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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Indulge



June 28, 2010

The verb I choose today is Indulge. I hope you choose it, too, because I am going to ask you to indulge me as I post my favorite South African photos and natter on about them:

First, this is how I looked on my way out of town. Yes, I am wearing a wool sports coat in Houston in June. Yes, I am hot (in every sense of the word). Remember, the place I am going has temperatures between freezing and 70F. A wool sports coat would not be all I needed.

The South Africans were totally in the spirit of World Cup. They lined the roads of the interstate (this was two days before the opening kick off):

and when they couldn't be there in person, they substituted giant, yellow waving hands to make the point they were happy to see you:

What could be better than Nelson Mandela (besides that he is a living legend, still getting around at almost 92--July 18--despite spending 27 years in prison in a very small cell on in a maximum security prison on Robben Island. If you don't know the details of his life click on this biography on the ANC website or this one.)? A twenty foot tall Nelson Mandela.


We did get chased by a mother elephant in Pilanesberg National Park (seriously, the guide had to throw the van into reverse). You can tell she was serious because she has made herself larger by splaying her ears out. She didn't want us to hurt her little one:


Did you know that until today, every half of every game started right on time? One match I saw was held up by about fifteen seconds whiles the players waited in kickoff position, so they could start exactly on time. Not late, not early. Today, the Portugal squad stayed in the locker room at half for three extra minutes, AND EVERYONE NOTICED AND SAID UGLY THINGS, INCLUDING SPECULATING WHETHER THEY WOULD GET A FINE. Does it seem strange to you that the starts could remain so accurate. I think that must be a real tribute to the planning an execution of this World Cup! Thank you South Africa.

I also wanted to include a picture of a giraffe for my internet friend Jenny Trock. Giraffes have a coarse black tongue that lets them eat very prickly plants, which is a good thing since scrubby acacia trees are as endemic to South Africa as mesquite is to Texas:

I'm not sure if I know any strict creationists, but they would have had a hard time at the Sterkfontein Caves, unless they treated it like fantasyland. The current excavation going on there is digging out a quite complete homonin that could be between 3 and 4 million years old. We could hear the work going on as we went past this passageway.


We also got to experience a shebeen (well not a real one, which would have been illegal). How about a fauxshebeen. I don't know whether shebeens were illegal because they served bootleg liquor or whether they were a crucial meeting place for anti-apartheid activists. I was up for it either way.

I guess I need to put out one picture of the Lesedi Cultural Village. I was the coldest night of our trip and I really didn't think the people in the various villages needed to drop their warm blankets as we moved from village to village just so we could see them in native garb. As penitence for torturing them, I did eat the dried worm they offered me. They danced vigorously, possibly because we had forced them to doff their blankets earlier.





I know, I already showed you the cheetahs, but did you know they ate Iams and Eukanuba cheetah chow when they are at the endangered species center (for at least some of their meals). I also learned I had a new appreciation of vultures, who, because of the scavenger work they do, keep us also safe from anthrax outbreaks. If we killed off all the vultures (because they're ugly or because they talked like The Beatles in the Jungle Book) we would open ourselves up for widespread epidemics.

Besides asking about the vuvuzelas, the next most common question my friends have asked me about was security: did I feel safe? Both the stadiums we saw games in were located in the middle of tenements (Rustenburg was rural poverty; Ellis Park was urban poverty). That said, we never felt insecure. Everyone outside the stadiums seemed to be quite excited (and also quite entrepreneurial, selling whatever they could find: earplugs, flags, fruits, alcohol, to the football tourists). Here are two shots I took from the bus. The first is Rustenburg (where everyone opened their yards to parking). The second is urban Johanessburg.

After apartheid was turned over, most urban property owners built fences (brick or cinderblock in many cases) with concertina wire or electric wire on top. That is the number one thing you notice driving around. I think there were many worries about crime then (fifteen years ago). I'm sure some were founded. Maybe some weren't. Still those fences are a relic of that period.

The more modern look is represented by the photos of Brightwater Commons, a shopping and entertainment area about a fifteen minute walk from our hotel. Brightwater had a monitored parking lot with security, but inside it was pretty placid: shops, groceries, a skateboard park, a duck pond, a carousel, restaurants, and so on. Here's a wide angle view:


And here's something that made me wish I was about 75 pound lighter:


And why did we go to South Africa? To see the USA! Here's a glimpse at who else went. Except being heavily male, it was a pretty mixed group.

