What will I do when I run out of world-cup slang?
First things first, I would like to point your attention to this article which says everything I’d like to, but so much better than I ever could. Particlulary this bit:
Of course I have only lived in Johannesburg, city of terror and dread, virtually all my life, so don’t have the in-depth knowledge of say, an English broadsheet journalist who has been in the country for the weekend, but nevertheless I will share some of my observations gleaned over the years.
So Bafana Bafana made us all very proud on Friday. Unlucky that shot that bounced off the goalpost and yay for the offsides rule which i think I actually might semi-sort-of-no-not-really understand now! it was a lot of fun to watch it, once the opening ceremony started and suddenly the crazy traffic evaporated and the chorus of vuvzelas went silent until 4pm when every TV set as surrounded by fans and the vibe was absolutely electric.
We were planning on trying the fanpark near my house but gave up when it got so crowded that people driving there just turned their cars off in the middle of the road and walked. Talk about gridlock! And the vuvuzelas weren’t packed away afterwards, we went out alter and people had taken them along and would randomly blow them between mouthfuls of pizza or on the dance floor.
Sunday we went off to the airport to drop someone off and look around. And WOW, I’m so impressed by the revamped O.R. Thambo, particularly since my dad has always travelled a lot and I spent a lot of my early childhood sitting around the ugly concrete slab with brown and green tiles that used to serve as the departure area. Now it’s spacious and light and pretty and has a cool cool ceiling with wavyness. The Gautrain station looks pretty cool and I’m excited to go one day and take a ride on it.
And I learned the Diski Dance on Saturday. CG was most disapproving but hey, laughing at exuberant patriotism is totally not Ayoba.
Either way it was a really nice weekend of just enjoying the country that I live in. I love South Africa and always have, but something you just forget about where you are a little bit, or else spend more time thinking about the faults. So for me, despite all the new experiences and stuff that this world cup is bringing, I think what I’ll get out of it is a flag on my car (it’s pretty) and rediscovering how much I love this place.
Waka waka :)
6 comments:
I think if the World Cup achieves nothing else... it has definitely made South Africans realise how much they love our country and how much we tend to focus on its faults. I'm so proud of how the tournament has gone so far - there definitely is something special about 2010 that has never been matched by another host nation. And I'm pleased to hear about the OR Tambo revamp - will be flying in there in about a month and always hated the confusing shuffle to domestic departures!
OR Tambo is SO much better than it was when I too sat waiting for my dad in the ugly brown 70s concrete block it used to be!
Give me freedom, give me fire...
"And you know what journos are like, what with their earnest two thousand word opuses on the op-ed pages designed to fix this country’s ills in a heartbeat. Based on exhaustive research over a three-day visit.
Funnily enough, we are well aware of the challenges we face as a nation and you will find that 95% of the population is singing from the same song-sheet in order to ensure we can live up to our own exacting expectations."
Haha I so agree with that part of the article you linked to, it said what I was trying to say sooo much better. I am tired of reading "in-depth and cutting edge analysis of our societies ills that make me go like duh. A two year old could have worked that out.
Did you see the snake article in the British Sun tabloid? That cracked me up sooooo much. The poor British team have practically been put up in a pit of deadly snakes!!!
I've never been a football fan but I was thinking of you and wondering if you can hear those infernal trumpet thingies from your house?
The tiny bit I've seen in the news shows that the trumpets are blown by thousands of people constantly during matches. I'd had to leave with a migraine!
Yay world cup! Personally I think the vuvuzelas are fab, and agree wholeheartedly with this article.
Kirsty: I agree, we have so much to be proud of!
Tamara: Give me reason.. take me higher...
Po: I didn't but I do love that newspaper for humour purposes :)I remember hearing a stand-up comic compare the crosswords in major british newspapers and his take on the sun was "Small furry mammal C_T, get it right and you win a speedboat!"
Kath: the 'infernal trumpet things' are called vuvuzels and they're actually a lot of fun, if somewhat deafening! I resent them a lot less now that I can actually make a noise with one! Kuduzelas are fun too :)
Hannah: that's an awesome article! Thanks or sharing :)
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