Every one asks about the vuvuzuelas! Now you'll know!

Nearly everyone asked about the vuvuzuelas after I got back from Cape Town. I think they're wonderful. Here are some samples of how the South Africans use the vuvuzuela... Unfortunately, I didn't think to film them myself and not everyone was elegant as these players but that was the goal...

Some of the Music of World Cup - VERY celebratory

I spent a lot of time in MTN Fan Zone. Before and between games they had live bands, none of whom I'd ever heard of but the music was wonderful. They also played these songs that I've embedded below. You never knew which language version would show up but people in audience always seemed to know the lyrics. Enjoy these fun versions. Shakira (Waka Waka) is known somewhat here in the US by English speakers but she is Columbian born. K'naan (Wavin' Flag) was born in Somali but emigrated first to the US then to Canada. David Bisbal (Spanish singer on Wavin' Flag) Nancy Ejram (Arabic singer on Wavin' Flag) is the best selling Lebanese female vocalist to date.

Waka Waka (Soccer clips from past World Cups and South African scenes. Includes lyrics)


Waka Waka (animals "playing soccer" and other African scenes. So beautiful.)


Wavin' Flag (English/Spanish Version)


Wavin' Flag (English/Arabic)

USA is TOP of Group C-AAAAHHHHHH!!!

It wasn't pretty but we made it through. Dashing Donovan made a goal off of an error by the Algerian keeper who was really tough the rest of the game in stoppage time. It was glorious!!!!

I went to Cape Point on the Cape of Good Hope this morning. A bit of a kufuffle on the pick up this morning the touring company gave the tour driver a street address for the dormitory but the dormitory sits a long way off the street and he couldn't find me. I waited outside in the cold for nearly 1/2 hour then I had to go inside which made it even harder to find me. Anyway, we picked the other 9 group members at 5 other guest houses/hotels and we were off.

First we headed down the Atlantic Coast and hit Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak. Then we cut across the peninsula to Simon's Town and I had another look at the penguins. Got more wonderful photos closer up this time. The tour driver new of another spot so we got to see them close up.

Then down to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve and the tip. It is wild and beautiful. Here's a photo of me at the point.












I need to crop the photos of the the other wildlife we saw so you'll have to wait until I'm back with my lovely Mac for those photos. I also saw whales and 2 submarines of the South African Navy.

I actually didn't watch all of a game

Brazil made me so mad with their games and idiocy that I left about 10 minutes before the end. Yes, they are very good but for heaven's sake they acted like Cote-d'Ivoire should bow down and hand them the victory. Heaven forbid they should fight for a point of their own. Ahhh. All I can say is anyone other than Brazil had better win.

The Portugal vs. DPR Korea (North Korea) game today had some of the most beautiful goals I've seen in a long time. Cristiano's long dry-spell for goals was finally quenched. I love to watch his face when they show it. He's almost always smiling, even when he misses - he must truly enjoy playing and that makes it all that much more enjoyable for me. Portugal set a record of 7 goals in one game. Next game for Portugal is the one that I had a ticket for that I had to sell - Portugal vs Brazil. I probably won't even get to see it as I'll be flying across Africa back to Dubai. Should be good, I just hope Brazil can behave themselves.

The Chile vs. Swiss game was agonizing. The referee was the same one who made a another game really annoying to watch. He's from Saudi Arabia and he is STRICT to the point of interfering with game play. In the end Chile one 1-0.

Tomorrow shopping and 3 more games.

Yet Another Upset

Unbelievable, but true another might giant - Italy has fallen. OK, they didn't actually fall but they had a draw with New Zealand at 1:1. I know there was word that Lippi was keeping older players because he was afraid to change but I never expected this. The world has turned upside-down. Argentina and Paraguay look good to finish the race at this point but so many of the groups are undecided at this point that the round of 16 is going to be interesting to say the least.

A Really Big Day with Interesting Results

I'll leave the USA discussion for last but the three games yesterday were fascinating. First there was Germany vs. Serbia. Germany had started the tournament with a 4-0 win over Australia but they lost to Serbia. Quite a shocker. They still lead group D because of goals scored but they only have 3 points along with two other teams in the group, Ghana and Serbia. Not the result any one expected.

The evening game yesterday was England vs. Algeria which I had the privilege of attending. If I were estimating I'd say between 90 and 95% of the attendees were England supporters. The stands were full (60,000+), with the exception of the expensive seats directly across from me which had only a sprinkling of people. Here's a shot of Fabio Capello (England's coach) talking with one of the players (sorry couldn't see his number) at 10:05, this is very near the end of the match and England is stuck at nil:nil.