I'll leave this up for a few days, then introduce you to the fans from all over the world that I met.

I think you can get to Davis's Facebook album, for more photos than you have time to look at. We are slowly but surely adding pithy captions.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Party

June 25, 2010

Tune in the KBTX-3 tonight at 6:00 to hear the story about some of Erin's friends who dedicated their thirteenth birthday party to Erin's memory. Here's part of the story:

For many, birthday parties are all about getting gifts.

But for three local teenagers, their celebration was about giving to others, while honoring their friend.

Madison Kothmann, Morgan Livingston, and Jacqueline Handy celebrated their birthdays together earlier this month at Adamson Lagoon in College Station.

But instead of receiving gifts, they asked their guests to donate to the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation in honor of Erin Buenger.

Erin died in April 2009 after an 84 month battle with the childhood cancer.

During her short 11 years of life, Erin became a champion and lobbyist for children's cancer research.

The birthday party raised 700 dollars to help find a cure for the deadly disease.

Here are the party goers. So many of these faces are so dear to me.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Home, Sweet Home

June 22, 2010

If you had to guess how to get from Randburg (Gauteng Province) South Africa to Bryan, Texas, would you choose the black route or the red route on this map?

I won't whine that it took 37 hours start to finish to follow the red path home, but I suspect it has more to do with marketing than the earth's curvature, the jet stream, or flight patterns. Except for a couple of hops from Australia to New Zealand, all Emirate flights connect through Dubai (just like at one time all Southwest Airline routes flew through Love Field). The less said about this type of grueling travel the better. Here is my two cents worth: I want to be richer next time I fly over seas, so I can afford Business Class. I watched more movies going to and coming from South Africa than I have in the past five years. Here's the list:

Alice in Wonderland
Avatar
Invictus
It's Complicated
Juno
The Young Victoria
Up in the Air

When I ran out of movies, I started watching episodes of NCIS, Numb3rs, The Mentalist, and Frasier. I also watched the New Zealand/Italy game and the Slovakia/Paraguay game. Also, to file in the category of TMI (too much information): I only left my seat once in the 16 plus hour leg between Dubai and Houston, which ingrained in me a much deeper appreciation of both my bed and my bathroom.

When I catch my breath, I may say a little more about the trip, but right now, I want to let you know that if you haven't yet caught World Cup fever, you still have a chance. Tune into the must win game between USA and Algeria tomorrow (9:00 a.m., ESPN). Wear your fan gear, or not. Yell at the tv, or not. Blow your vuvuzela, or not. Support your team. Support your country. From now on out a win means more play and a loss sends us home.

To celebrate our safe return, let's reconvene the Lanyard Workshop this Friday at 4:00 at my house. See you there!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

World Cup--Oh Where, Oh Where Has My Little Goal Gone?

June 19, 2010

It took a while to figure out what to say about the game yesterday. For one thing, it’s amazing how quickly you become best friends with the people sitting in adjacent seats after your team scores. This rule is especially true if you have first reached the trough of despair after falling behind by two goals in the first half. People, who had irritated you a bit earlier when they blew their vuvuzelas or blocked your view, share the pure joy of a score--joy that pours out after a long storage time.

Other lessons of the match? I think we saw the real USA team. We’re not the anointed ones, destined for greatness without trial, but we are more than just a placeholder team. The Slovenia goals demonstrated a relatively unorganized start and possibly a flawed game plan. But our second half comeback was exceptionally gutsy. As always, luck matters.

Landon Donovan’s goal was right in front of where we sat, and I have to say, he really lit a fire by ripping the ball past the goal keeper rather than looking for the pass to the trailing players. By doing it so quickly, he woke the crowd up (not so much from depression, but from the fierce focus we all had on making sure the ball found the back of the net without too much time passing).

A 2-1 score was so much more comfortable than being shut out. It meant that we could salvage the match with a bit of energy and luck. The evener sent the crowd into a frenzy, and we were all dancing and shaking the foundations.

That bring us to the goal that wasn’t. Everyone who had seen my prediction (3-2, USA) ridiculed my thought that Slovenia would score twice, or that there would be five goals in the match. At 2-2, with the USA pressing and getting over some of their first half difficulties, another goal didn’t seem like an impossibility. When Edu pushed through and netted the ball, we hugged, danced, and high-fived with everyone within reach. After several minutes of celebration, someone looked up and noticed that we weren’t lining up for a kick off. No one had any idea what happened. Clearly, no one started in an off side position, and the only bodies on the ground in the box were American. I still can say with complete honesty, that I saw no foul.

