Been playing some interesting sports in Malaga - Ultimate Frisbee & Bubble Soccer

Ultimate Frisbee

First tournament in Seville - 11/6/2016

Okay I know this isn't that weird of a sport since it's widely popular in the States, just not so much in California, or at least at USC. So to me, this was a brand new sport that I never really played before. And no, throwing a frisbee at the beach does not count. Since I was going to be here for a couple months, I wanted to join a group of some sort and playing a sport would be the best way to meet other people and practice my Spanish. I never actually even thought of ultimate frisbee but I posted in a language exchange group that I was looking for people to practice Spanish with in exchange for English and someone reached out to me about joining the team. Why not? I think it would be the perfect combo!

Let me tell you, learning a brand new sport in a different language is a LOT harder than you think. Since my Spanish is at a very basic A1 level, I could not follow anything they were saying. It also doesn't help that they speak ridiculously fast and Andalusians tend to shorten all their words so it's basically impossible. I try to put together words with their hand movements to make out what they are saying but after a few minutes I'm completely lost so I have to watch first then imitate, making me a few seconds/minutes slower than everyone else. I don't want to constantly ask what they are saying because I don't want to be a burden or slow down the process.

Anyway, the game is actually really fun! I'm still getting the hang of throwing, especially forehand and aiming, and the rules of the game. It was a bit overwhelming during our scrimmages at practice because I just felt a bit lost the entire time. However, I've only been to 2 practices so it's expected. I'll keep going out to more when I have the time. I don't think I'll play in any tournaments but going out is still really fun and a good way to exercise. I think I'll look into playing when I'm back home. There are tons of teams in LA I think. 

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Bubble Soccer

This was a one time activity but it was so much fun! As you can see from the picture, it was soccer but with big bubbles. It's 5v5 and there isn't really any tactic to the game, just bump into the other person and kick the ball. Most times you can't even see where the ball is because it's really difficult to maneuver around the field and your field of vision is basically nothing. It was organized by our friend who we met at a language exchange. He has a big group of both Spaniards and international people so it's a good group. A few weeks ago, we did Room Escape and that was also really fun. I'm going to compile a quick video of how the game went. It's a great laugh.