What The Fox?

This time I put off writing because I have actually been busy! Not just with work, I actually go outside in the sun and socialize now!

Most recent adventure: Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Compiègne

My first Ultimate tournament in France! I was so excited. I have been consistently attending practices once a week, learning the different strategies and terms. It is not the same as being back at school playing with my own beloved team, Red Scare, but it has been interesting. Sciences Po’s team is called What The Fox. Some nights half of the players who show up are English-speaking exchange students like myself, other nights it’s mostly the French students. This tournament had a bit of both: Saturday had a good mix of the two, and Sunday it was just the French-speaking students and myself. While in general I think my overall comprehension and verbal expression in French has improved since I started, it was still difficult for me to follow along in the conversations half of the time, and I mostly just listened. Full immersion can be very interesting, but overwhelming at times too. They did all speak English to some degree, and were very willing to translate for me if I really didn’t understand, which was considerate of them. It helped me to feel a bit more included, but at the same time it’s awkward being the odd one out.

We played four games on Saturday, and three on Sunday. We lost them all, though the final one was a close loss of 7/10. The team had good spirit though, so we had a nice time. While I missed the varied cheers and spirit games that I love in the U.S., there was a difference I liked:

After each game, the two teams would form one huddle, alternating players from each team, and give a rundown of how each side thought the game went, commented on what could have gone better, what worked well, and wished the other team luck for their other games. We do this as well, but mostly as separate teams and we may shout out a corny cheer to the other team to say “good game.” Some teams here not only high fived after the games, but also kissed cheeks. I am in France after all.

We did play one round of “Ninja” with our opponents from the first game, but I so missed playing “Wah.”

We had gotten to the tournament by train, and then a bus. Those who had gone back to Paris on Saturday night instead of staying over were able to get back by car, but what the four of us overnighters hadn’t realized was that the bus to the train station didn’t operate on Sundays. Before I could really take this in, one of my friends looked to the road and stuck out his thumb.

Are you serious?

Before I could really start panicking about the possibility of the four of us hitchhiking, we did manage to get a ride to the train station, about ten minutes away.

I got back, sore and sunburned within an inch of my life (I hadn’t had the chance to buy sunscreen before leaving, and no one else had brought it on the first day either), around 6:30PM last night. Now I have bought some aloe, and I hope the stinging stops soon.

Overall it was a good experience, and I am glad to have had the opportunity to keep doing what I love most while abroad. When I get back though, I may have to retrain myself to say, “Stalling one, two, three, …” instead of, “Comptez un, deux, trois, …” and from saying things from the side lines like, “dommage,” “bien joué,” and “force coup-droit!”

À Bientôt!