But that is soccer. What the referee says is what goes. And so we must beat Algeria. I’ll be watching with my Texas friends. Tomorrow evening we depart, with soccer on our mind and South Africa in our heart.

Friday, June 18, 2010

World Cup--Another USA Game Day

June 18, 2010

I took the day off from posting yesterday. Our Lesedi Village excursion plus the late game combined with a 6:00 a.m. departure to watch the cheetahs run, just wiped out my creative juices (never mind that I didn’t want to report on another 1-2 day with my predictions).

We will board the bus to go to the USA-Slovenia game in about four hours. I still don’t know too much about Slovenia, but I have a lot of faith in the way Bob Bradley has coached the American team. I know with confidence that they will play vigorously and intelligently, and those elements along with a modicum of luck should take us forward.

Also, with Mexico’s splendid win over France last night, all the fans at our hotel are feeling confident for the USA. One of the things about staying at a boutique-style hotel for an extended stay is that we really have a small community of friends from different places. We support each other’s teams and have their highs and lows. I include hotel staff in this grouping. We know everyone here by name and have added their teams to the list of teams we pull for. Here is proof of my new-found African Alliance (my new soccer flats):


I can’t actually describe how amazing the cheetah experience was for all of us. Seeing Grasa hop gently out of the back of a truck, and then from a standing start whip past us after a lure was a sight to see. They ran the lure on a motorized pulley that drags it 85 Km/hr (almost 60 mph), and the speedy cheetah woman overtook it.


It was worth the freezing weather to view this spectacle, but we were happy to go inside and warm our hands before starting the actual tour of the facility (NOTE: This is Roy, age 2, not a clever taxidermist effort.).

I don't have complete predictions for you this morning. Davis is off at the gym, working out, and I'm away from the room while they clean. If I have time I will log back on and give them to you.

Vickie:

Germany-2 Serbia-1

USA-3 Slovenia-2

England-3 Algeria-0

Erin:

Germany win (smile rule)

USA win (USA rule)

Algeria win (green win)

(Mine are not very realistic predictions, scorewise, in this Cup. Until yesterday goals have been hard to come by--25 total goals in the sixteen first round matches. The second round has looked a little more wide open, thus my out-of-a-limb predictions.)

Bonus link (for your general consumption). Gail or David?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

World Cup--Round One Almost Done!

June 16, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

The wind laid down today, so even though the temperatures have dropped some, it is back to brilliant weather. We haven’t done so much since the last post. I held my breath much of the game between Ivory Coast and Portugal, especially after Didier Drogba got into the match, but despite my best effort, no goals came. Brazil and North Korea was also a much lower scoring affair than anyone thought, but my friend Tony who went to the game said that the cold affected the play more than you could tell on television.

We took a slower start this morning, since our excursion is this evening rather than during the day. We will visit a cultural village (Leseti) to learn about the nine indigenous tribes. The visit includes a show and a traditional dinner, and I have heard it is quite fascinating. Tomorrow morning we roll out at 6:00 for the Cheetah Breeding Laboratory. If you arrive early, you get to view the cheetah run.

Davis and I walked to the Randburg commercial center while Walter worked out this morning. He found some handsome cleats, and I think I have found a souvenir for myself. The shop didn’t have my size, but I think if I check back tomorrow they will have what I need. Look for the photo tomorrow evening.

Here is our updated Prediction chart. I think our picks are looking pretty close to what you would get if you used a dart to pick the games, but that’s not going to stop us!

Vickie

Davis

Erin Rules

Correct

Incorrect

Exact Score

Correct

Incorrect

Exact Score

Correct

Incorrect

June 11

0

2

0

0

2

0

1

1

June 12

3

0

0

1

2

0

1

2

June 13

2

1

0

1

2

0

1

2

June 14

2

1

1

2

1

2

0

3

June 15

1

2

0

1

2

0

3

0

Total

8

6

1

5

9

2

6

8

Vickie:

Honduras-0 Chile-2

Spain-3 Switzerland-0

South Africa-2 Uruguay-2

Davis:

Honduras-0 Chile-2

Spain-2 Switzerland-0

South Africa-1 Uruguay-0

Erin:

Honduras-Chile—tie (no tie breakers)

Spain-win (smile rule)

South Africa-win (green rule)