Here I am for the first time in the UK, and what a beautiful country it is. The city that we are staying in, Coventry, is spectacular. Lush, green vegetation, lots of clouds and rain, along with cool old school buildings. One aspect that I have really enjoyed so far is that it is not a huge tourist attraction, and therefore we are getting a true feeling of what it is like to live in the UK, rather than just a tourist feeling.
Back in Dallas, NACDA finished off with a solid day 3, and we were lucky enough to go to a Texas rangers game that night. What a cool ballpark! We had great seats, but really just being in that atmosphere was electric. I may have been convinced to cheer for a second Dallas team......uh oh. Anyway! The following morning, we left the hotel and made 3 stops on our way to the airport. First was Anthony Travel, a company that partners with universities all around the nation to take care of travel arrangements for their athletes, coaches, and fans, and even go as far as planning the whole trip for the university (i.e. if a team is traveling to a bowl game, they may take care of every single arrangement like parties, etc.). It was neat to see that side of the business and see how much really goes into it. Our second stop was at Learfield Sports, which has an amazing office. I mainly say that because they have ESPN on all the time, but what a cool environment it was and would be to work in. They had a few different people talk to our group, including 2 interns which was great because we could really relate to them and ask questions to see how we could possible be in their shoes next year. Our final stop was at the headquarters of Conference USA, where we talked to the commissioner along with a handful of other people in the office. I have truly never felt so welcome, and after leaving there, I am definitely a fan of what they do. You can see their Instagram picture of us here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150885346155741&set=a.10150684470880741.392358.92716040740&type=1&theater
They made us feel like they were the ones who were privileged to host us, when really we were privileged to be there. That attitude of service was evident in every person in that office and was very refreshing to see.
Our flight across the pond was not as bad as I though it was going to be. The 9 or so hours seemed to go by faster than it could have, even though I did not get much sleep. We checked into the hotel yesterday around 1, and it is a little different! They have 2 different sized beds, which I was not expecting at all.
Like I said in the beginning, Coventry is a remarkable town! We had class today, and the university is spectacular. I was schocked to hear our local professor Neville (he is teaching one course along with Dan Wickman, U of A professor) say that they have 24,000 undergraduate students. I am anxious to find some free time and get out there with my camera. If you didn't see, I put a link to my Flickr stream of photos for the trip on the right hand side. They are mostly my artsy photo ones but I will include some in these posts as well that depict the places we have been.
I am actually really looking forward to the school side of this trip, not just all the spectacles. While yes, often getting up earlier than i would like might not sound exciting, we are studying sports! When you are passionate about something, it makes it fun and entertaining, and I can tell you that pretty much everyone on this trip is passionate about sports which should make for a fun and entertaining yet still educational classroom environment.
The food here is outstanding. Tonight we went to a noodle bar that was really tasty and cleared everyone's sinus's out. As we left, we all said that we are going to come back before we leave, but no joke we have said that about every single place we have eaten so far. And from what I hear, the best food is yet to come! It is also a little strange to be able to order a beer with my lunch, but it is just the culture. We have been trying different local beers to try and immerse ourselves as much as possible. That really goes for everything we have done though. We want the ultimate experience and we are doing as much as possible to make that happen.
I was able to Skype with the family (and Ginger) last night at roughly 2:45 AM Coventry time, but definitely worth the hour of sleep I missed to see them! That is all from me tonight.
Until next time,
Ben
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