Tranquillo

In the States I always kept a frisbee in my car. Tossing it around is one of my favorite activities. Be prepared, you know. I had never even seen one in Costa Rica. There's always a fierce wind blowing through the valley or heavy rain, and I just assumed it never caught on.

Last Sunday night at church I was walking past a guy when I heard that magical word "frisbee". I interrupted him and learned that he plays Ultimate Frisbee with a group every Monday and Thursday night from 8 to 10. They've been playing for years and have a mixed group of Gringos and Ticos. He had a frisbee in his car, and we broke it out right then and there. I had just been thinking how much I missed it.

I went last night and got rocked. I've been running intermittently and taking a dance class, but I was not prepared for the dead sprints of Ultimate. There were some very skilled people there who could throw a disk as well as anyone I've seen (and in high wind). Around 20 people showed up and rotated through teams of 7 each. Hearing people call out familiar commands in another language is a good way to learn. "¡Aqui!" (Here!) "¡Marcalo!" (Mark him!) "¡Pasala!" (Pass it!) "¡Uno cada Uno!" (Man-to-man!) It's also a good way to ruin the play out of confusion. "Tranquillo" (Gringo, take it easy instead of passing to thin air again.)