The Game

How are you all? Sorry for not writing here for a while. I have gotten back from my World Cup trip and am pretty happy to be back at my site. I was able to attend a game on the 10th of July--the one game between Germany and Uruguay.

The game was held in a city called Port Elizabeth and it was really cold there! It was also raining. I have gotten used to the whole opposite season thing here in SA but it is still strange to say that it's cold and raining in July. The country really has prepared for the games and there were many services for people watching the games. First of all, there are designated fan parks where people can go watch the game on a big screen. These are sometimes located at cricket or rugby fields. There are also many buses and taxis that are there for the tourists. My friends and I were able to walk from our backpacker to a point where the bus would pick us up and take us to the stadium.

It is difficult to describe the atmosphere at the game. During this whole WC there has been a huge amount of excitement and pride in SA. While there was no African team playing in this game, there were still many German and Uruguayan fans. We were able to get really good seats for the game and saw all the players and coaches. I'm sure that if you have kept up with WC news that you have heard about the "Hand of the Devil." This is the guy who ruined Ghana's chance of going to the finals by blocking a goal with his hands. Well, this guy was playing at the game I was at and whenever he got the ball the entire crowd (except for the Uruguayan fans) booed. When you sat in your seat the stadium was not too loud. However, if you went back into the outer part of the stadium, the vuvuzelas made a really loud echoing noise! The German fans went berserk whenever Germany scored. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I have seen a lot of SA now and it really reminds me of California. There are parts of the coast that we drove on that remind me of Big Sur and the coastline between San Luis Obispo and San Francisco. I also stayed for a bit in Durban, the capital of the Kwa-Zulu Natal province. It reminded me a lot of San Diego, if you substitute Indian food for Mexican food. If you were a tourist and went to any of these cities, you would go away with the impression that SA is just like any other Western city. The poverty in the villages is not readily visible in these cities.

Well, now that I am back I have to get back to work! The school year has started and I will be going back to Rooikoppies to teach and help out. My organization has applied for many grants and it hoping to hold events and campaigns to raise awareness about human rights. After being on the road and traveling it feels good to come back to Tzaneen.