First Bournemouth Bobcats football game

11/3 - Another great weekend which concluded with the strangest night I've experienced in my university career. And of course, it was with Bill as my partner in crime. I won't say every detail about the night, but I did win 101 quid (another term for pounds, like saying bucks for dollars) playing blackjack. I was introduced to chips (fries) and mayonnaise and found a burger restaurant that probably rivals Burgers and Brew. It was Stella's birthday celebration on Saturday and that was loud and late. Her Kenyan friends are also a pleasure to meet.

It's kind of frustrating to have a lingering injury like the one in my hip flexor. I want to be able to put pads on and go get roughed up while also delivering a couple hits myself, but I'm relegated to standing on the sideline with the other few people who have knocks. I can feel my hip a little bit during warmups, but it's fine right now. I just need to keep stretching it. Hopefully I'll be good to go for Saturday's game vs. Surrey, and it sounds like I'll be in pads and available to play.

I've held myself back in the name of full recovery, and that's something a couple other guys need to do. I know a couple guys keep pulling the same groin muscle or hip flexor every week and just refuse to take themselves out. It's a pride thing, but if it's going to make things worse, what's the point?

11/6 - Bonfire Night was yesterday and it was kind of underwhelming. Anyway, it's strange to go to a fireworks show in November in the cold.

But today ended in shame and embarrassment. I went to a Spanish conversation class in the evening at Talbot campus. It was intermediate level, and I could understand some of what the leader was talking about. But when she turned to me and asked a question, I didn't understand completely and my mind melted down. I stuttered and couldn't think of a word to say. I chose to shrug and not say anything. From what Julia told me, you could see my face going red. Speaking in Spanish is what I'm definitely not comfortable with.

Julia and I rode the bus back to Corfe, and it was much easier to talk to her one on one in Spanish. It's a no-pressure situation. In the class there were five other people, not including the leader. I'm not afraid of anything in this world, except for speaking in front of people. It was shameful to fall apart like that. But I'll go again next week and hopefully be more comfortable with speaking my second language.

11/8 - We had our first game today against the University of Surrey. The weather was complete crap, as it was windy, rainy and cold. We lost 35-0, and the game was called early in the fourth quarter, mostly because one of our veterans, Adam, had a serious injury and was down on the field for a long time. He eventually was taken away in an ambulance. But here's the team picture. I'm in the back row to the left:

I was involved in one play, and that was the second-half kickoff.  I actually don't blame coach Charlie (the guy on the left wearing shorts) for not putting me in because I've taken the last two weeks off practice because of my hip. I don't know the play calls well yet and am not comfortable tackling yet. So I feel like if I go out there I'll be hurting the team because I don't know what's going on. But give me a few more practice sessions and I'll feel more comfortable in an actual game, and next week I'll be able to give Gideon (No. 56) a breather at one of the linebacker spots. However, it was still great to be involved in the first real game this club has ever competed in.

I've written about this before, but it's such a trip to be playing on an American football team in England. It's like things are kind of backwards from what they were in the states, and I love it. A couple years ago I wanted to be a football referee when I went to England. I'm not doing that, but that's totally fine.

Now I just need to decide what to do for my Sunday evening, but I'll probably go to Bournemouth.