I also got a pretty good shot of Wayne Rooney during the warm up. However, I have to say he was a bit disappointing. I expected to see power and finesse and he seemed to just stand about. Whenever, he would lose a pass he was sent or miss a pass he was sending he appeared to just stand there - no follow through.
Whereas, I thought Algeria was pretty sleepy during their first match they scrambled, had impeccable passes and steals. They had more ball possession which is almost unimaginable if I hadn't witnessed it myself I wouldn't have believed it.

During half time two young men that I've seen around UCT for the last week approached me and asked if I was staying at UCT. I smiled and agreed. I had thought they were from India but it turns out they were Brits. For the first time we stood and conversed even though we'd been on campus together for over a week. They look like twins and frequently dress alike. I'm sad we didn't connect before this as we had a lovely chat standing there in the stadium and they are leaving for Jo'burg today. They were knowledgeable about Oregon - specifically Willamette valley wines and Portland, that was a surprise.

Here are the stats as reported by Fifa.com

England (ENG)	Statistics	Algeria (ALG)
15	Shots	11
6	Shots on goal	1
0	Goals Scored	0
13	Fouls Committed	13
12	Fouls Suffered	12
10	Corner kicks	3
15	Free kicks Shots (scored)	10
0 / 0	Penalty Kicks (Goals/Shots)	0 / 0
1	Offsides	3
0	Own goals	0
1	Yellow cards	1
0	Second yellow card and red card	0
0	Red Cards	0
35	Actual playing time	40
48%	Possession (%)	52%

Before the game on the stroll through the V & A Waterfront the English fans were singing and singing and singing. They had crazy hats:














When we were queued up at the gate to get into the stadium they clapped and sang. BBC television was on the roof of the old hospital building next to the queue and the English fans danced and sang for the entire hour we were in queue. However, they were equally effusive in their repudiation of the team/coach when the game was over and England had not triumphed as they fully expected. They whistled and jeered as the team and coach left the field. They talked and talked and talked through the entire walk back to the V&A Waterfront about what they would have done differently. One fellow gently elbowed me and asked if I though he could have done a better job than Capello. Of course, with his very thick accent I didn't understand him at first and thought he was asking if he could get a job in Spanish - I was confused by the question but he held out his arms, asking me to look and then he says "Me... or Capello... who could do better?" That I understood, and knowing the the better part of valor would be to agree, so I did and assured him I thought he was the better man for the job. He walked away shaking his head and I don't know what he was thinking but he was in pain. However, based on the volume of English supporters headed to the party spots I thought they would be on the way to anesthetizing the pain in short order. This morning when I went to breakfast there were no other people at breakfast and the dormitory was exceedingly quiet and there are more than 200 Brits at the present so that says a lot. The whole evening made me smile.

I shared a taxi partway back to UCT. Four South African men took the back seat and I the front. They were a riot. They'd been to three games so far and not one of the games had yielded a single goal. They had reached the opinion that they were the unlucky stars in the South African Fifa World Cup. The chattered away in Afrikaans from time to time - which sounds like German to me. They paid almost half the fare when they were dropped off at the Strand so I was left with a much smaller taxi fare which was lovely. One of the Afrikaners is a fan of American Football and is very familiar with the University of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers - that was hilarious. His friends told him he had way too much leisure time.


I went to the V & A waterfront at 2:30 in the afternoon as this was the last available bus to the area for the day. I managed to watch the end of the Germany vs. Serbia game through an opening in the Fan Zone tent. I had missed most of the game in transit from the University of Cape Town (UCT). I was stunned to see that Germany was losing the game.

The view into the fan zone tent








The walk from V & A Waterfront is beautiful. Here are a few shots from the walk







The fan zone tent was sold out so I was worried I wouldn't find a place to watch the USA game. I hovered like a carrion at the entrance and tried to figure out how things were working. I had tried asking but the noise level made it impossible to hear what they said so I just hung around and finally got in. I got a seat, bought a beer and settled in to "enjoy" the game. Of course, I love fútbol but watching the team I love and knowing the result is so critical is a form of torture.

In the Fan Zone tent I witnessed some pretty ugly behavior by one Brit towards four American young men. I couldn't see them so they very easily could have said something to provoke him but he went into a rage and started calling down curses on them. For the rest of the match he exuberantly celebrated every Serbian success. How I would have liked to have seen him at the end of the England match, a little bit of revenge felt good even if I couldn't see it. Of course, I took my own form of revenge by exuberantly celebrating Algeria's success.

