My grand quest began where many do: finances. Already, it had been some measure of braveness for committing all the way to playing frisbee with a bunch of people who I barely knew at a date distinctly close to the flight I had scheduled to occupy the rest of my reading week. Imagine then, the horrors that my mind conjured upon learning from the team that my leap of faith would cost me 110 euro, AND transit, AND whatever I needed to fuel my body for two four-hour frisbee sessions. In further misfortune that turned into a silver lining I realized I had long since bought tickets to watch Ireland’s women's football team Friday and so could not make it to Galway on said day. The end result? I saved 50 euro on accommodation and had an alarm set to catch a 6:45 am bus on Saturday so I could play a sport meant for dogs. 

The bus was perfectly fine. I tried my best to fall asleep and decidedly did not. However, between my bouts of closing my eyes for extended periods of time I did catch the sunrise. I think I made the delirium work for me by trying to channel it into good frisbee vibes which seemed to work. By the time I was walking to my accommodations it was 4 pm, we had won 3 of 4 games, and I was subsisting off of henry hippos for lunch.

My accommodations took the form of Joy. You may be confused, and assuredly I was too before realizing this was a person and not some exclamation added to the name of the groupchat I was added to. I had many questions about Joy, and who on earth she was, and how on earth the frisbee team was connected to her. Upon inquiry it seemed no one, not even the two others I was living with, knew more than I did. Adding to the suspense, the first place we mapped to was a seemingly abandoned and dilapidated building. Fortunately, we were able to find the correct location. Up the stairs behind an innocuous door was a courtyard area enclosed with apartments and filled out with greenery. We found the proper apartment and the legend became real: Joy and her boyfriend in the flesh. The two of them were in fact a joy, and I was quite pleased to spend some of the time that evening in their company, learning a good number of things, some that I’ll share. First, the building we first went to, Savoy Hostel, used to be an old theatre, then it was a bowling alley, then it served as specific housing. They were uncertain if people were still using it despite the boarded windows, but the building certainly has lived a number of lives. Second, Joy’s boyfriend played a good deal of rugby and still does. He shared some of the logistics of the game with me while we watched, the responsibility of the refs to interpret and make calls on the play on mic was one of the more interesting ones. Third, I got to hear about the presidential election, the candidates, and some lovely personal perspectives on it all from the both of them. After chatting for a good hour with one of my roommates about the state of the United States, the information and change of pace was appreciated.

Despite being up since the ripe hour of 6 am, I gathered myself that night to make it to the Skeef Bar where some conglomeration of the ten teams were gathering. To my great amusement it seemed like a wedding recital had shown up and stormed the dance floor. When they had taken off for the night I joined many of the players by the stage where a man and his guitar were stringing songs together nonstop. I now know the sign of proper good live music is whether it prompts the start of an Irish jig.

I slept the night in a sleeping bag on top of an air mattress that was 2.5 feet wide and squeaked every time I shifted even the slightest. In the morning before swiftly departing to return to University of Galway, my lovely hosts amusedly remarked that we had an earlier night than them the prior evening before we exchanged well wishes. I was particularly fond of this bridge that marked our route on account of the swans and the brief chat I had with someone nearby the day before. The brief talk had informed me about a parade happening that to my displeasure the transit schedules disallowed me from attending. Macnas seemed a grand celebration in Galway as Halloween approached, and allegedly would be host to grand costumes, performances, and fire. Again, I was markedly distraught to miss it. 

The tournament carried on, but midway through our second of three games two of our players left suddenly. That, in conjunction with another player who was too sick to play left us with only one sub. We tragically lost that game, leaving us in competition for third place rather than first or second. The team was sore, tired, demoralized, and generally lacking proper lunch. In spite of this, we came together for our final match playing a deeply unconventional formation for indoor frisbee. We started that game at 5-0 before the other team got a single point and came out on top. The aftermath left us run ragged but satisfied. I also won a spirit prize which came in the form of a rubber duck. I picked the weirdest one available which might be some sort of butterfly (although ducks already have wings so the added flair contributes to the offputting aura).