Nationalism, identity and a drunk professor

13/10 - I did something today I've never done before: make a mash. It was fantastic! I do have to give some credit to Kate, as she was eating in the kitchen during this time and helped me out. I was trying to decide what to do with a bag of vegetables that needed to be eaten and she gave me some tips and ideas.

I just sliced up some potatoes, parsnips and carrots and placed them all in water for at least 30 minutes to stew. Near the end I put a cube of vegetable stock in there as well. When everything was mushy and falling apart, I put it all in a large bowl and began mashing with a fork. Every so often I poured a bit of the stock into the bowl and continued to mash. I then put some butter, salt and pepper into the mix. That turned out to be awesome because it had the consistency of typical mashed potatoes that aren't dry and have some flavor. I was excited I made something so tasty so I offered some to Tim, Kate and Stella.

14/10 - For the football chalkboard session tonight we had a motivational speaker come to...motivate us (for lack of a better word). I liked it because not only did it apply to football but for school as well. I'm here and this is my opportunity to hit the shit out of people in football, and also to make up for my past shortcomings in the classroom. Log off Facebook and fantasy football and get to work.

Also, I've read more interesting theories about sport and society. Courtesy of George Orwell in the '40s, each and every kind of team or club in sport is like a different nation. Like with actual countries, nationalism is at work with fans. They hate other fans because they're from a different nation or for no other good reason. It creates ill will and hostility towards others, and it doesn't do much for creating good relations.

The more I read I see more and more why being the obnoxious fan is not the way to go. Sport should bring together together, not drive us apart and be part of the problem.

15/10 - I was a little surprised to learn I was named the Asst. Sports Editor of the Bournemouth Rock today, even after I made it clear I only wanted to contribute a few articles. Oh well, we'll see how that goes. Additionally, I'm all set to go with Bleacher Report. I'll begin in the morning. Finally, some income.

Tim, Kate, Stella and I spent a fair amount of time in the common room today just talking. Stella and I are becoming friends. Before meeting her I never had a desire to visit Africa at all, but knowing her would make a trip there much easier. She said it would be fun to show me around Kenya and just thinking about that earlier made me game to go. I think it would be a fantastic lesson going to Kenya. Why? I've spent my whole life, as a white person, in the majority. Going to Kenya would make me a minority. Everyone will be a different color. I've never felt strange because of my skin color. I wonder how that would feel? But Stella said I would love African food and apparently Kenyan beer is amazing. Let's go!

What's also funny is how Stella thought it was winter here. Nope, it's barely fall. While in the common room, I was sitting around barefoot in shorts and a t-shirt. Stella had a blanket, a sweater, leggings, socks and a scarf. This weather is freezing to her. No wonder because she comes from a warm country.

17/10 - Last night Kate and I combined on cooking dinner. We ended up with sausages with rice mixed with cous cous and curry sauce and some sauted vegetables in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Just as we finished, Stella walked in. We talked about cooking a meal the night before but she just missed it.

I'm happy to report I now have tickets to two soccer games. One is for Bournemouth AFC with my classmate Krasimir (the Bulgarian guy) and the other is to a Crystal Palace game with Bill (pseudonym) in December. I'm really excited for these games, and of course to go back to London.

And speaking of Bill, I ran into him at a bar in Parkstone tonight (it's 18/10 right now) and what resulted was incredibly hilarious. Bill saw Tim and I and stumbled up to us completely hammered. He just started talking to us in slurred speech and there were several spots where he put his arms around us and drew us in close. He also kissed us on the forehead a couple times. But what was really funny was the fact Tim just set his beer down (which was half full) and left the bar after that meeting because he thought Bill's actions had killed our style.

At football practice I was moved to defense to play as one of the linebackers. The weather wasn't cold but it was raining most of the time. I just want to play, and I know I'm pretty shitty at the game. But tonight it was awful. Coach Charlie was calling defensive plays in the huddle and I had no idea what was going on. I was getting knocked around and spun around. But it was my first practice at linebacker after spending the last few weeks learning the offense, and it'll only go up from there because I really set the bar high for myself.

I'll bore you all with some things I got from more reading in the library. I've been in England for more than a month now; almost five weeks. After reading some sport sociology books, I'm pretty sure I've gone through a change in self, or identity. Bournemouth and Poole feel like home now and I'm not so star struck about being in another county. Things, such as the accent, feel normal now. It's only been about five weeks but it has felt much more than that. British people aren't that different from Americans. Sure, some words are different, but we have similar cultures. Also, servers in restaurants are paid minimum wage so tips aren't expected here like they are in America.

So I'll cut it off here at 2:49 a.m. and go to bed. Hopefully I've drank enough water to get me up in the morning and go have a full English breakfast with Kate.