforehand and have plenty of fluids during practice. I brought a lot of coconut water, and that helped so much. But my legs are dead right now. At the end of practice we did 50 yard sprints for conditioning. One rep consisted of one 50 yard sprint followed by walking back to the line. We rested for about 10 seconds and then sprinted 50 yards to the line and then sprinted back again. There were 12 rounds of that. During the sprints I could feel my groin and quad muscles straining and pulling. There were a couple times I yelled out at the end of the runs with a simple "damn it!" because I could feel my legs straining. I thought about quitting, but if there's one thing CrossFit has taught me is that every workout ends eventually. Just push through because it'll be over soon. And when you finish after not quitting, it's that much sweeter.

So I don't think I actually injured myself (we'll see tomorrow morning). After the practice we stayed for all the freshmen, and some of them were straight up gassed. Some complained too much too. But it was interesting watching the workout from the sidelines. Football practice is so difficult, especially if you're not in shape.

And in the evening I went to Bournemouth to meet up with the club at a bar to watch NFL games, and that included Vincent, a 52-year-old former cornerback who played for England in his younger days. It was great having someone with that kind of experience at the practice.

But while riding the bus today, I marveled at how radically different my life is. I essentially blew up my old life in Porterville and moved 7000+ miles away to a different country where I'm playing an American sport I never felt the need to play back in my own country. I'm living a totally different life. But the great thing is this: it's feeling like home. Like I said in the previous entry, the accents are melting together and they're starting to sound familiar.

I think it takes some serious guts to do what I've done, and I'm not just tooting my own horn here. Who wants to feel like a total outsider? Who really has the desire to start over and begin with nothing? Who feels the need to uproot themselves, distance themselves from all they've come to love and learn and be comfortable with and try completely new things without a car, phone or bank account? I really do feel proud of myself. I've done it. I've accomplished my dream and survived the awful feeling of fear that first week.

So here's to class beginning on Tuesday and this final lager of the night (which is the French version of Coors Light).

Friday, September 26, 2014

Sept. 26:

I'm starting to run out of money. I sure hope I get my loan soon, or else I won't be able to eat! But I guess I haven't gotten the money yet is because my student ID card wasn't activated before today. And after I got my UNR degree in the mail today, I was able to prove I actually have a bachelor's degree, thus getting the card. But before that I had to take the bus through rush hour traffic around 4 p.m. That wasn't fun, but it was worth it. With my student ID, I'm legit. I'm a part of Bournemouth University.

And while I was at campus, I ran into Charlie, the coach of the football team. I hadn't formally introduced myself to him so I was able to do that while we waited at the bus stop.

I found out I have a locked iPhone today. That means I can't do anything with it unless I pay 80 pounds and wait 10 days. But I figure that's cheaper than getting a new one, so I'll bite the bullet. And since it's gone all funky since I tried to insert a SIM card, that means I can't take pictures or listen to music. Oh well. First world problems.

So since I won't get my loan money until next week (hopefully) I'm going to have to lay low for the weekend and borrow some cleats for football practice.

All of this sounds like a drag. But how could I be upset? I'm living in England on the coast! This is what I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember. And I know I've written this before, but there's a part of me that's proud of the fact I'm not here just for the education. I'm here to make memories. Call it being naive (I do). but just because I've gone to school and have a degree doesn't mean I'm stuck with a career in that field for my whole life. I want to experience lots of things.

Being in a postgraduate program is my brave, foolish, desperate and risky excuse to get myself overseas. The word "nonconformity" came to mind, but I don't think that would be correct because I've gone the mindless-modern-day-student-looking-for-better-work route. Looking at a thesaurus, I see words like "bizarre," "abnormal" and even "strange." The word "deviant" is also a good choice for what I've done. "Peculiar" is close to what I'm thinking, but I think the word "atypical" is appropriate to describe this choice.

I've been told I have incredible foresight to make the decision to quit a job I liked and study at an international school. That was from the Corfe House welfare advisor when he took me out for a drink the first week here, and I believe he said it with admiration though I could be completely wrong about that. I made a massive jump, but I'm still not sure if I should be proud of it. I'm leaning towards yes, however. And as I finish this entry, it should be pointed out that I'm trying way too hard to be humble. What do you think?


another step closer to class

9/25 - I spent my day walking around Poole and taking pictures for all of you, and I'm sure you've seen them already. Yes, they're crappy iPhone pictures of large areas, but at least I was thinking of you all. I thought it was really neat when I came across a cycling velodrome on the edge of the park by the harbor. It was surrounded by trees and sunken into the ground, so it's hard to miss unless you walk right up to it. I'd say it's about 30-40 yards in length at the most, and it's a cozy little oval track, good for lots of physical riding and crashes.
There's an event there on Sunday between a couple local cycling clubs at 2 p.m. I was planning on going to that, but I recently realized football practice is on Sunday from Noon to 2 p.m., and then after that, I've been encouraged to stay for the freshman camp from 2-4 p.m. (By the way, freshmen here are called "freshers, which is something that just sounds dumb to me. But then again, my accent probably sounds dumb to a lot of people.) And on Saturday I'll go to what's called the Fresher's Fair, which is basically a gathering of all the clubs and societies at school.
But I bought myself a SIM card for my iPhone with a company called "Three." I thought I'd be up and running with a phone number in no time. However, six hours and a second trip to the store later, I still don't have a phone number. My phone won't activate. It keeps saying the SIM is invalid, which is incredibly frustrating. I even completely restored the phone to factory settings, which also erased all my notes and pictures, in hopes of that working. Nope. Jess did tell me it can take a phone up to 48 hours to activate, so I'll be patient.
My day wasn't that busy since I had nothing going on at campus. I have my class schedule now (or as the Brits call it, a "timetable." I have Mondays off and three classes, I believe. The first break is about a month long during Christmas time as well. I can't wait to get started, though I realize this is going to take some serious commitment on my part. I'm notorious for not putting in my full effort in on school work, and this is going to be a full time job. How I deal with this, along with football practice three times a week, I don't know, and that's honest. I've said this before, but I think it'll be interesting to see how I do after almost two years away from school.
Lastly, I signed up for a volunteer language program at school called Language@BU that can be done at my own pace. So of course I signed up for Spanish at the intermediate level. And looking at the worksheets today, they're nothing too difficult, though there are some verbs I don't recognize. But I realized while reading through them I can decipher what they mean just by the context of the sentence. I thought that was cool because that means I'm learning and understanding the language.