Just like a Wavin' Flag..

So Saturday morning , I got up to meet Shelly and Dan (two other volunteers) to go America shopping! We wanted to get decked out in USA gear for the big England-America game that night. We headed to Blue Route Mall, and we checked virtually every store; no one had anything American! You could buy jerseys, scarves, and hats for Germany, France, Brazil, South Africa, and basically every country but the United States. Most stores never even ordered USA stuff, let alone stocking them at any point. I think I’m going to get a Bafana Bafana jersey to support South Africa though. We were told that the only real place to get US stuff was at a store on the waterfront. I haven’t been down there before, but maybe one day I’ll be able to get some people together and head down. I want an American jersey too! Or at least a scarf.

We headed back to the house and I was ready for some lunch. After I lounged around a bit, Tammy (Philly’s daughter) cooked us some Broeworwors (the traditional South African sausage) to eat for lunch. Let me tell you, if you put a few broeworwors on a roll with some mustard and chutney…. Man, you haven’t lived. Which brings me to the next point: Chutney. I’m not sure how many of you have heard of the sauce before, but it’s very popular here for use with curries, sandwiches, and various other dishes. I encourage everyone to get some, because it’s really cool. Ok, that’s enough for my food rant for the day.

As I was eating my sandwich, Sinclair (the driver that takes me to a lot of different places with other volunteers, including the Wine Tour) showed up at my door! We were having a small going away party for Petra (she leaves on Sunday) at his house in Lavender Hill. Sinclair cooked us a delicious seafood curry, barbeque chicken, and pork chops (if you haven’t noticed, the South African diet is very big on protein). We sat around and laughed, told stories, and talked about our experiences. Then Sinclair thanked all of the volunteers in attendance for the time and effort we had committed while in South Africa. He said that now is the time where South Africa is going to show the world that it is tired of taking handouts and donations – it is ready to be self-sufficient. Hopefully that will be evident in its handling of the World Cup, too. Sinclair’s optimism and commitment to his country is shared by most of the locals I’ve met here; they have a spirit and resilience that is truly admirable.

After the party, it was time to get ready for the USA-England Game! We called a cab and headed into Cape Town’s FIFA Fan Park once more. After meeting up with some of the other volunteers, we moved up to the big gathering and waited for kickoff. The American presence was definitely visible, but we were completely outnumbered by the England supporters. Nonetheless, Shelley, Dan, and I made a fairly impressive showing with some flags we found and some patriotic clothing.

Patriotic.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt prouder of my country than I felt during the World Cup game; seeing all of the flags waving and people chanting ‘USA, USA!’ made me proud to be an American and got all of us really excited. I played my vuvuzela (I got one for free at the Coke booth!) and waved my American flag with pride as K’Naan’s anthem ‘Waving Flag’ for the celebrations played at least 8,000 times.

As for the game itself (a tie; in this beginning round, they don’t do overtime periods): while I’m happy we didn’t lose, the Americans really weren’t playing very good soccer. Even I (with my extremely basic soccer knowledge) could see that they were bunching up too much. We had some great shots, but let’s get real here: the only reason we tied is because the England goalie messed up. Oh well, maybe we’ll prevail next time ;)

England Supporters.

After the game, we headed to a bar/dance club called Charlie’s (or one of those other possessive pronouns… Gary’s.. Larry’s.. I don’t know.) and met up with some of the Human Rights volunteers (including some of my people from the Garden Route trip! Yay!) to debrief about the game and relax. The dancing that ensued may or may not have involved shameless choreography to a certain Beyonce song. It may not have though. I won’t admit to that.

After an exhausting night, we grabbed a taxi and I went to sleep very quickly; man, Cape Town knows how to throw a party (and no one has even won!). The spirit in the air here is contagious; you just HAVE to be excited about everything involving soccer. Here’s hoping the US and Bafana Bafana make a strong showing in the later rounds!