I was so caught up in the game (and suffering - as we were down 2 at half time) I didn't get a single picture. I'm so disgusted with myself. When play began after half time the USA came out strong and equalized the game at 2-2. There was a third goal which was ruled out - I still don't know why as there was no commentary that I could hear in the tent. I've been surfing the news trying to find out what happened but so far no luck. I'll find it never fear.

Anyway, enough for today - I've gone on and on.

My First Match Day

Today I'm attending my first match in person. I don't have a seat down front for this game - that would have been so cool. I'm up on the 6th level. But having been to the stadium I know that all the seats have a great view so I'll get to see so much that I'm so excited. Traffic in town on match days is so bad that the last shuttle from campus to the V&A Waterfront clock tower is at 2:15 and the game isn't until 8 so I think that tells the whole story. The Fan Walk is 2 km long and takes us to the stadium. It's going to be interesting to hear the vuvuzuelas in person, I may have to take my earplugs. I sat next to a gentleman from England at the South Africa/Uruguay game. This is his 5th world cup. He's following England's team from site to site so he started his trip up in Jo'burg.

So England vs Algeria. It would be good for the USA if Algeria won but they didn't look sterling in their first game. However, the same can be said of Greece and they won last night so each game is a new chapter.

Mexico played really well last night and the French looked anemic. I wanted the French to win as that would have been good for South Africa but I was cheered to have a CONCACAF team look so excellent. I don't know how much of the USA game I'll get to see today because I have to leave for my game so early. I'll be on pins and needles. GO USA!!!

Lisa - it was great to hear from you. I don't have your email address but thanks for checking in. I'll have game and fan photos up tomorrow.

A Devastating Loss and Adorable Penguins

Last night's prime time game was South Africa vs. Uruguay. The crowd at the restaurant was HUGE and happy to begin. They were so proud they all stood and sang the South African national anthem. The game however did not go South Africa's way. they had some brilliant moments but it just wasn't enough to overcome Uruguay. It was torture. Much now hinges on tonight's game between Mexico and France. If Mexico loses (YEAH!!) that game and South Africa can beat France then South Africa can get out of group and move the the round of 16. It's not impossible - after all Spain lost to Switzerland - which even the Swiss coach was surprised at - in his own words post game interview!


Here are some photos of penguins from my visit to Camp's Bay - so adorable.

Look closely at the back of the clearly visible penguin in the photo on the right and you'll see the head of the baby. In the photo below the baby is rather brown colored with baby down behind the black and white of the parent in the foreground on the left.

Three more down - but I missed most of 1

The power went out after about 15 minutes of the New Zealand vs. Slovakia match, which was the first match of the day so I didn't get to see either of the goals in that match or the first 45 minutes of the next match. The power came back on for most of the last half of the Ivory Coast vs. Portugal match a draw at nil:nil. The New Zealand vs. Slovakia game was also a draw at 1:1. I read that New Zealand made their goal very late to tie it up.


I ate a Boerie Roll for lunch yesterday. Yummy! I highly recommend those sausages.


My trek to Green Point Stadium was a long wet one yesterday. It was raining hard and because of clean up from the match the night before the entrance that we had always used before was closed. So more than 1/2 way round the stadium to get on to level 00. I then had to find an elevator that had access to level 4 (volunteer center). I think I walk around the stadium twice before I found it-then there were no attendants and there were at least 6 of us waiting to gain access. We had a lovely chat while waiting. They all felt bad for me but interrogated me thoroughly to make sure that I was enjoying Cape Town. They all had recommendations for things I needed to do while I was here. They were all so sweet.


Here's my only successful photo from the night of the USA vs. England match. We were celebrating the equalizing goal by Dempsey at 40'.

Eight games down - 56 games to go

We're through first games for groups A, B, C, and D. The games today are Netherlands vs. Denmark, Japan vs. Denmark, and Italy vs Paraguay. Italy vs. Paraguay is here in Cape Town. It was a windy and wet night and the rain continues today. I wonder if they'll close the roof on Green Point Stadium tonight. It will be interesting.

My blisters are healed up and my leg is well on the way to a mend. Tomorrow I'm headed out shopping. I was going to try and go this morning but I forgot that transit virtually shuts down on match days so I'll stick around campus today and head out tomorrow. I also have to return my volunteer uniform (so sad) so I'll take care of that as well. I just have to decide if I'm to go shopping in Claremont or the Victoria and Albert Waterfront.

Hope it warms up before the game on Thursday it'll be a long wet walk to the stadium for Algeria vs. England. I didn't bring the camera out in the rain today so I'll load up more pictures tomorrow.

