The night before, along with the whole of South Africa, we celebrated the opening of the world cup with South Africa's draw against Mexico. The day of the match, I was excited to get my hair cut and watch the US-England game with all our expat friends. That is until I got a text from my friend, Tao, asking if I was interested in a ticket. It seems to me that there is only one possible answer...YES!!!!! The problem was though that I had just gotten on the highway to drop some people in Manzini for the teen support group. It was going to be at least 60 minutes before I could get back to Mbabane and Tao's car was leaving. Luckily, Nick and Tini were willing to wait for me to get back. So I sped back, threw some stuff into a bag, grabbed my shoes and sleeping bag. When Tini came in to get me, I was standing at the top of my stairs with my arms full of stuff and a huge stupid smile on my face. She compared me to a kid going to summer camp and that is exactly the excitement I felt. Our crew met up with Tao, Alison and Garrett in Johannesburg where we were going to be spending the night at some family friends of Taos. In order to avoid taking two cars, we all jumped into Alison's Rav 4. Since there were six of us, this meant one person in the back, which on the way there was Tini. 
When we arrive in Rustenburg, we meet up with another group of Swazi ex-pats at the Park and Ride. We have all been anxiously awaiting the unveiling of our friend Cooper's American flag suit. We had been hearing for months about this custom made masterpiece and it was finally time to experience it. The suit was spectacular, but my favorite part was the George W. Bush era t-shirt underneat with the slogan, "These colors don't run". 
Cooper was a popular man that night posing for many pictures. 
Cooper was not the only one among our group displaying some American pride that night. Our English friend, Tini, also seemed to be taken with the stars and stripes as she was caught not once....
Not twice...
Cooper was a popular man that night posing for many pictures. Cooper was not the only one among our group displaying some American pride that night. Our English friend, Tini, also seemed to be taken with the stars and stripes as she was caught not once....Not twice...
But THREE times with the USA Vuvuzela in hand. 
She was not the only English person though to be taken by the USA vuvuzela. I also received unsolicited vuvzela lessons from this random English man. 
When I first saw this picture, I hoped that the expression I had on my face was just a matter of catching me surprised, but in reviewing the picture documentation of the night I seem to have had that expression often. 
How have I gotten so far in my life without realizing that I make this face so often? How have you, as friends and family, continued to allow this to happen?
She was not the only English person though to be taken by the USA vuvuzela. I also received unsolicited vuvzela lessons from this random English man. When I first saw this picture, I hoped that the expression I had on my face was just a matter of catching me surprised, but in reviewing the picture documentation of the night I seem to have had that expression often. How have I gotten so far in my life without realizing that I make this face so often? How have you, as friends and family, continued to allow this to happen? After spending some time tailgating, as any respectable American should, we boarded the bus, which was full vuvuzelas, chants and even a rendition of "Take me home, Country Roads". 
Because this was the first game in Rustenburg, some of the traffic logistics had not been thought through fully so the buses were sitting in the same traffic as the rest of the people trying to get to the game. Finally, excitement got the better of us and we got out of the bus to walk. The streets were crazy. They were full of dressed up fans, salesman with their goods laid out on the sidewalks, and South Africans just enjoying the spectacle. 
After just a short walk, we get to the stadium. We are about two hours early for the game, but decide to head in to get some food, drink and enjoy the atmosphere. In a twist that sealed the fate of the night, the food lines were ridiculously long while the beer line was quite reasonable. We were taken aback when we realized that the only beer available was Budweiser, which I have never seen in Africa. Because this was the first game in Rustenburg, some of the traffic logistics had not been thought through fully so the buses were sitting in the same traffic as the rest of the people trying to get to the game. Finally, excitement got the better of us and we got out of the bus to walk. The streets were crazy. They were full of dressed up fans, salesman with their goods laid out on the sidewalks, and South Africans just enjoying the spectacle. 
This Englishman was not excited about it, but realized he did not have much of a choice.
After making our purchases we walked the grounds admiring all the patriotic outfits. 
Here is just a small taste. I am not sure the significance of the guy in the blow up costume, but Tini seemed amused. 
We did finally make it to our seats to watch some soccer. 
Garrett and I were seated next to a father and his daughter who had driven from Johannesburg to see the match. At home, I would not think twice about this, but it is rare to see father with their children here especially daughters. It made me quite happy to see and reminded me of going to American football games with my dad. Behind us, was this cute little boy with his vuvuzela, which was larger than he was.
On the side is written, "This is my year". Hopefully, this kid has at least a little bit still to come after 2010. As everyone knows, the game ended in a 1-1 draw, which for the US was pretty much a victory. The team thanked the crowd at the end of the game, but this was only the beginning of our groups adventures. 
After leaving the stadium, we headed back the way we had come from. When we got to the street though, all the buses seemed full and there was no clear pick up spot. So we decided to walk. As we are walking a long we come across a shebeen. Alison, our designated driver, wanted a coke so we all obliged. As we approach we realize there is not only drinks at the shebeen, but they have set a dj outside and a dance party has formed. Seeing that they were going to lose Tini and I quickly, we agree to meet back at the street in ten minutes. Unfortunately the pictures did not turn out great, but this was one of my favorite parts of the night. 
After leaving the stadium, we headed back the way we had come from. When we got to the street though, all the buses seemed full and there was no clear pick up spot. So we decided to walk. As we are walking a long we come across a shebeen. Alison, our designated driver, wanted a coke so we all obliged. As we approach we realize there is not only drinks at the shebeen, but they have set a dj outside and a dance party has formed. Seeing that they were going to lose Tini and I quickly, we agree to meet back at the street in ten minutes. Unfortunately the pictures did not turn out great, but this was one of my favorite parts of the night. They finally managed to extricate us from the dance party and we continue on our way. We finally reach a corner where there is a police officer so we ask directions to the park and ride. She advises us that we could turn left toward the park and ride or continue straight and get lost and mugged. We turned left. Along this road, we then run into an Afrikaaner family braiing on the side of the road. The husband was determined to give us a taste of South Africa. He insisted on exchanging our warm shebeen beer for cold beer. He also really wanted us to try Boerwurst, which he explained was a South African sausage. He did not ever get that Tao actually has a South African passport or that the rest of us live in Southern Africa, but his hospitality was unbeatable. We finally left the braii and just a short way down the road found a bus to take us to the park and ride. When we looked up the stadium was just ahead of us. Turns out we had walked in a big C from the stadium. We made it back to the car about 1 am, a mere 2 1/2 hours after the end of the game. It was only after attending another game at the same stadium that I realized we had gone in the completely wrong direction initially for the bus queue. Imagine though if we had gone the correct way we would not have happened upon the shebeen or the impromptu Afrikaaner braii. Alison was the hero of the night for then driving us all back to the Johannesburg. We all fell into bed about 3:30.
This picture is one of my all time favorites because in my eyes it sums up the night perfectly. You cannot fake those smiles, but the best part is that if you look in the background the entire stadium was empty. The game was long over. I am not sure why we were still in the stadium, but we were obviously enjoying it.
The next day over lunch, we watched the replay of the game. As you can tell we were all quite intent on the game, it was almost like we hadn't seen it before!
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