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.
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