Germany destroyed Australia 4-0 last night. It made me very sad. Tim Cahill went out on a red card. Not two yellows=red but straight to red. I thought he deserved a yellow card but I know the Australian players were getting a little frustrated - the German players just kept getting them on the same plays over and over. It's nearly noon here which makes it 3 a.m. at home. The game starts in an hour and a half so I doubt too many west coasters will be watching which is too bad I expect great things from the Netherlands team. ¡Go Oranje!

USA vs England is behind us now! Whew!

I was such a nervous wreck for the entire 90+ minutes last night. Sure got my monies worth in entertainment! I was in the restaruant with over 25 Americans (or American supporters) and it made it so much fun to share the experience. The next time England plays I'll be in the stadium. I'm cheering for Algeria! More photos tomorrow.

And now for somthing REALLY ugly

My first day at Green Point Stadium, while in training, I took a nasty fall. Surprisingly, the blisters on my feet really hurt, but this looks MUCH uglier.... This is the bruise after 5 days...

Finally, back in action

It's been a busy few days. Relocating to the Univerisity of Cape Town, trying to get volunteer details sorted out and waiting for the IT center to open. As it turns out I've had to withdraw from serving as a volunteer. It breaks my heart but I don't have to physical stamina to do the work. Up until Thursday I was able to get within a reasonable walking distance to the stadium. My job duties had shifted from Accreditation (an office job) to Environmental Services (on your feet up and down six flights of stairs for over eight hours) plus I would have a 3 kilometer walk to the stadium before and after the game. I just can't do it. I had a great deal of difficulty getting the message to the local committee yesterday because I didn't have and email address and no one was anwering the phone. I am sure they were very busy prepping for their first match day so I don't blame them I just feel really bad. I still need to make arrangements to return my accreditation and uniform but I'll wait until Tuesday when they've been through their first couple of matches and the blisters on my feet have healed a bit.



This is Robben Island. I haven't been there yet. That is on the plan for later this week when my feet have recovered.

The building on the left is the dormitory where I'm am staying. They have a restaurant and at least 15 large screen TVs with one projection TV showing all fútbol, all the time! It is really great!


It is 11:39 am right now so in a couple of hours I'll be watching South Korea vs. Greece while I eat my lunch just across the quad from my room. At 4 p.m. I'll be watching Argentina vs. Nigera perhaps while I have coffee - or if I can get warm enough I'll have a beer. Then at 8:30 p.m. the game I've been waiting for - USA vs. England, if I chewed my nails they'd be non-existant at this point.

I watched South Africa vs. Mexico last night which came out a draw at 1-1. The South African goal was beautiful, right in the top right corner of the net over the keepers head. I also watched France vs. Uruguay which was a draw at nil-nil.

Training Completed

Yesterday I got a tour all around Cape Town Stadium. It is beautiful. However, someone that my hostess knows refered to it as having a toilet bowl set down in the city. I can't see that but to each his own. I can't wait to get to my new lodgings. Everything is so difficult right now because my commute is so long.I transfer tomorrow. I'm hoping to get back to my lodgings early today because my hostess has kindly offered to take me to Cape Point. This will be my first official tourist action. Finally. Gotta run.

Finally Arrived

It was a long and gruelling trip but I've arrived. As it turns out my first lodging was not in the City Bowl as advertised but about 16 miles down the coast almost at Cape Point. It is on a hillside overlooking the Indian Ocean and actally quite beautiful. I'll have a much bigger issue when I go to move the University of Cape Town because it is such a long ways and I was really planning on a quick transfer by taxi. Oh well it is beautiful and I'm the only guest.

Dubai was incredible. SOOO HOT. It took my breath away when I stepped out of the enormous new terminal that was empty. The terminal was built just for Emirates Airlines it is vast. When I went back the next morning I was surprised to see it teaming with people.

Anyway, not much time today. I got my credentials and my uniform and will have my training tomorrow.

Leaving on a ..... BUS

I'm boarding a bus in a a bit to begin my African journey. I'm trying to keep perspective and saying to myself that a nice slow start is the way to begin. I'll be twittering too - see
Mathsfan for tweets.

Almost a Disaster!!!!

Thank goodness I did a double check I almost found myself in Sacramento on June 3 and not San Francisco. It's only a couple hours away but no flight (for a reasonable price anyway) and no car available. So now I'm leaving on Wednesday, June 2 and spending 21 hours on a bus - bet your jealous. Then about 6 hours at San Francisco International Airport, 16 hours on a plane before I can sleep in a bed. One thing for sure, I should sleep well at that point!

