Settling Into Dubai

Last week, I spent my time as an interloper out of place, a mathematician at a conference on clinical pharmacology and therapeutics. Sitting in a presentation on in vitro experiments to help inform drug transport, I couldn’t stop thinking about this week: Beach Worlds.

Ironically, I would be leaving the conference where I was quietly the odd man out to go to a place where I would be more publicly and obviously the foreigner.

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I think the inaugural game of United States women vs. Germany really paralleled the US men’s team’s inaugural game of Settlers of Catan. Both teams started slow, using their resources as best as they could to gain any advantage. Trading was common, and small leads came slowly. In the end, it wasnt about who had the most resources, but rather who used theirs best. As with any game, mistakes led to opportunity (stupid robber on my ore… and trading Teddy wheat…), and whoever can obtain the strongest army wins.

Congrats Teddy… I mean USA women… you win this round.

Some observations thus far:

1. A teammate went out for a calf/ankle massage after our first day training and getting acclimated to the environment, weather, and team.  Apparently the masseuse was quite friendly and encouraging about upgrading to a full body massage, the ending of which was surely to be nothing short of happy. Subtlety is not a quality here.
2. The forecast Sunday didn’t call for hail, but hail it did…on Teddy, Tyler Kinley, and I while we were walking under a skyscraper construction site. Lesson learned: cranes are not the safest movers of materials, and my sense of self preservation needs extraordinary improvement.

All in all, the team is alive, the people are friendly and welcoming, and Texas has competition (everything is WAY bigger in Dubai).

If anyone wants any info about the open team, the tournament, or Dubai (I mean anything), post it in the comments and I’ll do my best to address it. Well, not my best… I have ultimate to play. But I’ll try.

Editor’s note: Brett wrote this on Monday morning. By Tuesday afternoon, Brett’s team, the United States men’s squad, was 5-0. On Wednesday, they’ll play Russia and Qatar.