So here's the deal...

Captains Log: Day 1 (shout out to my guy, RK)

I arrived in England on September 30th...coincidentally my birthday.  So I've been here for about a month and a half now, but it has taken me about this long to feel situated and get a lay of the land, hence why its taken me this long to start documenting my experience...or maybe I've just been a little lazy, either one works.

The Basics:



My Living Situation
I live in a nice house with one of my teammates (more about him later) in the town of Shipley, West Yorkshire.  Shipley is a quaint little place with a lot of history (it seems like everywhere in England has a lot of history) situated in a valley right outside of the large town (I hesitate to say city) of Bradford.  It is also ten minutes away from the city of Leeds which is a nice small metropolitan city with a lot to do.  Shipley is a pretty mellow place with a town square and a bunch of shops and a flea market in the center of town during the week.  The area has a very "English" feel to it as it is situated in the middle of Yorkshire Dales and  many of the buildings  around the town are made from Yorkshore Stone.  Shipley's most famous resident is the Dancing Man.  I was in a cab ride my first week I arrived and I see this guy bustin some moves on the side walk.  The cab driver tells me in a very matter of fact tone that this is the Dancing Man...like its common knowledge.  I kid you not, this guy is out and about everyday and constantly just dances to his own groove as he makes his way around town.  Definitely adds some flair to this tranquil place.

Basketball
Basketball is the vehicle that got me over to England.  I still have a hard time comprehending how exactly I pulled this off because I never really was looking to continue my basketball career after college.  But as we all learn, sometimes the best things in life are unexpected and the only thing I can say is that I was kinda in the right place at the right time and kept my options open.

Anyway, I signed a one year contract with the Bradford Dragons at the beginning of October.  The Dragons are a basketball team that play in the semi-professional league here in England called the EBL (English Basketball League).  Basketball in this country is pretty much equivalent in popularity to cricket in the U.S.  It comes in a distant sixth as soccer comes in first, second and third followed by rugby then cricket.  I dont quite know why but basketball has never really caught on over here which I find interesting because it has managed to catch on in most other parts of Europe.  Its a humbling experience to play a sport that not many people care about let alone know anything about, but its all part of the experience...I've had to get use to people referring to made baskets as "goals" or fouls as "penalties."

I missed the memo not to smile

I wasnt sure what to expect before I got here as it related to my team.  I had no idea who was on the team, what the talent level was like, who the coach was and so on.  However after a month and a half of practices and now 11 games into the season, I have been delighted with how everything has turned out.  The talent is good, especially for a country where basketball really isnt a priority.  This might be because most of my teammates actually arent from England.  My teammates are a very diverse group...this has been an unexpected positive and has definitely added to my overall experience thus far.  The team is comprised of members from Poland, Latvia, Antigua, Bulgaria and Montserrat.  I had never even heard of Montserrat until I got here...it happens to be a very small island near Antigua that was actually devastated by a volcanic eruption a few years ago.  Having all these guys from different backgrounds and different places has been great.  They all speak English which is nice for me, but they also speak their native languages when talking to their fellow countrymen.  All of this diversity has made me feel deceptively cultured all of the sudden.

I get along well with everyone, but because of age differences and such, some guys are closer with some than others.  I  have been welcomed into the Latvian crew with open arms.  There are four guys from Latvia on the team, two of which are brothers, and we all have a good time away from the court.   I'm trying to pick up on some Latvian so I know when they are talking about me behind my back, but so far all they have taught me are some Latvian swear words.  My roommate is the a guy named Boycho from Bulgaria.  He is an imposing figure as he stands a good 6-8 and has a thick Eastern European accent to him.  He's a real good guy and whenever we walk around town together we get lots of stares...like we escaped from the circus or something.  We also often get asked how tall we are which is kind of new to me.  But as I have come to find out, everything in this country is smaller, so seeing two people as big as us is unique I guess.

Now for the important stuff...the games.  We are 11 games into the season and we have gotten off to a great start.  Unfortunately we lost our first game of the season last Sunday, but I honestly didnt expect to be on a team that would be 10 and 1 right now...a welcomed surprise for sure.  We have a lot of talent and the guys are a real tough group.  I feel like a lot of my teammates have come from humble backgrounds and have had to fight for anything they've ever got in life...this mentality translates onto the court as they have all proven to be very hard nose which I think has been one of our strong points.  Its not uncommon for scuffles to breal out in practices or games, but as I've come to learn this is just how these guys have learned to play.  When stuff gets tense I try to step in every once in a while but a lot of times they dont want to hear it ha, go figure.  As long as we win I guess its all good, haha.  Hopefully we keep winning and stay at the top of the division...winning fixes everything.

School
When I'm not busy with basketball, I'm in a 1 year masters program at the Bradford School of Business earning a degree in International Business Administration.  So far this has been an interesting experience for a few reasons.  First, I have never taken any business courses in my undergrad time at WashU...so diving head first into a curriculum like this has been very new.  But so far I've found most of the material  practical and pretty common sensical so it hasnt been that bad.

Secondly, just like my basketball team, my class is also very diverse consisting of students with many different backgrounds and from all over the world.  Not only am I the only American out of 55 students...but Im also the only Caucasian (in the words of Chris Farley, "Kill Whitey!!!"...sorry that was inappropriate, but I had to do it in the name of Phil Weisberg).  I've found this to be a somewhat intimidating yet very valuable experience.  It has been humbling being in the vast minority for once in my life and while everyone has been very nice, its still something I'm always conscious of and provides a sobering outlook on life, which probably isnt a bad thing every once in a while.  Most of my class comes either from parts of North/West Africa, Pakistan or India.  Not only are geographical backgrounds diverse, but also religious backgrounds.  There is a noticeably large Muslim student population.  The Muslim influence was apparent when last week we had a day off of school because it was the Muslim holiday of Eid...definitely a first for me...but again, a nice way to fool myself into feeling more cultured and worldly.  While the diversity of the class provides many positives...it also has its negatives...most of which is that of the language barrier.  Everyone in the class speaks English to a certain level and holding a casual conversation is fine.  But when the conversation turns academic and technical, things get difficult and it takes a while to get on the same wave length...all part of the experience.

So now that I have caught up with the basics and boring stuff, what will follow are the random thoughts and occurrences that happen during my time across the pond.  Enjoy...or Cheers.