9 Days and Counting

I never dreamed that when I made the decision to attend World Cup 2010 in South Africa it would lead to so many interesting adventures. Admittedly, many of them are adventures in contemplation of the trip nevertheless they are very exciting.

I bought my first tickets in February 2009 long before qualifications were complete and more in December just after the group draws were completed. I was just about ready to start booking my flights and hotels because I had set a deadline for myself that if I hadn't heard anything from FIFA on my volunteer application by the end of January I would proceed with trip preparation. I got up on the morning of February 1 to find an invitation to interview at the South African Embassy in Washington DC. I was so excited I would hardly breathe. The time given to complete the interview was incredibly short. Notification on the morning of February 1, interview completed by end of day February 12. I didn't want to sacrifice too much vacation time traveling to Washington DC for the interview because I needed it for my trip. When I called to schedule my interview I found that they had extended the interview period for another week because of high demand and luckily I was able to schedule my interview for President's Day, February 15. I flew in to Baltimore Washington International (BWI) airport the afternoon of February 14, had my interview at 9 am on February 15 and was scheduled to fly home that evening. I fully expected to be at work on the morning of February 16 but weather was delaying flights all over the east coast. This delayed my flight leaving BWI and after a very rough flight to Kennedy Airport in New York City we sat on the tarmac for really long time which casued me to miss my connecting flight home. I spent the night at a the Comfort Inn and all the next day at JFK Airport. Throughout the day it kept snowing so I was praying REALLY hard that we would still be able to get out that night. Things worked out, sort of. The flight did leave, over five hours late and was one of the last flights to get out that night. I got home some time after 3 a.m. Interestingly, on the flight out of BWI I ended up being on a flight with a co-worker from the Portland Development Commission. It's a very small world.

The interview was great fun. It was my first time in an embassy. I'd been in a Mexican consulate in Portland, Oregon and the American consulate in Lima, Perú but never an Embassy. The interview was similar to the job interviews I been through for local government jobs. It was a panel of three staff members and they asked work-like questions. "What would you do if....", "How would you deal with...". I thrive on interviews like that so I walked out floating on air. I walked all the way down Embassy Row back to my hotel, the gorgeous Churchill Hotel. I got the call from the Embassy on March 2 that I had been selected to be a volunteer in Cape Town. At this point I was so grateful I hadn't purchased my ticket or secured accommodations because it was likely that I would have had to change them.

Before all this, back in January of this year when I was getting panicky about not having a plane ticket or hotel reservations. After a conversation and my acceptance as a volunteer a friend sent me a link to a travel blog. The writer, Matt Gross, has incredible travel information. The abiliyt to do research and travel smart has come so far since I traveled to England in 1979. Check out his May 6, 2009 block on "Research: the Traveler's Best Friend" for good information on how to research. I felt pretty smart when I'd been using his first mentioned tip for years, or at least since my decision to make the trip in 2006 - Google!

I used his frugal flight tips to get a wonderful price on my plane ticket. I used the ita software site that he talked about to find a great deal then I went directly to the airline to book it myself.

Whew, over the first hurdle.

Less than 3 Weeks to Departure

I am leaving for Cape Town, South Africa on June 3, 2010. I've been planning this trip for just under four years. I made the decision to attend the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after the 2006 World Cup finished. I made the decision to go because I knew that with planning I could do it and I would enjoy myself so much. When I was younger I traveled internationally quite a bit. However, since I married in 1994 (subsequently divorced in 2004!) my international travel had dried up. The only international travel I indulged in was a couple of driving trips to Vancouver BC - while lovely not exactly the travel I enjoyed when I went to Japan, England, or Perú. This trip is the resumption of my international travel. I'll be blogging about some of the milestones in planning this upcoming trip and keeping friends and family up to date on my trip as I pass my time in Cape Town.

I'll be flying out on June 3. My international flight departs from San Francisco, flies over the north pole and after nearly 16 hours in the air will land in Dubai. I have a 14 hour layover in Dubai and have secured a room there. I'll depart Dubai around 9 a.m. on June 5 and abut 9 hours later will land in Cape Town.

I applied for and was accepted as a volunteer for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (more on that process later). I feel so honored to have been selected to serve and I know I'll get to see some wonderful fútbol. I have tickets to the England vs. Algeria game and to Cameroon vs. Holland game.

Take me to the Cape Town Stadium!

Check out the link above to see the beautiful stadium where I'll be doing my volunteer service. Be sure to scroll down about 2/3rds of the way through the Wikipedia page to see the panoramic shot inside the stadium. It is beautiful.