Breaking News: Kaeden voted in top 40 cutest babies in Sunbeam contest

As a testament to Kaeden's pure cuteness he has been picked by The Sun into the top 40 out of about 25,000 entries.  He needs your vote to make it into the top 10 Globalites.  Lets get this adorable little cherub in there.  I've included the link below, click on the link to view slideshow.  He is the 3rd one in the slideshow.  I know, I know, he's adorable.  You can go back to the main page and clink the link that says click here to vote then vote Kaeden Kordiak and vault him to superstardom.  Here is the link: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/2519316/The-Suns-Sunbeam-competitionSunbeamsThe-Suns-cute-baby-competition.html

A great week capped by a visit from Greg Acone

Hello to all, sorry for the delay but things have been pretty busy over here.  I'm into the thick of it with all of my sessions and really enjoying my work.  Sometimes I can't believe I'm being paid for this stuff, it really is a lot of fun teaching the kids how to play.  In unrelated news, I have developed a moniker for all of you followers of my blog.  From this point forward I will refer to you as Ryan Goes Globalites, or just Globalites for short.  On to what I have been up to:

I was able to get into the city Friday for a day of solo sightseeing and had a lot of fun.  I started out at the British Museum, where I was able to see thousands of artifacts from all over the world.  Most had been "rescued" and "salvaged" (more like stolen) from their original homes during the height of British Imperialism.  I spent about 2 hours in there walking around and seeing the different exhibits, my favorite were Ancient Egypt (complete with the Rosetta Stone), Rome and Greece.  After I left the museum I went and checked out Leicester Square then on to Trafalgar Square.  Trafalgar Square was really cool and I've included some photos in an album I've added on Facebook (yes I'm finally back on it).  From there I made the short walk over to the river and went and saw the London Eye as well as Parliament and Big Ben.  I ended my day of exploration with a pint of Guinness at a nearby pub and a train ride home.

Saturday night I enjoyed a visit from Mr. Acone.  He was in London and we met up in Leicester Square for dinner and a couple drinks.  It was great to see him and seeing such a familiar face lessened the sting of homesickness substantially.  The good food, good beer and good conversation was also a big plus.  We ate at a place called Steak & Co.  then made way to a pub for a couple pints before we had to catch our trains back.  We ended the night with a solid man-hug and took our respective trains in opposite directions.  Thanks for the visit Greg, it really was a great night.

To end this entry I will make brief comments on unfortunate events that took place this weekend in the American sporting world.  First, the brutal and repulsive display of football put on by the New England Patriots in the 2nd half of Sundays tilt vs. doughboy Rex Ryan's New York Jets.  I was beside myself while watching that mockery of offense and defense.  The only team that had a worse performance was Gryffindor House, my own fantasy football squad.  After a dynamic week one performance, my team laid an egg this weekend.  They really let me down Globalites, they really did.  But its a long season and I look forward with confidence. I will chalk this one up as an anomaly, a complete and total aberration, a perfect storm of underperformance that will never be repeated.  After all, they say lightning never strikes more than once in the same place.

So thats all for this week Globalites, I'll check back in soon.  In the meantime, I wish you all the best.

Settled In

I'd say its starting to feel like home. I've finally made the big mental move from visitor to resident. I know this through a couple key signs: I've only attempted to get into the passenger seat of my car twice this week, I have a constant hankering for curry, I haven't thought about Dunkin Donuts in over four days (until now) and I even went so far as to call a pound a quid the other day. Yes, I'd say its starting to feel like home. But there are some things I really miss, like watching college football on Saturdays, my mother's cooking, dinners out on the back porch with my family, friends being only a phone call away, fall ball, Sportscenter, watching HBO's terrific Sunday night lineup with Josie, Pokes and Molly, dinner parties and most importantly, all of you. I've been so busy the last couple days that I haven't really gotten the chance to be lonely. Its only hit me in bed at night when I'm alone in the dark. But darkness is the same no matter what continent you're on.

