Today was a public holiday in South Africa…which means everything pretty much shuts down. And a World Cup public holiday…good luck! These folks know the meaning of really celebrating a public holiday. Not like in the USA where only the bank or post office or schools are closed. Now that is a lame way to observe a public holiday! Today was Youth Day, which is my favorite public holiday in SA. It commemorates the killing of students in Soweto on June 16, 1976. The students were protesting the apartheid regime’s decision to start delivering education only in Afrikaans. Students, some of them very young, took to the streets and protested this decision. Many many kids were shot…a lot of them in the back. It was a sad moment for SA. But today it’s a wonderful day to celebrate the contribution of youth to the past, present, and future of South Africa and the world. The spirit of this day is really quite wonderful.
Since it was a public holiday that meant my friend Edwin, who is usually a working fool during the week, was free to hang…which means it is on! We were going on a bike ride, and since my tennis shoes got stolen over the weekend, I needed to buy some new ones. We headed to Marabastad to do a bit of quick shopping. People think that my neighborhood is the most dangerous in Pretoria…but that means they don’t know Marabastad! That place is super hardcore. It’s the kind of dirty dangerous place you might picture when you think of “Africa.” But the stuff there is super duper cheap and when you are running low on cash, like me, cheap is where it’s at. We parked at Edwin’s shop (it’s in Marabastad) and walked over to the shops. All the shops were stuffed with Bafana Bafana gear and vuvuzelas and pretty much anything you need to show off soccer-style. Got my shoes and some vuvuzelas for the folks at home and we headed back to the car. On the way back some guys tried to mug my friend for his phone, but he was being REALLY not street smart and it was kind of inevitable. I don’t mean to keep telling dangerous stories…but this week has been crazy. To be fair to SA, this stuff has been happening in really rough areas at times when we were not acting smart. That is a recipe for disaster in SA. You will be taken advantage of. We managed to elude the robbers and head off on our next adventure.
On our drive around town I nabbed some posters and added them to our car so we could show our support for Bafana Bafana. The newspapers here put up posters on a daily basis that state the news headlines. It’s one of my favorite things about SA. I often learn new words this way and practice my other languages cos the sentences are simple and full of slang. The posters are just slid into a metal holder so they are easy to pinch. I grabbed a SA flag printed one and a picture of Tshabalala (the player who scored against Mexico) that said “Go Bafana!” We put them up in the side windows and were ready to roll around town for Bafana Bafana!
We decided to “take Teddy on safari” via bike today. Edwin and his brother have been working on this project which means that Edwin and I go around Pretoria snapping pics of the sights with Teddy in the frame. Long story…but it means we get to do ridiculous shit around town with a big teddy bear. The first round we did involved a very large gorilla named Bananas. We got lots of crazy looks, but we had fun and that is really all the matters. So today we took Teddy on safari. We went out to Groenkloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria and took a little bike ride in search of animals. There are some mountain biking trails there and some paved trails you can pedal around on. We chose the later with our out of shape selves. It was a nice invigorating ride and we saw some giraffe, guinea hens, and an ostrich. The only messed up part happened when we chased a giraffe and ended up on the hiking trail…which is not landscape friendly for the 2 wheels. There was a lot of bike portaging after that point…
Went back to Edwin’s and had some prego steak rolls and garlic bread while we watched the end of the Honduras vs. Chile game on TV. It has been SO cold the last week in Pretoria, so it was nice to snuggle with a blanket for a bit. I was sad to see Honduras lose. I’m under the impression they aren’t the best team in the world, but since most of the population of my home town is Honduran…I had to root for them! Douwe came and met us and we headed off to the Square for some group revelry.
Again…heading to the Square meant hooting the vuvuzela at just about anyone passing by…good times. I’m getting really good at blowing it loud and I think a lot of people don’t expect such a noise to come from a white lady. It really makes people smile when you blow the vuvuzela at them in a silly manner. I got lots of smiles and laughs and thumbs up (a pretty ubiquitous hand gesture here). Also Bafana Bafana was playing today so lots of people were out in force in their green and yellow kit, vuvuzela in hand. Woop! Woop!
