After a really tiring 24 hours of travel with a bunch of German fans on my flight I finally arrived in King Shaka Airport, Durban. For some reason the Immigration officer couldn’t scan my South African Visa. Those of you who know my luck when it comes to traveling and the hassles I face with immigration the world over might understand my immediate concern. If I am ever denied entry into a country they might send me home to Indonesia – I am ok with that, it’s not the end of the world. But not here, not now; It’s the World Cup, I don’t want to wait another 4 years to have another go; I want it now! My 3 friends who traveled with me were waiting for me behind the immigration counter and when the giant screen before the officer flashed ‘Visa Not Readable’ their jaws dropped. Thankfully though I knew I would be granted entry after my quick exchange with the officer. With his quick African accent he asked “Are you here for the football?” When I said “Yes!” he then looked at my passport and asked me with a smile “Who are you supporting? – Indonesia never qualified!” What a relief. He pulled out a sticker with a barcode, scanned it and put it in my passport and said “Welcome”
30 minutes later we arrived at our Bed and Breakfast, dropped our bags and headed to the ENGLISH pub down the road for the US and England game. All 6 of us were clearly rooting for the US. We walked in wearing official US Jerseys, zip up jackets, waving the stars and stripes and chanting USA, USA. Sure enough the English folk at the pub responded with their songs. Another lady by the name of Cindy, probably in her mid 40s and wearing a US shirt, came rushing to our table and hugged us. “Oh my God you have no idea how excited I am you are here. I thought I was the only US fan in this whole place”; she was like a kid in a candy store. We conversed for a couple of minutes before she asked where we were from. Virginia, DC, San Francisco my friends all responded. Before I could say anything she said “I am from Ohio, graduated from Ohio State University and Case Western.” I couldn’t believe it; of all the places in the United States Cindy could have been from… you can imagine her utter Jubilation when I told her where I was from. It turns out Cindy has lived in South Africa for about 6 years now and is engaged to a South African man, who was also at the table and made to wear a US Jersey. It’s amazing how the World Cup can really emphasize how small our planet is.
On our way back from the pub I was interested to find out who King Shaka was. I figured he must be someone important to have an airport named after him, so I asked our host and bus driver. It turns out that King Shaka was one of the most famous Zulu Kings. According to them he was known and remembered for revolutionizing the military tactics when they fought the British. He used to send scouts far ahead to gather information before returning with it to his military leaders who were able to plot a battle plan aptly. He was also insistent on having only big men in his army and got rid of the long spears in exchange for shorter spears as it gained more control and speed in battle. Apparently he was successful, as you might imagine. They say he ‘embarrassed’ the British. Though it wasn’t through a spear, rather a Jabulani Ball struck by Clint Dempsey, I can’t help but imagine that there might have been yet another Englishman in Rustenberg that was left embarrassed that evening.
June 17th, 2010 at 8:41 am
AVIN! This is the coolest blog ever! Its so informative and i’ve learnt so much about South Africa and I can feel your excitement!
We have been watching the games and scouring the spectators in a failed bid to find you guys - Pooj insists she saw Yovan in a yellow jersey sitting in the second row at the Spain-Switzerland game.
Keep making the most of this experience! All my friends are so jealous of you! and Pooj is really proud of your blog!
oh oh and your ending was funny! wee!
June 17th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Amazing!
You’ve seen some legit games !!!!!! go ENGLAND