On a happier note, I was able to watch the Patriots dismantling of the Bengals online Sunday. Boy oh boy was that first half something to see. Furthermore, my fantasy football team, Gryffindor House, destroyed Tyler Steinetz's New Jersey Fluffers 206-77. This first victory makes me feel a little better about the low salary I'm receiving from English Lacrosse because all signs point to a big payday for me after I lock up my 2nd fantasy championship. Ben Severance if you are reading this, don't step on the tracks when the pain train is coming through.

On to what I've actually been doing since I last wrote. I had a light week last week, only coaching two sessions of 14-15 year old boys. I was happy with both of my sessions and the kids really seemed to enjoy the game. I was also able to get out for a couple rounds of golf at a nearby course and put up an 84 with 2 triple bogeys and 3 doubles. Classic Ryan. On Saturday we had a scrimmage against another nearby club and I was playing some pretty good lacrosse before I aggravated my ankle injury again and had to sit out the 2nd half. I'll be fine I just need to stay on the sideline for a couple weeks to make sure I don't have a problem that lingers all season. I was back to work on Monday and had my best day yet. I had the same group of 14-15 year olds in the morning then had two sessions with 9-10 year olds in the afternoon. Those were definitely my favorite. The kids had as much fun playing lacrosse as they did asking me questions about America. One girl even asked me if I knew Justin Bieber. Ha. He wishes.

So that brings me back to today, one class then the day is my oyster. I can't believe I've already been here for 15 days. Only about 90 more till I come home for Christmas. I'll keep you posted in the meantime gumshoes.

Week one

So I finally feel like I'm settled enough to start this blog. Hectic wouldn't even come close to describing the last week or so, I supposed I'll just start from the beginning.

I arrived last Sunday morning and was picked up at the airport by three members from my club named Steve, Dave and Andy. They were really nice and fed me before getting me settled in my new digs. My new place is a small and a little crowded but I can't complain because its a roof over my head. As I look out the window at the pounding rain that is falling right now I realized I am lucky to have that. In our little home here are Steph (mother), Kevin (father) and Kaeden (8 month old baby). Steph and Kevin are really nice and Kaeden is as cute and content as a baby can be. Kind of like the stories I've heard of yours truly in his wonder years.

On Monday I got out early for a round of golf at a course about 2 miles from my place. The course was nothing to write home about (funny how I'm writing home about it right now) but it was a cheap round and I played well. So I was happy. Later Dave picked me up and I went into Notting Hill in the city and we had one whale of a day. The event was the Notting Hill Carnival and it was pure madness. Thousands of people flooded the streets and there were excessive amounts of music, dancing, boozing and yelling. There was also a parade celebrating London's Caribbean population and culture, which was very interesting. I can't forgive myself for forgetting my camera, but it was one hell of a way to start out my stay here in London.

I woke up early the next morning and was driven by my program manage Mike Barrett to 2 other LDO's place in Croydon. We then made a 2 hour drive to Reading for our induction course. We spent the next 4 days learning about our jobs, responsibilities, English lax as a whole and developed some coaching skills. There were about 14 of us in the course and we all took to each other pretty quickly. Thrown into the mix was a pretty wild night out in Reading including about 6 icings and many other good times with some new friends.

After the course ended we headed east to the city of Bath for a big tournament. I was able to play all day Saturday and was playing pretty well until a rendezvous with Lady Luck left me with a sprained ankle. But I didn't let it spoil my good time and we enjoyed the rest of our stay in Bath. On Sunday we were able to see some sights including Bath Abbey which is a beautiful church built in the 1400s. Another notable were the ancient Roman baths. We then piled back into the car and made the long drive back to London where I licked my wounds and caught up on some sleep.

Yesterday I had my first day of work. It was just a short one with a session in the morning with a bunch of 14-15 year old boys. It went well, but I realized how hard it is to teach a game you've been playing for almost 15 years to a bunch of kids who have never heard of it. It was an eye opener but left me excited for the work I have ahead. Which leaves me here, sitting in my room with a full day ahead of me. I think I'll go enjoy it.

I hope I've been able to give you a good picture of my experience so far and I wasn't too longwinded. It's been the experience of a lifetime so far and I can't wait to find what lies ahead and tell you all about it. So goodbye for now, old friends, I'll talk to you again soon.