We picked up our friend Surprise and headed off. The Square has started charging admission for the games (R50 = US$7) and charging sky high prices for beer. We have a “loyalty card” that was available for sale before the World Cup started, so we are exempt from these ridiculous prices…yay! We have 2 cards and there were 4 of us so we had to do a little passing back to get everyone in for free…but it worked! I’m a hustler, baby!
(Surprise and I show our love for Bafana Bafana)
Again, the Square is on fire these days. So many internationals decked out in their country’s colors, flags, and all kinds of crazy soccer outfits. It’s really a nice atmosphere. They have a big screen up for watching the games, live music, and sometimes DJs. I have to say that I’m getting a bit sick of hearing the “Waka Waka” song (official song of the World Cup, featuring Shakira and a SA band called Freshly Ground). Also they keep playing the same songs over and over when there isn’t a live band. That is getting a bit old…but otherwise…good times. I saw some nice SA, Uruguay, and Holland outfits today. There is a hat made from a construction helmet that is pretty common in the soccer world here in SA. It’s called a makarapa and some of them are quite elaborate. I saw an old man with a really cool Madiba (Nelson Mandela’s nickname) theme…that one was the best one. Quick note about Madiba. He’s getting old, okay. People really really had to beg him to come to the opening game. I think he wanted to just watch at home. I also heard that he said it was too much excitement for him cos the games are really emotional for him. Unfortunately one of his grandchildren was killed the night of the opening concert in a car crash and he ended up not being able to come to the opening game after all. It was really sad, but SA understands. There was a lot of support for him and his family in the face of this tragedy. Everyone loves them some Madiba!!!!!!!
I met some American guys at the Square, even one from Lincoln Park in Chicago. It was really cool. They were going to the game later and had a BIG ASS American flag on hand. We went nuts during the “Wave your Flag” song (the other official song for the World Cup…and the one I am not getting sick of). It was cool to celebrate being American. I don’t do it often. I don’t often even have the desire to wave my flag. It’s not a USA-hate thing…I just don’t celebrate my home in that way.
We watched the end of the Spain vs. Switzerland game where the Spainards got their ass handed to them on a plate. Big upset cos Spain just won a major tournament in Europe…so everyone expected them to win really easily. And then we had a few hours until the SA vs. Uruguay game. I got my face painted with a South African flag. We had some beers and danced around. I met a very hot and nice guy from Ethiopia but studying in Cape Town. That was refreshing. I get a lot of attention from guys here, but a lot of it is crap. I think part of it is because I’m international and American. Part of it is because African guys don’t mind a little meat on the bones. Part of it is because I’m a “cool” white chick (whatever that means)…which is pretty rare here. But often times this just means a lot of guys talk to me, but have nothing to say. It gets old after awhile. Frankly, I’m not interested in a lot of dogs barking at my gate. So it was nice to have a productive conversation and share some laughs with a hottie.
The Bafana Bafana game got under way and I was right in front of the stage shouting and vuvu-ing to my heart’s content. The game was here in Pretoria so that was even more electric. Plus I had a cutie Ethiopique by my side to keep me warm. The game was not played very well by Bafana Bafana and Uruguay pretty much took them to the cleaners. People were still supporting, but things got kind of quiet at the end there. The ejection of Khune with a red card in the final moments of the game was REALLY harsh. It was pretty much the final blow for SA cos Khune is the man! He is such an awesome goalie and after he left more goals were given up. Now the he had a red card he will not be able to play anymore…which really sucks…a lot. Morale was very low after the game and a lot of people left. Even on TV you could see people leaving the game before it was over. Ross said it was in protest, but to me it just looked like you weren’t supporting your guys…and that is not cool.
And that was the end of the soccer day for me too. Edwin has to get to work by 4am so we had to go straight home. Shame…I could have spent a lot more time with my cutie Ethiopian ;)
Stay tuned for the next episode…it proves to be another chill day at home J
1 comment:
really loving reading your insiders view on the world cup, makes me feel a little closer to the action. Thanks
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