Poole Town FC gets in the way of my essay

1/6 - Since I've been back to Corfe House, I haven't done much. I've done a truckload of Bleacher Report editing, and surprisingly, I've started my Managing Organizations essay. It needs to be between 4,000 and 5,000 words and is about what challenges an American company could face merging or forging an alliance with a company in a country with a different culture. It needs theory, of course, which will be the most difficult research because that kind of reading is deadly dull, especially when it's about organizational culture. But I've chosen to merge with a Venezuelan oil company, and I've written more than 600 words so far. The essay is due Jan. 19.

Everyone is back in the flat. I was excited to see Tim, Kate and Stella again. Stella came back yesterday, having driven with friends from Milton Keynes and drinking vodka the whole way. Needless to say, she and her friends were very lubricated by the time I saw them in the kitchen. I had a few drinks with them, and I have to say I think Kenyan people are amazing. All of Stella's friends from her home have been super friendly so far and it makes me want to go to Kenya.

I've been to my third football match since I came to England. I checked out the local soccer club on Tuesday: Poole Town FC. The Dolphins (what is it with the city of Poole and dolphins?) played Sholing FC and won 3-0.

 This is a tiny club at the top of the table of the Southern Football League Premier Division. There were a grand total of 151 people in attendance. Most people were just standing along the sidelines, though there were some covered bleachers. The thing is, when there's so few people, individual hecklers get real loud, especially when they're targeting the keepers. If the keeper has a bad play, there's always that one voice that rings out "ooh, dodgy keeper!" loud enough for all to hear.

But this was fun because these guys definitely aren't perfect. This is grassroots football; they're not the overpaid, soft divas that roll around on the ground in pretend agony like at the highest levels. They just play, not worrying about winning an arbitrary foul in the middle of the pitch. They make mistakes, and that makes the game that much more interesting.

Tatnam Ground (Poole Town's pitch) is about 15-20 minutes away on foot for me and it costs £7 to get in. That's much better than the two-plus hour journey to get to London to see Crystal Palace or Arsenal (an Arsenal game would cost me at least £60). It's another feature of my neighborhood. You have to support the local players.