The one where Seth has internet access for the first time in a while

Gentle Reader,

I am alive and well.

Sorry for the scarcity of posting and email responses--I'm sure you've been checking thrice daily, hoping for word, but the internet service available at our field site is pretty horrible and we've started most days at 8:30am, so I didn't really feel like hitting an internet cafe before we caught the 6:47am bus...

Note that this first week of my trip is mostly about playing in the World Ultimate (Frisbee) Championships. So if you're not interested in that but want to hear more about my travels, be patient, they'll start soon...

We came into the tournament as the #1 seed (after finishing in 10th place at the US national championships...). A full Sub Zero squad might have been that, but we only brought 11/26 of our team. With 5 friends who weren't playing with us this year, but 16 people is still pretty small and it's been hot--into the low 90s some days. The UV index ranks as "Extreme Danger", but the tournament has lots of free sunscreen.

I woke up Sunday, along with everyone else on the team, at about 2:30am. We beat BOUHSEARS, the #3 Japanese team, in the morning. We lost to Thong, the #3 Aussie team, in the afternoon. They were tall and had some big throwers, we are short and had a lot of drops and throwaways. We were in it early, but they took control in the middle and we couldn't put together any momentum to make a comeback.

Monday we had just one game--our 17-4 victory against Too Bad (Canada) was their closest game in the initial pools. That put us at 2-1 overall, good enough to move up to the power pools. Our first team dinner--we (by which I mean "Charlie") made some legs of lamb with roasted potatoes. And others added some rice and veggies and chicken.

Tuesday was tough. We started out against the Buzz Bullets (Japan), the #2 seed overall and probably the favourites. We stayed even 'til 6-6, then they beat us 17-8 after they took a big league and we loosened our lineup to conserve our energy. Second game was against Doublewide (TX-yee, hah). It was close, but they held a 2-3 point lead most of the way. But we started to gel and fought 'til the end--definitely our best game yet. We (by which I mean "Charlie") turned the leftover lamb into a curried lamb stew.

Yesterday we beat Nomadic Tribe (Japan #2) to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. In the afternoon we had a great win against Clapham (UK). They were up 9-8 at halftime, but we went on a small run to pull ahead in the second half and held on for a 14-12 victory and a more favourable seed heading into the quarterfinals. Dinner in Chinatown with Truesdale and JohnJohn and the Browns, pere et fils. We told our waiter we wanted spring rolls, fried rice and food for 5 and he took care of us--sweet and salty squid, duck with mushrooms, a baked chicken dish, prawns in a spicy bean sauce, peppercorn steak...

Today was quarters against Fakulti ("faculty", from AUS). We started strong and went up 5-0 quickly. They brought it back to 11-9, but we pulled away again for the 17-10 victory. So tomorrow at 12:30 we'll play the Buzz Bullets again in semis, fighting for a right to play the winner of Chilly (AUS #1) and Thong in the finals. Tonight Naz' dad is gonna make a paella dinner for all.

Tomorrow will be tough--the Bullets are pretty short but extremely quick with good throws and a defense unlike anything we've had to face before. They're too athletic for us to just throw jump balls to our taller players and when they get the turn they move the disc very quickly and really well. So tonight we'll strategize and ice.

Anyway, sorry to drone on about Ultimate. If you emailed me, I'll respond soon. If not, I might send something anyway.